A 'living' guide...

We learn lessons in everyday life from everyone we come across in life. Although few seem to be impractical and hard to apply, sometimes we do follow and sometimes we don't, depending on our comfort zone. Some of them written here are framed by me and few others were from experts in different walks of life...I read, learnt, experienced and found the essence of it.

1. Katradhu Kaiman alavu kalladhadhu ulagaluvu - There is never an end to learning
2. When you don't realize a mistake as a mistake, you will never get a chance to correct it
3. If one door closes, another one opens
4. You can never force anyone to love you. It has to come within
5. Never ask or advise anyone to do something that you wouldn't do
6. In your career, think yourself as a CEO of your project. You will never fail to deliver since the loss is accountable to you
7. Make a self decision on anything. If it goes wrong, you are completely responsible for it. You wont have anyone to blame and you will learn a lot from it. If it goes right, you will be the most happiest person for doing so..
8. If you listen to people who praise you, you should listen to people who criticize you as well patiently, in the same way as you do for the praise you get
9. Never hurt anyone intentionally
10. If you have a misunderstanding with any relationship in your life, stopping to talk is not the solution. If that's the case, no relationship can thrive in this world
11. If you like to do something which is not dependent on anyone, go for it. Never go with the opinion of the mass of people. It's you who is going to get satisfaction out of it
12. Don't rely on a 'give & take' policy in life. You'll fail miserably sometimes. If you feel like giving, do it but do not expect something back
13. If any failure comes to you, don't fret. Failure teaches more lessons than Success
14. Being responsive is a key to connectivity. If you don't respond, be it email, a phone call or anything, you need to realise that it's going to hit you back sometimes when you expect someone to be responsive to you
15. What you sow is what you reap. If you follow this, you will never do a wrong thing in life

The 'Bourne' identity

It's a coincidence that on women's day, I am going to write about two women who inspired me in the recent days. Although they are known celebrities, there are few things that transcended me in terms of inspiration. During those college days, I used to read about Indra Nooyi in newpapers and that led me to read more about her and that's how I got inspired and became a member in her fan club in Orkut :) After that, the chances of getting inspired by a woman was less in my case. But now, I got two women added to that category - Anu Haasan and Chinmayi Sripada.

Anu Haasan - Apart from watching 'Indra' from a movie buff perspective, I did not watch any of the other performances by Anu until KWA reached me. I simply loved the way Anu hosts it and the questions that come from her without any thinking. Apart from those high glam and high accented gals who anchor shows (mostly in Music channels) and those who give boring interviews, KWA was an elixir. Straight from the heart is what Anu speaks, is my thought. An alumni of BITS Pilani, a MBA grad, an anchor, a producer, an actress, basketball player, a globetrotter, a singer, head of an outsourcing concern, owner of Squash'd, a scuba diver, a bunjee jumper and an entrepreneur - Can a woman hold these many roles in life? Although she may not be involved in each of the above terminological activity everyday, it still looks looming on the agenda...And the quote from Anu that I loved - 'There's no third party in one's success. We got to plan and execute'

Chinmayi Sripada - I am an avid reader of Chinmayi's blog which you can see from my blogroll lists. Being a versatile singer is one great thing but to Chinmayi's list, it's not the only thing that she does. She blogs; She anchors TV shows; She is the host of Aaha Kaapi club; She is a classical dancer; She's a dubbing artist; She owns a language translating company; She's a philatelist; She collects coins and spoons; - All these things in one package. Can a woman hold these many roles in life? Well, it looks like an 'yes' in Chinmayi's life.

I have seen people who crib about life and say that they don't have enough time to do things. Either they are lazy or they think those are unwanted things. To me, people who have contradicted that and proved that's wrong have emanated successfully. Well, Chinmayi and Anu are on the latter list and yes, they inspire me for one simple reason - Holding too many things and executing each one effectively which is a very tough task.

'One that rocks the cradle rules the world' - This jus came to my mind :)

P.S.: All these facts on Chinmayi and Anu are collected from those that I have seen or read.

ET

Got this pic from a friend and loved the words and the way it has been written. When I read the first few lines of the ad, the entrepreneurial dreams stuck me and as I always enjoy dreaming, this did not stand different.

Courtesy: The Economic Times

Thanks to FT!!!

I subscribed for Frozen thoughts for a whole year and my first issue for June had to reach me during mid of June. It came as expected but just the cover and there was no book inside :( I called the FT office in Chennai and enquired about that. The guy who spoke was so considerate and assured me that he would get me another copy soon. I was not sure whether he would do as he said but still had this in mind 'If he does not send me in another 15-20 days, I'll cancel the subscription' and thanked him for his response and hung up.

I forgot this whole episode and to my surprise, I got the June edition after 4 days I spoke to FT team. I would thank FT for their prompt response and this is what will keep them going. Thanks FT!

And I did read the 'Unposted letter' which is my favourite section in FT. Part of my positive thinking and to rise amid disappointments has been imbibed through reading FT for months. It's a great source of inspiration to me. I am going to give my feedback to FT for their Boomerang section and my long term idea is to write a column for FT but not sure how feasible it is, though :)

For those who do not know about this magazine, visit
www.frozenthoughts.com

Three cheers to FT!

Start-up...

I was reading this 'What inspires people to startup?' and suddenly this flashed my mind - 'What inspires me to startup?' Literally speaking, I dont have a startup but I would like to... It's my dream...My pathway to Success!...That's my wish, my hope for future and what not? Easier said than done :) I remember watching the KWA show in VijayTV where the music legend ARR talked about his dream of making an Orchaestrial Symphony and that inspired him to start his conservatory. It took him 8 years to implement this idea.

Actually speaking, it is not easy to set a startup. Everyone knows that. It requires years of toil and passion, plethora of ideas, capital, resources etc., On the other day, I was talking to one of my friends when he quoted about his group of friends who have a small startup and what they do in business. As always, I had the same question - "When they are devoid of ideas after their startup goes fine for few years, what will they do? It's nervecracking when I think about it...". But got an answer from him that it's not like the way I think. When you start and move forward, you will always have various areas of improvement and enhancement that keeps you going. Maybe, he's true.

It's fascinating to hear people's success stories but at the same time it's a great learning too...For some of them, entrepreneurship is dream, to some - it's money, to some - it's ideas, to some - it's that passion in that area that percolated their minds, to some - it's an outer world from the 8/5 monotonous job....If you ask, to me what it is? It's a blend of all these above :))

There are not much people in India who would like to give it a shot. People are afraid of taking risks but want to savor the taste of success...But if there is someone who could give me support and motivation, it would be a great asset to me...Wat say???

Mr. Inspirer!

Junk the job, idlis are tastier - IIM grad shuns rat race, follows in mother's footsteps - There was a headline in 'The Telegraph' during April 2006. Got a forwarded email from a friend few days back about this Entrepreneur, the Inspirer...

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 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 in an Anganvadi 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. He had no personal ambition but wanted to buy a house and a car for his mother. He has bought a car but is yet to buy a house for his mother. 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.

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