Tips for Better Life

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate antidepressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, ‘My purpose is to__________ today.
5. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.

7. Make time to practice meditation, and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy
lives.

8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

9. Dream more while you are awake.

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli,almonds & walnuts.

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.

14. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, OR issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.

16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the nagative blues away.

18. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22. Make peace with your past so it won’t spoil the present.

23. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’

26. Forgive everyone for everything.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. Remember God heals everything.

29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

31. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

33. The best is yet to come.

34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

35. Do the right thing!

30. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

36. Call your family often.

37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for_______. Today I accomplished ____.

38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

40. Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can’t change.

An Hour A Day

I hear a lot of people say that they want to change their lives: lose weight, make more money, learn something new, take up a new hobby, accomplish some physical challenge, etc. Sadly, most of those people then go on to say that they wish they could do that, but they can’t. And most of the time the reason they can’t ends up being a variation on one of these two:

1. I don’t have enough time.
2. I’ll be too old before I complete it.

Excuse me, but both of those reasons are bullshit. The second one, especially. How old will you be if you don’t complete it? You can sit there and wish all you like, and complain about how you’re not getting any younger and the world is passing you by, or you can decide that you want to do something. Either way, time will pass. But after five or twenty years, the person who actually tries will have something to show for it. The person who spent that time complaining about how it’s too hard or will take too long will have nothing but bitterness.

As for the “I don’t have enough time” complaint: that’s crap, too. You might not have enough time to dedicate your life to a new pursuit, but you most definitely have time to improve your life. All it takes is an hour a day, and most people spend way more than an hour every day watching TV, surfing the Web, or doing other things that are neither relaxing nor productive.

Let me give an example. I’ve mentioned a time or two that I used to run marathons when I was younger. I since stopped running and took up bicycling, but lately I’ve wanted to get back into running. So I set myself a goal of running a 10K race (6.2 miles). I can’t run 6 miles today. I’m hard pressed to run even one mile without stopping. But I can run a bit, walk some, run a bit more, and so on for an hour every day. I don’t know yet how long it’ll take me to build up to 6 miles, but every day I go out I find that I can run a little bit further. And in a few months I’ll be up to 6 miles.

Another example is education. A lot of people think they need school in order to get educated. It’s true that if you want a degree or a certification, you need to attend formal classes. But if you just want to learn about a particular topic, you have all the educational resources you need on the Web, in your public library, bookstores, and Amazon.com. All you need to do is start reading. Try reading on your topic for an hour a day.

Want to learn the piano? Spend an hour a day practicing. Build strength? Get some weights and a beginner’s book and spend an hour a day lifting. Learn to write better? Practice writing an hour every day. Pretty much whatever you want to do, you can get a very good start on it by allocating one hour per day, and I don’t know anybody who doesn’t have at least an hour per day to spend on self improvement.

Try it. Rather than complaining about how something is too hard or will take too long, sit down and plan how you can accomplish that thing you’ve always dreamed about. Spend an hour per day working toward your goal. You’ll be surprised at how much progress you make in just a few weeks. The longer you work at it, the more you’ll learn and the better you’ll become, and the more you’ll want to continue. All you have to lose is time, and the rewards are potentially limitless.

Thought for the Day..!!

Always try to get what you like, otherwise you will be forced to like what you get.

How to Manage Failure@Leaderships

Kalam: Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India’s satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India’s “Rohini” satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources — but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.

By 1979 — I think the month was August — we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts — I had four or five of them with me — told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal. It was a big failure.

That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at 7:00 am, and the press conference — where journalists from around the world were present — was at 7:45 am at ISRO’s satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure — he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization.

The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite — and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, “You conduct the press conference today.”

I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience.

---

Frog Stories really Inspiring..!!

The story about the tiny frogs….
Life's lesson

No. 1







There once was a bunch of tiny frogs,...



… who arranged a running competition.

The goal was to reach the top of a very high tower.

A big crowd had gathered around the tower to see the race and cheer on the contestants...



The race began...





Honestly:

No one in crowd really believed that the tiny frogs would reach the top of the tower.

You heard statements such as:

"Oh, WAY too difficult!!

They will NEVER make it to the top."

or:

"Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!"




The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one...

... Except for those who in a fresh tempo were climbing higher and higher...

The crowd continued to yell

"It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!"




More tiny frogs got tired and gave up...

...But ONE continued higher and higher and higher...

This one wouldn't give up!






At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the one tiny frog who after a big effort was the only one who reached the top!

THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?




A contestant asked the tiny frog how the one who succeeded had found the strength to reach the goal?




It turned out...

That the winner was DEAF!!!!





The wisdom of this story is:

Never listen to other people's tendencies to be

negative or pessimistic...

…cause they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you. The ones you have in your heart!





Always think of the power words have.

Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!



Therefore:







ALWAYS be…





POSITIVE!





And above all:



Be DEAF when people tell YOU that YOU can not fulfil YOUR dreams!

Always think:

I can do this!



"Be deaf to the people who say's its recession, be determined to your goal and optimistic to get more opportunities„

Are we heading in the right direction?

The greatest gift given by GOD is the gift of life. Unfortunately most of us take our lives for granted. We just exist not LIVE. Thus we fail to appreciate the simple joys of life. From morning to evening we are just running around. We are simply running to achieve one goal and then start on with the next one. Life has become a rat race. No time to stop, think and contemplate where our life is heading? Where are we going? It might so happen that in this race of life we reach the top of the ladder, just to realize that the ladder is facing the wrong wall. This reminds me of a story of an architect.

Once upon a time there was a world renowned architect. He had constructed some of the finest buildings and structures. However, he got bored of his work and wanted to quit and live a life in peace and comfort. When he told his boss about his decision, his boss got very sad and requested him to make one last house. Very reluctantly the architect accepted the offer and started with his work giving less than his best efforts. When the house got constructed his boss came to see his last and final creation. On meeting the architect, the boss handed over the house keys to him as a token of appreciation for his years of service and excellence. This came as a shock to the architect. The house didn’t match with the excellence of any of his creations. He lamented thinking had he known that this would be his house, he would have made it so very differently.

Isn’t this the same with all of us. We build our lives step by step often putting in less than our best. And then with a shock we realize on a later date that we have to live in the house that we have built. Like the architect in the story we are tempted to rebuild our house. But Alas we cannot go back. We are the carpenter of our house, the architect of our building. Each day we hammer a nail, place a board or erect a wall. Our attitude and choices of today will build our ‘house’ for tomorrow. So build wisely!!!

Keep questioning yourself ‘Is our activities of today incongruence with our goals of tomorrow?’, ‘Are we heading in the right direction?’, ‘Are we giving our best shot?’. Let us enjoy and live each and every moment of our lives to its fullest because ultimately ‘Its Our Life.’

Azim Premji’s speech at the Pratibha Puraskar awards

Respected President, Mr Behar, Guest of Honour Mr. G Ramesh, the office bearers of the Karnataka State Secondary Teachers’ Association, Bangalore South, ladies and gentlemen,

It is indeed a pleasure to be present here among so many young achievers who are being felicitated by the Karnataka State Secondary Teachers’ Association Bangalore South District. I heartily congratulate all the young achievers, their teachers and also their parents and family members. Believe me, the pleasure of being here is far higher than the pleasure of achieving accolades in the boardroom. I must say that the idea of felicitating the achievers under Pratibha Puraskar Felicitation is an outstanding idea and I thank the organisers for inviting me here.

I sincerely believe that these young achievers are the future leaders of our country and they need to be looked at as role models by the other children present here.

If those who are being felicitated here carefully think through, they will realise that their success is a result of some of the common ingredients that are normally responsible for any success. In my opinion, those are

Hard Work

This debate whether hard work is necessary or smart work is necessary has long been settled and everyone now knows that both are required. Believe me that the world out there is very competitive and there is no substitute to hard work. Even today, I find it difficult to fully cope with the demands of my responsibility despite putting in the work of over 16 hours a day, six days a week. It is possible that today some of you get good results even with less than hard work, but as you grow, you will find that you will have to put in more and more work to get better grades. If you have other interests such as sports and recreation, the number of hours you have to put in only go up. Whether it is Mr. Amitabh Bachchan or Sachin Tendulkar, one of the key ingredients of their success is hard work.

Sincerity and Consistency

Only if you take your responsibilities seriously, you will concentrate and do justice to what you are supposed to do. Whether it is studies or sports activities or any other form of art, you will realise that you need sincerity of purpose and a consistent effort towards the goal. There is no individual or organisation in this world that can sit on its laurels and enjoy permanently in life. Many a times, it is easy to achieve peak performance but very difficult to remain there unless you have a consistency of effort. This requires a lot of will power and urge to excel in what you are doing all the time. The world around you has very short memory. Even a Sachin Tendulkar will be quickly forgotten if he does not score runs for five consecutive matches. There is no alternative to consistency for continued success.

Unflinching Faith in Yourself, Your Teacher and in Your Parents

To start with, you must believe that you will be able to achieve excellence in life. Self-confidence plays a vital role in doing anything well in life. And self-confidence has to be maintained despite a few failures in life. In the corporate world, we give a lot of importance to self-confidence as a leadership quality.
Remember that the chances of the patient getting cured of illness are far higher if that patient has faith in the doctor that he/she consults. Similarly, you must have full faith in your teachers and parents that they mean well for you. You must strongly believe that your teacher or your parents are the best in the world and must carry the highest respect for them. You are where you are, only because of your teacher and your parents.

You have achieved something because you wanted to achieve it

Please realise that the success you have achieved is not by default or by sheer coincidence but is a result of what you set out to achieve consciously. Anything that happens by accident does not last long. You have huge challenges before you in life and you are just entering the battlefield of competition. You can continue to be successful, only if you do continue to put in hard work, with the same sincerity, integrity of purpose and complete same confidence about self.

Many people say I am successful in what I am doing, though I personally feel that I have to achieve so much more. I sincerely believe that there are some fundamental reasons that help in achieving results in life:

The first contributor is upbringing. Our first learning happens at home. Our parents sacrifice so many things for us and ensure that we get the best of everything. My parents very consciously taught me the middle class values of respecting the elders, respecting the good values in life and above all respecting the value of money. So if your parents also make efforts to inculcate these values in you, embrace these values willingly.

The second contributor is the educational institutions we study in. I loved my school and my college. I learnt so many things there. The teachers were very kind and paid individual attention to me. I also learnt a lot from my co-students. I would urge each one of you to get the best out of your schools and colleges since this period in life will not return.

The next important thing in life is to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve in life. Your vision will act as a lighthouse that guides the path for you all the time. Even in the organisations, we find that vision helps us in guiding our actions.

No vision can work unless you have a clear plan of execution. I always found that a vision is meaningless unless it is backed by a clear action plan. So if you have a vision to become a doctor or a lawyer or an astronaut, you must think through and plan what actions are required to achieve this vision. There has to be a complete alignment of your vision and your actions. You cannot become a doctor or an engineer if you spend most of your time in playing cricket. Nor can you become a top class cricketer if you spend most of your time indoors.

The next element I want to share with you is the need for speed in life. The world around us is moving at an unbelievable pace and if you feel to keep pace with the world, you will be left behind. So whatever you do has to be done quickly and now. There is no place for tomorrow if you have to do something today.

The world of today is not simple but very complex. It will constantly throw at you challenges, paradoxes and conflicting messages. Nothing will be available for you in an easy way. You will have to develop the ability to make meaning out of this and choose what is right for you. In other words, you will have to develop the ability to deal with ambiguity.

Above all, my suggestion to you is to play to win. The new meaning for playing to win is to understand the depth of your potential and utilise it to the fullest. Winning does not mean playing dirty. Cutting corners would not give you the satisfaction of a real win. At Wipro, we achieved what we achieved without compromising in any manner on integrity. We believe in certain values strongly and do not compromise on them in any situation.

It is only a well-meaning education system that develops the competence and self-confidence among human beings. As you might have heard, in Azim Premji Foundation we have a dream of impacting the life of millions of children through universalisation of elementary education under Azim Premji Foundation. We strongly believe that every child in this country has a fundamental right to education and therefore, must be in school. We also believe that every child must remain in school and joyfully learn. My personal experience, after having worked in this area is that we have in our country a huge number of passionate teachers who, in a self-less manner are carrying out the responsibility of educating children in thousands of school. Especially in the government schools there is a lot of talent among the teachers and they are trying to make the best of their limited resources all the time. You are really fortunate that some of these teachers are taking cognisance of your achievements and are felicitating you. I would like to salute and respect the contributions of teachers across the country in shaping the future of the youth of this country.

I once again thank the teachers’ association for inviting me and wish all of you the very best for your future.