Who can change you?

Posted by: Malik Mirza on: May 6, 2010

• In: Book Review | Change Management | Food for thought | Inspiration | Lets think | Motivation
• 13 Comments

 

Mary Kay Ash, who created the Mary Kay Cosmetics empire, once said, “You can eat an elephant………………………

one bite at a time.”

The book “The Art of organizing anything” is based on ten organizing principle, each one aimed to help us review our existing habits, identify the need for change and then take small steps to improve by organizing ourselves. Perhaps one of the most important principles from the book is: BE YOUR OWN BEST FRIEND!

How can a person change oneself?

There is a nice story narrated to me by a trainer.

Once upon a time, there was a zen monk who was living in a rural mountainous area. He decided to see the urban life. So he went to New York and started selling hot dogs at Wall Street. At Lunch Time, a banker approached the monk and asked for a hot dog. The monk said: What would you like to include in the hot dog? The banker responded: Include every thing. The monk prepared a hotdog and added all the spices. The Bank ate the hot dog and then asked: How much should I pay? Monk responded: US $ 2 only. The Banker gave US $ 10 note. The monk, being a very decent and refined person, thanked the banker, folded the note and with all respect, placed it in his pocket.

The Banker said: you told me that hot dog costs US $ 2.

The monk said: Yes Sir

The banker said: So, I gave you US $ 10.

The monk said: Yes Sir

The Banker asked: Where is the change?

The monk humbly responded:

Sir, the CHANGE comes from WITHIN!!

So, if you need to change your self, be your best friend and you will see the change coming from within.

Quotable quote from the book:

“Neither situations nor people can be altered by the interference of an outsider. If they are to be altered, that alteration must come from within”. —PHYLLIS BOTTOME (1943)

The author states that Start thinking of yourself as your new best friend. For example, before you leave the office at night, you’ll straighten up your desk, shove the papers together in some approximate order, leave your list for the next day in the center of your desk, and push in your chair.When you come in the next morning, you’re going to be a happy camper and you will think: Who was the nice person who did this for you?

You plant a garden one flower at a time. … You write a book one word at a time, clean a closet one shelf at a time, run a marathon one step at a time. If you feel defeated by some large task, get your spade and dig the first hole.                                                                       JEANNE MARIE LASKAS (2007)

To change, pick up any one habit and just do it!

Your thoughts?

Tags: book, Change Management, Life, Monk, New York, organization, people, Wisdom from books