Showing posts with label Life Goals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Life Goals. Show all posts
Friday, May 29, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
Increase Confidence!
This is from an email forward. Thanks to whoever wrote it originally.
Is your confidence intensity is where you’d like it to be?
Many relationship issues occur from a short of of confidence or low self-esteem. little self-confidence can put in withdrawal, lack of closeness and even unfaithfulness in a relationship.
So, how can you amplify your confidence? Well, self-confidence is not a product that can be plucked from a tree or pulled from a bookshelf. You see, having advantage for ones self is all about self-love and that comes from inside. So, in numerous ways achieving self confidence is an expedition within.
However, there are various things you can do that will help to catch you the right track. To get you moving in the right path I’ve included the following “Ways to raise your Confidence”…
1. Think about a name that is confident and act, speak and walk similar to him or her. mock-up their mannerisms and activities. It works for them; it will work for you.
2. Smile a lot added. That doesn’t stand for putting a silly grin on your face! But smile when you walk down the lane, when you meet up people and generally be better-off even if you’re not feeling that way.
3. Gain knowledge from the past; don’t bang yourself up about it. It’s gone; it’s by no means coming back. Instead learn from it for next time.
4. Purchase yourself some new clothes, get your locks done, and care for yourself to something new. It will make you feel superior and will give your ego a boost.
5. Are you ready for situations? Are you prepared enough to meet up any test that may come up? Are you geared up for that meeting, that presentation, that job interview, when you meet somebody for the first time? If not, get to it.
6. Cooperate to your strengths. Know what you are excellent at and expose yourself to these opportunities at all opportunities - because you’re superior at it, you’ll enjoy it and have more poise.
7. Look up your weaknesses. Know and understand what these are and put a plan in place to improve them over time.
8. Gain knowledge of how to say no to people. Don’t be frightened, you’ve got nothing to be afraid of. Just watch the response on their face after you’ve said it the first time and there will be no going back.
9. Be positive. Gaze on the “can do” side of things rather than the “can’t do”. You’ve proficient lots in your life and you will accomplish lots additional in the future.
10. Be in charge of your opinion at all times. What is a thought? It’s just a query that you’ve asked yourself and the consideration is you’re answer. If you’re having negative thoughts, you’re probably asking a negative issue. Alter the questions to be more positive.
11. Whenever you experience a negative thought coming, discontinue, THINK, and say is this really vital in the grand scheme of things. A lot of the instance it isn’t. A lot of people in life major in minor things!
After you have done the superlative you can to address the connection issues, you can go back to the reasons you are having these discussions in the first place — the raise, help, change in job responsibility or shift you have been seeking. Only now you will find a human being with whom it is much easier to deal. Where earlier there may have only been stony silence, worry and stress, there should be extra open dialogue and difficulty sorting.
Efficient and good operational relationships are essential to productive negotiations. If they do not survive, you have to take time to expand them. It will never be trouble-free, but it is always priceless.
Powered by ScribeFire.
Monday, May 11, 2009
The B-Part of things
The B-part? Best part? Business aspect? The Bigger Picture? The Bold perspective? The Broader perspective? The Bubbly part? Behind the scenes? Branding!?
When I had to decide between a campus placement offer from Infosys, and a Research Associate offer from IIT Bombay (with less than one third the compensation than the Infosys offer), I was weighing the options to know the better one of the two offers. For me, B was the Better part. And over the years, I have tried to understand, what comprises the better part of things in life.
Rourkela as a city, has people from all parts of India. It is different in many ways: we had kids from all states, religions, languages in India (including German and Zambian kids!) during school. This showed me some aspects of life that gets missed when you grow up in a more localized city or town. I moved on to study at the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, which again had students from all states in India. Diversity as a word, became more of my nature than my habit and showed me a broader arena. Then came a stint at IIT Bombay - my interactions with individuals from all over the world was similar from the bigger perspective of humanity. To me, almost everyone looked the same from the fundamentals of human nature, and at the same time, everyone was unique! Apart from Orissa, I have resided in West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. I have observed people in all walks of life, and for me, every time, B stands for something new - and Beautiful!
After two years at IIT Bombay, I have spent time at TVS Motor, General Electric and Mercedes Benz. Although most of the work was as an individual contributor in the team, there have been numerous instances when I had to lead a team. Whether it was setting up the IC Engines Lab at the Mechanical Engineering department of IIT Bombay, or going for on-road tests of bikes while I was with TVS Motor, knowing people and the variety of behavior that they have, has been very useful. The audience has been different each time - and so was the learning. I have advanced technically ahead enough for challenging roles and emotionally high enough for mentally gainsaying situations. The B part that I have always tried to understand in my life has taken various forms in diverse situations but all amalgamted under the better aspect of things.
When I observe my colleagues, I find them extremely good at the things that are assigned to do. But, rarely does one find people looking at bigger pictures. When someone designs a hybrid engine controller in my lab, very few are the ones who can envisage the controller's features ten years ahead of time. Not sure whether outsourcing is the culprit, I have found many people excelling at what they have been told to do. When you look at the bigger picture, you can think better and design far better. You might argue that the management is the agency whose job is to look at the bigger picture. Well, if you have the habit of having a broader perspective than just the work assigned to you, it is far better than what the management can ever imagine. A management body basically works as an entity with quantifiable faith on the guidance provided by the field folks. It is a decision making authority - the vision part is still in the mind of the individual contributor. Like many others, I initially did not like Project Management related activities - 'we are techies, PM is for managers' was the mantra. But it was PM and related work that helped me look beyond implementation techniques. Your vision tends to grow.
When I organized the first team offsite after joining GE India, we went to Eagleton Resorts on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. Right from the decision about games till the choice of food and entertainment, it was extremely well-planned . I contacted various vendors before deciding the resort we went to (with team poll), made out lists of gifts to be given to team folks, negotiated with suppliers for offers on mass buying of items and carried out tens of other such actions at both the micro as well as macro level. In fact, I risked delaying a deliverable by sometime because my team got stuck in bureaucratic issue and as a lead volunteer for the team offsite, I thought it okay for something else to wait! (You have to learn taking such calls in life!) If the event had not gone the way it did, I might had had to hear verses from my manager! But that was a calculated risk and the whole of my team was with me. Life gives you choices and you have to make one. I felt (this was corroborated after discussing with everyone) that the only way to have a really memorable team event was to forget the previous ones and look at the broader perspective of the intention behind it - for the team members, it had to be a fun-filled event while for the management, it had to showcase team-building activities in a relaxed, away-from-office environment. The moment you lose focus of the bigger picture, you might remain stuck in just the fact that the food got colder! or the transport arrived late by five minutes (which is reason enough, funnily, for both your manager as well as teammates to start disliking you!)
I have already narrated some experiences from the days when I was the students' secretary of my hostel. You can have a look at it here. Life was bubbly, beautiful, bold and bigger!
The 'B' in business is something that needs some thought. Without this aspect, we are almost totally handicapped in achieving bigger aims. In the conventional manner, it all boils down to profit, and in the wider window of a business vision, it shows us new avenues to explore and exceed with ou skills. I had written a post about business as a social solution (click here). Entangled closely with money and benefits, you can never ignore this 'b' in life! I was reading about the expectations of an engineer doing an MBA - and I understood how important it is to look behind the scenes, why a product is made in the first place, and why/how is it branded!!
Many a times, I feel that I dream bigger than my colleagues, and am insanely passionate about achieving my visions: Dreams, broader than individuals at my level of career growth and more beautiful as well. Let's see huge visions in every aspect of our work, without forgetting that the smallest details keep the key to the biggest achievements.
One of my managers in the past, used to repeat the words 'look at the whole scenario', in every sentence of his talk. Although it was quite irritating to hear the same words being repeated so many times, there still remains a lot of truth in his words.
When I had to decide between a campus placement offer from Infosys, and a Research Associate offer from IIT Bombay (with less than one third the compensation than the Infosys offer), I was weighing the options to know the better one of the two offers. For me, B was the Better part. And over the years, I have tried to understand, what comprises the better part of things in life.
Rourkela as a city, has people from all parts of India. It is different in many ways: we had kids from all states, religions, languages in India (including German and Zambian kids!) during school. This showed me some aspects of life that gets missed when you grow up in a more localized city or town. I moved on to study at the National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, which again had students from all states in India. Diversity as a word, became more of my nature than my habit and showed me a broader arena. Then came a stint at IIT Bombay - my interactions with individuals from all over the world was similar from the bigger perspective of humanity. To me, almost everyone looked the same from the fundamentals of human nature, and at the same time, everyone was unique! Apart from Orissa, I have resided in West Bengal, Assam, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. I have observed people in all walks of life, and for me, every time, B stands for something new - and Beautiful!
After two years at IIT Bombay, I have spent time at TVS Motor, General Electric and Mercedes Benz. Although most of the work was as an individual contributor in the team, there have been numerous instances when I had to lead a team. Whether it was setting up the IC Engines Lab at the Mechanical Engineering department of IIT Bombay, or going for on-road tests of bikes while I was with TVS Motor, knowing people and the variety of behavior that they have, has been very useful. The audience has been different each time - and so was the learning. I have advanced technically ahead enough for challenging roles and emotionally high enough for mentally gainsaying situations. The B part that I have always tried to understand in my life has taken various forms in diverse situations but all amalgamted under the better aspect of things.
When I observe my colleagues, I find them extremely good at the things that are assigned to do. But, rarely does one find people looking at bigger pictures. When someone designs a hybrid engine controller in my lab, very few are the ones who can envisage the controller's features ten years ahead of time. Not sure whether outsourcing is the culprit, I have found many people excelling at what they have been told to do. When you look at the bigger picture, you can think better and design far better. You might argue that the management is the agency whose job is to look at the bigger picture. Well, if you have the habit of having a broader perspective than just the work assigned to you, it is far better than what the management can ever imagine. A management body basically works as an entity with quantifiable faith on the guidance provided by the field folks. It is a decision making authority - the vision part is still in the mind of the individual contributor. Like many others, I initially did not like Project Management related activities - 'we are techies, PM is for managers' was the mantra. But it was PM and related work that helped me look beyond implementation techniques. Your vision tends to grow.
When I organized the first team offsite after joining GE India, we went to Eagleton Resorts on the Bangalore-Mysore highway. Right from the decision about games till the choice of food and entertainment, it was extremely well-planned . I contacted various vendors before deciding the resort we went to (with team poll), made out lists of gifts to be given to team folks, negotiated with suppliers for offers on mass buying of items and carried out tens of other such actions at both the micro as well as macro level. In fact, I risked delaying a deliverable by sometime because my team got stuck in bureaucratic issue and as a lead volunteer for the team offsite, I thought it okay for something else to wait! (You have to learn taking such calls in life!) If the event had not gone the way it did, I might had had to hear verses from my manager! But that was a calculated risk and the whole of my team was with me. Life gives you choices and you have to make one. I felt (this was corroborated after discussing with everyone) that the only way to have a really memorable team event was to forget the previous ones and look at the broader perspective of the intention behind it - for the team members, it had to be a fun-filled event while for the management, it had to showcase team-building activities in a relaxed, away-from-office environment. The moment you lose focus of the bigger picture, you might remain stuck in just the fact that the food got colder! or the transport arrived late by five minutes (which is reason enough, funnily, for both your manager as well as teammates to start disliking you!)
I have already narrated some experiences from the days when I was the students' secretary of my hostel. You can have a look at it here. Life was bubbly, beautiful, bold and bigger!
The 'B' in business is something that needs some thought. Without this aspect, we are almost totally handicapped in achieving bigger aims. In the conventional manner, it all boils down to profit, and in the wider window of a business vision, it shows us new avenues to explore and exceed with ou skills. I had written a post about business as a social solution (click here). Entangled closely with money and benefits, you can never ignore this 'b' in life! I was reading about the expectations of an engineer doing an MBA - and I understood how important it is to look behind the scenes, why a product is made in the first place, and why/how is it branded!!
Many a times, I feel that I dream bigger than my colleagues, and am insanely passionate about achieving my visions: Dreams, broader than individuals at my level of career growth and more beautiful as well. Let's see huge visions in every aspect of our work, without forgetting that the smallest details keep the key to the biggest achievements.
One of my managers in the past, used to repeat the words 'look at the whole scenario', in every sentence of his talk. Although it was quite irritating to hear the same words being repeated so many times, there still remains a lot of truth in his words.
Powered by ScribeFire.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Chetan Bhagat's Speech at Symbiosis Pune
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-year old 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 2,500 weekends. 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 long time 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 damm 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, your 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 a billion sparks.
All rights reserved for site content.
Visit Jeev's Homepage
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-year old 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 2,500 weekends. 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 long time 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 damm 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, your 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 a billion sparks.
All rights reserved for site content.
Visit Jeev's Homepage
Powered by ScribeFire.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
