The folded hand greeting, delivered with full eye contact and a bow is 100% Indian and considered the best greeting ever. It is supposed to generate an aura of some thousands of cycles without any physical touch. The Namastey, Namaskar or Namaskaram is a simple gesture packed with both respect and humility. Folded hands are used for praying or for showing signs of veneration to holy persons and saints. The Namastey instils confidence and conveys mutual admiration and respect for one another.

Greeting India Style:

The 21st Century Indian is a confused entity, caught between traditionionalism and modernism. Modern attire and fashion statements send the wrong signals. So what happens when a male Corporate Executive dressed in a suit is introduced to a fashionable lady dressed in a business suit? Making a quick recce he confirms she is quite modern for a hand shake, and offers his right hand. But, no! she is smiling a 1000-volts killer smile and offering a steel-clad folded hand Namastey! The embarassed Executive gives a sour 1-volt battery smile and tries his best to convert the pre-meditated hand-shake into a Namastey, and succeeds. Now was the lady really old-fashioned? or was she trying to snub the wolfish male? May be he should have said hello and given a polite nod or bow with a smile? Well, of late with Reality Shows etc. copying Western formats in toto there is a lot of hugging aka necking going around on the Indian scene, particularly amongst the youngsters. As the hugging act involves some amount of physical contact, touching of boobs etc., youngsters are practically jumping into the hugsome-twosome! And what about men hugging men?–ugghh! Hugging is OK between really close friends, relatives and lovers, else it looks intrusive and/or put-on for the cameras. As for rubbing noses?–let the Eskimoes do it in the Tundras. Then there are others who start with a Namastey and end up with a hand-shake, and some do the reverse role! A few prefer to shake with both hands (what? their hands only, not that).

Greeting Mathews Style:

Come introductions and yours truly takes the IGS or Indian Greeting Stance. The Left Hand is raised and kept at shoulder level with palms open. The Right Hand is placed forward, at waist level. Depending on the situation– Man, Woman, Gay or Lesbian, my reflexes follow some practised movements. If it is a hand-shake, grab and crush. If it is a Namastey, my right hand goes up and slaps the left for a quickie Namastey! Some get overawed by my abrupt Introduction  to this Indian Greeting Stance and follow-up actions that they try to be more friendly afterwards. I call it the Great Indian Compensatory Action. I think its time we got inroduced to each other, right?

Have a clear idea of what success means to you

 Each of us has different ideas of success. You may consider having a life-long marriage and producing well-rounded children the mark of success, while someone else may look at their income as the determining factor in knowing they’ve been a success. Figure out what success looks like to you and create that vision in your mind so that when you get there, you’ll recognize it and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Be the person now that you want to be in your future

If your vision includes family time, then start investing that time in your family now so that you have something to build upon. If your vision includes great wealth, then start now learning how to manage money, budget funds, save money and invest money. If you only have a little bit of money now, this is the time to master the basics. If you cannot be trusted to manage small amounts, how will you manage millions of dollars? Use this time now to educate yourself and learn the skills you’ll need later to complete your vision.

Treat others kindly and with compassion

No matter where you want to end up, do you want to end up there alone? Hardly anyone does, but it happens all the time. People achieve their goals but after years of stomping all over the bodies on the way to the top, they find themselves alone and lonely. Don’t be miserable in your success. Start now by treating others with fairness and being forthright in your relationships. You’ll find that people are more willing to help you achieve and will go the extra mile for you when you need it.

The art of the handshake

Unless you are Donald Trump, you’re going to have to shake hands when you meet people. Learn this art early and you will find that doors open to you that never did before. There is a technique to the handshake that most people don’t learn. A firm handshake does not mean squeezing the life out of the other so that they grunt, “I give.” Just make contact mutually and put a little effort into it. Don’t give someone a limp hand, like a Victorian woman expecting the back of her hand to be kissed. Wrap your hand and the other person’s hand, apply some but not too much pressure, pump two times, and then release. During the handshake, you need to make eye-contact. This isn’t time for a stare-down, just look the other person in the eye, say, “Great to meet you,” and you’re done.

Dress for success

Dressing the part of the successful person starts early in life. If you want people to take you seriously, you’ll have to scrap the ripped jeans and the grungy look. Make sure you shower, wear quality clothes, and appear that you care about how you look. This will determine how others treat you. If you appear to treat yourself well, others will take that cue and treat you accordingly. You don’t have to buy expensive clothes, just make your appearance count and show that your personal style is one to respect.

Increase your vocabulary

The words you use will tell people a great deal about your education level, your style and your intellect. You do not want people to discount you and your goals because they view your education level below par. There are ways to increase and improve your vocabulary that are easy and fun, you just have to be open to new things. For instance, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal use a more difficult vocabulary set than do most daily newspapers. Both can be read online or at the public library. There are vocabulary books you can check out from any library along with test preparation books for the SAT, the GRE and others that will help you increase your vocabulary. The object here is not to act like a snob, but to be able to interact with people at many different levels of education. In order to fill that role, you need to be able to speak the English language on a higher level.

The secret to success depends largely on what you consider success to be. Figure out how you want to live, how much money you want to make and a course of action that will get you there. Along the way, follow these few tips and you’ll not only be taken seriously, you will have other who will cheer you on and celebrate with you when you achieve your goals.

Anne Mathews is pursuing a graduate degree full-time and teaches part-time at a major U.S. university. If you are interested in writing professionally for this site and others, Ms. Mathews would appreciate the referral bonus: http://www.triond.com/rw/39827.