Live life 100 percent

10 Golden ways to Improve our quality of Life

2011-08-03T19:46:00.000-07:00

found a great post.. worth sharing..

10 Golden ways to Improve our quality of Life

Many of our problems come from within our own minds. They aren’t caused by events, bad luck, or other people. We cause them through our own poor mental habits.

Here are 10 habits you should set aside right away to free yourself from the many problems each one will be causing you.

1. Stop jumping to conclusions.

There are two common ways this habit increases people’s difficulties. First, they assume that they know what is going to happen, so they stop paying attention and act on their assumption instead. Human beings are lousy fortune-tellers. Most of what they assume is wrong. That makes the action wrong too. The second aspect of this habit is playing the mind-reader and assuming you know why people do what they do or what they’re thinking. Wrong again, big time. More relationships are destroyed by this particular kind of stupidity than by any other.

2. Don’t dramatize.

Lots of people inflate small setbacks into life-threatening catastrophes and react accordingly. This habit makes mountains out of molehills and gives people anxieties that either don’t exist or are so insignificant they aren’t worth worrying about anyway. Why do they do it? Who knows? Maybe to make themselves feel and seem more important. Whatever the reason, it’s silly as well as destructive.

3. Don’t invent rules.

A huge proportion of those “oughts” and “shoulds” that you carry around are most likely needless. All that they do for you is make you feel nervous or guilty. What’s the point? When you use these imaginary rules on yourself, you clog your mind with petty restrictions and childish orders. And when you try to impose them on others, you make yourself into a bully, a boring nag, or a self-righteous bigot.

4. Avoid stereotyping or labeling people or situations.

The words you use can trip you up. Negative and critical language produces the same flavor of thinking. Forcing things into pre-set categories hides their real meaning and limits your thinking to no purpose. See what’s there. Don’t label. You’ll be surprised at what you find.

5. Quit being a perfectionist.

Life isn’t all or nothing, black or white. Many times, good enough means exactly what it says. Search for the perfect job and you’ll likely never find it. Meanwhile, all the others will look worse than they are. Try for the perfect relationship and you’ll probably spend your life alone. Perfectionism is a mental sickness that will destroy all your pleasure and send you in search of what can never be attained.

6. Don’t over-generalize.

One or two setbacks are not a sign of permanent failure. The odd triumph doesn’t turn you into a genius. A single event—good or bad—or even two or three don’t always point to a lasting trend. Usually things are just what they are, nothing more.

7. Don’t take things so personally.

Most people, even your friends and colleagues, aren’t talking about you, thinking about you, or concerned with you at all for 99% of the time. The majority of folk in your organization or neighborhood have probably never heard of you and don’t especially want to. The ups and downs of life, the warmth and coldness of others, aren’t personal at all. Pretending that they are will only make you more miserable than is needed.

8. Don’t assume your emotions are trustworthy.

How you feel isn’t always a good indicator of how things are. Just because you feel it, that doesn’t make it true. Sometimes that emotion comes from nothing more profound than being tired, hungry, annoyed, or about to get a head-cold. The future won’t change because you feel bad—nor because you feel great. Feelings may be true, but they aren’t the truth.

9. Don’t let life get you down. Keep practicing being optimistic.

If you expect bad things in your life and work, you’ll always find them. A negative mind-set is like looking at the world through distorting, grimy lenses. You spot every blemish and overlook or discount everything else. It’s amazing what isn’t there until you start to look for it. Of course, if you decide to look for signs of positive things, you’ll find those too.

10. Don’t hang on to the past. This is my most important suggestion of all:

Most of the anger, frustration, misery, and despair in this world come from people clinging to past hurts and problems. The more you turn them over in your mind, the worse you’ll feel and the bigger they’ll look. Don’t try to fight misery. Let go and move on. Do that and you’ve removed just about all its power to hurt you.

let go and move.

understand yourself first

2011-07-05T02:31:00.000-07:00

Understanding ourselves.. that's the toughest part.

If we know what we are and what we really want we will definetely get it. But then, understanding ourselves.. :) That's the first step to progress.

2011-03-28T22:52:00.000-07:00

Not a new post,

Just to add on to my last post. Not very sure if the message was mis understood.

Kids should be brought up to be self-reliant , be it girl or boy.

Super-man does not exist in real life. They should not grow up with the false impression that some Saviour or fairy god mother will come some day and change their lives.

Thats what i was trying to say. Hope i made it clear now.

Say no to cinderella dreams

2011-03-07T02:38:00.000-08:00

I often listen to this cinderella song by Tata young, It always makes me feel so happy- empowered actually. Regret i missed it 10 years back- when i was dreaming my own Cinderella dreams. Well, i believe everyone be it baby girl or baby boy should grow up to be confident , self-sufficient individuals. That always helps in the long run. When they are at peace with themselves they can do so much to help others as well.

Why i wanted to share this because, this is the sad reality with which every little girl is brought up with. Every mom dreams of a prince in shinning armour for her daughter who will slay her dragons and protect her. Ha..ha..ha... well, some might find their prince. Many a times all little girls grow up and stand staring at their dragons all alone. Every mom knows it. Then why not stop poisoning young minds with expectations of a saviour when they themselves can be one. Let's bring up little ones with confidence to take care of themselves and people around them.

by the way, the lyrics are as below-

When I was just a little girl
My momma used to tuck me into bed
And she read me a story
It always was about a Princess
In distress and how a guy would save her
And end up with the glory

I'd lie in bed and think about the person that I wanted to be
Then one day I realized the fairy tale life wasn't for me

[Chorus]
I don't wanna be like Cinderella
Sitting in a dark old dusty cellar
Waiting for somebody to come and set me free
I don't wanna be like Snow White, waitingFor a handsome prince to come and save me
On a horse of white, unless we're riding side by side
Don't want to depend on no one else
I'd rather rescue myself

Someday I'm gonna find someone
Who wants my soul, heart and mind
Who's not afraid to show that he loves me
Somebody who will understand
I'm happy just the way I am
Don't need nobody taking care of me

(I will be)
I will be there for him
Just as strong as he will be there for me
When I give myself then
It has got to be an equal thing

[Chorus]

I can slay my own dragon
I can dream my own dreams
My knight in shining armour is me
So I'm gonna set me free

(Like Cinderella
Old dusty cellar)
Waiting for somebody to come and set me free
I don't want to be like Snow White, waiting
For a handsome prince to come and (save me x6)

what's the rush!

2011-03-03T01:42:00.000-08:00

Found a good lesson! Just wanted to Share..

Investing on People,Investing on Life

2009-12-30T03:49:00.000-08:00

"Practice makes it perfect" so is the saying. Every art, every act in life needs that maintenance time. Needs that proper input to get the desired output. So are the people around us.

Everything goes by Newton's third law :-) true that is. You sow so u reap...

We need to give proper time to everything which we desire to shape so are human relationships.

We listen to people who we trust. We obey people who we believe. It is all about the feelings between two minds. We all know human relationships are the most complex ones. Hence if we really need happy helping people around us- we first need to sow- sow the seeds of love and trust. This is not easy. It takes lots of self-discipline. Lots of motivation and real interest.

We are prone to imperfections, we are prone to moods. It is impossible to be nice all the time.

If we had built our relationships strong enough , then we can be whatever we are and be loved by our people. How do we do that- just three easy steps

Walk your talk:
People hate hypocrites. Our views should be in line with our acts. This builds your reputation. I always honestly believe every human being has his or her own unique talent- irrespective of it- even if you are the most untalented person, people will still respect you if you live in line with your words. Simple example - Never criticize your kid for not switching off the light when you yourself leave it on sometimes when you leave [even sometimes]. Never boost about yourself anytime. It kills your reputation very badly even if you miss just once to live up to it. People will go by your words when evaluating you.

Keep your promises:

Life is tough and many times in our struggles we tend to become selfish. Many a times. We tend to lie, we to cheat and get away with what we want. This never gives us a lasting victory. What makes people to happily obey you is how much do they trust you. It is always based on how many happy moments you created in their life's, its based on how many times you kept your promises!

Never talk behind anybody's back:

This is one major problem with people. When we cannot get our way, or when we cannot speak our heart out directly we tend to back bite. Its a difficult thing to stop doing that, yet it always good to try and minimize us much as we can. To do that we either have to have the courage to tell the person straight how they are hurting you and try to resolve it. Or find another means of activity to vent out our hard feelings. When we talk bad about someone to say your friend X. There is no doubt that this X will think whether you will talk about him to somebody else like that. Even tough not obvious this thought will be in your friend's mind somewhere deep inside.

Never judge people/Nor label them:

Everybody thinks highly of our own selves- It is human nature, but then the truth can be something else. Yet we tend to evaluate others based on our own biased mind set. We will obviously never see them in proper perspective. There are many shades to every person. Even if you judge never treat anybody meanly.

Listen. Truly and with Love:

When we talk we always half listen- rest of our mind is set on thinking what to say when our turn comes. This stops us from understanding properly what the other person is saying. Also when we listen, our views filter what we listen. We listen and understand based on our own thoughts and views. This limits our perspective. When we listen- if we just simply listen- it helps improve our relationships greatly.

Be a happy positive person:
let there be positive vibes about you. People love to be with and follow happy people- who can keep themselves ground and cool and will also be able to provide a good atmosphere around them. Never expect your children to obey you unless you have provided them with a happy trustful environment to obey.
Be Patient:

Finally,There are people whose trust we had broken, whom we had done wrong- the people who kept you close to heart- like a good friend, a distraught spouse/parent/child- whatever we try we cannot build our friendship again unless we try with patience.

People, are the major resource of our life. The output will be absolutely fantastic life if we can invest in people with our time and love, sincerely and with constant patient practise.

me- myself and others..

2009-12-23T18:01:00.001-08:00

I saw this poem on a friend's page, simple yet very intresting intro...set me thinking...

they say i am "proudie"...i say i am confident
they say i am arrogant....i say i am deterministic
they say i am learned fool...i say i trust ppl and wud like to give opportunities
they say i am antisocial....I say silence is so beautiful
they say i am selfish...i say i have uncompromised goals to acheive..
they say relationship are for enjoyment..I say its for enriching ur virtues...
They say i dont listen to them...I say its my life
Watever they say...I am wat i am...Understood anything....Hahahaha....

we humans are complex...yet deep down under everybody there is a brilliant individual waiting to be discovered...

People have many shades.. It depends on what type of lens we are wearing when looking at them. It is like blind men and the elephant. Our judgement is limited by our own knowledge and our maturity levels. All of us have many layers..Never judge people and limit ur world.
People are a very intresting subject. The best resource and the worst nightmare. I love people...

why me?

2009-09-06T00:22:00.000-07:00

Many a times in life i wonder why i alone seem to end up with such adversities. Why do i get stuck in such pathetic situations, why do i go through so much pain etc.I always think i am such a stupid- not smart enough to escape problems. Of late slowly i have started realizing its not me alone. True. Its not me alone.Everybody have a different set of problems to face everyday.Even the smartest most intelligent ones whom we think live cool lives- they too seem to fight, struggle everyday. Their smartness lies only in hiding their troubles- They just fight their demons privately while we do it publicly. There is never going to be a single soul who is in peace- far away from trials and tribulations. There is no point crying over our trobles. Nor should we be worried when we sense trouble. It just makes the problem look bigger.

I have realized very clearly that some how i need to face my problems, stand my ground, fight them away.if not today then tomorrow.Only then there is peace. There will never be a gaurdian angel going to battle on our behalf- even if we find one and win our battles its just a temproary win. Lets face it. We need to fight our own battles.Only then the success tastes great. Only then we know how to win again if the enemy strikes again.Only then our lives moves forward.Only then there is a meaning to our lives.

Our problems build our strength, show us our own greatness.Bring out to the world our infinite potential. They are our blessings in disguise.Just that we need to face them- See them in the eye and tell them to obey you. Once done they boost our confidence so high that we really feel great from inside out. So nowadays when i get into shit- i know i need to find my own way out. I need to stand on my own two feet and fight it out. I know its really tough. I need to make many sacrifices- but thats life. Nobody is this world has everything. There will always be give and take.

It will always be priorities based.Its just that we need courage. We need it to tell ourselves "its not over yet".We need it to look for a way out. We need it to face our demons. There are many talented people in this world who do not know about themselves. I have met many. God has blessed everybody with some greatness- I have seen it very well.Every human being can in his or her own unique way can solve all their problems themselves- the gap that lies there is CONFIDENCE. Just believe you have the capacity to solve it. Actually it is very true that you have the capacity to solve it.We just need to bring ourselves to believe it.Thats all.

May we grow in strength by fighting our battles everyday.There will always be problems, everybody has it everyday. Its never just me. I am not alone- battlefields exist everywhere everyday. Lets face it.Lets win them all.

We all need help,We all need people

2009-08-09T23:13:00.000-07:00

Everybody thinks very high of themselves,Ofourse that's nothing wrong.But then the truth is- Every single human being is unique and precious in their own way.And it is also true that we need eachother in someway or the other many times in life.

I read this little story Long time ago- but then i always keep remembering it to keep myself humble-

I was parked in front of the mall wiping off my car. I had just come
from the car wash and was waiting for my wife to get out of work.
Coming my way from across the parking lot was what society would
consider a bum.
From the looks of him, he had no car, no home, no clean clothes, and no
money. There are times when you feel generous but there are other times
that you just don't want to be bothered. This was one of those "don't
want to be bothered times."
"I hope he doesn't ask me for any money," I thought.
He didn't.
He came and sat on the curb in front of the bus stop but he didn't look
like he could have enough money to even ride the bus.
After a few minutes he spoke.
"That's a very pretty car," he said.
He was ragged but he had an air of dignity around him. His scraggly
blond beard keep more than his face warm.
I said, "thanks," and continued wiping off my car.

He sat there quietly as I worked. The expected plea for money never
came.
As the silence between us widened something inside said, "ask him if
he needs any help." I was sure that he would say "yes" but I held true
to the inner voice.
"Do you need any help?" I asked.
He answered in three simple but profound words that I shall never forget.
We often look for wisdom in great men and women. We expect it from
those of higher learning and accomplishments.

I expected nothing but an
outstretched grimy hand. He spoke the three words that shook me.
"Don't we all?" he said.

I was feeling high and mighty, successful and important, above a bum
in the street, until those three words hit me like a twelve gauge
shotgun.
Don't we all?
I needed help. Maybe not for bus fare or a place to sleep, but I
needed help. I reached in my wallet and gave him not only enough for bus
fare, but enough to get a warm meal and shelter for the day. Those
three little words still ring true. No matter how much you have, no matter how much you have accomplished, you need help too. No matter how little you have, no matter how loaded you are with problems, even without money or
a place to sleep, you can give help.

Even if it's just a compliment, you can give that.
You never know when you may see someone that appears to have it all.
They are waiting on you to give them what they don't have. A different perspective on life, a glimpse at something beautiful, a respite from daily chaos, that only you through a torn world can see. Maybe the man was just a homeless stranger wandering the streets. Maybe
he was more than that.

Maybe he was sent by a power that is great and
wise, to minister to a soul too comfortable in themselves.

Maybe God looked down, called an Angel, dressed him like a bum, then said, "go minister to that man cleaning the car, that man needs help."
Don't we all?

Lets love,respect and help each other through our lives.

How to stop being miserable

2009-07-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

There is no stopping our misery as swine flu,ressesion etc run rampant multiplying our everyday's stress,
below are few simple ways to stop our misery and improve our happiness.

1.Stop making issues big.Dont add your imagination to it.Big problems overwhelm and prevent you from solving them.

2.Dont think of it always.It will spoil your mood and prevent u from solving it.Stop being afraid of it.

3.Stop the blame game.Dont blame other people for it.neither should you blame yourself.It only serves to increase your pain.

4.Avoid complaining about it to everybody around you.

5.Dont avoid it and let your problems grow big.A stich in time saves nine.

6.Look at it from another perspective. This may provide you with fresh ideas to solve your problem.

7.Look for help.Look for a solution.There will be people who would have faced the same issues as you.Or there might be professionals specialized at tackling your issue.Never hesitate to look for help.

Life is worth everything- Short poem

2009-07-17T00:57:00.000-07:00

Small things matter a lot in life
words and smiles and thoughts we have
if it makes a gloom go bright
its worth living,everyday.

As u rush through hails and stroms
rarely pausing by to stop
yet u made a face to smile
its worth living,thats the way.

If you smell the roses still
enjoy rain and shine as well
in the crazy crowded world
its worth living,it always is.

There are times when problems soar
fix it with the strength of hope
life is precious to be lost
its worth living,to the last.

Sometimes its dirty,bad and worse
embrassed and shamed we regret
cant give up yet,theres cleaning to do
it worth living,just trust and get.

If you touched a life or soul
made them reach their distant goal
with a simple helping hand
its worth living,this is it all.

God does not desend to solve it all
but through people he does his art
Stand on ur feet and rise to help
Lets see god through ourselves.

Determination builds Dreams to Reality

2009-07-08T19:11:00.000-07:00

Maybe the Americans know this story already- but for the rest of us, a post on the determination that built the Brooklyn Bridge. I just could not ignore the strong inspirational shot this story gave me.Here it is-

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.
But Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.
"We told them so.""Crazy men and their crazy dreams.""It`s foolish to chase wild visions."
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever. He just did not want to give up. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.
Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.
Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.
Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.

Living life today for a regret free tomorrow

2009-07-02T06:47:00.000-07:00

The other day i was watching the movie 17 again. It was fun but got me thinking.There are many times in life where we want to go back in time and correct our mistakes. I can say with absolute confidence everybody has this secret desire.If only we could go back and start saving early, go back and choose a different career,life partner etc.. etc..Its true everybody wishes for it.But oh no! that is impossible.Although we love this fantasy with all our hearts that magic is just not possible. But what is possible is try to make the most of this day.THE PRESENT HOUR,MINUTE.
I know very well i cannot come back to this minute again and re-do anything- Hence i constantly keep thinking "what i can do to make this minute great? what i should do now so that i do not want to RE-DO it anytime?". This is very important.These questions show us so many possibilities- Although we cannot do everything so very perfect as we may lack the extra information that future brings, we still can try to give it our best.So that its worth our invaluable time.
Most of the time we look back at our past and grieve about things not done well or missed opportunities and look at the future with worries.Doing this we end up losing our most valuable possesion- our present.This day,this minute- i just want to make it beautiful.I just want it worth remembering later.I have no idea what future brings my way,nor do i want to think and regret about all my roads not taken.I have learnt through hard experience that i should live in today and thats what makes me feel happy and satisfied.I try to give my best today and just leave it at that. I have this quote by Ralph.W.Emerson hung up at my desk
Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.

How to add instant sparkle to life

2009-06-24T19:20:00.000-07:00

As we go about doing our day to day ativities and struggling to make a living we all tend to forget to LIVE.Slowly our life gets tiring and boring.
Add some worries to this state of mind- u have a frustrating life.Which is what most of us live,but none like it.How to get back the lost colour in our life?
All of us know the trick, but never practice.Here are the time tested techniques to bring colour to our grey routines called life.
1) Have a hearty meal

2) Spend sometime with yourself.You and you alone.Doing what you love to do.

3) Connect to the nature. A flower or breeze can instantly prepup ur mood if given time.

4) Take your kid out on a weekend.

5) Get together with family and friends.

6)

Indulge in an adrenaline rushing sport.

7) Take a quiet stroll under the moon

Life is not about the final destination.It is all about living each day with a smile and satisfaction.Is it not?

a lighter moment

2009-06-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

Inspiring song-Hannah Montana the Movie

2009-06-10T22:19:00.000-07:00

I was not a big fan of Hannah montana.Went to the movie just like that and it turned out to be a good decision.Though not impressed by the childish story,yet the inspiring songs recharged me a lot.Mainly "The Climb". I had written a similar poem on this blog Dreams,my Dreams. It touched my heart just as appealing as though it came right out of heart. Every word is wonderful and inspiring.Thanks Disney and Thanks Hannah. I would love to highlight every single word of it :-)

Here I would love to share the inspiration- Lyrics of the song "The Climb" .

I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"

Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking

But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high

There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Ain't about how fast I get there
Aint't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb

The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no,I'm not breaking

I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most,yeah
Just gotta keep going

And I,I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

'Cause there's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose

Keep on moving,keep climbing
Keep the faith,baby
It's all about,it's all about the climb
Keep the faith,keep your faith,whoa

Thats it- a big tribute to the dreamers of the world. Lets go for it.Lets live our dreams.Lets stick to our faith and face our struggles.

Visualize and win

2009-06-06T00:37:00.000-07:00

A picture is worth a 100 words goes the saying.People are more attracted to images than to anything else.If i add up some catchy images here with my articles i always get many responses.That easily demonstrates to me that people love visuals rather than mere words.Pictures remain in memory much better than vague words.And this powerful truth can be used to propel our lives to success.
To get what you want, you should know exactly what you want.If you can see it with your mind you can easily grab it into your reality real quickly.To explain i can say - when you see chocolate your cravings make you go buy it.After watching movies people tend to act like their favourite character there for sometime.The effect of visuals is such that it draws immediately all the good and bad memories linked.Makes us happy or sad immediately.

We can attribute all our fears to this visualization.Most of us could have easily experienced it in negative sense.Thoughts of poverty,seperation,loss etc bring glommy visuals to our minds instanteneously.Seeing a black cat, basement,attic etc can bring scary feelings to some.Seeing an images of a waterfall on the other hand can instantly leave few feeling fresh and happy.This happens unconsiously.What i want you to gain from this article is how to effectively use visualization for what we want.Make use of it in a positive sense.And ultimately use it to tell our subconsious mind what we want.
Here are few steps to visualize effectively.

1) Decide on a goal - clear goal.know exactly what you want.Be realistic.Cannot decide i want to be the president of this nation in a week.Nor can be week enough in deciding i want a brand new so an so gadget in a week when u know u have the means(or can find a means) to buy it right away.
-Goals should be challenging enough.
-It should be close to your heart.
-There should be a step by step path to it
Plan a step by step path to it so that it can be broken down to measurable milestones.
I recommend you divide your long term and short term goals.Plan your long term goals in few stages.Mark every stage as a short term goal.Write it down.It always helps me if i write down my goals.

2) Relax: Just like we switch off lights before we sleep, we need to switch off all the fears,anxiety,stress,tension etc from our mind before we visualize.We can close our eyes.Take deep breaths.Push all our worries away and calm our thoughts.Better be in a quiet environment.If soothing music relaxes you,then turn it on.If a gentle scent relaxes you,then light the candle or put an air freshner.Movie creates such a much better visual pleasure in a dark environment[cutting us away from reality].It is the same technique.Some gifted people can relax in any environment when they decide to.Then you dont have to create the effect to relax.Ultimately you should relax.

3) Picturize it: Now give life to your desire.Add a visual image to every one of your goals.If your goal is to visit egypt,then close your eyes and see yourself at the pyramids.Alternatively you can stick a picture of a tourist at the pyramids in a place where it will catch your eye often.Stick it at your desk or on the fridge or on a wish board near your bed.See it often.Stare at it with all the love you have to be there.Sit with the picture in a quiet corner looking at it for few minutes everyday until you get it.Feel like you are there already.

4) Wish it with all your heart:Nothing really reaches us unless we really want it.Pour your inner strength to it- want it with all your heart.Only when our subconsious mind knows what we want it will start attracting it.It is like selective reading,you'll start seeing whatever you had missed before.Your desire should be very strong only then we can really get it.So when we see the image, we should see it with a strong desire.See it and wish it with all our heart.

5) Be ready to receive it: Last but not the least we should be prepared to see our visions come true.We should believe in our dreams and never think we are not good enough for it.Unconsiously all of us underestimate our potential.Everybody secretly is afraid,so when oppourtunities to attain our visions present themselves we walk back instead of grabing it.If we feel we lack some skill needed to fulfill our dream goal then we should update it and wait for the chance.Ready to grab and work towards the goal.We deserve better things and we can make it happen.

Try visualizing one goal at a time.And slowly you will see its tremendous power in helping us achieve our dreams.You can put this to test immediately.Decide on a goal and follow steps 1-5 for 5 or 10 minutes everyday.I recommand put a date on the picture as to when u want it to be true.Do this early morning or just before going to bed.It works for me.Hope it works for you.Goodluck! and May all your dreams come true.

Rules of Life

2009-05-31T18:57:00.001-07:00

Real Life Slumdog Millionaire-a true inspiration

2009-05-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

His story is an inspiration for millions. A self-made entrepreneur, his mission
is to help the poor through job creation. E Sarathbabu hit the headlines after
he rejected several high profile job offers from various MNCs after he passed
out of IIM, Ahmadabad[Rank1 in Indian Management institutes] two years ago.

He instead started a catering business of his own, inspired by his mother who
once sold idlis on the pavements of Chennai, worked as an ayah(domestic helper) in an Anganvadi(free food center by indian govt for poor kids)to educate him and his siblings. As a child, he also sold idlis in the slum where he lived. "We talk about India shining and India growing, but we should ensure that people do not die of hunger. We can be a developed country but we should not leave the poor people behind. I am worried for them because I know what hunger is and I still remember the days I was hungry," says Sarathbabu.

In August 2006, Sarathbabu's entrepreneurial dream came true with Foodking. The "foodking" still lives in the same hut in Madipakkam in Chennai. Today, Foodking has six units and 200 employees, and the turnover of the company is Rs.32 lakh a month. But it has not been a bed of roses for Sarathbabu. After struggling and making losses in the first year, he managed a turnaround in 2007.

How has his experience as a 'Foodking' been in the last two years? In his own words-
A tough beginning as I am a first generation entrepreneur, the first year was very challenging. I had a loan of Rs 20 lakh by the end of first year. I had no experience in handling people in business, and it was difficult to identify the right people.Though I made losses in the first year, not even once did I regret my decision of not accepting the offers from MNCs and starting an enterprise of my own. I looked at my losses as a learning experience. I was confident that I would be
successful one day.
Sleeping on the railway platform
My first unit was at IIM, Ahmadabad. When we started our second unit in October 2006, I thought now I would start making money. But I made losses of around Rs 2000 a day. A first generation entrepreneur cannot afford such a loss. But I worked really hard, working till 3 a.m. in the morning. What reduced my losses were the birthday party offers.

I started the third unit again in Ahmadabad but it also made losses. All my units were cafeteria and I understood then that the small cafeterias do not work; I needed huge volumes to work. My friends who were extremely supportive in the first year when things were difficult for me. I had taken loans from my IIM-A friends. They were earning very well.
In December 2006, an IIM Ahmadabad alumni event took place in Mumbai and I decided to go there mainly to get a contract. I was hopeful of getting it. I also knew that if I got the huge contract, I would come out of all the losses I had been incurring.
I booked my train ticket from Ahmadabad to Mumbai for Rs 300 and I had Rs 200 in my hand. As the meet went on till late at night, I could reach the station only at midnight. I missed the train. I decided to sit on the platform till the morning and travel by the next train in the morning. I didn't have the money to check into a hotel. I didn't want to disturb any of my friends so late at night.

It was an unforgettable night as I was even shoved off by policemen from the platform. It was quite insulting and embarrassing. After two hours, people started moving in, I also went in.
A man who sat next to me on the platform gave me a newspaper so that I could sleep. I spread the newspaper and slept on the platform! I sleep well. I got my ticket refund in the morning and went back to Ahmadabad. And, luck did not favour me, I didn't get the contract.

In March 2007, I got an offer to start a unit at BITS, Pilani (Sarathbabu was an alumnus of BITS,Pilani). That was the first medium break for me. For the first time, I started making profits there though the other units continued to make losses. The reason for our success at BITS, Pilani was the volume; there were more students and there was a need for a unit like ours while in Ahmadabad, they have at least a hundred options.

If I made Rs 5000 a day at Ahmadabad in two shifts, here I made Rs 15,000 a day. BITS, Pilani unit gave me the confidence to move on. Unless you make money, you can't be confident in business.

What changed my fortune
When all my friends who worked for various MNCs made good money every month and I made losses with my venture. But I kept telling myself, I am moving in the right direction to reach my ambition and vision. My dream was to provide employment and I was doing just that. I continued to work till 3a.m. but I never felt tired.

Through BITS, Pilani, I got the BITS, Goa contract and that was the biggest break for me. It was not a cafeteria like the earlier ones but the dining hall that we got. We had to feed 1300 students. We started our operations in July 2007. At Rs 50, for 1300 students, our sale was Rs65,000 per day. We soon started making a profit of Rs 10 to 15,000 a day. Around 60 to 70 people work there. I gave the charge of the Ahmadabad operations to one of my managers and moved to Goa.
I was still in debt by Rs 15-20 lakhs but I knew BITS, Goa would keep my dream alive. Within six months of starting our operations in Goa, I repaid all my debt.
I was called to give a speech at the SRM Deemed University. After the speech, I asked the Chancellor, can you give me an opportunity to serve in your campus?? He said, "If not you, to whom will I give such an opportunity?" It's a food court but a big one, similar to the one at BITS,Pilani. There are around 17,000 students there.

Other than the six units, I have approached a few more universities and corporate houses too. In the first year, I had made a loss of Rs 25 lakh. Right now, we have a turnover of Rs 32 lakh every month, which works out to 3.5 crore (Rs 35 million) a year.

I have hired about 200 people. Indirectly, we touch the lives of around 1000 people. By this year end, we will have 500 people working for us. Only 10% of my workers are educated, the rest are uneducated. I want to make a change in their lives. If they have any problem, I will take care of it. We support the marriages and education of poor families. We are paying more to the employees as the company is doing well. Now that the foundation is strong, I plan to have ten units and a turnover of Rs 20 crore (Rs 200 million) turnover by next year.

His advice: Never give up!

In the last two years, I have given more than 120 lectures in various institutions in India.When I got the first opportunity to speak, I thought God had given me an opportunity to encourage or inspire entrepreneurs. When youngsters tell me they are inspired, I feel good.
When you just dish out the theory, nobody believes you. But when you do it, they believe you.What I tell them is based on my own experiences.
When I thought of starting a company, I felt India needed 100 people like Narayana Murthy and Ambani. If 100 such people support 2 lakh people each, imagine how many Indians get supported.
Entrepreneurship is needed to uplift the poor. It is not easy to be an entrepreneur,
especially a first generation entrepreneur.
There will be lots of challenges in the beginning but you should learn to look for the light at the end of the tunnel.
Never give up even if there are hurdles. There are many who give up within a week.

You need determination and a tough mind to cross the initial hurdles.

If you are starting without much money, you should not have any overhead expenses.
He still lives in the same hut
As I am in the food business, I know how much the price of every food item has gone up. Many people will languish in poverty because of inflation. Had my mother been working as an Anganvadi ayah today and earning Rs 1500, she would not have been able to feed us and educate us. On the one side, we talk about India shining and India growing, but we should ensure that people do not die of hunger. We can be a developed country but we should not leave the poor people behind. I am worried for them because I know what hunger is and I still remember the days I was hungry. That is why I feel it is our responsibility to take care of them.

I wanted to buy a car and a house for my mother. I bought a car first, not a house. I still live in the same house, the same hut. I can build a house right now but I want my business to grow a little more. I feel good in the hut; that?s where I get my energy, that's where I lived 25 years of my life. I want to remind myself that the money and fame should not take me away from what I want to achieve.

But within six months, I will build a good house for my mother. Her only advice to me is,don't waste money.
Till I was in the 10th, there was no electricity in my house. I had to sit near the kerosene lamp and concentrate hard. That's how I learnt to concentrate.
The two year journey has been very enriching. It seems like a 20-year journey for me. I was living every moment of the two years, from sleeping on the Mumbai railway station platform to this level.
Food king as on today May 26 2009 has an annual turnover of 20+ crores and still going Strong.
Thats the power of dreams.Nothing is impossible if we could believe and work consistently towards it.

How to improve our self image with positive affirmations

2009-05-18T01:30:00.000-07:00

We are,what we think we are.We are the creators of our own self.If that is the case, why do many of us often use terms like "Fool","Idiot" "Stupid" etc to ourselves.When we say such things are we aware that our subconcious mind is recording it? "Any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through repetition of thought. " says Napoleon Hill.So by saying such things often we slowly start to believe them as FACT.

It is the same case if somebody else is drummimg these words into your mind ever so often.Keep away from them because we dont want those words to become our reality.Eventough in reality we know these words are lies, repeating this lie often is enough for us to start to believe it. This is particularly true when a lot of emotion is put into it as is generally the case when we say negative things to ourselves.

The negative self-talk is usually accompanied by feelings of anger, frustration, humiliation, resentment, etc. and often leads to depression. These emotions allow the self-talk to penetrate the sub-conscious mind.
Repeating these sentiments over and over again tricks our mind to believe all those lies and making them into reality.Our mind is the fertile land which can grow whatever we sow into our reality.If we sow good seeds of fruit bearing trees we are rewarded by fruits.But if we allow weeds to grow they grow thorny trees.By this negative self-talk we are planting seeds of weeds all over our fertile land.And finally when harvest time arrives we again see we have nothing but thorns and repeat the vicious negative cycle.

Problem with us is, over the time we get comfortable with our thorns.We conveince ourselves that we are only capable of such a reward.We get comfortable with our poverty,stupidness etc.We never stop to think.We do not realize the worth of our mind.This is the pity.When we have the abundance hidden in us we compromise with our measly lives.We live and die thinking others got lucky in life.They were blessed with smartness while we were not.NO..It is not true.We should not do such a big harm to ourselves.

How can we choose nothingness when we are blessed with abundance? We cannot be our own enemy.So what is to be done? CHANGE OF THOUGHTS. But we dread change.Eventough we want a properous life we do not try to put in the effort required to shift to positive thoughts.Well, it is up to us to decide.If we want our lives to be happy and prosperous we need to make that effort.WE NEED TO STOP NEGATIVE TALKS ABOUT US and USE POSITIVE AFFIRMATIONS ON A DAILY BASIS.

Using positive affirmations regularly will commence the gradual process of the re-conditioning your sub-conscious mind.Weeding our garden will not be easy.We need lots of patience and persistance to do that.To gaurd against negative thoughts regularly needs a lots of focus and attention and a strong resolve to be positive.Once achieved it will shower us with so much abundance we could have never even dreamt about.
Saying positive affirmations such as: “I am rich…I have a healthy body…I am very successful” may seem crazy to someone who doesn’t understand mind dynamics. But even if your present circumstances do not support your positive affirmations, repeating positive affirmations forms an important role in conditioning your sub-conscious to produce the results you desire in your life.

Its not going to be easy- Saying "Iam Rich" when there is next to nothing in our bank account may not seem rational.But we should FAKE TILL ME MAKE it in our minds.Our mind has to believe our positive lies.
Claude Bristol, author of “The Magic of Believing” said,
“It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.”
Napoleon Hill in his ever famous classic "Think and Grow Rich" stresses this fact and dedicates one full chapter [4] for conditioning our brain to achieve what we want to be.He stresses that when we say those positive affirmations we should put all your earnest emotions to those words. Mere words of affirmations will not work. Just as anger and frustration go with negative affirmations to make it true, we need to add faith and a burning desire when we use positive affirmations when we try to change.Words mixed with emotions sure reach our subconcious mind real quickly and they start painting a fresh smart picture of us.Our fruit trees will grow soon and we will taste abundance soon.As long as we believe in it..

Titan- John D.Rockefeller's biography

2009-05-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

I first started reading the book Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.[the biography of John D.Rockefeller,the founder of standard oil and the world's first billionaire] looking for an answer as how few could become very very wealthy- what makes them deserve this uncomparable success.Just out of curiosity.I found all my answers there.The certain qualities emphasized by him can be used in any given era.We can easily compare his success to the Titans of today like Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.The author's thorough and objective study makes it very informative and extremely useful.
Titan by Ron Chernow is a must read for all of us intrested in improving ourselves.It is no ordinary biography.It lays out in detail how Rockfeller grew from very humble beginnings to unphanthomable heights of success in later life.It tells us even how he organized himself,how he motivated himself and what type of work ethics he followed.It is all about standing on your own two feet and making the most of what you have without anybody's help. All he had was a strong work ethic, a desire to learn and a sharp mind.That was his only investment.He achieved such a huge success all by himself.I complain so many times as to my background,my parents circumstances etc that had stopped me from reaching my big dreams.I used to say, if only my parents were rich enough i could have gone for some good universities and continued my studies.I used to complain of my financial position attributing to my circumstances.I used to complain about my knowledge level attributing to lack of time and so on..NEVER WILL I EVER DO THAT AGAIN.
Mind is were all the riches are made,It is where we decide whether we will be successful or not.Whether we will get what we want.This book showcases his strong will and decision to succeed.His rise and risk taking.His dedication to his dreams and finally his desire to serve the community.The intresting thing here is this book talks about his greatness in philanthropy and his ruthlessness in competition with the same tone.Making it all the more controversial.
No other book inspired me this much.I felt a sudden shot of tremendous energy.Felt like i could reach for all my dreams and make them into reality.I felt very powerful.If he could do it so can i. I have read many a biographies, but this one sank deeply into my mind leaving a very bright light of hope.

You may also like to read Lee Kuan Yew- Father of Singapore and Arnold Schwarzenegger- Mr.Infinite capabilities

Hope- Short poem

2009-05-02T04:18:00.000-07:00

Days of fun and
Days of woe,
all that makes our everyday.
times of test and
times of strength
all that makes our life as such.

when times are such
and going gets tough
hard u push and still r stuck
and the path is oh so rough
nothing helps but ur hope.

Days of gloom just do not last
pain will soon be lost in past.
keep that glowing hope upright
all thats bent will soon be straight.

Living up through stromy days
needs a heart with stronger pace
when pain and sorrow doom ur way
rays of hope will shine ur face
Sit there tight and let it pass
See even desert grows the grass
There's a time for everything
snowy nights and bright sunshine!

when health and wealth and
everything is lost
still u can make ur life to blast
Stick to ur hope and fight it back
until u lose hope,nothing is lost!
Hope and pray for goodtimes soon
and u search for ways to hone.
Hope is the dream of a waking man
Stick to your hope,am sure you can!

Please support this event

2009-04-29T02:15:00.000-07:00

I tried hard to write a poem against hunger and for hope-
after seeing that picture i couldnt write anymore.
It is the hand of an ugandan kid.

Blogcatalog has got bloggers writting for Hunger and hope today.Please support them at http://www.heifer.org/

Please find details of the event at http://www.bloggersunite.org/event/unite-for-hunger-and-hope

Plan for life

2009-04-27T18:03:00.000-07:00

There was a great business consultant.His main job was to convert sick companies into rich ones by devising strategies.A CEO of a very successful company read about him and to mock at him called him to his office.Challenged him,saying we are already number one lets see what advise can you give us.The consultant took the challenge.Sat there obsorbing the company's activies for a day.At the end of the day came to the CEO gave him a small piece of paper and left.In a month's time the CEO was all praise of the consultant as the company's profits just doubled.Eager to know what the consultant wrote on the small piece of paper??? "Plan for tommorrow's tasks at the end of each day".This is a much published true story.

We never proceed to build a house without a plan.Banks do not offer loans to entrepreneurs until they present a winning business plan.All manufacturing process,design process,software development process need plans before they are started.Why are plans important to all these processes?
There are many reasons.Few of them are
1) To limit failure
2) To stop drifting or losing focus
3) To get the desired results etc. It has been proven millions of times that processes that are planned and executed have better chances of success then the ones without plans.Now it is just rational to ask, how about the most important process called life? How many of us have any plans at all? Not many.He who fails to plan, plans to fail.Importance of planning our lives cannot be less emphasized.

All of us want to be successful in life.If it is true that success rates increase with a proper plan then why not we plan our lives? I am an excellent example for not planning anything.End result, It takes much time and effort to achieve the same things that others easily do with proper planning. I wasted a lot of time not deciding,postponing.Many are like me.We just drift along. The shortest and the fastest reachable route between two points is a straight line- Only if we know towards which point we are travelling.So when we travel we just take lots of long turns and arrive last.The early bird gets the worms.If we drift along we seldom reach anywhere first.Then we complain about bad luck and misfortune.But if we closely observe the lives of the achievers we can attribute their good furtune to their planning.They planned and prepared themselves for that opportunity and waited for it to happen.And when it eventually happened they made the most of it.It pays to plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

Ask anybody if they would love to go back in time.Everybody would love to. Many of us have something in our past that we could have done better.Such things happen to us because we keep drifting through life.We dont really think of what we want and how to plan for it.If only we had a plan with our dreams we could have done much better.we could have made better choices and our success would have been much better and less difficult.Most of us just go on from day to day doing whatever we had been doing the previous day.Seldom to stop to think what is our objective and how are we progressing towards it.We do not give importance to planning life as much as we give importance to so many other things.That is why whenever i look back in life i end up regretting for all the time wasted.For not aimming properly.For not planning my life.It is only this year that i decided i'll write down my plans.

Writting down our plans in the best way to show our commitment towards our dreams.I recommand we write down our plans and add time lines to them.All of us have big dreams.We all deserve to live our dreams.So why not we plan for the most important process called life.

You may also love to read Basics-of-success and keeping-up-our-cool

How to make your life happy?

2009-04-26T19:16:00.000-07:00

1.Have Targets and Goals.
2.Smile always.

3.Share the Happiness with Others.
4.Willing to Help Others.
5.Keep a Childlike Heart.
6.Get on Well with Different Kinds of People.
7.Keep Calm when Surprise comes.
8.Keep the sense of Humor.
9.Forgive Others.
10.Have some really good friends.
11.Always work in a team.
12.Enjoy the family gathering time.
13.BE confident and proud of yourself.
14.Respect the weak.
15.Indulge yourself sometimes.
16.Work from time to time.
17.Be brave and courageous.
18.Finally,don't be a money grubber.

Hope you Have a Very HAPPY and PEACEFUL Life.

This article is by my fellow blogger and good friend Vishal
You can enjoy more of Vishal's words at

Links:http://www.latent-aura.blogspot.com/
http://www.vishallive.net/
http://www.vishallive.net/2009/03/dont-be-afraid-of-tomorrow.html
http://www.vishallive.net/2009/03/you-are-powerful.html