These six words are the most deceptive ones that each of us need to watch out for and be cautious about, for can there be such a situation. It makes me wonder and ponder the sense of satisfaction we get on hearing those words.
If as children, that satisfied our appetite of listening to a story of struggle, pain, and exploitation, that reached a logical conclusion of victory over evil. Representing Good was a personality or a group of people, with a hero who were anointed as the winners. The Evil obviously was the one portrayed as a Loser, with most endings portraying total elimination, annihilation or abject surrender. To surmise was this great line of …and they lived happily ever after!
A beggar on the road with tattered clothes and a frail frame was begging from home to home, presenting a sales pitch of `I have not had food for xx days, I am hungry, please feed me, and the almighty will bless you.’ Out of total sympathy, you fall for this and decide to feed the beggar, as this gives you the satisfaction of having done some good, and the beggar having satisfied the immediate need of eliminating hunger. So the beggar was the winner, for he got what he wanted; and you too were the winner for you gave what you had – maybe in excess or decided to share.
That sense of satisfaction leads you to a world of illusion that this point forward, the beggar shall live happily ever after, for you satisfied the hunger pangs. The journey actually begins, for both parties to savour the moment and get on with life. But you like to pause at that moment and loathe over it, while the beggar gets on with life and delivers his sales pitch of `I have not had food for xx days, I am hungry, please feed me, and the almighty will bless you.’.
As a child you yearned for something desperately, and pitched your desire in appropriate ways, shouting, crying, exhorting, protesting, till you reached your goal of attaining that object. Having achieved the state of desire, you again tend to loathe over it, without realizing that you have to get on with life. If it was permission for an occasion, you had to live up to it, if it was an object of desire, you had to learn to cope with it. This continues across various stages of life -- be it teenage, adult, mature adult, parent, grand parent. You tend to follow this pattern.
What is the beginning of a journey is often confused at the destination itself and that gives you a good orientation of being misdirected, moving in a haphazard manner, in search of a destination, when you think you have already arrived.
Where am I, Where do I want to be and How do I get there, are the three questions that you need to be asking yourselves, for should you ever not want to introspect on these questions at any time in life, you start living the illusions of being a `winner’, and you are bound to fall.
But the person who displays a sense of awareness has no qualms about accepting that he is a person in search of newer destinations and never wants to rest in the quest of exploration is the perceived loser. For such a person, setbacks don’t matter, for they perceive it as challenges and for them reaching the final destination, without getting distracted by the so called illusory pleasures, does!
The choice is yours – loathe the moment and feel as the winner, because you can say ... and you lived happily ever after, or get on with life, for you have many more things to achieve!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Hare or Tortoise – whose side are you on!
One of the earliest proverbs that stuck to your mind – slow and steady wins the race, and the story illustrates how the swift hare loses a race to a slow and stead tortoise, because the hare tends to be complacent. This story is perhaps the best illustration of the title – do we get overwhelmed by `hares’ and bored of tortoises for their respective styles. I wonder, in in modern times, what odds the bookies would have offered to those wanting to bet on the tortoise!
Just on this story alone there have been innumerous sequels – like fast and furious win, rendering this tale to be irrelevant. The example often quoted was the initial success of dotcom boom that ushered in a whole new term thus dividing business into New Economy and Old Economy. Ring out the Old, Ring in the new – and everyone followed the Hare, till the tortoise caught up and today people trust not just an idea, but an idea supported with logic and long term success, thus lending this tale relevant all over again.
Nations with history and tradition that got left behind in the industrialization age are suddenly witnessing an upsurge and demands for their ancient practice, systems and treatments. Yoga, Ayurveda, Meditation are three simple examples from India. West is moving towards vegetarianism, while the East is moving towards the other end.
In another sequel of the Hare and the Tortoise, the also race involved crossing a pond, and the story has it that the two decided to co-operate and take the race together. On land the Hare took the tortoise on its back, while in the water, the tortoise took the hare on its back and completed the race faster. Another concept of Interdependence, Co-opetition (competitive co-operation) illustrated beautifully.
Our interpretation of Hare and Tortoise in the modern times draws a parallel to Wealth and Knowledge respectively. Those who dream of acquiring wealth may succeed, their progress may be swift, and get perceived as winners. They are bound to get complacent like the hare and get caught in the wheels of time. Those seeking knowledge are able to do so and have a steady rise in their careers, and equip themselves to face tomorrow with agility.
Thank god that world is now referring to the current age as Knowledge Economy (Wealth). We are lucky to be living in exciting times, but should one try to give a cold shoulder to knowledge, then you are bound to witness a society of cosmetic winners, who will end up as bad losers, while those who pursue knowledge as core will emerge as winners in the long run. Patience, Perseverance pays!
If your learning is for knowledge sake, then earning will automatically follow, but if you are learning for earning sake, then you need to re-look your learning.
Just on this story alone there have been innumerous sequels – like fast and furious win, rendering this tale to be irrelevant. The example often quoted was the initial success of dotcom boom that ushered in a whole new term thus dividing business into New Economy and Old Economy. Ring out the Old, Ring in the new – and everyone followed the Hare, till the tortoise caught up and today people trust not just an idea, but an idea supported with logic and long term success, thus lending this tale relevant all over again.
Nations with history and tradition that got left behind in the industrialization age are suddenly witnessing an upsurge and demands for their ancient practice, systems and treatments. Yoga, Ayurveda, Meditation are three simple examples from India. West is moving towards vegetarianism, while the East is moving towards the other end.
In another sequel of the Hare and the Tortoise, the also race involved crossing a pond, and the story has it that the two decided to co-operate and take the race together. On land the Hare took the tortoise on its back, while in the water, the tortoise took the hare on its back and completed the race faster. Another concept of Interdependence, Co-opetition (competitive co-operation) illustrated beautifully.
Our interpretation of Hare and Tortoise in the modern times draws a parallel to Wealth and Knowledge respectively. Those who dream of acquiring wealth may succeed, their progress may be swift, and get perceived as winners. They are bound to get complacent like the hare and get caught in the wheels of time. Those seeking knowledge are able to do so and have a steady rise in their careers, and equip themselves to face tomorrow with agility.
Thank god that world is now referring to the current age as Knowledge Economy (Wealth). We are lucky to be living in exciting times, but should one try to give a cold shoulder to knowledge, then you are bound to witness a society of cosmetic winners, who will end up as bad losers, while those who pursue knowledge as core will emerge as winners in the long run. Patience, Perseverance pays!
If your learning is for knowledge sake, then earning will automatically follow, but if you are learning for earning sake, then you need to re-look your learning.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Aspiration to Ambition to Actualization
Each of us have aspired to be something, kept that as a focus, and hence an ambition to achieve that aspiration. In the end, some achieve what they aspired for, thus fulfilling their ambition, and make it a reality (actualization), while for some it tends to be a dream and stays like that. Call it adapting to the emerging circumstances, or settling down for something that they did not want to pursue.
A potter, cobbler, goldsmith, priest, scientist, doctor, engineer, lawyer, accountant, etc, feel great on having achieved some amount of name, fame and glory in their respective professions, but never consider themselves complete until they have successfully convinced the child to pursue their profession. They feel it is like some tangible property that they will be able to transfer to their ward, thus providing a head start over the others. The intention is noble and appreciable as long as the ward wants to pursue your desire.
How many of us have really pursued what we aspired for, and really set out achieving that in a conscious manner? Some of us have had the guts to stand up to it and clearly flow against the current, and follow your passion, by being proactive about what you have wanted to pursue, while a lot of us decided to flow with the current and submit ourselves to the emerging scheme of things by being reactive.
What was relevant yesterday, may not have stood the test of time, and hence would have given way to emerging career opportunities. Just a brief look at possibilities would illustrate the perceptions of the generation gap.
After traditional education, obviously the plum professions that most have wanted to follow were Medical Doctor and Engineer, followed by Chartered Accountants, Lawyers. These are like goldmark of careers, and those who are able to pursue such careers are perceived to be “winners” in life, whatever be their interest.
Business was the domain of the rich, and hence was decided more by legacy and inheritance, rather than ability and choice. So whatever the shape of the peg, it has been forefully fitted into whatever kind of hole that existed. If one was lucky, then square peg went into a square hole, or a round peg into a round hole, otherwise think of the other possibility, and that is where one witnesses the Aspiration to Ambition to Actualization process.
As children, perhaps the first few toys shape our aspirations – like most of us want to be a driver, because we have a car or a bus as a toy, and some aspire to be pilots because they get fascinated by toy plane. Some want to be a doctor, because they like the doctors set and love to flaunt the plastic stethoscope in their ears, and wield the toy injection syringe. We get shaped by the environment. Family background plays a great role in influencing a persons ambitions, but a big gap arises when one gets to achieving the state of actualization.
Times are changing, as newer choices emerge, and it becomes important to keep pace with change. If people are allowed to follow their passion, each one of us would have felt some meaning to our lives. But then most of us have been foisted with a choice as an ambition and force fitted as actualization. Yet when it is our turn, you too get into the process of foisting someone’s aspiration with your desire or vision.
We tend to decide someone's choice of profession, but in the bargain, are we professional in our approach. Whaere's the decision coming from? The Head or the Heart!
A potter, cobbler, goldsmith, priest, scientist, doctor, engineer, lawyer, accountant, etc, feel great on having achieved some amount of name, fame and glory in their respective professions, but never consider themselves complete until they have successfully convinced the child to pursue their profession. They feel it is like some tangible property that they will be able to transfer to their ward, thus providing a head start over the others. The intention is noble and appreciable as long as the ward wants to pursue your desire.
How many of us have really pursued what we aspired for, and really set out achieving that in a conscious manner? Some of us have had the guts to stand up to it and clearly flow against the current, and follow your passion, by being proactive about what you have wanted to pursue, while a lot of us decided to flow with the current and submit ourselves to the emerging scheme of things by being reactive.
What was relevant yesterday, may not have stood the test of time, and hence would have given way to emerging career opportunities. Just a brief look at possibilities would illustrate the perceptions of the generation gap.
After traditional education, obviously the plum professions that most have wanted to follow were Medical Doctor and Engineer, followed by Chartered Accountants, Lawyers. These are like goldmark of careers, and those who are able to pursue such careers are perceived to be “winners” in life, whatever be their interest.
Business was the domain of the rich, and hence was decided more by legacy and inheritance, rather than ability and choice. So whatever the shape of the peg, it has been forefully fitted into whatever kind of hole that existed. If one was lucky, then square peg went into a square hole, or a round peg into a round hole, otherwise think of the other possibility, and that is where one witnesses the Aspiration to Ambition to Actualization process.
As children, perhaps the first few toys shape our aspirations – like most of us want to be a driver, because we have a car or a bus as a toy, and some aspire to be pilots because they get fascinated by toy plane. Some want to be a doctor, because they like the doctors set and love to flaunt the plastic stethoscope in their ears, and wield the toy injection syringe. We get shaped by the environment. Family background plays a great role in influencing a persons ambitions, but a big gap arises when one gets to achieving the state of actualization.
Times are changing, as newer choices emerge, and it becomes important to keep pace with change. If people are allowed to follow their passion, each one of us would have felt some meaning to our lives. But then most of us have been foisted with a choice as an ambition and force fitted as actualization. Yet when it is our turn, you too get into the process of foisting someone’s aspiration with your desire or vision.
We tend to decide someone's choice of profession, but in the bargain, are we professional in our approach. Whaere's the decision coming from? The Head or the Heart!
Friday, December 3, 2010
Learn-Unlearn-Relearn
Life they say is all about learning, and Learning they say is an experience, and experience they say makes a man perfect. So if you are always learning and continue to keep learning, then you have to achieve a state where life becomes perfect. Is that Utopian state possible? Most of us consider that learning is only during our school and college days, and once we are out of that place, you would like to claim that you are learned, because you have a certificate.
Alvin Toffler’s famous quote, “The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn” But how many of you are willing to first get into a state of unlearning, and then look at a state of relearning. Too complicated – for how can one be a student all your life.
Whatever we learn in School, College and as Academic courses are set courses – like a linear game – where you have a starting point and on completing a set of parameters move forward and out of the system like an assembly line product. But what we learn to adapt in real life is the knowledge coupled with temperament on the basis of dynamic situations we encounter. These in itself provide us with fresher set of learnings that we have to incorporate to emerge better, but we get into such situations with a “Been there, Done that” attitude (winner). Call it – complacency, over-confidence, and some times fall on our belly, or try coming out of the situation justifying your actions as right.
We refuse to unlearn or relearn and continue in that same state of `know all’, that you eventually join the big gang of losers. Needless to say, we are going to repeat the statement that Learning is continuous, but the form it comes to you is different. Academic setting dictated Lectures, and workshops, but life may not be so.
Learning comes disguised in many forms – it is for you to recognize the form and realize the methods of imbibing those learning and apply them. There are innumerable examples of enterprising business men, who dropped out of school or had poor grades, but excel in their business. They are considered as practical and pragmatic. Those successful in academic days (toppers) tend struggle in real life, for their approach is seen as bookish and hence away from reality.
The emphasis is on being a learner, be it at any stage of life – for the pursuit of knowledge and experience leads you to pragmatism, out compromised Utopian Life , instead of perfect Life. Everyone desires a better quality of life, less pressure, more sense of self-worth.
When we are going through a period of transition, which we all are most of the time, those who are at the forefront are those who are using their learning capability. You have the capabilities. They are inherent in human nature. It’s time to get on with changing our world so that everyone can enjoy their time at work, and free themselves up to have enough energy and time to enjoy the rest of their lives “learning” as well.
Losers – stop day dreaming, and get on with life, for you too are going to be a winner. As for the winners, welcome to the world of Losers – for your complacency and over confidence will get you there and then together we can day dream of achieving UTOPIA!
Alvin Toffler’s famous quote, “The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn” But how many of you are willing to first get into a state of unlearning, and then look at a state of relearning. Too complicated – for how can one be a student all your life.
Whatever we learn in School, College and as Academic courses are set courses – like a linear game – where you have a starting point and on completing a set of parameters move forward and out of the system like an assembly line product. But what we learn to adapt in real life is the knowledge coupled with temperament on the basis of dynamic situations we encounter. These in itself provide us with fresher set of learnings that we have to incorporate to emerge better, but we get into such situations with a “Been there, Done that” attitude (winner). Call it – complacency, over-confidence, and some times fall on our belly, or try coming out of the situation justifying your actions as right.
We refuse to unlearn or relearn and continue in that same state of `know all’, that you eventually join the big gang of losers. Needless to say, we are going to repeat the statement that Learning is continuous, but the form it comes to you is different. Academic setting dictated Lectures, and workshops, but life may not be so.
Learning comes disguised in many forms – it is for you to recognize the form and realize the methods of imbibing those learning and apply them. There are innumerable examples of enterprising business men, who dropped out of school or had poor grades, but excel in their business. They are considered as practical and pragmatic. Those successful in academic days (toppers) tend struggle in real life, for their approach is seen as bookish and hence away from reality.
The emphasis is on being a learner, be it at any stage of life – for the pursuit of knowledge and experience leads you to pragmatism, out compromised Utopian Life , instead of perfect Life. Everyone desires a better quality of life, less pressure, more sense of self-worth.
When we are going through a period of transition, which we all are most of the time, those who are at the forefront are those who are using their learning capability. You have the capabilities. They are inherent in human nature. It’s time to get on with changing our world so that everyone can enjoy their time at work, and free themselves up to have enough energy and time to enjoy the rest of their lives “learning” as well.
Losers – stop day dreaming, and get on with life, for you too are going to be a winner. As for the winners, welcome to the world of Losers – for your complacency and over confidence will get you there and then together we can day dream of achieving UTOPIA!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Why Chronicles? Why Loser? Why Chronicles of a Loser!
This post comes after a near 100 days break on the blog, or facebook or twitter. This break made me introspect as to what was it that I had set out to do and what was I really doing, was it in keeping with the direction that I was seeking or was I getting lost in the wilderness of not being able to communicate anything. So I basically decided to revisit the title and perhaps dissect it by the meaningful words. (THIS PARA IS NOT A PART OF THE BOOK)
Chronicles is a word that one tends to associate to perhaps movies or publications (newspapers) that try to present to you the evolution of an individual or a subject, event or just developments and analysis of the same. The objective of Chronicles in our title is also the same, where we are trying to arrive at a proposition that we develop a fear psychosis of being a loser and try to pose winners all our lives.
Loser is basically a perennial state in which we all exist, where we are trying to come out of a maze that we get ourselves into naturally, or by design, and are trying to fight our way out of it. Some succeed, some don’t, and hence the classification of winners and losers. Those who succeed start living in Ivory Tower, and start condescendingly looking down upon people who are down (losers), while those (losers) who are aspiring to reach the Ivory Tower, have an aspiration and are working hard towards achieving something. They are not plagued by complacency and adapt faster, rather than adopt a status.
This process of classification continues, and those who reach the Ivory Tower are select few, but there are many amongst those in the ground who start prophesying the demerits of the Ivory Tower, and how they are happy to be where they are.
As Children, we are protected, incubated, given happiness, made to feel winners all the time, so that we develop an illusion of life – Losers! As a Teenager, you want to break free of everything, but it is now that most of the shackles come in terms of disciplining, controlling – all in the name of shaping and guiding, but turning that person into a bigger rebel – Loser. The rebel matures to be an adult, and has many aspirations – but some get caught in the parental pressure of following the tradition, while a select few break free. Some succeed and get complacent and fall again, while those who did not succeed blame life – Losers.
Many aver that Marital Life is a gamble, and how that shapes up is itself a challenge, and again some succeed, while some feel they committed the gravest mistake of their life. Yet one can just pause and crib, as life goes on. Parenthood is another challenge, and some cope up with it, while some just journey through it like a responsibility. As one ages and decides to hang up one’s shoes, there are experiences to share, but no one willing to listen. Towards the old age, others are counting your days faster, while you are still recounting your time.
What an Irony for this one person who came through this roller coaster ride of life, seeing the zenith and nadir, went through the peaks and troughs, maneuvered the ups and downs of life – balancing it like a balance sheet, but be considered a liability towards the end. A true LOSER!
So, while we want to go and read books, join programmes on Self Development, Transformation, Change Management so that we can become winners, it is important to realize that there is nothing to be a Loser, because life challenges us to come out as winners, but not consider yourself as Invincible one!
If you do a self effacing introspection of your life, Classification, Calibrations, Comparisons, Clarifications -- that's what we all end up doing.
Chronicles is a word that one tends to associate to perhaps movies or publications (newspapers) that try to present to you the evolution of an individual or a subject, event or just developments and analysis of the same. The objective of Chronicles in our title is also the same, where we are trying to arrive at a proposition that we develop a fear psychosis of being a loser and try to pose winners all our lives.
Loser is basically a perennial state in which we all exist, where we are trying to come out of a maze that we get ourselves into naturally, or by design, and are trying to fight our way out of it. Some succeed, some don’t, and hence the classification of winners and losers. Those who succeed start living in Ivory Tower, and start condescendingly looking down upon people who are down (losers), while those (losers) who are aspiring to reach the Ivory Tower, have an aspiration and are working hard towards achieving something. They are not plagued by complacency and adapt faster, rather than adopt a status.
This process of classification continues, and those who reach the Ivory Tower are select few, but there are many amongst those in the ground who start prophesying the demerits of the Ivory Tower, and how they are happy to be where they are.
As Children, we are protected, incubated, given happiness, made to feel winners all the time, so that we develop an illusion of life – Losers! As a Teenager, you want to break free of everything, but it is now that most of the shackles come in terms of disciplining, controlling – all in the name of shaping and guiding, but turning that person into a bigger rebel – Loser. The rebel matures to be an adult, and has many aspirations – but some get caught in the parental pressure of following the tradition, while a select few break free. Some succeed and get complacent and fall again, while those who did not succeed blame life – Losers.
Many aver that Marital Life is a gamble, and how that shapes up is itself a challenge, and again some succeed, while some feel they committed the gravest mistake of their life. Yet one can just pause and crib, as life goes on. Parenthood is another challenge, and some cope up with it, while some just journey through it like a responsibility. As one ages and decides to hang up one’s shoes, there are experiences to share, but no one willing to listen. Towards the old age, others are counting your days faster, while you are still recounting your time.
What an Irony for this one person who came through this roller coaster ride of life, seeing the zenith and nadir, went through the peaks and troughs, maneuvered the ups and downs of life – balancing it like a balance sheet, but be considered a liability towards the end. A true LOSER!
So, while we want to go and read books, join programmes on Self Development, Transformation, Change Management so that we can become winners, it is important to realize that there is nothing to be a Loser, because life challenges us to come out as winners, but not consider yourself as Invincible one!
If you do a self effacing introspection of your life, Classification, Calibrations, Comparisons, Clarifications -- that's what we all end up doing.
Saturday, September 4, 2010
ALL ABOUT FLAVOURED CRY- CRIB - CHIT-CHAT (GOSSIP)
The first sound of communication that you make in this world is a CRY. That sound makes so many of them happy. The father, the grand parents, the relatives who tend to be at the hospital and get the news that you have been born, and as soon as you arrived, you signaled your arrival with a CRY!
That Cry is your communication tool for the next six to eight months, till you learn to cry in tunes and communicate your moods through different tones of CRYING.
There is a CRY of despair, a CRY of Hunger, a CRY of pain, a CRY for complain, and a CRY of satisfaction that is usually a subsiding one. CRY in flavours – this must be something new, you might think. Well come to think of it, we use this basic tool and modify this in different ways in various parts of our life. This typically ends at the age of five, and may manifest itself on occasions, but very rarely. This phase is CRYAGE!
When you grow up, and try to CRY, people say – How can you CRY? You have now grown up, come on, wipe your tears. But you still want to CRY and you cannot, so you learn to CRIB! You CRIB about everything, and you discover that this is better than just a plain CRY, for you have moved a step higher in the ladder, and through CRIBBING, you can actually colour someone’s opinion of another person. You can colour OPINIONS! From a simple CRY communicator, you become a CRIB communicators, and this starts typically at five and continues as you age. This is CRIBBAGE!
As you mature, you learn a new art and that Is you cannot CRIB, so you GOSSIP, which is the most advanced state of CRYING, but you don’t shed tears, you revel in talking about someone, something, some act, some deed, and now SHAPE Opinions, Create Perceptions, so you become SCULPTIORS.
So it all started with a simple act of CRY – to herald your entry into this world, you then learn flavours of CRYING, you evolve to CRIB, and then mature to get on to CHIT-CHATTING (GOSSIP!)
No wonder there are tears and tears in GOSSIP serials that one gets to watch on television. For one who cries, we like to call that person a loser, because the tear is to show anguish over a situation that seems lost, and one is tyring to attract sympathy by shedding a tear.
Our submission – loose Chit-Chatting (Gossip) has increased exponentially in recent years, for that is the way we are being brought up, for that is what the media revels in presenting and we digest all that. Loose Chit-Chatting (GOSSIPING) is a fine art of losing.
Welcome to the LOSER society!
That Cry is your communication tool for the next six to eight months, till you learn to cry in tunes and communicate your moods through different tones of CRYING.
There is a CRY of despair, a CRY of Hunger, a CRY of pain, a CRY for complain, and a CRY of satisfaction that is usually a subsiding one. CRY in flavours – this must be something new, you might think. Well come to think of it, we use this basic tool and modify this in different ways in various parts of our life. This typically ends at the age of five, and may manifest itself on occasions, but very rarely. This phase is CRYAGE!
When you grow up, and try to CRY, people say – How can you CRY? You have now grown up, come on, wipe your tears. But you still want to CRY and you cannot, so you learn to CRIB! You CRIB about everything, and you discover that this is better than just a plain CRY, for you have moved a step higher in the ladder, and through CRIBBING, you can actually colour someone’s opinion of another person. You can colour OPINIONS! From a simple CRY communicator, you become a CRIB communicators, and this starts typically at five and continues as you age. This is CRIBBAGE!
As you mature, you learn a new art and that Is you cannot CRIB, so you GOSSIP, which is the most advanced state of CRYING, but you don’t shed tears, you revel in talking about someone, something, some act, some deed, and now SHAPE Opinions, Create Perceptions, so you become SCULPTIORS.
So it all started with a simple act of CRY – to herald your entry into this world, you then learn flavours of CRYING, you evolve to CRIB, and then mature to get on to CHIT-CHATTING (GOSSIP!)
No wonder there are tears and tears in GOSSIP serials that one gets to watch on television. For one who cries, we like to call that person a loser, because the tear is to show anguish over a situation that seems lost, and one is tyring to attract sympathy by shedding a tear.
Our submission – loose Chit-Chatting (Gossip) has increased exponentially in recent years, for that is the way we are being brought up, for that is what the media revels in presenting and we digest all that. Loose Chit-Chatting (GOSSIPING) is a fine art of losing.
Welcome to the LOSER society!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Corporate World, Business Humour and Losers
‘An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn’t happen’.—The Peter Principle
Work, drudgery, routine, appraisals, promotions, jealousy, mistrust, suspicion, scheming, manipulation, trials and tribulations, See I told you before, I don’t care, you will do as I say because I am your boss, POLITICS! These are typical phrase. We think we have WON, because we have come out of a so called stifling atmosphere and walk into another place that initially seems to have an open atmosphere, that quickly emerges to be stifling. Some stick around and get rewarded for loyalty (sic) and not ability, and those who get awarded for ability have the luxury of not being loyal, for they will be in demand.
We love to blame our bosses or authorities or organizations for the culture, work atmosphere, paper work, systems, process, procedures and so on. Yet there is something called a hierarchy in organizations, despite the fact that most of them want to claim that they have a flat structure. All of us aspire to be at the top, and why not, because we have all been trained to think line leaders, like winners.
Three Books on Business Humour may make you think otherwise
Laurence Peter gave the management world a great phrase – Peter’s Principle! He authored a book too, in which he propounded that all employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence within an organisation, at which point it is too late to move them down or sideways.
Managers reach their level of incompetence by being promoted until they fail to do well in their current job. The message for employees unsuccessfully seeking promotion, then, is that they may be at their level of incompetence already. The final promotion, the one that takes each individual from a level of competence to a level of incompetence, should not, however, be taken as inevitable.
He has classified failure into two kinds: those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought. Fortune knocks once, but misfortune will try again and again. There are two sorts of losers—the good loser, and the other one who can’t act. Our focus is obviously on the good loser, and not the other kind, and hence another justification for the title of the book itself.
Another one is about Parkinsons Law, that says Work expands to fill the time available for its completion. As a result, companies grow without thinking of how much they are producing. Even if growth in numbers doesn’t make them more money, companies grow and people become busier and busier. This comically exposes bureaucracy (bosses) for tortuous administration (systems) and the pointless shuffling of paper (documentation). Look at it closely and you will find that it is not difficult to detect incompetence in organisations; many people have cause to complain about it not only in their working lives but in their daily lives as well.
Scott Adams and his Dilbert cartoon focus on themes of failure, incompetence and fear of being caught failing or being incompetent. How positive?
Is success directly proportional to winning?, then everyone who is promoted is successful, and if so, he follows the peters principle, and rises to his own levels of incompetence (loser).
Work, drudgery, routine, appraisals, promotions, jealousy, mistrust, suspicion, scheming, manipulation, trials and tribulations, See I told you before, I don’t care, you will do as I say because I am your boss, POLITICS! These are typical phrase. We think we have WON, because we have come out of a so called stifling atmosphere and walk into another place that initially seems to have an open atmosphere, that quickly emerges to be stifling. Some stick around and get rewarded for loyalty (sic) and not ability, and those who get awarded for ability have the luxury of not being loyal, for they will be in demand.
We love to blame our bosses or authorities or organizations for the culture, work atmosphere, paper work, systems, process, procedures and so on. Yet there is something called a hierarchy in organizations, despite the fact that most of them want to claim that they have a flat structure. All of us aspire to be at the top, and why not, because we have all been trained to think line leaders, like winners.
Three Books on Business Humour may make you think otherwise
Laurence Peter gave the management world a great phrase – Peter’s Principle! He authored a book too, in which he propounded that all employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence within an organisation, at which point it is too late to move them down or sideways.
Managers reach their level of incompetence by being promoted until they fail to do well in their current job. The message for employees unsuccessfully seeking promotion, then, is that they may be at their level of incompetence already. The final promotion, the one that takes each individual from a level of competence to a level of incompetence, should not, however, be taken as inevitable.
He has classified failure into two kinds: those who thought and never did, and those who did and never thought. Fortune knocks once, but misfortune will try again and again. There are two sorts of losers—the good loser, and the other one who can’t act. Our focus is obviously on the good loser, and not the other kind, and hence another justification for the title of the book itself.
Another one is about Parkinsons Law, that says Work expands to fill the time available for its completion. As a result, companies grow without thinking of how much they are producing. Even if growth in numbers doesn’t make them more money, companies grow and people become busier and busier. This comically exposes bureaucracy (bosses) for tortuous administration (systems) and the pointless shuffling of paper (documentation). Look at it closely and you will find that it is not difficult to detect incompetence in organisations; many people have cause to complain about it not only in their working lives but in their daily lives as well.
Scott Adams and his Dilbert cartoon focus on themes of failure, incompetence and fear of being caught failing or being incompetent. How positive?
Is success directly proportional to winning?, then everyone who is promoted is successful, and if so, he follows the peters principle, and rises to his own levels of incompetence (loser).
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Chess-Stress-Mess-Cess
Chess is the game of life, when you get into troubles (stress), you encounter problems, and your approach either compounds it, or solves it to lead you to another trouble that is going to emerge as a problem (mess). For all this you always pay a price (cess).
Two people sitting opposite one another and staring at some 16 pieces for hours together, as if a bout of paralysis has struck their tongue, meditating with open eyes, and the neck craned at almost 30 degrees, to determine who will emerge as the eventual winner. How boring is what one thinks, when viewing the game from outside. Be a part of it and play with an equal, and this can be akin to a game of stratagem.
You have five different pieces (Queen, Rook, Bishop, Horse, and Pawns) that can move in three different ways (Straight, diagonal, and crooked), fighting to protect the supremacy of a single piece – the King. In pure percentage terms 6.25% being served by 93.75%.
Digital Divide they say, Urban rural, or Call it the consuming class, or Purchasing Power or, Developed and Developing Nations. The minority few rule the majority many, and history is replete with examples that talk about revolutions or uprisings or movements that dethrone regimes, rulers, nations.
In `The Challenge-Response Theory of History’ developed by Arnold Toynbee’s research on: A Study of History, found that every civilization began as a small tribe or group of people that was suddenly faced with a challenge from the outside, usually another hostile group of people. In business, the equivalent is usually aggressive competition and unexpected reversals in the market place.
To respond effectively to this external threat, the leader had to immediately reorganize the tribe or group if it is to survive. If he makes the right decisions and takes the right actions, the tribe would rise to the challenge, defeat the enemy, and in the process, grow and become stronger. But in growing and becoming stronger, the tribe would trigger a confrontation with another, larger hostile force or tribe, thereby creating another challenge. The Chess-Stress-Mess-Cess syndrome
As long as the leader and the' tribe continued to rise to and overcome the inevitable challenges confronting them, they would continue to survive and grow. By continuing to grow through successfully rising to the unavoidable challenges, even a small tribe can eventually became a kingdom and then a large civilization, controlling vast lands, treasures, and people.
Much of what was discovered in the life cycle of those empires is applicable to the rise and fall of businesses, large and small, and to individuals. The lessons he discovered apply to your personal life as well.
For every King, there are 15 pieces, for without them the king is nowhere, and without that King there is no meaning to the 15 pieces. Now the perspective depends on what you want the king to be – A loser, because he is dependent for his security on 15 other pieces, or A winner, because without him, the fifteen pieces are just a piece of plastic or wood and there is no game.
Two people sitting opposite one another and staring at some 16 pieces for hours together, as if a bout of paralysis has struck their tongue, meditating with open eyes, and the neck craned at almost 30 degrees, to determine who will emerge as the eventual winner. How boring is what one thinks, when viewing the game from outside. Be a part of it and play with an equal, and this can be akin to a game of stratagem.
You have five different pieces (Queen, Rook, Bishop, Horse, and Pawns) that can move in three different ways (Straight, diagonal, and crooked), fighting to protect the supremacy of a single piece – the King. In pure percentage terms 6.25% being served by 93.75%.
Digital Divide they say, Urban rural, or Call it the consuming class, or Purchasing Power or, Developed and Developing Nations. The minority few rule the majority many, and history is replete with examples that talk about revolutions or uprisings or movements that dethrone regimes, rulers, nations.
In `The Challenge-Response Theory of History’ developed by Arnold Toynbee’s research on: A Study of History, found that every civilization began as a small tribe or group of people that was suddenly faced with a challenge from the outside, usually another hostile group of people. In business, the equivalent is usually aggressive competition and unexpected reversals in the market place.
To respond effectively to this external threat, the leader had to immediately reorganize the tribe or group if it is to survive. If he makes the right decisions and takes the right actions, the tribe would rise to the challenge, defeat the enemy, and in the process, grow and become stronger. But in growing and becoming stronger, the tribe would trigger a confrontation with another, larger hostile force or tribe, thereby creating another challenge. The Chess-Stress-Mess-Cess syndrome
As long as the leader and the' tribe continued to rise to and overcome the inevitable challenges confronting them, they would continue to survive and grow. By continuing to grow through successfully rising to the unavoidable challenges, even a small tribe can eventually became a kingdom and then a large civilization, controlling vast lands, treasures, and people.
Much of what was discovered in the life cycle of those empires is applicable to the rise and fall of businesses, large and small, and to individuals. The lessons he discovered apply to your personal life as well.
For every King, there are 15 pieces, for without them the king is nowhere, and without that King there is no meaning to the 15 pieces. Now the perspective depends on what you want the king to be – A loser, because he is dependent for his security on 15 other pieces, or A winner, because without him, the fifteen pieces are just a piece of plastic or wood and there is no game.
Monday, August 16, 2010
Vagabond or Bondages of Time!
Haven’t been there times when you just set off alone or with a set of friends to a destination that you perhaps did not know while starting on the journey. Maybe you joined the herd, or was instrumental in putting together this vagabond experience of being a backpacker.
Haven't you set off on a journey where everything was chance, and the objective was grabbing each chance that came your way – or people who obliged you. That Journey is called LIFE!
That wave of the thumb for a Blind Lift – that brief interaction with the driver, and convincing the person to drop you to the destination or somewhere en-route, and then seeking another mode to reach the destination. As you sit through a lorry loaded with luggage and see the cars whizzing past by you to almost the same destination that you are headed, you envy the other person’s comfort. You seek an accommodation that is rustic, and can make do with whatever is available and comes your way. How exciting, one thought, but when one reminisces – one tends to think, “How Childish?” or “How Silly?”
One grows up, and experiences holidays from a different perspective. You Plan, You vacillate, You make choices. You select the best. All of a sudden you have to drop some, because it doesn’t fit within your budget. Everything right from logistics, travel, stay has to be flawless. Anything that is not in keeping with the experience is seen as intrusive. You complain about the food, the facilities, the service, the people, the ambiance, the locations, the climate and whatever else you can justify as not being upto the mark.
Adapt they say, but we seldom want to. Adjust they say, but we want to be more upright, Be Accommodative they say, but we like to revel in snobbery.
Backpacker versus Planners (Itinerary followers), both have their pros and cons, but essentially represent approach to life. Backpackers are carefree, happy go lucky, optimisers (minimum spending, maximum pleasure), and time for them is near infinite, experience is also infinite. This perhaps represents the herd in real life too.
The planners have a choice to make – for time is finite and hence a premium. , and hence there is a schedule for everything. A designated time for each item to be quantified in a linear fashion. Clockwork precision is prime, and what has been promised has to be delivered.
Both these are two sides of the same coin, but love to scoff at each other for their whims and fancies. In life too, most of us are like backpackers, while few are planners. But let the battle continue in who what to brand the other a loser for their approach in life.
Haven't you set off on a journey where everything was chance, and the objective was grabbing each chance that came your way – or people who obliged you. That Journey is called LIFE!
That wave of the thumb for a Blind Lift – that brief interaction with the driver, and convincing the person to drop you to the destination or somewhere en-route, and then seeking another mode to reach the destination. As you sit through a lorry loaded with luggage and see the cars whizzing past by you to almost the same destination that you are headed, you envy the other person’s comfort. You seek an accommodation that is rustic, and can make do with whatever is available and comes your way. How exciting, one thought, but when one reminisces – one tends to think, “How Childish?” or “How Silly?”
One grows up, and experiences holidays from a different perspective. You Plan, You vacillate, You make choices. You select the best. All of a sudden you have to drop some, because it doesn’t fit within your budget. Everything right from logistics, travel, stay has to be flawless. Anything that is not in keeping with the experience is seen as intrusive. You complain about the food, the facilities, the service, the people, the ambiance, the locations, the climate and whatever else you can justify as not being upto the mark.
Adapt they say, but we seldom want to. Adjust they say, but we want to be more upright, Be Accommodative they say, but we like to revel in snobbery.
Backpacker versus Planners (Itinerary followers), both have their pros and cons, but essentially represent approach to life. Backpackers are carefree, happy go lucky, optimisers (minimum spending, maximum pleasure), and time for them is near infinite, experience is also infinite. This perhaps represents the herd in real life too.
The planners have a choice to make – for time is finite and hence a premium. , and hence there is a schedule for everything. A designated time for each item to be quantified in a linear fashion. Clockwork precision is prime, and what has been promised has to be delivered.
Both these are two sides of the same coin, but love to scoff at each other for their whims and fancies. In life too, most of us are like backpackers, while few are planners. But let the battle continue in who what to brand the other a loser for their approach in life.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
As You Sow so Your Reap!
Reminiscence is something that we all revel in. Be it with school friends, college friends, office colleagues, friends, relatives, and so on. One phase that we never reminisce is our childhood – but someone else reminisces that phase for us, and typically that tends to be the person who reared you or was a part of your innocence / adolescence days.
Just the other day two children were fighting over once chocolate – when there was a full packet on the side, but both were adamant that they wanted just that piece of chocolate. In the struggle the ensued, one child got the better of the other and claimed possession of the prized chocolate, and immediately commotion followed, because the other child (loser) cried so loudly that people around gathered.
They asked the crying child what the problem was and lo the child blurted out and immediately the solution found – the other child was reprimanded and this child given that prized chocolate. Now the child was smiling in glee and the other one was morose. This actually made me wonder as to who is the winner or loser?
I think of so many instances, where as an outsider, I would want to criticise the parent for not letting the children face reality and making them happy, just because one is seeking momentary peace and not get into doing anything major.
This is akin to the popular Wrestling shows on Television, wherein one person proves his ability and is declared as the winner, and the loser immediately retorts in the form of protests, technical complaints, seeking a rematch or asking to reverse the result. That childhood instinct in us never dies, for we want to prove that we won.
Maybe in childhood it was a parent or an elder who anointed you to cosmetic position of making you feel as a Winner. We are continually seeking someone like that all across our career who can make us feel as winner.
Are we responsible for rearing Winners and create a world of illusion right from childhood, and then panic when the same child as an adult has problems coping up with reality.
Guess, the proverb As we sow, so your reap actually goes live in our lives!
Just the other day two children were fighting over once chocolate – when there was a full packet on the side, but both were adamant that they wanted just that piece of chocolate. In the struggle the ensued, one child got the better of the other and claimed possession of the prized chocolate, and immediately commotion followed, because the other child (loser) cried so loudly that people around gathered.
They asked the crying child what the problem was and lo the child blurted out and immediately the solution found – the other child was reprimanded and this child given that prized chocolate. Now the child was smiling in glee and the other one was morose. This actually made me wonder as to who is the winner or loser?
I think of so many instances, where as an outsider, I would want to criticise the parent for not letting the children face reality and making them happy, just because one is seeking momentary peace and not get into doing anything major.
This is akin to the popular Wrestling shows on Television, wherein one person proves his ability and is declared as the winner, and the loser immediately retorts in the form of protests, technical complaints, seeking a rematch or asking to reverse the result. That childhood instinct in us never dies, for we want to prove that we won.
Maybe in childhood it was a parent or an elder who anointed you to cosmetic position of making you feel as a Winner. We are continually seeking someone like that all across our career who can make us feel as winner.
Are we responsible for rearing Winners and create a world of illusion right from childhood, and then panic when the same child as an adult has problems coping up with reality.
Guess, the proverb As we sow, so your reap actually goes live in our lives!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Aspirations, Ego, Hopes and Balloons
As a child, we are all fascinated by balloons, and , true enough – call it aspirations, ego, or hopes, we all like it in Inflated states. The first time we come across one must be making the child wonder in amazement and give the feeling of `So Near, Yet So Far’. The child is not able to hold the balloon in the hand and goes around chasing it. Maybe, the colour of the balloon could be quite fascinating or even the shape.
Pick it and crush it, as is the tendency, and behold, it burst like a bomb making a big noise. There is a sudden shock, a brief pang of fear and then tears for something that was in your hand right now and now it isn’t. You feel someone has robbed you of your most fascinating toy, but it is your own actions. A loser feeling!
People lure you on the size of a balloon saying the one that I blew is bigger, and you get attracted towards it. But remember handling big balloons are more tougher than handling smaller ones, but yet we fall for it, and don’t like to face the consequences. A loser feeling!
It’s the child’s first birthday and there is celebrations, festoons, decorations around, and, not to forget the large balloons and a big one over the cake. The sizes overwhelm you, and what the invitees do is burst them, and now the child wonders – is the balloon for blowing of bursting. Something that I cherished the most, is being blown away as celebration.
The next in the balloons is a gas balloon, and we are all fascinated by such a thing that in the imaginary world, we aspire that if we le t this out with lots of string, the balloon will touch the sky or break free from the sky and we start doing so. But the balloon only goes so far and not above that how much ever sting you leave free. But when the string breaks – the balloon rockets into the sky. You watch at it with absolute despair and sorrow of having lost something dear, and as if the world has come to an end. A loser feeling!
A simple toy like a balloon that you handle as a child, and one implants the loser feeling in you at such an early stage, yet one wants to runaway, because you can buy another one and comfort yourself as being the winner.
Pick it and crush it, as is the tendency, and behold, it burst like a bomb making a big noise. There is a sudden shock, a brief pang of fear and then tears for something that was in your hand right now and now it isn’t. You feel someone has robbed you of your most fascinating toy, but it is your own actions. A loser feeling!
People lure you on the size of a balloon saying the one that I blew is bigger, and you get attracted towards it. But remember handling big balloons are more tougher than handling smaller ones, but yet we fall for it, and don’t like to face the consequences. A loser feeling!
It’s the child’s first birthday and there is celebrations, festoons, decorations around, and, not to forget the large balloons and a big one over the cake. The sizes overwhelm you, and what the invitees do is burst them, and now the child wonders – is the balloon for blowing of bursting. Something that I cherished the most, is being blown away as celebration.
The next in the balloons is a gas balloon, and we are all fascinated by such a thing that in the imaginary world, we aspire that if we le t this out with lots of string, the balloon will touch the sky or break free from the sky and we start doing so. But the balloon only goes so far and not above that how much ever sting you leave free. But when the string breaks – the balloon rockets into the sky. You watch at it with absolute despair and sorrow of having lost something dear, and as if the world has come to an end. A loser feeling!
A simple toy like a balloon that you handle as a child, and one implants the loser feeling in you at such an early stage, yet one wants to runaway, because you can buy another one and comfort yourself as being the winner.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
That contagious feeling of a LOSER!
Recently certain developments made me feel like an absolute Loser, and obviously the other resultant feelings of being depressed, dejected and disappointed followed. Not able to cope with the feeling, I thought I should make it contagious and meet some dear friends on whose shoulders I wanted to cry, seek solace and sympathy, and some motivation that all is not lost, and I could still do it. All that I needed was some luck, and then everything would be right.
These words would motivate me, and that too coming from a dear friend would surely make you live up to his or her expectations rather than listen to the same resolve from your heart. It is funny, but the same statements echo from your heart and you lift up yourself from the mess you get into. Things get back to normal, and you feel great.
So I called up my first friend, who was busy on another call. So, I called up his office to find out that he was very much there, so I assured myself that I had a shoulder to lean on, and decided to just land at his office. As I entered his office, he came out to the reception and escorted me to his room, saying , “You are an Angel”, and I think god has sent you to me.
Well maybe, but I have come to share some moment with you, and discuss about I, me, myself to you, Is what I instantly quipped. There was a lull, and he broke the news like a thunder, “I am headed for a separation” and that hit me like a shock. I started comforting him, and being a patient listener to his sob stories. I left his office giving him hope that he could surely tide through this crisis, anx to get on with life. “I felt like a loser, now I have a person to count on, thanks so much for your kind words,”, he told me.
Now I was thinking of who to call, and whose shoulder to seek, because my mission had failed completely a t the first location. I went o meet another friend, and now of the opposite gender. We met at a coffee shop, and as usual, I was late. So, first the barrage of abuses for being late, and as these settled, she was concerned about her finances and poured her heart out. Again, I got into the rescue mode telling her things about financial planning and all that.
Wait a minute, I was the one to be seeking shoulder as a loser, and here the two people that I met up with seekd comfort on my shoulder. I remembered a lesson from school. A beggar goes to a king, seeking alms, only to find the king , asking god for health, wealth and prosperity. The beggar thought, when the king is himself begging for something that I wanted to beg from, why should I beg here, let me also pray to god and seek the same health, wealth and prosperity.
For resolutions, and voices of advice, I decided to place my ear on my heart, and henceforth listen to my inner voice. Follow the instructions, rather than seeking external help.
These words would motivate me, and that too coming from a dear friend would surely make you live up to his or her expectations rather than listen to the same resolve from your heart. It is funny, but the same statements echo from your heart and you lift up yourself from the mess you get into. Things get back to normal, and you feel great.
So I called up my first friend, who was busy on another call. So, I called up his office to find out that he was very much there, so I assured myself that I had a shoulder to lean on, and decided to just land at his office. As I entered his office, he came out to the reception and escorted me to his room, saying , “You are an Angel”, and I think god has sent you to me.
Well maybe, but I have come to share some moment with you, and discuss about I, me, myself to you, Is what I instantly quipped. There was a lull, and he broke the news like a thunder, “I am headed for a separation” and that hit me like a shock. I started comforting him, and being a patient listener to his sob stories. I left his office giving him hope that he could surely tide through this crisis, anx to get on with life. “I felt like a loser, now I have a person to count on, thanks so much for your kind words,”, he told me.
Now I was thinking of who to call, and whose shoulder to seek, because my mission had failed completely a t the first location. I went o meet another friend, and now of the opposite gender. We met at a coffee shop, and as usual, I was late. So, first the barrage of abuses for being late, and as these settled, she was concerned about her finances and poured her heart out. Again, I got into the rescue mode telling her things about financial planning and all that.
Wait a minute, I was the one to be seeking shoulder as a loser, and here the two people that I met up with seekd comfort on my shoulder. I remembered a lesson from school. A beggar goes to a king, seeking alms, only to find the king , asking god for health, wealth and prosperity. The beggar thought, when the king is himself begging for something that I wanted to beg from, why should I beg here, let me also pray to god and seek the same health, wealth and prosperity.
For resolutions, and voices of advice, I decided to place my ear on my heart, and henceforth listen to my inner voice. Follow the instructions, rather than seeking external help.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Almighty Losers!
Of what little I know of mythology, and history – and; perhaps this is Universal, be it in Hinduism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, or Zorastrians – the gods have always been portrayed as losers!
Each of these gods and saints could have done so much more, asserted themselves, used their powers, `shown off their attitude’ and emerged winners. Instead they displayed calmness and poise, magnanimity and alacrity, humility and modesty, patience and tolerance, and the right attitude.
But populism dictates that attitude is directly proportional to aggression, that equals assertivensess, and in short that equals materialistic possessions to determine as to whether you won or lost. History is replete with such examples – of those who had the all conquering attitude and what happened to those people like Alexander, Napolean, and Hitler.
Leaders across cultures wanted to expand their kingdoms, geographical borders through conquest, subjugation, war and thus declare they were the supreme. The deep desire was to establish themselves as the almighty of the world that mattered to them. We too like to show of our attitude of being an able leader, captain, statesman.
We all love to master our environments, be it home or workplace or life. We want to be on top of everything we do, or like to perceive that we are on the top. People who do so tend to consider themselves as the masters or as greats (winners).
We all get into this trap. An Ego state that gives you the inherent qualities of being Over Ambitious, Hyper competitive, Over controlling nature, and hungry for rewards, recognition. In this state one also tends to be too resistant to feedback, too unwilling to change, and inflexible, and most important “Showing-Off” Attitude. Take a peek into history, those were the qualities of Evils and Demons.
Each of these gods and saints could have done so much more, asserted themselves, used their powers, `shown off their attitude’ and emerged winners. Instead they displayed calmness and poise, magnanimity and alacrity, humility and modesty, patience and tolerance, and the right attitude.
But populism dictates that attitude is directly proportional to aggression, that equals assertivensess, and in short that equals materialistic possessions to determine as to whether you won or lost. History is replete with such examples – of those who had the all conquering attitude and what happened to those people like Alexander, Napolean, and Hitler.
Leaders across cultures wanted to expand their kingdoms, geographical borders through conquest, subjugation, war and thus declare they were the supreme. The deep desire was to establish themselves as the almighty of the world that mattered to them. We too like to show of our attitude of being an able leader, captain, statesman.
We all love to master our environments, be it home or workplace or life. We want to be on top of everything we do, or like to perceive that we are on the top. People who do so tend to consider themselves as the masters or as greats (winners).
We all get into this trap. An Ego state that gives you the inherent qualities of being Over Ambitious, Hyper competitive, Over controlling nature, and hungry for rewards, recognition. In this state one also tends to be too resistant to feedback, too unwilling to change, and inflexible, and most important “Showing-Off” Attitude. Take a peek into history, those were the qualities of Evils and Demons.
Monday, May 17, 2010
Lemon and Spoon and Lessons in Life!
A young kid lined up at the staring line of a lemon and spoon race in school along with seven other competitors. A spoon in the mouth, held between the those tender lips supported by brittle milk teeth, and a lemon to provide the tension at the other end of the spoon. On your marks, Get Set, Go Prr… the whistle blows and the race begins.
The young kid is thrilled as he paces through the tracks, and delightfully discovers being the leader of the pack. In that state of glee, paces forward, to only discover that the slight glance, that slight tilt of looking around turns out to be disastrous, and being only a meter away from the finish line, the lemon drops. Along with this some tears roll down the eye, and then onto the ground, but no one wants to come to even console you for your effort, because they have to gather and note down the name of the winners – who came first, second and third.
Tsunami of thoughts take over your state of mind, and you conversations, I had almost won it, but…; I was the actually the able one, but…, The spoon that I got was heavier than the others, yet…, The lemon I got was not regular shaped, hence…,
The situation is plain and simple. Just get on with life, rather than pause at that moment, for that condition is a state of stagnancy, a state of tension on any appliance or device, otherwise one will have to catch up with present.
The young kid now sat by the sidelines and watched the finals of the lemon and spoon race, with wild thought running through. I could have been there, but.. and that state of thought continued, till the race began. As the whistle blew, one kid ambled at a brisk pace, didn’t look right of left and just breasted the tape to emerge the winner. The usual celebrations, accolades and customary congratulations happened.
So, it is all about you and me, for we too have passed through these moments. Live your world, live your life – don’t attempt the precarious angles to look around on who’s doing what and where am I? You too could face the same consequences.
The young kid is thrilled as he paces through the tracks, and delightfully discovers being the leader of the pack. In that state of glee, paces forward, to only discover that the slight glance, that slight tilt of looking around turns out to be disastrous, and being only a meter away from the finish line, the lemon drops. Along with this some tears roll down the eye, and then onto the ground, but no one wants to come to even console you for your effort, because they have to gather and note down the name of the winners – who came first, second and third.
Tsunami of thoughts take over your state of mind, and you conversations, I had almost won it, but…; I was the actually the able one, but…, The spoon that I got was heavier than the others, yet…, The lemon I got was not regular shaped, hence…,
The situation is plain and simple. Just get on with life, rather than pause at that moment, for that condition is a state of stagnancy, a state of tension on any appliance or device, otherwise one will have to catch up with present.
The young kid now sat by the sidelines and watched the finals of the lemon and spoon race, with wild thought running through. I could have been there, but.. and that state of thought continued, till the race began. As the whistle blew, one kid ambled at a brisk pace, didn’t look right of left and just breasted the tape to emerge the winner. The usual celebrations, accolades and customary congratulations happened.
So, it is all about you and me, for we too have passed through these moments. Live your world, live your life – don’t attempt the precarious angles to look around on who’s doing what and where am I? You too could face the same consequences.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Majority Wins Minority Loses!
Majority Wins Minority Loses!
The first thing we learn when we are playing, that is because we are trying to determine as to who will give the `den’ in whatever game we are playing. As children we don’t even know the meaning of majority and minority, except the fact that the person who is the `odd one out’ has to give the `den’ first.
So as we grow up, we are conditioned to do what the majority do – because that is the accepted norm. If you don’t follow the herd, then either you are crazy, and you persist with your craziness, then you are a rebel (loser).
Issues across the globe and concerning the globe have their own pros and cons. There are these sets of nations / opinion leaders who based on ideologies, beliefs, history that take sides, and shape your thoughts.
The game here is a more complicated, because life doesn’t end here – for there is something called a VETO which is vested in the hands of a handful of nations. We see the same veto being played on us in real life in some situations and that get very frustrating.
There is the second and the more puzzling one of group formation when the same principle is applied and 100% is expected to accept the WINNER who may even be liked by say 50.01%. The balance 49.99% has to comply.
Even greater is the so called tendency to manipulate oneself from the minority status and get together all like minded ones, and pick out a minority chunk of the majority to render them minority and stake claim.
Children Games, but Governments, Institutions, Associations, Groups, Clubs, everywhere – you see “Majority Wins – Minority Loses”. So do we say Manipulation Wins, Guile Wins, Minority forged into Majority Wins and Majority torn into Minority Loses!
Odds have become prized, locate them and gather them – for if birds of the same feather flock together, you could be the Majority.
Complicated, but true!
The first thing we learn when we are playing, that is because we are trying to determine as to who will give the `den’ in whatever game we are playing. As children we don’t even know the meaning of majority and minority, except the fact that the person who is the `odd one out’ has to give the `den’ first.
So as we grow up, we are conditioned to do what the majority do – because that is the accepted norm. If you don’t follow the herd, then either you are crazy, and you persist with your craziness, then you are a rebel (loser).
Issues across the globe and concerning the globe have their own pros and cons. There are these sets of nations / opinion leaders who based on ideologies, beliefs, history that take sides, and shape your thoughts.
The game here is a more complicated, because life doesn’t end here – for there is something called a VETO which is vested in the hands of a handful of nations. We see the same veto being played on us in real life in some situations and that get very frustrating.
There is the second and the more puzzling one of group formation when the same principle is applied and 100% is expected to accept the WINNER who may even be liked by say 50.01%. The balance 49.99% has to comply.
Even greater is the so called tendency to manipulate oneself from the minority status and get together all like minded ones, and pick out a minority chunk of the majority to render them minority and stake claim.
Children Games, but Governments, Institutions, Associations, Groups, Clubs, everywhere – you see “Majority Wins – Minority Loses”. So do we say Manipulation Wins, Guile Wins, Minority forged into Majority Wins and Majority torn into Minority Loses!
Odds have become prized, locate them and gather them – for if birds of the same feather flock together, you could be the Majority.
Complicated, but true!
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Emerging Society - Grave Concern
We like to detest people with authorities – though immediately we show we admire them, and some of us coy up to be obedient or turn out to be rebels, but realize their value much later in life.
Take your mother for example – she regimented you so much, that you just wanted to rebel around any activity. Not having milk on time, not having food, or playing a little longer when she tried calling you back home for studying or having food. Your inner feelings said, “Give me a break, and stop this clock.” You sought a refuge in your grandparent or an uncle or aunt or whoever pampered you as the blue eyed child.
Your Father – most of them would not have directly got involved, letting the mothers do the job. But those who do, also tend to set some rules, which the poor child has to comply with. Men being Men think instructions are like a computer program and will be followed to the T, till they discover all the bugs it has. This time most of you sought the refuge of your mother or grand parents and they came to your rescue.
Today one tends to live in a house with just a mother and father, and cared for by service sector (servants).
Your teacher, professors – engaging with them during the tenure, you would not think of so highly, because, they never understood you and only kept on proceeding with doing their jobs – sometimes being lax, strict, or partial – in which ever way you perceived it to be.
Some of us even went to the extent of being judgmental enough to label them and complain to our parents, friends of “They (teacher) don’t know their stuff”. That’s the way the current generation treats knowledge in the Knowledge Era – God Save them.
These three are the important tenets of shaping your character and what you are. This in itself leads us to a very basic tenet – our foundations. Asian systems were normally joint family based, with most of them also following the guru shishya parampara (mentor-pupil tradition), where knowledge was imparted and transferred as an expertise. Not certified as a degree or diploma.
In our quest for materialistic world, have dug a grave for the future generations? Grave Concern!.
Take your mother for example – she regimented you so much, that you just wanted to rebel around any activity. Not having milk on time, not having food, or playing a little longer when she tried calling you back home for studying or having food. Your inner feelings said, “Give me a break, and stop this clock.” You sought a refuge in your grandparent or an uncle or aunt or whoever pampered you as the blue eyed child.
Your Father – most of them would not have directly got involved, letting the mothers do the job. But those who do, also tend to set some rules, which the poor child has to comply with. Men being Men think instructions are like a computer program and will be followed to the T, till they discover all the bugs it has. This time most of you sought the refuge of your mother or grand parents and they came to your rescue.
Today one tends to live in a house with just a mother and father, and cared for by service sector (servants).
Your teacher, professors – engaging with them during the tenure, you would not think of so highly, because, they never understood you and only kept on proceeding with doing their jobs – sometimes being lax, strict, or partial – in which ever way you perceived it to be.
Some of us even went to the extent of being judgmental enough to label them and complain to our parents, friends of “They (teacher) don’t know their stuff”. That’s the way the current generation treats knowledge in the Knowledge Era – God Save them.
These three are the important tenets of shaping your character and what you are. This in itself leads us to a very basic tenet – our foundations. Asian systems were normally joint family based, with most of them also following the guru shishya parampara (mentor-pupil tradition), where knowledge was imparted and transferred as an expertise. Not certified as a degree or diploma.
In our quest for materialistic world, have dug a grave for the future generations? Grave Concern!.
Friday, April 23, 2010
School, College, Marriage,
“First is school, then is college, and then is marriage with a baby in a carriage – an oft heard statement that one chuckled listening to during the later stages of school.
Beautifully summed up statement, that is so linear and draws up a process chart for one in life. Process 1 - School, finish it with flying colours, and then get to Process 2 - College - Go through the rigours and get prepared for a mature life. Cut to Process 3 - Marriage - so get married and start having children, and you have done your duty. Wish life was really such a linear and dutiful process.
School – the first thing that comes to mind is Regimentation, while we like to remember college more for the freedom, and yet when we talk of marriage, the operative word for most is Bondage! Bondage for who is again a perspective.
All through school we were longing to be in college, and when in college were were longing to get married, and once married, most of us get into the thought that “Oh, I was better off as a single, what have I got into?
The Grass the other side is always green or better still – there has to be not just a perspective, but the right perspective, so the direction matters.
School – a place we love to reminisce, but not to get back. College – we all want to be there, If god gave us a chance to rewind life and start it from the day we wished to, I am sure most of us want to start if from sometime during college days and very few from during the school days.
Why is that? It makes me wonder. Ask me and even I would tell you that I want to rewind my life back from college days? Why?
Beautifully summed up statement, that is so linear and draws up a process chart for one in life. Process 1 - School, finish it with flying colours, and then get to Process 2 - College - Go through the rigours and get prepared for a mature life. Cut to Process 3 - Marriage - so get married and start having children, and you have done your duty. Wish life was really such a linear and dutiful process.
School – the first thing that comes to mind is Regimentation, while we like to remember college more for the freedom, and yet when we talk of marriage, the operative word for most is Bondage! Bondage for who is again a perspective.
All through school we were longing to be in college, and when in college were were longing to get married, and once married, most of us get into the thought that “Oh, I was better off as a single, what have I got into?
The Grass the other side is always green or better still – there has to be not just a perspective, but the right perspective, so the direction matters.
School – a place we love to reminisce, but not to get back. College – we all want to be there, If god gave us a chance to rewind life and start it from the day we wished to, I am sure most of us want to start if from sometime during college days and very few from during the school days.
Why is that? It makes me wonder. Ask me and even I would tell you that I want to rewind my life back from college days? Why?
Monday, April 19, 2010
Seven Friends and a concept
Seven friends from college had some kind of re-union. Most of them in their late thirties and early forties, on a weekend vacation with family. The men hit the pool and were having typical conversations. Each one was on a journey of Awaken that College Student within.
Suddenly two guys from the group were being dubbed as Losers! Because they were still single, and had not found a right partner, while these guys had children in the age of 2 – 8. The two guys dubbed as losers conceded, and the game went on.
Now this was about those who had their own house – and this time two different guys turned out to be losers, because they lived in rented houses. The game proceeded like a Russian Roulette – and this time the discussion was about the car – and two more guys were losers this time, for they had not graduated beyond the entry level car. By the end of it all of us were losers in one thing or the other.
The fact that I had been dubbed a loser first – motivated me to look at this word and topic and chronicle an entire story. I initially decided to take a self effacing route, but when I thought about it deeper, I thought it has to be self effacing for the reader and not just the author alone, and hence it is a story of Us or We!
Perspectives changed and the same guys who had branded me a loser just about 24 hours back were eating their own words, and calling me a winner because I am single, and they felt they were being pestered by their wives. .
There began the Chronicles!
Suddenly two guys from the group were being dubbed as Losers! Because they were still single, and had not found a right partner, while these guys had children in the age of 2 – 8. The two guys dubbed as losers conceded, and the game went on.
Now this was about those who had their own house – and this time two different guys turned out to be losers, because they lived in rented houses. The game proceeded like a Russian Roulette – and this time the discussion was about the car – and two more guys were losers this time, for they had not graduated beyond the entry level car. By the end of it all of us were losers in one thing or the other.
The fact that I had been dubbed a loser first – motivated me to look at this word and topic and chronicle an entire story. I initially decided to take a self effacing route, but when I thought about it deeper, I thought it has to be self effacing for the reader and not just the author alone, and hence it is a story of Us or We!
Perspectives changed and the same guys who had branded me a loser just about 24 hours back were eating their own words, and calling me a winner because I am single, and they felt they were being pestered by their wives. .
There began the Chronicles!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Geographies and Societies – The Grass the Other side is always Green
Village, Town and City are the typical hierarchy of geographies, whil e Tradition, Fashion and Lifestyle, can be summed up as the typical hierarchies of the society in the respective geographies.
Never content on where we are and what we have, we want to explore the other side perceiving it to be better. This is like climbing a ladder, but the problem is we do not want to do it one step at a time, and take shortcuts to reach the top – Migration Mania.
People becoming urbanites, disconnect themselves from the roots and fall off like an orphaned fruit in foreign land. They start rearing a generation that does not know the meaning of native place, and some go abroad and rear a generation that does not know the meaning of country of origin.
We christen this pattern as “Nomads without Roots”-- People who consider themselves as winners on achieving geographic or societal success, but don’t realize what they have lost.
West is moving towards East – Yoga, meditation, vegetarianism, alternative therapies, and almost reviving some extinct practices of the region, while East is moving more rapidly to the West in aping their lifestyle of materialism, wealth, greed, and so on. Call this a Cultural Cross Over
The Grass On the Other side is Always Green. Instead of looking at the grass and being judgmental about the shades of of green, one needs to look within and Introspect – You will rediscover your roots, values and most importantly YOURSELF!
Which side are you looking – Within or Without?
Never content on where we are and what we have, we want to explore the other side perceiving it to be better. This is like climbing a ladder, but the problem is we do not want to do it one step at a time, and take shortcuts to reach the top – Migration Mania.
People becoming urbanites, disconnect themselves from the roots and fall off like an orphaned fruit in foreign land. They start rearing a generation that does not know the meaning of native place, and some go abroad and rear a generation that does not know the meaning of country of origin.
We christen this pattern as “Nomads without Roots”-- People who consider themselves as winners on achieving geographic or societal success, but don’t realize what they have lost.
West is moving towards East – Yoga, meditation, vegetarianism, alternative therapies, and almost reviving some extinct practices of the region, while East is moving more rapidly to the West in aping their lifestyle of materialism, wealth, greed, and so on. Call this a Cultural Cross Over
The Grass On the Other side is Always Green. Instead of looking at the grass and being judgmental about the shades of of green, one needs to look within and Introspect – You will rediscover your roots, values and most importantly YOURSELF!
Which side are you looking – Within or Without?
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Generation Gaps and Value System – Who’s the Loser!
Ah! How I wish my parents / in-laws/ relatives / peers understand what I am doing!
Why are they not supporting me in whatever I want to do? They only like to play devils advocate to everything Why are they so cautious / conservative in their thinking? Such a generation gap, and I think they are losers, and also want me to be another one.
A Grandfather, Father and a Grandson is the perfect example of perspectives of thoughts on each other. This can be summed up in a difference of about five to seven decades. The Grandfather thinks that his son is not taking enough responsibilities in comparison to his age, while he would shield his grandson from taking responsibilities, while the father has the same opinions of his son. Forget this, in fact people swear that they experience a generation gap with their brother / sister just five years younger.
With value system changing at a rapid pace, people are trying to cope up with emerging changes, and hence do not give any credence to experience.
There is a spirit of “I know it all” and “Been there done that” across generations, perfect winner thoughts. This gives rise to a perfect atmosphere where elders feel, “I don’t get the required respect for my stature, experience and advice that I give.” The youngsters feel that I am not being taken seriously for my talent and ability to cope up in changed circumstances.
Perennial feeling across generations, but does this have a solution!
Who’s the Loser, You or the System!
Why are they not supporting me in whatever I want to do? They only like to play devils advocate to everything Why are they so cautious / conservative in their thinking? Such a generation gap, and I think they are losers, and also want me to be another one.
A Grandfather, Father and a Grandson is the perfect example of perspectives of thoughts on each other. This can be summed up in a difference of about five to seven decades. The Grandfather thinks that his son is not taking enough responsibilities in comparison to his age, while he would shield his grandson from taking responsibilities, while the father has the same opinions of his son. Forget this, in fact people swear that they experience a generation gap with their brother / sister just five years younger.
With value system changing at a rapid pace, people are trying to cope up with emerging changes, and hence do not give any credence to experience.
There is a spirit of “I know it all” and “Been there done that” across generations, perfect winner thoughts. This gives rise to a perfect atmosphere where elders feel, “I don’t get the required respect for my stature, experience and advice that I give.” The youngsters feel that I am not being taken seriously for my talent and ability to cope up in changed circumstances.
Perennial feeling across generations, but does this have a solution!
Who’s the Loser, You or the System!
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Are you proud to be a loser?
So, winners can be losers and losers can be winners. It all is a matter of attitude. As illustrated earlier, we all start as losers, but one is adjudged a winner. You may be the defending champion, so what! This is a new competition, a new arena, new rules, and hence new challenges. It is important for that person to get back to the original loser state and be hungry to prove themselves to the world again.
The biggest hurdle in this is perhaps the media hype that surrounds the so called winners. The media does it to dish out some so called interesting stuff for the couch potatoes, but this hype gets to the head of the champion and they already start behaving like winners, thus entering a state of over confidence and complacency.
Just take a look at most of the world championships (team sport or individual sport) and look at the upsets / surprises that you get. Most of the times the defending champions (winners) tend to be bitten or beaten by some underdog. Some stage a come back (our club of losers), while some stage shows (the so called illusionary winners). Sports, Entertainment, Politics and Religion -- there are examples you can narrate.
Taking a cue out of this, we are engulfed by Reality shows as couch potatoes and live it by the moment. Reality shows are churning `winners’ by the hour and they fade into oblivion in minutes, because the decision about their talent is made in seconds. Impulsiveness can never judge class (stuff) – for class (substance) is permanent.
The important lesson is to not get carried away and to keep persisting – yes we all want to win, but don’t get into the state of being winners – Proud to be a LOSER!
The biggest hurdle in this is perhaps the media hype that surrounds the so called winners. The media does it to dish out some so called interesting stuff for the couch potatoes, but this hype gets to the head of the champion and they already start behaving like winners, thus entering a state of over confidence and complacency.
Just take a look at most of the world championships (team sport or individual sport) and look at the upsets / surprises that you get. Most of the times the defending champions (winners) tend to be bitten or beaten by some underdog. Some stage a come back (our club of losers), while some stage shows (the so called illusionary winners). Sports, Entertainment, Politics and Religion -- there are examples you can narrate.
Taking a cue out of this, we are engulfed by Reality shows as couch potatoes and live it by the moment. Reality shows are churning `winners’ by the hour and they fade into oblivion in minutes, because the decision about their talent is made in seconds. Impulsiveness can never judge class (stuff) – for class (substance) is permanent.
The important lesson is to not get carried away and to keep persisting – yes we all want to win, but don’t get into the state of being winners – Proud to be a LOSER!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Discovered Model Role Model Loser
Two Models that fit the bill in the Chronicles of a Loser -- Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra, both losers in the competition they entered – Femina Miss India, and went on the win the Miss World titles. Both tried their hand at films – firstly the Tamil, and then the Hindi and tasted some success, but managed to stay in the limelight. They provide the impression of being winners.
Look at the two people who won in their times Sushmita Sen and Lara Dutta respectively. Now get into comparing on career graphs, or popularity charts and you may want to debate as to who is the real loser.
This Winner Loser taxonomy is getting more and more complicated. Just to clarify our viewpoint – winners are complacent people; and losers are persistent in their efforts.
In life, we all start as losers, one wins. The others are consoled with a better luck next time. Some give up, some resolve to succeed. If the winner gives up (complacency) and gets over confident of repeating their feat, they end up being a loser.
Then it is like a game of snakes and ladders. There is the ladder at 21 that takes you to 82, but there is a snake at 93 that brings you to 39. Most of us get elated when we get the ladder at 21 and sometimes overturn the board when we hit the 93 syndrome. Our worry is that the opponent will win, we do not muster courage to claw back.
Our Model Role Models have had good ladders (successes), but also been bitten by snakes (setbacks), but persisted to taste periodic success to emerge as good examples.
Look at the two people who won in their times Sushmita Sen and Lara Dutta respectively. Now get into comparing on career graphs, or popularity charts and you may want to debate as to who is the real loser.
This Winner Loser taxonomy is getting more and more complicated. Just to clarify our viewpoint – winners are complacent people; and losers are persistent in their efforts.
In life, we all start as losers, one wins. The others are consoled with a better luck next time. Some give up, some resolve to succeed. If the winner gives up (complacency) and gets over confident of repeating their feat, they end up being a loser.
Then it is like a game of snakes and ladders. There is the ladder at 21 that takes you to 82, but there is a snake at 93 that brings you to 39. Most of us get elated when we get the ladder at 21 and sometimes overturn the board when we hit the 93 syndrome. Our worry is that the opponent will win, we do not muster courage to claw back.
Our Model Role Models have had good ladders (successes), but also been bitten by snakes (setbacks), but persisted to taste periodic success to emerge as good examples.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Does History, Legacy and Glory make you a Winner of Loser?
Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it! But those who remember history and only bask in that glory saying it is legacy, become history themselves (in a negative way).
Say Hockey and any Indian will be proud to flaunt “Dhyan Chand”, but that was 1936, where is Indian hockey today? Football – and Brazilians will flaunt Pele and half a dozen other names.
Come a world Championship or Olympics – and the truth comes out periodically giving these nations a reality check. “We are still supreme and will win it the next time, don’t worry, we are skilled and the world has still not caught on to us.” Both these nations have had sketchy victories for whenever they have basked in the past glory, they have had to justify their existence on the past glory itself and describe the current loss as a skirmish. They remain in a world of illusion of being winners, instead of accepting that they are losers.
Look at the conversations around you, and you will see a language of justification. Instead of learning to try harder to succeed, and regain what has been lost, we like to behave like winners. We simply refuse to accept the state we are in and instead try to justify ourselves as winners.
Remember one famous line “Forget the past, and don’t worry about the future, concentrate on the present and you will succeed in everything.” They call this `The Power of Now’
No wonder the individuals and companies that follow the above principles have the right recipe for success, and those who don’t make it say “The Grapes are Sour!”, because they lost the art of focus.
Winners Continue, Losers Beware!
Say Hockey and any Indian will be proud to flaunt “Dhyan Chand”, but that was 1936, where is Indian hockey today? Football – and Brazilians will flaunt Pele and half a dozen other names.
Come a world Championship or Olympics – and the truth comes out periodically giving these nations a reality check. “We are still supreme and will win it the next time, don’t worry, we are skilled and the world has still not caught on to us.” Both these nations have had sketchy victories for whenever they have basked in the past glory, they have had to justify their existence on the past glory itself and describe the current loss as a skirmish. They remain in a world of illusion of being winners, instead of accepting that they are losers.
Look at the conversations around you, and you will see a language of justification. Instead of learning to try harder to succeed, and regain what has been lost, we like to behave like winners. We simply refuse to accept the state we are in and instead try to justify ourselves as winners.
Remember one famous line “Forget the past, and don’t worry about the future, concentrate on the present and you will succeed in everything.” They call this `The Power of Now’
No wonder the individuals and companies that follow the above principles have the right recipe for success, and those who don’t make it say “The Grapes are Sour!”, because they lost the art of focus.
Winners Continue, Losers Beware!
Friday, March 19, 2010
Prism Prism on the Wall - Pinpoint my detractors and enemies
A mirror reflects, and what you see in that is an image, but we love to stand in front of a mirror and form a judgement about how others will want to perceive us. We think that is life and get into managing our lives accordingly. Wish life was that simple.
The truth of the matter is that life is like a prism. That triangular object, that transparent optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. A prism can break white light up into its constituent spectral colors (the colors of the rainbow).
The deeds that you do are like the while light that hits the prism (society). Now what the society thinks is given out as a spectrum because there is multitude of opinions. We tend to like a certain band of colour that suits us, and not look at the entire spectrum.
Some colours in isolation are good, but the colours in combination are balance. Like, we tend to think we are right all the time, and detest the negative feedback, thus becoming selective in our hearing of convenient opinions.
We get into a manipulation of cocooning ourselves in a make believe world of convenience and comfort. When confronted with reality, we like to blame the system, the society and everything around us. If we are blamed, then shift the blame conveniently or start searching for scape goats, thus getting into a segment of selective colours we desire.
Remember when you point a finer at someone, three fingers point towards you!
The truth of the matter is that life is like a prism. That triangular object, that transparent optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. A prism can break white light up into its constituent spectral colors (the colors of the rainbow).
The deeds that you do are like the while light that hits the prism (society). Now what the society thinks is given out as a spectrum because there is multitude of opinions. We tend to like a certain band of colour that suits us, and not look at the entire spectrum.
Some colours in isolation are good, but the colours in combination are balance. Like, we tend to think we are right all the time, and detest the negative feedback, thus becoming selective in our hearing of convenient opinions.
We get into a manipulation of cocooning ourselves in a make believe world of convenience and comfort. When confronted with reality, we like to blame the system, the society and everything around us. If we are blamed, then shift the blame conveniently or start searching for scape goats, thus getting into a segment of selective colours we desire.
Remember when you point a finer at someone, three fingers point towards you!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Escape – “Ctrl-Alt-Del” - Reboot
… And they lived happily ever after! Is the biggest line that makes us happy, on having reached the logical end of a story. Rags to Riches, Struggle to Success; or Pain to Pleasure. We are all programmed with that escape clause. Once you move from one stage to another, this is portrayed as the ultimate destination, and not a new journey.
What happened to the seven goats in the story of Seven goats and the wolf, or to Little Red Riding Hood – what kind of girl did she grow up to be? What happened to the three little pigs – did they remain little all their lives? What happened to Jack in Jack and the beanstalk after he managed to kill the giant. In all these stories the rise is always towards the sky. No one will tell you how to sustain a state of success, but every one will tell you ways and means of achieving success from despair. Our movies are modelled that way, our conversations are modelled that way, our stories are modelled that way, and so are our modern day idols.
We are conditioned to think that life is a honey moon, and struggle, or challenges are just a temporary phenomenon. Once you taste success, you will succeed and only succeed. Those who think that are condemned to revisit history, and those who do not want to hope to press the ESC button in life or the Ctrl-Alt-Del button in their lives.
We all love to escape from reality or reboot life rather than confront it, or better still hope to hear …And they lived happily every after.
What happened to the seven goats in the story of Seven goats and the wolf, or to Little Red Riding Hood – what kind of girl did she grow up to be? What happened to the three little pigs – did they remain little all their lives? What happened to Jack in Jack and the beanstalk after he managed to kill the giant. In all these stories the rise is always towards the sky. No one will tell you how to sustain a state of success, but every one will tell you ways and means of achieving success from despair. Our movies are modelled that way, our conversations are modelled that way, our stories are modelled that way, and so are our modern day idols.
We are conditioned to think that life is a honey moon, and struggle, or challenges are just a temporary phenomenon. Once you taste success, you will succeed and only succeed. Those who think that are condemned to revisit history, and those who do not want to hope to press the ESC button in life or the Ctrl-Alt-Del button in their lives.
We all love to escape from reality or reboot life rather than confront it, or better still hope to hear …And they lived happily every after.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Relish Challenges – Achieve Goals
294 words
Despite many stellar achievements these personalities (my idols) seem to relish challenges – struggle, but achieve their goals.
Kapil Dev (Haryana Hurricane) and Mohinder (Jimmy) Amarnath, a person famous for the number of comebacks he staged literally scripted one of the greatest moment in the nations cricketing history. Fighting against all odds characterize their personality.
Gaekwad for one was the tipping point of the winning spirit of Indian cricket for as a coach, he gave the best results that any foreign coach could not. S.Venkataraghavan donned the role of Player, Coach, Manager, Selector, Umpire – show me another cricketer in the world who has done all that.
Jayprakash Narain –catalyzed the formation of India’s first alternative to the ruling party. The man who showed that after 25 years of demise of the Father of the Nation, the non violence methods still worked.
Affirmative Action –authored by V.P.Singh, was included as a part of sociology syllabus at Harvard in mid 90s. 1985 budget was the tipping point for the discerning middle class through, but he is remembered for Mandir and Mandal.
Cho Ramaswamy, Khushwant Singh and Arun Shourie are outright frank and hard hitting, be it the vitriol or satire. They faced enough obstacles from various quarters, but emerged as great icons.
Bjorn Borg and Ivan Lendl achieved greatness during their times, but the peak eluded both when it came to completing their Grand Slams.
T.N.Seshan and Kiran Bedi need special mention for their belligerence, sense of purpose and missionary zeal of doing their duty.
Zamanaa wahi badlata hai, jo zamane se takrane ko tayyar ho
Aur zamaana yaad bhi unki ko karta hai
People who dare to change the times, end up being victorious, and are remembered for their deeds and actions.
Despite many stellar achievements these personalities (my idols) seem to relish challenges – struggle, but achieve their goals.
Kapil Dev (Haryana Hurricane) and Mohinder (Jimmy) Amarnath, a person famous for the number of comebacks he staged literally scripted one of the greatest moment in the nations cricketing history. Fighting against all odds characterize their personality.
Gaekwad for one was the tipping point of the winning spirit of Indian cricket for as a coach, he gave the best results that any foreign coach could not. S.Venkataraghavan donned the role of Player, Coach, Manager, Selector, Umpire – show me another cricketer in the world who has done all that.
Jayprakash Narain –catalyzed the formation of India’s first alternative to the ruling party. The man who showed that after 25 years of demise of the Father of the Nation, the non violence methods still worked.
Affirmative Action –authored by V.P.Singh, was included as a part of sociology syllabus at Harvard in mid 90s. 1985 budget was the tipping point for the discerning middle class through, but he is remembered for Mandir and Mandal.
Cho Ramaswamy, Khushwant Singh and Arun Shourie are outright frank and hard hitting, be it the vitriol or satire. They faced enough obstacles from various quarters, but emerged as great icons.
Bjorn Borg and Ivan Lendl achieved greatness during their times, but the peak eluded both when it came to completing their Grand Slams.
T.N.Seshan and Kiran Bedi need special mention for their belligerence, sense of purpose and missionary zeal of doing their duty.
Zamanaa wahi badlata hai, jo zamane se takrane ko tayyar ho
Aur zamaana yaad bhi unki ko karta hai
People who dare to change the times, end up being victorious, and are remembered for their deeds and actions.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Your Idols – A Reflection of You
Idols they say shape a persons character. As an exercise, if you do try and write down your idols at various stages of life, you will get a pattern to your life too. Interestingly despite stellar achievements, my idols never got their due in their fields.
My first idol was S.Venkataraghavan, one from the famous spin quartered of the country, followed by Anshuman Gaekwad, Kapil Dev and Mohinder Amarnath. In tennis Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Ramesh Krishnan, Chris Evert Lloyd and Gabriela Sabatini were my idols.
In politics Jayprakash Narain and V.P.Singh, In journalism, Cho Ramaswamy, Khushwant Singh and Arun Shourie, In Corporate world Nusli Wadia, and amongst Bureaucrats Kiran Bedi and T.N.Seshan were also my idols.
These personalities have achieved immense greatness in their respective lives, but could have been greater (this is my view point). When people talk of the respective fields most of these names do not tend to be top of the mind.
There is a simple pattern in all these personalities -- “Out of Sight, Out of Mind!” But each of these personalities displayed the stellar qualities of grit, determination, perseverance, and patience. Their ability to bounce back is a lesson for all of us, and I am sure on the type of character you are, you too will be able to draw pattern from your idols.
My first idol was S.Venkataraghavan, one from the famous spin quartered of the country, followed by Anshuman Gaekwad, Kapil Dev and Mohinder Amarnath. In tennis Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Ramesh Krishnan, Chris Evert Lloyd and Gabriela Sabatini were my idols.
In politics Jayprakash Narain and V.P.Singh, In journalism, Cho Ramaswamy, Khushwant Singh and Arun Shourie, In Corporate world Nusli Wadia, and amongst Bureaucrats Kiran Bedi and T.N.Seshan were also my idols.
These personalities have achieved immense greatness in their respective lives, but could have been greater (this is my view point). When people talk of the respective fields most of these names do not tend to be top of the mind.
There is a simple pattern in all these personalities -- “Out of Sight, Out of Mind!” But each of these personalities displayed the stellar qualities of grit, determination, perseverance, and patience. Their ability to bounce back is a lesson for all of us, and I am sure on the type of character you are, you too will be able to draw pattern from your idols.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Perspectives - The Way You Look At It!
In any contest, there is one winner and the other one is a LOSER! The adulation is to the winner and the brickbats are for the LOSER. Rat Race they call it, but should the winner be adjudge as “A RAT”.
In a country, we adjudge the Leader of the Opposition as a Loser because he is not ruling the country, but he too is a winner, because he is leading a Party.
In a Sporting contest, a Runner Up is branded as a loser, we do it because he lost the most important deterministic contest, but won atleast five to six game to get there.
This LOSER business is something that has completely LOOSE definitions, and hence we are not going to attempt any traditional definition searching on the same.
I thought of giving a perspective to some incidents and anecdotes around us that you can relate to. This is not to draw any sympathy or feelings about me the author, for whatever my friends think of me (positive or negative), “I am what I am and I will always be What I am, despite the fact that I try to be what you want me to be.”
We proceed on a journey in which I hope you relate to, for each one of us has gone through this, but not taken the pains to put it in writing, I have done that because I am now trying to be a PAIN asking you to read these posts, and get some expression out of you.
In a country, we adjudge the Leader of the Opposition as a Loser because he is not ruling the country, but he too is a winner, because he is leading a Party.
In a Sporting contest, a Runner Up is branded as a loser, we do it because he lost the most important deterministic contest, but won atleast five to six game to get there.
This LOSER business is something that has completely LOOSE definitions, and hence we are not going to attempt any traditional definition searching on the same.
I thought of giving a perspective to some incidents and anecdotes around us that you can relate to. This is not to draw any sympathy or feelings about me the author, for whatever my friends think of me (positive or negative), “I am what I am and I will always be What I am, despite the fact that I try to be what you want me to be.”
We proceed on a journey in which I hope you relate to, for each one of us has gone through this, but not taken the pains to put it in writing, I have done that because I am now trying to be a PAIN asking you to read these posts, and get some expression out of you.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Starting to be a Loser
What a title? Chronicles of a Loser! You may wonder as to whether this is this some kind of autobiography or personal account of the author. It is a story of `You and Me’, so it is about `US’ or `We’. You too have been branded a Loser by somebody in some field – maybe it is Life itself, or work, or academics, or your style, your car, your preferences. Don’t Lose heart. Just Remember – Losers Loser Battles, But win wars and winners win Battles and justify that they won the war.
Losers don’t give up easily, and have it in them to be in the race for the longer term, The have the spirit of never say die, and are always thirsty for more – never satisfied. Winners come and go, and like to justify their position. They tend to be satisfied and hence complacent. .
So if you are a loser the qualities of: perseverance, persistence, patience and passion is inside you, for winners too have been loser sometimes. The debate is whether it is good to be a winner and hope you stay there or be a Loser and work harder. Maybe we are trying to sound like “Avis Jeans” We are second, but we try harder.
The Spirit of Challenge is alive in Losers! For Challengers are known for their bravery, valour and capture people’s hearts. Keep Reading.
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