"Belief In You"

A saying goes :

"Winners are people who build foundations with stones other people have thrown at him".

And its so true.

Many a times in our life, we face situations where, we lose confidence in ourself and question our ability to do something. Its what one can call the "Breakage Point". Iam not sure how one finds himself at that situation, but those are definitely the crucial times. At those times, one's self esteem is at the grimmest. And to make matters worse, if we have opposition at those moments from others, needless to say, we completely lose the initiative to carry on with the work.

The common-man will assume he is better off , without doing the work(whatever work he is pursuing) and he can save himself the humiliation and he can be comfy again.. But there is another category of people who carry on inspite of the insurmountable situations. No matter what others say or how the situations are , they carry on armed only with their "BELIEF" in themselves. And its that belief, that if one learns to believe in, will enable him to cross any barriers.

A wonderful video which has always motivated me to renew the "BELIEF" whenever i feel low. Iam sure you will find it too...

The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.
- Frank Lloyd Wright

A Day with an IIM Educatee !!

We are the creative force of our life, and through our own decisions rather than our conditions, if we carefully learn to do certain things, we can accomplish those goals. - Stephen Covey.

ME: Host - Prashant Sree
VJ: Guest - Vishal Jalan

Today we have a guest who has not only excelled in his professional work career, but also pursues his interest in moviemaking which made him get a nomination in Berlin Short Film Festival. It is none other than Vishal, who is now pursuing his management studies in crème de la crème Institute- IIM Indore. He is a versatile and creative individual who loves to takes initiatives and to bring innovations.He did his graduation from daiict, gandhinagar, Worked for 2 years with HP as a software engineer.

ME: Hi Vishal, I welcome you to the PERFECT show on behalf of my readers and thank you for agreeing to be a guest in the show
VJ: i feel privileged :)

ME: Thats humble of you:).,. Here we go, What r u passionate about in Life ?
VJ: I am passionate about many things in life... The most important one being looking for creativity and innovation in whatever i do... I want to bring something to this world which can affect million of people around the world for better and I strongly believe that I have in me to do so...

ME: Interesting.,. How do you do that ?
VJ: I have this knack of looking at things very differently... I always give innovative solution to problems.. my creativity is manifested by my movies... I have made around 15 short movies till date..One of them being nominated to Berlin short film festival. I also took part in bringing together IIM-Indore 360, a student portal for knowledge dissemination.

ME: Can you share something about IIM Indore 360 ?
VJ: IIM Indore 360 is a student portal of IIM Indore. 360° aims to live the vision of the institute of instilling pride in all its stakeholders by following the participatory model. We believe that every participant brings with him/her a wealth of experience and a diverse skill set. The participants at IIM Indore are actively involved in ensuring that the institute becomes a pinnacle of learning, where learning is not simply a part of life, but a way of life.

ME: I agree with you completely. Goin on to my 2nd Q, what have you learnt till now, which you would like to share with others ?
VJ: The most important lesson i have learnt in my life is that pursue things which interest you.. never go for a rat race... you'll only excel at things you enjoy doing... and are passionate about it.. if that passion and hence the interest is missing you can not succeed.

ME: Thanks for sharing that.
VJ: u r welcome :)

ME: Now you should be way different from t crowd, as some philosophers put it, Now if u can change anything in the world, what would you like to change ?
VJ: Now thats a tough one... :) I think the resources I have and the capabilities i have they tie me to certain extent and as said before...I want to give something to this world which would change the lives of many in this world.. it could be a product or an idea.. something which will reduce the divide... inequality and a world which is better.

ME: Right.,. Assuming that God gives u one wish which u can have, an specific wish of yours.
VJ: place to live in than it would be a world without boundaries... and discriminations... no racial discrimination... no castism a single world where human treats human as human.

ME: I appreciate your thoughts and t wish.,.Who is ur fav mythological or imaginary character ?
VJ: I have none.. I dont believe in them...

ME: Do you have any role models ?
VJ: I like steve jobs.. i like dhirubhai ambani... and how they could achieve wat they did but again... as i said i wont call them role models.. and i dont like this concept because by doing so you are constantly defining a domain of what you should be doing and what u can which i dont think is correct

ME: Hmmm.,. Thats a different & unique perspective.,. ;)
VJ: i strongly believe in so :)

ME: Ok, what do u want to evangelize in you life ?
VJ: Everything in my life revolves around that mission which i talked about before... and that i what i would like to be remembered for..

ME: what do u consider as ur charm ?
VJ: my confidence.. my sense of humour..my ability to understand people.. :)

ME: Talk of multi talented :) Ok, Your thumb rule for life ?
VJ: do what you like... dont do what others want you to do..

ME: Well said.,. Now, some offbeat Questions.,. since you have been a CAT Achiever ;), what do u think should be the strategy to bell the CAT ?
VJ: practice and lot of it... identify your strong areas.. fortify them... if something is weak.. dont go for correcting them unless it is major chunk in cat..for example if probability is not your forte... forget it.. instead of wasting months of time in this..strengthen other things.. no body does complete cat paper in the given time..

ME: Thanks a lot for the strategy :). Now, how do u inspire or keep oneself motivated in staying on course ?
VJ: I envision a future for myself.. i try to see myself there.. and this is wat works as the driving force..which keeps me pushing all the time..

ME: Thank you for that one..! Your favourite books till date ?
VJ: The godfather... god of small things.. the tipping point.,. freakonomics..

ME: Cool,., Thats it Vishal.,. Thanks a lot for being with us And for sharing your quite unique perspectives.,.
VJ: my pleasure :)

ME: All t best in your endeavours.,.
VJ: Thank You. :)

Attitude for Altitude

Iam sure that many of you must have heard the saying: "Attitude determines your altitude". On careful analysis, the words reveal much information, than which meets our eyes.

One of my friends who is preparing for his MBA confined in me his desperateness. He feels he has to improve on his quants. Yet he feels that managing time for MBA preparation apart his working hours, is too hard.And so each and every time, he attends MBA classes, he feels that he is of no hope. That he is not capable of clearing CAT. I understood his situation wherein you began to lose hope in yourself and then you began to stop making any efforts thinking that it
wont yield any results. Whereas in reality its the other way round. As he was not taking any efforts for preparation, he finds himself in a gauche. Which in-turn makes him lose his self-confidence. What i made him understand is that he has 2 choices.

One is that he understand the fact that he needs to improve his Quants skill and make conscious effort to improve that. Conscious effort in the sense that while measuring your improvement, you dont compare yourself to others, rather you see how much you have improved with respect to your previous performance.

Second is that he keep cribbing about his poor performance, and telling to himself that he cannot do anything, which invariably will yield only that. He will achieve nothing. Hopefully, he got my point and went back consoling himself that he must focus on what he wants rather than what he doesnt wants. Iam sure he has made a decision to give his best shot and efforst in his preparation.

The best way is to keep telling ourself : Attitude directly proportional to Altitude. No matter in what situation you find youself in as long as you retain the right attitude, you can be guaranteed of happy living.

A Day with Personality Trainer !!

Look at each day as a chance to invest life into life. A chance to share your experience and deposit it into someone else's conscience. Each day is a chance to work miracles in the lives of others."
- Jim Rohn

Personality development is a continuous phenomenon. It’s a process which takes place every moment we live, either consciously or unconsciously. Only then the fulfillment of our life can be realized. Today we have with us Mr.Chacko Jacob, a Personality Trainer, dedicated to make a difference in others life. He considers himself as an eternal optimist who is rarely down. He is passionate about public speaking and he has numerous public programs to his credit in addition to his regular work as a training manager with “Ganges Internationale”. He is happily married to Elizabeth Jane & have a 2year old son Joshua who is the subject of a few of his motivational talks. He has recently moved to Pondicherry and hopes to make a mark & establish himself there soon.

Me: Prashant Sree – Host
CJ: Chacko Jacob – Guest

Me: Hi Jacob, welcome to the PERFECT show. It’s a pleasure to have you amidst us.
CJ: Thank You.

Me: So tell me Jacob, What are you passionate about in Life ?
CJ: Iam passionate about making a difference in someone’s life through my work

Me: A noble thought !! What have you learnt in your life (other than academics), which you would like to share with others?
CJ: I have had a history of failure in life, particularly academics. But, in spite of failures, I have been able to bounce back to greater heights. I am today a double post graduate in Marketing & HR (BBA, MBA, MHRM, Dip Imp-EX, and Dip NLP). My personal story encourages others to bounce back & this is what I share with others other than the regular training subjects which I train on.

Me: I agree with you. It doesn’t matter how deep we fall but what matters is how well do we bounce back after we fall. Ok, now suppose you are given a wish to change one thing in world,what would you change ?
CJ: The Media – The media is the single most reason why our society is degenerating as a whole. You never hear of true news but rather only the news that shocks & is negative in content. I would like to change the world media into a body that makes people positive, happy & discuss relevant issues to them.

Me: Who is you Favorite Mythological Hero and why?
CJ: Jesus Christ – Though he was not a fable or story, He is my only hero. I wish that like him I could be one single man and Change most of the world for the larger good.

Me: Iam sure that with the real desire, you will be able to achieve what you really want. Now, What would you like to evangelize in your life?
CJ: A way of life that teaches love, joy, peace and harmony among human beings in connection with God is important above all other things.

Me: What is your charm ?
CJ: I look at people when I talk to them. I am able to show empathy with most people & that I believe is my charm. Most people in the world today want someone to listen to them. “I listen” – That make me a charming person.

Me: And, Your Thumb Rule for Life?
CJ: Do the very best, “everyday”, with what ever life hands out to you

Me: All nice things must come to an end. So is with the episode ;). I thank you on behalf of the readers for being with us and wish you success and happiness in all your endeavours.
CJ: Thank You.

A Day with a Knowledge Manager !!

I thank all the readers who have been kind enough to share their feelings with me about the show and had given me their opinions.

The much awaited second edition of the PERFECT show gets underway.

Me: Prashant Sree - Host
NP: Nirmala Palaniappan - Guest

The good life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge
- Bertrand Russell

Today we have a person who not only believes in the above line but also leads her life accordingly.We have Ms.Nirmala Palaniappan, a Knowledge Management Consultant working in one of the best known software- firms.

She is a B.E and MBA graduate, and has been working for 8 years....She has filed a patent on Knowledge Management and has written and presented many papers on Knowledge Management in international conferences. She also has been involved in KM Consulting programmes with organizations in US, UK and India.

She is a die hard fan of PLUM ,(PG Wodehouse) and C&H (Calvin and Hobbes) - as she says it :).
She is also an active blogger where she provides insights in to Knowledge Management aspects.
You can check her blog here

Me: Hi Nirmala, I on behalf of my readers welcome you to the PERFECT show. It indeed a honor to have you as a guest in the show.
NP:It is my pleasure to be here.

Me: Thank You. Iam eager to start on with the interview,., Now, on with the first Question. What are you passionate about in Life ?
NP: Right now, there are many things I am passionate about in life. Creative Thinking, Books, Knowledge and Learning, Knowledge Management, Advertising and Branding are some of the things that come to my mind immediately.

Me:Reminds me of multi-tasking :). Being a Knowledge Management consultant, what do you think plays major factor's in one's life to succeed ?
NP:Read a lot. Read as much as possible and do it with an open mind. But do a good job of selecting the right kind of stuff to read. It helps you widen your perspective and go beyond ordinary life.

Develop a passion for at least one thing in life. It will keep you motivated and active. If you're not passionate about what you're doing at present, go in search of that something that will instill a passion in you. You'll be the best if you do something you love.

Forgive. Forgiving others means you lead a more peaceful life.

Me: I will keep that in mind. And loving the doing part is the best anyone can hope for. I agree completely with you on that.,. Now magic time;). If you can have anything you want to happen , what would you like to change ?
NP: Actually, there are many things I'd like to change. But let me tell you one thing that comes to me immediately - Disregard for the environment. I'd like to work towards understanding the value of nature and also helping others understand its importance so we don't destroy the world they way we are destroying it today.

Another very critical thing is the need to defocus from money and not behave like as if money is everything in the world. It is important but please have your priorities right....let's not put it above more important things.

Me: Nicely put. And thats a unique wish.,. I do hope that we understand the nature's blessing sooner and began to treat her with more care.,. Now, i know that you are die-hard fan of P.G Wodehouse. So ,apart from that, which mythological hero do you like the most and why ?
NP:Hanuman. He is a perfect example of Devotion, Intelligence and Strength added with Humility! Krishna is also a favourite because he is so charming.

Me:Hmmm.,. Strength and Charm in one !! Gr8 :) Ok, so now, since you are a Knowledge Management consultant , it will be interesting to know what you would like to evangelize ?
NP:Whatever I am doing at present! Since I am a Knowledge Management professional, I love evangelizing KM in my organization.

Outside, I am also a great evangelist of PG Wodehouse (Author), Calvin and Hobbes (Authored by Bill Watterson) and Ilayaraja (Music Director). I also like evangelizing for creativity and passion in life. But there's something that I want to evangelize in future. I'll reveal that when the time is right. :)

Me:Will Look forward to that. What do you consider your charm ?
NP: I don't know if I am charming. But most of my friends like me for my enthusiasm, affection that I show towards them and my sense of humor (very silly sense of humor actually).

Me:Haha.,. Seems like being a PLUM fan has its own charms ;). Now, the important one.,. What do you think is the Thumb Rule for Life ?
NP:Love, Laugh and Learn. :-) And well, just be happy.

Me:3L's !! Seems like the KISS principle. Keep It Short and Sweet. One last Question, who has been your Role-Models ?
NP:There are so many people who I have attempted to learn from. I don't think I can refer to just one person. I am lucky that I generally look for the positive qualities in everyone I come across...so I end up respecting someone for his communication skills, some one else for her leadership skills, some other person for his sense of humor etc.

But I do admire PG Wodehouse for his approach to life - taking everything lightly, Bill Watterson - for his values and creativity, Da Vinci - for his genius, Shakespeare - for his talent and wisdom, Swami Vivekananda - for his courage, confidence and influential skills and many others.....



Me: There is a Chinese Proverb :

A single conversation with a wise man is better than ten years of study.

Iam sure that many of us have saved many of our years, by having you as a guest in the show. Having you as a guest in my show was indeed a pleasure. I thank you once again on the behalf of my readers for being a guest in the show and we wish you the very best in all your endeavours. Thank You.

Answer Correctly & Win the hearts of People !!

Came across a exceptional site today.,.You can call it Man's ingenuity at its best :). Its none other than "http://www.freerice.com/"

It is a sister concern of the world poverty site, Poverty.com. According to the organizers, they have 2 purposes.

1) One is to alleviate the world hunger by providing rice for free to the hungry people.
2) Second is to provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.,. (Sounds good isnt ?? )

They have a kind of free quiz on vocabs, wherein for every correctly guessed meaning of a word,you will be donating 20 grains of rice. Their income generators are the sponsors who advertise in their site. Their ingenuity in combining free knowledge with rice donation is commendable. After all , who wouldnt like to be a part in feeding the hungry people,

What more, you also get to learn new words and improve your vocabs. For people who will be preparing for CAT or any MBA exams, this will immensely help in boosting their vocabs.
The Vocab quiz has a kind of relative questioning process where the difficulty level increases every time you answer the Question correctly and decreases, if you answer incorrectly.

I have decided to give atleast few visits to the site , doing my part in helping the UN (United Nation) in feeding poor people as well as in learning something.

Iam sure you will also be eager to test your English proficiency.,.

Get set.,. & Go :)

Reason for Stock Fluctuation !!

A funny interpretation regarding the stock market fluctuation !! Bet it will make u laugh :)

A Day with an Entrepreneur !! - First Edition of "PERFECT" show

Watch, listen, and learn. You can't know it all yourself..
Anyone who thinks they do is destined for mediocrity.

- Donald Trump

This is the main idea behind the PERFECT show. To learn from others and grow ourself. I invite you to the first episode of the PERFECT show. We have as our guest, Mr.Ravinder Gujral, Director of Business Development in Dexcel Electronics Designs*.

A little background about Ravi. Ravi did his engineering from NIT, Surathkal & completed International Business from IIM, Calcutta. He has worked in Murugappa Group Company & Unified Technologies , before starting on his own by launching MindShell Software along with his collegues. After the merger of MindShell Software with Dexcel Electronics Designs, he now heads the Business Development Group in Dexcel Electronics Designs*.

THE "PERFECT" SHOW:

Guest - RG: Ravinder Gujral
Host - ME: Prashant Sree

ME: Hi Ravi, Thanks for being a guest in the first edition of the PERFECT show.
R.G: It's my pleasure.

ME: Here we start with a bouncer ? ;) What are u passionate about in Life & why ?
RG: Prashant one thing i would like to tell you that some of the answers might be Philosophical :-(. But anyway let me try to tell you what i know or what i think.

ME: Sure.,. If I am bowling a bouncer, i do expect it to be hit for a sixer :) so go on.,. So what is ur philosophy of life ?
RG: Let me answer your questions...you can drive yourself in the end :-)

ME: Lol :) I am all ears
RG: I am passionate about working hard to realize my dream come true.... I am passionate about exploring life to learn more from it.. I am passionate about doing what i think i can do....

ME: Thats an Amazing attitude, Ravi.,.
RG: Thanks

ME: Seems i have to go thro the lines more than once to understand the underlying meaning. Ok, my second volley. What have you learnt in ur life till now, which you would like to share with others ?

RG:I have learnt many things and understanding about the things will be different from the different prospective for different person...My real learning started when i left my home after 12th standard to study my Engineering. It was totally different experience... being from a small village from Haryana and coming down to Karnataka (Mangalore)..

When someone ask me this question it always takes me back to my college days...where prof. lectures were a bouncer for me... English was an alien language for me that time... I learnt to accommodate in different environment.....

ME: Oh. that would have been testing times ?
RG: Yes it was. I learnt to understand myself.. That time made me to think..what am i doing? what is my strength, what is my weakness etc etc..

ME: And were u able to discover the real purpose ?
RG: College life taught me to realise my potential. Yes. Upto a certain extent...I learnt that every one is single and unique in his/her life..... Life has to move on whatever odd may come on the way...

ME: Thats a nice thought.,. Ok, my 3rd Q. What one thing would you like to change in world, if you can do anything you want.,.
RG: If God gives me a wish to change one thing is the world then i will ask to remove hunger from the face of world....

ME: A noble thought.,. Any particular reasons for that ?
RG: A man/woman can face any hardship in life but they can not bear the hunger

ME: Yes, i get the point. Do u watch Cartoons or mythological fables ?
RG: Yes, i do.

ME: Then my 4 Q will be easy for you to answer, Which mythological hero do u like most and why ?
RG: I like Krishna

ME: Thought so.,. :) And your reason plz ?
RG: b'cos he stands for truth ness and he is the master of strategy. He has shown all form which makes him perfect.. Starting from childhood...friendship with Sudhama.
Love with Gopikas, and play with street children. His life is full of action... he played a crucial role in Mahabharata. He is the planner...

ME: Gr8 ravi. Now comin to the next Q, what would you like to evangelize for ?
RG: I like to stand for Integrity.

ME: Nice to hear that.,. Iam sure you are following that.,.Now, what do u consider as your charm ? Your charisma ?
RG: Hmmm... My charm is my smile, enthusiasm and attitude towards life....

ME: Nice ones.,. Now coming to your mantra for life ? What is ur mantra for life ?
RG: hummm that's the interesting one :-) here i go...... You will get what you deserve so work hard to make yourself worthy :-)

ME: Simple yet profound truth :). Ok ravi, now u being an entrepreneur, will u share some of your experiences for budding entrepreneurs ?
RG: you can be specific in your question..

ME: Ok what obstacles you faced after startin on ur own and how u overcame them. A small example, will explain matters well

RG: Obstacles are there even since we have started in different shape and size.....so we have accepted the fact that it will be there forever...so nothing much to worry but to face them... We had Obstacles in term of finance...getting a customer, retaining the employee, adding a new employee, growing the business....every where

ME: Yes., and ur strategy to face them ?
RG: it's again depends on the situation and priority at that point of time...No predefined strategy work

you can define a broad level strategy...but drawing board plan and actual plans are different quite often :-)

ME: haha :). Quite a businessman reply ;)
RG: :-)

ME: Thanks a lot Ravi for sharing your insights about life and urself. I am sure readers will find it useful. I thank you on behalf of my readers. I Wish you the Best in your life :)
RG: It has been my pleasure. Thank You,.,

Thats the end of the first episode of the PERFECT show. I hope that it has been useful to you in some way or the other. Please do share your thoughts and views so that it can be a learning to others also.

Keep waiting for the next episode soon.

Thank You.

• Readers, I must also add that Ravi tied the nuptial knot recently. I take this opportunity to wish him a happy and a successful life :)

To know the driving idea behind the "PERFECT SHOW" check out here

* - Dexcel is an electronics designs house having hardware and software technical capability in FPGA Digital Designs, DSP and Embedded Software. Dexcel started its operation in 2000 and ventured funded company by multibillion dollars group Comcraft, Achieva components (Singapore) and Tecnomics Processors (Singapore).

Vedic Maths Shortcut - Multiplication by 12

Here's have a look at how the 12’s shortcut work?

Let’s take a look.
12 X 7

the first thing is to always multiply the 1 of the twelve by the number we are multiplying
by, in this case 7. So 1 X 7 = 7.

Multiply this 7 by 10 giving 70. (Why? We are working with BASES here. Bases are the
fundamentals to easy calculations for all multiplication tables.

Now multiply the 7 by the 2 of twelve giving 14. Add this to 70 giving 84.

Therefore 7 X 12 = 84

Let’s try another:

17 X 12

Remember, multiply the 17 by the 1 in 12 and multiply by 10

(Just add a zero to the end):

1 X 17 = 17, multiplied by 10 giving 170.

Multiply 17 by 2 giving 34.

Add 34 to 170 giving 204.

So 17 X 12 = 204

lets go one more

24 X 12

Multiply 24 X 1 = 24. Multiply by 10 giving 240.

Multiply 24 by 2 = 48. Add to 240 giving us 288

24 X 12 = 288 (Seems Simple, Isnt ?? They are !!)

Inspirational + Factual Quotes

"Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received -- only what you have given: a full heart enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice and courage."

~ St. Francis of Assisi


"Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any one thing."

These words of Sir Abraham Lincoln have been an inspiring force in my life and I recall the words whenever in pressing situations.


"When the wealth in the house increases, When water fills a boat, Throw them out with both hands !

- Sant Kabir

The Art of Giving - One of the Best about Giving !!

I had come across a forward about Giving. Found it too good. Comes under Fun Forum. In case of ownership rights, kindly refer here.

In the how to give-Karna,the son of Kunti is a great example.It is said that he always gave with his gift lying in t he palm of his hand-so that his hand was never over/above the hands of the receiver.When asked he said:I do not want it to go my head that I am giving.I don't want the receiver to feel small in receiving."
It is to him that Krishna comes in the end and asks for the "kavacha".Knowing and seeing through Krishna's disguise,he still gives away the kavacha knowing it will mean a cruel death to himself. Karna is the ultimate embodiment of giving and sharing.


The Art of Giving

"Rivers do not drink their own water, nor do tree eat their own fruit, nor do rain clouds eat the grains reared by them. The wealth of the noble is used solely for the benefit of others?
Even after accepting that giving is good and that one must learn to give, several questions need to be answered. The first question is when should one give ?

We all know the famous incident from Mahabharat.
Yudhisthir, asks a beggar seeking alms to come the next day. On this, Bhim rejoices, that Yudhisthir his brother, has conquered death! For he is sure that he will be around tomorrow to give. Yudhisthir gets the message. One does not know really whether one will be there tomorrow to give!

The time to give therefore is now.

The next question is 'how much to give'?
One recalls the famous incident from history. Rana Pratap was reeling after defeat from the Moghals. He had lost his army, he had lost his wealth, and most important he had lost hope, his will to fight. At that time in his darkest hour, his erstwhile minister Bhamasha came seeking him and placed his entire fortune at the disposal of Rana Pratap. With this, Rana Pratap raised an army and lived to fight another day.

The answer to this question how much to give is "Give as much as you can !

The next question is what to give ?
It is not only money that can be given. It could be a flower or even a smile.
It is not how much one gives but how one gives that really matters. When you give a smile to a stranger that may be the only good thing received by him in days and weeks!

"You can give anything but you must give with your heart !

One also needs answer to this question whom to give ?
Many times we avoid giving by finding fault with the person who is seeking. However, being judgemental and rejecting a person on the presumption that he may not be the most deserving is not justified. "

Give without being judgemental !

Next we have to answer 'How to give'?
Coming to the manner of giving, one has to ensure that the receiver does not feel humiliated, nor the giver feels proud by giving.
In giving follow the Bible, 'Let not your left hand know what your right hand gives? Charity without publicity and fanfare, is the highest form of charity.

'Give quietly' !

While giving let not the recipient feel small or humiliated. After all what we give never really belonged to us. We come to this world with nothing and will go with nothing. The thing gifted was only with us for a temporary period. Why then take pride in giving away something which really did not belong to us?

Give with grace and with a feeling of gratitude.


What should one feel after giving?
We all know the story of Eklavya. When Dronacharya asked him for his right thumb as "Guru Dakshina?he unhesitatingly cut off the thumb and gave it to Dronacharya.
There is a little known sequel to this story. Eklavya was asked whether he ever regretted the act of giving away his thumb. He replied, and the reply has to be believed to be true, as it was asked to him when he was dying.
His reply was "Yes ! I regretted this only once in my life. It was when Pandavas were coming in to kill Dronacharya who was broken hearted on the false news of death of his son Ashwathama and had stopped fighting. It was then that I regretted the loss of my thumb. If the thumb was there, no one could have dared hurt my Guru?
The message to us is clear.

Give and never regret giving !

And the last question is ' how much should we provide for our heirs' ?
Ask yourself 'are we taking away from them the "gift of work?- a source of happiness! The answer is given by Warren Buffett:

"Leave your kids enough to do anything, but not enough to do nothing !

This is the wise thing to do!

Hope you found it useful.,.

3 Lessons from Steve - Connecting the dots: Love & Loss : Death

Iam sure that all of you know about Steve Jobs, the CEO of the Apple Computers. I wont talk much about him as his actions are itself a legacy. What i would like to talk about is his Commencement Address which he gave at Stanford University during the graduation day.

Iam sure many of you must have gone through it, yet if you havent, a transcript is given below for your reference. It has been one of the best speeches which makes you think about your life's purpose and steer yourself to take action. Iam sure you will appreciate it very much as I do.

Transcript of Commencement Speech at Stanford given by Steve Jobs

Thank you. I'm honored to be with you today for your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. Truth be told, I never graduated from college and this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation.

STEVE JOBS IN STANDFORD UNIVERSITY DELIVERING COMMENCEMENT ADDRESS

Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories. The first story is about connecting the dots.

I dropped out of Reed College after the first six months but then stayed around as a drop-in for another eighteen months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out? It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife, except that when I popped out, they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking, "We've got an unexpected baby boy. Do you want him?" They said, "Of course." My biological mother found out later that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would go to college.

This was the start in my life. And seventeen years later, I did go to college, but I naïvely chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, and no idea of how college was going to help me figure it out, and here I was, spending all the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back, it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out, I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me and begin dropping in on the ones that looked far more interesting.

It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms. I returned Coke bottles for the five-cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the seven miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example.

Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer was beautifully hand-calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and sans-serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.

None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me, and we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts, and since Windows just copied the Mac, it's likely that no personal computer would have them.

If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on that calligraphy class and personals computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do.

Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college, but it was very, very clear looking backwards 10 years later. Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward. You can only connect them looking backwards, so you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever--because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart, even when it leads you off the well-worn path, and that will make all the difference.

My second story is about love and loss. I was lucky. I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents' garage when I was twenty. We worked hard and in ten years, Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4,000 employees. We'd just released our finest creation, the Macintosh, a year earlier, and I'd just turned thirty, and then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew, we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so, things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge, and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our board of directors sided with him, and so at thirty, I was out, and very publicly out.

What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating. I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down, that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure and I even thought about running away from the Valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me. I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I'd been rejected but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.

I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods in my life. During the next five years I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the world's first computer-animated feature film, "Toy Story," and is now the most successful animation studio in the world.

In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT and I returned to Apple and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance, and Lorene and I have a wonderful family together.

I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful-tasting medicine but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life's going to hit you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love, and that is as true for work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work, and the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking, and don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it, and like any great relationship it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking. Don't settle.

My third story is about death. When I was 17 I read a quote that went something like "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "no" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important thing I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life, because almost everything--all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure--these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.

About a year ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctors' code for "prepare to die." It means to try and tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next ten years to tell them, in just a few months. It means to make sure that everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.

I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope, the doctor started crying, because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and, thankfully, I am fine now.

This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope it's the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept. No one wants to die, even people who want to go to Heaven don't want to die to get there, and yet, death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because death is very likely the single best invention of life. It's life's change agent; it clears out the old to make way for the new. right now, the new is you. But someday, not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it's quite true. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalogue, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stuart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late Sixties, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and Polaroid cameras. it was sort of like Google in paperback form thirty-five years before Google came along. I was idealistic, overflowing with neat tools and great notions. Stuart and his team put out several issues of the The Whole Earth Catalogue, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-Seventies and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath were the words, "Stay hungry, stay foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. "Stay hungry, stay foolish." And I have always wished that for myself, and now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.

Stay hungry, Stay foolish.

Thank you all, very much.

Who will be the "Roger Bannister".

Yesterday i read an article "Stronger Rupee = Stronger India" where the Author had discussed the pros and cons of the weakening dollar and strengthening rupee.,.The article also cited the action being contemplated by few software companies about making employee's work one extra day so as to offset the dollar loss.

We, who should be proud about the strengthening rupee backed by a buoyant economy, are in contrast, contemplating the possible repurcussions of this happening. The author wondered why Indians are still depending on low-level service from abroad and why instead of the immense talent pool, we are not able to come up with innovative inventions or discoveries.

Left me thinking about who will be the "RogerBannister" for INDIA, to show us our real potential and change our beliefs.

For those who haven't heard about Roger Bannister, here is a small summary about him. He is called the MIRACLE MAN. Why ? He ran a mile in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. Doesn't seems a big deal, Rite ??

You are right.By the modern day standards, this is not a great achievement.But at that time running the mile in four minutes was believed to be entirely beyond the limits of human foot speed. And in all of sport it was the elusive holy grail.

Physicians predicted that running a mile in 4 minutes is not possible because our body is not suited to withstand that amount of strain. It was considered to be beyond the limit of human speed. One writer* explained that the figure seemed so perfectky round - 4 laps ,4 quarter miles, 4 point oh-oh minutes,- that it seemed that God himself has established it as a man's limit.

All said and done,Roger Bannister not only set a new record but also shattered the belief that it was humanly not possible for any man to run a mile in less than 4 minutes. Ironically, less than 2 months later, Roger Bannister record was broken by an Australian athlete who ran a mile in 3 minutes 58 seconds.Since then the record has been broken, bettered many times.



The significant learning is that it was Roger Bannister who went on to show the world that what they thought was unachievable was in fact a stigma, which can be broken by changing our belief..
Similarly in our life, we have so many stigma's attached , that we do not even think of doing something just because some has said it cant be done.

If only we realise the bound-less opportunity around us and live life to the fullest, by changing our belief, Life will never be the same.

* - cited from the book -Tales of Coaching.