Steps you can take to ease the sting of criticism

To become a top performer, you’ll need to open yourself up to feedback from those around you. Here are some steps you can take to ease the sting of criticism and begin to make it work for you, instead of against you.

1.Hit the Pause Button - It’s important to maintain your composure and not lash back or respond defensively to criticism. Take a breath. Don’t do or say anything. This brief pause not only helps you compose yourself and prepare to listen to what the other person has to say, it demonstrates your poise and self-confidence. Maintaining your composure when criticized shows that you’re in control.

2.Turn On Your Brain and Turn Off Your Emotions - It’s important to disconnect your automatic emotional response to criticism. Otherwise you won’t be able to objectively consider the value of the information. Focus on the words and facts, not on the feelings they generate within you. Regardless of how undiplomatic the other person is in delivering the feedback, tell yourself that it is designed to help you improve, not to tear you down.

3.Listen Carefully - Listen intently to what the other person is saying. If you’re busy formulating your rebuttal, you may miss some valuable information that can help you avoid errors in the future or improve your overall performance.

While any criticism can be discouraging, it’s important to keep in mind that negative feedback can contribute significantly to faster growth and higher performance.

How to Forgive the Unforgivable

One of the hardest, thorniest and most difficult things we humans are ever called upon to do is to respond to evil with kindness and to forgive the unforgivable.

We love to read stories about people who've responded to hatred with love, but when that very thing is demanded of us personally, our default seems to be anger, angst, depression, righteousness, hatred, etc.

Yet study after study shows that one of the keys to longevity and good health is to develop a habit of gratitude and let go of past hurts. Want to live a long, happy life?

Forgive the unforgivable. It really is the kindest thing you can do for yourself. Your enemy may not deserve to be forgiven for all the pain and sadness and suffering they've purposefully inflicted on your life, but you deserve to be free of this evil. As Ann Landers often said, "hate is like an acid. It destroys the vessel in which it is stored."

Presentation Tips for Public Speaking

Know the needs of your audience and match your contents to their needs.

Know your material thoroughly. Put what you have to say in a logical sequence. Ensure your speech will be captivating to your audience as well as worth their time and attention. Practice and rehearse your speech at home or where you can be at ease and comfortable, in front of a mirror, your family, friends or colleagues. Use a tape-recorder and listen to yourself. Videotape your presentation and analyze it. Know what your strong and weak points are. Emphasize your strong points during your presentation.

When you are presenting in front of an audience, you are performing as an actor is on stage. How you are being perceived is very important. Dress appropriately for the occasion. Be solemn if your topic is serious. Present the desired image to your audience. Look pleasant, enthusiastic, confident, proud, but not arrogant. Remain calm. Appear relaxed, even if you feel nervous. Speak slowly, enunciate clearly, and show appropriate emotion and feeling relating to your topic. Establish rapport with your audience. Speak to the person farthest away from you to ensure your voice is loud enough to project to the back of the room. Vary the tone of your voice and dramatize if necessary. If a microphone is available, adjust and adapt your voice accordingly.

Body language is important. Standing, walking or moving about with appropriate hand gesture or facial expression is preferred to sitting down or standing still with head down and reading from a prepared speech. Use audio-visual aids or props for enhancement if appropriate and necessary.

Master the use of presentation software such as PowerPoint well before your presentation. Do not over-dazzle your audience with excessive use of animation, sound clips, or gaudy colors which are inappropriate for your topic. Do not torture your audience by putting a lengthy document in tiny print on an overhead and reading it out to them.

Speak with conviction as if you really believe in what you are saying.

Persuade your audience effectively. The material you present orally should have the same ingredients as that which are required for a written research paper, i.e. a logical progression from INTRODUCTION (Thesis statement) to BODY (strong supporting arguments, accurate and up-to-date information) to CONCLUSION (re-state thesis, summary, and logical conclusion).

Do not read from notes for any extended length of time although it is quite acceptable to glance at your notes infrequently. Speak loudly and clearly.

Sound confident. Do not mumble. If you made an error, correct it, and continue. No need to make excuses or apologize profusely.

Maintain sincere eye contact with your audience. Use the 3-second method, e.g. look straight into the eyes of a person in the audience for 3 seconds at a time. Have direct eye contact with a number of people in the audience, and every now and then glance at the whole audience while speaking. Use your eye contact to make everyone in your audience feel involved.

Speak to your audience, listen to their questions, respond to their reactions, adjust and adapt. If what you have prepared is obviously not getting across to your audience, change your strategy mid-stream if you are well prepared to do so. Remember that communication is the key to a successful presentation. If you are short of time, know what can be safely left out. If you have extra time, know what could be effectively added.

Always be prepared for the unexpected.

Pause. Allow yourself and your audience a little time to reflect and think.

Don't race through your presentation and leave your audience, as well as yourself, feeling out of breath.

Add humor whenever appropriate and possible. Keep audience interested throughout your entire presentation. Remember that an interesting speech makes time fly, but a boring speech is always too long to endure even if the presentation time is the same.

When using audio-visual aids to enhance your presentation, be sure all necessary equipment is set up and in good working order prior to the presentation. If possible, have an emergency backup system readily available.  Check out the location ahead of time to ensure seating arrangements for audience, whiteboard, blackboard, lighting, location of projection screen, sound system, etc. are suitable for your presentation.

Have handouts ready and give them out at the appropriate time. Tell audience ahead of time that you will be giving out an outline of your presentation so that they will not waste time taking unnecessary notes during your presentation.

Know when to STOP talking. Use a timer or the microwave oven clock to time your presentation when preparing it at home. Just as you don't use unnecessary words in your written paper, you don't bore your audience with repetitious or unnecessary words in your oral presentation. To end your presentation, summarize your main points in the same way as you normally do in the CONCLUSION of a written paper. Remember, however, that there is a difference between spoken words appropriate for the ear and formally written words intended for reading. Terminate your presentation with an interesting remark or an appropriate punch line. Leave your listeners with a positive impression and a sense of completion. Do not belabor your closing remarks. Thank your audience and sit down.

Put A Shark In Your Tank

The Japanese have always loved fresh fish.
But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades.
So to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever.
The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring in the fish.
If the return trip took more than a few days, the fish were not fresh.
The Japanese did not like the taste.

To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats.
They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea.
Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer.
However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen and they did not like frozen fish.

The frozen fish brought a lower price. So fishing companies installed fish tanks.
They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin.

After a little hashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive.

Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference.
Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste.
The Japanese preferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish.
So how did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem? How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan? 
To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks.
But now they add a small shark to each tank.
The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged.

As soon as you reach your goals, such as finding a wonderful mate, starting a successful company,
paying off your debts or whatever, you might lose your passion.
You don't need to work so hard so you relax.
Like the Japanese fish problem, the best solution is simple.

"Man thrives, oddly enough, only in the presence of a challenging environment."

The more intelligent, persistent and competent you are, the more you enjoy a good problem.
If your challenges are the correct size, and if you are steadily conquering those challenges, you are happy.
You think of your challenges and get energised. You are excited to try new solutions.
You have fun. You are alive!

Instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them. Beat the heck out of them. Enjoy the game.
If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Failing makes you tired.
Instead, reorganise. Find more determination, more knowledge, more help.
Don't create success and lie in it. You have resources, skills and abilities to make a difference.

Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!

Mad with Love

 A long time ago, before the world was created and  humans set foot on it, God had put all the human "qualities" in a separate room.

 Since all the qualities were bored they decided to  play hide & seek. "Madness" was one of the qualities and he shouted: "I want to count, I want to count!"

 And since nobody was crazy enough to want to seek  "Madness", all the other qualities agreed. So  "Madness" leaned against a tree and started to

count: "One, two,three..."

 As "Madness" counted, the qualities went hiding.

 "Treason" hid in a pile of garbage.. "Lie" said that  it would hide under a stone, but hid at the bottom of the lake. And Madness continued to count "...

 seventy nine, eighty, eighty one..." By this time,  all the qualities were already hidden except "Love  ". For  stupid as "Love" is, he could not decide where to hide. And this should not surprise us, because we all know how difficult it is to hide  "Love".

"Madness": "...ninety five, ninety six, ninety  seven..."  Just when "Madness" got to one hundred........."Love" jumped into a rose bush where  he hid. And Madness turned around and shouted: "I'm  coming, I'm coming!" As Madness turned around,  "Laziness" was the first to be found, because  "Laziness" was too lazy to hide. "Madness" searched  madly and found "Lie" at the bottom of the lake. One  by one, Madness found them all except Love.  Madness  was getting desperate, unable to find Love. Envious  of Love, "Envy" whispered  to "Madness" "You only  need to find Love, and Love is hiding in the rose  bush." "Madness" Jumped on the rose bush and he  heard loud cry. The thorns in the bush had pierced  "Loves" eyes :((

 Hearing the commotion God came into the room and saw  what had happened. He got very angry and cursed "Madness" and said since "Love" has become blind  because of u  ..u shall always be with him"

 And so it came about that from that day on,  "Love is blind and is always accompanied by Madness

Let Manmohan stay

I am not aware how many of you have knowledge of the Nuclear Deal. I have read the deal in totality and strongly believe that the deal is in favour of India and will go a long way in solving India's energy concerns. Unfortunately, politics has taken over and no one wants to give credit to Manmohan Singh for his vison in ensuring that our future and our rural areas are illuminated with power. No one should doubt the integrity of Manmohan.

The BJP was the party which intially began discussions on the Nuclear deal and had infact agreed for much lower concessions on the deal. However, when the UPA came into power, they drew a hard bargain and got us a good deal which is more in favour of India.

For once, some party has put India's national interests in mind. let us not let hypocrizy spoil our chances for a brighter tomorrow. Though, it seems appearant that the Government will fall now, the youth should give a fitting reply to all parties who have jeopordized India's chances for a better future.

Love!!!

Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn'tmean they don't love you with all they have.
Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital.One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Ralphsuddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool andstayed there.
Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulledhim out. When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic actshe immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as shenow considered her to be mentally stable.
When she went to tell Edna the news she said, 'Edna, I have good newsand bad news.The good news is you're being discharged, since you wereable to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the lifeof the person you love... I have concluded that your act displays soundmindedness.
The bad news is, Ralph hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobebelt right after you saved him. I am so sorry, but he's dead.'
Edna replied, 'He didn't hang himself, I put him there to dry..How soon can I go home?'

Inspiring One-Liners

1. If time doesn't wait for you, don't worry! Just remove the damn battery from the clock and Enjoy life!




2. Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is like expecting the lion not to attack you because you are a vegetarian. Think about it.



3. Beauty isn't measured by outer appearance and what clothes we wear, but what we are inside. So, try going out naked tomorrow and see the admiration!

4. Don't walk as if you rule the world, walk as if you don't care who rules the world! That's called Attitude! Keep on rocking!

5. Every lady hopes that her daughter will marry a better man than she did and is convinced that her son will never find a wife as good as his father did!



6. He was a good man. He never smoked, never drank, never had an affair. When he died, the insurance company refused the claim. They said, he who never lived, cannot die!



8. So many options for suicide: Poison, sleeping pills, hanging, jumping from a building, lying on train tracks, but we choose Marriage, slow and sure!



9. Only 20 percent boys have brains, rest have girlfriends!



10. All desirable things in life are either illegal, banned, expensive or married to someone else!



11. Drinking is our biggest enemy- Jawaharlal Nehru

We should learn to love our enemies- Mahatma Gandhi

Now, whom to follow and which one to choose?



12. 10% of road accidents are due to drunken driving. Which means - it a logical statement that 90% of accidents are due to driving without drinking!!

Excellent story of Appreciation

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial


position in a big company.



He passed the first interview, the director did the last interview, made

the last decision.



The director discovered from the CV, that the youth's academic result is

excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate

research, never has a year he did not score.



The director asked, "Did you obtain any scholarship in school?" and the

youth answered "none".



The director asked, " Is it your father pay for your school fees?" the

youth answered, my father passed away when I was one year old, it is my

mother who paid for my school fees.



The director asked, " Where did your mother worked?" the youth answered, my

mother worked as cloth cleaner.



The director requested the youth to show his hand, the youth showed a pair

of hand that is smooth and perfect to the director.



The director asked, " Did you ever help your mother washed the cloth

before?"



The youth answered, never, my mother always wanted me to study and read

more books, furthermore, my mother can wash cloths faster than me.



The director said, I had a request, when you go back today, go and help to

clean your mother's hand, and then see me tomorrow morning.



The youth felt that its chance of landing the job is high, when he went

back, he happily wanted to clean his mother's hand, his mother feel

strange, happy but mixed with fear, she showed her hand to the kid.



The youth cleaned his mother's hand slowly, his tear drop down as he did

that. It is first time he found his mother's hand is so wrinkled, and

there are so many bruises in her hand. Some bruises incites pains so strong

that shiver her mother's body when cleaned with water.



This is the first time the youth realized and experienced that it is this

pair of hand that washed the cloth everyday to earn him the school fees,

the bruises in the mother's hand is the price that the mother paid for his

graduation and academic excellence and probably his future.



After finishing the cleaning of his mother hand, the youth quietly cleaned

all remaining clothes for his mother.



That night, mother and sons talked for a very long time.



Next morning, the youth went to the director's office



The director noticed the tear in the youth's eye, asked: " Can you tell me

what have you done and learned yesterday in your house?"



The youth answered, " I cleaned my mother's hand, and also finished

cleaning all the remaining clothes'



The director asked, " please tell me your feelings."



The youth said,

No. 1, I knew what is appreciation, without my mother,

I would not be, what I am today.

No. 2, I knew how to work together with my mother, then only

I can realize how difficult and tough to get something done.

No. 3, I knew the importance and value of family relationship.



The director said, " This is what I am asking, I want to recruit a person

that can appreciate the help of other, a person that knew the suffering of

others to get things done, and a person that would not put money as his

only goal in life to be my manager. You are hired.



Later on, this young person worked very hard, and received the respect of

his subordinates, every employees worked diligently and in a team, the

company's result improved tremendously.



A child who has been protected and habitually given whatever he did, he

developed "entitlement mentality" and always put himself first. He is

ignorance of his parent's effort.



When he started work, he assumed every people must listen to him, and when

he became a manager, he would never know how suffering his employee and

always blame others.



For this kind of people, he can have good result, may be successful for a

while, but eventually would not feel sense of achievement, he will grumble

and full of hatred and fight for more.



If we are this kind of protective parent, did we love the kid or destroy

the kid?



You can let your kid lived in a big house, eat a good meal, learn piano,

watch a big screen TV. But when you are cutting grass, please let them

experienced it.



After a meal, let them washed their plate and bowl together with their

brothers and sisters. It is not because you do not have money to hire a

maid, but it is because you want to love them in a right way.



You want them to understand, no matter how rich their parent are, one day

their hair will grow gray, same as the mother of that young person.



The most important thing is your kid learn how to appreciate the effort and

experience the difficulty and learn the ability to work with others to get

things done.



You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can Change your

direction anytime.

Green Tea - Benefits

Green tea has increasingly become a very popular drink worldwide becauseof its immensely powerful health benefits.

It is extraordinarily amazing what green tea can do for your health.

And if you're not drinking 3 to 4 cups of green tea today, you'redefinitely NOT doing your health a big favor.

*1. Green Tea and Cancer*

Green tea helps reduce the risk of cancer.

The antioxidant in green tea is 100 times more effective than vitamin Cand 25 times better than vitamin E.

This helps your body at protecting cells from damage believed to belinked to cancer.

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*2. Green Tea and Heart Disease*

Green tea helps prevent heart disease and stroke by lowering the levelof cholesterol.

Even after the heart attack, it prevents cell deaths and speeds up therecovery of heart cells.

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*3. Green Tea and Anti-Aging*

Green tea contains antioxidant known as polyphenols which fight againstfree radicals.

What this means it helps you fight against aging and promotes longevity.

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*4. Green Tea and Weight Loss*

Green tea helps with your body weight loss. Green tea burns fat andboosts your metabolism rate naturally.

It can help you burn up to 70 calories in just one day.

That translates to 7 pounds in one year.

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*5. Green Tea and Skin *

Antioxidant in green tea protects the skin from the harmful effects offree radicals, which cause wrinkling and skin aging.

Green tea also helps fight against skin cancer.

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*6. Green Tea and Arthritis*

Green tea can help prevent and reduce the risk of rheumatoid arthritis.

Green tea has benefit for your health as it protects the cartilage by

blocking the enzyme that destroys cartilage.

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*7. Green Tea and Bones*

The very key to this is high fluoride content found in green tea.

It helps keep your bones strong.

If you drink green tea every day, this will help you preserve your bonedensity.

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*8. Green Tea and Cholesterol*

Green tea can help lower cholesterol level.

It also improves the ratio of good cholesterol to bad cholesterol, byreducing bad cholesterol level.

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*9. Green Tea and Obesity*

Green tea prevents obesity by stopping the movement of glucose in fatcells.

If you are on a healthy diet, exercise regularly and drink green tea, itis unlikely you'll be obese.

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*10. Green Tea and Diabetes*

Green tea improves lipid and glucose metabolisms, prevents sharpincreases in blood sugar level, and balances your metabolism rate.

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*11. Green Tea and Alzheimer's*

Green tea helps boost your memory.

And although there's no cure for Alzheimer's, it helps slow the processof reduced acetylcholine in the brain, which leads to Alzheimer's.

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*12. Green Tea and Parkinson's*

Antioxidants in green tea helps prevent against cell damage in thebrain,

which could cause Parkinson's.. People drinking green tea also are lesslikely to progress with Parkinson's.

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*13. Green Tea and Liver Disease*

Green tea helps prevent transplant failure in people with liver failure.

Researches showed that green tea destroys harmful free radicals in fattylivers.

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*14. Green Tea and High Blood Pressure*

Green tea helps prevent high blood pressure.

Drinking green tea helps keep your blood pressure down by repressingangiotensin, which leads to high blood pressure.

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*15. Green Tea and Food Poisoning*

Catechin found in green tea can kill bacteria which causes foodpoisoning and kills the toxins produced by those bacteria.

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*16. Green Tea and Blood Sugar*

Blood sugar tends to increase with age, but polyphenols andpolysaccharides in green tea help lower your blood sugar level.

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*17. Green Tea and Immunity*

Polyphenols and flavenoids found in green tea help boost your immunesystem, making your health stronger in fighting against infections.

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*18. Green Tea and Cold and Flu*

Green tea prevents you from getting a cold or flu.

Vitamin C in green tea helps you treat the flu and the common cold.

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*19. Green Tea and Asthma*

Theophylline in green tea relaxes the muscles which support thebronchial tubes, reducing the severity of asthma.

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*20. Green Tea and Ear Infection*

Green tea helps with ear infection problem.

For natural ear cleaning, soak a cotton ball in green tea and clean theinfected ear.

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*21. Green Tea and Herpes*

Green tea increases the effectiveness of topical interferon treatment ofherpes.

First green tea compress is applied, and then let the skin dry beforethe interferon treatment.

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*22. Green Tea and Tooth Decay*

Green tea destroys bacteria and viruses that cause many dental diseases.

It also slows the growth of bacteria which leads to bad breath.

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*23. Green Tea and Stress*

L-theanine, which is a kind of amino acids in green tea, can helprelieve stress and anxiety.

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*24. Green Tea and Allergies*

EGCG found in green tea relieves allergies.

So, if you have allergies, you should really consider drinking greentea.

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*25. Green Tea and HIV*

Scientists in Japan have found that EGCG (Epigallocatechin Gallate) ingreen tea can stop HIV from binding to healthy immune cells.

What this means is that green tea can help stop the HIV virus fromspreading.

Life....

"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling some five balls in the air. You name them - Work , Family , Health , Friends and Spirit and you're keeping all of these in the Air.
You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back.
But the other four Balls - Family, Health, Friends and Spirit - are made of glass. If you drop one of these; they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked,nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand that and strive for it.

Time Magazine's quote on Sachin Tendulkar....

When Sachin Tendulkar travelled to Pakistan to face one of the finest bowling attacks ever assembled in cricket, Michael Schumacher was yet to race a F1 car, Lance Armstrong had never been to the Tour de France & Pete Sampras had never won a Grand Slam. When Tendulkar embarked on a glorious career taming Imran and company, Roger Federer was a name unheard of; Lionel Messi was in his nappies, Usain Bolt was an unknown kid in the Jamaican backwaters. The Berlin Wall was still intact, USSR was one big, big country, Dr Manmohan Singh was yet to "open" the Nehruvian economy. It seems while Time was having his toll on every individual on the face of this planet, he excused one man. Time stands frozen in front of Sachin Tendulkar. We have had champions, we have had legends, but we have never had a Sachin Tendulkar and we never will.

"HAVE BREAKFAST. OR.BE BREAKFAST!"

Who sells the largest number of cameras in India?
Your guess is likely to be Sony, Canon or Nikon. Answer is none of the above. The winner is Nokia whose main line of business in India is not cameras but cell phones.
Reason being cameras bundled with cellphones are outselling standalone cameras. Now, what prevents the cellphone from replacing the camera outright? Nothing at all. One can only hope the Sonys and Canons are taking note.
Try this. Who is the biggest in music business in India? You think it is HMV Sa-Re-Ga-Ma? Sorry. The answer is Airtel. By selling caller tunes (that play for 30 seconds) Airtel makes more than what music companies make by selling music albums (that run for hours).
Incidentally Airtel is not in music business. It is the mobile service provider with the largest subscriber base in India. That sort of competitor is difficult to detect, even more difficult to beat (by the time you have identified him he has already gone past you). But if you imagine that Nokia and Bharti (Airtel's parent) are breathing easy you can't be farther from truth.
"What Apple did to Sony, Sony did to Kodak, explain?" Sony defined its market as audio (music from the walkman). They never expected an IT company like Apple to encroach into their audio domain. Come to think of it, is it really surprising? Apple as a computer maker has both audio and video capabilities. So what made Sony think he won't compete on pure audio? So also Kodak defined its business as film cameras, Sony defines its businesses as "digital."
In digital camera the two markets perfectly meshed. Kodak was torn between going digital and sacrificing money on camera film or staying with films and getting left behind in digital technology. Left undecided it lost in both. It had to. It did not ask the question "who is my competitor for tomorrow?" The same was true for IBM whose mainframe revenue prevented it from seeing the PC. The same was true of Bill Gates who declared "internet is a fad!" and then turned around to bundle the browser with windows to bury Netscape. The point is not who is today's competitor. Today's competitor is obvious. Tomorrow's is not.
Hiding behind all these wars is a gem of a question - "who is my competitor?"
In 2008, who was the toughest competitor to British Airways in India? Singapore airlines? Better still, Indian airlines? Maybe, but there are better answers. There are competitors that can hurt all these airlines and others not mentioned. The answer is videoconferencing and telepresence services of HP and Cisco. Travel dropped due to recession. Senior IT executives in India and abroad were compelled by their head quarters to use videoconferencing to shrink travel budget
So much so, that the mad scramble for American visas from Indian techies was nowhere in sight in 2008. (India has a quota of something like 65,000 visas to the U.S. They were going a-begging. Blame it on recession!). So far so good. But to think that the airlines will be back in business post recession is something I would not bet on. In short term yes. In long term a resounding no. Remember, if there is one place where Newton's law of gravity is applicable besides physics it is in electronic hardware. Between 1977 and 1991 the prices of the now dead VCR (parent of Blue-Ray disc player) crashed to one-third of its original level in India. PC's price dropped from hundreds of thousands of rupees to tens of thousands. If this trend repeats then telepresence prices will also crash. Imagine the fate of airlines then. As it is not many are making money. Then it will surely be RIP!
India has two passions. Films and cricket. The two markets were distinctly different. So were the icons. The cricket gods were Sachin and Sehwag. The filmi gods were the Khans (Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and the other Khans who followed suit). That was, when cricket was fundamentally test cricket or at best 50 over cricket. Then came IPL and the two markets collapsed into one. IPL brought cricket down to 20 overs. Suddenly an IPL match was reduced to the length of a 3 hour movie. Cricket became film's competitor. On the eve of IPL matches movie halls ran empty. Desperate multiplex owners requisitioned the rights for screening IPL matches at movie halls to hang on to the audience. If IPL were to become the mainstay of cricket, as it is likely to be, films have to sequence their releases so as not clash with IPL matches. As far as the audience is concerned both are what in India are called 3 hour "tamasha" (entertainment). Cricket season might push films out of the market.
Look at the products that vanished from India in the last 20 years.When did you last see a black and white movie? When did you last use a fountain pen? When did you last type on a typewriter? The answer for all the above is "I don't remember!" For some time there was a mild substitute for the typewriter called electronic typewriter that had limited memory. Then came the computer and mowed them all. Today most technologically challenged guys like me use the computer as an upgraded typewriter. Typewriters per se are nowhere to be seen.
One last illustration. 20 years back what were Indians using to wake them up in the morning? The answer is "alarm clock." The alarm clock was a monster made of mechanical springs. It had to be physically keyed every day to keep it running. It made so much noise by way of alarm, that it woke you up and the rest of the colony. Then came quartz clocks which were sleeker. They were much more gentle though still quaintly called "alarms." What do we use today for waking up in the morning? Cellphone! An entire industry of clocks disappeared without warning thanks to cell phones. Big watch companies like Titan were the losers. You never know in which bush your competitor is hiding!
Future is scary! The boss of an IT company once said something interesting about the animal called competition. He said "Have breakfast .or.. be breakfast"! That sums it up rather neatly.
Success is not something to wait for; it's something to work for.

The man behind India

The man behind India

The airport in New Delhi slipped into utter chaos as soon as the Indian cricket team arrived to board a chartered flight to Ahmedabad on Thursday afternoon. People fished out pens, notebooks, paper, mobile phones and cameras and pushed through the security cordon to reach players for autographs and pictures.Even as players stood around, crowded in by overzealous fans, most obliging them with a quick smile or a scribble on whatever they had in their hands, Gary Kirsten, India coach, smiled to himself and walked to one corner, almost unnoticed, with Aravind Adiga’s Booker Prize winning novel, The White Tiger, tucked under an armpit.Despite the odd statement from a grateful cricketer, or the odd comment in the media, for the public at large, the contribution of this low profile man-behind-the-successful-team is as yet not understood. But for India’s superstar players, the he is the man of the moment.On Wednesday, Sachin Tendulkar told the world what he thought of Kirsten when he singled him out for special mention — everyone else was thanked in general.“I have been playing well after the 2007 World Cup and much of the credit goes to Gary. He has held the team beautifully, and it’s all about holding the team together. Even at the nets, he works as hard as the players, probably harder than anyone else. If you look, he has been bowling at me a lot at the practice and I would like to thank him for everything,” said Tendulkar.Helping players out in the nets and ironing out flaws is, however, just one small aspect of his job. His biggest achievement perhaps lies in allowing the players to be themselves and keeping the dressing room environment light and friction free. Sehwag had once said: “He is the best coach I have ever seen. The best part is that he doesn’t force things on you. But whenever you need him for practice, throwing balls, sharing ideas and worries, he’s always there.”Besides, what has earned him the respect of the team is his willingness to adapt and adjust. India skipper MS Dhoni feels Kirsten came in with an open mind and instead of forcing his ideas, made the effort to learn what the team needed from him. “He came in and learnt what Indian cricket is all about, what the culture is and how individuals work in the side. Accordingly, he made his strategies, which is working for all of us. We are really comfortable in dressing room,” said Dhoni.Seeing an Indian dressing room which, a few years ago, was torn apart by Greg Chappell’s terrible man-management, transform into this happy bunch that enjoys each others’ company, is something quite remarkable. As is Kirsten.

Love!!!

Just because someone doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn'tmean they don't love you with all they have.
Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital.One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool, Ralphsuddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool andstayed there.
Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulledhim out. When the Head Nurse Director became aware of Edna's heroic actshe immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as shenow considered her to be mentally stable.
When she went to tell Edna the news she said, 'Edna, I have good newsand bad news.The good news is you're being discharged, since you wereable to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the lifeof the person you love... I have concluded that your act displays soundmindedness.
The bad news is, Ralph hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobebelt right after you saved him. I am so sorry, but he's dead.'
Edna replied, 'He didn't hang himself, I put him there to dry..How soon can I go home?'

Jai Hind

An ingenious example of speech and politics occurred recently in the United Nations Assembly that made the world community smile.A representative from India began: 'Before beginning my talk I want to tell you something about Rishi Kashyap of Kashmir, after whom Kashmir is named. When he struck a rock and it brought forth water, he thought, 'What a good opportunity to have a bath..' He removed his clothes, put them aside on the rock and entered the water. When he got out and wanted to dress, his clothes had vanished.. A Pakistani had stolen them.'The Pakistani representative jumped up furiously and shouted, 'What are you talking about? The Pakistanis weren't there then.'The Indian representative smiled and said, 'And now that we have made that clear, I will begin my speech. 'And they say Kashmir belongs to themThis is one mail I recommend to be shared with 'ALL INDIANS'...including the world at large.
JAI HIND

Some challenges to your Lateral Thinking

An interesting quiz for you Lateral Thinking abilities --- Think!

1. There is a man who lives on the top floor of a very tall building.
Everyday he gets the elevator down to the ground floor to leave the building to go to work. Upon returning from work though, he can only travel half way up in the elevator and has to walk the rest of the way unless it's raining!

Why?

*(This is probably the best known and most celebrated of all lateral thinking puzzles. It is a true classic. Although there are many possible solutions which fit the initial conditions, only the canonical answer is truly satisfying.) *

2.A man and his son are in a car accident. The father dies on the scene, but the child is rushed to the hospital. When he arrives the surgeon says, "I can't operate on this boy, he is my son! " How can this be?

3. A man is wearing black: black shoes, socks, trousers, jumper, gloves and balaclava. He is walking down a black street with all the street lamps off. A black car is coming towards him with its light off but somehow manages to stop in time. How did the driver see the man?

4. Why is it better to have round manhole covers than square ones?

*This is logical rather than lateral, but it is a good puzzle that can be solved by lateral thinking techniques. It is supposedly used by a very well-known software company as an interview question for prospective employees. *

5. A man walks into a restaurant and asks the waiter for a glass of water. The waiter pulls out a gun and points it at the man. The man says 'Thank you' and walks out.

*(This puzzle claims to be the best of the genre. It is simple in its statement, absolutely baffling and yet with a completely satisfying solution. Most people struggle very hard to solve this one, yet they like the answer when they hear it or have the satisfaction of figuring it
out.) *






















~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SOLUTIONS
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1. The man is very, very short and can only reach halfway up the elevator buttons. However, if it is raining then he will have his umbrella with him and can press the higher buttons with it.

2. The surgeon was his mother.

3... It was day time.

4. A square manhole cover can be turned and dropped down the diagonal of the manhole. A round manhole cannot be dropped down the manhole. So, for safety and practicality, all manhole covers should be round.

5. The man had hiccups. The waiter recognized this from his speech and drew the gun in order to give him a shock. It worked and cured the hiccups-so the man no longer needed the water.

Am I with a right partner?

During a seminar, a woman asked," How do I know if I am with the right person?" the author then noticed that there was a large man sitting next toher so he said, "It depends. Is that your partner?" In all seriousness, sheanswered "How do you know?" Let me answer this question because the chancesare good that it's weighing on your mind replied the author. Here's theanswer.
Every relationship has a cycle...In the beginning; you fall in love withyour partner. You anticipate their calls, want their touch, and like theiridiosyncrasies. Falling in love wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completelynatural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That'swhy it's called "falling" in love.
People in love sometimes say, "I was swept of my feet." Picture theexpression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing,and then something happened TO YOU. Falling in love is a passive andspontaneous experience. But after a few months or years of being together,the euphoria of love fades. It's a natural cycle of EVERY relationship.Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touchis not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse's idiosyncrasies,instead of being cute, drive you nuts. The symptoms of this stage vary withevery relationship; you will notice a dramatic difference between theinitial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angrysubsequent stage. At this point, you and/or your partner might startasking, "Am I with the right person?" And as you reflect on the euphoria ofthe love you once had, you may begin to desire that experience with someoneelse. This is when relationships breakdown.
The key to succeeding in a relationship is not finding the right person;it's learning to love the person you found.
People blame their partners for their unhappiness and look outside forfulfillment. Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes.Infidelity is the most common. But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby,a friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances. But the answer to thisdilemma does NOT lie outside your relationship. It lies within it. I'm notsaying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could. AndTEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a fewyears later. Because (listen carefully to this): The key to succeeding in arelationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love theperson you found.
SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. You have towork on it day in and day out. It takes time, effort, and energy. And mostimportantly, it demands WISDOM. You have to know WHAT TO DO to make itwork. Make no mistake about it. Love is NOT a mystery. There are specificthings you can do (with or without your partner). Just as there arephysical laws of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws forrelationships. If you know and apply these laws, the results arepredictable. Love is therefore a "decision". Not just a feeling.
Remember this always: God determines who walks into your life. It is up toyou to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuseto let GO!!

What is recession?

What is recession? This Story is about a man who once upon a time was selling Hotdogs by the roadside. He was illiterate, so he never read newspapers. He was hard of hearing, so he never listened to the radio. His eyes were weak, so he never watched television. But enthusiastically, he sold lots of hotdogs. He was smart enough to offer some attractive schemes to increase his sales. His sales and profit went up. He ordered more a more raw material and buns and use to sale more. He recruited few more supporting staff to serve more customers. He started offering home deliveries. Eventually he got himself a bigger and better stove. As his business was growing, the son, who had recently graduated from College, joined his father. Then something strange happened. The son asked, "Dad, aren't you aware of the great recession that is coming our way?" The father replied, "No, but tell me about it." The son said, "The international situation is terrible. The domestic situation is even worse. We should be prepared for the coming bad times." The man thought that since his son had been to college, read the papers, listened to the radio and watched TV. He ought to know and his advice should not be taken lightly. So the next day onwards, the father cut down the his raw material order and buns, took down the colourful signboard, removed all the special schemes he was offering to the customers and was no longer as enthusiastic. He reduced his staff strength by giving layoffs. Very soon, fewer and fewer people bothered to stop at his hotdog stand. And his sales started coming down rapidly, same is the profit.. The father said to his son, "Son, you were right". "We are in the middle of a recession and crisis. I am glad you warned me ahead of time." Moral of The Story: It’s all in our MIND! And we actually FUEL this recession much more than we think.

good one...

There comes a point in your life when you realizewho matters,who never did,who won't anymore...and who always will.So, don't worry about people from your past,there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.Give this heart to everyone you don't want to lose in 2009, includingme, if you care.Try to collect 12; it's not easy!
Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kindof battle.

Sachin Tendulkar: Man, myth or product of the times?

Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. At 35 he is not a sportsman anymore, he is a bloody phenomenon. Reams of newsprint have been filled with description, analyses and tributes to his genius. Websites have dedicated huge amounts of space and attention to every little thing he does. Everything that needs to be written about the man has already been written. Or has it? Young cricketers have injected much needed optimism and vigour by performing splendidly under pressure. Nothing will do more for this revival than a Sachin Tendulkar hundred at Sharjah, even if he did not get one in the ICC KnockOut tournament. Is he under pressure to perform? Does he feel the pressure lifting because some others are also coming good? Who really knows what happens in the mind of Sachin Tendulkar? One notices a collection of details about the man that is not always visible in other cricketers. He is always the first to practice sessions. Once he puts on his pads to have a session at the nets, he does not take his pads off very easily. Even after he is done with batting, he makes it a point to bowl in the nets till the last man comes off. He does not say a single unnecessary word to pressmen. Unless he is terribly mobbed, he always stops to sign autographs for children. If a photograph is requested, he is polite to a fault. He always takes a bit of time to ask kids what class they are studying in, or some similar question that makes them feel that the little master cares. When disappointed with a decision, he does not make any untoward gestures. He may look crestfallen, but never steps out of line. So is he a paragon of virtue? Certainly not. His manner of captaincy has left room for a lot of criticism. Firstly he found the task of marshalling a disparate group difficult. On top of that, his own batting form took a beating. Another charge that has been leveled against him is that he tends to look after his friends with special care. But of course this allegation is rather unsubstantiated. However, at a time when cricket is going through arguably its most troubling episode, people are desperate for someone who stands for all that is good about the game. And Tendulkar is often the man who has to carry that cross. Does he want to be known as an example of all things good? Probably not. He wants to be Sachin Tendulkar. With all his weaknesses and faults. Do we the people let him be that? Certainly not. A majority of us look to him to make us feel better. When he walks out to bat, the weight of the nation's inadequacies is on his shoulders. What we can't achieve in our day to day lives, we look for Tendulkar to make up for on the cricket field. If he slams a century and takes us to victory, all of a sudden the world looks a better place. Tendulkar is excessively professional in his approach. He is one cricketer whose integrity has never ever been questioned. One look at the intensity with which he approaches the game makes it plain that no bookie would have the guts to approach the man. And yet he got together with Mark Mascarenhas and WorldTel long before cricket became the multi-crore industry it is today. The boy wonder signed a landmark deal that guaranteed crores of income from endorsements. To fulfil his contractual obligations, he turned up at various functions, endorsed a range of products from watches to car tyres to credit cards to toothpaste. Was he selling out? No one remotely suggested that. While a host of television advertisements based on cricketers has been taken off the air after the match fixing scandal broke, Tendulkar remains an eminently saleable commodity. If an avid cricket lover finds an old lamp, shines it and a genie pops out offering him any one wish, there would be very little dilemma. "I wish I could spend 24 hours listening to what goes on in Sachin Tendulkar's mind" would be his knee jerk reaction. If such a thing could be done, it would provide priceless insights into modern sport. At the end of the day one has to admit that Tendulkar is a true product of his times. The marketing, the hype, the drive. It is certainly a recent phenomenon. There was always a drive for excellence. But for someone to be such a public figure and influence the minds of millions is a phenomenon that has come about in the last few decades. He is no statesman, no politician, no religious leader. And yet he holds sway with as much power of as any one of the above. Whether he faces it or not, he is one of the few Indians who binds the whole of this country. Probably, no other person in the country is as uniformly admired as him. He is in a position of immense power. Did he choose to get to this position and work towards it? One reckons not. The price he has had to pay as an individual is incomparable to the rewards. Okay, so a majority of youngsters in this country would kill to be in his shoes. But what about the maestro himself? Fortunately or otherwise he doesn't have a choice. It is tragic however that a man who has given so much to the country and touched us all in some way or the other cannot enjoy a moment of peace when he wants it. If he wants to take his wife Anjali and kids out to dinner there would be such a mob at the restaurant it would be claustrophobic. And what of his kids? Can they ever have a normal upbringing? Will their friends treat them as just any other kids? That is hardly possible given the fact that Tendulkar is not any other man. He is special. Very special. And trapped by that. When his back injury threatened to ruin his career, the speculation was immense. Major newspapers and magazines carried detailed medical diagnosis and plainly asked whether his career was over. There was even a case of a teenager committing suicide on merely hearing that Tendulkar might not be able to play again. God forbid, but if something like that were to happen, where would that leave Sachin Tendulkar? Sure, he's made enough money to live luxuriously for the next few generations. But would he be able to live with the fact that he was ordinary once more? The media, the sponsors, the people of India have in the last few years made it extremely difficult for Tendulkar to live with himself if he was ordinary. A classic product of our times, Tendulkar's life goes parallel to the likes of Pete Sampras and more distinctly Tiger Woods. When modern society sees an outrageous talent that is coupled with the drive to be successful, it seizes upon it like never before. Even if Tendulkar were content with his achievements and decided to call it a day, he would not be allowed to without a hue and cry. Let's face it. He runs the cricket industry in India. Who can see a headline that has the word Tendulkar in it and ignore it? If Sachin Tendulkar has a breakdown of sorts at any time, we all will have blood on our hands. That's a fine way to thank someone who has given us so much, isn't it?

Anger and love

A saint asked his disciples, 'Why do we shout in anger? Why do peopleshout at each other when they are upset?'
Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, 'Because we lose ourcalm, we shout for that.'
'But, why to shout when the other person is just next to you?' asked thesaint. 'Isn't it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Whydo you shout at a person when you're angry?'
Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the saint. Finallyhe explained, 'When two people are angry at each other, their heartsdistance a lot. To cover that distance they must shout to be able tohear each other. The angrier they are, the stronger they will have toshout to hear each other through that great distance.'
Then the saint asked, 'What happens when two people fall in love? Theydon't shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts arevery close. The distance between them is very small...'
The saint continued, 'When they love each other even more, what happens?They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each otherin their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look ateach other and that's all. That is how close two people are when theylove each other.'
MORAL: When you argue do not let your hearts get distant, do not saywords that distance each other more, else there will come a day when thedistance is so great that you will not find the path to return.

simply superb

The woman in your life...very well expressed...Tomorrow you may get a working woman, but you should marry with these facts as well. Here is a girl, who is as much educated as you are; Who is earning almost as much as you do;

One, who has dreams and aspirations just as you have because she is as human as you are;

One, who has never entered the kitchen in her life just like you or your Sister haven't, as she was busy in studies and competing in a system that gives no special concession to girls for their culinary achievements

One, who has lived and loved her parents & brothers & sisters, almost as much as you do for 20-25 years of her life;

One, who has bravely agreed to leave behind all that, her home, people who love her, to adopt your home, your family, your ways and even your family name

One, who is somehow expected to be a master-chef from day #1, while you sleep oblivious to her predicament in her new circumstances, environment and that kitchen

One, who is expected to make the tea, first thing in the morning and cook food at the end of the day, even if she is as tired as you are, maybe more, and yet never ever expected to complain; to be a servant, a cook, a mother, a wife, even if she doesn't want to; and is learning just like you are as to what you want from her; and is clumsy and sloppy at times and knows that you won't like it if she is too demanding, or if she learns faster than you;

One, who has her own set of friends, and that includes boys and even men at her workplace too, those, who she knows from school days and yet is willing to put all that on the back-burners to avoid your irrational jealousy, unnecessary competition and your inherent insecurities;

Yes, she can drink and dance just as well as you can, but won't, simply because you won't like it, even though you say otherwise

One, who can be late from work once in a while when deadlines, just like yours, are to be met; One, who is doing her level best and wants to make this most important relationship in her entire life a grand success, if you just help her some and trust her;

One, who just wants one thing from you, as you are the only one she knows in your entire house - your unstinted support, your sensitivities and most importantly - your understanding, or love, if you may call it.

But not many guys understand this...

One of the best told stories through mails, every word in this is felt and expressed directly from heart….

Hats off to the person who has drafted it.. Right out of a woman's heart

An interesting read :

Dear Friends,
When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.
Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking... I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly. She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why? I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man!
That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; I had lost my heart to a lovely girl called Dew. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her!
With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, 30% shares of my company and the car. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Dew so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.
The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Dew. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.
In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.
This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that everyday for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy.
Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.
I told Dew about my wife s divorce conditions. She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully. My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mummy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset.
I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.
On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest... I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had doneto her.
On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn't tell Dew about this. It became easier to carry her as themonth slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.
She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily. Suddenly it hit me; she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart.
Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head. Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mum out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day. But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy. I drove to office... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind... I walked upstairs. Dew opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Dew, I do not want the divorce anymore.
She e looked at me, astonished. Then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Dew, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other any more. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death does us apart.
Dew seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away. At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote:
'I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart'

The small details of our lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, the property, the bank balance that matters. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happymarriage!
- Unknown.
If you don't share this, nothing will happen to you, but if you do, you justmight save a marriage.
We teach some by what we say
We teach some more by what we do
But we teach most by what we are

Inspiring Quotes on DRINKING.........!!!!

Sometimes when i reflect back on all the beer I drink, I feel ashamed. Then I look into the glass and think about the workers in the brewery and all of their hopes and dreams. If I didn't drink this beer, they might be out of work. Then their hopes and dreams would be shattered. Then I say to myself, "It is better that I drink this beer and let their dreams come true, than to be selfish and worry about my liver.

-- Jack Handy

I feel sorry for people who don't drink. When they wake up in the morning, that's as good as they're going to feel all day.

--Frank Sinatra

An intelligent man is sometimes forced to be drunk to spend time with his fools.

--Ernest Hemingway

When I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.

--Henny Youngman

24 hours in a day, 24 beers in a case. Coincidence?

--Stephen Wright

When we drink, we get drunk. When we get drunk, we fall asleep. When we fall asleep, we commit no sin. When we commit no sin, we go to heaven. Sooooo, let's all get drunk and go to heaven!

-- Brian O'Rourke

Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.

--Benjamin Franklin & Vanil

50 Romantic things to do 4 your Boy/GFriend

1. Watch the sunset together.
2. Whisper to each other.
3. Cook for each other.
4. Walk in the rain.
5. Hold hands
6. Buy gifts for each other.
7. Roses.
8. Find out their favorite cologne/perfume and wear it every time you're together.
9. Go for a long walk down the beach at midnight.
10. Write poetry for each other.
11. Hugs are the universal medicine.
12. Say only when you mean it and make sure they know you mean it.
13. Give random gifts of flowers/candy/poetry etc.
14. Tell her that she's the only girl you ever want. Don't lie!
15. Spend every second possible together.
16. Look into each other's eyes.
17. Very lightly push up her chin, look into her eyes, tell her you love her, and kiss her lightly.
18. When in public, only flirt with each other.
19. Put love notes in their pockets when they aren't looking.
20. Buy her a ring.
21. Sing to each other.
22. Always hold her around her hips/sides.
23. Take her to dinner and do the dinner for two d eal.
24. Spaghetti? (Ever see Lady and the Tramp?)
25. Hold her hand, stare into her eyes, kiss her hand and then put it over your heart.
26. Dance together.
27. I love the way a girl looks right after she's fallen asleep with her head in my lap.
28. Do cute things like write I love you in a note so that they have to look in a mirror to read it.
29. Make excuses to call them every 5 minutes
30. Even if you are really busy doing something, go out of your way to call and say I love you.
31. Call from your vacation spot to tell them you were thinking about them.
32. Remember your dreams and tell her about them.
34. Tell each other your most sacred secrets/fears.
35. Be Prince Charming to her par ents.
36. Brush her hair out of her face for her.
37. Hang out with his/her friends.
38. Go to church/pray/worship together.
39. Take her to see a romantic movie and remember the parts she liked.
40. Learn from each other and don't make the same mistake twice.
41. Describe the joy you feel just to be with him/her.
42. Make sacrifices for each other.
43. Really love each other, or don't stay together.
44. Let there never be a second during any given day that you aren't thinking about them, and make sure they know it.
45. Love yourself before you love anyone else.
46. Learn to say sweet things in foreign languages.
47. Dedicate songs to them on the radio.
48. Fall asleep on the phone with each other.
49. Stand up for them when someone talks trash.
50. Never forget the kiss goodnight and always remember to say, "Sweet dreams."

Think It Over

AN OPEN MIND DOES NOT ALWAYS REQUIRE AN OPEN MOUTH

Mumbai Marathon 2009

Hi All,
The registration to the Standard Chartered Marathon 2009 are now open.You can fill in your forms online athttp://mumbaimarathon.indiatimes.com/
It is a unique experience and I suggest that you do it once at least.
Cheers,
Glenn.

Don't Drink & Drive

I was walking around in a mall, when I saw a Cashier asked a little boy to give some more money.
The boy couldn't have been more than 5 or 6 years old. The Cashier said, 'I'm sorry, but you don't have enough money to buy this doll. Then the little boy turned to the old woman next to him: ''Granny, are you sure I don't have enough money?'' The old lady replied: ''You know that you don't have enough money to buy this doll, my dear.'' Then she asked him to stay there for just 5 minutes while she went to look around.. She left quickly. The little boy was still holding the doll in his hand. Finally, I walked toward him and I asked him who he wished to give this doll to. 'It's the doll that my sister loved most and wanted so much for Christmas. She was sure that Santa Claus would bring it to her.' I replied to him that maybe Santa Claus would bring it to her after all, and not to worry. But he replied to me sadly. 'No, Santa Claus can't bring it to her where she is now. I have to give the doll to my mommy so that she can give it to my sister when she goes there.' His eyes were so sad while saying this. 'My Sister has gone to be with God. Daddy says that Mommy is going to see God very soon too, so I thought that she could take the doll with her to give it to my sister.'' My heart nearly stopped. The little boy looked up at me and said: 'I told daddy to tell mommy not to go yet. I need her to wait until I come back from the mall.' Then he showed me a very nice photo of him where he was laughing. He then told me 'I want mommy to take my picture with her so she won't forget me.' 'I love my mommy and I wish she doesn't have to leave me, but daddy says that she has to go to be with my little sister.' Then he looked again at the doll with sad eyes, very quietly. I quickly reached for my wallet and said to the boy. 'Suppose we check again, just in case you do have enough money for the doll?'' 'OK' he said, 'I hope I do have enough.' I added some of my money to his with out him seeing and we started to count it. There was enough for the doll and even some spare money. The little boy said: 'Thank you God for giving me enough money!' Then he looked at me and added, 'I asked last night before I went to sleep for God to make sure I had enough money to buy this doll, so that mommy could give It to my sister. He heard me!'' 'I also wanted to have enough money to buy a white rose for my mommy, but I didn't dare to ask God for too much. But He gave me enough to buy the doll and a white rose. My mommy loves white roses.' A few minutes later, the old lady returned and I left with my basket. I finished my shopping in a totally different state from when I started. I couldn't get the little boy out of my mind. Then I remembered a local news paper article two days ago, which mentioned a drunk man in a truck, who hit a car occupied by a young woman and a little girl. The little girl died right away, and the mother was left in a critical state. The family had to decide whether to pull the plug on the life-sustaining machine, because the young woman would not be able to recover from the coma. Was this the family of the little boy? Two days after this encounter with the little boy, I read in the news paper that the young woman had passed away.. I couldn't stop myself as I bought a bunch of white roses and I went to the funeral home where the body of the young woman was exposed for people to see and make last wishes before her burial. She was there, in her coffin, holding a beautiful white rose in her hand with the photo of the little boy and the doll placed over her chest. I left the place, teary-eyed, feeling that my life had been changed for ever. The love that the little boy had for his mother and his sister is still, to this day, hard to imagine. And in a fraction of a second, a drunk driver had taken all this away from him. Please DO NOT DRINK & DRIVE. Now you have 2 choices: 1) Forward this message, or 2) Ignore it as if it never touched your heart. The value of a man or woman resides in what he or she gives, not in what they are capable of receiving.

Think about it

Apologizing does not mean that you are wrong and the other person is rightIt only means that you value the relationship much more than your ego!!

Difference between Focusing on Problems and Focusing on Solutions

Difference between Focusing on Problems and Focusing on Solutions
Case 1
When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found out thatthe pens wouldn't work at zero gravity (ink won't flow down to the writingsurface). To solve this problem, it took them one decade and $12 million.They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down, underwater,in practically any surface including crystal and in a temperature rangefrom below freezing to over 300 degrees C.
And what did the Russians do....?? They used a pencil.
Case 2
One of the most memorable case studies on Japanese management was the caseof the empty soapbox, which happened in one of Japan 's biggest cosmeticscompanies. The company received a complaint that a consumer had bought asoapbox that was empty. Immediately the authorities isolated the problem tothe assembly line, which transported all the packaged boxes of soap to thedelivery department. For some reason, one soapbox went through the assemblyline empty. Management asked its engineers to solve the problem.Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine withhigh-resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soapboxesthat passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No doubt,they worked hard and they worked fast but they spent whoopee amount to doso.
But when a rank-and-file employee in a small company was posed with thesame problem, he did not get into complications of X-rays, etc., butinstead came out with another solution.. He bought a strong industrialelectric fan and pointed it at the assembly line.. He switched the fan on,and as each soapbox passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out ofthe line.
Moral:
1.. Always look for simple solutions...
2.. Devise the simplest possible solution that solves the problems...
3.. Always focus on solutions & not on problems...