Connect the dots

It’s being a month and half since I blogged. And just last month, I said to myself that I will blog once a week. Life has its own way of making us realize our folly of assuming to be in control of a situation. Well, few updates from my work place. It’s being 2 months in my job and the experience has been good until now. Except that as being in corporate, one gets very little time for oneself.  The reason why iam stating all this is because there have been numerous times when I have got many ideas for writing articles. But I didn’t get the time, rather I didn’t make the time for it. Hence, the lull for more than 45 days. Fortunately, the jinx has been broken now.  

Iam sure you have heard the famous speech by Steve Jobs at Stanford University during the Graduation ceremony. If no, I strongly suggest you spend some time watching it, his speech is very inspiring & insightful. For those who have seen the video, Steve Job shares 3 lessons from his life. This article is on the 2^nd lesson which he shared “Connecting the dots”. (For those, who havent seen the video, the 2^nd lessons tell about how Steve during his graduation time, attended a course on calligraphy. At that time, it didn’t make sense for him to take that course. However, after he founded Apple, due to his calligraphy knowledge, Apple was able to bring in different fonts which we use today. If he hadn’t attended that course, there wouldn’t have been this variety in the fonts. Steve says ‘Connecting the dots at a later point of time makes us realize that whatever had happened, happened for a reason’)

I was discussing about life with one of my friends, (Don’t be scared. We don’t do that kind of talking often. Still, being human we are bound to commit mistakes sometimes ;) ) We were reminiscing on the turn of events from our times of graduation. We have had some dreams, aspirations as we were grew. Few dreams got fulfilled, few never materialized yet at this point of time, we are in a place and situation perfectly suited for us. Few of us call it destiny, like things have already being pre-ordained and things are bound to happen in a certain way.  If we look at the journey we undertake each day in our life , the journey towards our dreams, aspirations , the aspiration for a Big home, the aspiration of earning 6 digit salaries , the aspiration for a promotion etc.  But sometimes, we may end up not achieving it. The causes may be intrinsic or extrinsic. Whatever be the cause, the fact of not achieving our aspirations hurts us to a large extent and we lose hope in ourselves & resign ourselves to fate. Or, we end up blaming Tom, Dick and Harry for our misfortune and continue to live our life cribbing on our bad luck. Now guess what the surprising part is. Some years later, we feel that somehow things have got in place. The things which we had aspired have materialized and we feel probably that’s the best way it could have taken place. Unfortunately, in the interim time which we had spent cribbing or regretting has gone away. If only we had known that things would turn out to be better later, we could have spent the interim time in a much more effective & happier manner. 

Just imagine the possibilities of things, activities you could do by being a little more positive minded during the hard times. So do we have a secret of being happy no matter what happens? Guess what, we just heard the secret.  Simply by connecting the dots. Yes, connecting the dots in REAL TIME. When we live our daily life, whenever we face failures, challenges and obstacles, all we need to do is to happily maneuver them & to say “Gosh, I know how this is gonna turn up. Things are happening in a way, which helps me reach my goal. Just that I need to be prepared and this situation prepares me for my future.” 

Connecting the dots when the unexpected things happen enables us not only to stay pleasant but also helps us retain a positive mindset which ensures we strive towards our goals in a healthy, effective manner. Moreover, we wouldn’t be blaming anyone, or blaming our misfortune for any happening. Because we know that what’s happening today is happening for our future benefit. If things go our way, we are Happy. If things don’t go our way, we are still Happy. We don’t have a choice but to lead a Happy life, as long as we connect up the dots in REAL TIME. 

Happy Living J

Black is Good.White is Bad.

A food for thought.

Iam currently reading the auto-biography by Lance Armstrong - 'Its not about the Bike' and it is indeed striking to see how he grew up the ladder in his life. There are lots of learning in the book which Lance shares about his own life and his battle with the cancer. For anyone who is interested in knowing it, grab yourself one of the copy and go through it or else wait for me to finish the book and then write a review ;) (Iam not sure if i will have the patience to write this one ;P )



In one instance he says the above words "Black is Good.White is Bad." which is very thought-provoking. Its a universal law to equate White with Goodness and the Black with Bad,White with the Light,Black with the Dark,White with Harmony,Black with Discord etc. But when i came across his wordings, it showed White-Black in a completely new picture. Lance has contracted a cancer and while taking the X-Ray test, he sees his own Chest X-Ray. It is in this instance wherein he explains that in the X-Ray which is a photo negative:abnormalities come out in White. So as long as the X-Ray is black its good, meaning all the organs are perfect and no anomalies exist. But if anything is wrong with them,it is highlighted by the White color. So, somethings in life is not exactly as they seem to be.

Sometimes we just assume that things should be like this or things are like this because that's what has been told to us or that's what we know.But its also wise to understand that if we have the broad mindedness to accept things (which are beyond our understanding) it will not only hold us in good stead but also give us the flexibility to learn new thing and grow our-self.

Yaaradi Nee PM !!

Recently a movie had come in Tamil called "Yaaadi Nee Mohini", a romantic story between a Software employee and the Project Manager. The movie is a hilarious one, with certain scenes that will make the software people cringe, aspiring software people - look upon 'the hero of the
movie' as a GOD.,. I wont go into the nitty-gritty of the movie, that enjoyment i leave it to you to watch the movie and get it.


Yet what fascinated me is the kind of story it has. The story involves the hero joining a software company where he falls in love with the the heroine (who is his boss). The story goes ahead with how the hero proposes to her , she first rejects it and then finally after a elaborate screenplay, they join.,. I said i found it fascinating because of a conversation i had with a friend of mine recently. To give a little background, my friend had joined a company few weeks back and after a stint of training, he was assigned to a project. (Note: He had watched Yaardi Nee Mohini a few weeks back.) The conversation went as below:

// ***************************************************************** //

Me: Then how is work da ?
Friend: Work paravaelle da. Enne Projectulu thaniya potturukange... (Work is fine. But Iam working alone in a Project.)

Me: So what. you will get accustomed and maybe more people will join you as time passes.
Friend: I hope so...

The topic as usual shifted to the feminine population in his office and about his team mates.

Me: Then how many people are there in your office.. How many of them are girls ?
Friend: Not many currently.Only 10 as of now. Maybe more will join after few months.

Ama da, enge office le, ponnungele elle, ethulle 10 girls, less nu feel pannuriya.... Hmmmm... ( In my office, there are no girls, and you feel that 10 is less... )

Then he said about how he was put into a new project. How he was selected from 20 students and was allocated a project.

Friend: Hey you know, my PM does not look like a PM itself da...
Me: Why da... Is she so young...?

Friend: No da. She looks like as if she is married and has two childrens.

This perplexed me.,., Generally, PM (Project Managers have an work experience of 8-10 years, so it is normal that people will be above 30 by that time. So logically concluding, people would have got married and would be settled in life. I didnt get his point...

Me: Thats natural rite ?? I didnt get you.

Friend: Elle da. Yaaradi Nee Mohini madhiri, PM younga iruppanganu ethurpathe. Enge enne na, evalavu old da irukkange...( The fact is, i expected my PM to be of young age like that of Yaaradi Nee Mohini. But here it didnt turn out as i expected..)

Me: dei ethu ellam overuuda... ( God help him.......).

// ***************************************************************** //

Thats a peek into the mentality of software programmer for you. More often, people who watch movies such as this, entertain such kind of aspirations, and when they enter the real world (work-environment) , they face day-today realities which not only crushes their bubbly spirits but also makes their life monotonous.,. So future-software people, you know what to be cautious against...

Movies are movies.,.

See it.. Enjoy it.. Forget it..

Never Dream about it... ;)

Secret of Magical Life - Part II

Hi All,

Iam happy to say that my previous two post "Power of Positive Talk" and the "Secret of Magical Life - Part I" was very well received. I had many people thanking me for sharing such wonderful information with them. Iam sincerely happy and thank you all for your encouragement. I also thank my friend who had forwarded the information to me. In my second part of "Secret of The Magical Life", i was to share the second empowering word which will make an immense difference in your life.,.


After reading the "Secret of The Magical Life - Part I", Iam sure you are better placed to face the Challenges in your life. And more Challenges you face,the more you grow. Now to empower yourself, we have the second empowering word.,. Any guesses ...? Well, i had given you a clue in my previous post.,.The EMPOWERING WORD IS "TAKE CONTROL".

"Take Control" of Whom ? Why control. Isnt it kinda dominating ? If it makes no sense to you, let me explain and Iam sure you will be more comfortable in Taking control.,. ;). Before i elucidate further, i would like to say the instances when the above word if used can empower us to a great extent. Generally when people say bye to each other, we bid adieu by saying "TAKE CARE". Thats how it has been said and how we have been saying it.

Well , let me ask you a simple question. What does the word "TAKE CARE" imply ? "Take Care" suggest that you are telling to other person to take care of his life. The Oxford dictionary gives the meaning of care as "a feeling of or occasion for anxiety" or "feel concern or interest".

Many a times, we use the word "Take Care" mostly with small kids or patients, who need someone to take care of them. Hence when we use the word, "Take Care", we repeatedly program the receiver's mind (the person to whom the word is addressed) to take care of his life, which indirectly hints that he is not yet capable of taking control of his life.This may not be obvious, but the reality is we indirectly influence our closest people . Some of you may agree on this and some not, yet if one can fathom the immense power of his mind, then one can understand how programming our mind can affect our life to a major extent. Simply putting it, if "Take Care" makes a person get less confident mentally, "Take Control" programs our mind to take control of our life.

Imagine a situation. Your friend or hubby is in a dull mood. He calls you up and shoots down his sorrows to you. Just before you hung up, if you finish with "Take Care" , it will be programmed in his mind as "Be cautious in your approach and your situation is something of concern". No matter he will be in the same situation again. In contrast if you finish your conversation by saying "Take Control", you will leave him with a wise thought, that he can Take Charge of your life..,. He will definitely be better off and he will be definitely in much better spirits.


As someone rightly said,

" We cannot always control what is happening around us,but we can decide how we react to it ".

Wishing you aN empowered life.

Its your Life, Live it...

TAKE CONTROL

POWER OF POSITIVE TALK !!

This continues my previous post about making your life magical. The "Language" which we use has a major impact in our daily life. I got a forward from my friend which elucidated the power of positive language. Surely, reading this is going to change your thinking.,. So, here you have

"THE POWER OF POSITIVE TALK"

I remember my dad teaching me the power of language at a very young age. Not only did my dad understand that specific words affect our mental pictures, but he understood words are a powerful programming factor in lifelong success.

One particularly interesting event occurred when I was eight. As a kid, I was always climbing trees, poles, and literally hanging around upside down from the rafters of our lake house. So, it came to no surprise for my dad to find me at the top of a 30-foot tree swinging back and forth. My little eight-year-old brain didn't realize the tree could break or I could get hurt. I just thought it was fun to be up so high.My older cousin, Tammy, was also in the same tree. She was hanging on the first big limb, about ten feet below me. Tammy's mother also noticed us at the exact time my dad did. About that time a huge gust of wind came over the tree. I could hear the leaves start to rattle and the tree begin to sway. I remember my dad's voice over the wind yell, "Bart, Hold on tightly." So I did. The next thing I know, I heard Tammy screaming at the top of her lungs, laying flat on the ground. She had fallen out of the tree. I scampered down the tree to safety. My dad later told me why she fell and I did not. Apparently, when Tammy's mother felt the gust of wind, she yelled out, "Tammy, don't fall!" And Tammy did… fall.

My dad then explained to me that the mind has a very difficult time processing a negative image. In fact, people who rely on internal pictures cannot see a negative at all. In order for Tammy to process the command of not falling, her nine-year-old brain had to first imagine falling, then try to tell the brain not to do what it just imagined. Whereas, my eight-year-old brain instantly had an internal image of me hanging on tightly.

This concept is especially useful when you are attempting to break a habit or set a goal. You can't visualize not doing something. The only way to properly visualize not doing something is to actually find a word for what you want to do and visualize that. For example, when I was thirteen years old, I played for my junior high school football team. I tried so hard to be good, but I just couldn't get it together at that age. I remember hearing the words run through my head as I was running out for a pass, "Don't drop it!" Naturally, I dropped the ball.My coaches were not skilled enough to teach us proper "self-talk." They just thought some kids could catch and others couldn't. I'll never make it pro, but I'm now a pretty good Sunday afternoon football player, because all my internal dialogue is positive and encourages me to win. I wish my dad had coached me playing football instead of just climbing trees. I might have had a longer football career.

Here is a very easy demonstration to teach your kids and your friends the power of a toxic vocabulary. Ask them to hold a pen or pencil. Hand it to them. Now, follow my instructions carefully. Say to them, "Okay, try to drop the pencil." Observe what they do.Most people release their hands and watch the pencil hit the floor. You respond, "You weren't paying attention. I said TRY to drop the pencil. Now please do it again." Most people then pick up the pencil and pretend to be in excruciating pain while their hand tries but fails to drop the pencil.

The point is made.

If you tell your brain you will "give it a try," you are actually telling your brain to fail. I have a "no try" rule in my house and with everyone I interact with. Either people will do it or they won't. Either they will be at the party or they won't. I'm brutal when people attempt to lie to me by using the word try. Do they think I don't know they are really telegraphing to the world they have no intention of doing it but they want me to give them brownie points for pretended effort? You will never hear the words "I'll try" come out of my mouth unless I'm teaching this concept in a seminar.

If you "try" and do something, your unconscious mind has permission not to succeed. If I truly can't make a decision I will tell the truth. "Sorry John. I'm not sure if I will be at your party or not. I've got an outstanding commitment. If that falls through, I will be here. Otherwise, I will not. Thanks for the invite."People respect honesty. So remove the word "try" from your vocabulary. My dad also told me that psychologists claim it takes seventeen positive statements to offset one negative statement. I have no idea if it is true, but the logic holds true. It might take up to seventeen compliments to offset the emotional damage of one harsh criticism. These are concepts that are especially useful when raising children.

Ask yourself how many compliments you give yourself daily versus how many criticisms. Heck, I know you are talking to yourself all day long. We all have internal voices that give us direction.So, are you giving yourself the 17:1 ratio or are you shortchanging yourself with toxic self-talk like, " I'm fat. Nobody will like me. I'll try this diet. I'm not good enough. I'm so stupid. I'm broke, etc. etc.". If our parents can set a lifetime of programming with one wrong statement, imagine the kind of programming you are doing on a daily basis with your own internal dialogue. Here is a list of Toxic Vocabulary words. Notice when you or other people use them.

• But: Negates any words that are stated before it.

• Try: Presupposes failure.

• If: Presupposes that you may not.

• Might: It does nothing definite. It leaves options for your listener.

• Would Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn't actually happen.

• Should Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn't actually happen (and implies guilt.)

• Could Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn't actually happen but the person tries to take credit as if it did happen.

• Can't/Don't: These words force the listener to focus on exactly the opposite of what you want. This is a classic mistake that parents and coaches make without knowing the damage of this linguistic error.

Examples:

Toxic phrase: "Don't drop the ball!"
Likely result: Drops the ball
Better language: "Catch the ball!"

Toxic phrase: "You shouldn't watch so much television."
Likely result: Watches more television.
Better language: "I read too much television makes people stupid. You might find yourself turning that TV off and picking up one of those books more often!"

Exercise: Take a moment to write down all the phrases you use on a daily basis or any Toxic self-talk that you have noticed yourself using. Write these phrases down so you will begin to catch yourself as they occur and change them.

You are the most important asset you have; treat yourself accordingly.

--- Lucy MacDonald

A Gem of Thought:

Going ahead with the Paulo Coelho's "The Zahir", i would loke to share a few of the gems. One of the profound learnings was this.



The author says that if people learn about 3 things, they can persist in any situations, however difficult it may be.

• First, When ever a person decides to confront a difficult situation , he learns that he has much more capabilities to face the situation than he thought he had.

• Secondly, there is atleast someone in this world who is undergoing similar suffering as your's. Hence you are not the only one who is troubled but you can take peace from the fact that there are many people aboard the same boat.

• Thirdly, If a person decides to spread love around himself, inspite of any kind of situations , the providence has no choice but to give back the same love to you. So do unto others what you want to be done to yourself.

Powerful statements indeed !!

Keep Smiling and Keep Living. :)

A Day With a CalTech Educatee !!

Aeronautics was neither an industry nor a science. It was a miracle.

— Igor Sikorsky

We have an youngster back again in the PERFECT Show. This Young man has been fascinated by Planes ( have heard that somewhere , Right ?? ). Well, we are not talking about honorable A.P.J.Abdul Kalam in his young days, but about Prakhar Malhotra, a graduate, pursuing his MS Aeronautics in California Institute of Technology (Caltech),Pasadena, California, United States.Some of his achievements till date are:

• A Member of CALTECH Y- a community service and extracurricular activities organization affiliated to Caltech
• Was Awarded Rajiv Gandhi Science Talent Research Scholar-05 by government of India for the Best Summer Research Project in the country.
• Was awarded Caltech Graduate Fellowship for pursuing masters in aeronautics at California Institute of Technology, USA.

The flight commences --->

THE PERFECT SHOW:

Host: Prashant Sree - ME
Guest: Prakhar Mehotra - PM

ME: Hi Prakhar, Welcome to the show.
PM: Thank You.

ME: Here's the launcher.,. What are you passionate about in Life ?
PM: I am passionate about Planes..Space shuttles

ME:How did your passion began ?
PM: Hmm...Truly speaking i am passionate about discovering something new, something different ..thats y i am at Caltech doing research :)

ME: Good to hear that. so how did it all began ?
PM: Aaa..it all began with my summer research fellowship at IIT-K. and with my meetings with Prof Sanjay Mittal. It was he who inculcated the seeds of research in me & gave lots of cool fundas of life.

ME: Now, the 2nd launcher :). What have you learnt in life till now, which you would like to share with others ?
PM: How to be patient...and that Marks don't make a man. i have also learned how to wait and to trust people...and to listen to what others r saying.

ME: Good insight !! :) Particularly the 2nd one.,. Can you provide any instance for us ?
PM: Suppose you are in a team,,,,then,,,we must wait and give other members some time before expecting something from them and my experience says they will show there best & give there best.

ME: I really like that Now the 3D radar.. If you can have any one wish to change anything in the world, , what will u wish for ?
PM: Aa...tough one...mmm..I would change the mindset of our politicians.

ME: hahah :) Any thing realistic ;)
PM: Mmm..i would change...i would change the visa rules :) :)

ME: Lol :) Speaking from Experience..?
PM: Ya ..i will change the visa rules :)

ME: Cool :). Then who is your favorite mythological hero ?
PM: Lord Ram.. he is ideal

ME: And your reasons ?
PM: He is ideal son/husband/brother/warrior.

ME: :) He indeed is. Ok now , What would you like to stand for in your life ?
PM: Nothing great,,,,i don't want any one to remember me...just that...to whomsoever i meet in my life...he/she should not get sad/disappointed because of me. i will try my level best to make everyone i meet happy and help them that's all. i should bring smile on face of everyone i speak with.

ME: I appreciate that very much friend. Now, what do you consider your charm in your life ?
PM: I guess...my thinking that what ever happens, happens for the best. Even from failure .You get experience. Experience is what you get,when u don't get what u want - Prof. Randy Pausch

ME: Is he your professor or a legendary philosopher ?
PM: He is a professor at Carnegie Mellon. He gave an awesome talk. i took this line from him but..ya i feel never feel sad that you failed.

ME: A good one !! What is your thumb rule for life ?
PM: Keep trying...do your part...leave no stone unturned and leave rest to the one sitting up there.

ME: Nice !! Who are your role models till now ?
PM: My parents...Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam..Prof. Sanjay Mittal. And ya "Dream Dream dream. Dream transform into thoughts and thoughts into actions " Dr. Kalam told me when i met him at IIT

CALTECH OBSERVATORY

ME: Oh, you had a talk with him ?
PM: ya...For 5 minutes. He had also come to Caltech. Talked with him on individual basis for 5 minutes. He told me to come back to country and serve it.

ME: Interesting buddy !! Which books have motivated you very much !!
PM: Wings of Fire, Argumentative Indian and...Inheritance of loss

ME: Thats it buddy. We have come to the end of today's show. Thank You very much for being a guest in the show. Iam sure that you will go on to achieve many more laurels for our country. I wish you, on behalf of my readers success in all endeavors.
PM: Thank You. It was a pleasure to be in the show.


Well Thats it folks, Hope you enjoyed the Show as much as I did. I myself had many learnings to take from this. Iam sure that you too had your own share to take :).

To Sum up::

Real flight and dreams of flight go together. Both are part of the same movement. Not A before B, but all together.

— Thomas Pynchon

"Buddy, you’re a good guy!!"

I was having a chat conversation with a friend sometime before. We were talking about a lot of stuff's including laptops, inflation in India, outsourcing issues etc. In course of our conversation, we began to drift to lighter issues and he mentioned about an incident which he experienced a few days back. Its that incident which i wanted to think aloud. I would suggest that you have a look at his post:

http://thekingsgambit.wordpress.com/

For people who want to go on reading without interruption, for their benefit, i will state the incident briefly. My friend who lives in Tuckson,America had gone on a morning walk to get some coffee and a cig for himself. On his way he came across a Afro-American dude, (lets call him "the guy at the bus stop") who was waiting in a bus stop.

My friend went to store, bought himself a cup of coffee. While coming back "the guy at the bus stop" asked him if he can have some coffee which my friend was having.My friend who very badly wanted the coffee(feeling sleepy-headed) , offerred him the coffee, asked him to take what ever he needs and return the remaining to him. After he had some coffee, the guy returned the coffee and then said to my friend "Buddy, you’re a good guy!".

And he said that because, my friend had let him have some coffee from his cup and was having it himself .Generally he was used to people throw the entire cup at him or refuse to give him anything. "the guy at the bus stop" was touched by my friends gesture, which was not at all a gesture by my friend.(Thats what he says). For the "guy at the bus stop" it was the first time someone had treated him with respect.

On hearing this from my friend, i felt that i must share this with all.My friend had mentioned about gratitude as one of his reflections from this experience. I, reflecting about the incident, felt that its not only about a gesture , (leave gesture, take any random act of ours), but also rather the consequence which mattered the most here.

The "the guy at the bus stop" was left feeling happy with his self-esteem pumped up by a simple gesture. And on the other hand, my friend was himself feeling gr8 , because of the gratitude shown by "the guy at the bus stop".

What i wanted to reflect was on the fact that "Every act of ours done with thought or without, affects someone" We may not really look it that way, but as the saying goes:

"The best portion of a good man's life: his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love."

-William Wordsworth

Will share more of my thoughts on this in my subsequent blogs :)

Till then what are you waiting for.,. Try being a "Good Guy".
Iam sure you wont regret it :)

A Day with Management Trainer !!

"Management is efficiency in climbing the ladder of success; leadership determines whether the ladder is leaning against the right wall."

— Stephen R. Covey

Today we have with us a person who ensures that the leadership of companies are leaning against the right wall. He is Mr.Rajendra Deshpande, a Management Trainer, a Certified Trainer In Aviation & Hospitality , Sales & Marketing. He was appointed By Govt Of India Ministry Of Tourism,CBSP.Programme. and has been awarded By American Express.Best Forex.Centre.He has extensive work experience of 27 years and is a Sales trainer for the past 13 years.

Host : Prashant Sree --- ME

Guest: Rajendra Deshpande --- RD

ME: Welcome to the Show, Mr. Rajendra. We are pleased to have you in the show.
RD: Thank You.

ME: What are you passionate about in Life ?
RD: To get the drive for ones life,You need to be passionate about your work.I am trainer .I believe management training has to transform one life.I derive immense pleasure in making my participants successful in life.I derive Happiness in making others happy.

ME: Thats really nice. What have you learnt in your life which you would like to share with others ?
RD: I have got power of transformation from landmark education & also from my spiritual guru.I meditate,I practice & most Important is -- Living In full integrity, Honoring your word.Living in Integrity gives you power from within.people see your word becoming true. so your word gets power.

ME: Well said. If you are given a wish to change one thing in world, what would you change ?
RD: If u want to bring change in others you need to change first.Change begins from you.you are the cause in the matter.

ME: Like we say , "Be the Change You want to See". Who is your Favourite Mythological Hero and why ?
RD: "Swami Macchindra Nath.".. Lord Shiva Transfered All the knowledge of Yogic Science to him and it is he who brought & spread this knowledge to the world .we all see the results. He is one single Hero who brought & spread Science of Yoga on this Planet. He is the one single Hero who is instrumental in spreading Health & Happiness at no cost, to anyone everyone.His work in Universe is demonstrated doesnt need any evidence.

ME: Who do you consider your role models and why ?
RD: I consider Mahatma Gandhi,& Lord Gautam Buddha as my role models. In the period,when communication was very poor,no technology available,They could spread & market their thoughts,their teachings, all across the world.

ME:I admire that. Very few people pursue Yoga and its great to find a person so passionate about Yoga ;). What would you like to evangelize in your life ?
RD: "Tourism is one activity if promoted well can eradicate poverty,illiteracy,,unequality,suicides,budgetary deficeit,Social Integration, Cast differences ,Discrimination....Terrorism,.....& ..Many More."

ME: Thats quite a find. :) What is your charm, which you feel attracts people to you.
RD: Language ,sense of humour,smiling face ,loving nature,sincerity., Transparent Personality.

ME: Your Thumb Rule for Life ?
RD: Be honest to your word ,Inner thoughts ,& pursue it.whatever Happens. You are the winner..!!!!

ME: Thanks for sharing your insightful ideas with us. Iam sure that by integrating the lessons in our life, we will be Winners. Once again i thank you on behalf of my readers for being a guest in the Show. Wish you a successful and blissful future :)
RD: It was a pleasure to be in the show. Thank You !!

Thats it folks !! I hope you had enjoyed this version of PERFECT SHOW. Iam quite grateful to readers who had come back again with their useful feedbacks and have shared the learnings with me. I also thank the guest who have taken time and effort in sharing their life lessons with everyone. I know that Thanks isnt enough but iam grateful for their readiness to enrich others with their knowledge. My humble thanks to them. :)

The next version will be a bit different. What it will be, wait and see !! ;)

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.

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).

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.