Value

A little boy went to his old grandpa and asked, "What's the value of life?". The grandpa gave him one stone and said, "Find out the value of this stone, but don't sell it."

The boy took the stone to an Orange Seller and asked him what its cost would be. The Orange Seller saw the shiny stone and said, "You can take 12 oranges and give me the stone. "The boy apologized and said that the grandpa has asked him not to sell it.

He went ahead and found a vegetable seller. "What could be the value of this stone?" he asked the vegetable seller. The seller saw the shiny stone and said, "Take one sack of potatoes and give me the stone. "The boy again apologized and said he can't sell it.

He then went into a jewelry shop and asked the value of the stone. The jeweler saw the stone under a lens and said, "I'll give you 1 million for this stone." When the boy shook his head, the jeweler said, "Alright, alright, take 2,  24 Karat Gold necklaces, but give me the stone. "The boy explained that he can't sell the stone.

Further ahead, the boy saw a precious stone's shop and asked the seller the value of this stone. When the precious stone's seller saw the big ruby, he lay down a red cloth and put the ruby on it. Then he walked in circles around the ruby and bent down and touched his head in front of the ruby. "From where did you bring this priceless ruby from?" he asked. "Even if I sell the whole world, and my life, I won't be able to purchase this priceless stone."

Stunned and confused, the boy returned to the grandpa and told him what had happened. "Now tell me what is the value of life, grandpa?" Grandpa said, "The answers you got from the Orange Seller, the Vegetable Seller, the Jeweler & the Precious Stone's Seller explain the value of our life. You may be a precious stone, even priceless, but, people will value you based on their financial status, their level of information, their belief in you, their motive behind entertaining you, their ambition, and their risk taking ability. But don't fear, you will surely find someone who will recognize your true value."

Respect Yourself. Don't Sell Yourself Cheap. You are Rare, Unique, Original and no one can replace YOU. 

One Step at a time!!

There was a man taking a morning walk in a beach. He saw that along with the morning tide came hundreds of starfish and when the tide receded, they were left behind and with the morning sun rays. The man thought that  they would die. The tide was fresh and the starfishes were alive. The man took a few steps, picked one and threw it into the water. He did that repeatedly. 

Right behind him there was another person who couldn't understand what this man was doing. He asked, "What are you doing? There are hundreds of starfish. 

How many can you help? What difference does it make?" This man did not reply-he took two more steps, picked up another one, threw it into the water, and said, "It makes a difference to this one."

They say that one of the most common reasons we procrastinate is because we see the challenge before us as overwhelming, and that a good way to counter that is to break the big challenge down into smaller pieces and then take those one at a time–like one starfish at a time.  And to that one starfish, it can make a world of difference.

A single, ordinary person still can make a difference – and single, ordinary people are doing precisely that every day.”

The Cookie Thief

A woman was waiting at an airport one night, with several long hours before her flight. She hunted for a book in the airport shops, bought a bag of cookies and found a place to sit.

While she was engrossed in her book ,a man sitting beside her grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between, which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.

So she munched the cookies and watched the clock, as the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock. She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by, thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his eye.”

With each cookie she took, he took one too, when only one was left, she wondered what he would do. With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh, he took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other, she snatched it from him and thought… ooh, brother. This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude, why he didn’t even show any gratitude!

She had never known when she had been so galled, and sighed with relief when her flight was called. 
She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate, refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.

She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat, then she sought her book, which was almost complete. As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise, there was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned in despair, the others belonged to him and he tried to share. Too late to apologize, she realized with grief, that she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

When you jump to conclusions you often skip over the truth and sometimes it is too late to make amends…….

Stay Strong !!

A man was an avid Gardener. He saw a small butterfly laying few eggs in one of the pots in his garden. Since that day he kept looking at the eggs with ever growing curiosity and eagerness. 

One day, an egg started to move and shake a little. He was excited to see a new life coming up right in front of his eyes. He spent hours watching the egg. The egg started to expand and develop cracks. A tiny head and antennae started to come out slowly. The man's excitement knew no bounds and he got his magnifying glasses  and sat to watch the life and body of a pupa coming out. He saw the struggle of the tender pupa and couldn't resist his urge to help. He went and got a tender forceps to help the egg break, a nip here and there, to help the struggling life. The pupa was out and the man felt ecstatic! 

Though he waited each day for the pupa to grow and fly like a beautiful butterfly, that never happened .The larvae pupa had an over-sized head and kept crawling along in the pot for 4 weeks and then died! 

Depressed, the man went to his botanist friend and asked for the reason. 
The botanist told him that, the struggle to break out of the egg helps the larvae to send blood to its wings and the  push helps the head to remain small so that the tender wings can support it through its 4 weeks of life cycle. In his eagerness to help the pupa, the man had destroyed a beautiful life! 

Struggle helps us all in our lives. It is that effort we put in to overcome difficulties in life, that actually builds us .

Peace !

Once a master was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and the master told one of his disciples “I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there.” 

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water and, right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, “How can I give this muddy water to my master to drink!” So he came back and told , “The water in there is very muddy. I don’t think it is fit to drink.”
After about half an hour, the Master asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to the Master. 

The Master looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, “See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be ... and the mud settled down on its own, and you got clear water! 

Your mind is also like that. When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don’t have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless.”

Having 'peace of mind' is not a strenuous job; it is an effortless process. Just give your mind some time to settle down and there will be peace within soon. When there is peace inside you, it permeates to the outside.

Call for greater Strength

A young boy and his father were walking along a forest path. At some point, they came across a large tree branch on the ground in front of them.

The boy asked his father, “If I try, do you think I could move that branch?” His father replied, “I am sure you can, if you use all your strength.”

The boy tried his best to lift or push the branch, but he was not strong enough and he couldn’t move it.

He said, with disappointment, “You were wrong, dad. I can’t move it.”“Try again,” replied his father.

Again, the boy tried hard to push the branch. He struggled but it did not move. “Dad, I cannot do it,” said the boy.

Finally his father said, “Son, I advised you to use all your strength. You didn’t.“You didn’t ask for my help.”

Our real strength lies not in independence, but in interdependence. No individual person has all the strengths, all the resources and all the stamina required for the complete blossoming of their vision. That requires the inspired collaboration of many like-hearted beings. To ask for help and support when we need it is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of wisdom. It is a wise call for the greater strength that lives in our togetherness.

Acres of Diamonds!!

There was a farmer in Africa who was happy and content. One day a wise man came to him and told him about the glory of diamonds and the power that goes along with them. The wise man said, “If you had a diamond the size of your thumb, you could have your own city. If you had a diamond the size of your fist, you could probably own your own country.” And then he went away. That night the farmer couldn’t sleep. He was unhappy and he was discontent. 

The next morning he made arrangements to sell off his farm and went in search of diamonds. He looked all over Africa and couldn’t find any. He looked all through Europe and couldn’t find any. When he got to Spain, he was emotionally, physically and financially broke. He got so disheartened that he threw himself into the Barcelona River and committed suicide.

Back home, the person who had bought his farm was watering the camels at a stream that ran through the farm.
Across the stream, the rays of the morning sun hit a stone and made it sparkle like a rainbow. He thought it would look good on the mantle piece. He picked up the stone and put it in the living room. That afternoon the wise man came and saw the stone sparkling. He asked, “Is the farmer back?” The new owner said, “No, why do you ask?” The wise man said, “Because that is a diamond. I recognize one when I see one” .The man said, no, that’s just a stone I picked up from the stream. Come, I’ll show you. There are many more. They found that the farm was indeed covered with acres and acres of diamonds.

Each of us is, at this very moment is standing in the middle of our own acres of diamonds. If we had only had the wisdom and patience to intelligently and effectively explore the work in which we’re now engaged, to explore ourselves, we would most likely find the riches we seek. We fail to recognize the wealth in our own backyard and we end up walking over untold riches every day!!

Tomatoes !!!

A teacher asked her students to bring some tomatoes in a plastic bag to school. Each tomato was to be given the name of a person whom that child hates. So, the number of tomatoes would be equal to the number of persons they hate. 

On a pre-determined day, All the children brought their tomatoes well addressed. Some had two, some had three and some had five, some even had 20 tomatoes in accordance with the number of people they hated. 

The teacher then told them they had to carry the tomatoes with them everywhere they go for two weeks. 

As the days passed the children started to complain about the decay and smell of the tomatoes. The students who had many tomatoes complained it was very heavy to carry and the smell was too much.

After a week, the teacher asked the students “How did you feel this week?” The children complained of the awful smell and heavy weight of the tomatoes, especially those who carried several tomatoes. 

The teacher said, “This is very similar to what you carry in your heart when you don’t like some people. Hatred makes the heart unhealthy and you carry that hatred everywhere. If you can’t bear the smell of spoilt tomatoes for a week, imagine the impact of bitterness on your heart as you carry it daily.” 

The heart is a beautiful garden that needs regular cleaning of unwanted weeds.  Forgive those who have angered you. This makes room for storing good things.

Get Better, Not Bitter!!!

🍅🍅🍅

Let's not Judge!

A 24 year old boy and his old aged father were travelling in a train. There was a newlywed couple travelling with him in their compartment. Ten minutes after the onset of journey , looking out from the train’s window the 24 year shouted…

“Dad, look the trees are going behind!”

Dad smiled and the young couple sitting nearby, looked at the 24 year Old’s childish behavior with pity, suddenly he again exclaimed…

“Dad, look the clouds are running with us!”

The Old man smiled at his son again and nodded in affirmation .

The couple couldn’t resist and whispered to the old man…“Why don’t you take your son to a good doctor?

”The old man smiled and said…“I did and we are just coming from the hospital, my son was blind from birth, he just got his eyes last week. For those beautiful things he missed in his childhood due to his blindness,  let him hold on to his views for a while “ 

Looks are always deceptive. Every single person on the planet has a story. Don’t judge people before you truly know them. The truth might surprise you !!!

The tale of Two Pebbles

Many years ago in a small Indian village, a farmer had the misfortune of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer’s beautiful daughter. So he proposed a bargain. He said he would forgo the farmer’s debt if he could marry his daughter.

Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the proposal. So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would have to pick one pebble from the bag.

If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father’s debt would be forgiven. If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father’s debt would still be forgiven. If she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer’s field. As they talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick a pebble from the bag.

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

“Oh, how clumsy of me!” she said. “But never mind, if you look into the bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I picked.”

The moneylender dared not admit his dishonesty and the girl walked with pride relieving her father off his debt. The girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into an extremely advantageous one.

Most Problems have Solutions. We just need to Think differently. 

ॐ (OM) उच्चारण के 11 शारीरिक लाभ

ॐ : ओउम् तीन अक्षरों से बना है।
अ उ म् ।
"अ" का अर्थ है उत्पन्न होना,
"उ" का तात्पर्य है उठना, उड़ना अर्थात् विकास,
"म" का मतलब है मौन हो जाना अर्थात् "ब्रह्मलीन" हो जाना।
ॐ सम्पूर्ण ब्रह्माण्ड की उत्पत्ति और पूरी सृष्टि का द्योतक है।
ॐ का उच्चारण शारीरिक लाभ प्रदान करता है।
जानीए
ॐ कैसे है स्वास्थ्यवर्द्धक और अपनाएं आरोग्य के लिए ॐ के उच्चारण का मार्ग...

● उच्चारण की विधि

प्रातः उठकर पवित्र होकर ओंकार ध्वनि का उच्चारण करें। ॐ का उच्चारण पद्मासन, अर्धपद्मासन, सुखासन, वज्रासन में बैठकर कर सकते हैं। इसका उच्चारण 5, 7, 10, 21 बार अपने समयानुसार कर सकते हैं। ॐ जोर से बोल सकते हैं, धीरे-धीरे बोल सकते हैं। ॐ जप माला से भी कर सकते हैं।

01)  ॐ और थायराॅयडः

ॐ का उच्चारण करने से गले में कंपन पैदा होती है जो थायरायड ग्रंथि पर सकारात्मक प्रभाव डालता है।

02)  *ॐ और घबराहटः-
अगर आपको घबराहट या अधीरता होती है तो ॐ के उच्चारण से उत्तम कुछ भी नहीं।

03) *..ॐ और तनावः-
यह शरीर के विषैले तत्त्वों को दूर करता है, अर्थात तनाव के कारण पैदा होने वाले द्रव्यों पर नियंत्रण करता है।

04)  *ॐ और खून का प्रवाहः-
यह हृदय और ख़ून के प्रवाह को संतुलित रखता है।

5)  ॐ और पाचनः-

ॐ के उच्चारण से पाचन शक्ति तेज़ होती है।

06)  ॐ लाए स्फूर्तिः-
इससे शरीर में फिर से युवावस्था वाली स्फूर्ति का संचार होता है।

07)  ॐ और थकान:-
थकान से बचाने के लिए इससे उत्तम उपाय कुछ और नहीं।

08) .ॐ और नींदः-
नींद न आने की समस्या इससे कुछ ही समय में दूर हो जाती है। रात को सोते समय नींद आने तक मन में इसको करने से निश्चिंत नींद आएगी।

09) .ॐ और फेफड़े:-
कुछ विशेष प्राणायाम के साथ इसे करने से फेफड़ों में मज़बूती आती है।

10)  ॐ और रीढ़ की हड्डी:-
ॐ के पहले शब्द का उच्चारण करने से कंपन पैदा होती है। इन कंपन से रीढ़ की हड्डी प्रभावित होती है और इसकी क्षमता बढ़ जाती है।

11)  ॐ दूर करे तनावः-
ॐ का उच्चारण करने से पूरा शरीर तनाव-रहित हो जाता है।

आशा है आप अब कुछ समय जरुर ॐ का उच्चारण करेंगे । साथ ही साथ इसे उन लोगों तक भी जरूर पहुंचायेगे जिनकी आपको फिक्र है ।
अपना ख्याल रखिये, खुश रहें

Sharpening your Axe

Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant and he got it. The pay was really good and so was the work condition. For those reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do his best.

His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he supposed to work.

The first day, the woodcutter brought 18 trees.

“Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that way!”

Very motivated by the boss words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he could only bring 10 trees. Day after day he was bringing less and less trees.

“I must be losing my strength”, the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.

“When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” the boss asked.

“Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been very busy trying to cut trees…”

We sometimes get so busy with our work that we don’t take time to sharpen the “axe”. In today’s world, it seems that everyone is busier than ever, but we should make time to sharpen ourselves , our skills so that our hard work and efforts become fruitful.

The right approach

It once happened, on a certain day, a bull and a pheasant were grazing on the field. The bull was grazing on the grass, the pheasant was picking ticks off the bull; they are partners, you know?

Then the pheasant looked at a huge tree which was at the edge of the field, and very nostalgically said, "Alas, there was a time when I could fly to the top most branch of the tree, but today I do not have the strength even to fly to the first branch of the tree"

The bull very nonchalantly said, "That's no problem! Eat a little bit of my dung every day, you will see, within a fortnight's time you will reach the top of the tree."

The pheasant said, "Oh, come off it! How is that possible?"

The bull replied, "Really, please try and see. The whole humanity is on it, you could try, too."

Very hesitantly, the pheasant started pecking at the dung, and on the very first day it reached the first branch of the tree. In a fortnight's time, it reached the topmost branch of the tree. After all it required just  the strength to make up his mind, to climb the tree and the bull did the trick. The Pheasant just went and sat on the topmost branch and just enjoyed the scenery. The old farmer saw a fat old pheasant on the top of the tree. He took out his shotgun and shot him off the tree. 

Any trick can get you to the top, but never lets you stay there. It requires unprecedented efforts to get to the top but clarity and the right approach alone can help you stay there.

Share what you have

One man bought a beautiful house with an orchard. Nearby an envious man lived in the old house. He was constantly trying to ruin the mood of his new neighbor: he threw garbage under his gates and made other nasty things.

One day the man woke up in a good mood, went out onto the porch and saw a bucket of slops there. The man took this bucket, poured out the slops, cleaned a bucket, put the most ripe and delicious apples there and went to his neighbor. The neighbor heard a knock at the door and gleefully thought: “Finally I got it!”

He opened the door expecting for a quarrel. However the man gave him a bucket of apples saying:

The one who is rich with something, shares it with others!!

Dining in the Dark

I was invited to one Friday evening event by one of a MNC Vendor organization who had organized the event to raise funds for the visually handicapped people in a center for blind people.

As usual, since it was a Friday evening, I first thought to skip the event considering it could be a bit boring and rather spend the evening relaxing by some other means.

But being alone and sometimes finding it difficult to kill time, I thought to accept the invitation and registered online for booking. Moreover it was free :) which was another motivation to go to the event. I was looking at the event to pass some time meet few people and nothing else.

When I went there, there were approx 40 people from various industries invited for that event. I found some Indians and naturally talked to them about how life is in Singapore etc etc.
Initially we were shown a video about the visually handicapped center. What are their activities, how are they helping blind people in Singapore to leave more fulfilling life, etc. It was a short 15 minute video and quite inspiring that how people from different walks of life spend time in helping these blind people without expecting anything in return. They shared the satisfaction and fulfillment they get by helping them.

After the video, we all were gathered in a hall and were briefed about next event. The theme of the next event was "Dining in the Dark". And this is the event which turned out to be inspiring and worth sharing.

What is meant was that we all 40+ people were going to have Dinner in a pitch Dark room !!!! The next 2 hours were completely planned, organized , directed and executed by three blind youths. One was a girl (Leader) and other two boys were assistant to her forming a team of three blind volunteers.

The blind leader first gave us tips for dining (These were actual standards the blind people follow in order to make their life easier)

1, When you sit at your table the things will be placed as follows : at 3 o clock of your dish : You will find a spoon. at 9 o clock : Fork;     12 o clock : spoon.      2 o clock : Empty Glass. Dish at the center with Paper napkin tucked at 6 o clock.

2. There will be two large Jugs circulated to you. The Jug with plain walls will have water and the Jug with curved wall will have orange juice.

3. When you get your Jug based on your choice you have to pour it in your glass. You have to dip your forefinger in the glass so that when you fill it and the liquid touches your finger, you have to stop pouring.

She asked whether everyone has understood. All said yes but everyone was confused and trying to remember what she said and confirming with each other. Next 1 1/2 hours we spent were full of fun and learning. In completely pitch dark room where we could not see ANYTHING we were enjoying various delicious food without seeing it.

We all 40 people were taken in groups in the dark hall. Each one was directed by blind person till he/she sits on a chair (We were finding it awkward because actually we are supposed to guide blind people to their destination and help them).

We were Served full five course dinner by this team of three blind people - welcome drinks, appetizers, starters, main course and desserts. The amazing thing was that the team of three blind people were serving exactly vegetarian dishes to vegetarian people who were sitting randomly in the room!

While registering online we were asked question to choose from "Vegetarian" or "Non vegetarian". I chose Vegetarian. We were so nicely hosted that we did not had to wait in between serves. As we were ending finishing one dish, we were served with the next without any delays.

After approx. 1and half hours of Dining in the dark, the leader asked whether everyone has finished eating. After confirmation she switched on the lights of the dining room. We left the Dining room with tears in our eyes.

We realized how lucky we are and how we have been gifted with beautiful eyes to see the beautiful world. We realized how difficult lives of blind people are (and other handicapped) without being able to see. We realized how uncomfortable we were for just two hours without being able to see anything and how they must be living their lives. We realized how unfortunate we are , that we do not value such simple things in life we have and cry (sometimes louder, sometimes within ourselves) and run after what we don't have for whole of our lives without having time to adore for the things we have.

Be cheerful. Adore whatever you have in life. You may try for whatever you don’t have but never feel sad about it.

How to become a better person

Do not wash your linen in public. It is a huge turn-off.

Do not cross line in any relationship. Your respect is in your hands.

Do not open up too much with anyone. You certainly lose your charm. Keep a certain mystery element that draws them to you.

Talk about good and positive things. Do not bitch. Your positivism and enthusiasm is certainly going to attract people to you.

Talk and walk confidently. Be engaging. Everyone would want to listen to you.

Be good at what you do, or at least be good in one thing that can help you start a great conversation. Be knowledgeable.

Do not crib or complain or give excuses. These are the things every other person will do. 

Try to stand out from the crowd.

Presence of mind and a great sense of humour is another feather on your cap.

Wear a smile! For the whole world stops and stares awhile.

Some inspiring words....

Don’t take rest after your first victory because if you fail in second, more lips are waiting to say that your first victory was just luck.

All Birds find shelter during a rain. But Eagle avoids rain by flying above the Clouds.

Failure will never overtake me if my definition to succeed is strong enough.

Man needs difficulties in life because they are necessary to enjoy the success.

If you want to shine like a sun. First burn like a sun.

It is very easy to defeat someone, but it is very hard to win someone.

All of us do not have equal talent. But , all of us have an equal opportunity to develop our talents.

Be more dedicated to making solid achievements than in running after swift but synthetic happiness.

Thinking should become your capital asset, no matter whatever ups and downs you come across in your life.

Without your involvement you can't succeed. With your involvement you can't fail.

60 things we should do

1. Exercise daily. 
2. Get serious about gratitude. 
3. See your work as a craft. 
4. Expect the best and prepare for the worst. 
5. Keep a journal. 
6. Read “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin”. 
7. Plan a schedule for your week. 
8. Know the 5 highest priorities of your life. 
9. Say no to distractions. 
10. Drink a lot of water. 
11. Improve your work every single day. 
12. Get a mentor. 
13. Hire a coach. 
14. Get up at 5 am each day. 
15. Eat less food. 
16. Find more heroes. 
17. Be a hero to someone. 
18. Smile at strangers. 
19. Be the most ethical person you know. 
20. Don’t settle for anything less than excellence. 
21. Savor life’s simplest pleasures. 
22. Save 10% of your income each month. 
23. Spend time at art galleries. 
24. Walk in the woods. 
25. Write thank you letters to those who’ve helped you. 
26. Forgive those who’ve wronged you. 
27. Remember that leadership is about influence and impact, not title and accolades. 
28. Create unforgettable moments with those you love. 
29. Have 5 great friends. 
30. Become stunningly polite. 
31. Unplug your TV. 
32. Sell your TV. 
33. Read daily.
34. Avoid the news. 
35. Be content with what you have. 
36. Pursue your dreams. 
37. Be authentic. 
38. Be passionate. 
39. Say sorry when you know you should. 
40. Never miss a moment to celebrate another. 
41. Have a vision for your life. 
42. Know your strengths. 
43. Focus your mind on the good versus the lack. 
44. Be patient. 
45. Don’t give up. 
46. Clean up your messes. 
47. Use impeccable words. 
48. Travel more. 
49. Read “As You Think”. 
50. Honor your parents. 
51. Tip taxi drivers well. 
52. Be a great teammate. 
53. Give no energy to critics. 
54. Spend time in the mountains.
55. Know your top 5 values. 
56. Shift from being busy to achieving results. 
57. Innovate and iterate. 
58. Speak less. Listen more. 
59. Be the best person you know. 
60. Make your life matter.

Our Value

A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “who would like this $20 bill?”.  Hands started going up.

He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.” 
He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up. He then asked, “Who still wants it?” Still the hands were up in the air.

“Well” he replied, “what if we do this?” And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it on the floor with his shoe. He picked it up now, all crumpled and dirty, “now who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.

“My friends you all have learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.”

Many a times in our life, we are dropped, crumbled and grounded into the dirt by the decisions we make or the circumstances that come our way.

We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special, don’t ever forget it!

Family

A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away. As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, “I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars.”

The man smiled and said, “Come on in with me. I’ll buy you a rose.” He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother’s flowers. As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, “Yes, please! You can take me to my mother.” She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave.

The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother’s house.

Life is Short.  Spend much time as you can loving and caring people who love you. Enjoy each moment with them before it’s too late.  There is nothing important than family.

Conquering your fears

One cowardly person came to a master of martial arts and asked to teach him bravery. The master looked at him and said, I will teach you only with one condition: one month you will have to live in a big city and tell every person that you meet on your way that you are a coward. You will have to say it loudly, openly and looking straight into the person’s eyes.

The person got really sad, because this task seemed very scary to him. For a couple of days he was very sad and thoughtful, but to live with his cowardice was so unbearable that he travelled to the city to accomplish his mission.

At first, when meeting the passers, he quailed, lost his speech and couldn’t contact anyone. But he needed to finish the master’s task, so he began to overcome himself. When he came up to his first passer to tell about his cowardice, it seemed to him that he would die from fear. But his voice sounded louder and more confident with every passing day. Suddenly came a moment, when the man caught himself thinking that he’s not scared anymore, and the further he continued doing the master’s task, the more convinced he was that the fear was abandoning him. That way a month had passed. 

The person came back to the master, bowed to him and said: Thank you, teacher. I finished your task. Now I’m not afraid anymore. But how did you know that this strange task will help me?

The master replied”  The thing is that cowardice is only a habit. And by doing the things that scare us, we can destroy the stereotypes and come to a conclusion that you came to. And now you know that bravery – is also a habit. And if you want to make bravery a part of yourself- you need to move forward into the fear. Then the fear will go away, and bravery will take its place!!

Growing Deep and Strong

One day, my mother and I were working together in the garden where we were transplanting plants for the third time. Grown from seed in a small container, the plants had been transferred to a larger container; then transplanted into the garden. Now, because I was moving, we were transplanting them once again.

Inexperienced as a gardener, I turned to my green-thumbed mother. “Isn’t this bad for them?” I asked, as we dug them up and shook the dirt from the roots. “Won’t it hurt these plants, being uprooted and transplanted so many times?”

“Oh” my mother replied. “Transplanting doesn’t hurt them. In fact, it’s good for the ones that survive. That’s how their roots grow strong. Their roots will grow deep, and they will make strong plants”.

Often, I’ve felt like those small plants – uprooted and turned upside. Sometimes I’ve endured the change willingly, sometimes reluctantly, but usually my reaction has been a combination.

Won’t this be hard on me? I ask. Wouldn’t things be better if things remained the same? That’s when I remember my mother’s words: That’s how the roots grow deep and strong.

Attitude Matters!

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife enjoying his extended family. He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by. 

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. He worked in the most distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best of his actual capability… It was an unfortunate way to end his career. When the carpenter finished his work and the builder came to inspect the house, the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. 

“This is your house,” he said, “my gift to you.” 

Every day , we look at the situation we are in and don’t realize that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently.

Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today!!

Confidence & Hard work

There was an old mule. One day accidentally he fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer has evaluated the situation and thought to himself, that neither the well nor the old mule was worth the efforts to save them. Thus he decided to haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well.

So the farmer called his neighbors and together they started to shovel dirt into the well. The old mule was terrified and hysterical in the beginning. But soon one hopeful idea came to his mind – every time when a shovel of dirt landed on his back, he would shake it off and step up!

He repeated these words to himself again and again: “Shake it off and step up“. This way he could struggle the panic and encourage himself. After some time, the mule had stepped over the well‘s wall. Although terribly tired, he was the winner, he saved his own life. He decided to face his adversity positively and not to give up, and thus he won.

What seems to bury you, actually can save you , with confidence and restless efforts

Smile

Once a group of 50 people was attending a seminar. Suddenly the speaker stopped and started giving each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write his/her name on it using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room.

Now these delegates were let in that room and asked to find the balloon which had their name written, within 5 minutes. Everyone was frantically searching for their name, pushing, colliding with each other, and there was utter chaos. At the end of 5 minutes, no one could find their own balloon.

Now each one was asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloon.

The speaker began: This is exactly happening in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is. Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness, you will get your own happiness. And this is the purpose of human life.

Peace

Once the peaceful inhabitants from the Earth asked one very powerful wizard to stop all wars and bloodshed on the planet.

“It is simple”, he said, “I will destroy all weapons on the Earth, and nobody will be able to fight more.”

“It would be fine!”, people exclaimed.

The magic wand’s wave, and this was done. There was a peace on the planet for three days, while the majority of those who were prone to fight, sought and could not find a weapon. 

And when they under-stood they’ve lost it forever, they contrived spears of young trees, and started to fight again.

When the wizard heard such bad news, he said: “Do not worry. I will destroy all young trees, and these bullies will not be able to fight“.

After two or three days of fruitless searching for young trees, suitable for making spears, rebellious people started to cut giant trees, make batons from them, and the bloodshed has started again. The Wizard destroyed all big trees. 

Then humans made knives and swords of metal. He destroyed all metal on the planet. People made sling and began to throw stones at each other. It was necessary to destroy the stones, too. 

And then the peacekeepers sounded the alarm: “All trees have disappeared; there is no metal and stones. How to live, what to eat now? There will be no vegetation soon, and people will die without even fighting. No, this is a wrong solution of the problem.”

The Wizard became confused: “I do not know how to behave now. I would have destroyed all humanity, but, unfortunately, it is not in my power!”

Peacekeepers fell into despair; they did not know what to do. And then one clever kid turned to the Wizard:

“I know what you should do. Let people feel, how others perceive their actions. If one person hurt someone, let him to feel the same pain, and if he brings joy to someone, let him to feel the same joy. So no one will hurt each other, because he will feel pain immediately, too, and would have to stop.”

All people were inspired with the greatness of the kid’s thought, and the wizard embodied his idea exactly. He returned all trees, stones and metals, and even weapons that people had remade.

Since that day, no one on the planet tried to hurt others, because he would have to feel the same pain, too. People began to help each other, because they liked the sense of joy they felt at this moment. And they began to live in harmony and joy.

The Ant and The Large Leaf

One Sunday morning, a wealthy man sat in his balcony enjoying sunshine and his coffee when a little ant caught his eye which was going from one side to the other side of the balcony carrying a big leaf several times more than its size. The man watched it for more than an hour. He saw that the ant faced many impediments during its journey, paused, took a diversion and then continued towards destination.

At one point the tiny creature came across a crack in the floor. It paused for a little while, analyzed and then laid the huge leaf over the crack, walked over the leaf, picked the leaf on the other side then continued its journey.

The man was captivated by the cleverness of the ant, one of God’s tiniest creatures. The incident left the man in awe and forced him to contemplate over the miracle of Creation. It showed the greatness of the Creator. In front of his eyes there was this tiny creature of God, lacking in size yet equipped with a brain to analyze, contemplate, reason, explore, discover and overcome. Along with all these capabilities, the man also noticed that this tiny creature shared some human shortcomings.

The man saw about an hour later the creature had reached its destination – a tiny hole in the floor which was entrance to its underground dwelling. And it was at this point that the ant’s shortcoming that it shared with the man was revealed. How could the ant carry into the tiny hole the large leaf that it had managed to carefully bring to the destination? It simply couldn’t!

So the tiny creature, after all the painstaking and hard work and exercising great skills, overcoming all the difficulties along the way, just left behind the large leaf and went home empty-handed.
The ant had not thought about the end before it began its challenging journey and in the end the large leaf was nothing more than a burden to it. The creature had no option, but to leave it behind to reach its destination. The man learned a great lesson that day.

Isn’t that the truth about our lives?

We worry about our family, we worry about our job, we worry about how to earn more money, we worry about where we should live – 5 bedroom or 6 bedroom house, what kind of vehicle to buy – a Mercedes or BMW or a Porsche, what kind of dresses to wear, all sorts of things, only to abandon all these things when we reach our destination – The Grave. We don’t realize in our life’s journey that these are just burdens that we are carrying with utmost care and fear of losing them, only to find that at the end they are useless and we can’t take them with us.

Few useful life lessons

Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

When in doubt, just take the next small step.

Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

Make peace with your past so it won't mess up the present.

Don't compare your life to others.  You have no idea what their journey is all about.

Take a deep breath every now and then. It calms the mind.

Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

It's never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else.

When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy clothes. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

Always choose life.

Forgive others and yourself.

What other people think of you is none of your business.

Time heals almost everything. Give time a little time.

However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

Believe in miracles.

God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

Growing old beats the alternative of dying young.

Your children get only one childhood.

All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

Envy is waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you need.

The best is yet to come...

No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

Everyone likes excitement. When people bubble with personal energy, others enjoy being around them. Business firms like to hire a staff that brings zest to the establishment. 

Some national restaurant chains, for example, train their staff to form an impromptu ensemble and sing "Happy Birthday: or "Happy Anniversary" to their customers on special occasions. It produces more than noise. People keep coming back. 

One restaurant, knowing how people respond to excitement, devised a special plan. When a customer ordered a steak dinner, the chef placed the meal on a hot steel plate. Then, just before the waiter left the kitchen, he would drop an ice cube on the platter. 

The waiter was instructed, "Walk slowly to the table. We want everyone to hear the sound of that hot platter." It wasn't the steak that was sizzling, but the ice. 

The plan worked like instant advertising. If customers were in the process of ordering, they'd hear that sound and choose a steak. The sizzle produced the sale. 

Today, think creatively. Ask yourself, "How can I add some excitement to what I plan to deliver?" 

Be Thankful

Once there was a man who liked to eat mangoes. One day he decided to get the sweetest mango available, from the very top of the tree. Mangoes which are exposed to the sun the most are the sweetest.

So he climbed up to the top, where the branches were thin. He managed to pick up a few sweet reddish fruits, but, in an attempt to climb down, he slipped and started falling towards the ground. Fortunately, he caught the branch as he was falling and remained helplessly hanging on the tree. Then he started to call nearby villagers for help. They immediately came with a ladder and sticks, but could do little to help him.

Then after some time one calm and thoughtful person arrived – a well-known sage who lived in a simple hut nearby. People were very curious to see what he would do, as he was famous in solving many people’s problems in the area and sometimes very complicated ones.

He was silent for a minute and then picked up a stone and threw it at the hanging man.

Everybody was surprised. The hanging mango lover started to shout:
“What are you doing?! Are you crazy? Do you want me to break my neck?” The sage was silent. Then he took another stone and threw it at the man. The man was furious: “If I could just come down, I would show you.! ”

That’s what everybody wanted. That he came down. But how? Now everybody was tense, as to what would happen next! Some wanted to chastise the sage, but they didn’t. The sage picked another stone and threw it again at the man, even more forcefully. Now the man on the tree was enraged and developed a great determination to come down and take revenge.

He then used all his skill and strength and somehow reached the branches which were safe to start going down. And he made it! Everybody was amazed.

“Where is the sage?!” – exclaimed the rescued man. “Oh, he is a wise man. So he didn’t wait for you to beat him,”- said the villagers. “I will really smash him completely!” “Hey, wait a minute. He is the only one who helped you. He is the one who provoked you, who induced you to help yourself.”

The mango freak stopped for a second, thought for a moment and admitted: “Yes, all your good intentions and compassion didn’t help me. But he expertly induced me to give my best and save myself. I should be thankful and not angry.”

Self Confidence

A Business executive was deep in debt and could not see any way out. Creditors and Suppliers were demanding payments. He sat in the park, wondering if anything could save his company from bankruptcy.

Suddenly an old man appeared before him and asked, "I can see that something is troubling you seriously". After listening to the executive the old man said, "I believe I can help you".
He asked the man his name, wrote out a cheque and put it into his hands saying, "Take this money, meet me here exactly one year from today and you can pay me back at that time". Then he turned and disappeared as quickly as he had come. 

The business executive saw in his hands a cheque for $500,000 signed by Warren Buffet, one of the richest men in the world. "I can erase my worries instantly" he realized. But instead, the executive decided to put the uncashed cheque in his safe knowing that it might give him the strength to work out to save his business and to use this only in case of dire emergency. With changed thinking he negotiated better deals, restructured his business and worked rigorously with full zeal and enthusiasm and got several big deals.

Within few months, he was out of debt and started making money once again. Exactly one year later he returned to the park with the uncashed cheque. As agreed, the old man appeared. But just as he was about to hand him back the cheque and share his success story, a nurse came running up and grabbed the old man.

"I’m so glad I caught him" she cried. "I hope he hasn’t been bothering you much. He always escapes from the mental hospital and tells people that he is Warren Buffet", saying this she took the old man away.

The surprised executive just stood there, stunned! All year long he had been dealing thinking that he had half a million dollars behind him.

Its not the money, real or imagined that turns our life around. It is our self-confidence that gives us the power to achieve anything we want.

Cockroach Theory

At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and  sat on a lady.

She started screaming out of fear.

With a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach.

Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky.

The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but ...it landed on another lady in the group.

Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama.

The waiter rushed forward to their rescue.

In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter.

The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt.

When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach  responsible for their histrionic behavior?

If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed?

He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.

It is not the cockroach, but the inability of those people to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach, that disturbed the ladies.

I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it's my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me.

It's not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me.

More than the problem, it's my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.

Lessons learnt from the story:

I understood, I should not react in life.
I should always respond.

The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.

Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of.

A beautiful way to understand LIFE.

Person who is HAPPY is not because Everything is RIGHT in his Life...He is HAPPY because his Attitude towards Everything in his Life is Right..!!

Remove extra lemon from water

I still remember the day I was preparing fresh lime water for the first time...I ended up adding almost five times the amount of lemon than needed. It was a disaster.I had to correct it anyhow.

How I wish I could remove some lemon juice from water to make it taste perfect again! But alas!

Some things can never be undone. Some things can never be changed. There was no way that I know of, to remove the extra lime. So what was the solution then? The only way to correct this was to add four more glasses of water and dilute the lemon juice to make five glasses of fresh lime water.

This made me think.. Sometimes we cannot undo some things that have gone wrong in life. Some wrong decisions, wrong choices, wrong investments, wrong actions, wrong associations, wrong words or wrong doings can never be undone.

So what is the solution then?

When you cannot correct what is wrong, do not waste more time over it. It is like attempting to remove lemon from water.

Instead, get busy in adding so many right things in your life that the wrong seems insignificant.
We all have a negative side to ourselves. We may not be able to remove or correct all our negativities. But we can definitely continue adding positive thoughts, positive reading and positive people in our lives and dilute the negativity. We all have to deal with some easy people and some difficult people in our lives.

Do not waste time trying to change the difficult people. You will drain all your emotional energy in vain. Instead spend more time with the pleasant positive happy people and the difficult people will not affect you any more.

Everything in your life will never be perfect. Do not waste too much time correcting what is wrong.

Get busy doing the right things...

A bike ride

I woke up this morning to pouring rain and temperatures in the low 40s. I had planned on going for an early bike ride in Central Park but now I wasn't so sure. I like to get some exercise every day and given my commitments for the rest of the day, this was my only opportunity. But did I really want to get wet in the rains and feel the cold?

I decided to go for it, though I continued to question myself as I put on my biking clothes and got my bike out of the basement. I paused under the awning of our apartment building, as rain streamed down on either side of me.

A friend of mine, Chris, happened to be dashing home to avoid the rain and stopped under the awning for a second. 
"Great day for a bike ride," he said, before running on. 

He's right, I thought, this is dumb. I stayed under the awning for a few more minutes as I considered retreating into the warmth of my apartment. 

Finally, knowing that I'd feel great after a good, hard ride, I got on my bike and took off, pedaling hard. The initial sting of the cold rain had me questioning myself again but I kept going.

Then, after less than five minutes, the rain stopped bothering me. And after a few more minutes, it felt kind of good. Invigorating. It turned out to be a great ride. 
When I got back to the apartment building — drenched, a little muddy, and with a big smile on my face — one of my neighbors commented on how motivated and disciplined I was to be out on a day like that. 

But he was wrong. My ride in the rain taught me a good lesson about motivation and discipline: we need it less than we think.
"I didn't need to be motivated for long," I laughed. "Just long enough to get outside."
Because once I was already in the rain, it took no discipline to keep riding. Getting started was the hard part. Like getting into a cold pool. Once you're in, it's fine. It's getting in that takes motivation.

In fact, when you think about it, we only need to be motivated for a few short moments. Between those moments, momentum or habit or unconscious focus takes over. 

Need willpower to work on something difficult? Ask yourself when you need that willpower the most. Received feedback that you should talk less in meetings? Figure out when are you most susceptible to blabbing on. Trying to maintain a commitment to yourself or someone else? Identify the times when you are most at risk of violating that commitment.

Then, whatever you do, don't give up in the moments when you're most vulnerable. Don't give up the bike ride while standing under the awning watching it rain. Even when anyone tells you you're crazy to go out.