When I see my 3 years old daughter playing in the park, jumping, dancing, smiling and completely immersed in her play, I always tell myself, “She is full of life”.
When do you say that someone is full of life? 
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When they “pour themselves” in whatever they do.
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When they don’t worry much about results…
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…but focus on efforts.
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When they enjoy what they do…
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…and process of doing it.
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When they do what they really enjoy doing.
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When they stick to it till it gets done.
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When they are uber-positive about life.
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When they are energetic themselves…
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…and generate energy in people around them.
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When they are “light” from within.
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When there is a “light” within.
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When they demonstrate passion…
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…and compassion.
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When they are courageous.
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When they are thoughtful.
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When they smile a lot.
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When they seek to understand people around them.
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When they are amicable, approachable and warm.
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When they love other people…
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…and are willing to help them.
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When they appreciate and encourage…
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…more than they crib and vent.
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When they take risks…
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…and learn from failures.
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When they don’t keep worrying about death as a final consequence…
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…but live in the present moment, here and now…
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…and make the most of it.
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When they focus on being fit..
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.. physically and mentally.
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When they keep learning different things.
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When they focus on gifts “within” them…
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.. rather than trying to meet demands that are more “external”.
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When they “give” and “help”…
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…and build strong and deep relationships based on TRUST.
This post is inspired by my favorite Nicholas Bate – who is a master of putting brilliant ideas in form of very interesting lists. I could have written an long post, but I preferred following Nicholas Bate’s style – short writing that provokes long thinking!
On a second thought, don’t you think these characteristics also apply equally well to leaders? Yes, leaders ought to be full-of-life!
Have a wonderful weekend – enjoy life!
In the photo: I am tossing my daughter in the air, when she was around 9 months old.
I am currently reading a simple yet amazing book titled “There’s An Adult In My Soup” by Kim and Jason Kotecki. Thanks to Kim and Jason for sending me a signed copy. They are on a mission fighting “Adultitis” – typical adult syndromes that infect us as we grow. In that process, we loose our child-like qualities that made us happy and jovial. Our daily conundrums trap us and we forget that life happens to us when we are busy making other things happen. This book is a gentle reminder to remain open, optimistic and child-like to enjoy the simple joys of life.
Excerpt From chapter “Trading the Cracker Jack Prizes for the Peanuts”
God has scattered these free prizes all around us: a watercolor sunset, the smell of fresh cut grass, the intricacy of a snowflake. We’re so busy being self-absorbed and stressed-out that we miss them all because they’re hidden just below the surface of our hurried consciousness.
Any book that relates well with your current circumstances will quickly hit you. So if you are going through a “busyness” syndrome and looking out for more from life, this book will quickly break the ice and become a good guiding friend. Better yet, this book will lead to some self-revelation if you are suffering from adultitis but don’t know about it yet! Jason’s illustrations in the beginning of every chapter makes it more interactive and light-weight.
Excerpt From chapter “While you were busy, life passed by”
Here’s what’s really happening: life is passing us by. We miss out on important stuff because we’re convinced that the busyness is a standard operating procedure. And we’re deceived by the mirage that someday, if we work hard enough, our to-do list will be cleared. As David Allen reminds us in Getting Things Done, you will die with things STILL in your to-do list. This never-ending hamster wheel is a part of adulthood we need to escape from now and then.
If you like the book, you will also love reading Kim and Jason’s Blog.
Recently in a Management Development Program, we were asked “How would you like people to remember you after you die?” We were given 15 minutes to think about it and write it on a piece of paper. Amazingly, one common thought that figured on all 45 participants’ list was - “I want to be remembered as a good human being”. That means, the end game of our lives is “to be good” and not only “to be super rich” or “be super successful” – and that was a great realization.
It is great to have goals for career success and attain things that matter to us. But in this journey of attainment, we must never forget to be good to others. That is what I learnt from this experience.
On the same lines, I loved this paragraph from Peggy Noonan’s “A Life’s Lesson” on Wall Street Journal where she writes –
In a way, the world is a great liar. It shows you it worships and admires money, but at the end of the day it doesn’t. It says it adores fame and celebrity, but it doesn’t, not really. The world admires, and wants to hold on to, and not lose, goodness. It admires virtue. At the end it gives its greatest tributes to generosity, honesty, courage, mercy, talents well used, talents that, brought into the world, make it better. That’s what it really admires. That’s what we talk about in eulogies, because that’s what’s important. We don’t say, “The thing about Joe was he was rich.” We say, if we can, “The thing about Joe was he took care of people.”
How wonderful! The article ends with an even more thought provoking question -
“Question: When you die, are people in your profession going to feel your loss? Why not? What can you do better? When you leave, are your customers—in Tim’s case it was five million every Sunday morning, in your case it may be the people who come into the shop, or into your office—going to react like this? Why not?”
Time to ruminate and seek answers! More on this in the posts to come.
Leadership, Random Musings | Tanmay November 20, 2009 | 
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