Category: Everything else

Have a nice day!

Similar to the ‘Apply’ on windows.

What ‘Apply’ does that ‘Ok’ doesn’t do, I still haven’t understood.

Do designers ever use what they design?

Have a great day!

Happy Tuesday all!

I’ve learnt to accept this in time.

I am a firm believer in the power we have over our destiny. Having said that, there are very many things not in our control as well and I just feel we are happier when we keep focus on what is.

Sometimes however, these worlds collide.

It was my 3rd day in London and I’d just seen a new place in ‘the docklands’. And as I was talking to my colleague, my phone was snatched. This involved a bit of a struggle and I found myself instinctively clutching and pulling but the phone eventually fell down and closer to the snatcher, who grabbed it and ran.

Cops and investigation followed. I could even see my phone on Mobileme for a while but the cops couldn’t step in to make an arrest without a ‘victim’s statement’ and I guess I came to accept it was a lost cause.

The cop at the scene said something which I remembered from time to time. He said ‘You’re going to be playing this incident over and over again in your ahead. And you will wonder what you could have done differently. Just remember that such things happen so fast that we have to learn to accept what happened, and move on.’

He was right. I did replay the incident with some replays involving me heroically chasing and sliding to trip the snatcher.. (we are after all heroes of our own life story). I even wondered why I chose to switch sims onto the phone just the day before that. I had to go through some pain as the iPhone4 requires a microsim..

Eventually, I did move on and just began to accept that some things are meant to be. It made it easier to swallow.

On the brighter side, I narrowly escaped a horrible deal on a flat and managed to land a great little place in a great neighborhood. And as bad as losing a phone was, I’m glad it was still a possession and not an attempt at my life.

These incidents often put such things into perspective.

The reason this crossed my mind was because after a call yesterday, a friend said something to the tune of ‘Great job! Seems like it’s just a positive time. Everything seems to be going right for you during this time. Just keep doing more.’

I smiled.

Not everything is perfect. But, that doesn’t stop us from doing great work because things are almost never perfect!

That comes with accepting that some things are meant to be.

—

On that note, mugging/snatching aside, I love London as a city. More on that another day..

Rudy Guiliani’s day always began with a breakfast meeting with his core team. His insistence on the daily morning meeting is stuff of legend. Whether they had a packed schedule or not, his core team knew that the breakfast meeting would stay as a part of the agenda.

5 outcomes that happened as a result that I thought were important-

1. Everybody on the team knew they would be given an opportunity to voice their concerns. Everybody felt heard.
2. Victories and accomplishments were celebrated often. This helped the team get closer.
3. Non-core team members also joined in when necessary. So, everybody felt involved.
4. Everybody knew that Guiliani would follow up on their tasks the next morning. So, nothing got delayed!
5. The group reviewed daily and weekly priorities regularly as a unit and cohesion was achieved. Guiliani carefully built his team into a great unit and it was this team that carried New York through the 9/11 disaster. All those breakfast meetings had ensured that they were prepared! Rome was not built in a day after all..

—

Source: Weekly Book Learnings

The apartment felt well ventilated so I didn’t quite understand why I felt that way.

I had just eaten lunch an hour ago so it wasn’t my stomach.

And then it hit me.

So, I rushed out for my first round of shopping and got my oxygen mask.

The little dongle was my window to the world. I could feel myself breathe in relief as I saw my email come right in after 20 hours, when I saw ‘football365’, ‘alearningaday’ and ‘facebook’ load.

Modern day oxygen, in my humble view.

—

On that note, I’ve been trying hard to make it a point to spend a few hours without looking at a laptop or a phone. Just sitting and enjoying time by myself, lost in my own thoughts. That’s been very refreshing..

Boy meets girl – they fall in love.

It turns out the boy has to leave to serve his country in the army.

The girl, in love, promises to wait.

They have to rely on letters.

The word ‘rely’ might be ironic for the postal service may not be reliable. No, not one bit.

So, he would go off for war and write a letter or two. She would wait.. and of course, he would wait for that reply.

She would have to worry about whether he is still alive. And if he is, if he is well.

He would have to worry about whether she is still waiting for him.

And their only contact would be those letters till..

One day, when he returns to find her still waiting.

This might be a bit too ideal but let’s just imagine, for a second, that that was the case.

And let’s imagine, for ourselves, the power of hope – because that’s what held them together through all that unimaginable uncertainty.

Over the years, the unreliable postal service became more reliable and then we were presented with telephones, emails and what not..

And, of course, our expectations with regards to communication are higher.. but hope still retains it’s mystical power. And as I write this, I just wish to remember and celebrate the power of hope.

I am reminded of that wonderful exchange in ‘The Shawshank Redemption’ between Andy Dufresne and Red (over the course of the movie) –

Andy Dufresne: That’s the beauty of music. They can’t get that from you… Haven’t you ever felt that way about music?
Red: I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it though. Didn’t make much sense in here.
Andy Dufresne: Here’s where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don’t forget.
Red: Forget?
Andy Dufresne: Forget that… there are places in this world that aren’t made out of stone. That there’s something inside… that they can’t get to, that they can’t touch. That’s yours.
Red: What’re you talking about?
Andy Dufresne: Hope.

Red: Let me tell you something my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane

Andy (in letter to red): I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels. I’ll keep an eye out for you and the chessboard ready. Remember, Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well. Your friend. Andy.

Red: [narrating] I find I’m so excited, I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it’s the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.

It was a normal evening at the Liverpool street tube station. A seemingly endless mass of people were all walking briskly toward their trains at the end of a long day of work.

It was 9pm and as I took the escalator down to the Central Line, I heard a lovely tune being played. It sounded like it was coming from an acoustic guitar and as it was a rather long escalator, I couldn’t see the source of the sound yet.

When I did reach the end of the escalator, I saw a man of African origin dressed in the sort of bright clothing I associate with Africa, playing the guitar. He was evidently talented as he made me want to dance. And judging by the heap of coins in front of him, he wasn’t doing too bad either. A big group had just put down a few coins each right then.

A performer like him is not an unusual sight in big tube stations. I’d spotted a few myself in my first week here after all. But this guy.. he was special.

There was an aura of happiness around him. I stopped. I watched. I could feel myself smile looking at him enjoying himself. He noticed that I’d stopped. He looked up, smiled and nodded. I nodded right back. And he went back to playing his music. He seemed like he was in his own world. He had taken me to another one as well.. thinking of great times with family and friends.

I didn’t give him a tip. Once I’d boarded the train, I wondered why I didn’t. ‘Next time’ – I told myself.

This man, after all, had given me a moment. I felt good. There are some things in life you can’t fake. The smile on that man’s face was one from a person who was thoroughly enjoying himself.

Here was an entrepreneur. Doing work he loves.

So much to learn from situations around us. Just requires us to stop – if only for a minute, and listen…