Believing in someone

Posted on June 5, 2017June 5, 2017 by Nirmal Thapa

Do you remember a time when someone believed in you so much that you were almost fearless in participating in an activity?

Coming from someone whom you respect and trust, that belief can do wonders. Every time I got trusted to do a project or take on a challenge, I got that extra motivation to deliver and not disappoint. The fact that someone trusts you to take on a project or work is a feat in itself. Leaders know that words and behavior have to go hand in hand to motivate and inspire the team. Do you trust your teammates when the game is on the line or would you rather take that shot yourself?

It’s only right that as a leader, you should use your judgement to inspire your team and believe in them to do what is needed. Be ready to be amazed when you have done that.

Focus

Posted on May 27, 2017May 28, 2017 by Nirmal Thapa

Focus is today’s competitive advantage.

The internet has democratized access and information. Do you feel like you are missing out on that Warren Buffet talk at Columbia Business School? Want to learn right from Mark Cuban about basketball and business? How about Seth Godin giving you tips on tribes, marketing and brands? No worries, the tools and tips are right there on the person’s website, YouTube or someone’s blog page. The content is there.

With ample resources at our fingertips, there is no shortage of information and access. Now the hard thing to do is keeping your focus. Focus on what matters. Focus on the little stuff. Focus on constantly learning and moving forward. To do great work, you have to focus intentionally and with intensity. Only then the results will exceed the expectations.

Dr. Cal Newport at TEDxTysons stated that “the market is going to reward the deep, concentrated work required to build real skills and to apply those skills to produce things -like a craftsman- that are rare and that are valuable.”In his most recent book Deep Work , he argues that focus is the new I.Q. in the knowledge economy, and that individuals who cultivate their ability to concentrate without distraction will thrive.

There you have it. Focus.

3 Tips to Thriving in Nepal

Posted on May 24, 2017May 24, 2017 by Nirmal Thapa

Here’s my 3 tips to thriving in Nepal.

Positive
Proactive
Patience

Positive

Having a positive attitude is important. When you have a positive mindset, you approach life differently. You will see beauty, opportunity and optimism in each “struggle” or “challenge.” Instead of seeing the glass half empty, you will look at the glass half full. When watching the news or reading the papers of current events in Kathmandu and around Nepal, you might not exactly see inspiring stories or success stories on a frequent basis. It’s tough to be positive when things around you are not going well. Thus, I see having a positive attitude as not only a coping mechanism but a way to keep moving forward. I have met countless enthusiastic and positive minded people in Kathmandu from entrepreneurs, artists, writers to teachers, students and social workers. Each of them are passionate and equally positive about life and you can feel their positive energy when you have a conversation with them. These individuals are making an impact in many sectors of the country and are an inspiration to the new generation. I get inspired by just watching them.

Proactive

A lot of times, we think that “good things come to those who wait.” Well, great things come to those who go for it. I feel like in Kathmandu, a lot of people are just waiting on the sideline hoping that someone will take charge, solve their problems or do the tough work for them. Very few people want to get into the field and join the action. You won’t change much of anything if you just stand on the sideline and talk. If you get frustrated by what you see in Kathmandu or throughout the country, the only real solution is doing what you can to solve the problem. Let’s not wait for the government to do each and everything and not contribute anything from our side. Are you not happy with how the school system works or the quality of teaching? Well, start teaching. Are you not satisfied with how the political system works? Well, start one or join one that fits your values and ideas. Are you not excited about the work that you do on a daily basis? Well, start doing something that you love and live happily. It irks me to see talent get wasted when it could have been used for doing something great. Be proactive and get out there to do at least one thing to create the change that you want to see. You will always feel a sense of accomplishment and your life will be more meaningful if you take that step. The present and the future belongs to those who are proactive.

Patience

While being proactive is a virtue, I also believe that patience goes a long way. Having grown up in the instant gratification culture, most of us want results immediately. Social media has helped to blow things out of proportion at times and we have become addicted to overnight success and social praising far more than previous generations. It’s like we forgot that Rome was not built in a day. Excellent work and result takes time. Change does not happen as fast as we would like to so we have to keep working on things we believe in each day. The desire to get rich overnight, get popular quickly or amassing material things to show off have become the symptoms of the Kathmandu urban life. On the other hand, the joy of earning something or achieving a feat after working hard to get it is something special. We appreciate those things even more and cherish it when we get the desired outcome so I cannot emphasize the importance of patience enough.

Be Positive. Be Proactive. Be Patient.

Early in your career

Posted on May 14, 2017May 22, 2017 by Nirmal Thapa

Once upon a time in a classroom occupied by graduate students from different fields, an audience member asked me “What do you recommend – working for an established company or a startup once we graduate?”

I said “early in your career, go work for a startup.”

The experience of working at a startup will teach you leaps and bounds. If you really want to feel the excitement, struggle and success of working in a company, a startup is the place to be. Yes, working for an established company can mean deeper pockets, more security and more structure. However, at the end of the day, don’t you want your work to be more fulfilling, challenging and meaningful? If so, choose wisely.

A symbol of…

Posted on May 14, 2017May 14, 2017 by Nirmal Thapa

To be a symbol of something positive is powerful. Powerful enough to inspire people from all walks of life. Powerful enough to be the motivator for people in far corners of the world. Powerful enough to make others realize that there is actually light at the end of the tunnel.

President Obama. Muhammad Ali. Anuradha Koirala. Jay-Z. Prabal Gurung. These are not just someone’s names. Their names inspire people. These names are symbols of hope, courage, equality, hard work, success etc. When you mention their names in a conversation or a speech, it carries a lot of weight. Each of them have rightfully earned respect and admiration from millions of people around the world.

A person who has become a symbol or can be a symbol will have a culmination of successes and failures (experiences). I believe it’s not always important for that person to win every fight, to succeed every time and win every race. You will become a symbol when you do something that you passionately believe in. So go ahead, take the lead, show them that the young cannot be underestimated and rise to the occasion. This is your time. You have become a symbol already.

Image source: Link

HARD WORK

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Nirmal Thapa

Hard work is everything. If someone wants to succeed in any activity or area, hard work is a must. I have always believed in hard work and still do very much.

I have no doubt that the successful people we read in the news, papers, online or the ones we know personally worked very hard to get to where they are today. Max Nisen of Business Insider wrote a fantastic article on hard work and provided some very good examples.

People Who Worked Incredibly Hard to Succeed

Discovering Boudhanath

Posted on September 5, 2012 by Nirmal Thapa

On a recent Sunday, I visited Boudhanath (also known as Boudha) with a friend. Located almost in the heart of Kathmandu Valley, Boudhanath is one of the largest stupas in Nepal.

Before going to Boudhanath, I spent some time researching on the web and looking at videos on YouTube of the renowned place. From Wikipedia, I learned that Boudhanath is a UNESCO World Heritage Site as of 1979. Also in Wikipedia it states that the Stupa is on the ancient trade route from Tibet which enters the Kathmandu Valley by the village of Sankhu in the northeast corner, passes by Boudnath Stupa to the ancient and smaller stupa of Chabhil (often called ‘Little Boudnath’).

Boudhanath is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Kathmandu. It is about 5-10 minutes drive from Chabhil and about 20-30 minutes from the Tribhuvan International Airport. To enter Boudhanath, Nepali citizens are not required to pay any entry fee. However tourists are required to pay a small fee for the preservation of the site as well as for keeping the area clean. As you enter, you will notice plenty of shops on the left and right. When you walk closer towards the Stupa, you will see travel ticketing shops, antique stores to clothing stores and small hotels/restaurants circling the Stupa.

There are over 50 gompas situated around the Stupa. I went to a few of them. As you walk around the Stupa, you are greeted with the popular mantras Om mani padme hum. By looking at the Stupa from different angles and sides, it looked majestic and breath-taking. Contrasting to all the noise and traffic that is part of everyday Kathmandu, the Stupa and its surrounding area only resonated tranquility and serenity.

One can spend a full day at Boudhanth. On this particular Sunday, I noticed a lot of tourists coming to the Stupa in groups. Some groups were led by tour guides and others were travelling by themselves. Boudhanath is a special place because of its history and significance to Buddhists and Hindus yet it could be just as special for someone interested in architecture, religion and the arts.

Photo credit: Suman Maharjan

Last Thursdays with Mahabir Pun at Entrepreneurs for Nepal

Posted on September 1, 2012May 11, 2018 by Nirmal Thapa

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLcRyqa5rRI]

A small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. – Neil Armstrong

Mahabir Pun finished his presentation at Last Thursdays with Neil’s quote. The quote could have been Mahabir Pun’s motto because so much of his own life and achievements started with small acts of experimentation.

Mahabir Pun was this month’s special guest for Entrepreneurs for Nepal’s Last Thursdays program. I had heard of Mahabir Pun a few years back and had always wanted to meet him. My wish came true on the evening of August 30, 2012. Walking into the hall at World Trade Center, I was fortunate enough to find a seat in the front. People who came in after 5:30pm had to stand at the back of the hall as all the seats were taken. After a few words by Vidhan Rana, Mahabir Pun started by saying that he considers himself as a different breed of entrepreneur from the other entrepreneurs who had come to talk at the Last Thursdays program. He went through multiple slides of his village, Nangi and showed pictures of some of the projects he’s involved in. I had done my research on him but was still amazed to learn about the vast number of projects he and his team are immersed in. He’s working with his team to find new trekking routes, hunt down poachers in Chitwan National Park, explore ways to jumpstart hydropower projects, working on telemedicine projects, starting a restaurant in Thamel just to name a few.

I took away a lot of things from Mahabir’s talk that evening. First on an entrepreneur and funding: An entrepreneur is someone who uses or finds unconventional ways to solve problems. He/she relentlessly works hard even if the funding is not available. He emphasized that when you are doing something good, funding will come from somewhere. He suggests that one should not wait for funding to get started and talked about his own experience of not having funds when he first began. Second on going for freedom of opportunity and making Nepal more developed: The goal of an entrepreneur should not be to just make money; he/she should also be motivated to do something bigger like advocating for opportunities for all or doing what they can to make Nepal more prosperous. Nepal does not have an innovation center and Mahabir has is working to create one in the next 3-5 years. He does not believe in building the innovation center on grant money or assistance from the government but rather on taking a soft loan from someone who can provide the team . Third on learning by doing and asking for help when you don’t have a solution: Mahabir is a living testament of someone who is learning by experimenting with different ideas and initiatives and if he does not have an answer, he finds a way to get the answer from someone who does or might have the answer.

It’s not every Thursday that you are amazed to hear how much a single individual has done for the community and the country AND still is driven 20 years later. It’s a testament of his dedication, passion and sheer willpower which has earned Mahabir Pun recognition from the Ashoka Foundation, the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation, University of Nebraska, and Global Ideas Bank. We are definitely proud of him.

Intuition

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Nirmal Thapa

Intuition is the not so often used word but does wonders. You can’t predict the future and what you know so far are only good to a certain extent. So what do you really have? You hope for the best outcome and follow your intuition.

I believe when people make decisions; it’s mostly intuition. People might have done certain things before; but nothing is for certain to guarantee an expected outcome. The question then becomes what factors affect or influence your intuition. I believe past experiences, gut instincts, knowledge gained from observing other people or events and many other factors play into your intuition. It is a powerful asset that we have and we need to give it more credit than we have so far.

Meaningful work

Posted on August 22, 2012 by Nirmal Thapa

When you attach your name to something meaningful, it feels special.

When you have…it all

Posted on August 4, 2012May 11, 2018 by Nirmal Thapa

When you’ve achieved success in your activity or task, it’s a great feeling of accomplishment. But that sense of emotional high wanes down after a few hours, days or weeks. To continuously relieve that moment (those moments), I think each individual has to push his/her own boundary and go outside the comfort zone.

I believe when you evolve as a person, you keep reinventing yourself and you get to experience various levels and degrees of emotion. Those emotions will truly make you feel that you almost have it all.

Radio conversation with Himali Sworharu on Visit Lumbini Year 2012

Posted on July 23, 2012May 12, 2018 by Nirmal Thapa

I recently talked with Sahadev Poudel who runs a program titled Himali Sworharu. In that program, he started a new series titled Post Card from Nepal where Sahadev and I will talk about various positive news and activities that are taking place in Nepal.

Here is our first radio conversation talking about Visit Lumbini Year 2012. Our conversation starts at 19:02 and ends at 28:28.

http://nepaliradio.org/2012/07/himali177/

The salesman

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Nirmal Thapa

When I was in college, imagining a career in sales did not appeal to me that much. I just thought that I would not be using what I have learned at school in the field of sales that much. However as I have progressed through my career, I realize that one is always selling something-sometimes a product, a service, an idea, an image or yourself. So I have come to embrace the art of salesmanship and have become a full-time salesman.

Making Visit Lumbini Year 2012 a Success (Published on Nepalnews.com)

Posted on July 3, 2012May 11, 2018 by Nirmal Thapa

Nepal Tourism Year 2011 brought 735,965 visitors to the country. The aim of Visit Lumbini Year 2o12 is to attract 1 million visitors. Organizing a tourism year back to back presents a unique challenge for Nepal’s tourism officials and I want to offer my suggestions to hold a successful Visit Lumbini Year 2012. To make this year’s tourism campaign a success, I believe we need to take a holistic approach and strategically promote Lumbini. The feat of this campaign will not only depend on planning and advertising by the tourism officials but also on the wholehearted support from the government as well as the citizens.

Since we just had Visit Nepal 2011, I believe most people who will visit Nepal this year will probably be first time visitors and might have booked the trip to see Lumbini or other places in Nepal. There is a certain way to position this tourism campaign before travelers land at the airport in Nepal and also when they are already in the country. Tourism officials can act on these suggestions and hopefully leverage them to make this year’s Lumbini campaign a real success.

At Tribhuvan airport, I observed various visitor touch points that can be leveraged to better promote this year’s tourism efforts. Before travelers land at Tribhuvan airport, the airline flight attendant can hand a one page handout about Lumbini along with the Customs Declaration form. People who were already planning to go to Lumbini will have more information on their hands and people who did not know about Lumbini will get to learn about it. Second, coming towards the Customs area at the airport, currently there is a big banner mentioning its Visit Nepal 2011. This should be replaced with Visit Lumbini Year 2012. Lastly, there should be a Visitor Center that travellers can go to in order to learn more about Lumbini or other places in Nepal. This booth will serve as a place where tourists can have their questions answered, get maps or any additional information that would help make their stay enjoyable.

Once visitors are already in Nepal, promoting tourism to Lumbini should follow different strategies. First, most tourists generally stay at hotels during their visit to Nepal so hotels should be ready to explain the significance of Lumbini to their guests and they can partner with travel agencies to offer tour packages to Lumbini. Second, the tourism organizing committee should place ads on popular English dailies such as The Himalayan Times and The Kathmandu Post to further promote the tourism campaign. Travel agencies can also advertise on such English newspapers offering packages and deals to Lumbini. When I travel around Kathmandu, I hardly noticed a billboard or sign promoting this year’s tourism efforts. There is hardly any public notice that makes you aware that it is Visit Lumbini Year 2012. So third, I would suggest placing billboards and signs in high traffic areas such as Thamel, Kings Way, Kalanki, Koteswor, New Baneshwore or Chahabil which would draw eyeballs and increase awareness of this year’s tourism campaign to visit Lumbini. This strategy would also encourage domestic residents to visit Lumbini.

Another way to attract tourists and domestic residents to Lumbini is by highlighting the significance of the place. Lumbini is significant for the birth of Buddhism and its spiritual meaning provides visitors a compelling reason to visit the area. I could see high profile individuals such as Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon whose visit to Lumbini could really highlight the importance of the birthplace of Lord Buddha. Ban Ki-moon who is the son of a devout Buddhist woman had indicated in his first visit to Nepal that he was interested in visiting the birthplace of Lord Buddha. Having an international figure such as Ban Ki-moon visit Lumbini would also reinforce that Lord Buddha was indeed born in Lumbini, Nepal. Bringing such high profile individuals to visit Lumbini would mean a huge success to the tourism organizing committee and to Nepal.

So, how do we measure if Visit Lumbini Year 2012 was successful? What types of analytics can we use to better understand visitor behavior? It was reported by Sangam Prasain on The Kathmandu Post (April 2, 2012) that the average per day spending by foreign tourists dropped to one of its lowest levels in the past decade. Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoTCA) reported that in 2003, the average spending per person per day was $79.10 (highest in ten years), $43.20 (2010) and $39.90 (2011). This means we have to understand why each visitor is spending less, how long does an average visitor stay in the country, what places did he/she go to, what would entice them to come back, etc. Some of these questions could have been answered if proper data collection and analytics were used for Nepal Tourism Year 2011. The tourism organizing committee can use those insights to facilitate better visitor experience.

Holding a tourism year consecutively presents various challenges. One of my concerns is that we could have used the feedback from visitors and businesses from last year’s tourism campaign and improved upon them before declaring another tourism year. For example, if we received a lot of responses that the conditions of our roads could be greatly improved, then we could have spent time fixing them before announcing another tourism campaign. Secondly, we have announced a tourism year but can we assure the safety of the visitors in the country. According to the website (www.nepalbandh.com), allegedly we had 168 bandhs (closings) in 2011 with 38 bandhs in May alone. If we cannot provide security to visitors let alone citizens and curb these bandhs, it will surely ruin the experience of travelers and the long-term impact will hamper our tourism efforts in the future. Thus, the government and citizens alike should weigh the costs of bandhs and damage caused to the international reputation of Nepal.

All these simple strategies and suggestions listed above can contribute to a successful Visit Lumbini Year 2012. Making this year’s tourism efforts a success takes cooperation from tourism officials, businesses, the government and citizens. If visitors have a great experience during their time in Nepal, it will surely put our country in a positive limelight around the world.

A Must Read Book (for all)

Posted on June 24, 2012May 11, 2018 by Nirmal Thapa

Few years back, I was going through Business Week and found the list of the best selling books. One of them was How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I was very interested to get my hands on that book. I got the book and was happy to read it from page to page until I finished it. There are numerous principles noted at the end of each chapter and the principles are simple and easy to apply in everyday life. I believe everyone can learn those principles, apply them and see how much better their life could be.

So if you interested to know what book would I recommend to anyone in any field, I would say How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie.

Academia meets Industry at ICT Meetup

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Nirmal Thapa

On June 17, I went to the ICT Meetup at Prime College. The theme of the ICT Meetup was Academia-Industry Collaboration and there were 14 participating organizations. I was representing Parakhi and looked forward to speaking on Elements of entrepreneurship: from idea to execution.

I walked in as the opening remarks had just started. It was good to hear some inspiring and motivating words from Biplav Man Shrestha, Guest Speaker Manahor Bhattrai and Principal Naresh P. Shrestha. There were a few remarks that resonated with me from hearing the speakers: Biplav touched on value creation and used Facebook as an example; Manohar talked about staying updated in the technical field but added to not be 100% technical.

After the opening remarks, we headed upstairs in the waiting room. I was glad to have met the Principal who was gracious to share his excitement for the meetup and of the speakers’ presence. I interacted with few of the other speakers and headed towards the 1st session: E-governance by Manahor Bhattrai. Manahor Bhattrai talked about the importance of government, value of e-governance and shared his prior experience working with Nepal’s government. I was keen to hear about the challenges of e-governance’s application in Nepal and glad to learn and hear his thoughts on the subject. Then it came time for my presentation and I talked about the three important elements of entrepreneurship: idea, vision and execution. Following my presentation was Vidhan Rana, from Biruwa Ventures. Vidhan described the IT challenges and opportunities in Nepal and had good content in his slides.

After the first few sessions ended, we had lunch and I was able to meet and chat with people who were doing some exciting work in Nepal. I met Sakar Pudasaini who’s working on the site Galli Galli, an innovative project to make Kathmandu and its neighboring cities more tangible and navigable. I also chatted with Jamon Mok and Akash Gurung who are very involved in the social entrepreneurship space at Gazaab and are organizing a business plan competition from July 2nd-July 6th.

I dropped by the Mobile Networking session which was filled with students and also mingled with students. I was personally glad to observe the enthusiasm of the attending students and especially the passion of the members of the organizing team. Overall it was a well put together event by Prime IT Club and Prime College and the Meetup served as an important and indispensible bridge between academia and profession. I did share with the organizing team on how the event could improve or be even better next time.

Shortcomings of a resume

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Nirmal Thapa

Resumes have been a critical piece to the job search process. It provides the first impression for the company of the candidate. Although some companies do multiple step interviews, there are significant shortcomings on relying on the resume for hiring candidates.

If you decide to hire a candidate, its important to know if the candidate has the right qualifications. Even more important, the candidate needs to have a good attitude (can be easily trained), is proactive (at times projects needs to be owned), strong work ethic (needs to be motivated beyond financially), a team player (needs to get along with coworkers) and lastly blends well with the company culture (a bad apple can ruin the whole basket).

Do you still rely only on the resume?

Are you an entrepreneur?

Posted on June 17, 2012 by Nirmal Thapa

Over the years, through experience, observation and discussion, I think I have an idea on what makes a successful entrepreneur. A successful entrepreneur has three important things: idea, vision and execution.

The most important aspect of any entrepreneurial activity is the idea. What is the idea? How is it going to serve the current market? How much demand is there for the specific idea?

Second the vision. Ideas can be great but it needs vision. What is the long term goal? How much can the idea grow? Does the idea serve a niche market or can it serve a lot of people?

Third the execution part. Having the idea is great, vision is equally important and tantamount to it is execution of that idea. Is it a pioneering idea? Can you gain a first mover advantage by executing that idea? How quick do you adapt to the changing marketplace?

ICT Meetup

Posted on June 16, 2012 by Nirmal Thapa

I am speaking on Elements of Entrepreneurship: From idea to execution at the ICT Meetup.

Category: wisdom