Anther manthra

My dad mailed me this and i thought i should share this :)

You expect to find greatness in big cities -- it’s where the action is. You expect to find the Wall Street wiz and the real estate mogul in New York City or the best software and app developers in Silicon Valley. What’s even more impressive is to find world-class talent doing big things in small towns.

I found exactly that right in my hometown during a visit to Bourgeois Guitars. Its story is a great reminder for all entrepreneurs that your success isn’t confined to your city limits and your impact doesn’t stop at the state line.

What can an entrepreneur learn from a craftsman? A lot. With that in mind, tune everything else out and invest the next four distraction-free minutes in what I’m about to share.

My job is to help leaders and their teams consistently perform at a high level and enjoy what they do. So I study the world class in an array of industries to see what separates the best from the rest. This article is about what you can learn from the best guitar-makers in the world.

As I was given my tour of the Bourgeois manufacturing facility, each time I began to take a photograph, my host Will made it a point to stop speaking. I told him that was thoughtful but not necessary. He politely told me that what I was doing was important and deserved our full attention.

As we moved from station to station throughout the various areas of the facility, I was introduced to each of their craftsmen. After the first couple of introductions, I picked up on a fascinating pattern. They each did the same thing as Will. Without fail and with no prompting, one by one they stopped their work to greet me and give me their full attention. They asked questions, showed interest in my work and didn’t resume their work until the conversation ended and my questions were answered.

When I met with founder Dana Bourgeois and CEO John Karp, wouldn’t you know it, they did the same. Bourgeois Guitar has created a culture of mindfulness.

It stands to reason why they do this. When you make a custom-precision instrument by hand from wood sourced from every corner of the world, you learn to appreciate nuance and pay careful attention to everything and everyone. The company's ability to be truly present and listen to their clients is a big factor in why their client list reads like a who’s who of country and bluegrass music and acoustic specialty shops.

When its employees are working on the wood, it’s the only thing in their world. When they are speaking with someone that person is the only thing in their world. Imagine how much better your results would be if you took this same approach.

Busyness is the enemy of your business. Presence is your competitive advantage. In my work as an executive coach, I advise clients to “be where your feet are.” What I mean by this is to eliminate distraction, focus on one thing at a time and be fully present in the moment.

For these guitar-makers they literally are standing at their workstations, feet firmly planted on the ground pointed in the direction of the piece of wood they are working on. They focus on one thing, being present and delivering a standard of excellence Bourgeois' instruments have become known for worldwide.

It’s what separates the best athletes from the rest too. They don’t replay the last play in their mind, they focus on the present. It’s also what can separate you from your competition.


Dr. William James, father of the positive psychology movement, said that “the deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” When you’re interested in others, you’re interesting to others and they feel appreciated.


Being interested is about being truly present in what you’re doing

Choose Transformational Patterns

The bottom line is this: What you choose is what you get. Five years from today, you will be exactly the same person you are today except for the choices you make beginning right now.

You make a lot of choices every day—what to wear, what to have for breakfast, which route to drive to work, etc. Those are transactional choices.

But you can also choose at any point to transform your life. Those transformational choices are wise decisions that can change the direction of your life—putting your life on a path to success… and more importantly… significance.

The people who I admire most don’t live their lives by a “to-do” list; they live their lives by a “to-be” list, for example: I want to be more generous, more patient, more learned, more reasoned.

While you can check things quickly off a “to-do” list, it may be several months before you cross something off your “to-be” list. And here’s the other side of the coin: You can’t have a “to-be” list, without having a “stop doing” list. To become something, you must undo something…acting on an item from your “stop doing” list.

Those who live by a “to-be” list have discovered wisdom…an education that serves them well for life.

PS: A blog of mine after a long time :) 

Namba India ! :)

India woke up to freedom on this day, way back in 1947, after a struggle which spanned centuries. The British handed the rule of the country to the Indian leaders at the stroke of midnight. 

India's Independence is celebrated on this day by hoisting the tri-coloured flag in the state capitals, and holding cultural programmes. 

Though schools and colleges may not have a holiday on this day, no academic work is done. Students and teachers gather for a flag hoisting ceremony, and they sing the National Anthem. The rest of the country, however, usually enjoys a holiday on this day.

It is a time when we must sit back and remember the freedom strugglers, without whom we may never have got our freedom.

Rani Laxmi Bai, the Queen of Jhansi, lead her people into a battle againstthe British in which she fought like a tiger, and was killed heroically.

Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation, lead the country to freedom with his non-violent ideals. He remains a symbol of peace to this day.

Sardar Vallabhai Patel was responsible for uniting the princely states into one country.

Bal Gangadhar Tilak, remembered for his court statement in which he proclaimed 'Swaraj is my birthright, and I will have it!'

Bhagat Singh, threw a bomb when the Legislature was in session, and was arrested and hung.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad was elected President of the Congress when he was just 35.

Dr. Annie Besant, a Britisher, supported India's freedom struggle wholeheartedly and founded the Home Rule league in India.

Ashfaqualla Khan, a revolutionary who was given the death sentence, kissed the noose before it went around his neck.

Some of the more prominent freedom movements were:

The Mutiny of 1857
This mutiny was the turning point of the freedom movement, though it was suppressed by the British. It was the first organized freedom struggle on such a large scale, and paved the way for further struggles for freedom.

The Civil Disobedience Movement of 1929
It was decided to celebrate Indian Independence Day on the 26th of January.On this day the freedom fighters, spearheaded by Mahatma Gandhi, hoisted India's national flag. It was decided to completely disregard the orders of the British Government.


The Dandi March of 1930
Gandhi lead a 241-kilometer march to Dandi at the age of 61, and proceeded to make salt in defiance of the law by non-violent means. The British had to arrests millions to enforce the law, causing panic in the administration. This march, in fact, was the first strategy of the Civil Disobedience Movement.


The Quit India Movement of 1942
The year 1942 is now identified more with the movie 1942: A Love Story, than it is with the Quit India Movement! This movement called for a widespread, non-violent struggle for India's freedom. Before long there were revolts all over the country, demanding that the British 'quit India'.

We need to understand the importance of freedom and work towards the betterment of our society !
JAIHIND :) !!

PS : do watch the video !

The Missing Five Pound Note

Chippenham George worked for the Post Office and his job was to process all the mail that had illegible addresses. One day just before Christmas, a letter landed on his desk simply addressed in shaky handwriting: ‘To God’. With no other clue on the envelope, George opened the letter and read:

“Dear God,
I am an 93 year old widow living on the State pension. Yesterday someone stole my purse. It had £100 in it, which was all the money I had in the world and no pension due until after Christmas. Next week is Christmas and I had invited two of my friends over for Christmas lunch. Without that money, I have nothing to buy food with. I have no family to turn to, and you are my only hope. God; can you please help me?”

Chippenham George was really touched, and being kind hearted, he put a copy of the letter up on the staff notice board at the main Fareham sorting office where he worked. The letter touched the other postmen and they all dug into their pockets and had a whip round. Between them they raised £95. [$190 USD] Using an officially franked Post Office envelope, they sent the cash on to the old lady, and for the rest of the day, all the workers felt a warm glow thinking of the nice thing they had done.

Christmas came and went. A few days later, another letter simply addressed to ‘God’ landed in the Sorting Office. Many of the postmen gathered around while George opened the letter. It read,
“Dear God,
How can I ever thank you enough for what you did for me? Because of your generosity, I was able to provide a lovely luncheon for my friends. We had a very nice day, and I told my friends of your wonderful gift – in fact we haven’t gotten over it and even Father John, our parish priest, is beside himself with joy. By the way, there was £5 [$10 USD] missing. I think it must have been those thieving fellows at the Post Office.”

George could not help musing on Oscar Wilde’s quote: ‘A good deed never goes unpunished’

This was a mail which my dad sent me :)

10 rules for a perfect day :)

TODAY I WILL NOT STRIKE BACK:
If someone is rude, if someone is impatient, if someone is unkind...I will not respond in a like manner.

TODAY I WILL ASK GOD TO BLESS MY "ENEMY":
If I come across someone who treats me harshly or unfairly, I will quietly ask God to bless that individual. I understand the "enemy" could be a family member, neighbor, co-worker, or a stranger.

TODAY I WILL BE CAREFUL ABOUT WHAT I SAY:
I will carefully choose and guard my words being certain that I do not spread gossip.

TODAY I WILL GO THE EXTRA MILE:
I will find ways to help share the burden of another person.

TODAY I WILL FORGIVE:
I will forgive any hurts or injuries that come my way. TODAY I WILL DO SOMETHING NICE FOR SOMEONE, BUT I WILL DO IT SECRETLY: I will reach out anonymously and bless the life of another.

TODAY I WILL TREAT OTHERS THE WAY I WISH TO BE TREATED:
I will practice the golden rule - "Do unto others as I would have them do unto me" - with everyone I encounter.

TODAY I WILL RAISE THE SPIRITS OF SOMEONE I DISCOURAGED:
My smile, my words, my expression of support, can make the difference to someone who is wrestling life.

TODAY I WILL NURTURE MY BODY:
I will eat less; I will eat only healthy foods. I will thank God for my body.

TODAY I WILL GROW SPIRITUALLY:
I will spend a little more time in prayer today: I will begin reading something spiritual or inspirational today; I will find a quiet place and listen to God's voice !

too difficult for all to be done in a day , i guess !!

Law of the Garbage Truck

Do you let a bad auto-driver, a rude waiter, a curt boss, or an insensitive employee ruin your day?

This is what happens to most of us. However, the mark of a successful person is how quickly we can get back our focus on what's important.

A couple of years ago I learned this lesson, in the rear seat of a Kolkata taxi cab. Here's what happened.

I hopped into a taxi, and I had to attend a client meeting at Salt Lake City. We were driving in the right lane when, all of a sudden, a
black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us. My taxi driver slammed his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car's rear
end by a few inches! The driver of the other car, the guy who almost caused the big accident, whipped his head around and started yelling
obscene words at us.

My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean he was friendly. So, I said, "Why did you do that? This guy almost ruined
your car and sent us to the hospital!" And this is when my taxi driver told me what I now call, "The Law of the Garbage Truck.

"Many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As
their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it. And if you let them, they'll dump it on you. When someone wants to dump on you, don't
take it personally. You just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. You'll be happy you did.

So this was it: The "Law of the Garbage Truck."

I started thinking, how often do I let Garbage Trucks run right over me? And how often do I take their garbage and spread it to other
people at work, at home, on the streets? It was that day I said, "I'm not going to do that anymore. I see the load they're carrying. I see
them coming to drop it off. And like my Taxi Driver, I don't make it a personal thing; I just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.

What about you? What would happen in your life, starting today, if you let more garbage trucks pass you by? Here's my bet. You'll be
happier. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, 

so.. love the people who love you. Forget the ones who don't.


PS : this was shared with me by my dad... since this has got a nice message .. i thought i can share via blogs too :)

ABOUT TIME MANAGEMENT :)

Past time never found"- Benjamin Franklin

Time is the most precious resource on earth. It is the most valuable thing people have. It is perishable, it is irreplaceable, and it cannot be stored. People compare time with gold but it is a wrong notion. The value of gold fluctuates from time to time but the value of time will never fluctuate. Even 1000 years ago, a day consisted of 24 hours per, 60 minutes per hour and 60 seconds per minutes. Still in the 21st century, a day consists of 24 hours. There is no change in the value of time. There is no precious asset on earth rarer than time. Hence, don't compare time with gold.

"If we lose gold we can earn back, if we lose money we can get it back, if we lose our health we can recover it. But once we lost our time, it lost forever."

Every person has 24 hours per day.

Why do few people succeed in their pursuits and others fail? Successful people utilize time in a more effective manner than unsuccessful people. They priorities activities and allocate time on the basis of importance. Time can only be reallocated from activities of lower value to activities of higher value. All work and accomplishments require time.

Due to our fast paced modern life, most people are unable to priorities their activities and are confused. Hence, they do unimportant things first and important things next. To get success in life, people should evaluate their activities in the light of what is really important to them. They must master their time rather than becoming a slave to the constant flow of events and demands on their time. They must organize their life to achieve balance, harmony, and inner peace. Lack of harmony with time and activities leads to chaos in life.

Your ability to think and priorities activities is the most valuable trait for the smoothest flow of life.

"Wise time management is inseparable from high quality life."

It is a fact that life means time and time means life. God has given us this wonderful life to live happily and achieve life goals but not brood over failures. Time is absolutely essential to develop important relationships in life. Life itself is time and hence life without time has no value.

We all grow in time, live in time and ultimately, perish in time. There may not be an exact definition of time, but we all know what it is and its great value in human life. A man has a lot of wants. We all want fame, success, money, happiness, love, relationship etc. There is no end to our desires.

However, only a few are successful, prosperous and happy. These few are the ones who realized the value of time. They made the best use of their time and attained an enviable position in society. People, who made effective usage of time at their disposal, got the best from time.

Never curse time for not giving you riches; we have to extract riches from time. But those who forget the value of time may find to their utter dismay that it will be harsh on them later. Man may neglect time and misuse it but time doesn't wait. It may be a fantasy that time may take revenge on us so utilize this precious recourse carefully.

Time will never forget us though we may forget it. Time reciprocates. If we use it in a wise manner it gives us happiness otherwise it pushes people into troubles.