Connecting with thoughts - My thoughts and Me

You are not quite the one you used to be. (You have changed a lot.) It could mean either ways. Expectational or Aspirational. One way is where you fall short of expectations. You not being able to evolve with my needs or probably not moving along with changing times. The experience or the touch which you once had seems to be missing. Chances are you are not even aware. The ambience or environment in which you operate could be the same to you. But to an eye outside it's old and outdated, out of sync with times. The one reminiscent of the namesake you used to be. The milestones have been moved forward. What you are looking at may be memoirs of a time bygone. The other is aspirational. The one of you having raised the bar higher. Taking it a notch further where I aspire to be and even willing to be a part of it. Here I see you as adaptable and dynamic. Getting others to be one like you. Keeping up with the times. Moving the milestones along with times. They are not...

Kids have their own ways of eating food. One often ends up trying various tricks to get them to eat. This though is not always the case. Give them something they like and relish and you hardly need do any of the convincing bit. Same is the case when they are hungry. The efforts are less as the child knows. And there is no better combination of child being hungry and him/her getting to eat what he/she likes. This simple instance got me thinking about its relevance to the marketing world. The efforts required to sell a product to a customer are more when he/she does not like or feel the need for a particular product. In such case the emphasis is on the push factor than the pull. Trying the various tricks in book to get the customers to buy.  Just like the kids not interested in eating here there exists every possibility of the customer trying to resist products and services being thrust on him. Thus making the product prone to go down the drain. On the contrary, if the product...

Aspirations are good for a better tomorrow. They tell you where you want to be and how much you need to push the envelope. But they need to be grounded in reality. Reality tells you your capability. It tells you if you will be able to make the cut or not. Capability is the ability to go the extra mile with grit and determination to make the cut. It is the ability to act now, act sensibly for a better tomorrow. That's aspirations.

The words that I write Are not just words But an expression of thoughts, A depiction of picture, An account of history, A tale of paths unexplored, A source of knowledge, A comment on society, A pursuit of truth, A voice of the unheard, A rebel against establishments, A ray of hope, A quest for spirituality, A discovery of self, A dream for tomorrow, An aspiration for a better world

We all experience a stage where we are of a confused lot. Not quite sure what's in store for us or where life is going to take us. At this point its common to look at life in disbelief and doubt our capabilities. We tend to miss what comes naturally to us, even discard our strengths. In the movie, Salmon Fishing in Yemen, a visionary sheikh believes his passion for the peaceful pastime of salmon fishing can enrich the lives of his people, and he dreams of bringing the sport to the not so fish-friendly desert. Willing to spare no expense, he instructs his representative to turn the dream into reality, an extraordinary feat with the help and involvement of Dr. Alfred Jones, Britain's leading fisheries expert. The visionary sheikh’s dream however gets stalled as a result of strong opposition to removing salmon from British rivers. The Government suggests that he used farmed salmon instead. Not quite sure if a farmed salmon which has not run upstream for two ...

Failure is a part and parcel of life. What's a life without failures? But then not everyone rises up from failures. Likewise, nor does everyone get a chance to start all over again, especially after everything that one has built has been washed away and destroyed. It could be for reasons within or even beyond control. Mistakes one made or did not make. But the most important lesson when starting again is to be able to realize the mistakes that one made and accept them. That's the first thing one needs to do. Then evaluate and learn from them. There is no point in starting all over again to make the same mistakes again. That's far worst than not getting an opportunity to start again. In the movie, Salmon Fishing in Yemen, a visionary sheikh believes his passion for the peaceful pastime of salmon fishing can enrich the lives of his people, and he dreams of bringing the sport to the not so fish-friendly desert. Willing to spare no expense, he instructs his represent...

It’s been almost a decade since the Dean of the institute where I was pursuing my diploma threw us a challenge. A challenge which would profoundly impact us, if we had the courage to practice it daily. But then it is easier said than done, he cautioned us, for only a handful few had really managed to go beyond the first few days. And those who did had reaped benefits of the habit. The challenge was to stand in front of the mirror everyday and look deep into your eyes for 2-3 minutes. Simple as it may sound, it’s  an equally daunting task. Don’t agree try giving it a shot. Over the years I have come to realize why only a handful people managed to go beyond the first few days. It is a psychological truth that we often see in others what we don’t like about ourselves. When there is an aspect of ourselves that we find unacceptable it is human nature to hide it from ourselves, even to pretend the opposite, and instead project those feelings we have about ourselves onto others. But...

Many a times we are confronted with making decisions. Not quite knowing what to do or how to go about making the choice. Many a times we are faced with a conflict about who is it that is making the decision. Is it really us or the person who put everything at stake for us to be able to reach a particular level making the decision for us? Are we taking a decision because we are indebted to or are we taking a decision because we want to? Is the unintentional / intentional behaviour of others involved compelling us to make a choice without even realizing? These are underlying questions beneath the surface which rarely anyone gives a thought when making decision. Yet these very questions set the tone for the decision which we are never quite sure if its ours. It's the same conflict which Michael Oher experiences in "The Blind Side". Realizing the influence of Tuohy's in his choosing Ole Miss, Michael is not quite sure if he made the decision that he wanted to...