Author: alearningaday

– Joan of Arc..

Lovely.. and oh so true.

Also means we have to start by believing in something first. :)

Good morning! And have a great week!

It is the process of creation (the sculpting of the piece) that gives him pleasure. That is the way we would like you to view your physical experience of creating: continual, joyful becoming.”
~ Esther & Jerry Hicks from Money, and the Law of Attraction

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Great quote! Very very true! :)
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It’s a nice reminder that the end is not everything..

Today, for example, we had a conference call with 5 people. 1 person was late by an hour and hence, the so called end product would naturally have to be delayed. However, I’m happy to report that we were proactive about finishing up other hanging tasks and ended up being a lot more productive than we would have been had our late friend been on time! :)

This is a fear and a paradox of doing work that’s important.
A fear because so many of us are raised to avoid appearing arrogant. Being called arrogant is a terrible slur, it means that you’re not only a failure, but a poser as well.

It’s a paradox, though, because the confidence and attitude that goes with bringing a new idea into the world (“hey, listen to this,”) is a hair’s breadth away, or at least sometimes it feels that way, from being arrogant.
And so we keep our head down. Better, they say, to be invisible and non-contributing than risk being arrogant.

That feels like a selfish, cowardly cop out to me. Better, I think, to make a difference and run the risk of failing sometimes, of being made fun of, and yes, appearing arrogant. It’s far better than the alternative.

From Seth Godin’s Blog

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Nice one.. Liked it..!

It takes a certain period of time before I feel part of a community, I think. It’s taken in excess of a 1000 posts for me to feel part of this one..

What does happen to me is I’m generally fiercely proud of any community I am a part of, whether it be my university, my schools etc.. what is life without passion after all? :D

2 incidents took place that got me to write these thoughts –

-> I was excitedly telling a friend about the ‘Success breeds success‘ story and he remarked ‘Seems like your blog keeps you going!’.. and it’s true, this blog does add a lot to life.. :)
-> Kian Leong, a classmate, just created his new blog ‘Lessons learnt, experiences gained‘ and as I was excitedly welcoming him to ‘blogosphere’, I realized I’d become ‘it’.. ‘it’ being a serial blogger, a part of the community..

Here are a few ‘confessions’ per se –

-> Firstly, my views are obviously biased and will definitely not be the points of view of the community as a whole. However, I’d hazard a guess that a few of these sentiments would be shared by many others as well..

-> Your comments are ALWAYS appreciated. There’s a reason we create blogs. Take this blog for example, while its primary purpose is to make sure I am seeing the glass constantly half full by extracting learnings out of every situation, the other big purpose is to add value to your life.

-> Yes, Google Analytics does give me the truth and tell me that there are 100 or even 1000 people reading the blog every day, but your comments are the surest sign that you are reading these posts and they help keep the morale up, greatly! Atleast, in the early days.. :)

-> Both positive feedback and points of improvement work well. We all have to get better and its good to know if some posts are too strong or too biased. Spite doesn’t help, though. We can do better than that, no?

-> I read this lovely take on a ‘Photographer’. This one’s taken off Satya Saya’s Notes, who in had shared a note from his friend, Gerald Tay. It’s called Unsung

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I am a collector of memories.

Reading light, the ability to perceive, perfect timing – These are my traits as a lensman. I have honed my craft over the years, but alas, the memories I’ve collected are not mine.

Though I put a part of my soul into creating each image, the intricate link that binds viewer and photographer has been cast aside. The viewer, the purveyor of images, has neglected the role of the photographer.

I may not have made a Nobel Prize discovery, nor performed heroics that generations will sing praise of, but I am proud to be part of a group of unsung heroes; Men who labour relentessly to collect memories, all so that others may reminiscence the times of old.

Dear friend, the next time you see an image that takes your breath away, pause, and take a moment to remember the photographer. The man who made it possible, the solitary collector of memories.
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I think it’s very apt to bloggers as well. We are all(in my view atleast) giving you something to relate to in some small way.

Some of us write poetry – and enthrall those who love it..
Some of us write our own short stories – entertaining you and inspiring you to reconnect with your your own creative side..
Some others share our lives experiences – hoping we would find more friends who relate, who understand..
Yet some others share learnings and try in small ways to make the world a better place by jotting down little learnings and thoughts that inspire us..

At the end of the day, it’s a way of expression..
to remind us that there are many who share similar, thoughts, feelings..
to remind us that we all share many things in common..
to inspire, motivate and give us something to smile about..
lest we forget.. that life is a gift..
A gift not measured by the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away..

Taking inspiration from Satya and Gerald, I’ll take the liberty (rather shamelessly) to quote them, with a few edits of course..

Dear friend, the next time you see a a blog post that fills you with joy, gives you some much needed inspiration or just makes you smile, pause, and take a moment to remember the blogger. The person who made it possible, a collector of musings.

With due thanks to Satya(for sharing), and Gerald for writing this piece of genius! :)

Thank you!

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As always, your comments are much appreciated! :)

Signing off..
A blogger, and proud of it! :D

There was a farmer who grew superior quality, award-winning corn in
his farm. Each year, he entered his corn in the state fair where it
won honors and Prizes.

One year a newspaper reporter interviewed him and learned something
interesting about how he grew his corn. The reporter discovered that
the farmer shared his seed corn with his neighbors.

“How can you afford to share your best seed corn with your neighbors when they are entering corn in competition with yours each year?” The reporter asked.

“Why brother” the farmer replied, “Didn’t you know? The wind picks up pollen grains from the ripening corn and swirls it from field to field. If my neighbors grow inferior, sub-standard and poor quality corn, cross-pollination will steadily degrade the quality of my corn. If I have to grow good corn, I must help my neighbors to grow good corn.”

The farmer gave a superb insight into the connectedness of life. His
corn cannot improve unless his neighbor’s corn also improves. So it is
in the other dimensions and areas of life!

Those who choose to be in harmony must help their neighbors and
colleagues to be at peace. Those who choose to live well must help
others live well. The value of a life is not measured by how long one
lived it is measured by how many lives it touches.

Lessons to Learn from this Story: Success does not happen in
isolation, it is most often a participatory and collective process. So
share the good practices, ideas and new knowledge with your team
members and colleagues.
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Loved this story.. even if there is an apparent ‘loss’ sharing ideas in the short run, in the long run, it is sure to help us all get better! :)

An elderly man in Mumbai calls his son in New York and says,
‘I hate to ruin your day son, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are getting a divorce; 40 years of marriage.., and that much misery is enough!’

‘Dad, what are you talking about? the son screams.

‘We can’t stand the sight of each other any longer.’ the old man says.

‘We’re sick of each other, and I’m sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Hong Kong and tell her!’

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone.
‘Like heck they’re getting divorced,’ she shouts, ‘I’ll take care of this.’

She calls Mumbal immediately, and screams at the old man, ‘You are not getting divorced. Don’t do a single thing until I get there. I’m calling my brother back, and we’ll both be there tomorrow. Until don’t do a thing, DO YOU HEAR?? and she hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife.
‘Okay’, he says, ‘It’s all set. They’re both coming for our anniversary and paying their own airfare!!’

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No man / woman , busy in this world all 365 days.

The sky is not going to fall down if you take few days LEAVE and meet your dear ones.

OFFICE WORK IS NOT EVERYTHING IN LIFE AND NEITHER IS MAKING MONEY.
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Ha ha! Good reminder.. :D

I’m not sure how often this happens to you but this happens to me a heck of a lot. Every time there is something new, I find myself (mentally) going through this conversation..

For eg: At a call..

Someone else: Rohan, I think this new thing is a good idea. Why don’t you take it over..

What follows is a mental battle..
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Oh, but I’m going to be on vacation in 4 days..
When will I have the time?
Will I be able to check my mail even..
Hmmm.. tough..
Let me not commit..
I CAN’T DO IT!!
..
But wait..
What if you can..
Why bring it up unnecessarily…
Hmm..
Let’s try it and go with the flow..
(Reluctantly..)
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Me: ‘Yes.. Sure. Happy to help!’

More often than not, ‘I can’t do it’ is only a state of mind. Of course I can! Once I choose to do it, I will find a way nearly always.. but the problem is getting over the initial resistance and inertia.. Even if, for example, my concerns are valid for the above example and I am going to be out of station, that’s only a 2 week temporary thing. I can take the system till then and leave it a little better than I found it, can’t I?

What I’ve also realized is the validity of the quote –
‘If you want something done, give it to a busy person’

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Need to catch myself and get a more positive stimulus in due time. After all, what else can proactivity and initiative be about?

Beautiful.. and very true!

Good morning.. have a great day! :)

Met my math coach 2 days ago..

Had a flurry of questions for him..

He cleared them all in barely 5 minutes..

with a nonchalant ease, and an expression of ‘Come on, I expect you to be struggling with tougher questions’..

After those 5 mins, we settled down to having a chat..

Catching up, updates about other friends he had coached, school, life etc..

I left meeting him with a warm fuzzy feeling inside..

I realize now that it was because I felt welcome..

Felt welcome in his school like one of his own 5 years after having learnt under him..

I doubt if even the school where I spent my final 2 years studying would welcome me the same way..

All these years, he’s been there and welcomed me just the same way..

Don’t we all love that.. the feeling of familiarity when some things don’t change?

My math coach.. I owe him a lot.. and I’m proud to be associated with him..
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My Math coach taught a group of friends and me the subject in my 12th standard. He’s a wonderful person, a head teacher at a different school and a person with a wonderful reputation. He’s always lived up to that reputation with utmost integrity.. Always been humbled by his humility..

It’s always wonderful meeting him!

Morning! Let’s do our best..

So, we become our best.. :)