Having multidimensional goals can lead to overall success, says award-winning entrepreneur

One of the first questions I would like to ask Vivek Mansingh is about the title of his book, “Achieving Meaningful Success,” which intrigued me. Doesn’t every success have meaning? I asked the author during a recent interview at Dubai’s Taj Hotel. The entrepreneur and mentor was speaking there as chairman of the iAccel Gulf Business Incubator’s advisory board.

smiles the award-winning author and advisor who has worked with stalwarts such as Steve Jobs, David Packard, Bill Hewlett and Michael Dell. “I expected that question,” he says.

Several studies have been conducted on seemingly successful people. In one study conducted in the United States, several retired S&P 500 CEOs were interviewed and asked whether they considered themselves successful. Nearly 70% of them answered negatively that they did not believe they were successful from an overall perspective. “That’s why I use the word meaningful success,” says Vijay. “Meaningful success is achieving something that is meaningful to you.”

For those who haven’t yet picked up the best-selling book, which has been praised by successful people like Ratan Tata, Narayan Murthy, Kiran Majumdar Shaw, and Sachin Tendulkar, here’s a little about the author.

A graduate of Stanford University, Vijay is a venture capitalist, technology visionary, innovator, author of numerous technical papers, and holds six U.S. patents. He was also a member of the team that Steve Jobs commissioned to develop his iMac without a fan. He is proud of having successfully accomplished this mission. Jobs’ prized possession is his iMac poster with a handwritten message thanking Vijay and his team for making it happen.

Vijay served as President of the Collaboration & Communications Group at Cisco and Director of Research and Development at Dell. The Chanakya Innovative Leadership Award winner was listed on the National Who’s Who in 2000 and in 2016, Enterprise Connect named him IT Man of the Year.

Clearly, he tasted success. So what is meaningful success? I ask him.

“It’s when you achieve your multidimensional goals in life,” he says. He makes it clear that while money and professional success are important, they alone do not determine success.

“There are other dimensions to life. Relationships, health, recognition, giving back to society… In the end, you have to decide what those parameters are. Only when you achieve it can you actually be satisfied and happy. That’s what I call meaningful success.”

Vivek’s definition of success itself deviates from most normal definitions and literally revolves around wheels. “I call this the wheel of success because the wheel has multiple spokes, each representing a different goal,” he says. “My wheel of success has eight spokes that represent financial, professional, recognition, relationships, spirituality, and giving back. To achieve meaningful success, you need success in all of these areas. must be accommodated.”

He acknowledges that these goals can change over the course of life. “But for overall success, it’s important to have multifaceted goals.”

As part of giving back (a story about his circle of success), one of Vivek’s missions is to mentor people. Over the years, he has coached thousands of people, from carpenters with little education to high school and college students, mid-career professionals, and even CEOs. “My dream is to coach a million people,” he says. “But I realized that physically achieving that number was a daunting task. So I wrote this book to serve as a mentor of sorts.”

If you have any questions or would like to receive personal guidance from him, you can contact him on his various social media platforms and you are guaranteed to get a response from him or his team. For the record, all profits from this book go to the Eye Hospital in Chitrakoot, India, which performs hundreds of free eye surgeries for people who can’t afford it.

“I think everyone needs a mentor,” says the successful author, who admits to himself and others that even at age 67, he still has mentors.

Anyone can achieve bigger and better things with the help of a mentor, be it a relative, neighbor, teacher, boss or even a celebrity like Infosys’ Narayan Murthy or Sachin Tendulkar, he says. I believe. “And you can have different mentors in different areas of your life.”

He recalls his mother, his first mentor, encouraging him to pursue science and earn a Ph.D. “I was studying in a very small Hindi secondary school, but she had big dreams and raised my aspirations to realize her dreams,” he says.

However, wouldn’t this put serious pressure on young people in some cases?

“Healthy pressure is important,” he says, quickly agreeing that too much is not good. “Even if you have the basic ability, having unreasonably high aspirations can be a problem.”

Vivek says a mentor can and should assess your abilities and help you achieve goals that are beyond your capabilities, but if you’re not able to “It’s not enough to make me depressed,” he said.

He feels that teachers can be good leaders because they know their students well.

For those struggling to find a mentor, Vivek’s book provides several templates. Through it all, he makes it clear that the point of mentoring is to hone the mentee so that they become better versions of themselves.

And how can I become a better version of myself? I asked Vivek, hinting that I was looking for a friend.

“The number one thing is passion. You have to be totally attached to your goals and aspirations.”

The second is to develop the ability to think outside the box. “You can call it creativity, or innovation.”

The third is to develop excellence. The world values ​​excellence. “Think of successful people in your family, in your neighborhood, or at home or abroad. They are successful because they have achieved a certain level of excellence.” It lists names like Bachchan and Virat Kohli. “We all have that ability, but we don’t push ourselves. Of course, not everyone can become Virat Kohli, but we can become the best version of ourselves. That’s possible.”

The fourth is leadership. “Leadership isn’t just about leading a group of people. It’s also about leading yourself. So develop your leadership abilities.”

I’m sure Vivek can give you some tips on how to hone your leadership abilities, so I asked him.

Our award-winning leader did not disappoint. “In a nutshell, leaders have a big vision. They think big and work hard to make it happen.

“Leaders recognize areas or subjects in which they lack knowledge and work hard to improve themselves in those areas. There may be.

“Leaders are good communicators. Leaders earn trust. [of the people] And we produce results through collaboration. ”

Back to what qualities you should look for in a mentor.

According to Vivek, a mentor should ideally be someone who has followed the path you want to take.

He explains this with an example. “If you want to learn tennis, you go to a tennis coach, right?” You don’t go to a cricket coach. Therefore, if you are an entrepreneur, you should choose entrepreneurs that you respect and admire. If you’re a doctor, go see a doctor. From lawyer to lawyer…

An important thing to keep in mind when choosing a mentor is to make sure they are willing to commit a certain amount of time and effort. They also need to have the ability to connect with you and be someone you can trust. This last point is important. This is because the advice your mentor gives you often contradicts what you think is right, and if you don’t trust that person, you may be hesitant to follow that advice.

Do plans and goals work in personal relationships? Ask. For example, should you set goals in your relationship?

Yes, the teaching guru said, and when he saw my confusion, he explained.

“For example, I set a goal to spend the weekend with my wife, kids, and parents. I also plan to spend at least 30 minutes on the phone with my mom every night. What’s wrong with that?” he asks.

Vivek makes it clear that there is a goal in every relationship. “When my father was alive, I made it a goal to be with him for a few days every month.”

Similarly, he set a goal to spend a certain number of days each year with his children and grandchildren. “We are planning to get together in different places. One year it was South Africa, the next Kenya, then Rajasthan… We need a plan for this.”

At the beginning of each year, he sets his goals for the year. “They may be fun goals, fitness goals, diet goals… If you don’t set those goals and work towards them, they won’t come true.”

He suggests goals that any family can set, such as not eating in front of the TV and having everyone at the dinner table. Every month we have a family picnic…

With the new year just beginning, now might be the time to set small goals that can make a big difference in our lives.