Many a times this thought has hit my mind, whether we should lead our lives by strategy or instinct. I have always been left with comparison whether in Cricket Aussies are better or Srilankans (Indians play with neither of strategy nor an instinct.. which is a different part of the story all together !) Aussies play with a strategy while Srilankans with an instinct.Many times strategy wins and sometimes an instinct.
Strategy has all the ingredients like study, assessment, analysis, reviews, plan, execution, results ..etc., but some where it might lack the much needed emotion. You might play your game to that plan. You are actually designing your success story by creating a master plan and living up to that plan.
But instinct? It is a feeling, killer emotion on that day, at that time of the day. A minnows like BanglaDesh can buldoze stalwarts like Aussies on that day. Today Indian Cricket team might beat best of the best, but might succumb to Bangladesh tomorrow! Should we lead life like this? Can we afford to get carried away like this?
I believe , our lives and career need two different treatments. When you say life, live it with full enthu, full spirit. Career is a tool to lead a good life. You can say a best career is an advanced tool with state-of-the-art technologies! :).
With all these analysis, reviews and jargons, at the end I would like to conclude that, a succesful life needs a career with a well designed stragey,a plan, a determined approach and ofocurse a killer instinct to succeed.
And ofcourse a meaningful life needs that much needed enthu, taste and hope to enjoy every moment and get the best of life.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
The lady with million dreams...
I happened to meet a young lady one day, whom I was interviewing
for a position in my team. Let us not name this lady, simply call her “SHE”.
She works for one of the top IT companies in Bangalore. I went through her
profile and the details she had given in the employee information sheet. The
handwriting was not so great. Generally I hate people who casually scramble
something in such important forms. Same with this lady. I did not like her hand
writing.
I reluctantly took her to interview hall and started off with the interview along with my colleagues Amit and Sridhar in the panel. I began with some simple questions. She answered quite well. Her profile was really impressive. She was a state level rank holder at SSLC and had a good consistent academic record till her graduation.
We then turned into technical round, she could answer well in whatever she had worked so far. Unfortunately she had not worked on the technologies that we were looking for. Otherwise she did pretty well in the discussion.
She was a good looking, dignified lady, very good with her attitude and communication skills. Very honest and straight forward in her responses, I could see that she had all the skills one would expect from a typical IT professional. The enthusiasm, inquisitiveness to know and learn new things was quite visible in her conversation. The lady was covering her arms with a matching duppatta for her dress.
I reluctantly took her to interview hall and started off with the interview along with my colleagues Amit and Sridhar in the panel. I began with some simple questions. She answered quite well. Her profile was really impressive. She was a state level rank holder at SSLC and had a good consistent academic record till her graduation.
We then turned into technical round, she could answer well in whatever she had worked so far. Unfortunately she had not worked on the technologies that we were looking for. Otherwise she did pretty well in the discussion.
She was a good looking, dignified lady, very good with her attitude and communication skills. Very honest and straight forward in her responses, I could see that she had all the skills one would expect from a typical IT professional. The enthusiasm, inquisitiveness to know and learn new things was quite visible in her conversation. The lady was covering her arms with a matching duppatta for her dress.
But one thing that really looked strange for me was that she was
always using her left hand to explain something or write. I wondered for a
while, but then thought "Oh this girl must be a left hander like our
Sachin Tendulkar and GOD gifted in some way!". I was slowly going through
her profile when Amit and Sridhar were taking her through Technical round.
At one point in her profile, I was shocked to see that she was physically challenged! You know what was the reason?
She was a normal person like any of us till she finished her graduation. Just at the time of completion of her degree, she had met up with an accident and her right arm was totally amputated! And that is what she was trying cover up so far! My GOD, I was really stunned, though I did not show it up on my face.
Life is so strange and cruel..! GOD sometimes gives everything to you in life and ditches or rather tests you to the core at some times. She just did not have one complete hand! A bright career of an extremely talented student was just cut short and handicapped in that accident.
But I when went through other details in her profile, I liked the way she has come up in life after that. It is worth a million appreciations. She completed her graduation and then got selected in this top IT Company. She is married and has a son. I can see that she has to struggle twice as much we do in everything she does. I don’t know how she manages her key board, heavy work load and still performs with one single hand that too left one! She is recognized as one of the top performing employees for the current year. I hope and believe there are no other issues in her life to struggle.
Whatever it may be, but certainly this lady certainly left a mark on me that day. Her fighting spirit, her positive outlook towards life, her attitude, everything made me think about the way we approach our lives. She was as confident as any other person in the discussion. I had no words for her grit , determination and strong will to succeed in life at any cost. I was speechless.
At one point in her profile, I was shocked to see that she was physically challenged! You know what was the reason?
She was a normal person like any of us till she finished her graduation. Just at the time of completion of her degree, she had met up with an accident and her right arm was totally amputated! And that is what she was trying cover up so far! My GOD, I was really stunned, though I did not show it up on my face.
Life is so strange and cruel..! GOD sometimes gives everything to you in life and ditches or rather tests you to the core at some times. She just did not have one complete hand! A bright career of an extremely talented student was just cut short and handicapped in that accident.
But I when went through other details in her profile, I liked the way she has come up in life after that. It is worth a million appreciations. She completed her graduation and then got selected in this top IT Company. She is married and has a son. I can see that she has to struggle twice as much we do in everything she does. I don’t know how she manages her key board, heavy work load and still performs with one single hand that too left one! She is recognized as one of the top performing employees for the current year. I hope and believe there are no other issues in her life to struggle.
Whatever it may be, but certainly this lady certainly left a mark on me that day. Her fighting spirit, her positive outlook towards life, her attitude, everything made me think about the way we approach our lives. She was as confident as any other person in the discussion. I had no words for her grit , determination and strong will to succeed in life at any cost. I was speechless.
Sometimes we get so worried with our little issues in life. But
people like “SHE” are the real source of inspiration when we are down with
challenges and problems in life. She made me think, pause a while and take a
different perspective on my own life.
The lady with millions of dreams in her eyes had written in the hobbies column as " cooking and playing with my son."
I just told myself " Hats off you great lady! "
Friday, September 14, 2007
Tips for Niagara trip
Hope the following notes I compiled would help you.
Hotel Stay:
Book Hotels for one night stay well in advance.
You can either stay near to Niagara Falls or away at about 50-100 miles depending on your convenience.
Second night stay is optional to you based with how much time you spend at each attractions.
Roughly if you start at 11AM, you should be able to cover all attractions in 6-8 Hrs.
Maid of the mist and Caves of the winds will be open till 11-30PM in night.
Other attractions close at 7PM. Dont forget to see the night view which is open till 12AM (midnight).
Tickets :
Preferably plan to reach the Niagara Visitors Center at about 10-11AM where you will purchase Tickets ($28 for adults and $21 for Kids) to see all the attractions.
These tickets are valid for 6 months. You can cover remaining attractions on next day also. Plan your time well.
There are tickets from other private agencies also which are costly and time constrained. (Approx. 65$ for 4 Hrrs trip)
Do not go for them.
List of Major Attractions:
Ø Cave of the Winds (2 Hrs)
Ø Maid of the Mist (2 Hrs)
Ø Adventure Theater (1 Hrs)
Ø Observation Tower (1 Hrs)
Ø Night Vision (1 Hrs)
Ø Niagara Scenic Trolley (1 Hrs)
Ø Discovery Center (1 Hrs)
Ø Aquarium of Niagara (1 Hrs)
Other Notes:
Ø Lots of Indian restaurants are available. Really no issues on food!
Ø Take sufficient warm clothing for yourself and kids in particular.
Ø When you go Maid of the mist and Caves of the winds, it will be very cold out there. However sufficient rest rooms are available every where. Nothing to worry.
Ø Follow all the safety measures while taking snaps.
Ø Do not leave your children unattended.
Gates' Rules
Recently I got this mail forwarded from one of my friends.I felt these rules are quite invaluable.
-Arun
Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school . He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
-Arun
Bill Gates recently gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school . He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1 : Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
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