Read this interesting thing about the Queen's language
Let's face it
English is a stupid language.
There is no egg in the eggplant
No ham in the hamburger
And neither pine nor apple in the pineapple.
English muffins were not invented in England
French fries were not invented in France.
We sometimes take English for granted
But if we examine its paradoxes we find that
Quicksand takes you down slowly
Boxing rings are square
And a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
If writers write, how come fingers don't fing.
If the plural of tooth is teeth
Shouldn't the plural of phone booth be phone beeth
If the teacher taught,
Why didn't the preacher praught.
If a vegetarian eats vegetables
What the heck does a humanitarian eat!?
Why do people recite at a play
Yet play at a recital?
Park on driveways and
Drive on parkways
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy
Of a language where a house can burn up as
It burns down
And in which you fill in a form
By filling it out
And a bell is only heard once it goes!
English was invented by people, not computers
And it reflects the creativity of the human race
(Which of course isn't a race at all)
That is why
When the stars are out they are visible
But when the lights are out they are invisible
And why it is that when I wind up my watch
It starts
But when I wind up this observation,
It ends?
Tuesday, January 09, 2007
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Came across this article again....
Just read along what a fresh father has to say about his new daughter...
by Tom Evslin, written in 1979 (and posted recently on his blog) on the birth of his daughter:
A few weeks ago my daughter Katy was born. She started out terribly; grey, streaked with blood, and with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Central Vermont Hospital took care of all that very well and now she is less the worse for wear than I am.
But she is helpless, incredibly helpless. It’s been a few years since I’ve had an infant to watch and I’d forgotten. She can’t hold her huge head up; she can’t use her hands; and her eyes discover the world piece by piece at random.
No other mammal has babies nearly as helpless as ours. Even blind puppies walk to their first nursing. And the reflexive curling of Katy’s toes reminds me that, if she were a monkey, she’d already he able to hold onto a branch.
One theory is that the head is the problem. For better or for worse, humans have brains proportional1y far bigger than those of other species. The head built to contain this giant brain has run into an evolutionary trap. It’s almost too big to be born.
That is why humans have more trouble with childbirth than other species. And so, the theory goes, in order to be born at all, humans must be born prematurely. In other words, human babies are so helpless because they are still in an advanced state of fetal development. If they waited until they were as developed as other mammal babies, their heads would he too large for delivery.
I think there is another reason in the grand scheme of things why our babies are born with so much to learn.
The babies of other species come preprogrammed. They already have most basic motor skills. In general, the lower down the evolutionary ladder a species is, the more adult skills its babies have built in.
Our babies know how to nurse. Everything else they have to learn. It seems very inefficient that we have to learn to lift our heads, then learn to roll over, then creep, then walk. But I think this inefficiency serves a purpose.
While my daughter Katy is learning the simple task of making her hand touch what her eye sees, she will also he learning how to learn. As she tries and fails and tries again, her mind will learn how to retain experience. As her left hand learns what her right hand knows, her mind will learn to reason and extrapolate.
As Katy takes a year to learn the motor skills a monkey is born with, she will be preparing herself for the great task of mastering a spoken language. As she struggles pitifully to make a rattle work right, she will he learning to learn to read and write.
Above all, we are nature’s best learners. We have very dull eyes, puny teeth, a weak sense of smell, and we don’t hear very well. Our physical prowess is probably the laughingstock of the animal kingdom. But we can learn. We learn how to learn while we learn how to walk.
Welcome, Katy, to a genuine learning experience. And good luck.
by Tom Evslin, written in 1979 (and posted recently on his blog) on the birth of his daughter:
A few weeks ago my daughter Katy was born. She started out terribly; grey, streaked with blood, and with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. Central Vermont Hospital took care of all that very well and now she is less the worse for wear than I am.
But she is helpless, incredibly helpless. It’s been a few years since I’ve had an infant to watch and I’d forgotten. She can’t hold her huge head up; she can’t use her hands; and her eyes discover the world piece by piece at random.
No other mammal has babies nearly as helpless as ours. Even blind puppies walk to their first nursing. And the reflexive curling of Katy’s toes reminds me that, if she were a monkey, she’d already he able to hold onto a branch.
One theory is that the head is the problem. For better or for worse, humans have brains proportional1y far bigger than those of other species. The head built to contain this giant brain has run into an evolutionary trap. It’s almost too big to be born.
That is why humans have more trouble with childbirth than other species. And so, the theory goes, in order to be born at all, humans must be born prematurely. In other words, human babies are so helpless because they are still in an advanced state of fetal development. If they waited until they were as developed as other mammal babies, their heads would he too large for delivery.
I think there is another reason in the grand scheme of things why our babies are born with so much to learn.
The babies of other species come preprogrammed. They already have most basic motor skills. In general, the lower down the evolutionary ladder a species is, the more adult skills its babies have built in.
Our babies know how to nurse. Everything else they have to learn. It seems very inefficient that we have to learn to lift our heads, then learn to roll over, then creep, then walk. But I think this inefficiency serves a purpose.
While my daughter Katy is learning the simple task of making her hand touch what her eye sees, she will also he learning how to learn. As she tries and fails and tries again, her mind will learn how to retain experience. As her left hand learns what her right hand knows, her mind will learn to reason and extrapolate.
As Katy takes a year to learn the motor skills a monkey is born with, she will be preparing herself for the great task of mastering a spoken language. As she struggles pitifully to make a rattle work right, she will he learning to learn to read and write.
Above all, we are nature’s best learners. We have very dull eyes, puny teeth, a weak sense of smell, and we don’t hear very well. Our physical prowess is probably the laughingstock of the animal kingdom. But we can learn. We learn how to learn while we learn how to walk.
Welcome, Katy, to a genuine learning experience. And good luck.
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Adieu for the moment
Not much seems to be happening, except for the change of the minute and the date. My mind is not taking orders. It is having a free run. The course of it is unknown. Obsessed feelings and confused perception about life and fellow beings. People take people for granted. Seriousness is serious when people need people or else you dont exist. Sorrys are told as if accidentally stepping on a stranger's feet whereas the real pain was felt in my heart. That is when death becomes the threshold of life.
Threshold
I was not aware of the moment when I first crossed the threshold of this life.
What was the power that made me open out into this vast mystery like a bud in the forest at midnight?
When in the morning I looked upon the light, I felt in a moment that I was no stranger in this world
That the inscrutable without name and form had taken me in its arms in the form of my own mother.
Even so, in death the same unknown will appear as ever known to me
And because I love this life, I know I shall love death as well.
The child cries out when from the right breast the mother takes it away in the very next moment to find in the left one its consolation.
From Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore
Sunday, December 31, 2006
The end or a beginning...
Happily the last day of the year turned out to be a Sunday. Though it was a lazy day with lazy thoughts, my mind is fully equipped with whatever, it is difficult to assess and seems to throw me off the balance. I just decided to strongly ponder upon the facts of this year and answer the question why I am bogged with all this.
Actually the start of the year had nothing fresh to offer me, since I was with the same company and was continuing with the same kind of mechanical drudgery. The challenge at office was not new…because these challenges were due to the insufficiency of the organization rather than my own making. Change was no where in sight and the forces that would give me that change was not evident. Sometimes during July, I got a phone call from a consultant which led me to a change in job. September – my work base had changed. New office had forced a lot of change in to me. Normally I am reclusive, introvert guy and somebody had to force me to talk. Here I became a forced extrovert. The initial two months had not much impact on me as there was not much to do. Then I was asked to travel to Ireland for a knowledge transition, which was during November. The entire month, I was there understanding the client’s way of functioning. Ireland had a lot to offer me. In a way, I understood people here are just like us Indians and whatever were the pre-conceived notions about them had got erased out. I had some lovely friends, who genuinely loved to meet me and extend there relationship as a friend beyond the professional sphere. Like me, they were intrigued about our way of life. They ask me lot of funny questions about Indian way of life. It was surprise to me that outside India, we are looked upon as a great civilization; people respect us. It’s only us who don’t value ourselves. Most of the taxi-drivers I spoke during my long journey had great words to say about Gandhiji and his ideals. Young people talk about peace with the same breath they talk about Gandhian values. Back at Chennai, the environment at office had changed drastically. Like I said I had to move around with people. I had to make friendship with lots of people and came out of my own self-imposed shell. I was asked to led the show for a small set of people. I did lot of talking; making them understand, what I had learnt at Ireland. Everyday there were regular sessions of 4-5 hours. These activities brought forth my capabilities as a teacher. My subject matter was little, since it was related technical skill which people can easily learn. But I did a lot of talking on observing skill, technical problem solving, about life, humor and did my best to the make the sessions an engaging one. It was more interactive and feedback was encouraging to me. This was a good experience to me. I can see the changes happening inside me too.
As of my personal life, sometime during the course of the year, it was on shaky terrain. If I am asked to put in words about what transpired, it would be difficult. The strength of my feeling and emotion will not equate the strength of my words. My behavior was obsessive. I, as a person was strong to the point that I will never let anybody down. My belief in my own word was strong and was committed to each word I utter. I expected the same from each person I interact with. I derived strength from this person not realizing that it is within me. I had shared each moment of life with this person. I was literally giving a running commentary of my life. I never knew that time and situation had anything to do with relationships. I believed that, everybody is a reflection of me. I was wrong on many counts. I was naïve. I was self-destructive. And at last I was disturbing this person to the point that the confession came out that I was a disturbance and my presence in her life was a ‘time-being’. The lesson was that people change and they change for there own good. The lesson was good and I think this doesn’t deserve more words and thoughts.
My son has started uttering wonderful words. My prayer was answered. I wanted him to emulate Dennis ‘the menace’ and now I fear he is much more than that. He reads my mind like Sigmund Freud. He knows what makes me laugh and what makes me shout at him. He knows how to divert me. He knows the timing of each of my action. He knows his smiles will make me strong and whenever I am down, with his little pep talk fires the spirits inside to look ahead into life. At this moment of life, he is my biggest teacher. He gets the things he deserves and works hard towards achieving them. He never retracts from what he wants. He is a go-getter…proactive to the core. He believes that he is his best help.
When I look ahead, New Year is just going to be a change in the date and an addition to the number of year I have spent here. Any amount of resolution on this day will not change me. For me, lessons are learnt then and there and resolutions are set for a life and should not be restricted to this day. Lessons are inherent inside me; some just got dissolved into my blood and some into my heart. Some lessons have conditioned me so much that it got dissolved into my character trait. I am looking forward with excitement, each moment, each minute, each dawn with lots of expectation and positive signs of Life.
Actually the start of the year had nothing fresh to offer me, since I was with the same company and was continuing with the same kind of mechanical drudgery. The challenge at office was not new…because these challenges were due to the insufficiency of the organization rather than my own making. Change was no where in sight and the forces that would give me that change was not evident. Sometimes during July, I got a phone call from a consultant which led me to a change in job. September – my work base had changed. New office had forced a lot of change in to me. Normally I am reclusive, introvert guy and somebody had to force me to talk. Here I became a forced extrovert. The initial two months had not much impact on me as there was not much to do. Then I was asked to travel to Ireland for a knowledge transition, which was during November. The entire month, I was there understanding the client’s way of functioning. Ireland had a lot to offer me. In a way, I understood people here are just like us Indians and whatever were the pre-conceived notions about them had got erased out. I had some lovely friends, who genuinely loved to meet me and extend there relationship as a friend beyond the professional sphere. Like me, they were intrigued about our way of life. They ask me lot of funny questions about Indian way of life. It was surprise to me that outside India, we are looked upon as a great civilization; people respect us. It’s only us who don’t value ourselves. Most of the taxi-drivers I spoke during my long journey had great words to say about Gandhiji and his ideals. Young people talk about peace with the same breath they talk about Gandhian values. Back at Chennai, the environment at office had changed drastically. Like I said I had to move around with people. I had to make friendship with lots of people and came out of my own self-imposed shell. I was asked to led the show for a small set of people. I did lot of talking; making them understand, what I had learnt at Ireland. Everyday there were regular sessions of 4-5 hours. These activities brought forth my capabilities as a teacher. My subject matter was little, since it was related technical skill which people can easily learn. But I did a lot of talking on observing skill, technical problem solving, about life, humor and did my best to the make the sessions an engaging one. It was more interactive and feedback was encouraging to me. This was a good experience to me. I can see the changes happening inside me too.
As of my personal life, sometime during the course of the year, it was on shaky terrain. If I am asked to put in words about what transpired, it would be difficult. The strength of my feeling and emotion will not equate the strength of my words. My behavior was obsessive. I, as a person was strong to the point that I will never let anybody down. My belief in my own word was strong and was committed to each word I utter. I expected the same from each person I interact with. I derived strength from this person not realizing that it is within me. I had shared each moment of life with this person. I was literally giving a running commentary of my life. I never knew that time and situation had anything to do with relationships. I believed that, everybody is a reflection of me. I was wrong on many counts. I was naïve. I was self-destructive. And at last I was disturbing this person to the point that the confession came out that I was a disturbance and my presence in her life was a ‘time-being’. The lesson was that people change and they change for there own good. The lesson was good and I think this doesn’t deserve more words and thoughts.
My son has started uttering wonderful words. My prayer was answered. I wanted him to emulate Dennis ‘the menace’ and now I fear he is much more than that. He reads my mind like Sigmund Freud. He knows what makes me laugh and what makes me shout at him. He knows how to divert me. He knows the timing of each of my action. He knows his smiles will make me strong and whenever I am down, with his little pep talk fires the spirits inside to look ahead into life. At this moment of life, he is my biggest teacher. He gets the things he deserves and works hard towards achieving them. He never retracts from what he wants. He is a go-getter…proactive to the core. He believes that he is his best help.
When I look ahead, New Year is just going to be a change in the date and an addition to the number of year I have spent here. Any amount of resolution on this day will not change me. For me, lessons are learnt then and there and resolutions are set for a life and should not be restricted to this day. Lessons are inherent inside me; some just got dissolved into my blood and some into my heart. Some lessons have conditioned me so much that it got dissolved into my character trait. I am looking forward with excitement, each moment, each minute, each dawn with lots of expectation and positive signs of Life.
Monday, December 25, 2006
Christmas Day
During my childhood days, Christmas was a grand festival just like Diwali or Pongal. Our family friends were Christians and celebrations were usually joint venture. It was a day filled with loads of briyani, meat, cakes and wine. Besides that our neighborhood had plenty of Christians, who invite us and shower my home with cakes and other eatables. Over the years, things have changed and Christmas has become just another festival. I yearn for those lost days....
Act of Faith
I saw an act of Faith today -
a man was on his knees;
Not in a pew or in a church,
but in a garden planting seeds.
-anonymous
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Saturday, December 23, 2006
Seems like I have to change my religion
I dont know ABC of Islam and this site beliefs that I am muslim to the core....My beliefs are just my belief and I consider myself a practising Hindu
You scored as Islam. Your beliefs are most similar to those of Islam. Do more research on Islam and possibly consider taking the shahadah and officially becoming a Muslim, if you aren't already.
Despite the actions of some - who go against the teachings of Islam - Islam is a religion of peace; the word "islam" means "peace through submission to God." "Muslim" means "one who submits to God." Islam is the third of the three Abrahamic faiths, and it shares much with Judaism in Christianity; its differences are the acceptance of Muhammad as the last and final prophet, and the oneness of God - in other words, that Jesus, though he was a revered prophet, was not in fact God, and only one God exists. Apparently the Taliban could not read (though their name means "students"), because the Qur'an states that men and women are equal as believers, and that all believers should be educated and seek knowledge. Modesty in dress and behavior is required in Islam for both men and women to preserve the values of society and move the emphasis from superificial appearance to intelligence, knowledge, and God.
Which religion is the right one for you? (new version)
created with QuizFarm.com
Everyday i try to be new, stronger person,
everyday i try to battle it out...
everyday i believe the struggles
i m going thru' is worth the effort...
everymorning when i open my eyes..
i expect the positive rays of sun will
wash away the negative of yesterday..
everyday i try to control the pain..
i will not let it control me..
as it did a few months back...
i am in control...i am in total control..
and i will not allow anybody into my inner sanctum..
b'coz i know they will leave one day and also
it's a place no body can handle..
i will keep trying to win the impossible odds against me.
i will... i must...
this picture was shot at Chavakad beach near Guruvayur. on the way to the beach, i found that there is nothing exciting about the place....but once i saw the shore, it turned out to be the most beautiful place i have ever visited. it had kind of hawaiian luk with lots of coconut trees lined up near the shore...it had a tropical environment. i was alone there and my loneliness suddenly seem to less matter to me. the emptiness of the beach seem to symbolize me and the waves seem to be my rising thoughts. i saw throngs of people playing and dipping and testing the pulse of the mighty sea.
there is a reason why i love to be on the road...as i travel further i leave behind the memories..flashes of places and glimpses of changed expressions pass through me...as i travel, i feel like a cloud that mingles with everything...the fellow clouds, trees, mountains, etc and never will i unite with any of this..
be a cloud...!!!!
Despite the actions of some - who go against the teachings of Islam - Islam is a religion of peace; the word "islam" means "peace through submission to God." "Muslim" means "one who submits to God." Islam is the third of the three Abrahamic faiths, and it shares much with Judaism in Christianity; its differences are the acceptance of Muhammad as the last and final prophet, and the oneness of God - in other words, that Jesus, though he was a revered prophet, was not in fact God, and only one God exists. Apparently the Taliban could not read (though their name means "students"), because the Qur'an states that men and women are equal as believers, and that all believers should be educated and seek knowledge. Modesty in dress and behavior is required in Islam for both men and women to preserve the values of society and move the emphasis from superificial appearance to intelligence, knowledge, and God.
Islam | 100% | ||
agnosticism | 83% | ||
Paganism | 79% | ||
Buddhism | 71% | ||
Judaism | 67% | ||
atheism | 67% | ||
Hinduism | 50% | ||
Satanism | 25% | ||
Christianity | 17% |
Which religion is the right one for you? (new version)
created with QuizFarm.com
Monday, December 11, 2006
Revisit
I took a long break from anything that meant I should think hard. I had gone on an official trip to Ireland for a month. This trip was for a purpose and I wanted to excel in it. I made a conscious decision to concentrate on what was on hand. I think, I have done exceptionally well and had no complains about the outcome.
This was my first visit outside of India, which makes it an exciting and interesting one. Ireland, like what I have seen in Television or movies, is beautiful country with lots of landscapes (no wonder there most loved sport is Golf) and greenery everywhere. There were lots of contrasts between India and Ireland…climatic conditions being the major one. The temperature ranges from 3° Celsius to 10° Celsius. That was important change to me, since there was change in my mood also. It was kind of sober and melancholic at times. The sun makes appearances on rare occasions.
Back in India, I took 1 week to catch up with rhythm of life and here I am…again with same patches of happiness, bundled with worries and getting on life wondering what next.
This was my first visit outside of India, which makes it an exciting and interesting one. Ireland, like what I have seen in Television or movies, is beautiful country with lots of landscapes (no wonder there most loved sport is Golf) and greenery everywhere. There were lots of contrasts between India and Ireland…climatic conditions being the major one. The temperature ranges from 3° Celsius to 10° Celsius. That was important change to me, since there was change in my mood also. It was kind of sober and melancholic at times. The sun makes appearances on rare occasions.
Back in India, I took 1 week to catch up with rhythm of life and here I am…again with same patches of happiness, bundled with worries and getting on life wondering what next.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
preparations for new project and me
i have been assigned the task of visiting the client's place and study the systems over there. i don't have prior knowledge in this area. my experiences in the previous organisations is limited to accounting, rather than these kind of exercise.
the way, my organisation is preparing me is not so impressive. i feel people who are dealing with the client is not having a structured migration progress. the way situation is being handled is haphazard and is confusing me. even the way they are organising my travel arrangement...well...i have the least to mention about it.
my friend who is visiting UK this weekend...is not sure about the trip until the moment he steps on to the plane..
well...i m having my fingers crossed...let me see
anyways here is a site which is a sort of search engine..a big bandwith might be helpful to load this...
http://www.msdewey.com/
the way, my organisation is preparing me is not so impressive. i feel people who are dealing with the client is not having a structured migration progress. the way situation is being handled is haphazard and is confusing me. even the way they are organising my travel arrangement...well...i have the least to mention about it.
my friend who is visiting UK this weekend...is not sure about the trip until the moment he steps on to the plane..
well...i m having my fingers crossed...let me see
anyways here is a site which is a sort of search engine..a big bandwith might be helpful to load this...
http://www.msdewey.com/
Sunday, October 22, 2006
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Dennis behind me...
My son is more willing to do the job for me than allowing me to do it myself. he is interested in moving the mouse around and typing the letters for me. when he was in the womb i prayed that he should be like the comic character Dennis the menace...and my prayer was answered. even now he is shaking the mouse and pulling out the cd-rom. now when i shout at him...he kind of shows fingers and sticks at me threatening me to dire consequences. frankly i have to learn from this kid...he has lots up his sleeves. the magic he spuns around the neighbours...the charms he exhibits on the strangers...the smile which will cool the sun...and a lot. he comes out of any kind of situation..thats my son...the creativity or working knowledge he exhibits with little knowledge. he surely knows my weakness....
Monday, October 16, 2006
Break or laziness
well, it was long, long time since I have visited this site to post my musings. matter was that there was no musings all thru' these day, since there was lot of changes happening in my professional sphere. going ahead, i expect some paradigm shift inside me. days are fast approaching for me to prove a point or two to myself. my work culture now involves lot of discipline and the ability to grasp things as fast as possible...with this knowledge i m approaching with greater vigour...i wish myself 'best of luck'
well, the above was not the reason for lapse in posts...it was due to laziness...talking about discipline...
well, the above was not the reason for lapse in posts...it was due to laziness...talking about discipline...
Saturday, October 07, 2006
I try...no I will
Everyday i try to be new, stronger person,
everyday i try to battle it out...
everyday i believe the struggles
i m going thru' is worth the effort...
everymorning when i open my eyes..
i expect the positive rays of sun will
wash away the negative of yesterday..
everyday i try to control the pain..
i will not let it control me..
as it did a few months back...
i am in control...i am in total control..
and i will not allow anybody into my inner sanctum..
b'coz i know they will leave one day and also
it's a place no body can handle..
i will keep trying to win the impossible odds against me.
i will... i must...
Thursday, October 05, 2006
favourite quotes...
This is my take on favourites quotes...condensed from another site with my won inputs....
01. Love. —The Prophets
Jesus, Gandhi, Buddha. All the world's religious saints and prophets hold love as a central value, the glue that anchors the universe.
We hear, "Love makes the world go round," and "Love heals all wounds." These are familiar themes: love of friends, ideas, and self. Love of God and of country. Even love of life itself. If I could only have one word for all eternity, love would be my choice.
2. Know thyself. —Socrates
In career development, self-knowledge is everything. In a career, you can be two or three degrees off course and walk into a wall, instead of through a doorway. You don't have to be far off to have it fail.
Career unhappiness often results from lack of focus, and lack of focus stems from limited self-knowledge. But self-knowledge takes time, introspection, and effort. So it's easy to avoid. I am quit bad at it.
3. Inches make champions. —Vince Lombardi
Making that extra move that other’s failed to do….that makes a lot of difference. I have my own experience of instance wherein I had given up and a last thought asked me to travel an extra inch to achieve the unachievable.
4. Nothing gold can stay. —Robert Frost
Now CAREER = CHANGE. You'll have five careers in a lifetime, maybe six. Perhaps you'll do part-time, project, interim, or consulting work. And even if you're in your ideal dream job today, that might change tomorrow. Nothing gold can stay. Change is constant thing with our life. In these era….good things come in small packages.
NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY — by Robert Frost
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
5. Work is love made visible. —Kahlil Gibran
About 80% of people are unhappy at work, and 20% are happy. Our culture has separated work from passion, and taught us to prefer a higher paycheck to higher happiness. That mistake costs us our souls. The goal of career development is to uncover one's gifts and passions, and to link them to the practical needs of the world. We call that "being in the right place," "finding a good fit," or "making the best use of one's talents."
High compensation and high happiness are not incompatible. It's not that we shouldn't seek money, and lots of it; many of our clients do. But we should first seek to love, or at least to like, what we're doing. That's the realization of our highest calling.
6. No great thing is created suddenly. —Epictetus (A.D.200)
We live in a McDonald's culture. We want everything instantly and without effort. And we bristle when others around us appear to be getting more, sooner. Waiting for rewards or results is out of favor. It is so uncool.
The sudden ‘puliotharai’ or ‘briyani’ is not equal to the laboriously prepared ones by my mother. They are adequate, functional, or practical improvements. Greatness requires thought and time, effort and sacrifice. Especially sacrifice.
Stellar careers aren't built overnight. Think about Edison, Einstein, or Galileo, or anyone else you might admire. None of them got there overnight.
Great careers are built upon hundreds of thousands of small efforts, undertaken daily, that eventually grow into a series of satisfying wins. An ad for Paul Masson Vineyards picturing a bottle of wine said, "Nothing good happens fast." I framed it, and hung it in my office.
7. Well done is better than well said. —Benjamin Franklin
This is a variation on "Actions speak louder than words" and on Shakespeare's superb quote, "Talkers are no good doers." An executive search consultant who recruited 500 bank presidents told me, "There are two kinds of candidates: tap dancers and superstars. Tap dancers go through the motions and superstars get the work done. I recruit the superstars."
8. No wind favors he who has no destined port. —Montaigne
The cliche, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there," is valid. And many careers are broken by lack of direction. Corporations define this concept as having a mission or vision, and organizations lacking vision usually flounder. "Career Planning" speaks to the idea of creating a blueprint for your future. That is, having a goal, a destined port—fulfilling your destiny. Stephen R. Covey said it well in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People when he advised us to "Begin with the end in mind."
9. Sometimes even to live is an act of courage. —Seneca
I've been there. You've been there. Sometimes life is hard. You hit a career roadblock or dead end. Nothing seems to be working. You're fired or laid off. Or worse yet, you and your spouse are both unemployed. It happens. And it happens more frequently than you might imagine, to good people, qualified candidates, because of circumstances beyond their control. I like Churchill's words, "Never give in, never, never, never, never; in nothing, great or small—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense." And I especially like the quote by Edmund Burke, who said: "Never despair, but if you do, work on in despair."
10. Do first things first, and second things not at all.—Peter Drucker.
It's so easy to do what's familiar, comfortable, or fun. It's so difficult, sometimes, to tackle the highest priority. And sometimes it's difficult to even know your top priorities; hence, the phrase, "I can't see the forest for the trees."
We suffer from over-choice: 67 varieties of toothpaste, 487 styles of shoes, 186 brands of cell phones with 137 telephone companies. We demand more variety than we could possibly need or want; and as a result, we get lost in options, opportunities, and choices. There are 87 varieties of lawyers, and 75 specialties inside medicine. The world of work can be a confusing landscape.
When you're flooded with career possibilities, or "swimming up Niagara Falls," it's good to spend time answering questions like, "What is the best and highest use of my talents?" and, "How can I make a bigger impact?"
If you can't establish clear career priorities by yourself, use friends and business acquaintances as a sounding board. They will want to help. Ask them to help you determine your "first things" and "second things." Or seek an outside coach or advisor to help you focus. Because if you don't know what your "first things" are, you simply can't do them FIRST.
Your friend,
vinukv
01. Love. —The Prophets
Jesus, Gandhi, Buddha. All the world's religious saints and prophets hold love as a central value, the glue that anchors the universe.
We hear, "Love makes the world go round," and "Love heals all wounds." These are familiar themes: love of friends, ideas, and self. Love of God and of country. Even love of life itself. If I could only have one word for all eternity, love would be my choice.
2. Know thyself. —Socrates
In career development, self-knowledge is everything. In a career, you can be two or three degrees off course and walk into a wall, instead of through a doorway. You don't have to be far off to have it fail.
Career unhappiness often results from lack of focus, and lack of focus stems from limited self-knowledge. But self-knowledge takes time, introspection, and effort. So it's easy to avoid. I am quit bad at it.
3. Inches make champions. —Vince Lombardi
Making that extra move that other’s failed to do….that makes a lot of difference. I have my own experience of instance wherein I had given up and a last thought asked me to travel an extra inch to achieve the unachievable.
4. Nothing gold can stay. —Robert Frost
Now CAREER = CHANGE. You'll have five careers in a lifetime, maybe six. Perhaps you'll do part-time, project, interim, or consulting work. And even if you're in your ideal dream job today, that might change tomorrow. Nothing gold can stay. Change is constant thing with our life. In these era….good things come in small packages.
NOTHING GOLD CAN STAY — by Robert Frost
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
5. Work is love made visible. —Kahlil Gibran
About 80% of people are unhappy at work, and 20% are happy. Our culture has separated work from passion, and taught us to prefer a higher paycheck to higher happiness. That mistake costs us our souls. The goal of career development is to uncover one's gifts and passions, and to link them to the practical needs of the world. We call that "being in the right place," "finding a good fit," or "making the best use of one's talents."
High compensation and high happiness are not incompatible. It's not that we shouldn't seek money, and lots of it; many of our clients do. But we should first seek to love, or at least to like, what we're doing. That's the realization of our highest calling.
6. No great thing is created suddenly. —Epictetus (A.D.200)
We live in a McDonald's culture. We want everything instantly and without effort. And we bristle when others around us appear to be getting more, sooner. Waiting for rewards or results is out of favor. It is so uncool.
The sudden ‘puliotharai’ or ‘briyani’ is not equal to the laboriously prepared ones by my mother. They are adequate, functional, or practical improvements. Greatness requires thought and time, effort and sacrifice. Especially sacrifice.
Stellar careers aren't built overnight. Think about Edison, Einstein, or Galileo, or anyone else you might admire. None of them got there overnight.
Great careers are built upon hundreds of thousands of small efforts, undertaken daily, that eventually grow into a series of satisfying wins. An ad for Paul Masson Vineyards picturing a bottle of wine said, "Nothing good happens fast." I framed it, and hung it in my office.
7. Well done is better than well said. —Benjamin Franklin
This is a variation on "Actions speak louder than words" and on Shakespeare's superb quote, "Talkers are no good doers." An executive search consultant who recruited 500 bank presidents told me, "There are two kinds of candidates: tap dancers and superstars. Tap dancers go through the motions and superstars get the work done. I recruit the superstars."
8. No wind favors he who has no destined port. —Montaigne
The cliche, "If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there," is valid. And many careers are broken by lack of direction. Corporations define this concept as having a mission or vision, and organizations lacking vision usually flounder. "Career Planning" speaks to the idea of creating a blueprint for your future. That is, having a goal, a destined port—fulfilling your destiny. Stephen R. Covey said it well in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People when he advised us to "Begin with the end in mind."
9. Sometimes even to live is an act of courage. —Seneca
I've been there. You've been there. Sometimes life is hard. You hit a career roadblock or dead end. Nothing seems to be working. You're fired or laid off. Or worse yet, you and your spouse are both unemployed. It happens. And it happens more frequently than you might imagine, to good people, qualified candidates, because of circumstances beyond their control. I like Churchill's words, "Never give in, never, never, never, never; in nothing, great or small—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense." And I especially like the quote by Edmund Burke, who said: "Never despair, but if you do, work on in despair."
10. Do first things first, and second things not at all.—Peter Drucker.
It's so easy to do what's familiar, comfortable, or fun. It's so difficult, sometimes, to tackle the highest priority. And sometimes it's difficult to even know your top priorities; hence, the phrase, "I can't see the forest for the trees."
We suffer from over-choice: 67 varieties of toothpaste, 487 styles of shoes, 186 brands of cell phones with 137 telephone companies. We demand more variety than we could possibly need or want; and as a result, we get lost in options, opportunities, and choices. There are 87 varieties of lawyers, and 75 specialties inside medicine. The world of work can be a confusing landscape.
When you're flooded with career possibilities, or "swimming up Niagara Falls," it's good to spend time answering questions like, "What is the best and highest use of my talents?" and, "How can I make a bigger impact?"
If you can't establish clear career priorities by yourself, use friends and business acquaintances as a sounding board. They will want to help. Ask them to help you determine your "first things" and "second things." Or seek an outside coach or advisor to help you focus. Because if you don't know what your "first things" are, you simply can't do them FIRST.
Your friend,
vinukv
Saturday, September 23, 2006
catching up with the day
when i have lot of time to spend, i wonder how to spend it and at the end of the day, i brood over wasting time. time management is a skill and plenty of discipline goes into it. towards the end of the week, the pace of life gradually reduces. just imagine the vigour with which we start the monday morning....it is more like the start of 100 metre race. the expectations, deadlines and tensions of our profession makes it more interesting and worthwhile...probably that adds pep to life. just imagine a life without all these tensions, its a vacuum out there..life is out.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Solitude
this picture was shot at Chavakad beach near Guruvayur. on the way to the beach, i found that there is nothing exciting about the place....but once i saw the shore, it turned out to be the most beautiful place i have ever visited. it had kind of hawaiian luk with lots of coconut trees lined up near the shore...it had a tropical environment. i was alone there and my loneliness suddenly seem to less matter to me. the emptiness of the beach seem to symbolize me and the waves seem to be my rising thoughts. i saw throngs of people playing and dipping and testing the pulse of the mighty sea.
multitude of waves
and a lonely me
multitude of thoughts
and a lonely decision
there is a reason why i love to be on the road...as i travel further i leave behind the memories..flashes of places and glimpses of changed expressions pass through me...as i travel, i feel like a cloud that mingles with everything...the fellow clouds, trees, mountains, etc and never will i unite with any of this..
be a cloud...!!!!
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