Chanakya - The Mastermind
Chanakya was an ancient Indian teacher, statesman, philosopher, royal advisor and Prime Minister of Chandragupta, Indian emperor. He assisted Chandragupta, the first Mauryan emperor, to rise to power. He is also known as Kautilya. He wrote his treatise on economics, known as Arthashastra. It is one of the oldest books on management. The book focuses on wealth creation and management. He is considered the first person in the entire Human History, who visualized, conceptualized, practiced and popularized the concept of ‘NATION’. There were numerous kingdoms spread across the whole geographical area of current India. He had a vision of bringing all these kingdoms under one central governance by conquest or by forcing them to accept the sovereignty. This resulted in the birth of the Nation called 'India'.
You can read more about Chanakya's work here:
Chanakya Neeti
Talking about Chanakya Neeti, it is a book based on Chanakya, which elaborates simple rules to command and conquer life. There are various management lessons given in the book. I have picked the most valuable management lessons and simplified it which will help you uplift the self. Make sure to read this only at your leisure...
1. Before starting any work, always keep these things in mind - "Why am I doing it? What the results might be? And Will I be successful?". Planning beforehand is key to success or you may lose your sense of direction and purpose which may not allow you to function effectively. Always know the purpose of the task, your capabilities and the probable results to achieve clarity in your execution.
2. Never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you. It is easy to understand - "If you cannot keep a secret, How do you expect the other person to keep it". To gain acceptance, people change loyalties very easily. Even if you trust someone, caution is always advisable.
3. One should always believe in karma. Chanakya suggested that one should always complete his/ her tasks without thinking of the result constantly or we may become too obsessed with the goal. This can divert us from our final goal.
Arthasastra
4. The secret to managing people is to understand them. Any person can be changed if dealt carefully. A person with ego loves to be respected, and hence he/she can be won over by being respected. A mad man can be won over by allowing him to behave in a crazy manner, that is, give him the freedom to be himself if you want to win him over.
5. This is one of the most important things I have learned - Once you start something, don't be afraid of losing or failure and eventually abandon it. Everyone fails and there is no other alternative to success. Every successful person has failed once and it's his dedication and determination to take him to success. So never give up.
6. A person is always known for his deeds and not because of his birthplace that is belonging to a famous family, etc. It takes hard work, determination, persistence, and discipline to get where we want to be and become successful.
7. Always face the fear and try to dominate it. Fear is something which can either lead you to success or it can make your life miserable. If fear is handled cleverly then it can help you grow and succeed in life. But if you allow fear to control you then it can destroy you. One of the best methods I have come across to eliminate my is fear is to first write it down. Then write what can happen if you face the fear and make a scale from 1 to 10 and rate your outcomes on the scale, 10 being a life-changing outcome and 1 being the worst case. What impact will your outcome have on other people? This surely will help you to overcome your fear.
Chanakya and the Art of Getting Rich
8. Try to learn something even from your enemies. This basically means that you should attain maximum utility even from the least important things. Everyone definitely have something to give and we should not lose the opportunity to grasp the lesson. For example, a mendacious friend will teach you the value of trust before believing people. Always try to extract nectar from poison.
9. Always learn from others mistake. You have only one life and hence you cannot do all the mistakes by yourself. Making mistakes will help you learn from them and use that to grow in life. But too many of them can decrease your confidence and hence use the lessons learnt from others mistake and save your precious time and enery. The best way to learn is the books. They have everything you need. A person's 50 years experience is in a book and you can live through his 50 years and learn a lot.
10. This is a little weird but is true. You should not be too honest. The world is a difficult place to survive. You should know where to be honest and to whom to be honest to. Remeber that just as straight trees are chopped-down first, honest people are taken advantage of first.
As long as the Human mind remains filled with negative ideas, thought and or emotions of jealousy, ego, hatred, overindulgence etc. and requires self-control, discipline, and management, ‘Kautilya’s Arthashastra’ will remain relevant.
I hope this lessons will help you at some or the other point of life. Try to use them and make most out of it.
You can read more about Chanakya's work here:
- Chanakya Neeti - Click Here To Buy
- Arthashastra - Click Here To Buy
- Chanakya and the Art of Getting Rich - Click Here To Buy
- Chanakya in Daily Life
Chanakya Neeti
Talking about Chanakya Neeti, it is a book based on Chanakya, which elaborates simple rules to command and conquer life. There are various management lessons given in the book. I have picked the most valuable management lessons and simplified it which will help you uplift the self. Make sure to read this only at your leisure...
1. Before starting any work, always keep these things in mind - "Why am I doing it? What the results might be? And Will I be successful?". Planning beforehand is key to success or you may lose your sense of direction and purpose which may not allow you to function effectively. Always know the purpose of the task, your capabilities and the probable results to achieve clarity in your execution.
2. Never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you. It is easy to understand - "If you cannot keep a secret, How do you expect the other person to keep it". To gain acceptance, people change loyalties very easily. Even if you trust someone, caution is always advisable.
3. One should always believe in karma. Chanakya suggested that one should always complete his/ her tasks without thinking of the result constantly or we may become too obsessed with the goal. This can divert us from our final goal.
4. The secret to managing people is to understand them. Any person can be changed if dealt carefully. A person with ego loves to be respected, and hence he/she can be won over by being respected. A mad man can be won over by allowing him to behave in a crazy manner, that is, give him the freedom to be himself if you want to win him over.
5. This is one of the most important things I have learned - Once you start something, don't be afraid of losing or failure and eventually abandon it. Everyone fails and there is no other alternative to success. Every successful person has failed once and it's his dedication and determination to take him to success. So never give up.
6. A person is always known for his deeds and not because of his birthplace that is belonging to a famous family, etc. It takes hard work, determination, persistence, and discipline to get where we want to be and become successful.
7. Always face the fear and try to dominate it. Fear is something which can either lead you to success or it can make your life miserable. If fear is handled cleverly then it can help you grow and succeed in life. But if you allow fear to control you then it can destroy you. One of the best methods I have come across to eliminate my is fear is to first write it down. Then write what can happen if you face the fear and make a scale from 1 to 10 and rate your outcomes on the scale, 10 being a life-changing outcome and 1 being the worst case. What impact will your outcome have on other people? This surely will help you to overcome your fear.
8. Try to learn something even from your enemies. This basically means that you should attain maximum utility even from the least important things. Everyone definitely have something to give and we should not lose the opportunity to grasp the lesson. For example, a mendacious friend will teach you the value of trust before believing people. Always try to extract nectar from poison.
9. Always learn from others mistake. You have only one life and hence you cannot do all the mistakes by yourself. Making mistakes will help you learn from them and use that to grow in life. But too many of them can decrease your confidence and hence use the lessons learnt from others mistake and save your precious time and enery. The best way to learn is the books. They have everything you need. A person's 50 years experience is in a book and you can live through his 50 years and learn a lot.
10. This is a little weird but is true. You should not be too honest. The world is a difficult place to survive. You should know where to be honest and to whom to be honest to. Remeber that just as straight trees are chopped-down first, honest people are taken advantage of first.
As long as the Human mind remains filled with negative ideas, thought and or emotions of jealousy, ego, hatred, overindulgence etc. and requires self-control, discipline, and management, ‘Kautilya’s Arthashastra’ will remain relevant.
I hope this lessons will help you at some or the other point of life. Try to use them and make most out of it.
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