engage beyond range..

connected is old, attention is new!

[ click to enlarge | MS Powerpoint ]

This is my version of www.soilmag.com

in this age of conversations,

ATTENTION

is becoming a scarce resource!

it's all about

#people

#relationships

#social exchange

being on facebook + twitter + linkedin doesn't mean

you are connected

you are connected when you

add value⁺ and engage*

As I write this poem,

There's a feeling deep within, so gladsome,

On this birth day of yours Mom,

Another great year of yours I welcome!

Things have been great with me,

And I know, they'll always be,

For that you are there somewhere Mom,

To love, serve & care Thy had sent Thee!

I do miss the great times together,

Your presence alone, would make things better,

I remember all the lessons you taught me Mom,

I shall keep them with me now and forever!

I feel so blessed with all I've got,

To comfort me, you gave away your lot,

How did you do it all Mom,

Doing it, is way harder than I'd thought!

On this birthday I have nothing to give,

But with a lot of contentment in heart I live,

Life is not as short as we think it is Mom,

Sooner than later shall we all together live!!

A very very happy birthday dearestest Mom! <3

If you want to lose weight for once and for all.
If you want to lose weight without putting in much.
If you want to lose weight & make others too lose some without doing anything at all.
If you want to join the league of 5 Million experts.

> Smoke!

And if you want to get rid of Smoking, continue smokin, cancer will help you once and for all!

The challenge was to come up with a poster which a Kirana Store should be putting up to retain it's customers, fighting the new local competitor coming up, a Mall.

source: www.maheshkukreja.com

These days I am trying to answer a question on Quora.com daily. Today, I came across a question on blogging & I was really surprised by the answer I wrote. It was so inline with the answer itself (1. the answer was an action learning activity in itself and 2. I wrote it as if I was recording it and no one is ever going to read it); thence, I had to bring it on the blog.

Quora Question: How does blogging work, and how influential can it be?

My take on the question:

There are 2 perspectives to everything - internal and external. For me, blogging is a way to maintain my 'Internal Locus of Control'. So, that's the context of my answer to your question.

For me it's a great Introspection Tool, it's an Action Learning Activity in itself. How > when you are to write, you are forced to recall the entire event, person, characteristics, circumstance, product or subject about which you'll be blogging. So, you actually get to look at the whole thing again, with patience and get to ask Questions to yourself. Silently when you ask questions to yourself, you tend to 'Coach' yourself; which is a significant potential every human being has, but since we don't get to practice it often, we fail to utilize this potential well.

Blogging can be a beautiful companion (as good as Books are) if you can ask great questions and are authentic towards answering them genuinely.

The ideal way to blog is > to record things & as you write you should eliminate the feeling that someone-someday will be reading it. When you achieve this 'state', you'll then write what you feel & think, you'll be surprised by the real-you!! Unlike, on a social site, wherein you write what people want to read and perceive about you, which generally is the fake/another side of yours, which for me is a Fraud.

I really am not a good sales person, so I am not sure how you can use it to influence others; but yes! Your ideas, concepts & rituals can reach out to many out there - and benefit them. And you can always create a Virtual Organization of Great Consequences.

Happy Blogging!

We usually slip into the comfortable feeling that we are at Peace*. Just because there are no breaking-news about across border infiltration or any geographic mishap, we assume that we are all doing well & that the Nation is at Peace. Just because we are not being dragged into an uncomfortable situation, we feel we are all at peace. But, somehow, somewhere out there, things aren't the same.

Well, it feels peaceful now. But to paraphrase the great Anonymous: The wise man learns from other people's mistakes. The sensible man doesn't make the same mistake twice. And the fool fails to learn from his own mistakes. History (and being in the Eternal City makes one more than usually conscious of the past) affords thousands of examples of the folly of falling into complacency when a threat seems to have temporarily abated.

Yes! we have been intentionally committing mistakes, No! not mistakes > crimes! You may disagree that you didn't do a crime, but letting one happen in front of your eyes & failing to confront the same is a Crime too. We are all friends in making our Nation an unhappy one, silently, gradually, since so long.

Why the question 'why me?', why not the question 'why us?' Peace can never be an objective of an Individual alone, but of everyone, it needs to be a part of a sustainable cycle. We have been fooling ourselves by repeatedly telling our brains that happiness & peace are just states of human mind. But, then why should some of us suffer the consequences of the acts of the ones who are rejoicing. It's wrong!

It's time that we understand & get ourselves apprised of the reality, encounter it face to face & make Peace a belonging of not just the mankind, but the ecosystem, of which we are a fraction of.

Peace* is everyone's birthright!

by Hersh Sharma | at Tsuglagkhang Temple, McLeod Ganj

you may-not get what you want | but you may get what you need

At times, I ask myself "what keeps you up & running? And that you usually like to stay energized & enthusiastic about everything which comes your way!".

So, here is an attempt to answer the question and I'll try converting the formula into simple possible words, I hope it helps:

a. convert your big stuff into smaller parts

this not only makes things look small & easy to accomplish, but also gives you substantial opportunities to celebrate the success at every step.

b. multitask but don't loose the grip

it may so happen that you are into a situation wherein you'r expected to manage multiple things and you may not be good at it, so what do you do? > you continue to give all you have and imagine of the 'Great Times!' you'll get to see post your task's completion. And may what come > don't let your grip on each task go low.

c. work like a puppet, think like a master

just keep on delivering > don't think what the results would be, don't think about what you'll get out of what you are doing, don't imagine what people will say about your way of working > at the end of the day they all will remember what you have delivered and not how it has been delivered. Do the things your way | and JUST be cautious that your decisions shouldn't hurt or harm anyone.

d. listen. write. breathe.

listen to all the free advices, suggestions, recommendations, comments and listen carefully & wholeheartedly, everyone speaks for others welfare, conduct may vary.

write what you have to do > that will help you align ideas with what you have to execute, and checklist should be the first thing in your checklist.

breathe when you feel stuck, breathe deep-n-slow, recall all you have listen to & read the written.

e. if you can't, no one else can

you don't have to be overconfident about your skills & potential, but you should keep telling yourself that you are the best at what lies in front of you and that you should > you must > you alone are capable of bringing justice to it. YOU are the PACEMAKER!

and.. the rest will roll > all by itself > believe me!

The relevancy of the photograph & title may appear to be 'nil' to you, but when I look at it, I am reminded of Meeting of Minds | 2011 and Inspired Leadership Conference | 2011.

And when I think of these Flagship Events of School of Inspired Leadership I am reminded of my selfish objectives of getting involved in these events - my Learning Plan's Action Points.

In my first draft of the Action Learning Plan I had mentioned the 2 of my Areas of Improvement:

> Habit of taking the back seat when I see someone more experienced in the team.

> Discomfort in delegation.

These events in particular happen to be the platforms wherein I could fight, practice & overcome my areas of improvements. That is certainly a personal assessment of the progress I have made in this regard, time will reveal the real improvement made. The objectives were concrete & so was the time taken & effort towards achieving them; and had it been my workplace, I think with an experience of 2.5yrs - I wouldn't have got a chance to experiment and explore my potential in these directions.

The idea is that one should be greedy about getting areas of improvements fixed, one should be ready to snatch & grab opportunities of improvements, who knows what event of life evolves as one of the turning points of your life. Live, Work & Play as if it was last day of your life & that you still have a lot to give before you hit your bed!

...miles to go before I sleep!

to the Youth of my Nation.

   I know my words may fail to explain,
   but deep within I have hopes & pain!
   By this poem, I would try to express,
   my motive is to present & not impress.

5 Everyone thinks the Youth is Use Less,
   it's time to prove that we’re used-less!
   We are awakened & have a clear focus,
   together shall we break this baseless locus.

   We are energetic, powerful & smart,
10 it's high time that we play our part!
   We own our Nation & it’s problems too,
   together shall we come & get it all through.

   Gone is the time to look up & pray,
   we need to care, serve, help; starting today!
15 We’re future & our nation is in our need,
   together shall we come & sign this deed.

   We, the generation of movies, spas & facebook,
   should also consider giving our nation a new look!
   We’ve to work selflessly & remove the strange,
   together shall we bring the lovely change.

20 Start sharing & giving the gifts from above,
   these are simple things like time & love.
   Let’s fight out terrorism & corruption,
   together shall we make India a better Nation!

5 Pillars | source > idealprogrammer.com

The 5 Pillars of SOIL and what do they mean to me

We learn keenly, we lead courageously, we live ETHICALLY.

And we work towards becoming an ethical & responsible citizen.

We learn with curiosity, we lead with magnanimity, we live with DIVERSITY.

And diversity brings in what no other culture can, the clout of creativity.

We learn with passion, we lead with COMPASSION, we live with ambition.

And our ambition is to make our country a better nation.

We learn MINDFULLY, we lead thoughtfully, we live peacefully.

And peace comes as we care & love unconditionally.

We SUSTAIN what we learn, we follow what we lead, we give as we live.

And giving is true having, we may not have what we want > but we do have what we need.

Friend : Amit, there will be another event in the making and will be on speech.
Amit : Cool, that is nice. I will participate for sure.
Friend : Sorry Buddy, you can't. You got a chance in the last event.
Amit : Okay, so the rest will be getting a chance, that is nice.
Friend : Yeah, and I wish that we get more people participating this time.
Amit : Oh! hmmm..right, I don't know when people can talk all day long, why do they pull themselves away when it comes to making a speech. Anyway, see you at college then!

And as soon as the phone returned on the table, this thought came to my mind > what would have had I done, if I couldn't talk at all. Really, just imagine what would you do if you loose your speech, how will you say even the simplest of all things, complex stuff would be another story. How will you ask a person sitting next to you to pass you a glass of water?

I at times fail to understand, why do we have to wait for the moments where we are made to realize what the little things mean to us. Why do we take certain things for granted - everytime? Why do we have to lose a thing to feel the worth of it? And same goes for speech.

And now someone may ask that I can talk so I do that very well, so where is the problem?

Well, that is the problem, we don't utilize the powers vested in us. If we continue to do something, we feel we are using it well, but it is not the same everytime. There is a thin line between using a thing and utilizing the thing. And that each one of us should strive to put our talents, gifts, skills, powers to the best of our ability & capacity.

I know, this post may not make much sense to the reader, but then I just felt like recording my thoughts in a pattern as if I wanted to tell someone something, whom I think has a good voice & carries positive thoughts, but refrains from speaking. And in-fact, like among all living-beings, only human-beings can offer a prayer, I feel speech is the other thing which tops the same list. Doesn't it?

> Feel the power of speech >

express yourself. thoughts. ideas. blessings.

You say you want to help the poor,

You say you want to get food to the hungry,

You say you want to get home to the homeless,

You say you want to bring warmth to the bare bodies..

You say, say & say..but how many times could you do anything??

Well, it’s time to walk the talk > it’s time to stop saying and start giving!!

I can’t just study till late at night,

It usually comes to me as a fight.

The longer I try to stay up right,

The more I feel being bit by a blight!

The book appears a heavy rock,

And I know it’s all just a mental block.

The longer I try to stay up by the clock,

The later will my ship hit the college’s dock!

To study, peaceful night is a good time,

And so I plan of drafting this interesting rhyme.

The longer I try to stay up is going to get me a fine,

For that tomorrow I’ll fail reaching school by nine!

As summer gets going, nights get longer,

How to adapt to it, is all I sit and ponder.

The longer I try to stay up making myself stronger,

I figured out the best is to find a gossip monger!

Today as I strive in touching the midnight mark,

I wanna see how nights are darker than the dark.

The longer I try to stay up (today) like a hungry shark,

I quietly listen to myself, since there’s none I could hark!

Staying up all night is gonna be a big pain,

Coz for me, there is much to lose than to gain.

The longer I try to stay up is making me lame,

So I’d rather sleep now, but I’ll be back > in this game!! :P

Dad - Anant

A very very happy Dad's Day Dad!!

Dad - Amit

Cherishing all those golden, interesting, enlivening and ennobling moments we've had this long.. and looking forward for more similar occasions and events... may they come sooner...