Month: September 2011

Execution on the Fred Wilson School of Blogging has begun, my short form blog is temporarily hosted on http://alearningaday.tumblr.com.

This will be soon shifted to a domain I own. Hopefully by the end of this week. A few more changes coming up both here and there.

The quotes will be now be on the Tumblr blog and so will additional YouTube links, links to other magazines etc.

Happy Monday! :)

9/11 was an event that changed the course of history in many ways. Many of us went from being trusting and open to being wary and suspicious. And it impacted us more than we possibly even know.

I was reminded about the attacks thanks Fred and Joanne Wilson’s posts. Joanne’s, in particular, touched me.

As you would probably know from my post 2 days ago, I lost my Dad 2 days prior to September 11, 2001. And I vaguely remember watching news broadcasts of the attacks. Everything in the outside world did seem very irrelevant and disconnected then.

As time passed though, I found myself revisiting the incident particularly when reading ‘Leadership’ by Rudolph Guiliani, the famous Mayor of New York who led the city through the crisis. Very few events have the kind of impact on our lives that this event has had. I watched as America launched wars on Iraq and Afghanistan in their bid to capture Osama Bin Laden and wondered at times if such an approach was warranted. I also remember breathing a sigh of relief when Bin Laden was killed in April. Closure is always a relief.

I also remember the discussion I had with a friend about whether America had done the right thing in launching this global war. I remember not being sure.

And as if to remind me, The Economist wrote a lovely article titled ‘10 years on‘. I hope you read it. There is one line I would like to highight here.

‘And yet those who say blithely that it overreacted to the attacks of September 11th will never know how much more devastation the jihadists might have wrought if America had not pursued them into the mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan, shredding their networks and forcing them into hiding.’


That was timely. May the souls who lost their lives rest in peace.

This week’s learning draws inspiration from ‘First, Break all the Rules’ by Marcus Buckingham.

Mike was a star manager at his courier company. His management strategy revolved around one principle – His most important goal in working together with his employees was to help the employee figure out who he/she really is.

So, Mike always asked them to take the ‘Sunday Night Blues Test‘. Sarah was one such example.
If Sarah didn’t feel the stab of blues when she looked at herself in the mirror on Sunday night , she should ask herself – ‘Why? What is it about the role and what I do that I love so much?’

And if she did feel the stab of blues, she should ask herself – ‘What do I need in the current role to look forward to the week?’
And then, ‘Can it be improved upon or do I need to look elsewhere?

Isn’t that a truly amazing way of looking at work? What if our objective every week was to think about work as a way of figuring out who we really are? And then working proactively to ensure we are happy doing what we do.
The world would be a MUCH better place for it.. That’s for sure!

Here’s to testing out the ‘Sunday Night Blues Test’ this week!

Logging learnings can be like first time travel. We are eager to keep exploring new places, jam itineraries and try and fulfill our desire to see everything, to do everything!

Similarly, there is sometimes a temptation to post something ‘new’ every day.

And that’s when I remind myself of that immensely deep quote by T.S.Elliot

Today has been great. Many nice things have happened in the last 24 hours – I met inspirational Chris, met kind Eric (coming soon in a blog post near you..), solved domestic issues involving broadband and a fridge and got my passport renewed.

All of this was topped by the fact that today is Onam, a very special festival. Thanks to having family here, I was also treated to a delicious traditional meal or onasadhya.

However, the biggest positive was probably when I noticed the date this morning.

10 years ago, on this day, we lost Dad. So much changed for our family right that moment. Having lost uncle just 3 years prior, the situation was tough. But we pulled through. When you lose somebody so close and so important, it is not the immediate grief that’s the hard part. The immediate grief is eased with the passage of time, but it is the weight of responsibility that landed on our shoulders that was the tough part. Dad was our wage earner and this meant many changes to the way things were.

But we pulled through. Thanks to enormous mental strength from Mom and support from grandparents, we pulled through. And boy, have we come a long way. We could have just chosen to get bogged down, cynical and depressed. But we didn’t.. and it made all the difference in the world. Life is worth the fight.

‘Remember the people involved’ is something I believed in. My Dad was and is a huge reason for the reason things are (genes aside.. :)). And today, I chose to remember his amazing gift for music by skipping my dose of books and just listening to some great music and tapping my feet the whole day. He had an amazing voice and was a ready entertainer. No frills. Thanks to him, I grew up with a love for music and it is something I will always be thankful for.

As I was remembered this, I also remembered the many conversations I had with him as a little kid where he would talk about the importance of studying in good schools and doing great work. For a few moments, I began wondering about what is, and what could have been.. and felt my mind wander.

Earlier, I had also messaged a couple of close friends about the significance of the day. And around that time, I received this message..

This ‘friend’ is of course, a lot more than a friend. He sensed what I needed then.. and made my day.

That moment was my life in microcosm. Lost close family as a result of unfortunate incidents.. and was fortunate to find close family in friends.

Life is beautiful! Live, laugh, love..

I had 2 incredible experiences in the last 24 hours. This is the first of them..

I was on my way late last night after an event at work. I got on to a Black Cab and struck conversation with my cabbie Chris.

‘Is this going to cost more than 20 pounds? I only have that much.’ – I said sheepishly.

‘Well, it’s going to be in that range, Sir.’ – he replied ‘But don’t worry, I will get you home.’

The next 15 odd minutes were quiet. We were soon approaching the 20 Pound mark.

‘Are we getting close? I’m going to run out soon.’ (I had found an extra 3.5 pounds in change)

‘Don’t worry Sir. I’m not going to let you out in the rain. I will be getting you home.’

‘But..’ I began..

‘No no. That’s not how I do business. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not going to make
any difference.’

Having been screamed at by a cabbie before and been treated not-so-well by a few, this was truly amazing.

‘What’s your name? And how long have you been doing this?’

‘My name is Chris, mate. And I’ve been doing this since January 4th, 1987.. And I got bored of this on January 5th, 1987.’ he said with a smile. ‘No, I’m just kidding. I didn’t mind it for the 1st 6 months but since then it’s been a chore really. But I show up, I smile, try and be as nice as I can and really do my best.’

‘That’s amazing, Chris. And do you have family here as well?’

‘Yup. Me wife and 2 kids – they’re going to school now.’

‘And does this cover the bills?’

‘Yup. Just about. I still have to work 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. It’s not easy with kids because they have expenses at school. And of course, the water bills, the electricity etc add on… but I love them more than anything else and they are well worth it.’ – he said with a big grin.

‘You know, Chris. I am greatly inspired by this concept called the Butterfly effect..’ I said. ‘It basically says that every little positive thing we do can have tremendous impact on the world.’

‘That’s the one related to the chaos theory, isn’t it. I believe that too. I really believe that by showing up and staying positive, it has a real impact. Just thinking positive thoughts changes the world in some way and hopefully positively impact some lives too.’

‘You’ve certainly impacted mine Chris. Thank you so much.. And I hope to see you around.’

‘I’m always around. And I will be on you!’ – he said with a smile and a nod as he collected the money and drove off.

Chris didn’t know that he would be the subject of this post. He just positively impacted me and inspired me to share this story to all of you. And before he knows it, this will have been read by a few 100. And if more of you like the story, the 100 will become a few 1000 or a few 10,000.

All this, thanks to his incredible attitude. This is a man who is doing the best he can do.. with no complaints and with the belief that his positive thoughts will have an impact.

Thank you Chris. You certainly inspired me..

(And now I wish I had taken a photo of him. I should make it a point to collect photos of all these heroes – the real heroes. Hopefully when I meet this great guy again..) 

Haha. Happy Friday! :)

Waking up early in the morning makes a huge difference in terms of idea generation. 

Haha..  Have a great day! 

I was at the Indian Embassy on Monday for Passport services. As expected, I stood in queue for an hour or so only to be asked to come back 2 hours later.

This was the second such long wait experience in the last 2 weeks. The other one was when Virgin Rail had a huge booking mis-management problem at the Euston trail station over-booking it’s trains to Manchester. There was a huge Manchester United vs Arsenal football game and Virgin had underestimated the huge number of fans  who were making their way to Manchester along with the crowd heading home from London over the long weekend. This time, however, you had many annoyed people.. but despite the obvious injustice of the situation, I was still not overly frustrated.

And that’s when I realized – the only reason my frustration level wasn’t high was because the cool weather didn’t have me sweaty and sticky! I observed this happen during my wait at the embassy as well.


I remembered my post a year or so ago about Habitual Impatience that I experienced back home in India and suddenly, I felt a flash of understanding and empathy. I would have been very impatient myself if I had been denied rightful entry on a train journey I had paid for in an Indian railway station on a hot summer day.

The weather plays a huge role in demeanor and personality. People from colder parts of the world tend to be literally cooler and calmer while people from the warmer parts of the world tend to be fiery and more emotional – like the temperature.

And, as if echoing this realization, The Economist had a good article recently on ‘Seasons of Discontent‘ where they point out that inclement weather has a direct correlation to the frequency of civil war. Very interesting stuff.

While I always appreciated the power of the environment we live in, this realization shed new light..