Every Problem is a Challenge that has a Learning

• A problem is an opportunity to Learn
• A Problem is an opportunity to Un-Learn and Re-Learn
• A Problem is an opportunity to re-affirm your beliefs
• A problem is an opportunity to explore your creativity and try different ways to solve it
• A problem is an opportunity to take you to the next level
• A problem is an opportunity to apply your ideas
• A problem is a challenge that will help you train your brain
• A problem is an opportunity to influence others doing the right thing
   
   

Courtesy - Allposters.com

• When you don't have a problem, What are you going to Learn ?
• Everyone has the certain set of problems/challenges to deal with. Our Ability to successfully deal with it is the mastery and art of learning!!!
• Don't stick yourself to assumptions, supersitions when you have the ability to think and conquer!!!

"Whether you believe you can or you can't, you are right!"
Every Problem is an Opportunity

Improving on Interpersonal Skills

Yep. More we learn about ourselves we also need to understand others. Read an interesting article in link. Below lines mentioned are very good and important I felt.

• "Listen twice as much as you speak"
• "Actions Speak Louder than Words"
• "Schedule in time to reflect.."
• Start asking yourself questions such as

   “what am I doing?”
   “what am I doing this for?”
    “what do I want to be doing?”
    “will I achieve that by what I am currently doing?”

 

One important message i felt to share from below HBR tips I received - Understand your own motives. Do you really want to help your colleague get better? Or are you looking for an opportunity to point out his annoying faults? Hold your tongue unless you have good intentions

 

Innovation strategy: How to ask effective questions

Excellent Open ended questions from the Post

• "In what ways might we make this product even better?"
• “I see your sales are low this month, what do you think is causing the problem and what can we do to solve it?"
• "In what ways might we...?" or "How could we...?" or "What new...might...?"

More Open ended Questions from link

• "That sounds interesting. Can you tell me more?"
• "What excites you the most about this idea?"
• "What is the essence of your idea - the core principle?"
• "How do you imagine your idea will benefit others?"
• "In what ways does your idea fit with our strategic vision?"
• "What information do you still need?"
• "Who are your likely collaborators?"
• "Is there anything similar to your idea on the market?
• "What support do you need from me?"
• "What is your next step?"

Be an Active Listener

Few notable lines from link The Art of Active Listening
Open-Ended Questions helps to understand, listen, probe to understand the problem.

“Bringing in this new CAD system was the worst mistake we’ve ever made!”
Open-ended question response: “What makes you say that?”

“I think we’ll have problems changing to 12-hour shifts”.

Open-ended response:
“Tell me what your concerns are”.
"What do you think we should do".
"What are specific issues you would like to list down in this project"
"What are available options at this point"

"What do you think about available options at this point"

Other useful tips

• Maintaining eye contact
• Leaning slightly forward
• Allowing pauses
• Nodding
• Sending brief verbal messages (umm-humm, oh I see…).

Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is a brief rephrasing of information provided by the speaker. It provides the restatement of the essence of the information in your own words.

Further Reading
Active Listening - TRAINING ACTIVITY
Active Listening and Reflective Responses
How To Listen

Communication

View more presentations from Ghaidaa Naguib.

Inquisitive Quotes

Came across the link, Bunch of interesting quotes from the link

"If you want to prosper for a year, grow rice. If you want to prosper for a decade, plant trees. If you want to prosper for a century, grow people."

"The one who says "it cannot be done" should not interrupt the one doing it."

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

"Pretend that every single person you meet has a sign around his or her neck that says, 'Make me feel important.' Not only will you succeed in sales, you will succeed in life." - Mary Kay Ash 1918-2001, Founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

"Whether you believe you can or you can't, you are right!"

Yep, very powerful note from book "Zen and the Art of Happiness". Good reads from the book.


Power of mind influences our thoughts and to make any two of us see the same thing differently. A famous zen story about two monks looking at a Flag. One monk observed that flag is moving. The other disagreed and said it was the wind that was moving. Sixth patriarch on hearng the argument said "Not the wind, not the flag, mind is moving".

 

One more excellent story to read Is That So?

• Public criticism is a means for those who do not know themselves well. But for well self-understanding people, it means nothing
• People saying something does not make it true...Knowing yourself is the most important thing 

Happy reading!!!

 

Notable Quotes

• "Change your thoughts and you change your world" – Norman Vincent Peale
• "Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step" – Martin Luther King, Jr.
• "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up" – Thomas Alva Edison
• “Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt. Dance like nobody is watching" – Mark Twain
• "Dream as if you'll live forever…live as if you'll die today" – James Dean
• "If you focus on results, you will never change. If you focus on change, you will get results" – Jack Dixon
• "Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right" – Henry Ford
• "It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop" – Confucius
• "Optimist: Person who travels on nothing from nowhere to happiness" - Mark Twain
• "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." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
• "It's not what happens to you that determines how far you will go in life ;it is how you handle what happens to you" -Zig Ziglar
• "Any fact facing us is not as important as our attitude toward it, for that determines our success or failure. The way you thing about a fact may defeat you before you ever do anything about it. You are overcome by the fact because you think you are" -Norman Vincent Peale
• "The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind" -Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
• "To different minds, the same world is a hell, and a heaven" -Ralph Waldo Emerson
• "If you believe you can, you probably can. If you believe you won't, you most assuredly won't. Belief is the ignition switch that gets you off the launching pad" -Denis Waitley
• “Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it" -Lou Holtz
• "Attitude is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than what people do or say. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill" Charles Swindoll
• "You cannot tailor make the situations in life, but you can tailor make the attitudes to fit those situations before they arise" -Zig Ziglar
• "It's not the situation. . . . It's your reaction to the situation"? -Robert Conklin
• "You are as young as your faith, as old as your doubt, as young as your self-confidence, as old as your fear, as young as your hope, as old as your despair" -Paul H. Duhn
• "Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude towards us" -Earl Nightingale
• "Feeling happy and feeling good is a choice that we make.."

Inspirational Quotes from Allposters.com

Quotes

“I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wings, and only character endures.” ~ Horace Greeley

"Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference" -Winston Churchill

"Our attitude toward life determines life's attitude towards us" -Earl Nightingale

"He who asks is a fool for five minutes. But he who does not ask remains a fool forever."-Confucius

"Reputation is the shadow. Character is the tree." -Abraham Lincoln

Think about it

I am not as lucky as others -
"A paper flying in air is due to luck…… But, a bird flying in air is its effort. So, be a bird and struggle with hurdles to become successful person.."
 
How can I become more optimistic -
"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything they have..."
 
How to get better in your life -
"I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday" — Eleanor Roosevelt 

Who is happy -
"Feeling happy and feeling good is a choice that we make.."
 
Do you need to bother about criticism -
"Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway." — Eleanor Roosevelt

Money can make your happy ?
"Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory" - Albert Schweitzer
 
I want to be best ?
"There is no need of any competition with anybody. You are yourself, and as you are, you are perfectly good. Accept yourself." - Osho
 
Can I start my work anytime in my day or only during specific time of day
"There's never a wrong time to do the right thing.."

What is Fate -
"You will find meaning in life only if you create it.
It is not lying there somewhere behind the bushes,
so you can go and you search a little bit and find it.
It is not there like a rock that you will find.
It is a poetry to be composed,
it is a song to be sung,
it is a dance to be danced". - Osho

"You cannot walk on a way made by others for you. You have to walk, and make your road by walking.."-Osho

Success is elusive -
"He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life..." - Muhammad Ali

Quotes

Good List of Osho Quotes

"The real seeker of truth never seeks truth. On the contrary, he tries to clean himself of all that is untrue, inauthentic, insincere - and when his heart is ready, purified, the guest comes. You cannot find the guest, you cannot go after him. He comes to you; you just have to be prepared. You have to be in a right attitude". - Osho

"You will find meaning in life only if you create it.
It is not lying there somewhere behind the bushes,
so you can go and you search a little bit and find it.
It is not there like a rock that you will find.
It is a poetry to be composed,
it is a song to be sung,
it is a dance to be danced". - Osho

"There is no need of any competition with anybody. You are yourself, and as you are, you are perfectly good. Accept yourself." - Osho

Good Quotes
"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts." — Marcus Aurelius

"Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast – you also miss the sense of where you are going and why." - Eddie Cantor

Five Ways to Become Happier Today

Five Ways to Become Happier Today



Happiness: The Opiate of the People?



Write It Down: My Best Career Advice

Good Videos

RSA Animate - Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us

Quotes and Pics

Good Life

“The Good Life” is living in the place you belong, with the people you love, doing the right work, on purpose.”

• Have a positive, can do attitude
• Plan, plan, and plan again
• Keep up to date on your subject
• Manage your time
• Be pro-active

 “There are no secrets to success: don’t waste time looking for them. Success is the result of perfection, hard work, learning from failure, loyalty to those for whom you work, and persistence.” - Colin Powell

Quotes & Pics

Uniqueness and surprises

I remember the saying 'Life is about creating yourself not finding yourself'. Couple of interesting lines I found worth quoting here..

Every man is so unique that he cannot be equal to anybody else. The rose is perfectly beautiful being a rose; the lotus is perfectly beautiful being a lotus. You cannot walk on a way made by others for you. You have to create the road by walking: just as you walk, you create the road. (Source- OSHO, Words from a man of no words!)

Life is basically insecure and there lies the beauty of life. If you choose security in life you are choosing death. Learn to see and enjoy the scenary of both success and failure that are nothing but the peaks and valleys of life. (Source - Celebrating Life and Death Swami Sukhabodhananda)

Happy Reading!!

How to Interpret What People Say

Here is an interesting story from "Celebrating Success and Failure" by Swami Sukhabodhananda

Abraham Lincoln was a shoemaker's son. When he became president, he was teased by saying don't forget that you are shoemaker's son. To which he replied, 'I am proud of my father who was a creative shoemaker. He made such good shoes that no one complained. In respect his creativity. In case you have a problem with your shoes that my father made, I will repair them with honour'.

We have no control of what people talk but we certainly have control of how we interpret what people say.

Each person you meet should enrich you, and not crush you. Best of Luck.

Save Earth - Creative AD (Nice Fwd Email)

Law of the Garbage Truck

One more good story I got in my mailbox today
Law of the Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport.
We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.
My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.
My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.
So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!'
This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally.

Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,

so ... Love the people who treat you right. Pray for the ones who don't. Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it!

Trek to Chandekani Pass

This year i signed up for HEAT - Himalayan Environment & Adventure Trek (http://www.holidaymoods.net/heat.php). I did spend upto 25K for it. I am going to summarize the whole experience in this post.

Assumption - I have been to all tourist places thru car/bus and took some pics and returned. I never used to walk. I was under this assumption this would be a fun trip with 20-30% walk......Actually It is other way around....I had walked upto 50 Kms in 7 days i believe.....Ya I did finally :).....

Day1 - From Hyderabad to Delhi  by Flight

Day1 - Delhi to Manali by Bus. Roads are narrow, Lot of hair pin bends but volvo goes at maximum speed like driving in a plain....Sitting in the last row window seat I got scared couple of times..I could only take the below pic during the journey to Manali.

Day2 - On Reaching Patlikul village we went to our base camp. Rest in the camp and climbed a few meters (45mins walk) to see below river...

 

Day3 - Walked for 14kms for the day to visit jana falls. Way was hilly, plateau, villages, roads...It was good but I was tired already on my onward journey. Posting some nature pics during this trip

Day4 - Actually trek started today, This was the toughest day in my life. It was 7 kms. Carrying luggage on my back, hot sun, hilly area, rocks, uphill walk i was exhausted...I was also not feeling well due to stomach ache.....Some nature pics are captured below..We did witness rain with little ice cubes..

Day5 - Trek from Camp1 to Camp2. This was pretty easy compared to previous day experience. Some pics enroute posted below

Day 6 - This is the day where I saw snow, snow strom, Rain, Got wet almost 90%...Reaching Chanderkhani pass is the destination for the day. It was total 6 kms. When we reached the summit it started raining heavily and snow started filling our way. Our guide kudos to his execution and ability. He asked us to walk back asap to protect us from rain and keep our temperature warm by walking towards camp2.

Day 7 - Its all return journey from CAMP2 to Base Camp via Camp III. Covered 7 kms in one stretch. It took close to 6 hours. Captured below are some pics of the route.

Day 8 - We visited rotang pass in manali. First time in my life I witnessed vehicles overtaking at hairpin bends in Ghat road. Our driver was riding Chevrolet as F1 machine. The roads are very narrow but drivers showed no fear driving through it. Posting couple of pics

Day 9 - Shopping and back to delhi. Here are pics captured in delhi

Learnings from the Trek

• Life is far more comfortable before the trip. Trip made me recognize the comfortable life I am living
• Nature is too good, Good air, Weather enjoyed every bit of it for 1 week
• Hope I lost little weight
• Cold is tough for me to sustain, I am far better in chennai humidity climate than Zero degree temperature
• If you ask me if I am ready to take another trip...I might say 'May be' not 'Sure'....

Tips for Success

1. Learn from Others
2. Help others succeed
3. Knowledge is followed by money. Focus on knowledge money will automatically come
4. Get guidance from your mentor
5. Keep someone expert in a particular technology as your mentor
6. Work, Work, Work, Never Give up..