I read a book "The conquest of happiness"... by Bertrand Russell
Its a book that one should read at different stages of ones life...I happened to read it at the age of 23. When I am 35 or 50 it will have a different meaning for me.
It is one of the best self-help books I have ever come across.
One thing I would like to mention is that ...great works are there in such life changing books..but all is in vain unless practiced in real life.
All in all a must read book!!
09 July, 2007
07 July, 2007
Chennai Stories - 1
I am really jobless today and hence thought of scribbling some things that amazed me in past few days.
Incidence - 1
One day my friend and I were at Koyembedu private bus stand (Chennai) and we wanted to go to Spencer's plaza (one of the oldest shopping mall of Chennai). We asked the auto rickshaw drivers for the amount they would charge to take us to that place. This is typical of Chennai. Here the auto rickshaws will have the fare meters. But the drivers will never charge fare according to the meter. Instead they will charge some arbitrary amount and extort money from the passengers like anything. If you are aware of the distance and the fares that are generally charged, u know how much is apt and up to what you can bargain. But if you are a novice then be prepared to get “looted” by them.
Taking this into consideration, the auto fellows were asking for somewhere in the range of 80 -100 bucks. This was just too much and therefore we decided to go by the local city bus. We needed the direction to reach to that place and so we asked a few people for the way to the bus stand. One old gentleman, instead of showing us the directions, came all the way with us to the bus stand. This was some 1 -1 ½ Kilometer from the place. My friend and I were just wondering why he came all the way there. What is the motivation for him to come all the way to that place without any selfish motive?
He was the hero of the day in my eyes. I was thinking about this and one day, I chanced upon to read somewhere that some people feel motivated by helping others. There are many live and bigger examples of such people the in past. But this was one live and recent case before my eyes. When such things happen, very naturally you pray to Almighty for the well being of that person.
Incidence-2
I wanted to get my leather handbag stitched. It was torn from sides. I thought of getting it done from a roadside cobbler. The other day I was carrying that bag and was returning from an ATM.
On the roadside, I saw an old lady cobbler having her afternoon “siesta”. She was dark in complexion. A little bit fat. She wore a saree. Though she was a cobbler her nose and ears were pierced with jewellery that looked of gold to me. She wore a thick golden necklace and many bangles. Now ladies with this much jewellery is a common sight in Chennai. She had a hand fan lying besides her. Expression on her face were that of an “angry old lady”. A mat containing her tools and many shoes were lying in front of her. It seemed that she is into this business from quite sometime. This was taking into consideration her age and the way tools were lying on the mat. All required tools were arranged so that they are handy and convenient to use.
I thought of waking her up. But then, thought of not spoiling her nap. But my presence around woke her. I don’t know Tamil so I showed her my bag and the torn part. She took the bag and started stitching the torn part. She really did a good job. I asked for the fees. She showed me with her 3 fingers “3”. I understood that she asked for three rupees. I thought that this wonderful job is at least worth Rs. 10 (Kunjoos me !! ). So, I handed over a 10 rupees note. She gave a perplexed look to me then I asked “what?” Then again with her fingers she showed me 3 and 10. I thought I understood this time what she was asking for. So I wrote on the ground with my fingers “30”. She nodded her head. I started laughing at my intended generosity and I was literary feeling like a fool. Then I explained her that the amount she got was okay. But then she was looking very furious, so I gave some other 6 bucks (this was all I had with me in my money purse, though I had Rs. 2000/- in my pant pocket which I recently withdrew from ATM). I escaped from her showing her my empty money purse indicating that this was all that I have. When I reached my room, I was contemplating over the entire episode. Whether I did a right thing or wrong ?
I thought, we spend 100 bucks and many times 200 hundred bucks for the movies at multiplexes, but when it comes to giving 30 rupees to cobbler you refuse to give. This is because YOU don’t think that it is worth it
Incidence - 1
One day my friend and I were at Koyembedu private bus stand (Chennai) and we wanted to go to Spencer's plaza (one of the oldest shopping mall of Chennai). We asked the auto rickshaw drivers for the amount they would charge to take us to that place. This is typical of Chennai. Here the auto rickshaws will have the fare meters. But the drivers will never charge fare according to the meter. Instead they will charge some arbitrary amount and extort money from the passengers like anything. If you are aware of the distance and the fares that are generally charged, u know how much is apt and up to what you can bargain. But if you are a novice then be prepared to get “looted” by them.
Taking this into consideration, the auto fellows were asking for somewhere in the range of 80 -100 bucks. This was just too much and therefore we decided to go by the local city bus. We needed the direction to reach to that place and so we asked a few people for the way to the bus stand. One old gentleman, instead of showing us the directions, came all the way with us to the bus stand. This was some 1 -1 ½ Kilometer from the place. My friend and I were just wondering why he came all the way there. What is the motivation for him to come all the way to that place without any selfish motive?
He was the hero of the day in my eyes. I was thinking about this and one day, I chanced upon to read somewhere that some people feel motivated by helping others. There are many live and bigger examples of such people the in past. But this was one live and recent case before my eyes. When such things happen, very naturally you pray to Almighty for the well being of that person.
Incidence-2
I wanted to get my leather handbag stitched. It was torn from sides. I thought of getting it done from a roadside cobbler. The other day I was carrying that bag and was returning from an ATM.On the roadside, I saw an old lady cobbler having her afternoon “siesta”. She was dark in complexion. A little bit fat. She wore a saree. Though she was a cobbler her nose and ears were pierced with jewellery that looked of gold to me. She wore a thick golden necklace and many bangles. Now ladies with this much jewellery is a common sight in Chennai. She had a hand fan lying besides her. Expression on her face were that of an “angry old lady”. A mat containing her tools and many shoes were lying in front of her. It seemed that she is into this business from quite sometime. This was taking into consideration her age and the way tools were lying on the mat. All required tools were arranged so that they are handy and convenient to use.
I thought of waking her up. But then, thought of not spoiling her nap. But my presence around woke her. I don’t know Tamil so I showed her my bag and the torn part. She took the bag and started stitching the torn part. She really did a good job. I asked for the fees. She showed me with her 3 fingers “3”. I understood that she asked for three rupees. I thought that this wonderful job is at least worth Rs. 10 (Kunjoos me !! ). So, I handed over a 10 rupees note. She gave a perplexed look to me then I asked “what?” Then again with her fingers she showed me 3 and 10. I thought I understood this time what she was asking for. So I wrote on the ground with my fingers “30”. She nodded her head. I started laughing at my intended generosity and I was literary feeling like a fool. Then I explained her that the amount she got was okay. But then she was looking very furious, so I gave some other 6 bucks (this was all I had with me in my money purse, though I had Rs. 2000/- in my pant pocket which I recently withdrew from ATM). I escaped from her showing her my empty money purse indicating that this was all that I have. When I reached my room, I was contemplating over the entire episode. Whether I did a right thing or wrong ?
I thought, we spend 100 bucks and many times 200 hundred bucks for the movies at multiplexes, but when it comes to giving 30 rupees to cobbler you refuse to give. This is because YOU don’t think that it is worth it
01 July, 2007
One minute please !!
The other day, I attended the brainstorming session of MMA (Madras Management Association) to decide the theme for the 6th MMA All India Management Students' Convention. At the end of the session we were shown a small video...
It had three parts
One minute Goal setting
One minute Praise
One minute Reprimand
Here are the steps for all the three
One minute Goal setting
Agree on goals
Set a goal and performance
Write down goals
Read and reread the goals
One minute Praising
Be Upfront
Immediate
Approximately right
Specific
Share feelings
Moment of slience
Encourage more
Touch
One Minute Reprimand
Share before hand
Immediate
Specific
Share feeling
Pause for reflection
Reaffirm
Touch
All these points were explained with famous Hollywood movie "Rocky".
Of all the "One minuters"..I have started practicing..One minute goal setting..
For the other two I am waiting for the right time.
It had three parts
One minute Goal setting
One minute Praise
One minute Reprimand
Here are the steps for all the three
One minute Goal setting
Agree on goals
Set a goal and performance
Write down goals
Read and reread the goals
One minute Praising
Be Upfront
Immediate
Approximately right
Specific
Share feelings
Moment of slience
Encourage more
Touch
One Minute Reprimand
Share before hand
Immediate
Specific
Share feeling
Pause for reflection
Reaffirm
Touch
All these points were explained with famous Hollywood movie "Rocky".
Of all the "One minuters"..I have started practicing..One minute goal setting..
For the other two I am waiting for the right time.
14 June, 2007
U and your organization ( part -1)
At the start of your new job/work, you have your own pace, your own zest, of doing work in the organization. As time passes, either you have conflicts with the methodology of the organization or you adapt to the methodology of the organization. If the organization’s way of doing work is lead back kind of and moves ahead in a laggard manner then its really bad. It will change you to work slowly. There can be many such non acceptable things present at the organization u work for, like bureaucracy etc. You can not enforce your good ways of tackling the work in a matter of week or month or even sometimes a year or two. The work culture of the organization is there since the time it was incepted. To bring the change you need to be a part of the system and slowly by getting along with the processes you can bring in that change. The duration of such a change depends on the magnitude of the change. The change that is near to the truth or the truth itself, will take the least time to get accepted. So let your changes be the changes for the progress of organization built on the strong foundation of truth so that no earthquake (trend change) will be able to disrupt it.
12 June, 2007
CeLeBrAtInG 1st BiRtHdAy !!
Hi all,
It has been one year since this mania called blog-o-maina caught me !! ..Well I would sincerely like to thank my friend Rajneesh ( http://rajionsong.blogspot.com/ ) for encouraging me to start blogging. Blog has always been a space for me to express my ideas, opinions and many times complete article I liked At this point I am wondering, that I have grown one year older in blogging and I personally feel that I have grown mentally too. This is in terms of my thoughts. They are more organized than what they were earlier.
Ya. I do agree that there were a lots of breaks in between and topics were spread across various fields. But, its because of your earnest comments, my dear readers, that encouraged me to blog and especially Anoop's and Ravi's feedback to post original work has given me a new jolt to blog more furiously.
Keep reading and dont forget to leave your invaluable comments.
Well ,..ending this post by a wonderful painting by some unknown artist. This is one of my favourites.
Originality ... made great people !!
Recently, I read Creating Minds, a book by Howard Gardner. In this book Howard Gardner has described seven personalities in the descending order of his perception of their being creative. The names of the great personalities are as follows
Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Igor Stravinsky, T. S Eliot, Martha Graham
and Mahatma Gandhi.
The author's focus here is to search for patterns to find out similarities and differences.
Author quotes, "I believe that if we can better understand the breakthroughs achieved by individuals deliberately drawn from diverse domain, we should be able to tease out principles that govern creative human activity, wherever it arises I shall argue that a creative breakthrough in one realm cannot be collapsed uncritically with breakthroughs in other realms.”
He also says, “Each creative breakthrough entails an intersection of the childlike and the mature; the peculiar genius of the modern in the century has been the incorporation of the sensibility of a very young child.
The book starts with the description of the principle components in the study of creativity, then goes on to describe the seven personalities in the context of these components and ends with drawing the similarities and differences among these creative minds.
Of all the personalities, the people about whom I was interested to know about were Freud, Einstein and Gandhiji.
Well the things that are still there in me after reading about them are:
They all had a good emotional support of their near and dear ones and friends.
They chose to shine in the area where they felt very wholesome. The area, where they could identify themselves the best.
They all isolated themselves from the society when they stood out with their first breakthrough.
After this, they gained supporters’ support and admirers’ love to make their creation widespread.
While reading this, if you were able to identify yourself with any of the characteristics mentioned above, then you may be the next creating mind of this century.
We all are unique creation of the supreme power that rules this universe and we all have creativity within us. The only thing lacking is the right blend of the circumstances, opportunities, determination and of course luck.
Sigmund Freud, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Igor Stravinsky, T. S Eliot, Martha Graham
and Mahatma Gandhi.
The author's focus here is to search for patterns to find out similarities and differences.
Author quotes, "I believe that if we can better understand the breakthroughs achieved by individuals deliberately drawn from diverse domain, we should be able to tease out principles that govern creative human activity, wherever it arises I shall argue that a creative breakthrough in one realm cannot be collapsed uncritically with breakthroughs in other realms.”
He also says, “Each creative breakthrough entails an intersection of the childlike and the mature; the peculiar genius of the modern in the century has been the incorporation of the sensibility of a very young child.
The book starts with the description of the principle components in the study of creativity, then goes on to describe the seven personalities in the context of these components and ends with drawing the similarities and differences among these creative minds.
Of all the personalities, the people about whom I was interested to know about were Freud, Einstein and Gandhiji.
Well the things that are still there in me after reading about them are:
They all had a good emotional support of their near and dear ones and friends.
They chose to shine in the area where they felt very wholesome. The area, where they could identify themselves the best.
They all isolated themselves from the society when they stood out with their first breakthrough.
After this, they gained supporters’ support and admirers’ love to make their creation widespread.
While reading this, if you were able to identify yourself with any of the characteristics mentioned above, then you may be the next creating mind of this century.
We all are unique creation of the supreme power that rules this universe and we all have creativity within us. The only thing lacking is the right blend of the circumstances, opportunities, determination and of course luck.
06 June, 2007
Just another post !!
Not a seasoned writer, but here I am, scribbling something in my blog.
Every moment you live, you judge yourself (right or wrong). This right or wrong is applicable to anything of your life (your career decision, your behavior, and your friends). And we want everything to be right. Well, there are times when you feel that you have made a wrong decision. People say,successful person moves from wrong to the right track . But is it always possible to revert to right track? And is there something called right track of life or is it just a matter of pure luck?
Every moment you live, you judge yourself (right or wrong). This right or wrong is applicable to anything of your life (your career decision, your behavior, and your friends). And we want everything to be right. Well, there are times when you feel that you have made a wrong decision. People say,successful person moves from wrong to the right track . But is it always possible to revert to right track? And is there something called right track of life or is it just a matter of pure luck?
Well according to me, good luck is one of the factors to a successful life and it is not under our control. So give your best to everything you do and leave the rest on your luck!!
Did I do a right thing by posting this?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)