This is an article i read in Cricinfo recently. Being an ardent cricket fan like many others in India, it is difficult to know that all our heroes of the game are gone and in sometime our team will look like any other team in the world, there will never come a time again where we would rush home whatsoever to watch our beloved dada bat or see jumbo bowl. It is difficult to even comprehend a team without these guys from I have seen grow up from young lads trying to make it big to all time legends of the game.
Once in a while I am sure most of us become quite busy as something or the other seems to come up than the routine we have been used to, work might become hectic, a new project might turn up or even personally we might get held doing things which weren't part of our daily chores. The last few weeks have been quite out of sort to the kind of routine I have been pretty accustomed to. But on the hindsight I just realised how much better we could do, or how much potential has been wasted all the while..
Not that all of us are really like being busy all the time, but it atleast makes you realise that when need arises you would be able to live up to it, it gives you the confidence and belief that you could actually take up new tasks and do it well. And trust me, its some exciting stuff, managing many things simultaneously and small satisfactions derived when you complete those successfully. :)
It's not been long since I have started blogging and phew....just cant imagine how people find time to be so regular with their updates, I know I am not great in time-management but still I think it is a really demanding task.
And some quick updates...was in Alabama for a couple of weeks, hopefully I'll write a post about some nice happenings there and some 'Long time, no see's' with a bunch of close friends there... And this Sunday, the 19th October, my dear akka is tying the knot...Yess...she's finally getting married.. :-) :-( ..
Hope to be more regular and hope I mange things better, I hate it when I do things unplanned, but my plan has never seemed to work.. so I guess I just stopped planning anything...
In hope everything goes on well...
Its been quite a while since many here have been waiting for the official launch of the iPhone. After over an year, the iPhone made its way to the Indian market on the 22th of August. There was quite a fuss even before its pricing was announced due to Apple's strategy to tie-up with Vodafone and Airtel, whether they were actually trying to come up with a similar plan as with AT&T, would it be subsidised?, its operator specific carrier lock and many more doubts prevailed.
Finally when the price was announced just a couple of days before the launch, many people who were serious of buying the iPhone were terribly disappointed to say the least. Mainly, because Apple had famously launched the 3G version with advertisements saying 'Half the price, double the speed'. Iphone which was considered to be expensive for $199 itself, for the fact that AT&T's plan for many was a rip off. People here had no idea about how plans work there were expecting a similar pricing for the Indian market as well, but it came as a shock that it was almost 3 times the price they claimed the 3G to be.
There were people even trying to justify the price . One article I read, Iphoneindiablog.com has come up with a detailed explanation as to why its better to buy the iPhone in India. Even if it makes sense that after a couple of years we might eventually end up paying the same price, we are quite acquainted paying monthly rentals rather than paying it all in one go. I am not sure if Apple's got any intentions of reducing the price, but for sure once the initial excitement is gone, the iPhone would definitely not become as popular as the iPod. With several competitors pushing their R&D's hard to compete with the iPhone, its going to be tough atleast here in India when people look for phones with maximum utilities.
Atleast for me who was waiting so long for the iPhone, am in two minds just because of the price, not about affordability, but just hoping Apple to change the way the go about things. The entire concept of iTunes, Appstore et all will take time to get used to, to make full use of the features the phone has to offer, no point having a pen when there's nothing to write on....
Google have finally launched their Web browser called 'Chrome', there have been rumours for a long time now about Google's browser, their OS and a so called Google Phone. Not sure, how true the other two are but am sure that Google are coming up in a huge way particularly targeting the likes of Microsoft.
For people who use a lot of internet, the browser is so important. You look for simple things in a browser which can help you in your browsing experience, I am sure a lot of people switched to firefox for its ease and for the Add-ons available for almost anything to do with a browser. Google has certainly lived up to its hype in creating a browser.
The Chrome has a lots of simple yet powerful features.
First of all its open source and it has a embedded JVM.
Other notable features are its entire new look tabs, a feel of a bigger page (no menu bar), theres something what Google calls the Omnibox, which is an Address bar, but does much more than what a FireFox or an IE address bar does, it is like the 'Auto-suggest' feature in Google search, it will literally suggest you a large quantity of things, making your browsing experience even better. As a matter of fact it will suggest you: sites you have not visited yet, sites you have already visited, popular website and more. It also lets you type keywords which will be associated to specific websites speaking about the topic you wish to read.
The Home Page of the Chrome is something which is very useful, well thought of feature, it lists your most frequently visited pages as a 9 screenshot thumbnail, more likely than not you might click one of them, and the best part is all your bookmarks are also part if the home screen, your bookmarks are displayed as a list in the right of the page.
Theres something called the 'Incognito' mode in the Chrome, meaning ultra safe browsing, you no longer have to worry about any cookies, harmful websites, etc. Your computer will be left untouched in this mode.
Also the browser speed seems to be faster than Firefox, downloading is integrated within the browser, which makes browsing really simple.
People used to Google will love the browser for its ease of use, some exciting features and of course the Google factor. In days to come I am sure the Chrome will provide stiff competition to Firefox and IE. I somehow like the Safari as well, but it took sometime to get used to the browser as there are some basic differences which makes you uncomfortable for a while, but I should say Chrome is something anyone can figure out the first time they use it.
People running on windows, do give it a try...Mac users got to wait for some more time
Download Chrome here
Right from our childhood we in the process of growing up, also gather a set of constricting habits- be it good ones or bad, but traps us in a zone of supposed comfort.....In some cases it becomes so predominant that we start performing well below our true potentials. Further letting them grow makes a impression in our consciousness, which will play an important role in our outlook of our life's.
These things might start off in a very insignificant manner, which we might not even think of seriously. There’s even nothing specially wrong with those habits as such. They probably worked for us in the past. But now it’s time to step over them and go into the wider world of your unused potential.
There isn't any fixed future path that one follows to lead life. Despite all the helpful advice from parents, teachers and elders, each of us must make our own way in the world, doing the best we can and quite often getting things wrong. Messing up a few times isn’t that big a deal. But if you get scared and try to avoid all mistakes by sticking with just a few “tried and true” methods, you have no idea of the number of opportunities you are letting go. Lots of people who experience boredom in life/work are probably doing this to themselves. They’re bored and frustrated because that’s what their choices have caused them to be. People who never make mistakes never make anything else either.
Some points which might help :
Success Formulas keep changing
I can't even prepare a cup of tea/coffee to taste the same consecutive times, so don't expect something to work out just because it has sometime in the past. Keep looking for better alternatives and importantly more efficient ways of doing things.
Just for a start try to do something everyday/every week which you haven't done in the past, however trivial it might be.
Self-Assessment
I think this is an important aspect in every stage you grow up. One might not be conscious of things we start doing in a regular basis, so even bad things bad seem to be right to us and it becomes really difficult to trying to refrain yourself from doing in a latter stage. Something atleast as addictive as nicotine or cocaine.
Be who you are
It’s easy to assume that you always have to fit in to get on in the world; that you must conform to be liked and respected by others or face exclusion. Because most people want to please, they try to become what they believe others expect, even if it means forcing themselves to be the kind of person they aren’t, deep down.
You need to start by putting yourself first. You’re unique. We’re all unique, so saying this doesn’t suggest that you’re better than others or deserve more than they do. You need to put yourself first because no one else has as much interest in your life as you do; and because if you don’t, no one else will. Putting others second means giving them their due respect, not ignoring them totally. Keeping up a self-image can be a burden. Hanging on to an inflated, unrealistic one is a curse. Give yourself a break.
If you’re maybe not as wonderful as you’d like to be, you aren’t nearly as bad as you fear either. The releif when you know yourself really does set you free; free to work on being better and to forgive yourself for being human; free to express your gratitude to others and recognize what you owe them; free to acknowledge your feelings without letting them dominate your life. Above all, you’ll be free to understand the truth of living: that much of what happens to you is no more than chance. It can’t be avoided and is not your fault. There’s no point in beating yourself up about it.
What is holding you in situations and actions that no longer work for you often isn’t inertia or procrastination. It’s the power of habitual ways of seeing the world and thinking about events. Until you can let go of those old, worn-out habits, they’ll continue to hold you prisoner.
If you can accept the truth about the world and yourself, change whatever is holding you back, and get on with a fresh view on life, you’ll find that single action lets you open the door of your self-imposed prison and walk free. There’s a marvelous world out there. You’ll see, if you try it.
Now I know why people call him a great personality....
Jobs in a speech to Stanford Grads, no wonder they turned out successful. :)
You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. 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 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 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 college 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 have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out 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 someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively 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 how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of 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 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 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 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 san 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, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal 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 ten 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. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
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 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. 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. So at 30 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 had 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 of 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 worlds 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, I returned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene 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 hits 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 your 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. 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 until you find it. 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 tool 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 doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure 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 and 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 doctors 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 I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its 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 is 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 is 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. And most important, have the courage to follow your 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 Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, 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, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, 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 it 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.
My name is alice smith and i was sitting in the waiting room for my first appointment with a new dentist. i noticed his dds diploma,which bore his full name.
Suddenly, i remembered a tall, handsome, dark-haired boy with the same name had been in my high school class some 30-odd years ago.
Could he be the same guy that i had a secret crush on, wayback then? Upon seeing him, however, i quickly discarded any such thought.
This balding, grey-haired man with the deeply lined face was way too old tohave been my classmate. after he examined my teeth, i asked him if he hadattended morgan park high school'
Yes. yes, i did. i'm a mustang,' he gleamed with pride.
'When did you graduate?' i asked.He answered , 'in 1975. why do you ask?'
'You were in my class!', i exclaimed.
He looked at me closely. Then, ,grey-haired, decrepit son-of-a-bitch asked:'
'What did you teach ???.'
I probably wouldn't have written this post..but the events which lead me to this shoot was really unusual. Monday being my weekly off (courtesy- Tamil Nadu Govn. and their power problems), was as boring as it could get and I was kind of restless for the fact that I didn't have any plans for the day and the thought of spending a really boring day would do no good for the week to come, my ADSL modem had conked - so no Internet, everyone were busy in their own world- being the first day of the week, so just to break the boredom, thought I'll catch up a movie.
Finished lunch and somehow persuaded my friend to accompany me for the movie, finally we headed to a movie theater nearby. Got tickets, and were all set to spend about 3 hours of the days time. But then, after an hour, got a call from home that a person had come to attend the broadband complaint I had lodged about a week or two before. Just gave him instructions over the phone, to change the modem, again after half an hour, that guy calls me again and says, 'Sir I have replaced the modem but still your Internet is not working'. With no one else at home, I was forced to get back home, as everyone at home could not do without the Internet. So left the movie halfway and got back home. Guess this is after a long time I walked out from a movie halfway.
Seems like the guy who was home had never worked on Vista before. He was like install a fresh copy of your OS and it should be working fine. Just configured my network settings, and finally somehow managed to get it working. After missing out on the second half of the movie, atleast this had to happen. Was just wondering what a bad day it had been.. Then switched on the PS for some time pass, even that was a disaster, lost all the matches I played. Then decided that we'll go out for lunch.
Bored of going to the usual places, we wanted to try out something new. So we basically loitering around not knowing where to go. First we headed to ECR, then thought there's no point going that far and were back to adyar very soon, then thiruvanmiyur, it was getting really frustrating for the fact that both of us were really hungry and we just came out for a casual lunch. Then we thought, we have had enough of it and decided to go to Besant Nagar.
Finally we reached there, and on the other end of the road, something seemed to be going on. About four people were there trying attach something on to a bicycle, we also noticed couple of plastic chairs which was quite unusual in a beach on a Monday afternoon. We thought it would be a shoot for some TV shows, as there was absolutely no excitement there whatsoever. We just had a lazy walk to the other end of the road to have a look. We were surprised to see Arya and VishnuVardhan there...Aah! I knew it was the shooting of Sarvam. Me being a good fan of Trisha was waiting to catch a glimpse of her, but then she wasn't to be seen anywhere there. So we were on our way back, where we spotted a brand new 5 series, I know for a fact that Trisha owns one, so thought we'll wait for some more time.. After about 5 minutes or so, Trisha was there, dressed in a green salwar, she was looking real pretty.
The scene they shot, both Arya and Trisha riding two bicycles, Trisha getting hit by a vehicle and hurts herself. Think the shooting would have gone on for around 3 or 4 hours. Really wonder how these people do some boring stuff like riding a kiddie bicycle, worse part it went on for more than 10 takes.. Phew! I'm tired... Finally we skipped our lunch plan, just had an ice cream and a coffee. For how my day started, would say it became slightly more exciting watching Trisha and the shooting.
But it didn't last long, for that night we had booked tickets to watch Kuselan, think that pretty much sums it up. End of the day I just hoped all holidays gets this exciting.. :)
A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco.
"Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me."
"Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him."
"There's something you should know the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us."
"I'm sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live."
"No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us."
"Son," said the father, "you don't know what you're asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can't let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He'll find a way to live on his own.
"At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him. A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide. The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son. They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn't know, their son had only one arm and one leg.
The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don't like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren't as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are. Thankfully, there's someone who won't treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.
I have a list of folks I know...all written in a book,And every now and then..I go and take a look.
That is when I realize these names... they are a part,not of the book they're written in...but taken from the heart.
For each Name stands for someone...who has crossed my path sometime,and in that meeting they have become...the reason and the rhyme.
Although it sounds fantastic...for me to make this claim,I really am composed...of each remembered name.
Although you're not aware...of any special link,just knowing you, has shaped my life...more than you could think.
So please don't think my greeting...as just a mere routine,your name was not...forgotten in between.
For when I send a greeting...that is addressed to you,it is because you're on the list...of folks I'm indebted to.
So whether I have known you...for many days or few,in some ways you have a part...in shaping things I do.
I am but a total...of many folks I've met,you are a friend I would prefer...never to forget.
I am sure many of us complain of how miserable our life's have been, many things might not have worked out as planned, or something unexpected might have happened..... But in most cases we forget to understand that we are the ones responsible for what we are today, well if you are unhappy doing something today, its probably because you are bored of doing it or the fact that you aren't able to advance as fast as you hoped to. But, remember that you chose to do it one day in hope of achieving something.
A superficial look at anything is tempting at first sight, not indulging in it is one part, but say you are really keen on pursuing it, (be it whatever say learning a sport, choosing a profession, aspiring to be someone). The mistake all of us do is that we always tend to see the good things which are associated with it, but we fail to see all the hard work, the effort, time, patience which has one has gone through to be what they are today. The result, right from day one things do not go on as we might have dreamt of or say what we expected, but then it is not that you are the only one going through all this, if you set an ambition, then you should realise that this is Step One of achieving it.
I say this because right from day one, we tend to think that we are going in the wrong direction or rather lead in the wrong direction. It becomes natural for all of us to crib about it because we think that this is not what we are destined for. Say, you do something without an option, you tend to think like a pessimist right from the beginning because you didn't have an option to chose. But say you keep doing it for sometime now and are still unhappy about it, reason being you never really saw yourself doing it. I know people who have felt miserable that they didn't get what they wanted... but then they never had a Plan B or a Plan C for backup. The result they miss out all the fun and experience which they would have otherwise had doing the same thing, you might have actually even started to like what you were doing if not for the attitude with which you started off in the beginning. Without knowing realities we tend to judge things.
Now then, coming back to the topic.... all of us have opportunities, some of us see them others miss them because they weren't bothered to look out for them.
It is like we are thrown into a pool, with someone telling you that "I've been in that water before; I figured out how to do it; I'm sure you will." They also put a little ring around you. Whats that? You also heard someone telling you "You know I'm here whenever you need a little help." But basically, it's illusory; the support's not there. Now, the idea is that you'll figure out how to swim on your own. Smart people manage with the resources available and make it to the other end somehow with all the struggle and small failures they went through. And for people who don't make it, you are now forced to learn the same thing in a smaller pool, and maybe even a kiddie pool, and maybe even take you out of the pool for good. I remember Mrs and Mr. Bachchan replying to a question 'Why they haven't launched their son like many others?', for which they replied 'In that case he would have never known what failure is, and would have never know the pleasure of success, or worse, he could have even blamed the failure on us'. So true..
Moral of the story is that you own your own development.
[P.S. Quite reminded of the story where a father teaches a starving son fishing rather than giving him a fish to eat. The result might be you get the fish anyways, but you could just wish that the one fish lasted your entire life.]
This is the Inaugural Speech by Chetan Bhagat for the new batch at the Symbiosis BBA program 2008.
Good Morning everyone and thank you for giving me this chance to speak to you. This day is about you. You, who have come to this college, leaving the comfort of your homes (or in some cases discomfort), to become something in your life. I am sure you are excited. There are few days in human life when one is truly elated. The first day in college is one of them. When you were getting ready today, you felt a tingling in your stomach. What would the auditorium be like, what would the teachers be like, who are my new classmates - there is so much to be curious about. I call this excitement, the spark within you that makes you feel truly alive today. Today I am going to talk about keeping the spark shining. Or to put it another way, how to be happy most, if not all the time.
Where do these sparks start? I think we are born with them. My 3-yearold twin boys have a million sparks. A little Spiderman toy can make them jump on the bed. They get thrills from creaky swings in the park. A story from daddy gets them excited. They do a daily countdown for birthday party – several months in advance – just for the day they will cut their own birthday cake.
I see students like you, and I still see some sparks.. But when I see older people, the spark is difficult to find.. That means as we age, the spark fades. People whose spark has faded too much are dull, dejected, aimless and bitter. Remember Kareena in the first half of Jab We Met vs the second half? That is what happens when the spark is lost. So how to save the spark?
Imagine the spark to be a lamp's flame. The first aspect is nurturing- to give your spark the fuel, continuously. The second is to guard against storms.
To nurture, always have goals. It is human nature to strive, improve and achieve full potential. In fact, that is success. It is what is possible for you. It isn't any external measure - a certain cost to company pay package, a particular car or house.
Most of us are from middle class families. To us, having material landmarks is success and rightly so. When you have grown up where money constraints force everyday choices, financial freedom is a big achievement.
But it isn't the purpose of life. If that was the case, Mr. Ambani would not show up for work. Shah Rukh Khan would stay at home and not dance anymore. Steve Jobs won't be working hard to make a better iPhone, as he sold Pixar for billions of dollars already. Why do they do it? What makes them come to work everyday?
They do it because it makes them happy. They do it because it makes them feel alive. Just getting better from current levels feels good. If you study hard, you can improve your rank. If you make an effort to interact with people, you will do better in interviews. If you practice, your cricket will get better. You may also know that you cannot become Tendulkar, yet. But you can get to the next level. Striving for that next level is important.
Nature designed with a random set of genes and circumstances in which we were born. To be happy, we have to accept it and make the most of nature’s design. Are you? Goals will help you do that.
I must add, don't just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. I use the word balanced before successful. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationships, mental peace are all in good order.
There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup. There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shopping is not enjoyable if your mind is full of tensions.
You must have read some quotes - Life is a tough race, it is a marathon or whatever.. No, from what I have seen so far, life is one of those races in nursery school. Where you have to run with a marble in a spoon kept in your mouth. If the marble falls, there is no point coming first. Same with life, where health and relationships are the marble. Your striving is only worth it if there is harmony in your life. Else, you may achieve the success, but this spark, this feeling of being excited and alive, will start to die.
One last thing about nurturing the spark - don't take life seriously. One of my yoga teachers used to make students laugh during classes. One student asked him if these jokes would take away something from the yoga practice. The teacher said - don't be serious, be sincere. This quote has defined my work ever since. Whether its my writing, my job, my relationships or any of my goals. I get thousands of opinions on my writing everyday. There is heaps of praise, there is intense criticism. If I take it all seriously, how will I write? Or rather, how will I live? Life is not to be taken seriously, as we are really temporary here. We are like a pre-paid card with limited validity. If we are lucky, we may last another 50 years. And 50 years is just 2,500weekends. Do we really need to get so worked up? It's ok, bunk a few classes, goof up a few interviews, fall in love. We are people, not programmed devices.
I've told you three things - reasonable goals, balance and not taking it too seriously that will nurture the spark. However, there are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.
Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don't go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you.
But it's life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that's where you want to be.
Disappointment’s cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don't know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release.
Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a longtime to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign somewhere, you took it too seriously.
Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you.
In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty darn lucky by Indian standards. Let's be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don't. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don't get literary praise. It's ok. I don't look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It's ok. Don't let unfairness kill your spark..
Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.
There you go. I've told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.
I welcome you again to the most wonderful years of your life. If someone gave me the choice to go back in time, I will surely choose college. But I also hope that ten years later as well, you eyes will shine the same way as they do today. That you will Keep the Spark alive, not only through college, but through the next 2,500 weekends. And I hope not just you, but my whole country will keep that spark alive, as we really need it now more than any moment in history. And there is something cool about saying - I come from the land of billion sparks.
No I am not talking about work, but the three hour travel back and forth to office...Same roads, same car (OK!! Cab), same driver....and the worst part getting past the same traffic.. I did try to do some innovative stuff everyday, but slowly everything faded and finally back to sleeping and dawdling on the way to work, not that all the sms’s and phone calls helped a lot coz after few days, everyone were like ‘Don’t you have anything better to do??’…Aah!! Well if someone were in my shoes they might well get the answer themselves..
Anyways, ask me anything on route I can probably name every single restaurant, gas station or movie theater there..What useful knowledge?? Well, not that I have a choice avoiding them. There’s this guy whom I see everyday perennially smoking in the same place, same posture ...don no what’s up with him? Everything just seems a part of the monotonous routine .. Wonder how people go through this for years….For I call it waste of time, however the wise men call it EXPERIENCE!!! Phew!! Whatever….
This is a lecture given by Randy, and it was a part of Carnegie Mellon University’s “last lecture” series, where professors gave the lecture they’d give if, hypothetically, they knew they were going to die. One of the most Inspirational speeches ever... Do read it fully :)
1. You can overcome weaknesses.
In high school, I always had a hard time with the books I had to read for English class. I would read the book and the Cliffs Notes, spend way more time studying than anyone else, and still get a D on the test. It made me feel like a complete retard. One teacher drew a frowny face on my test when I missed three questions in a row. Another teacher wrote “surely you jest” on my essay.
Fortunately there were enough other assignments in English class to prop up my grades, but what about the verbal section of the SAT? There was no way of faking my way through it. My top choice for college, the University of Virginia, was the number one public school in the country at the time. From what I heard, you needed a 600 verbal to have a good chance of getting in. When I first took the PSAT, I only got 450.
This wasn’t fair. Why should I not get into the school I wanted to go to just because I didn’t know what “exigency” and “sybarite” meant, or because some reading passages were so boring I forgot the beginning by the time I got to the end? But what could I do? I studied.
Although it wasn’t fun to practice something I hated, I found that I did get a lot better by memorizing endless vocabulary words and taking many practice tests. Starting with a 450 on my first attempt at the PSAT, I got 470 on my second attempt. Then 540 on my first practice SAT. Then 610 on the real SAT. Then 710 on the GRE. I finished high school with a 4.02 GPA, and I didn’t just get into the University of Virginia; I got in early decision as an Echols Scholar (roughly the top 5% of the incoming class). Not bad for someone who could barely read.
2. Still, it’s usually better to focus on your strengths.
If you’re naturally bad at something, it might take a tremendous amount of effort to become mediocre. But if you’re naturally good at something, it’s relatively easy to become great. It might take a sustained effort over a period of years, but your odds of success are fairly high if you’re truly committed. It’s much easier to stay motivated when you’re good, you know you’re getting even better, and you enjoy what you’re doing.
Life is hard enough already, so play to your strengths. Do you think Tiger Woods should run for president and Hillary Clinton should take up professional golf? They’ll probably get better results the other way around.
Some weaknesses need to be overcome. Let’s say you show talent for being a corporate executive, but you’re not computer literate. You should develop some basic proficiency, so you know how to use email and how to Google something. But you shouldn’t try to become a power user. In the time it takes you to learn as much as today’s 14 year olds know, you could have devised strategies that would save your company millions of dollars.
Your effectiveness depends on your ability to patch up any critical weaknesses, while capitalizing on your strengths.
3. Laughter is the best medicine, but don’t wait until you’re sick.
“There is no greater pleasure than to laugh, no higher purpose than to bring the joy of laughter to others.”
- made up quote, let’s say, England, 1854
As Ferris Bueller said, “Life moves by pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” There are funny things happening all around us, all the time. To let them pass unnoticed is a tragic waste. I can’t stand to be around people who never laugh. Laughing makes life way more fun for you, for everyone you come in contact with, and it’s good for your health. What could possibly be more important?
4. Life’s supposed to be way too hard.
I don’t know what particular challenges you’re going through, but surely there are a lot of them. Maybe you’re going through a divorce. Maybe you have health problems. Maybe you’re fighting an addiction. Maybe you hate your job. Maybe you’re overworked, underpaid, and unappreciated. Many people feel like their life is going nowhere, and absolutely everything seems to be going wrong. Life sucks, I get it.
But a lot of the dissatisfaction that people feel comes from comparing their life to some rosy picture in their head. I think the real danger with school is that it teaches people that life is going to be easy. If you get good grades, then you’ll get into a good college, get a good job, earn a good salary, have a big house, wonderful spouse, and 2.5 beautiful kids, and everything will be just peachy, right?
This is what people expect, and they’re surprised when it doesn’t automatically happen. They put in some effort and it still doesn’t happen. They put in even more effort and it still doesn’t happen, and now they think the whole world is against them. But no, that’s just how it’s supposed to be. Life’s not fair, and no one has it easy.
Life is a struggle for all successful people!!
5. Be insanely useful.
I don’t remember where I first heard this phrase, but it’s golden. You’d have to be insane to be useful, right? Why not do the bare minimum like everyone else? It’s easier to be dead weight, isn’t it?
In reality, you don’t have to go the extra mile to stand out. Just going the first mile is unusual. Actually, just leaving the starting gate is above average.
But beyond just doing what can be reasonably expected of anyone, why not go that extra mile? I’m not saying to let other people walk over you, but in many cases the extra mile doesn’t take much effort. If your boss asks you for the status of the ABC report, instead of just saying “I don’t know, that’s not my thing,” spend two minutes finding out what the deal is, and let them know. It’s worth spending two minutes to come off looking like part of the solution instead of part of the problem.
When the receptionist at my workplace orders lunch for everyone, she sends out an email asking people to come by and sign up for what they want. But they never do. They wait until the “last call” a couple of days later, or wait until it’s too late and then complain that they didn’t get what they want. When those emails come out, I’m always the first to sign up, because it’s easier for everyone to just do it and be done. And the receptionist is extra nice to me because of it. Just for signing up for lunch!
6. People change, but that’s OK.
I realized that people come in and out of our lives all the time, and even if someone sticks around, your relationship will eventually change.
Think of the people you spend most of your time with. For most of you, this will be immediate family and coworkers. Out of all your coworkers, how many of them did you know five years ago? How many of them will you still be in touch with five years from today? Those relationships have a purpose for now, but they’re not meant to last.
Even among your close friends and family members, your relationships will change. This is especially true if you don’t have regular contact with them. Childhood friends of yours who you now see only a couple of times a year seem different now, don’t they? That’s because they are different. Or maybe you don’t realize that you’re the one who’s different now.
Everyone you know has a purpose in your life, but in most cases you’ll eventually outgrow that purpose and need to move on. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.
7. You are a god among gods.
This idea comes from The Science Of Being Great by Wallace D. Wattles, who wrote:
“You are a god, but you are among gods…Think of yourself as a perfect being among perfect beings, and meet every person as an equal, not as either superior or an inferior.”
Don’t become a victim of self-sabotage. It’s useless to tell yourself that you can’t do something, because you’ll only try to prove yourself right. You are a god, and you are capable of much more than you think.
But you are also among gods. Don’t be condescending or disrespectful to others, no matter who they are. You’re not better than anyone else, because they’re gods too.
8. Rocky is the best movie ever.
Easily my favorite movie, it’s impossible not to be inspired by this story of a hopeless underdog taking his one shot at glory. There’s never a dull moment as Rocky strives to redeem his wasted life, free Adrian from her social prison, save Paulie from the burden of taking care of her, and give Mickey something to live for again.
When a stroke of fate gives Rocky a chance at the world heavyweight championship, he has no delusions about his likelihood of winning. All he wants is to go the distance, to hear that bell ring and still be standing, and know for the first time in his life that he’s not just another bum from the neighborhood. And after he does, he doesn’t want to be interviewed, he doesn’t want to know who won, he just wants Adrian.
Sylvester Stallone wrote the script after watching the second-rate boxer Chuck Wepner nearly go the distance against Muhammad Ali. Despite having an incredibly hard time finding someone willing to produce it with him in the lead role, he persisted. Complications forced last-minute changes to the script, and early critics panned the movie for bad acting, bad directing, and being overly sentimental. Still he persisted, being the only one who believed in what he had.
The producers panicked when it went over budget at $1.1 million, thinking they would never get their money back. But Rocky shattered all expectations to pull in $117 million and receive 10 Oscar nominations with 3 wins, including Best Picture.
9. Don’t die with your music still in you.
The one thing I can promise you is that you will die. Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but the day is closer than you think. Don’t waste a second waiting for your real life to begin. The time is now.
I’d rather fail and have the dignity of having tried, than give up and be a total loser and have it be my fault. I won’t die with my music still in me, and you shouldn’t either.
It's almost an year since I created this blog and thats about it.. All this while I have been figuring out what a blog is all about and what do people have to write about everyday.., but then, after reading soo many recently, from Aamir’s to the Big B’s to Chinmayi's to Raymond.CC's.. I figured out it isn’t a big deal….Jus keep it simple..
P.S. : Well I created this one way before all this hype about blogging and stuff, but then its now that I have really started or atleast plan to do so…
