Dreams

All of us have dreams.

All of us do not dream.

Can you make out the difference between both the statements? Whilst the former is a dream which most of us have while sleeping and forget on waking, the latter is the vision we set for ourselves for the future.

There are various reasons why many of us do not dream

• prefer to take life as it comes or
• are comfortable with the existing situation or
• are bogged down by family pressure and responsibilities or
• complacent or
• under-confidence of one’s abilities or
• scared, lest the dream fail or
• scared, because people might laugh at or make fun of the dream or
• ignorance of the power to dream

Am a true believer that each one of us has loads of talent to make it BIG in the world. It’s just that the task of identifying the talent is not straight forward. It requires lots of contemplation, self appraisal, analysis of our passions & desires. Lot of us think that the people who make it big are born with the silver spoon in their mouth. While luck does have it’s own role in each of our lives, fortune favors the brave. If we look at history, the biggest names (right from Bill Gates to Warren Buffet to Dirubhai Ambani) started from scratch and carved out their empires. Agreed that few people have “it” in them, but a majority of them grow big because they never stop learning. They learn from the people around them (small or big does not matter), reading about the stories of successful people,  fictional books which inspire. The process of learning never really stops. Each of us as an individual can do anything we want. We just have to set our heart and mind towards it.

Human brain is a person’s biggest asset. It can give answers, solve equations, create visions and do just about everything as long as we do not limit ourselves. We do not even harness a fraction of it’s original power to think and do. In our normal day to day scenarios, we tend to think only in the direction which is set. If there were a business problem with some department in our company, we do not think a solution for that if we are not responsible.  This is how we limit ourselves. If one needs to understand the power of our brain, try to wake up in the morning remembering your dreams (the former kind mentioned above). When we are in deep sleep, our brain is free of any limitations. It does many things which we would not have thought capable of. For eg, I try do the above exercise very often and have been very surprised, i’ve woken up in the morning realizing having sung a song with lyrics never heard before, having choreographed steps which have never seen before (though I am born of two left feet), solving a technical problem which has been bothering me in real life for many days. When we have this realization of the power within us, we can do anything. There are no limitations, no precedents. Ask an average adult to give a speech in front of 100 people, he will shiver, he will blunder. Put a 2 year old kid in front of 100 people and ask him to speak about his toys, he will blabber non-stop with high excitement. What’s the difference between both, the adult has heard of something called “stage-fear” whereas the child has not yet come across that concept. Our limitations are what we impose upon ourselves. Free ourselves and we live a free life. This is very very easy to say and equally tough to enact, but having the realization is the first step forward.

Three books have changed my life forever: The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, Godfather. I learnt how to dream, why to dream. I found my passion, found out where I want to be. Though I have not yet figured our how to reach there, I know I will. Knowing where to go is the most important step. We get a direction, a mission for our life, getting there is something which will eventually happen once we are convinced of where we want to go.

“The first ingredient of success is desire.
Do you know what you want?
Your desire is the planting of your seed.
Your desire for success must be so strong within you
that it's the very breath of your life.
It must be your first thought when you wake in the morning,
and your last thought when you go to bed at night.”

So, if you like writing, dream that you would write a best seller one day selling over a million copies, if you adore cars, dream that you will bring a revolution to the way cars run, if you like playing guitar, dream that you will perform solo to a live audience in a packed stadium, if you think your world is made of 0 & 1’s, dream that you will build a computer which will replace books in each and every school in the world.

Dare to DREAM and dream BIG.

Read more...

Sharks In Your Life

Came across this very interesting story on the net. Not sure of the exact source as there are lots of websites with this article. Thought of sharing it with all of you.

The Japanese have always loved fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades.

So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish. If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh. The Japanese did not like the taste.
To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish.

The frozen fish brought a lower price. So fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks. After a little thrashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive. Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste.

The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish. So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan? If you were consulting the fish industry, what would you recommend?

How Japanese Fish Stay Fresh:
To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged.

Have you realized that some of us are also living in a pond but most of the time tired & dull, so we need a Shark in our life to keep us awake and moving?

Basically in our lives Sharks are new challenges to keep us active and taste better..... The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a challenge.

If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you are Conqueror.. You think of your challenges and get energized. You are excited to try new solutions. You have fun. You are alive!

So have you found the Shark in your life?

Read more...

Change is constant

What happens if suddenly you are asked to or forced to change what you have been doing or how you are doing ? What happens if you are told that you cannot continue what you used to do the way you used to do? Change happens in all our lives at some point of time or the other. It could be related to anything like

• your work area within your existing job like change in workplace or manager
• change in job
• your lifestyle like not being able to sleep after having a newborn in the house :)
• marriage, this change does not need any corroboration :)

A change is a "shift from comfort zone". By working in a particular manner we get so accustomed to it that any deviation from it will drastically disturb the mindset. We do not know whether the new thing will be good or bad but generally we take it as bad if the current way is going good. We might not realize or willing to realize that this change might open up new opportunities. In the recent past there have been several instances when I have been asked the question of "why the change?". Change should be looked upon as a part of life. As the saying goes, the only thing that is constant is change. So do we cope up to this? Whenever there's a change, we have two options

1. We see this as a positive thing, embrace it and look forward to it
2. We resist the change and stick to the existing method and then sooner or later adopt the change with rancor.

What is going to happen is going to happen. That's destiny. That is not in our control, but what is in our control is how do we take it.

If we take it as in the first option, the doors are open for us. There is a whole new world out there waiting to be explored and there are so many things to be learnt. There's a feeling of vibrancy, of excitement, of positive energy around us. But this does not come that easy. It takes a lot of conviction, self-belief and positive outlook and then the fruits of this are much sweeter.

But it's the second option that most of us opt for as it is the most easiest to adopt to. It's also the most difficult to get out of and causes a lot of stress and anxiety within us.  The immediate reaction of the change is to dwell on how good the existing things are and why was the change required. After receiving the shock of the change, we try to resist the change for some time. Realizing that resisting is not helping, we try some work-arounds, some experiments to circumvent the change. When we realize that it’s not working, we grudgingly decide to integrate with the change and make it as an integral part of out life.

What we also constantly do post the change, is to make the “before & after” comparisons. While accepting the change we also need to firmly accept the fact that things will not be the same as before, otherwise why would the change dawn? Same is with comparisons between people. No two persons are same, neither the fingerprints, nor their skills and talents, not the way they speak, nor the way they work, nor the way they manage people, nor the way they get around with people. So expecting the same thing from two different persons is impractical.

Changes are either self triggered, as in the 1st two examples above or it can be something which is “shoved” onto us, as in the last two examples. Either ways, unless we are ready and we maintain an open mindset, change can be very unsettling initially.

Whichever option that we opt for, change will still happen but it is in OUR control to CHOOSE which option. We can make a choice to be happy with the change or make a choice to get get stressed out with the change. It is our choice and we have to REALIZE that we have the POWER TO CHOOSE and be happy!

Read more...

Mahatma Gandhiji’s top 5 teachings

“Generations to come will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth. ”

-- Albert Einstein

Mahatma Gandhiji, India’s Father of the Nation, was a practitioner of non-violence and truth. He dedicated his life to the wider purpose of discovering truth. He was the first to apply the principles of non-violence in the political field on a huge scale. His life was a message — a message of peace over power, of finding ways to reconcile our differences, and of living in harmony with respect and love even for our enemy.

# 1: Power is of two kinds. One is obtained by the fear of punishment and the other by acts of love. Power based on love is a thousand times more effective and permanent then the one derived from fear of punishment.

# 2: What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?

# 3: There are many causes that I am prepared to die for but no cause that I am prepared to kill for.

# 4: An eye for an eye will only make the whole world blind.

#5: We must become the change we want to see in the world.

Let the first act of every morning be to make the following resolve for the day:

• I shall not fear anyone on Earth.
• I shall fear only God.
• I shall not bear ill will toward anyone.
• I shall not submit to injustice from anyone.
• I shall conquer untruth by truth. And in resisting untruth, I shall put up with all suffering.

- Mahatma Gandhi

Read more...

Financial Advise from Warren Buffet

Masterpiece from Warren Buffet

“We begin this New Year with  dampened enthusiasm and dented optimism. Our happiness is diluted and our peace is threatened by the financial illness that has infected our families, organizations and nations. Everyone is desperate to find a remedy that will cure their financial illness and help them recover their financial health.

They expect the financial experts to provide them with remedies, forgetting the fact that it is these experts who created this financial mess.

Every new year, I adopt a couple of old maxims as my beacons to guide my future. This self-prescribed therapy has ensured that with each passing year, I grow wiser and not older. This year, I invite you to tap into the financial wisdom of our elders along with me, and become financially wiser. 

**********************************************************

Spending: If you buy things you don't need, you'll soon sell things you need.
Savings: Don't save what is left after spending; spend what is left after saving.
Hard work: All hard work brings profit; but mere talk leads only to poverty.
Laziness: A sleeping lobster is carried away by the water current.
Earnings: Never depend on a single source of income.
Borrowings: The borrower becomes the lender's slave.
Accounting: It's no use carrying an umbrella, if your shoes are leaking.
Auditing: Beware of little expenses; a small leak can sink a large ship.
Risk-taking: Never test the depth of the river with both feet.
Investment: Don't put all your eggs in one basket.

**********************************************************

I'm certain that those who have already been practicing these principles remain financially healthy. I'm equally confident that those who resolve to start practicing these principles will quickly regain their financial health. Let us become wiser and lead a happy, healthy, prosperous and peaceful life..

......Warren Buffet”

Read more...

New Year Resolutions

Am not really a fan of keeping NYR, as have always believed that whatever it is that needs to be changed or corrected or adopted, now is the best time to do instead of waiting till 1st Jan. But life has progressed very fast and have got disconnected with many habits now at this juncture. So thought why not go the resolutions way and see whether I can get back on track, but not like any normal NYR, which is bound to fail after a couple of weeks.

I don’t know whether science has proved this or not, but believe firmly that it takes 21 days to form a habit, after which it goes down the subconscious mind and becomes a routine.

Came across this "power of less" concept of keeping resolutions and have really liked it. Aim 1 resolution a month and keep track of it. By the end of month, if you have done it consistently, it would have become a routine. Next month, another resolution. You can register yourself in the forum and put up your resolutions and also track it daily.

My resolution for the month of Feb 2009: Chant the Holy Gayatri Mantra 28 times a day (used to do this for many years).

Read more...

21 Things To Remember In Life

1. No one can ruin your day without YOUR permission.

2. Most people will be about as happy, as they decide to be.

3. Others can stop you temporarily, but only you can do it permanently.

4. Whatever you are willing to put up with, is exactly what you will have.

5. Success stops when you do.

6. When your ship comes in…. make sure you are willing to unload it.

7. You will never have it all together.

8. Life is a journey…not a destination. Enjoy the trip!

9. The biggest lie on the planet When I get what I want I will be happy.

10. The best way to escape your problem is to solve it.

11. I’ve learned that ultimately , ‘takers’ lose and ‘givers’ win.

12. Life’s precious moments don’t have value, unless they are shared.

13. If you don’t start, it’s certain you won’t arrive.

14. We often fear the thing we want the most.

15. He or she who laughs……lasts.

16. Yesterday was the deadline for all complaints.

17. Look for opportunities…not guarantees.

18. Life is what’s coming….not what was.

19. Success is getting up one more time.

20. Now is the most interesting time of all.

21. When things go wrong…..don’t go with them.

Read more...

The Window

 

Read more...

Success Tips!

• It is the bamboo that bends in heavy winds that has another day to live. The trees that don't bend get uprooted.
• If you want new ideas, you have to push yourself into the periphery.
• It's a question of taking a lot of small steps: don't try to eat the elephant in one big bite.
• Any company that cannot imagine the future won't be around to enjoy it.
• Leaders do not allow themselves to be weighed down by the difficulties of the present but are focused on the possibilities of the future. Instinct, passion, courage and confidence are the precious ingredients of managing differently. A vision of the future is critical to motivate people to become innovative.
• If you do precisely what you're supposed to do, and you're boxed in, then you're going to do that very well. But if pressed to do things that aren't in your normal job description, the challenge can push you to a new level of achievement.
• You have to have faith. You cannot lead if you don't believe.
• Companies that create the future do more than satisfy customers, they constantly amaze them.
• Business must start with the assumption that consumers don't want to apply the same amount of effort to construct all their experiences. Today, I will take whatever coffee I'm given -- but on another occasion, I might be more particular.
• In an organisation, one unique person makes a difference, but you need teamwork to make it happen.
• Many companies don't understand yet that outsourcing isn't about exporting jobs. It's about importing innovation.
• Management is a lot of blocking and tackling.
• Strategy is about stretching limited resources to fit ambitious aspirations.

Read more...

You Can See The Future

You can see the future with a vision.

Study your present situation thoroughly. Go over in your imagination the various courses of action possible to you. Visualize the consequences which can follow from each course. Pick out the course which gives you the most promise and go ahead.

Many successful people use this skill of mental visualization. They mentally run through important events before they happen. Picture yourself in your minds eye as already having achieved your goal. See yourself doing the things you'll be doing when you've reached your goal.

You can put your subconscious to work toward making your mental pictures come true. Go over your day in your imagination before you begin it. You can begin acting successfully at any moment.

See the things you want as already yours. Think of them as yours, as already in your possession. What you can see in your mind, you can get.

via Pravsworld

Read more...