Happy New Year 2011

I am sure all of us had our moments of glory and times of turbulence, this year. Each of it, would have left its mark on us. Time being an excellent teacher, would have given us apt lessons on many topics. Here are three messages for pondering over and carry forward into the New Year.


One, It’s not how much you know, it’s how you use what you know, that matters in life. In the year 1993, month of December, like this one, a woman named Joanne Rowling, in Scotland, was diagnosed with Clinical depression. She was a divorcee and also had a young child and was living on governmental benefits and fighting for survival. She contemplated suicide. She wanted to teach for a living, but unfortunately she did not even have a post-grad certificate to be eligible to teach in Scotland. What she did have was a knack for writing stories. In the year 2007, “J.K.Rowling” was declared as the 48th most powerful celebrity in the world, time magazine ranked her as the person of the year for 2007 and most leading editors in the world acknowledge her to be the “Most influential Woman in Great Britain”. She is now responsible for the $15 billon Harry potter brand. She believed in what she knew, and made use of it and was not worried about what she did not have.

Two, Treat people as if they are all VIPs. Never look down on anyone. This is a very important thing to remember in your careers. Make sure everyone feels important and is alive. There was once an old school teacher, teaching science for about 50 yrs. She retired and they gave her a royal send off for her contribution to the school and the society. The following year, there was a class which was uncontrollable by any of the teachers, so they called her back and asked her to manage that class. That year that class did wonderfully well. Naturally everyone wanted to know the secret from the old teacher. So at the end of that year, they set up a party in her honour and praised her like anything. Everyone stood to applaud her as she took the mike to thank them. She said, “Friends, on the first day I came in to the class, I looked at the student register, it read “Albert – 136, Augustine – 135 , Caroline – 134 , Cythinthia – 133….and so on. When I saw they IQ numbers I knew It was going to be easy to handle them. At that point, the headmaster stood up and said to the teacher, sorry to interrupt you madam, but those were their locker numbers not their IQ. You see, she had treated them all with respect and honour, considering them to be of a high IQ caliber and the students loved that respect and had behaved well. So always treat people like they are VIPs and you will be treated as one too. If you treat everyone like scum, imagine what your nickname would be ….. it would be “Scum” too.

Finally, live a disciplined life. Many people live lives controlled by others. That’s because they let their emotions flow freely. Many of us think of freedom is defined as “I am the lord of everything”, its certainly not defined that way. For example, if you take the train off the rails, its free, but can’t go anywhere. Similarly if the captain of the ship throws the compass away and drives in whatever direction he wants, he will be lost in the sea soon. Don’t dance to every tune. Set high goals and try to achieve them. Every New Year is a chance to live a better disciplined life, another chance at learning something new, losing a bad habit and setting a higher goal. It’s a chance not given to many, If you are getting it, it’s a gift. Use it well, make new friends, keep your family close to you, forgive and forget wrongs and reconcile with everyone. Don’t miss the chance; you might not get another one. I wish you , your families and all your friends a very wonderful and blessed new Year. God Bless you!

Dirt!

There is a saying , "People find fault as if there is a reward for it".  I too find it so easy to point out the faults in others. But many times I do not realize that there are inherent faults in me that the other person overlooked. As we tarry along in our journey of life, sometimes we need to stop and look back on what kind of legacy we have been leaving behind on this earth. There are only two instances when we can talk about people, one when they are alive, two when they are dead. Its an irony that when people ARE alive we talk bad about them , but when they ARE dead we talk about all the good stuff they did. Where did we learn that !

Once a reporter approached Andrew Carnegie, a great industrialist in the early twentieth century, and asked him , how he got around 100 millionaires to work for him ! 

Andrew Carnegie respond by saying that they were not millionaires when they joined his organization and they became one during their tenure there.

The reporter then asked him, how he could make so many people that rich, for which Andrew Carnegie responded with one of the greatest truths to follow in life....here it is...

    

When we mine for GOLD, we need to remove tons of DIRT ! But you don't go in there looking for the dirt, but for the one ounce of Gold.

So also it is true with people, you look for the Gold (good) in them rather than all the dirt(faults) in them.

You mine people like you mine for Gold. That is how you get so many good and smart people to work with you.

How very true... not just in his case, even in our lives, there are so many good people around us, but in many situations we choose whole-heartedly to think and talk about the faults in them. Today make it a point to find out what is the good you see, in the person whom you had labelled as bad and maybe it will be a turning point in the relationship you share with that person. All the best for getting your Gold !

Gratefullness !

The single most forgotten sentence ever, in history of everyone's life, would certainly be the word "Thank you". How many times we forget to thank our dear ones for so many of the things we do have to thank them for. Being grateful is a virtue on its own, you would have to let go of the "I deserve that treatment" attitude and feel more of the "Thats grace, so many people dont get this" attitude.

Come to think of it, we take our relationships for granted. Thomas Carlyle, an author of 18th century, did this mistake. He married his romantic interest and never really cared for her. His wife Jane, took ill and being an authour herself started writing a diary about her illness and her eagerness for a few visits from her husband. Thomas Carlyle rarely attended to her during her illness, but in the diary , those small , quick, flying visits were recorded as being the best moments of her dying self. And one day she died , all alone, and when Thomas finds her diary and starts reading it he find an entry , "Its now late, I have been waiting for his footsteps, but I dont think he will come today to speak to me". These words almost killed Thomas, he realized how ungratefull he had been. He had invested no time nor the effort to be gratefull for having such a nice woman alongside in this life. He had taken her for granted. And now it was too late to say "Thank you".

So many people in our lives are just there, like a handkerchief. They stay in the pockets and are only taken out when we sneeze or need to cleanse dirt from our faces. A mother who hangs on to her mobile for that phone call from her son, a father who waits for his son/daughter to drive him to a barber shop for a good shave, a brother who wants to pick up some books and waits for his big brother to pay for the same, a friend who needs some help and is afraid to ask because of the angry responses he would get for asking money, a wife/husband who really needs some encouragement to improve rather than angry shouts at being incompetent....and so on and on....handkerchieves....not worth thanking at all. They are all there to take help from us and for nothing else. Yea, why should we even thank these people, in fact, they should give us thank-you cards all through the year. We deserve it...we make the calls, we do the chores, we give them all they want and we deserve the thanks...they dont. Again, they are just a handkerchief to us.

Oh ! but wait, try this, close you eyes, and imagine this scenario where all of those above are not there, no mother/father, no wife/husband, no kids, no sibbling and no friends. Scary you might say and want to open your eyes as quick as possible....yes, thats how I felt. I need them all and I am certainly glad they are there for me. So many people like Jane and Thomas Carlyle did not have such people around them. Even today, look outside and around you, not many people have others to look up to or atleast to lay your head on their shoulders to cry, or to laugh with. Is that not reason enough to thank them ?

Some chores seem so small , such as a waiter bringing food quickly, checking up on us frequently to make sure we have it all. But we rarely thank him. We think its his duty. What about the Barber who makes us look neat ? What about our driver who takes care to drive us safely and waits around for us to come ? Oh ! but are they not paid for that. We are all paid for doing stuff, but a gratefull person would realize that the service they do, is something commendable and after paying them will also say "Thank you" for a neat job. That will make their day better and easier.

Basically, I am asking for us being the GOOD-Finders. Once we practice being gratefull, we will in our own way be improving lives around us. We will , by finding ways to thank people around us, enrich those lives, and they will want to perform again for getting the appreciation. Next time it will be a better job than this time.

Right now, there is a soul who may not be a thing in the world for us, but for whom we are the whole world. Thats the soul , needs to know we are gratefull for him/her being around. Don't take anyone for granted and never use people as handkerchieves. Become a good-finder and be a gratefull person, for the love you breathe in may not be there tomorrow and saying a big thanks at the cemetary wont help a whisker!

Earning it!

Its natural for us to yearn to be loved, but do we realize that its costly and we need to earn it ? I have had many many myriad thoughts about why love is so simple and yet so complex. It is the single most wanted thing on this planet and the most easy thing to give away and yet it's so scarce. Wonderful paradox isn't it ? Something worth exploring....

Ever wonder why a mum looks at her child sleeping in a crib seconds before the baby starts crying. That's because , like they say , its in the genes ! Love starts right there. Its actually love that makes the mum conscious that her baby is gonna cry. I think that is amazing. And what is more amazing is that even when the baby is around 35 or 65 yrs old, the 60 or 90 year old mum still does turn back and ask "Are you ok son?".

People generally show love under three circumstances. First, if they know its worth it, like they get something back, maybe love or pleasure or benefits. Second, when they are loved, and they feel worthy of being loved, they want to love back. Third, when they are hated and want to prove that hating back is not worth it and it's below their class.

It will be worth the time to list down all your close ones, family, friends, co-workers and all and then list down on why you would love them. I don't mean the erotic sense of love, but the brotherly kind of love.

Why do I love my parents , is it because they give me the safety I need or will I love them even if its my turn to give them the safety they need ?

Why do I love my friend, is it because he/she helps me all the time, supports me on all my statements or will I love him/her even when they don't respond to my call for 10 days.

It all boils down to the equation under which love works. First , we get back only when we give. Second, we may keep giving and giving and giving to receive a small deposit back. Hey, sounds unfair right ? Yea, it does, but its worth it, because it makes you a better person. So that is the message of this blog....you gotta earn the love you need.

Its easy for your mum or your spouse to love back, but what about those who do not want to love us, but we yearn for their love, how do we win them over. These are the kind that constantly misunderstand you, constantly tease you, say negative things about you, maybe even want you dead...do we really need them to love us back ? Is it worth the try....why not just give up on them and carry on with our lives.

Sounds neat, but what if its between you and your own child, or your spouse or your parents or your in-laws? You dont want to move out, move away. So what is the option then? If the nuke is the greatest weapon mankind has envisaged, I guess LOVE would qualify to be the greatest weapon God had envisaged. And you already have it. So go use it, put it to work, work harder and harder with it and soon you will reap your rewards. A Tamil proverb says "There is not a single door that Love cannot unlock". So bang on the closed doors with love, not with hatred and revenge, those are failure weapons. The right weapon as always would be Love. No one has ever stood against it and won. Look at the mighty British empire, bowing out before Gandhi...its simply loving mankind and doing the right thing for the other man.

According to me, a life spent in revenge, hatred and loneliness, is a life wasted. We are created to love one another with our whole heart. First , we should learn to love God, who has loved us and created us so beautifully, next we should learn to love those around us. Appreciate their company, life is fragile, tomorrow they may not be there.

I was at the Taj last week, and thats when I thought I should write this blog. There is no use for a monument of Love, when you did not find the time to love them when they were near by. Even if its one of the wonders of the world, what is the use, Mumtaj never lived to see it. 

You are alive and today is brand new day, and its the first day of the rest of your life, so start loving the ones you hated. Start rebuilding the house thats broken and make it a home ! Start rebuilding those relationships that hurt you so much, because you will never regret showing your love to someone when you are alive. Go ahead and Earn your love !

Disabled

Just the other day, my brother fell down...No not just a fall, his nervous system broke down and the doctor called the condition GBS, where our own body starts destroying its security system. No , this is not an article on what the condition is and how to get cured. Its about how fragile life itself is without something called Divine Providence. Ok, I know many will stop reading this now since I am pulling in the "God" concept here. But don't worry about not reading my article, I am sure you will want to read your own life stories at the end and clearly see when and where "God" did appear and carry you through.

Two guys where walking on a pathway, and it was getting dark along the way. One asked , hey whats the difference between a pious articulus beliver in the diety and the one who just lives a normal life ? He replied,"Not much, its the difference between having water with you on a stroll in the Sahara and not having it". Don't worry about me, I have lots and lots of water with me to face everything life has got to throw at me. In fact, I want to start using up my water and pray that life will throw more and more trials and tough situations in life.

And Oh! by the way, almost forgot to say.... if life is a standstill and everything looks like the evening sky, my my, you might be dead, with your eyes open. So hey GBS, come on gives us such challenges, we want to see how God does his job. Its an appraisal for him, not us. So many times when trials hit us, we are disabled, switched off.

But not so, thats when we need to switch on our spiritual side and let God do his bit. Don't you want to see how the stars came into being, don't you want to know how the seed gets into the fruit, don't you want to know how a child starts its first breath, then ask for trouble in life, ask for trails in life, ask for more challenges in life, but you don't face it, pray and ask God to take over, stand back and soon you will be applauding.

Sounds far fetched...right. This what people call as Faith. It the power to belive in what you do not see and the capabiltiy to hope in things that have not yet happened, simply because you know that God is Good and he is only planning something for your own good.

Next time , don't be disabled, be Godabled ! Happy tough times !

Gestures - Try this !

The other day was just looking outside the car window while driving back home. We stopped at a signal and saw another car that came and stood next to ours. I turned around and looked at a young man singing away loudly , but nothing was heard outside because he had the A/C turned on and we could only see his movements.

What was facinating was that people behave differently when alone and as soon as someone passes them by or they realize someone is looking at them, the behaviour changes, sometimes drastically and sometime less. Would it not be wonderfull if we can enact what we are, irrespective of who is looking and who is passing us by ?

In his book, "How to win friends and Influence People" Dale Carnegie stresses the need for being ourselves always. That will beget trust. Trust will beget relationships. Many studies go on to prove that people are influenced by the WAY you say things, more than by what you are saying. Sometime back I heard about a mother asking her son, what part of the body was the most important one...after many many attempts, the son finally ended with the "brain", he could not think anything else would be that important. His mother finally said, "Son , its the shoulder, you see, that is what people need when they are hurting or angry or upset or sad". Has your shoulder been that usefull lately ? People generally tend to forget what we say, but I can assure you they are not going to forget how you made them feel ! Its important that our gestures convey what we are.

In the past decade I have come to learn the language of love, where every alphabet is a gesture ! For example, a morning hug to the better half and a goodnight kiss, did not seem so important in life, until we started doing it. We discovered that it was a wonderfull way to tell each other that all the faults of yesternight or what the day gave us, were forgotten and we are one again. Even sitting and talking for half an hour will not have given us that assurance. We will also instantly know something is wrong if the hug is not too tight or the kiss is not too long ! That is the language of love, it helps us communicate better.

We hear that it takes around 43muscles to frown, but only 17 to smile. Also thats the only gesture that is universally accepted by everyone and reciprocated instantly. And its highly contagious. Smile at a baby, he will instally become your friend, but if you stare at him with a frown on your face, its high likely that the baby will cry for its mom. Even as little children we learn that, a smiling person is acceptable. Smile makes strangers approachable. But then there are those who only smile in installments. For them, authority is more important and they use the frowning gesture often. In fact, its those simling giants that rule the world, all the frowning cowards have ended up losing the war.

Many times, when I ask people what is the difference between seeing and looking, they think both are same. I can look at the watch but need not see the time. So looking is casual, seeing is detailed. Many times we look people over, and miss seeing them. Its important that each time we meet someone we acknowledge them by our eyes. We should connect with thier eyes atleast once, even if we are just passing by and saying hi. Is this important ? ok , try this, keep looking down and saying "hi" to your close friends, and catch their response. Don't look at their eyes even once during a day. It will certainly convey that something is wrong between you two. The great book says, "The eyes are the light of the body" and I believe our eye-to-eye look will brighten up someone who needs a loving compassionate and friendly look followed by a smile.

Now, you may be wondering what this is all about, hugging, kissing, lending a shoulder, smiling and seeing. These things are becoming things of the past. These gestures are no longer welcome in the corporate rat race or for that matter even in the family (Its disheartening :( ). So don't waste time reading this, go and greet someone you love, work with or even a total stranger, today , with the best smile you can put on your face. Hug that person who you think needs a good hug. These things are to be freely given (Often!!!) , but they give back rewards that goes beyond human measurements. Happy gesturing !

10 Things to do on a Birthday

1. Thank God for creating you. Without him there is no YOU!

2. Get up before the sun rises and take a long walk.

3. Meet your parents and hug them.

4. Dress yourself with a dress that someone gifted and show it to them.

5. Call up someone you hate and reconcile with them.



6. Call up someone you love and appreciate what they mean to you.

7. Buy and eat the chocolate that you love.

8. Plan and spend time with your spouse and kids, esp around Dinner.

9. Read a motivating article, and also pass it to someone.

10. Before Going to bed, look in the mirror and say

"Well done, All the best for the new year".

Exploring Failure

I heard about this roadside balloon salesman. He used to sell balloons near the beach. Occasionally, when the crowd dried up near him, he would blow up one of his balloons, a red or a yellow one, and then let them go. Kids playing in the vicinity would notice it and he would soon have more sales.

Presently, a small African child tugged at his sleeve from behind him. The boy asked “Sir, if you could blow up a black balloon, would it go up too?” With the wisdom that normally is not associated with a roadside balloon salesman, he replied, “Son, its not the color of the balloon, that makes it go up, its what’s inside of it, that makes it go up”.

You who are reading this, let me assure you, what’s inside of you is something very unique and remarkable. No one else on this earth has the abilities that you possess. But it’s in your hands to use it for mankind’s benefit and for your creator’s glory, and it’s an awesome responsibility. Or like many others you can take it with you to your grave.

A teacher wrote a report, which read like this,
“He was mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in his foolish dreams."

She was referring to the Genius among Geniuses, Sir Albert Einstein. If he was described as mentally slow and could go on to figure out the theory of relativity, with excellent brains like yours, where are you headed today? Failure is not a condition, today you might miss a mark, but that does not make you a failure.

Thomas Alva Edison is an epitome of failure and so is he an epitome of success and he says,
“Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

Are you thinking, you are not able to reach to levels, your colleague is able to? Do you feel you are not gifted like someone else working with you? Never do that, because your creator does not create any failures. A Jewish king once wrote that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made, each one of us and we are born to succeed.

Many people today think success is measured by what we have, compared to what others have, a car, a home, lots of money in the bank, education and so many other yardsticks. But Success is measured by what you are, compared to what you are capable of being.

True wealth is the summation of all the things that you have that money cant buy and death can’t take away. So sit down today and count your wealth, first by the human assets you posses (family, friends), intellectual assets (wisdom) and then your financial assets. Only then you will know your real value.

Success does not make a man nor does failure break a man, so if you have failed, its just an event. If Sachin scores a duck in a match, does it mean he is a failure as a cricketer? If Federer loses Wimbledon, does it make him a failure in Tennis?

Persistence does pay its rewards at the due time. So this message is sent to encourage you to continue to pursue your goals until you achieve them irrespective of the time it takes and the hurdles you would need to cross.

So here is the message, yesterday ended last night, tomorrow is a brand new day and it’s the first day of the rest of your life. Go on and have a new beginning!

Capability

Here is a question for you. Do you know what you are capable of ? Have you ever sat down and thought about it ? If not, this blog would certainly get you thinking about it.

Lets divide our thoughts using the 4 beings we are made up of

• Mental

• Spiritual

• Physical

• Emotional

Lets explore the Mental ability. Intelligence is a misnomer. Generally, people with a couple of PhDs are probably considered more intelligent then those with basic education. Oh ! but wait, if we count only those with high degrees as intelligent, we will have to leave out people like Einstein and Edison. But then the world would still be a dark place , would it not ? Of course, education does play its part in determining your capabilities, but as Newton put it, "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration". In case that was philosophical, in plain English, education will not do much if we don't put it to the right use. So coming back to our question about capabilities, have you ever thought of doing something that is great ? Have you ever seen yourself walking up the stage to receive a medal of honour for achieving something.

But comon now, not everyone is destined for greatness right ? Only the Lincons are destined to rid slavery, only the Mahatmas are destined to free nations, only Einsteins are destined for the Nobel prizes. But me ??? do I dare to dream about being someone like them....

You see, inside of all of us are seeds of greatness and so many of us attribute that to the literature we study and the degrees that accompany our names. No, everyone of us is designed for greatness. Its just that we always have a picture of us that makes us think less of ourselves and our capabilities.

Let me conclude the mental ability discussion by giving a very simple definition of Intelligence, in case you fail to recollect its true meaning.... Intelligence is the ability to LEARN. And inside of you is that ability in abundance, its just lying around to be used. Education stops at college, but Learning stops when you take in your last breath. There lies the difference. Who knows, you who are reading this could be endowed with 10 times the capability of Einstein, but only you can get it out.

Fortunately or Unfortunately , man is endowed with a thirst for spiritual well being. If your spiritual being is not in balance, then maybe it will affect your holistic being in someway. In a study done by a PHD student on the people who reach the top of the corporate ladders and stay there with amazing success , it was found that almost 95% of them were deeply involved in their religion or spiritual well being.

I personally have a belief that God created us with a vaccum inside of us that can only be filled by him. HE wanted us to thirst for him, in fact, this is the thirst that many people avoid and in turn try to fill it up with other stuff, like pleasure, luxury, travel and the whole smear this exotic world has to offer. A spiritually well-balanced indivigual can handle stress, can handle recessions, can handle the tough times of life, with some divine providence. It like having unlimited supply of water as you travel through the Sahara. You can make it through the tough storms of life, with a strong faith inside of you.

I have seen highly capable and successfull people withering like cotton caught on a breeze, when they are hit by the storm clouds of wedlock, recession and bad times in life. I have also seen less capable and the so called unsuccessfull peasants of life, very happy and content during bad economic conditions. So again, what you trust in and who you belive in makes a difference in your life. Have you found your peace with God ? Are you in constant touch with him and is your Spiritual thirst quenced ?

Lets explore our physical capabilities. All of us fall sick, all of us are capable of recovering, but not without the support from the world of Medicine. Or is that true? I have read more than once , that the Brain is always capable of producing the required antigen to deflect any type of virus that hits the body, unless of course, its injected into the body lethally with a view to kill the body. If you don't belive this, go ahead and read the story of Morris Goodman. He was as good as dead, but a few months later walked out of the hospital. Not just a medical miracle.

We are what our brain thinks we are. I am sure you remember the giant Goliath who was slain by a small pebble from a shepard boy. To do great things, we don't necceserrly require perfect abs or be a ramp walking model. Our strength should come from what we think we are and not from what we are. Hellen Keller and Mother Therasa had physical weakness, but their attitudes were as alive as a tiger on a prowl. If you are someone who thinks I am black or I am not rightly coloured or have a physical ailment, try taking a dose of self-talk everyday. Say to yourself that you are physically strong, beautiful or whatever your requirement is and your brain will make you what you want to be. I have read in the great book, that "Let the weak say I am strong" and it will be so.

Power is not the ability to win the war , but it is the ability to stop the war even before the battle begins. Physical strength is useless, if you are not truly capable of making a friend out of your worst enemy ! Without the ability to hear, Ludwig van Beethoven wrote the "The Ninth Symphony" , Without the ability to see, Louis Braille invented the language of the blind, without the ability to walk , Franklin D Roosevelt, became the president of the United States and with all of these abilities, what are you today ?

Emotional Quotient is being talked about in many parts of the corporate world today. People with more EQ, than IQ, are preferred for top jobs. The capability to get along with others is percieved to be a high quality. Everyone here is born with that ability, but over the years, we tend to think too much of ourselves and that is when our emotional strength starts going down.

Most of the problems that cause heartbreaks have to do with our emotions. Our feelings take the place of pure logical thinking and then we make the wrong decisions in life. Handling what happens to us is more important than what happens to us. Let me repeat, its not what happens to us that is important, its how we handle what happens to us that counts. If we can control our feelings instead of letting our feelings control us, I am sure we will be a very strong person, emotionally.

If you have often wondered what is the difference between you and the Mahatma, its just the capability to be strong when you are being paraded as a rebel, the capability to be strong when everyone calls you names, its the capbility to be strong when everyone around you thinks you are a loser ! That 's emotional intelligence. If you know who you are , then nothing outside of you can make you feel inferior, without your permission. No one can shake that confidence of yours.

When Noah built the ark, everyone around him was laughing, cause there was no sign of any rain, when the wright brothers took they first flight , not many people came to see the event, but it changed the way we travel and how far we can go today. So start with whatever strength you have got, set some big goals, get associated with the people who encourage you to reach them and make a honest effort to reach them. Then and only then will you and all of those around you, really know what you are capable of. Till then, you will be an undiscovered oil well, being wasted deep down inside of earth, useful to no one, but very very precious if discovered.

You are the only one who can use your capabilities and its an awesome responsibility. Don't let it die with you.

What are we here for ?

I have often wondered what am I doing here. What is the purpose for me being here? Or is there a purpose at all?

There is very old saying in Chinese
Where the vision is one year, cultivate flowers.
Where the vision is ten years, cultivate trees.
Where the vision is eternity, cultivate people.

So you see, the ultimate vision or goal for each one of us, is to enable others to come up. Constructive Politics (sounds like a contradiction, right !), is the need of the hour. We are called not to give up on others but to give ourselves to bring others up. We are all called to stoop low to lift other up and if we are not going to do it, those people below, are going to raise high and pull us all down to their level.

Someone asked, if we are here to help others, then what exactly or the others here for? Good question, of course, the answer is that the others are also here to help the others. Zig ziglar, the great orator, often quotes, “If we help others enough, we will be helped enough”.

Do people look forward to you being around them? Are you missed by at least a few people at your place of work, if you don’t turn up? Or, is there a big sigh of relief when you call up and say you are not coming in today?

You might be wondering how this matters, we are here to work, we work and get paid and then we are gone in a couple of years, why all this talk about relationships. You see, the point is, it is not possible to be a great success, all alone!

Even though champions get the medals, they always realize that there are many people behind their success, without whom it would not have been possible. Their teachers, parents, coaches, fans, and mentors and many many more. One can never fully repay those who have helped winners. The only way to show a little gratitude is by helping those who are following.

Socrates taught Plato; Plato taught Aristotle; Aristotle taught Alexander the Great. Knowledge and Values, had they not been passed along, would have died. Our greatest responsibility is to pass on a legacy that the coming generations can be proud of.

There are many kinds of desire. Desire for success, desire to do one's duty even at the cost of pleasure. Desire for purpose. Something worth dying for which gives meaning to life. What good is it if you gain the whole world and lose your conscience?

A purposeless life is a living death. What is your purpose? Do you have one? Purpose brings passion. Find or create a purpose and then pursue it with passion and perseverance. Every day we need to ask ourselves the question: "Am I getting any closer to my purpose in life? Am I making this a better place to live and work?" If the answer is no, then I have just wasted a day of my life. Life will reward us in proportion to our contribution.

The earlier we find a purpose in life, the better it is. It appears that the greatest challenge comes in the unending search for the purpose of life. Not only as an individual but also for our families, organizations and our country. Once our purpose and values are clear, conflicts between self-interest and social obligations find a moral balance between themselves. We become aware of when to take a stand. That is the time we start making the right decisions for long-term gain rather than making the wrong decisions for short-term gain. Wisdom and maturity lead to greater understanding of major issues.

We cannot help ourselves without helping others.
We cannot enrich our lives without enriching others.
We cannot prosper without bringing prosperity to others.

All of us are put on this planet for a purpose. We are part of a big picture. But very few people discover their purpose in life. Most of us just exist and keep counting our days rather than making our days count.

Dr. Albert Einstein was once asked, "Why are we here?" He replied, "If the universe is an accident, we are accidents. But if there is meaning in the universe, there is meaning in us also." And he added, "The more I study physics, the more I am drawn towards metaphysics (The philosophical study of being and knowing)."

So each day, make sure you help others and leave home contented that someone found your presence in the office useful, if not, was it worth, coming to the office today?

I would rather fail in a cause that will ultimately succeed than succeed in a cause that would ultimately fail.