Swami Vivekananda told the lion raised as a sheep story numerous times. The following retelling comes from The Essence of Religion, a report of a lecture given by him in America.

There was once a baby lion left by its dying mother among some sheep. The sheep fed it and gave it shelter. The lion grew apace and said “Ba-a-a” when the sheep said “Ba-a-a”. One day another lion came by. “What do you do here?” said the second lion in astonishment: for he heard the sheep-lion bleating with the rest. “Ba-a-a,” said the other. “I am a little sheep, I am a little sheep, I am frightened.” “Nonsense!” roared the first lion, “come with me; I will show you.” And he took him to the side of a smooth stream and showed him that which was reflected therein. “You are a lion; look at me, look at the sheep, look at yourself.” And the sheep-lion looked, and then he said, “Ba-a-a, I do not look like the sheep — it is true, I am a lion!” and with that he roared a roar that shook the hills to their depths.

Could, You also be a lion surrounded by a bunch of sheep that are leading you to believe that you’re much less than what you really are?

What do you need to do to be the Lion of your own jungle?

Well they say we are the products of our choices and not our circumstances. So why do we make wrong choices?

I chose to study Math and Science in high school, graduated in Commerce and got my post-graduation degree in Marketing Management. Worked in Sales and training profile for major part of my career before becoming an Image Enhancer & a People Skills Facilitator. It’s difficult to find the link right? So basically I was doing everything that others did, thinking that it might work for me too.

But one thing that I didn't tell you, was that my passion lied in teaching, which I discovered very early in my life. However, I took it as my hobby not realizing how enthusiastic & happy I felt while teaching. It is only until recently that I understood, how pursuing your passion & acknowledging your strengths can open doors to several opportunities and of course to your financial freedom.

Life will throw in several challenges & difficulties however, it is upon us to emerge as Lions and not remain Sheep in the herd. So, what do you think these Lions do differently?

May be they simply use their creative confidence & strengths to design a victorious outcome. Well, if they can, so can YOU.

We shall in the next article explore how you can design a desirable outcome through 3 step process of SWOT TO TOWS analysis model —

• if you want to start a fresh
• if you want to find out your niche and also
• if you want to develop a personal or business strategy