Plan..

It helps. Before you embark on something new, plan it out. It might take a lot of time which might seem wasted, but it will definitely save even more time and a lot of headache later on. If you are not convinced, atleast try it next time :)

Which brings us to the next learning.

If you are not convinced of something, see if you can prove it wrong. If its just you "not being sure", it might be well worth trying it out. You will learn a lot from it even if you dump this "something" later on.

The process is ALWAYS more important than the result. :)

In desperate times..

Laugh at the situation. Make as much fun of it as you can.

Just like getting rid of a boggart :)

Purpose...

If you have a purpose in life which you feel strongly about, you can do anything!

It is a natural human tendency..

..to want to help. It makes a person feel good. It makes you feel wanted.

This means that you may actually be doing the other person a favour when you ask them for help once in a while! :)

What it also means is that one of the simplest ways to feel good is to help someone! :)

So you got hit by a lorry...

It happens.. Accept it. Accept the blame too. Dont blame it on the driver.. you were the one standing in the middle of the road thinking noone would hit you. Assess the damage objectively. You lost an arm? Well.. it could have been worse.. But the point is, that its a great lesson! Learn from it.

Think of Stephen Hawking... and you are complaining about a lost arm??? Stop insulting your intelligence and MOVE ON. You can still do great things! And remember not to stand in the middle of the road next time. :)

Dont..

underestimate anyone.

Pipelining..

..applies to the real world as well. There is a very good reason why so much effort is put into it.

The first step in getting out a hole..

is to realise that you are in a hole!

Good music..

Natural music.. unadulterated music.. makes you feel pure. Nature makes you feel pure. Stay as close to nature as possible! :) :) :)

Read news daily..

less for information, more for perspective :)

Same goes for books!

Spend 10 minutes everyday..

..thinking about nothing. Well, if thats too hard, just concentrate on your breath. Only your breath. Nothing else. 10 minutes. All the best! :-)

The benefits of this simple exercise are immense!

There is considerable difference between doing someting you love, and doing something you love with a bigger purpose which fascinates you in mind.. :)

You need to put in considerable thought to realise the latter.. And such opportunities do not come easily... they need to be created. But they give you true satisfaction. It doesnt matter what the purpose is, as long as it seems impossible, truly fascinates you, and will make you feel proud!

When such opportunities come by, it is probably worth dropping everything for them as they have the potential to take you very far...

Keep things simple..

But remember that many things are not as simple as they might appear at first. It is an opportunity for you to simplify them! :D

Money

Money, you can be a blessing and a curs at the same time. You turn friends into enemies and enemies into friends. You free us from our worries and you return other worries to us at the same time.

Money - what are your thoughts?
I am the seal of the heart - a heart sealed by me will love me exclusively.

Money - what will become of the one who loves you when you leave him?
I print a mark on my lover's heart which will remain a wound forever.

Money - what do you love most?
To change hands.

Money where is your place of abode?
In the heart of the one who adores me.

Money - whom do you seek?
The one who seeks me.

Money - whom do you obey?
To the one who has elevated himself above me, I shall become his slave and lie like dust at his feet.

Inayat Khan

“The purpose of industry was to serve the public by creating services and goods to meet its needs. It was not to make profits. Profits were necessary conditions but not its purpose.” - The Archbishop of Canterbury.

"The really great and long-term successful entrepre­neurs I have met or know of, have first had a vision, then went about its realisation. "

Reproduced from a very deep article on Money by Hans Frick! Thanks for the birthday gift pa! :)

I totally agree. The reason why financial markets are collapsing today is because the banks went after money. Dont go after money. It will come to you when you dont have a need for it. Have a vison, then go try to realise it. Money will come... You will have enough.. if you dont need it.

Hmm..

You did not post a learning on your birthday.

So many people have wished you, yet you dont wish myself.

So here is to the fantastic 20 years that have been your life...
"Happy Birthday!! May the joy and the learnings continue.. :)"

And a big thank you to everyone for making it so fantastic! :D

Decide...

and dont look back. Decide strongly. Either you want it or you dont want it. Most of the time it doesnt matter what you choose as long as you choose strongly.

Life can branch into more paths than you can comprehend.. And the turns are not always predictable. The only way to make the most of the path you are taking is to enjoy it. And this happens only when you dont look back at the paths you COULD have taken.

As they say, "The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.." So, if you keep looking at the other side, you keep switching sides. Look at your side. There is so much green in it. Enjoy this greenery. You can only do this if you stop looking at the other side :)

Thoughts on why we do what we do...

Makes sense..

If you DO take something seriously..

It will take you seriously.

Be clear when you do something.. Either take it seriously or dont. And if you dont, dont expect anything out of it. :)

Fake it..

Till you make it. And you will definitely make it if you fake it well! :)

It doesnt matter how much you know about something...

There will always be surprises. :)

The electron itself has no clue where it is or where it is going. Why do you think YOU can predict what will happen? You can try hard, but dont expect to be successful!

This universe is indeterministic. Let's face it :)

Keep your stomach happy..

your mind will be happy too! :)

Finshing..

Yet again.. a last minute submission. And you are only 30% done for your submission tomorrow.

Focus on getting a version done from the beginning and then working on making it better, rather than trying for the best possible version. Do it like an exam.. finish it first. Then working on finishing it well. It might perhaps still take till the last minute.. or you may again not get a version you are happy with, but atleast you are done.It eases pressure. :)

Only when there are constraints, do ideas flow. A creative brain is creative. Whatever the constraints are, as long as they are well defined. Maybe you ll get better ideas if the constraints had been different, but it will definitely be better than no constraints. The constraints can always be relaxed at a later stage if necessary..

If you dont take something seriously..

It wont take you seriously either :)

Thoughts...

Why dont I seem to have the intensity I had on Friday? Is it possible only when I am rushing to meet a deadline? Or do I work better when there is a group of people working on the same thing?

Yes, what had to be done on Friday required less brainwork and more hardwork. Is that the reason? Is it the environment? I should try working in SoC then.. Or maybe the current relaxed, half focussed way is the ideal way to do something.. Relaxed yes.. but half focussed? No cannot be. So why is it that I am not able to focus on the task at hand for a stretch and finish it off? Why does the focus come only in bursts? Even when I am very much interested in the task at hand? 

Future steps:

Try working at SoC alone

Observe yourself while doing today's project... see if its the group factor.

Will yourself to focus.. Dont think of anything but the focus.

The Daffodil Principle :)

The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, 'How can I put this to use today?'

There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
So work like you don't need money. Love like you've never been hurt, and dance like no one's watching. :D

A very nice story to help understand what that means...

Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, 'Mother, you must come to see the daffodils before they are over.'

I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from my house.
'I will come next Tuesday', I promised a little reluctantly on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. But, as I had promised I left for her home reluctantly. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house, I was welcomed by the joyful sounds of happy children. I delightedly hugged and greeted my grandchildren.
'Perhaps we can give the daffodils a go-by, Carolyn? The road is invisible in these clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these children that I want to see badly enough to drive another inch!'
My daughter smiled and said, ' It is okay mom. I can drive in this.'
We all went and my daughter was driving. The weather was sure bad. I was concerned. I suggested to Carolyn that we turned back.
My daughter persisted. 'It's all right, Mother, I promise. You will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience.'
After about twenty minutes, we turned onto a small gravel road and I saw a small church. On the far side of the church, I saw a hand lettered sign with an arrow that read,! 'Daffodil Garden.' We got out of the car, each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path. Then, as we turned a corner, I looked up and gasped. Before me, lay the most glorious sight.
It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it over the mountain peak and its surrounding slopes. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, creamy white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety was planted in large groups so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. There were five acres of flowers.
'Who did this?' I asked Carolyn.
'Just one woman,' Carolyn answered. 'She lives on the property. That's her home.' Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house, small and modestly sitting in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house.
On the patio, we saw a poster. 'Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking', was the headline.
The first answer was- '50,000 bulbs,' it read.
The second answer was, 'One at a time, by one woman. Two hands, two feet, and one brain.'
The third answer was, 'Began in 1958.'
For me, that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than forty years before, had begun, one bulb at a time, to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountaintop. Planting one bulb at a time, year after year, this unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. One day at a time, she had created something of extraordinary magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principles of celebration. And she created not for others, but for herself, for the nature, for her surroundings.
That is, learning to move toward implementing our vision and dreams - one step at a time, often just one baby-step at a time and learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things.
'It makes me sad in a way,' I admitted to Carolyn. ' What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty five or forty years ago and had worked away at it 'one! bulb at a time' through all those years? 'Just think what I might have been able to achieve!'
My daughter summed up the message of the day in her usual direct way. 'Start tomorrow,' she said.
She was right. It's so pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson of celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, 'How can I put this to use today?'
Use the Daffodil Principle.
Stop waiting.....
Until our car or home is paid off
Until we get a new car or home
Until our children are married
Until we go back to school
Until we finish school
Until we move to new residence
Until we get married
Until we get a divorce
Until we have kids
Until the kids go to school
Until we retire
Until summer
Until New year
Until the festival

There is no better time than right now to be happy. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
So work like you don't need money. Love like you've never been hurt, and dance like no one's watching...

Courtesy Appa

Wishing you a beautiful, daffodil day! :)

End of Round 1

It might be extremely thrilling to finish something in the 11th hour but try not to make it a habit. If you are doing something big enough, there is a very good chance it will blow up in your face. When that happens it might not be so much fun picking up the pieces. :)

Next time, plan your food properly, start eating heavier meals or keep a good reservoir of food. It is evident that your productivity is much higher when you dont have a growling stomach distracting you. Your body doesnt deserve to be abused in this manner.

Get ready for round 2!

you dont appreciate things fully..

till you see the other side of the coin.

Dont give up...

You are not giving your 100% when you are thinking of giving up or compromising.

But that doesnt mean you blindly walk jump into the hole. You must convince yourself that it is perfectly possible. There is not question about it. Now, with that as the invariant, come up with a better plan... where there is a will, there is a way :)

True focus

Is about submerging yourself completely in activity 1 and not getting out till its done. If you reach a point where you wish get out, make sure you get out completely and submerge yourself in activity 2. Do not think of activity 1 at this point. The satisfaction is much greater.

In simpler words, do one thing at a time. The trick sometimes is simply picking the right thing at the right time. :)

Teaching...

is not about trying to somehow dump all your knowledge on the student. Eager as you may be to share knowledge, it cannot be received like that.

Teaching involves picking the right level of information to share and packaging it such that it facilitates learning. 3 steps you could work on would be to lay down the framework, spark interest and show direction.

Take it slow.

And do one thing at a time.

And its not a very good idea to become a robot. Leave space for creativity...

Enjoy..

the means. The end will then not matter. You gain more from the means anyway.. :)