Empires of the Mind By Denis Waitley: A Book Review

Executive Summary
The book talks about many useful and relevant concepts that are aimed at improving our thought process (build an empire of thoughts and values in our mind) that would help us to do better in our personal and professional lives. The book talks about importance of change in life and how to adapt to unforeseen and sudden changes or challenges and face them. It tells us the need to practical and why is it important and we also need to flexible enough to accept the change and adapt to it to lead a life better that others. It also states that new power will be ability to adapt and take responsibility. It talks about how maintaining a positive attitude even in times of difficulty is absolutely important. To maintain a positive frame of mind, the body must be in good shape too. The connections between the body and mind have been well discussed. Fear of failure and its consequences and how to handle it have been discussed. Further it talks about self-leadership, responsibility and integrity. It means accepting responsibility for ones difficulties and making a genuine effort to change. Emphasizes is on need to find the way, at what level we need to do the things so that we will enjoy them and the need to benchmark them to improve. Also, we have to be honest to ourselves and how we need to improve our self-leadership and integrity aspects to be a better person and a professional. Money is not everything. One must not chase money. People who are underpaid are always ahead of the game and are not slaves to money. The aim should be on acquiring skills and developing a passion for something that is worthwhile, something that benefits humankind. Only when we have passion for what we do can we excel at it. It is important to understand that excellence does not come at the expense of others. The race should be run such that, though only one person wins, everybody is better off running the race. Excellence cannot be achieved by using external factors as the guiding force. The call must come from within. If you dont love what you do, leave it, find something else. The desire to do something that makes it worthwhile to lead a life should be the mission in our lives. Learning how to care is important in achieving excellence and becoming good human beings. One must strive for quality in everything that one does, whether in professional life or personal life. Next, delegating authority to people under you is discussed. Today, with the easy access to information, economic, political and technological turmoil is taking place all over the globe. Passing orders and command and control hierarchy are a thing of the past. Going by todays evolving environment with the effect of knowledge portability there is no time to pause and pass orders. Leaders must empower others to react quickly. It sights examples of giants like MC Donalds and Coca Cola whose operational efficiency does not rely on transportation of meat, bread, containers or syrup, but knowledge, by sharing the secret formulae and organizational techniques. The book also refers to the Mergers of Mergers, the fusion of all the information media namely computer, telephone, cable television, data networks, satellites, software and fiber optics. The 2

times have come when teleconferencing is preferred to meetings in person, being relatively convenient, accessible and rather inexpensive. If you are a technologically challenged person it would be impossible to survive in the 21st century. Further the importance of habits and how they can influence us both negatively and positively. It speaks about the importance of challenges and how they should be given preference over comfort. The chapter focuses on habits and strives towards establishing the fact that our lives are governed by habits, be it positively or negatively. Environment can also be an influence on the kind of behaviour we portray but at the end of the day; it also says that we are what we want ourselves to be. No factor can influence us more than our own selves. Finally we consider the importance of taking risks in life and how essential it is to utilize ones opportunities in order to achieve ones complete potential. Procrastination is never the right attitude as far as mastering the art of good leadership skills is concerned. The chapter also focuses on the importance of prior planning and stresses on the fact that it is perfectly natural to face failure and disappointment in life. What matters is how we learn from these failures and take them in our stride to get up and try again.

Detailed Review & Actionable

We consider some critical questions that get us thinking, and give the gist of thoughts and suggestions from the book. Finally, the actionable is considered.

Self Leadership and Change

1. How do you respond to sudden, unforeseen changes or challenges? Change is one thing which is evolving in every part of the life, let it be corporate culture or any other evolving patterns, even leadership is evolved after pertaining so many changes. Consider education which is changing faster than the time we study a specific research topic as new technology is growing and growing. One need to adapt to this unforeseen and sudden changes or challenges and face them, consider the extinct of dinosaurs which is due to some unforeseen sudden change to survive in this world one need to adopt to the change. 2. Are you: a. Pragmatic, set in your ways? b. Flexible , adaptable to alternatives This questions you whether youre practical in your life to accept the changes that you face? This book tells us the need to practical and why is it important and we also need to flexible enough to accept the change and adapt to it to lead a life better that others. It also stated that new power will be ability to adapt and take responsibility. 3. When did you complete your education?

We all lean to shape our own lives, fashion our own destinies. We are growing up in a dilemma how to spend our life during education. Shall we complete our education in 10 years or 20 years? It never depends on the formal education we get it in the schools and colleges which can be ended one or the other point of life, but life teaches us so many things which we can learn throughout ones life. We can consider the change in the technological which is changing at a higher pace which not allowing the education sector to adapt to the changes as new and new innovations or coming up at one or the other places.

Actionable
1. Adapt to the changes in culture 2. Welcome change as a rule not as a ruler 3. Take it for granted that knowledge is power 4. Adapt to change and be practical 4

5. Learn on my past mistakes but not lean on my past successes

Self-Leadership and Responsibility

1. Whats holding you back most in achieving more success?

This states that one or other point youll achieve success but what is stopping you achieve more success if you take the responsibility. Admission of problem cant come with a finger pointed at other people or external conditions. It means accepting responsibility for ones difficulties and making a genuine effort to change. 2. What are the have-tos in your life?

Everyone likes to talk about freedom of choice. After all. Thats one of the principles on which our nation is founded. But we often tend to feel much of what we must do in life has been forced on us. One may not interested to do work, work late night, pay taxes we say no. but leaders do this as a responsibility and which deals them success. Unfortunately were living in an age of eroding responsibility. Although most people are willing to fight for the credit when good things happen, fewer and fewer want to accept responsibility for their own actions. 3. What do you control and what dont you control on a daily basis?

I need to know what all the actions I control daily and what others I dont control, whether its taking responsibility or leadership. Self leadership is the one which we need to control daily and develop it to all the actions we do. We also need to take the responsibility for all our actions not blaming the circumstances and external conditions which prevail.

Actionable
I need to 1. Take responsibility, not blaming the circumstances and conditions 2. Accept responsibility for my actions, but not the credit for my achievements 3. Take the personal responsibility to make the best use of our talents and time for better results 4. Be responsible leader, I must understand that being different is admirable and valuable 5. Stick to my convictions 5

6. Take responsibility of the whatever I do

Self Leadership and Benchmarking: A Navigational Satellite

1. What do you enjoy doing most

We need to go for an internal audit to know what do you enjoy doing most, but will that mean that we need to do only those things which make us enjoy, no we need to find the way at what level we need to do the things so that we will enjoy them that is need to benchmark them so that we enjoy doing them. 2. What are your greatest naturals talents

My interests may not be my talents I should distinguish between my interest and talents to point them correctly. Some may think that theyre good at only some things and try to do them, if so when we learn the things which were not good at one need to think about it. 3. What are your most favourable personality traits? Most unfavourable?

Personality determines if a person is objective- best suited for working others- or subjective and more suited for specialized individual work. To know your personality we need to do an internal audit and find what in you, apart from this we need to take a natural gifts test and that ones team members, associates, and family members do too, regardless of the age.

Actionable
1. I need to benchmark myself in doing the things 2. I need to develop my internal motivation first then comes the external motivation 3. I need to know what Im good at and need to benchmark those things which Im not good at and make them better 4. I need to do self test, internal audits to know my self 5. I need to handle on my attitudes and aptitudes and next identifying my educational experiences that have given me skills and information pertinent to my goals

Self-Leadership and Integrity: Your Absolute Bottom Line

If everyone was like you what would the organization be like The question makes one think what would be the state of things be if everyone thought, behaved and worked like me. The answer to this question would range from nothing would work out there would be many conflicts, it would be a very bad state of affairs, it would be average functioning, it would be a great place. We have to be honest to ourselves when analyzing this question and how we need to improve our self-leadership and integrity aspects to be a better person and a professional.

Do some situations call for dishonesty A leader has to be aware of his concept of integrity. Does it mean that the leader will always be honest in his professional life for himself, his subordinates and for his organization. One of the principles of integrity is to defend your convictions in the face of great social pressures. The second key principle is to always give others the credit thats rightfully theirs, never fearing anyone who has a better idea or is smarter than you. The third integrity principle is to be honest and open about who you really are. Specific situations require different management approaches and styles but one has to consider integrity from ones own and others point of view also. Is there a honesty difference in personal and professional life of expecting leaders Consider the bottom line but put integrity before it. All relationships are based on trust and trust is based on integrity. Whether it is personal or professional life, relationships based on integrity will be sustainable others will be short-term and abrupt.

Actionable 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Implementing integrity in personal, business and family life: I shall consider equity in all that I do and manage. Justice and fair play are important. I will do unto others what I want them to do to me. I set high ethical standards and follow the same before setting it for others Perseverance goes hand in hand with integrity. I shall give my best in the worst of times. I may face difficulties in short run but I wont get bogged down. I shall respect diversity in culture and heritage. I shall respect all individuals as equal physically, economically and socially. I shall read books and articles about integrity to keep in touch and make it a part of my life or else I will just go with the flow.

Self-Leadership and Core Values: Your Diamond Mine

Given your background and genes, how do you measure up as a person of exceptional worth? Real worth has nothing to do with possessions, position or salary. Without self-esteem and satisfaction, these are but worthless. Today emphasis is on material and physical appearances, attention and recognition. There is a difference between being the best of yourself and retain your self-esteem than being the best version of someone else and end up losing your self-esteem, value and worth. How do you enhance your own self-esteem? Belong to your family, friends, organization and society, each has a sense of belonging. Know that there is something unique about you there should be a sense of identity. We should be glad of our background, achievements and thoughts, this is a sense of self worth. Finally, one should have a sense of control with competence. How much success do you deserve? You should be honest to yourself and all attempts to gain more appreciation and success from others indicates that one is not content with oneself. One should feel worthy of the best, but not be proud to feel more worthy than the rest.

Action Plan 1. I will maintain my self esteem and feeling of satisfaction by constantly working at what is important to me 2. I will maintain a sense of belonging and respect towards my family. 3. I will work to get what I deserve but I will not be proud or frustrated in the process.

Self-Leadership and Vision : Your Virtual Reality

Looking back, what are your dominant memories? Leaders make use of their memories whether good or bad to their advantage. They view failures as a not-to-be-repeated learning experiences, success to nourish confidence to take more calculated risks and imagining future success as real despite the unknowns. Many are bogged down by their past experiences and are not able to envision a good future.

Looking forward, what is your vision of the future? One can either be in a fantasy world where the visions are present but are not realistic. And one can envision a future that is real enough to become true. Many people have done previously unknown feats and achievements just by imagining themselves do it. Visionaries are people who are not only able to envision a future for themselves but also for organizations or people and this ultimately becomes the guiding principle, taking people closer to reality.

How vivid and real are the mental movies of the future? The human mind is not able to distinguish between imagined and real experiences if reinforced enough times and with enough intensity. One can even correct the mistakes made and ingrain it in our mind to avoid it in the future.

Actionable I shall have a inspiring but realistic vision and follow it up I shall share my vision with my close friends and colleagues. They may either share it with me or help me reach there. I shall make my expectations known early, clearly and often I shall listen, negotiate and delegate I shall give care and dependability to others.

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Self-Leadership and Attitude

Would you classify yourself generally as optimistic or pessimistic Pessimism is a disease of the mind which needs to be cured. Here, the concept of mind body relationship and the ill effects of pessimism need to be carefully understood. Pessimism is the root cause of failure. We must think in the direction of what we can do, and not what we cannot do. Optimism must become a way of life.

Do you expect excellence from yourself and others Excellence is a journey and not a destination. Achieving excellence is like striving for perfection. In todays world, excellence has become an oft repeated word giving little importance to what it really means for an individual to attain excellence.Performing beyond expectations, pushing the limits of what one can achieve, these should be the yardsticks of measurement, not excellence. Do you set an example of health and wellness in your life style Health and wellness is paramount to maintaining optimism removing negative sentiments. Physical well being is intrinsically connected to mental well being. One affects the other in many ways. Therefore, it is important to remain healthy and achieve higher levels of performance and satisfaction. Leading a healthy lifestyle is every individuals duty to oneself, to society and to the environment in general.

Actionable To generate a feeling of optimism and general well being in life, the actions that we must take are: 1. Health is wealth. I must stop dwelling on my ill health and diseases. Also, I must pay more attention to the well being of my near and dear ones. 2. I must consciously avoid cynicism. It is an endless cycle which just makes a person sadistic. I will look for positive information regarding professional growth. 3. I must surround myself with people who are more optimistic. The flow of positive energy around us is an important contributor to our thinking. 4. I must set my own standards and not look for external benchmarks, which has become a habit.

Self-Leadership and Passion: Your Purpose in Action

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1. Is your career driven by a mission It is important to have a mission in life and see to it that its not money! A mission arises from a desire to do something, something that one is passionate about and would really love to do. It is this inner desire that, when pursued earnestly, becomes a mission. As the author very aptly puts it: The passion of knowing what you want to do and where you want to go puts you halfway down the road to the empire in your mind.

2. Why did you select you current profession It is important to honestly answer the above question because this could affect our entire career and we could forever be bound by the choice we make now. Professions and careers must be chosen on passion and desire, not money and lack of options. If we dont love what we do, we can never be good at it, and if you are not good at what you do, might as well somebody else do it.

3. If it werent for economic considerations and your current responsibilities, how would you spend your time Answer to this question comes rather easily to most of us. The book will teach you how it is what you do with passion that is worth spending time on. The author talks about how one must not be ruled by money but passion. It is the secret to long life and happiness. Your career, everything you do, must be driven by passion and not economic considerations.

Actionable 1. I will give my best to the benefit of other. My work is about what I enjoy doing and not about what I am forced to do. 2. I will strive to maintain the highest level of quality in whatever I do be it professionally or in the personal arena. 3. I must not look for outer applause, but applause from within. The pride and satisfaction that comes out of completing a task must be felt from within, otherwise it has no meaning, no matter how many people appreciate it or hate it

Self-Leadership and Power

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1.

How easy is it for you to give up power once you get it?

In the knowledge era it is necessary to promote responsibility and initiative which cant be done by exerting supremacy or displaying self importance. It is crucial that leaders define a mission and then call upon the followers, inspire them to get there. You must participate in person, but lead invisibly. Richard Chandler, chairman and chief executive officer of Sunrise Medical, Inc. talks about the Leaders Trap, wherein big companies sprawling structure slows their reaction time to the global challenges. To escape the trap the companies have to tap in the various human motivations to pull out people from their comfort zones and thrive for more than what is just expected of them. Various interventions such as rewarding individuals, giving them responsibilities in a challenging work environment, revamping the firms culture are just some of them. To build a winning team some of the best practices are: 1. Have a clearly defined mission 2. Design a results-driven structure for organizing plans 3. Develop team competence through synergy 4. Build team identity, unity and dedication-analogous to a sports team 5. Lastly, establish high standards of excellence Actionable 1. I shall participate in the activities but lead invisibly 2. When working in a corporate, I shall encourage experimentation and tolerate mistakes 3. Competition is inevitable as it pushes you to the limits. I shall delve into healthy competition and encourage the same in my organization and at home 4. I will develop better communication skills through the few mantras shared in the book like : a. Introduce myself up front b. Develop a firm handshake and being confident c. Remember the strangers name to make a mark on him/her d. Make eye contact during conversation e. Talk positively 13

f. Learn discretion and make yourself trustworthy for others The above stated Actionable will definitely help me in not just becoming a better leader but a better person as well.

Self-Leadership and Knowledge

How user-friendly are you with advanced computer and communication technology? In the ever evolving technology driven world this question is staring back at every individual who wishes to make a mark for himself. The world has integrated into 1 single unit with the fusion of computer network and communications per say and those who embrace the new technology definitely have a head start. A right mix of the human-skills, focus on customers and a technologically advanced environment can take your firm to great heights. You must think like a high-tech research firm, but must act like a high-touch service firm Actionable 1. I shall invest my time in education and be tech-savvy to have that competitive edge 2. In developing relationships as well, I shall invest it with quality, time, energy and creativity to attain the real success 3. Develop a Lets do it together attitude, to foster more stability and synergy and finally achieve better results The above mentioned Actionable will definitely help in improving both the human as well as the technology aspect: the two things essential in the times to come.

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Self leadership and skills: Your winning (and losing) habits

In this chapter, we try to learn about one of the most important aspects of self leadership and skills, i.e. good and bad habits. The chapter opens with the example of a mother eagle and her eaglets and how the mother eagle transforms herself from her role of a nurturing mother to that of a heartless bird when she throws out her eaglets off the mountain top in order to make them fend for their own selves and learn how to fly. The best lessons learnt are only through the hardest struggles faced. The chapter goes on to talk about the importance of developing good and relevant habits. The habits that we develop, affects our behaviour which in turn affects our personality and the way people perceive us. The environment can also play an important role in affecting our mindset, behaviour and the habits that we form. But having said that, the book also says that we all are responsible for who we are and are not slaves of our environment and situations. We make our habits and then our habits make us. It does not matter if you have had a bad past or have failed plenty of times in the past, all that matters is your willingness to take control of your life and build up on the motivation to bring about a change in your behaviour. As given in the chapter, the rules of change are as follows: It is important for you to identify your need, stop denying your problem and accept responsibility for changing your own self. Habits arent broken but replaced by better habits. A daily routine adhered to over time will become second nature. Having changed a habit, stay away from the old destructive environment.

Actionable: Identify your bad habits. Learn what triggers your bad habits. List the benefits of a new habit that would replace the old. Say farewell forever to excuses for mistakes and failures. Visualize yourself in the new habit patterns of a positive new lifestyle.

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Self Leadership and Resilience: Misfortunes Master

In this chapter, we try to understand the importance of taking risks in life. The chapter focuses on the simple mantra that missed opportunities are the curse of potential. One must risk in order to gain security but one must never seek security. When security becomes the sole focus in ones life, risk becomes heavy because there is always the fear of losing the prospects of real advancement. The chapter also talks about the ill effects of procrastination and how it deteriorates the quality of work. People, who keep postponing their work till the last moment, subconsciously keep piling up the pressure on themselves and then when things go out of hand, they blame it on everything else other than their own self. Three major reasons of procrastination are fear of the unknown, inferiority complex and fear of success. One of the best and easiest steps to escape from the prison of procrastination is to take the first step towards your goal. The key to deal effectively with any stressful situation is prior diligent planning. Prior planning helps us sort out the unrealistic ideas regarding a particular problem. The chapter ends on a beautiful note stating that there is no shame in failing. It is shameful only when you fail and then refuse to get up and take charge of the situation. In fact, successful leaders are the ones who learn from their failures and mistakes and stand up and make a try for the second time. Actionable Do high priority work first. Dont worry if a change in your personal or professional life doesnt bear immediate fruit. If you fail the first time, try again. Try to associate with people with similar goals. If you reach a dead end with a problem, change your scenery and mood. When you have gained knowledge about a skill or a subject, concentrate on learning one aspect of it particularly well. Approach your problems with logic and honesty. Always expect the unexpected. 16

Self leadership and love: Your greatest gift

The author tries to establish the fact that love returns when it is set free through the fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast. He describes four stages in the story where the princes eventually learns to love someone and becomes worthy of being loved. The stages are:1. 2. 3. 4. The spoiled prince The belligerent beast The empowerment transition Love returns

Sometimes, being a Good Samaritan crops out because of the fear of abandonment by others. We want to be loved hence we end up doing good deeds for others. You must strive to be lovable, but never seek to be loved. The author says that it the greatest value you can pay a person if you can listen unconditionally to him/ her. We should always try add spice to our lives by caring for our relationships. Parents should try to understand children and give them free space. The underprivileged and the over-privileged get spoilt alike. They know not how to grow selfless. Above all, encourage every family member always to take the high road of being a care-giver rather than the low road of being a share-taker from others. Although not most traveled, the high road is always the road best traveled.

Actionable 1. You must strive to be lovable, but never seek to be loved 2. Parents should try to understand children and give them free space. 3. Always to take the high road of being a care-giver rather than the low road of being a share-taker

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Self leadership and service: your road best traveled.

You must spend your time wisely, but never try to save it. Time is the only resource or gift distributed equally to everyone. So the author says that time cuts down all, both great and small. Nobody can buy another hour. He also suggests that time accelerates with age. It crawls when we are young and flies by when we age. This happens because we understand how important it is. Many people live in the past wishing they could put clock in the reverse, largely to undo mistakes. Some people live in the future and worrying about it. Only the actions we take today can create tomorrows real promise. We cannot get this moment to enjoy again. In our quest to success we should also remember that success is a process and not a destination. You must always strive for excellence but never seek perfection. To visualize the road best traveled, you must understand that its not what you have that counts but what you do with what you have that counts. He also tells his readers that you must do the important but delegate the urgent. He urges them to visualize the impact which their actions have on others. In order to travel on the best road, you need to improve the quality of the trip. Be a thoughtful and caring person. Be willing to learn from your past experiences and appreciate them. Choose an attitude worthy of you in every situation. Then only will you start enjoying the ripple effect that comes with making a difference. One must enjoy the privilege of doing good. Success will be measured on the sense of fulfillment and not on the size of your bank account. You must always climb the next mountain but never reach the summit.

Actionable 1. You must do the important but also delegate the urgent 2. Be willing to learn from your past experiences and appreciate them 3. Time is the only resource or gift distributed equally to everyone. Make Best use of it. We cannot get this moment back to enjoy again. 4. Measure success on the sense of fulfillment and not on the size of your bank account

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