Mush Talks #12: ‘Goal-Setting Made Easier’ by Mush Panjwani

I am extremely encouraged and humbled to see that Mush Talks have had over 36,000 views on YouTube since the first one in May 2016! This one was recorded at Hong Kong airport this morning, edited during the flight, and uploaded during transit at Dubai airport…

This talk was inspired by how Mashal (my 19-year daughter) fulfilled her dream of going to the US with her own money, through the 4-steps I’ve been using and teaching for many years: Dream, Goal, Plan and Action. She had been working part-time and on weekends, with her full-time studies, and saving for over two years. What made it possible was her focus on small goals – the number of hours she needed to work every week and the amount she had to save every  month – and doing it consistently. She left yesterday for three weeks of holiday and three months of studies at the Savannah campus of SCAD!

Here are some quotes about ‘small steps’ for further inspiration:

  1. Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. ~Vincent Van Gogh
  2. Each step you take reveals a new horizon. You have taken the first step today. Now, I challenge you to take another. ~Dan Poynter
  3. It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward. ~Old Chinese Proverb
  4. Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. ~Robert Collier
  5. Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still. ~Chinese Proverb
  6. Have a bias toward action – let’s see something happen now. You can break that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away. ~Indira Ghandi
  7. I long to accomplish a great and noble task; but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble. ~Helen Keller
  8. It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop. ~Confucius
  9. The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step. ~Lao Tzu
  10. The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking you complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one. ~Mark Twain

Mush Talks #11: ‘Three Benefits of Waking up Earlier’ by Mush Panjwani

I could script these talks, do a few rehearsals, record professionally with mics and lights, edit better, put music and effects and titles and captions… but then I wouldn’t be able to do one a week. I hope these zero-cost productions are still good enough to inspire some.

You may watch Mush Talks #1-10 here. And please feel free to leave comments below 🙂

Mush Talks #10: Become Happier by Making Others Happy

Wow, I am so happy with myself – 10 videos in 12 weeks! Also quite surprised and extremely grateful at the number of views, particularly Mush Talks #2 (6800 views) and Mush Talks #9 (4100 views). Thank you for watching and sharing!

Five related quotes:

  1. The best way to cheer yourself up is to cheer somebody else up.
  2. The time to be happy is now. The place to be happy is here. And the way to be happy is making others happy.
  3. The happiest people are the ones who make others happy.
  4. If you have the power to make someone happy, do it. The world needs more of that.
  5. Give what you want to receive. If you want happiness, make others happy.

You may watch Mush Talks #1-9 here.

10 Inspiring Quotes on Overcoming Fear + Bonus Video of My Skydive!

While packing for the move, I saw some of my childhood pictures that reminded me how scared I used to be, of so many things – darkness, loneliness, dogs, water/drowning, heights and more. And I realised how so many people go through their entire lives with one or more fears. That inspired this blog post. Sorry, no ‘Mush Talks‘ this Sunday.

I am not an expert on overcoming fears, but have successfully applied a simple strategy for anything I was scared of: Jump right in. That’s what made it possible not only to overcome many of the fears, but enjoy some of the most memorable adventures like scuba diving, skydiving, zip-lining, swimming with whale sharks etc. I hope these quotes and the skydive video inspire you to overcome at least one of your fears. If they don’t, then just jump right in!

  • There is no illusion greater than fear. Lao Tzu
  • The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. Nelson Mandela
  • He who is not everyday conquering some fear has not learned the secret of life. Ralph Waldo Emerson
  • Fears are educated into us, and can, if we wish, be educated out. Karl Augustus Menninger
  • Fear: False Evidence Appearing Real. Unknown
  • I am not afraid of tomorrow, for I have seen yesterday and I love today. William Allen White
  • Fear is only as deep as the mind allows. Japanese Proverb
  • Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold. Helen Keller
  • The enemy is fear. We think it is hate; but, it is fear. Gandhi
  • Courage is not the absence of fear. It’s the ability to act in the presence of fear. Bruce Lee

You may view some more of my travel videos here.

Mush Talks #9: Become Happier through Gratefulness

Last week I talked about how happiness affects our relationships, work, health and success in life. So this week, I start talking about ways to increase our level of happiness – starting with gratefulness. Not mentioned in the video, but being happy and grateful for everything we have doesn’t mean we can’t strive for more and better.

Some beautiful quotes on gratitude:

  1. Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. –Charles Dickens
  2. Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance. –Eckhart Tolle
  3. If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get. Frank A. Clark
  4. If you want to turn your life around, try thankfulness. It will change your life mightily. –Gerald Good
  5. Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. –Melody Beattie
  6. He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. –Epictetus
  7. Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough. –Oprah Winfrey
  8. Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful. –Buddha
  9. It is impossible to feel grateful and depressed in the same moment. –Naomi Williams
  10. This a wonderful day. I’ve never seen this one before. –Maya Angelou

You may watch Mush Talks 1-8 here, and please feel free to share 🙂

Mush Talks #8: Three Reasons to Pursue Happiness

A decade of research reveals that happy people are 31% more productive, 19% more accurate, 37% more successful in sales… – Shawn Achor in ‘The Happiness Advantage’

We don’t go to work to be happy… you are at work to do the best possible job you can and to constantly excel and improve your performance. But we happen to do that much better when we are happy at work. -Alexander Kjerulf in ‘Happy Hour is 9 to 5

I look forward to the next three talks in which I’ll share the three steps to increase our happiness. Thank you for watching 🙂

You may watch Mush Talks 1-7 here.

Mush Talks #7: Three Essentials of Parenting

Today’s talk was recorded in Hong Kong, during a long drive with the family – Salma driving, Mashal recording, Hur fully entertained! Then edited and uploaded now from the airport, just before I fly out to Dubai and Copenhagen. I know all this effort is worthwhile because there are many of you who are now looking forward to these Sunday videos, and finding them useful or inspiring.

Thanks again to Salma, for being such a great parent and role model to our four wonderful kids! Happy Father’s Day… thank you for watching!

Mush Talks #6: Blame Somebody or Accept Responsibility

Today’s talk was recorded in Laguna (Philippines) when I and the Learning Time team stopped for lunch, on our way back from the gorgeous Pagsanjan Falls! I hope to blog about that amazing experience soon. Right now, let’s watch this 3:36-minute talk…

One of the most common examples of blaming something or somebody is when people say, ‘I am late because of traffic’ (or rain) instead of saying, ‘I need to plan better’ or ‘I should leave on time to reach on time’. It’s just a small shift in the attitude that can make a huge difference to everything in our life!

Mush Talks #3: 4 D’s of Time (Life) Management

This was recorded at the Hong Kong Airport at 7AM this morning, just before boarding for Bangkok… then edited on the flight, and uploaded soon after reaching the hotel! I know it’s not going to be easy to do this every Sunday, but I am going to do my best. I hope this helps somebody improve his/her quality of life!

This is part of another one of my 2-hour workshops on ‘Time (Life) Management’, which also covers the concepts of ‘The Wheel of Life’ for work-life balance, and ‘Rocks and Pebbles’ for prioritizing and doing first things first. Thank you for watching!

You may want to subscribe to my YouTube channel or the Blog for auto-notifications of upcoming blog posts and videos.

Mush Talks #2: 4 Steps to Achieve Anything

This has been one of my most popular and effective training programs for over 20 years. It has helped students, fresh graduates, entrepreneurs, salespeople and managers. It’s a 2-hour workshop which I have condensed into a 4-minute video. Thank you for watching and sharing

You may want to subscribe to my YouTube channel or the Blog for auto-notifications of upcoming blog posts and videos.

Mush Talks #1: Gratitude

During a recent review of my ‘dreams list’ I decided to fast-track a few items to ‘goals, plans and action’. One of them was to share my knowledge and experience about happiness, motivation and success through short videos. These video will be 5-10 minutes, focusing on one topic. It’s a non-commercial activity, just for the sake of contribution. To ensure I can do at least two per month, I am doing my own amateur recording and editing. Thank you for watching and sharing…

You may want to subscribe to my YouTube channel or the Blog for auto-notifications of upcoming blog posts and videos.

The Power of ‘Thank You’ – two magic words!

In this deceptively simple 3-minute talk, Dr. Laura Trice muses on the power of the magic words “thank you” — to deepen a friendship, to repair a bond, to make sure another person knows what they mean to you. Try it.

Favorite Quotes by Leo Buscaglia

Change is the end result of all true learning.

Don’t brood. Get on with living and loving. You don’t have forever.

It is paradoxical that many educators and parents still differentiate between a time for learning and a time for play without seeing the vital connection between them.

Life lived for tomorrow will always be just a day away from being realized.

The easiest thing to be in the world is you. The most difficult thing to be is what other people want you to be. Don’t let them put you in that position.

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy.

Watch one of his short videos: Only You Can Make the Difference

Ray Zahab Makes the Impossible Possible!

In January 2009, Ray Zahab broke the record for fastest unsupported trek across Antarctica, to raise awareness and money for kids’ environmental education. In 2006, he ran across the Sahara to raise awareness of water shortages. Here’s the best part: He only started running 5 years ago. Read more about him and his Impossible2Possible team here.

John Wooden on True Success

John Wooden, affectionately known as Coach, led UCLA to record wins that are still unmatched in the world of basketball. Today, he continues to share the values and life lessons he passed to his players, emphasizing success that’s about much more than winning. In this inspiring talk he shares the advice he gave his players at UCLA, quotes poetry and remembers his father’s wisdom.