Success as Youths

Success through the Vachnamrut

Purpose:

* To show how success is a concept that can be defined through the vachnamrut, not only in your spiritual life, but also in your career and personal life.

* To show that the vachnamrut is not a book containing unreachable/inapplicable concepts.

Theme:

The basic attributes of a successful individual is focus, drive and mental stability, It is easy to list these traits, but difficult to develop them. The development of these traits is not an overnight process, as they begin to define themselves through the molding of your character. Your character though, is defined by your actions in everyday life. That is how the Vachnamrut relates directly to your path towards success, it teaches how one should act in everyday life. For this reason, it can be termed as the foundation of success.

Session Logistics

* Classroom/lecture session will have two parts - activity and lecture

* The activity will serve as the introduction or thought provocation part of the session

* The presenter should find yuvaks that live the vachnamrut and have achieved success in their lives - preferably people that are attending the shibir

* Conclude with the importance of the vachnamrut and how the audience can build success in their lives as well - it is never too late.

Activity/Introduction

On a slide (be it power point, Photoshop, etc) show three pictures side by side, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and LeBron James. Turn to the audience and ask them why they know these people. Most of the answers will be 'because they are rich, in the news, in the media eye, famous, won championships, etc'. Try to get as many "end" responses as possible. List them on a white board. The objective of this part of the activity is to get the audience involved or wrapped up into thinking, success is a destination, not a journey.

Everything that the audience would have mentioned is about the destination, but now ask the question, what did it take to get there? The responses will be different. Drive, Focus, Hard Work, Imagination, Risk, etc. These are terms that you want to list on another separate white board.

Ask someone to note the difference. Imagine a student who wants to get good grades, but refuses to work hard, has no drive, and has no focus? Imagine an employee who wants to get a promotion, but does not create process improvements, does not work hard, and rarely comes to work on time? Create a few scenarios that yuvaks can relate to based on their experiences or work life.

Transition:

How does this relate to satsang? In Bal mandal, we have been saying for years and years 'apde to ek akshardhamma javu chhe, evo ek sankalp rakhvo'. It's about end-game, but now, in yuvak mandal, we're finally going to tell you about the journey - how to get there.

At this point, hold up the vachnamrut and say 'this is the journey, this is the map, and this is your guidebook'. Without this book, your end is not in site, its like trying to get that promotion without knowing the criteria you are being evaluated against.

Body

There are three common characteristics that the Vachnamrut has defined that can lead to success in one's life. Drive, Focus, and Goal-setting.

Point 1: Maintaining Drive

* Over and over we are told, push harder, achieve more, increase output. At work we are only evaluated against our latest performance. We are not evaluated based on work performed three years ago, as it is expected that there is natural progression to higher and higher levels. The ability to constantly achieve more and more is Drive.

* In satsang, we are the controllers of our own destiny. Just as we control our own successes and failures, we also control our own liberation - or attaining Moksha

* To attain moksha, one must maintain drive in satsang. Constantly achieving more and more, by evaluating themselves against past performances. Companies in the financial world constantly do this by means of financial statements. But as you will soon know, this concept is not new - Maharaj proposed this process over 200 years ago.

* In Vachnamrut Sarangpur 18, Maharaj says:

"Just as a merchant keeps an account of all his transactions, if one keeps an account of one's swabhavs from the very day one entered the satsang fellowship, then they can be eradicated That is, one should think, 'When I was not in Satsang, I had these vicious swabhavs. But ever since I have entered Satsang, they have diminished.' Thereafter, every year one should check to see if one has progressed or if there is still some deficiency remaining. However, a fool does not keep an account like the merchant does. Thus, any swabhav which one may have can be eradicated if one continuously examines oneself while doing satsang"

* We waste so much time in our personal lives and in satsang chasing the fool's dreams. All of these idle pursuits

distract us from what it is we are trying to achieve, all of it chips away at our drive to achieve

* This concept of 'antardrashti' is not new. Corporations have post implementation reviews, raising the bar meetings, etc. This is their goal, that is how they constantly achieve more. Our path in satsang is clear, but unless we constantly re-evaluate ourselves, we will not progress, and our drive will be lost.

Point 2: Prioritize

* Everyone knows what this concept is, but fail to execute it!

* In life we have so many things going on at once, at times, we wish we can be in more than once place at a time.

* Looking at the average week of a CEO, CFO, etc, they constantly have meetings and issues to address. What they do is prioritize. They prioritize their lives according to what is important and has the greatest impact.

* Procrastination is the enemy. As soon as you use the words "I'll take care of it later" or "not right now" you begin to lose. Laziness begins to develop from within. Remember, it's our actions from our daily lives that