Author: alearningaday

Sporting Nirvana

A few things that came to mind on this wonderful sporting day –

– The appetizer was Manchester United coming back from 2-0 down to win 4-2. Sometimes, I wonder why they bother with the first half.. because they always play in the second.
It struck me that winning teams have steel.. and it makes winning inevitable.
– I felt the same every time India was in a tough spot against Sri Lanka in the final. I was certain we would win. This world cup win was coming. And it happened..
– This world cup win was coming. Saurav Ganguly and John Wright instilled a fighting spirit in the Indian team in the early part of the decade and we came close to winning in 2003. Of course, we had our low thanks to Greg Chappell.. but ever since Dhoni and Kirsten got together, this was coming..
I mention Ganguly and Wright because stars like Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan (a.k.a Zak) came through then.
– And M S Dhoni – what a leader. Cool, calm, confident.. totally deserving of the victory. And a legend already..
– And finally, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar.. fitting ending to this legend’s last world cup.
A great sporting day overall!

Songs and us

When an emotion attaches itself to an incident or experience, it makes for a strong memory. (This is thanks to a close friend who is very biology inclined)

I think therein lies the power of a song. Songs we like (or dislike) typically arouse emotions and these attach themselves to a situation or experience. That is probably why some very depressing songs can arouse laughs and happy memories.. and vice versa. Where you heard the song, who you heard it with etc influences the very idea of the song in our minds after all.

Some songs, however, tend to be universally happy. For example, Summer of 69 is one of them. It is one of those tunes that tends gets everybody happy and singing along..
A thought that crossed my mind today as I was listening to a ‘happy memory‘ song is that we are essentially like songs, every one of us. We all have our own (different) tunes and depending on our mood and general demeanor, we are likely to leave the people we meet with a strong memory..
So, what sort of memory do we want to leave people with? And what sort of memory do we leave people with?

Already read it. Thanks anyway

A friend just forwarded a story the other day with good intentions. She knows I like reading good stories as I use them for one thing or the other (this blog, for example).

It turned out that I’d just read it a few days ago. So, I just instinctively clicked reply and found myself about to type ‘Already read it. Thanks anyway.’
I caught myself.
What good would that reply do?
Would it make her feel any better?
I realized that sub consciously, I was just trying to look cool and give the ‘oh you know.. been there, seen that, done that’ sort of image. It’s exactly that kind of an image that would stop her from sending me any more.
And I just said thank you and left it at that.
Good catch, that one. I feel better as well having not indulged that desire to make myself look good and make someone trying to help me feel stupid.
Ah, now I feel so smart.
:D

Die Daily

was a rather scandalous (at first glance) tip I received once.
As a part of my morning mojo, I typically write down 3 things I would like to stay true to or ‘be’ if I actually did ‘die by midnight’.
(Of course, I wouldn’t be at work if I knew I was dying by midnight.. but it’s not like we’re told in real life either)
While I never did think the thought was morbid, I am definitely seeing the benefits. It is a sub conscious remind to myself to live every day as if it were my last. And my typical daily ‘wishes’ are to be ‘positive’, ‘happy’, ‘smiling’ and to be ‘productive’ and do great work.

And of course, I realize I’m glad to be able to write my wishes when I’m up the next day. I thought of this today.. as over time, the exercise had become sub conscious. And I realized I am very thankful for life.
What would you want to ‘do’ or ‘be’ if you didn’t have time left? There definitely wouldn’t be place for sadness, anger, disappointment et al.
‘Die Daily’ – a more powerful tip in hindsight.

On Innovation

What picture comes to mind when you think of an innovator?

Let me guess – Probably somebody like Einstein or Edison.. Shock of unkempt air, absent minded and able to think of crazy unheard of ideas. Or maybe some creative artist or story writer who has the ability to think out of the box?

Jack Welch (legendary GE CEO) would shake his head at that definition. He defined innovation simply – Take an existing best practice and make it slightly better. That’s it! He wasn’t particular about where the ‘best practice‘ was from as long as it was indeed a ‘best’ practice. So, during his tenure at GE, he was insistent on ensuring they took the best ideas in the industry from all around them and in the process of executing them at GE, they made changes and innovated continuously.

I found this very uplifting. Now, if I was looking to build a system for myself, all I needed to do is look around for people who do something better than me, understand how they do it, copy their method and tailor it to my needs. And voila! Innovation is on it’s way..

Jack Welch simplified ‘innovation’ in my eyes. And what’s more, I realized that after a lot of copying, you tend to truly understand what works for you and, in true time, develop your own style!
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Source: Weekly book learnings