Let us start with some stories old and new!
The Elephant Rope
As a man was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.
He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. “Well,” trainer said, “when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it’s enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.”
The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn’t, they were stuck right where they were.
Here is another modern day story - Dog Collar Conditioning ~ By Lee Colan, Ph.D.
"I was taking a long walk with our small family dog, Sparky. Not sure who needed the exercise more. Although it was a well-worn path for both of us, this particular walk taught me a lesson about my dog and about me. Sparky is a great dog, but he is not a particularly well-trained dog. That’s a direct result of having a poorly trained owner. As a result, we have to be careful about leaving doors and gates open or Sparky will run like the wind.
This walk started off like business as usual. Then Sparky decided to continue his sniffing in one spot a little too long, so I gave the leash a gentle tug. As I learned later, Sparky’s dog collar had been loosened just one notch while he was at the vet’s office the day before. So this time when I tugged, his little head popped right out of the leash and he was free to roam, run or run like the wind!
But Sparky just sat there looking up at me, seemingly trapped. In reality he was as free as he had ever been. It was like a smorgasbord of all the smells and critters he could sniff and chase… a canine buffet! But Sparky stood still, paralyzed by the unknown of this freedom. He willingly let me reaffix his dog collar, allowing him to assume his normal comfort zone."
Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? How many times have I stayed within my own self-imposed boundaries? Probably more often than I’d like to admit. How about you?
This “dog collar conditioning” frequently occurs in the workplace as well. Leaders’ boundaries are usually much wider than their team’s perception of those boundaries. In other words, we often condition ourselves to live and work in a smaller world because of our own limiting thoughts. We typically have more control and freedom than we think.
Our biggest barriers to greater success and freedom are not “out there.” They are “in here” (our head). To realize our potential, we must re-condition our thinking to stretch beyond the boundaries of our own comfort.
Remember, growth and learning occurs when we are uncomfortable.
So,
• Take off your “mental dog collar/Elephant rope” and explore new limits of success!
• Failure is part of learning; we should never give up the struggle in life.
• Choose not to accept false boundaries and limitations created by the past!
Monday, July 22, 2013
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Personal Accountability
Hi Friends, here is something, each of us can benefit from being More Passionate about in anything we do!!By being Personally Accountable – what does Personal Accountability mean?
"Personal accountability" is...
“Being willing to answer - to be accountable - for the outcomes resulting from your choices, behaviours, and actions”
Meaning of Personal Accountability
That simple personal accountability definition focuses on the outcomes, which are at the END of process. In reality, "personal accountability" encompasses ALL phases of the process - the before, during, and after.
Throughout the process, you must be WILLING (not forced) to PERSONALLY take ownership for...
• Understanding and accepting the task.
• Taking actions to achieve agreed-upon results.
• Answering the results obtained, regardless of the outcome.
Accountability is related to the key notion behind accounting (not the regular accounting, but..) - to give an account of:
• What resources were entrusted to you,
• What you did with them, and
• What outcomes you produced
Some favorite expressions of small children:
"It's not my fault. . . They made me do it. . . I forgot."
Some favorite expressions of adults:
"It's not my job. . . No one told me. . . It couldn't be helped."
True freedom begins and ends with personal accountability." ~ Dan Zadra
As an Everyday Leader (Each of us are Everyday “Leaders” in our own right! :) ), one of the most important things we can do in times of change is to get our team to understand how taking personal responsibility and recognizing problems as opportunities, will not only help the company, but will help them as individuals.
In other words, sell the idea of...what's in it for me/them?
Authors B.J. Gallagher and Steve Ventura wrote a great little book about achieving success through personal accountability titled: Who Are "They" Anyway?
Their list showing how each individual in the company can benefit by adopting a "personal accountability attitude":
• You have more control over your destiny
• You become an active contributor rather than a passive observer
• Others look to you for leadership
• You gain the reputation as a problem solver
• You enhance your career opportunities
• You enjoy the satisfaction that comes from getting things done...the power of positive doing
• You experience less anger, frustration and helplessness—all leading to better physical health
• You realize a positive spillover effect into your personal life at home
According to Gallagher and Ventura, the most important words of personal responsibility are as follows:
The 10 most important words: "I won't wait for others to take the first step"
The 9 most important words: "If it is to be, it's up to me."
The 8 most important words: "If not me, who? If not now, when?"
The 7 most important words: "Let me take a shot at it"
The 6 most important words: "I will not pass the buck"
The 5 most important words: "You can count on me"
The 4 most important words: "It IS my job!"
The 3 most important words: "Just do it!"
The 2 most important words: "I will"
The most important word: "Me"
Advantages of Being Accountable:
You have much to gain by exhibiting personal accountability including..
1. You are trusted2. You are respected
3. You send the message that you are willing to do whatever is necessary for the success of the team
4. You are a "high performing" professional
5. You job security is likely increased
6. You improve the likelihood of being promoted
7. You can be trusted to complete challenging and meaningful job assignments
A company with thriving accountability looks quite different. Accountability enables a leader to create ownership for the company on behalf of its workers. That means developing ownership for problems, successes, goals, initiatives, people and results – a.k.a. getting things done. Accountability sets the controls in place, drives the business, and indicates what is and what isn’t on track.
Through accountability, leaders always make three important discoveries:
1) whether they’re on the right course2) whether they’ve got the right people in the right places
3) whether they’re achieving goals.
With these findings, leaders gain insight on instituting change and setting new objectives.
Creating passion through accountability is arguably one of the most important, best-kept secrets you must know to achieve such a track-record of success.
Be more passionate about what you do – It enhances your Accountability quotient!
Frank Tyger said it best..."Your future depends on many things, but mostly yourself."
***-----------------------------------------------***
With inputs from "Simple inspirations" and the internet!
"Personal accountability" is...
“Being willing to answer - to be accountable - for the outcomes resulting from your choices, behaviours, and actions”
Meaning of Personal Accountability
That simple personal accountability definition focuses on the outcomes, which are at the END of process. In reality, "personal accountability" encompasses ALL phases of the process - the before, during, and after.
Throughout the process, you must be WILLING (not forced) to PERSONALLY take ownership for...
• Understanding and accepting the task.
• Taking actions to achieve agreed-upon results.
• Answering the results obtained, regardless of the outcome.
Accountability is related to the key notion behind accounting (not the regular accounting, but..) - to give an account of:
• What resources were entrusted to you,
• What you did with them, and
• What outcomes you produced
Some favorite expressions of small children:
"It's not my fault. . . They made me do it. . . I forgot."
Some favorite expressions of adults:
"It's not my job. . . No one told me. . . It couldn't be helped."
True freedom begins and ends with personal accountability." ~ Dan Zadra
As an Everyday Leader (Each of us are Everyday “Leaders” in our own right! :) ), one of the most important things we can do in times of change is to get our team to understand how taking personal responsibility and recognizing problems as opportunities, will not only help the company, but will help them as individuals.
In other words, sell the idea of...what's in it for me/them?
Authors B.J. Gallagher and Steve Ventura wrote a great little book about achieving success through personal accountability titled: Who Are "They" Anyway?
Their list showing how each individual in the company can benefit by adopting a "personal accountability attitude":
• You have more control over your destiny
• You become an active contributor rather than a passive observer
• Others look to you for leadership
• You gain the reputation as a problem solver
• You enhance your career opportunities
• You enjoy the satisfaction that comes from getting things done...the power of positive doing
• You experience less anger, frustration and helplessness—all leading to better physical health
• You realize a positive spillover effect into your personal life at home
According to Gallagher and Ventura, the most important words of personal responsibility are as follows:
The 10 most important words: "I won't wait for others to take the first step"
The 9 most important words: "If it is to be, it's up to me."
The 8 most important words: "If not me, who? If not now, when?"
The 7 most important words: "Let me take a shot at it"
The 6 most important words: "I will not pass the buck"
The 5 most important words: "You can count on me"
The 4 most important words: "It IS my job!"
The 3 most important words: "Just do it!"
The 2 most important words: "I will"
The most important word: "Me"
Advantages of Being Accountable:
You have much to gain by exhibiting personal accountability including..
1. You are trusted2. You are respected
3. You send the message that you are willing to do whatever is necessary for the success of the team
4. You are a "high performing" professional
5. You job security is likely increased
6. You improve the likelihood of being promoted
7. You can be trusted to complete challenging and meaningful job assignments
A company with thriving accountability looks quite different. Accountability enables a leader to create ownership for the company on behalf of its workers. That means developing ownership for problems, successes, goals, initiatives, people and results – a.k.a. getting things done. Accountability sets the controls in place, drives the business, and indicates what is and what isn’t on track.
Through accountability, leaders always make three important discoveries:
1) whether they’re on the right course2) whether they’ve got the right people in the right places
3) whether they’re achieving goals.
With these findings, leaders gain insight on instituting change and setting new objectives.
Creating passion through accountability is arguably one of the most important, best-kept secrets you must know to achieve such a track-record of success.
Be more passionate about what you do – It enhances your Accountability quotient!
Frank Tyger said it best..."Your future depends on many things, but mostly yourself."
***-----------------------------------------------***
With inputs from "Simple inspirations" and the internet!
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
In God's own Country!
It has been a while since I wrote a blog – but I did not want to miss writing about a great trip that I had been to this summer.
Getting straight on to the trip to “Alappuzha” in God’s own Country – after some hiccups on the train ticket confirmation, we (Neela/ Divya and Yours faithfully myself)reached Alappuzha on a Cloud cast Friday – seething from the close to 40 degrees “Kathiri Veyil” in Chennai, this was a welcome change.
As we stepped out of the small and serene station, we faced our First surprise – government regulated pre-paid autos – people standing in queues and (think) it was a common ticketing station for bus/ autos. After collecting a nominal service charge of Re.1 (You read it right – it is Rupee ONE), we moved on to our Auto - the fares were very reasonable relatively.
As we were going in the Auto, my mind was drooling in the wonderful – rain carpeted roads making it dust free, water bodies, colorful flowers blanketing canvas green trees, unhurried lifestyle, fewer cars, traffic free roads.. Hmm… maybe in the future, we can think of settling down here and enjoy this life more regularly!
The auto driver while giving the change spoke in Perfect English (with a wee bit of accent) and wanted to check our travel plans and whether he could be of help. Getting down and thanking him for the offer and politely declining (as we had made our arrangements), we reached “Ashtamudi Homestay”. Neela was mentioning that Kerala was 100% literate and we had our first taste of it.
It was our first experiment with “Homestays” and we were not sure what to expect. We were greeted by a very pleasant couple to a nice compact furnished home. As we were waiting for our room to get ready, seeing Divya playing with a smartphone, the owner reminded us that “Sir, Wi-Fi is free” – Wow! Was now Divya’s turn - to call out one of her favorite dialogues “Technology has improved very much”.
After refreshing ourselves, we enquired with the Homestay owner on places to see around – the options were plenty -- sea shore, boat ferry, temples, shopping, Light house, temples, City center, restaurants, etc.
Feeling hungry, we ventured into “Hot Kitchen” (best “Vegetarian hotel” ~ house owner) in the city center which was about a Km away. After a heavy “full” meals, we were loathing around lazily in the city-center window shopping on the roadside and decided to take a break on the steps of a corner shop – to relish the scenery and observe the lifestyle of the people.
We realized there was a water-body close by and walked up to see a plant/shrubs grown ‘no water’ stream, with a lovely park with nice seating places. Chilling out for some more time there, Neela suggested why not we see any of the special places in/ around Alappuzha.
Having Googled the previous day, did know that there was a Palace/ museum nearby – but the auto driver could not recognize this place – he caught on to the word “museum” and informed us that there was a museum some 2-3 kms. away – so we decided to venture and see this museum, not knowing what to expect.
As we were going in the Auto, expecting to see a combination of – kings armor, swords, dinosaur bones (?), etc. we were in for next surprise – we reached a private museum called “Revi Karuna Karan Memorial museum” built by his wife, in honor of Revi, a third generation Coir exporter who had made it big.
Entry fee was Rs. 100/person and nothing until that moment seemed expensive – we went to see the museum and were in for our next surprise. One of the staffs took us around the museum explaining about the family and then the collections – “Largest private collection of Ivory crafted items”(Sir, Ivory is banned now, but our Sir collected this earlier with proper licence), ‘one of the largest private collections’ of “Swarovski crystals”, hand-made expertly crafted shells, Jade Buddha’s, 200 St Ft. murals of the world painted with traditional vegetable dyes, and much more – well maintained and worth every Rupee!! (Of course, we were politely told “No Photos please!”)
See more in http://www.rkkmuseum.com/ or better still, visit the museum to relish the beauty of the collection.
Neela’ s remark as we were walking out, “thought we are getting to become upper middle class, but now I realize that we have some way to go!” (Such was the richness of the collection – Value & rarity)
On to the beach – usual stuff -- waves, Sweet cup corn, popcorn, ice creams…and then the next surprise – Camel ride. Neela is very keen to go –– three of us on a camel, was indeed a sight to see! That was our surprise…to Alappuzha!
Tired, after a long day and getting a great sleep, we wake up next day to the claps of thunder – it is raining Cats and dogs for over an hour and we are worried about our office colleagues who would be arriving. Luckily the train reaches safely albeit 15 minutes late.
Part II of the Great trip starts… we get on to the houseboat – our group of 17 is broken into three – “heavy rains expected, so smaller houseboats Sir”…ok! Fine and then the Joy ride starts – being the first stay in a houseboat, I am coming to grasps with the comforts of the houseboat generator operated Fridge, AC, power backup, running water, furnished kitchen….Cool!
The Boat keeper announces that Lunch is ready – a quick shower and change of clothes and we are all set – great Lunch – Welcome drink, Rice, Sambar, Poriyal, Pappads, Fresh curd, pickle, dessert – Pineapple! (there is some debate whether it is Sambar or Rasam with others as the menu is the same in the other boats – finally we reach a compromise and find out the reason – Kalaki uthana Sambar, mela-la appadiya rasam…(on the lighter side!)
We are still awed by the scenery and then it starts – rains like as if it had reserved the shower for us to start the trip – in the safety of the boat, the sceneries look even more beautiful. The five of us in our boat just keep chatting and relish clicking away and then the boat keeper announces it is time for Chai...options are available – Coffee / tea and Divya prefers fresh Lime juice…all made available in a jiffy along with tasty Hot Nethram pazham bajjis – in that weather sipping the tea and eating the hot Bajjis…Wow, life could not be better!!!
It is soon evening and the boat is docked and we take a small trek out on the land path in between water bodies. Kids seem to love the location even better. Time for photo shoots – all of us turn models and everyone is busy clicking away. With all 17 of us on the same boat now for the evening, it is time now for some great games organized by Archana and Lakshmi --- fun evening passes fast and the boat keepers announce it is time for Dinner…kids relish on the tasty chappathis and we attack the other items (hungry from the trek and games and more importantly posing for the photos! )
Time to hit the deck and retire to our respective boats / rooms...we start to snore away – the boat is still docked and so not much of a rocking motion. In the middle of the night I wake up to see a small flashlight at a distance – still half asleep, I try to see from where the light is coming only to realize that the skies have cleared and the moon is shining away gloriously for us.
Great tea/ coffee and the boat keepers ask us to hurry up as the breakfast would be ready and we would be dropped back sharp at 9 AM. We continue to click the sun rise (West coast – Sun rise?) – Yep the sun rose over the lake bodies, only thing it was already up by the time we got up! After a Salt water shower bath, we get to eat another great breakfast - finishing off with a fruit dessert and tea/ coffee.
We dock and then the third part of the journey begins – it is a package tour and we are off to Cochin/ Ernakulum. We go to the sea shore and do loads of sea side beach shopping - bags, rings, mementos, picturesque fridge magnets, etc., and eat away on the side shops – tender coconut, masala chai, ice creams…the food fun continues, as well.
Later in the afternoon, we go for a Sea cruise…a one hour chartered boat ride into the sea – great view and next set of great photo shoots – the sea, the cochin dockyard, eagles flying low to catch fishes, the fishing nets, the export containers, the Port trust offices, Indian Naval academy offices..
Other interesting things about Alappuzha!
* Cell phones – hardly used; everyone had it, but on the whole of the first day, we probably saw only ONE person talking on the cellphone while walking on the road.
* Local specials – Kerala is famous for so many things, but we wanted to try the local food – Puttu/ avial, etc., and we got Dirty stares when we ordered these items – most of the hotels did not serve these, we continue to search and finally find a road side eatery which serves Puttu avial – Wow! Wasn’t that different and yummy!
* Small restaurants were serving herbal hot water in attractive colors (Pink, green, etc.)– in that weather, it seemed not only healthy, but also so tasty!
* Coming from a water starved place and not seeing much of water saving (e.g. Rain water harvesting) made me wonder how all states can work for equitable distribution of ALL resources! (Electricity, water, etc.)
* Lottery – TN has banned lottery ages ago but it was interesting to see Lottery tickets being sold at various places; was very tempted to buy, but wiser sense prevailed!
Time to go back home…the first batch leaves; we are booked for a later train and so there is time to go around Ernakulum – some more shopping and then we take the train – a great trip with Cool friends / Family and baggage’s of memories to carry!
The trip was wonderful -- only because of the organizers Kannan, Sangitha and the friends/families that made it – Ramya, Bala, Bavanthi, Vidhya,P rem, Sahana, Prajin, Archana, Lakshmi, Sasi, Janani, Ranjith.
See some of the cool trip snaps in:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbsmzlszcN2zjA
http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=3a696c4dde32c4030031ecd658bfd733
https://plus.google.com/photos/116895324871472058451/albums/5882655184483894065?authkey=CL331djH6L7xdw
https://plus.google.com/photos/115081439666059971748/albums/5885180057459299345?authkey=CKrDjryOkcPBUQ&cfem=1#photos/115081439666059971748/albums/5885180057459299345?authkey=CKrDjryOkcPBUQ
Getting straight on to the trip to “Alappuzha” in God’s own Country – after some hiccups on the train ticket confirmation, we (Neela/ Divya and Yours faithfully myself)reached Alappuzha on a Cloud cast Friday – seething from the close to 40 degrees “Kathiri Veyil” in Chennai, this was a welcome change.
As we stepped out of the small and serene station, we faced our First surprise – government regulated pre-paid autos – people standing in queues and (think) it was a common ticketing station for bus/ autos. After collecting a nominal service charge of Re.1 (You read it right – it is Rupee ONE), we moved on to our Auto - the fares were very reasonable relatively.
As we were going in the Auto, my mind was drooling in the wonderful – rain carpeted roads making it dust free, water bodies, colorful flowers blanketing canvas green trees, unhurried lifestyle, fewer cars, traffic free roads.. Hmm… maybe in the future, we can think of settling down here and enjoy this life more regularly!
The auto driver while giving the change spoke in Perfect English (with a wee bit of accent) and wanted to check our travel plans and whether he could be of help. Getting down and thanking him for the offer and politely declining (as we had made our arrangements), we reached “Ashtamudi Homestay”. Neela was mentioning that Kerala was 100% literate and we had our first taste of it.
It was our first experiment with “Homestays” and we were not sure what to expect. We were greeted by a very pleasant couple to a nice compact furnished home. As we were waiting for our room to get ready, seeing Divya playing with a smartphone, the owner reminded us that “Sir, Wi-Fi is free” – Wow! Was now Divya’s turn - to call out one of her favorite dialogues “Technology has improved very much”.
After refreshing ourselves, we enquired with the Homestay owner on places to see around – the options were plenty -- sea shore, boat ferry, temples, shopping, Light house, temples, City center, restaurants, etc.
Feeling hungry, we ventured into “Hot Kitchen” (best “Vegetarian hotel” ~ house owner) in the city center which was about a Km away. After a heavy “full” meals, we were loathing around lazily in the city-center window shopping on the roadside and decided to take a break on the steps of a corner shop – to relish the scenery and observe the lifestyle of the people.
We realized there was a water-body close by and walked up to see a plant/shrubs grown ‘no water’ stream, with a lovely park with nice seating places. Chilling out for some more time there, Neela suggested why not we see any of the special places in/ around Alappuzha.
Having Googled the previous day, did know that there was a Palace/ museum nearby – but the auto driver could not recognize this place – he caught on to the word “museum” and informed us that there was a museum some 2-3 kms. away – so we decided to venture and see this museum, not knowing what to expect.
As we were going in the Auto, expecting to see a combination of – kings armor, swords, dinosaur bones (?), etc. we were in for next surprise – we reached a private museum called “Revi Karuna Karan Memorial museum” built by his wife, in honor of Revi, a third generation Coir exporter who had made it big.
Entry fee was Rs. 100/person and nothing until that moment seemed expensive – we went to see the museum and were in for our next surprise. One of the staffs took us around the museum explaining about the family and then the collections – “Largest private collection of Ivory crafted items”(Sir, Ivory is banned now, but our Sir collected this earlier with proper licence), ‘one of the largest private collections’ of “Swarovski crystals”, hand-made expertly crafted shells, Jade Buddha’s, 200 St Ft. murals of the world painted with traditional vegetable dyes, and much more – well maintained and worth every Rupee!! (Of course, we were politely told “No Photos please!”)
See more in http://www.rkkmuseum.com/ or better still, visit the museum to relish the beauty of the collection.
Neela’ s remark as we were walking out, “thought we are getting to become upper middle class, but now I realize that we have some way to go!” (Such was the richness of the collection – Value & rarity)
On to the beach – usual stuff -- waves, Sweet cup corn, popcorn, ice creams…and then the next surprise – Camel ride. Neela is very keen to go –– three of us on a camel, was indeed a sight to see! That was our surprise…to Alappuzha!
Tired, after a long day and getting a great sleep, we wake up next day to the claps of thunder – it is raining Cats and dogs for over an hour and we are worried about our office colleagues who would be arriving. Luckily the train reaches safely albeit 15 minutes late.
Part II of the Great trip starts… we get on to the houseboat – our group of 17 is broken into three – “heavy rains expected, so smaller houseboats Sir”…ok! Fine and then the Joy ride starts – being the first stay in a houseboat, I am coming to grasps with the comforts of the houseboat generator operated Fridge, AC, power backup, running water, furnished kitchen….Cool!
The Boat keeper announces that Lunch is ready – a quick shower and change of clothes and we are all set – great Lunch – Welcome drink, Rice, Sambar, Poriyal, Pappads, Fresh curd, pickle, dessert – Pineapple! (there is some debate whether it is Sambar or Rasam with others as the menu is the same in the other boats – finally we reach a compromise and find out the reason – Kalaki uthana Sambar, mela-la appadiya rasam…(on the lighter side!)
We are still awed by the scenery and then it starts – rains like as if it had reserved the shower for us to start the trip – in the safety of the boat, the sceneries look even more beautiful. The five of us in our boat just keep chatting and relish clicking away and then the boat keeper announces it is time for Chai...options are available – Coffee / tea and Divya prefers fresh Lime juice…all made available in a jiffy along with tasty Hot Nethram pazham bajjis – in that weather sipping the tea and eating the hot Bajjis…Wow, life could not be better!!!
It is soon evening and the boat is docked and we take a small trek out on the land path in between water bodies. Kids seem to love the location even better. Time for photo shoots – all of us turn models and everyone is busy clicking away. With all 17 of us on the same boat now for the evening, it is time now for some great games organized by Archana and Lakshmi --- fun evening passes fast and the boat keepers announce it is time for Dinner…kids relish on the tasty chappathis and we attack the other items (hungry from the trek and games and more importantly posing for the photos! )
Time to hit the deck and retire to our respective boats / rooms...we start to snore away – the boat is still docked and so not much of a rocking motion. In the middle of the night I wake up to see a small flashlight at a distance – still half asleep, I try to see from where the light is coming only to realize that the skies have cleared and the moon is shining away gloriously for us.
Great tea/ coffee and the boat keepers ask us to hurry up as the breakfast would be ready and we would be dropped back sharp at 9 AM. We continue to click the sun rise (West coast – Sun rise?) – Yep the sun rose over the lake bodies, only thing it was already up by the time we got up! After a Salt water shower bath, we get to eat another great breakfast - finishing off with a fruit dessert and tea/ coffee.
We dock and then the third part of the journey begins – it is a package tour and we are off to Cochin/ Ernakulum. We go to the sea shore and do loads of sea side beach shopping - bags, rings, mementos, picturesque fridge magnets, etc., and eat away on the side shops – tender coconut, masala chai, ice creams…the food fun continues, as well.
Later in the afternoon, we go for a Sea cruise…a one hour chartered boat ride into the sea – great view and next set of great photo shoots – the sea, the cochin dockyard, eagles flying low to catch fishes, the fishing nets, the export containers, the Port trust offices, Indian Naval academy offices..
Other interesting things about Alappuzha!
* Cell phones – hardly used; everyone had it, but on the whole of the first day, we probably saw only ONE person talking on the cellphone while walking on the road.
* Local specials – Kerala is famous for so many things, but we wanted to try the local food – Puttu/ avial, etc., and we got Dirty stares when we ordered these items – most of the hotels did not serve these, we continue to search and finally find a road side eatery which serves Puttu avial – Wow! Wasn’t that different and yummy!
* Small restaurants were serving herbal hot water in attractive colors (Pink, green, etc.)– in that weather, it seemed not only healthy, but also so tasty!
* Coming from a water starved place and not seeing much of water saving (e.g. Rain water harvesting) made me wonder how all states can work for equitable distribution of ALL resources! (Electricity, water, etc.)
* Lottery – TN has banned lottery ages ago but it was interesting to see Lottery tickets being sold at various places; was very tempted to buy, but wiser sense prevailed!
Time to go back home…the first batch leaves; we are booked for a later train and so there is time to go around Ernakulum – some more shopping and then we take the train – a great trip with Cool friends / Family and baggage’s of memories to carry!
The trip was wonderful -- only because of the organizers Kannan, Sangitha and the friends/families that made it – Ramya, Bala, Bavanthi, Vidhya,P rem, Sahana, Prajin, Archana, Lakshmi, Sasi, Janani, Ranjith.
See some of the cool trip snaps in:
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbsmzlszcN2zjA
http://www.shutterfly.com/lightbox/view.sfly?fid=3a696c4dde32c4030031ecd658bfd733
https://plus.google.com/photos/116895324871472058451/albums/5882655184483894065?authkey=CL331djH6L7xdw
https://plus.google.com/photos/115081439666059971748/albums/5885180057459299345?authkey=CKrDjryOkcPBUQ&cfem=1#photos/115081439666059971748/albums/5885180057459299345?authkey=CKrDjryOkcPBUQ
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Goal Setting
What Richard Branson Told Me about Goal-Getting (And Creating a Life You Adore)By Robin Sharma -- Author of "The Leader Who Had No Title"
“The goals you don’t set…reveal the dreams you don’t do”
I’m a simple man. Grew up in a small town. Came from humble beginnings. Zero silver spoon.
I’ve had some wins. And been knocked down with defeats. Glimpsed views from the top of the mountain. And walked through the darkest of valleys. But through this entire ride called A Life—I’ve refused to give up.
So last year–when I was invited to share the stage with the iconic entrepreneur Richard Branson at “The Ultimate Success Summit” in Romania–a giant dream came true (Richard had been on my “Top 5 People I’d Like to Have Dinner With Before I Die” list for years along with Nelson Mandela, Madonna, Bono and Oprah.
Branson was larger than life. The man I’d seen on a thousand magazine covers was friendly, passionate, charismatic and confident. And, of course, fun.
“I believe in goals. It’s never a bad thing to have a dream. If something is really what you want to do, just do it. Whatever your goal.” - Richard Branson
In that hour before a few thousand human beings, we debated Leadership. We discussed success. We dissected innovation. And we dove deep into the thick of what it means to do our best work while we craft lives that make the world a better place. [Making money without creating meaning is an empty victory as far as I’m concerned]. Between us, my personal goal in preparing for the session was to know more about Branson than anyone who had ever interviewed him. To have the insight to push him to go where he hadn’t been. To not just be prepared but ridiculously OVER-prepared.
So I poured through obscure articles, reviewed past presentations and read everything I could discover about the rare-air life of this celebrated business titan.
“Fantasizing about the future is one of my favorite pastimes.” - Richard Branson
…I learned of his childhood [when he was four, his mother left him in a field miles away from home with the instruction to find his way back alone--an exercise to develop the independence that has since served him so well] and of his struggles with Dyslexia (he was expelled from one school and never received a high school degree).
…I learned that he came up with the name “Virgin” in 1969 and launched Student, a youth culture magazine, when he was only 16. At twenty, Branson—always the disruptor–started a mail order business to sell records. The first Virgin record store appeared two years later.
…I learned of his fierce appetite for risk-taking and “betting the farm” in acute pursuit of any goal he wants to get done (his critics called him crazy as he entered the airline business with Virgin Atlantic. He clearly acknowledged it was a dangerous play with his now-famous words: “The quickest way to become a millionaire in the airline business is to start out as a billionaire.”
In my research, I came across other brilliant Branson one-liners that are rich in wisdom for those of us devoted to mastery in business and the building of a world-class life:
“All you have in life is your reputation: you may be very rich, but if you lose your good name, then you’ll never be happy. The thought will always lurk at the back of your mind that people don’t trust you”
“Branding is everything. A young girl once came up to me and told me I could be famous because I looked just like Richard Branson!”
“Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is hard to keep things simple.”
“My biggest motivation? Just to keep challenging myself. I see life almost like one long university education that I never had.”
“My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them.”
“There are no rules. You don’t learn to walk by following rules. You learn by doing, and by falling over, and it’s because you fall over that you learn to save yourself from falling over”
“I may be a businessman in that I set up and run companies for profit, but when I try to plan ahead and dream up new products and new companies, I’m an idealist.”
“I am the captain of my ship and master of my fate. I believe in myself. I believe in the hands that work, in the brains that think, and in the hearts that love.”
“I don’t think of work as work and play as play. It’s all living.”
“Ridiculous yachts and private planes and big limousines won’t make people enjoy life more, and it sends out terrible messages to the people who work for them. It would be so much better if that money was spent in Africa – and it’s about getting a balance.”
“I cannot remember a moment in my life when I have not felt the love of my family. We were a family that would have killed for each other – and we still are.”
“You only live once, and I just don’t want to waste a minute of my life.”
All amazing stuff. Truly. Inspiring, actually. But perhaps what fascinated me most as I got to know Richard Branson was not his accomplishments or his uncommon productivity practices such as:
• Writing important messages on the back of his hands (he reportedly doesn’t use computers and was saved by his wife Joan from being the only person to put up his hand at a conference where Bill Gates asked if there was anyone in the room who still didn’t use the Internet).
• Getting up at 5:30 am every morning while he’s on Necker Island, his private retreat (“I get up in the morning and come into what must be the nicest office in the world. It’s a fantastic time for reflection and thinking about things. I come up with more ideas here than I do in the day-to-day running back home,” said Branson in a superb interview with FORTUNE magazine.
• Working at home (executives from around the world show up at his grand townhouse in London for meetings). Branson believes that the reason he remains so close to his family is because he is so often around them.
No, what fascinated me most about the visionary in black denim jeans who sat in front of me was a powerful daily habit…
…one that was perhaps his simplest…
…a near-obsessive practice of writing down–and then tracking–his brightest ideas, insights and goals in a black notebook that he carried with him mostly everywhere.
In that black composition book he records:
• his creative ideas and individual commitments
• every key business conversation he has during his day
• drafts of letters to leaders like his friend Nelson Mandela
• private notes like “Michael Jackson wanted to come to Necker Island next week.”
• quotes such as this one from Joan: “Extremism in the pursuit of excellence is not a vice.”
• anecdotes such as why the British immigration agent who was clearly aware of who Sir Richard was asked to see his passport. Her reply: “We wanted to know your age.”
“Goal-getting matters. And writing down the brave acts and bold dreams you intend to accomplish will provide the spark to get them done. It works for Richard Branson. And my highest wish is that it works for you too.
All green lights, Ready to Make 2013 the Best Year of Your Life?
WHY REPEAT LAST YEAR THIS YEAR?
To state the blindingly obvious: unless you change the way you lived in 2012, you’ll see the same results you saw last year this year.
Why would you want to do that to yourself?
And how you start off these first 90 days of 2013 will profoundly influence the way the whole year turns out.
So here’s my suggestion: Stop listening to the lies your fears are trying to sell you. Silence the chattering voices of the naysayers and critics. Quiet your doubts and disbeliefs. Let’s leap into 2013 set to shatter your past performance + previous limits. Let’s make this New Year the year you make history. Yes, history.
THE PRISTINE REALITY OF A FRESH YEAR
The pristine reality is this: 2013 has presented you with a completely blank canvas — your fresh opportunity to create the life you’ve always wanted. And become the person you always dreamed of being. I want you to grab this chaafe only sends us so many). Many people will make this the year they rewire their minds to shift from negative to positive, get to their best health, finally have the money they want, balance work with family and find real happiness. Why not commit to becoming one of them? (Yes, you are that powerful. And if not now, then when?). Make the choice that will change your life.
“Fill your brain with giant dreams so it has no space for petty pursuits.”- Robin Sharma
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