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Showing posts from July, 2019

Agastya and the Vindhya Mountains: A Lesson in Influence and Leadership

Introduction Long ago, the Vindhya mountains began growing taller and taller every day. They became so huge that they even threatened to overshadow the mighty Himalayas and block the sun’s path across the sky. The cosmic gods grew worried. If the mountains kept growing, they could disrupt the balance of the entire universe. But the gods couldn’t stop them. The Vindhyas refused to listen to anyone. They wouldn’t bow to authority or accept any requests; they simply kept rising, proud and powerful. Now, the one person the Vindhyas deeply respected was their guru, the sage Agastya. He was their teacher and held in high reverence. So, the gods turned to Agastya and asked for his help. Agastya visited the mountains. The moment the Vindhyas saw him, they humbly bowed down to greet him, full of admiration. Agastya smiled and said, “I’m so pleased with your respect and devotion.” The mountains replied, “We are honored by your presence. Please tell us how we can serve you.” Agastya said, “There’...

Virtues of Benjamin Franklin

Being Indian, we have not heard of Benjamin Franklin much but he was a founding father of the United States (US). He was a child prodigy and had invented numerous inventions. His inventions include the lightning rod, bifocals, long arm, and the Franklin stove. Due to his contributions toward mankind and the United States, it was decided to publish his photo on 100 US dollars. His face appears on U.S. postage more than any other notable American except George Washington. He was also a leading political theorist, author, politician, postmaster, Freemason, scientist, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. Benjamin Franklin also earned the title of " The First American " for his contributions. There are so many things to tell about Benjamin Franklin but that is not a topic for today. Today we will indulge in the basic tenets of his character and how he built his personality. In his autobiography, he explained how he created a system to develop his character wh...

Success sutras of Nelson Mandela

Do you know there was a time when basic services were provided on the basis of skin color? White people used to get better facilities as compared to black people. This problem was there in most of the countries but it was worst in South Africa where 70% of people were blacks and most of the services were performed by Africans but still they used to get the worst facilities. The racial difference was there since time immemorial but it got worse when the National Party in 1948 decided to create separate places for Blacks and Whites. But due to the persistent efforts of Mr. Nelson Mandela, this differentiation ended. However, that was not easy as Mandela spent 27 years of his life in prison due to this movement. Let us know more about Mr. Mandela. He was a son of a tribal leader and his original name was Rolihlahla Mandela and later became the first Black president of South Africa. He also won Bharata Ratna and Nobel peace prize. He was a great orator and a true Gandhian. So what wa...

Why you should run your own race

London is 5 hours ahead of New York but it does not mean that New York is slow, or that London is fast. They are working based on their own "Time Zone." Someone may be unmarried now, someone else may marry now and wait for 10 years to have a baby and yet another may get a baby within one year of marriage. Someone may become CEO at the age of 17 and die at 40 and another one becomes CEO at the age of 69 and may live until 90. If you will look around, then you will find that many people are ahead of you and many are behind you. Everyone is running at his own pace hence we must not get jealous of other's success and yet not become complacent if we find many people behind us. Also, remember that Obama got retired at 55 and Trump resumed office at the age of 70. Hold on and be strong, all things shall work together for you and please understand that you are running at your own pace. Just try to improve day by day. I had read somewhere, at the age of 19 we wonder wha...

How to make a good first impression

One day I was sitting in a salon waiting for my turn. It was a Sunday morning and many people were there in the queue, all were waiting for there turn. Everyone wants to get out of the salon as soon as possible. Suddenly a person entered with his cute child. That Child had a very attractive smile and other people also started smiling and playing with the child. This is the effect of a smile which can change the whole atmosphere automatically. Similarly, if we want to make our good first impression then we must have a smile on our face. So how can we build a habit of smiling? Remember that it cannot be generated in a fake way. It cannot be like we have a serious mood other times and start smiling when we meet others. We must inculcate this habit over time.  There's a story regarding the power of habit and we must learn from this story. The story is known as "Elephant and Mahawat". In India, Mahawats are those people who used to breed elephants. Mahawat used to tie the ...