Re: Professional Success ..
If we want to, may we address you by your full name, Ms. Chicken Biryani? And what a wonderful name it is!
Re: Professional Success ..
Southie , stop drooling over food thoughts 
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Keeping the same line of thought as to who is more successful in your eyes CB....
The guy who makes and sells Birani (chicken or other :-)) to the whole City?
or the guy who made "Shan" Masala the best ingredient of the Birayani?
Which is the top guy in your eyes CB?
Re: Professional Success ..
Sind, most definitely the Shan masala guys have a bigger success .. they have reached the masses , they bound us women to their masalas so much so that we cant freaking make biryani without using a shan masala .. all around the world , women are buying Shan masala's like crazy ..
Even gora's know how to make perfect biryani with shan masala ...
This is top class business strategy, definitely a success story ..
The only reason why i feel the guy who makes biryani and sells it to the whole city isnt so much of a success story is because he has lesser clientele to tackle, and the ratio of effort and investment v/s outcome isnt really very high ... so yeah he is one step behind the shan masala guys on the success ladder ..
There ! I said it !
Re: Professional Success ..
Something akin to the " picks and shovels" theory. Companies that supply components are diamonds in the rough.
Inquiring minds want to know " what is shan masala?"
Re: Professional Success ..
yup Southie, that term is spot on for these shan masala guys ..
For Inquiring minds : Shan masala is a ready mix of Biryani spices .. throw in a packet of this spice into the chicken and get your yummy biryani in less then an hour !
Re: Professional Success ..
Thanks Ms. Chicken Biryani! Will check Shank Masala during the next trip to desi store.
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Sorry but Shan Masala Sucks
Re: Professional Success ..
Someone who is living an above average life either in terms of challenges themselves or crossing the boundaries in work - that is your definition of being successful not mine (No offense 
) For arguement’s sake if you conducted a survey of people working, you’d hardly find people who are earning enough to pay their bills, generate some type of savings and still be happy with their work. Alternatively you’ll rarely find people who are happy with what they are doing and be able to pay their bills and generate savings. The combination where your passion is your work and gives you a decent living is what’s success to me.
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No offense taken at all Eastern .. infact thats what opinions are about, they will differ from person to person ..
Once i was panel interviewing for a multinational firm that has a very specific criteria of selecting people based on their attitude to achieve something. This firm is known to hire quality people. Anyways, so during the interview , one fellow impressed me and another interviewer, but the rest of the three refused.
Later I asked them why they refused him? and they said he might have been a success at the lower end of the triangle but his attitude didnt make us feel he is the extraordinary one, the one who will stand out in the top end of the triangle where only few people but the best ones survive ...
I thought that was a very valid explanation. your response reminded me of this incident because I just realized that people remain in the lower end of the triangle and live their entire lifetime in the same box ... they never realize there is an upper level to this triangle too and if they try harder then the rest they can make it to there !
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Sometimes such abstract and subjective judgments are used to keep an entire subset of the population at the " lower end of the triangle".
And you better agree - I don't do well with opposing POVs!!
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So does a persons success in their professional life determine if they are really successful in their over all life? How much should one sacrifice to reach their goals for professional success?? what if they sacrificed a lot in their personal life to get there? does that still make them successful??
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^ Excellent question.
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So does a persons success in their professional life determine if they are really successful in their over all life? How much should one sacrifice to reach their goals for professional success?? what if they sacrificed a lot in their personal life to get there? does that still make them successful??
Oh boy, such an intense and interesting question .. i know people will have varied opinions about this and I would love to read the responses we get here ..
If we are looking at the "over all life" , then clearly only professional success is not enough. Personal situations can have a huge impact on a persons professional life. That is why when large companies hire people , they ask motivation seeking questions and they want to know answers from some personal life aspects , for example, questions like , what are your personal goals and the candidate shares that in five years time I want to be able to have paid off all my mortgage on my house , or , I want to ensure my kids get educated in Grammar schools etc etc .. so these define ones ability to seek a balance between personal and professional lives and grow in both ..
On the other hand , someone who is undergoing tough personal experiences often do not come across as highly motivated and hence genuinely lose out on some professional opportunities, its not the best thing to happen , but its happening ! One of my consultants underwent divorce and became Alchoholic and despite the fact that he was once , one of the best performing consultants , within months his performance became rocky and he lost his job ..
**About your question: How much should one sacrifice to reach their professional goals/success
**it depends on person to person, their priorities in life, their ability to handle pressure .. I would only sacrifice to the point that my work life balance doesnt get affected .. the day it does, I know I got to rethink my goals ... For example, one of my previous bosses was a top brass buisness woman, she was in her late thirties and was running two businesses quite successfully .. she would work endless hours .. but then when she had her first kid , her priorities changed and that same person who was a workaholic decided she could only handle to work certain hours .. she took steps to delegate by hiring senior people and letting them handle day to day work while she only tackled with the strategic element.. I always used to look upto her and thought she was a success for sure !
**Question: if they sacrificed alot in their personal life to get somewhere in professional life , would they be successful?
**Again depends largely on what they sacrificed. Once at a conference a Lady , well known entrepreneur claimed that she had decided not to have kids coz she was much more focused to run the company that she and her father had struggled for , for years .. I thought that was pretty lame !
Professional Success ..
I'm surprised no one else answered. Agreed with you on all that CB!