U can carve YOUR own way !

'Show me a bookshelf and i will tell you everything you'll ever need to know about him' - Walter Mosley Reading, that already underrated habit (at least in this part of the world) is dying and is dying quickly.  The ideas, the inspiration and the pleasure that these books give aren't going anywhere but the entire ecosystem of reading (which was anywhich scarce) has been replaced by brain-numbing social networking sites and mindlessly binge-watching on Netflix.  To begin with, reading at leisure for pleasure and satisfaction had never been a part of our culture. From our school days, reading was always associated with rot learning & 'by-heart' the syllabus and once it was completed, books were thrown away at a corner to be never looked back. So, while growing-up, reading became more of a punishment or compulsion and never a ritual and that habit remained with us forever.  The walk to the library has now been replaced by a casual stroll to the nearby malls or ...

It is exciting to realize that we all are 'one' interview away from landing that dream role in some great companies that we always aspired to work for but equally scary when we come to terms with the fact that 'networking, connections, randomness and luck'  play an unevenly important part to make that interview happen. When we are seeking to get that breakthrough, we tend to look at others and people around us to see and learn how those before us have done it. At  the same time, companies and their HR partners are looking at easier & less costlier ways to find people to work for them. And I guess, that is what gave birth to 'networking'.  Applying for a job online has become a numbers' game where the odds of your resume getting shortlisted is staked heavily against you. Research has shown that, 70% of people were hired at a company where they already have a connection in place. And on top of it, it has come down to this - it is only not about who you kno...

When was the last time you dined with your loved ones, by only looking and admiring at them ? When was the last vacation you took where you actually spent a large amount of time talking, conversing and debating on any topic that you like instead of heavy sight seeing and clicking pictures? When was the last time you actually 'saw and soaked in' to the place that you visited?  I presume, I know the answer - NEVER..  Going out on vacations, dinners, cinema halls, malls or anywhere has simply become a quest or a contest for 'posing' and putting those pictures on social media which magically multiples our joy by counting 'likes' and 'comments' (that doesn't mean someone actually likes us). I believe, good conversations are like food for the soul and creating or having a mind-blowing conversation is a piece of art and people should be interested and willing to converse as much as they can but strangely, majority of our present generation either...

"Stop telling kids they can be whatever they want to be. You can be whatever you're good at, as long as they're hiring. And even then it helps to know someone." -- Chris Rock Got me thinking -- we usually tell our kids that they can become 'anybody' they want when they grow-up which is totally alright but at the same breath, we forget to 'stress on the fact' that for that 'anybody' to happen, they need to work hard(est), persevere, have right connections, a mentor who gives them an opportunity, lots of luck and so so many other things which again have to fall at the 'right place and at the right time' for them.  My daughter is 7 years old and she wants to be an astronaut when she grows-up, which is totally normal at that age but as a parent, it's my responsibility to figure out her 'talent' vs the 'resources available', as she grows-up and course-correct where needed and steer her ambition in the right direction so t...

There is a saying that, Children 'walk' to school, they 'run' back to home.  School from home is quite a paradox. I believe (even though many would disagree), children are not built to learn from their homes. Home means comfort, home means they are free to do whatever they want. Childeen can study at home but cannot consistently learn at their homes.  Apart from the curriculum, a school teaches the importance of discipline, punctuality, curiosity, peer pressure, the way to conduct and carry oneselves, the social fabric, excel in sports and extracurricular and many such things. Exams in schools teach us how to work and perform under pressure, the importance of deadlines, the knowledge and the ability to reproduce that in exams and many many more. I still believe, schools lay the foundation on which a child goes on to build his future.  Now, a computer screen has replaced the school environment and from what I have seen it is not even doing half the job what a school does...

The society around us has defined leadership in millions of ways and even when you search for the definition of a leader, google comes up with this - a person who leads or commands a group or an organization and that's were the narrative fails, if you ask me. A true 'leader' is the one who strives to create an environment where people can express themselves fearlessly, a trait which is very rare in a corporate world and usually not associated with being a leader but then that's where the 'difference of opinion' arise.  We have always associated a leader with a larger than life image who is followed by everybody but in reality what we need is a person who can lift everybody around him and make them even more smarter, and bigger. He gets the desired results but at the same time makes his team/people even better than he found them. A leader will always look and protect his tribe. On the other hand, managers get a set of tasks done by their employees on a daily basi...

I read about a phrase today called 'hindsight is 20/20' which means one is able to evaluate past choices more clearly than at the time of the choice. Got me thinking - don't we go back to the early 2000's, quite often, and regret that we could have taken some bold decisions, could have done things differently, could have ventured out on our own or could have followed our insane dreams but we didn't because, who knows, we thought things were not stable enough or we were not courageous enough, not wiser enough or inspired enough or may be lazy enough or were just plain ignorant.  We are currently living in the most trickiest times ever, so, can we, for a change, instead of whining, worrying, complaining about the pandemic; we can do something that we always wanted to do, take some bold decisions that we always wanted to take, make those changes in our lives, go for that goal, try to live that dream, to venture out on our own, run that marathon or write that article or...

I think, Father's Day can be every day. It is a bit naive to have a day dedicated to celebrate the bond, when you can celebrate it whenever you want. But on the other hand, this day reinforces us the importance of having a 'role-model' in our lives and relive the memories we have with our Fathers', even for a single day, if it has to be that way. Keeping all things same, more than anything else, I will strive hard to develop an environment where my kids can express anything & everything under the sun without any guilt, suspicion and fear, which I presume, majority of our present generation didn't had that liberty.  No matter what happens, at the end of the day they can always come back to me. That, life is eventually going to kill you but what really matters are the moments that will take your breath away. And, whenever they feel tired and defeated with no hope left, I hope that they look at their 'father' and start over again. For the moment, I aspire t...

I didn't spend any time yesterday imagining lower self-esteem and confidence levels. Or frantically worrying about the current 'pandemic' that we are in. But, it seems, it it not the case with everyone else. The numbers are staggering. Up till 2018,  28 people 'take their lives' in our country everyday and out of them, 24 are students. And the worrying part is that this graph is steadily increasing every year. Stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts & behavioral disorders are found to be the main reasons why people are taking this 'extreme' step.  We've done a shameful job, so far in recognizing and protecting such people. What can we do - 1. As parents, we can create an environment in our homes where our children are given complete freedom to express themselves, no matter what the situation is. The onus is on 'us' parents, not their teachers, not their schools and not the society they are living in.  Let us raise them as and to be our...

Spending, Savings & Debt  Courage  Mental Health Sense of Urgency  Public Speaking  Chess  Peer Pressure  Running, forever  Heart break  Leading Poker Difference between Love & Lust Creating/Building something  Boxing/Martial arts  Perseverance & Resilience  Poetry  Meditation/ Calm mind  Reading, forever  Problem solving  To learn from movies Compassion 

Your parents don't manage you. Your family doesn't, your friends don't and even your boss or employer doesn't (Thank god for that). You manage yourself. Everyday you make countless decisions, knowingly or unknowingly, for your good or for your worse. As the saying goes, you can be your own best friend or your own worst enemy. Odds are, that you are your worst enemy than being your best friend. I'm always amazed at often how people choose to not work on themselves -  fitness, career, family lives, mental health  or for that matter, even a simple task of taking care of themselves by eating right and sleeping well. We are surprised when we come across an individual who has ventured out on his own and is persevering to make it big. We are envious when we come across an individual who is fit and healthy. And we are pleasantly surprised when we see a strong bond amongst the family members. But there is one thing that is common amongst them - they have worked on themselves...

Our life is, on an average, 65 years long; a duration long enough for anyone to achieve their dreams if they are persevering enough, a period long enough to see many ups & downs of life and experience varied emotions in this journey but LIFE itself is a special kind of race where no one can rely solely on god-given talents to navigate it. Life gets to each and every one of us. Even the most fortunate of us have to go through the daily grinds that tests our metal to identify what we are actually made of ? And then comes the ultimate reward for going through all this - money, fame, designation, abundance happiness, corner office etc. or so we've been taught  We've been told that what happens on a daily basis is just life happening and it's the reward that ultimately matters. But what matters - really matters - are those moments when life puts us through tests & trials and how we answer them and live through them. Every time when we are pushed, pulled, infl...

I have been working from home since last 2 months and I was raving about it in the beginning and i still continue do but as this activity is progressing everyday, I can also see the downsides of working from home, in the long run. Through the use of humour & cartoons,  I wanted to highlight few of the risks but first the awesomeness - 1. No COMMUTE:-  It's the start of a brand new day, and we're off like a herd of turtles or cattle, depending on our mode of travel.Work from home means travelling time saved that can be spent on doing what you like to do, money saved on travelling can be  spent elsewhere & less pollution outside. Amazing, isn't it ?  2. FLEXIBLE schedule :-   No need to compulsorily spend long hours in our cubicles staring at neon bulbs even after completing our work 'light years' ago because the work etiquette forces you to do 8+ hours shift OR just because your other pale colleagues are doing the same OR they ...

I want to narrate 2 fascinating stories that i read and how i look at these stories from time to time for inspiration in my career and life - #Story No 1 - Did you know that nobody knew the airplane was invented for almost 5 years since it's invention? Yes, this is true. The story goes like this - First in 1901, many newspapers were laughing on the idea that 'a man can fly like a bird'. 2 years later, on 17th December 1903, Orville & Wilbur Wright did the impossible - They make the first successful flight Orville piloted the aircraft, which stayed afloat for 12 seconds and covered 120 feet on it's maiden journey. But the story has a fascinating twist  - After they conquered their first flight, nobody seemed to notice. Nobody seemed to care. Several years went by before the government, press & the general public could take notice on what the Wright brothers were doing. It was not until May 1908 - nearly 5 years after the 1st flight - that reporter...

As the saying goes, 'Every cloud has a silver lining'; in the same way, I can see & experience some positive things happening around, hence i have decided to focus and list down 5 bright spots - small but worthwhile shifts amidst our current chaotic condition. It will be worthwhile to keep looking at the 'bright' side of the existing situation. 1. Family members are spending a lot of time together -  Now, frustration and boredom can creep now & then which can raise differences and conflicts too ( i am a testimony to that) but if we are able to find a 'common' ground then I believe, this has presented a rare opportunity to build and strengthen our relationships by focusing on the positives and addressing the conflicts (if any). If you have a child, other than playing and watching movies with your child, to begin with you can instil lessons of courage, honesty, meditation, develop their language & presentation skills and everything else wh...

For me, Breaking Bad is a masterpiece in execution. The creators (Vince Gilligan & team), very brilliantly, executed a simple plot and turned Walter White aka Heisenberg in to a household name. I am not writing this post to describe the show but to put together 5 lessons that I learned from the series and if you ask me, each and everyone of us can learn these lessons and can put to practice in our daily lives – As resilient as Walter White -  There was a classic NEVER GIVE-UP lesson that was on fully display throughout the show. Walter White faced numerous obstacles while building the meth business but whenever his back was against the wall, he always used his resilience,  mindset and a sharp presence of mind to come up with a magic bullet and always got the better of the situation. Now we can question the ways and means of finding the solution, which were mostly illegal but what i want you all to take away is to develop that resilience and never give-up att...

Presently, the majority of us would be unaware of today's date and day. Such are the times. Each day is getting dragged monotonously, not only for those people who are not working from home but also for people who are doing meaningless (mostly) and stressful work from their homes. Right now, we are experiencing the most uncertain times in the history of mankind and merely ‘binge watching’ on Netflix won’t ease the pain of being confined to our homes 24*7. We are still looking at another month or 2 of lockdown ahead of us. So, how do we cope? I have come-up with a couple of ideas from my own experience of being isolated since last 2 months - 1. Stop ‘over-thinking’ & worrying. This will take us nowhere; rather it will make matters worse. How do we distract our minds then? I would suggest setting yourself in some sort of a routine in the weekdays (From Monday – Friday) – like getting up every morning at the same time and doing similar activities through out the day an...