Where were you.....

What do you remember? Why?
Just think. You can always recollect the edge-of-the-seat match your home team won. Or the first day at your job. Or the first date you had. Or even where you were when heard the news of the tsunami....this interesting article suggests that how you feel is critical in making you remember all these. High emotion equals high memory.

The comfort zone

Shopping has its benefits. Especially when you do it with new friends. While browsing for clothes in a mall, a decided to check out a friend's opinion about men's clothing. He is a fresh graduate from a fashion design school and works for a well-known outlet designing clothes for page3 people. First, he gave a few tips on colour combination and the latest "in fashion" clothing. And then he topped it all and said, " Always wear something slightly bolder than what you think you should".
Interesting thought, this. Especially, when you apply it whatever you do. The extra bold element helps break the rut.

When the sun sets...

What is it about the evenings that makes people behave so differently.
The blue grey sky, the occasional tuft of cloud, tinged by the sun orange at one end makes one long for company. It is a time to talk.
Our best conversations happen only when we are ourselves. Be it when you switch off the lights to go to sleep - and just cant. Or be it the grand finale of a sunset across the ocean when you clasp hands and open your heart. The sunsets are so magical.
And it is not just the sky, the late evenings is also time for the birds to come home. As I sit here, I can listen to their chirp. As if they mother sparrow wants to share her day with her young ones. The adventures must be told over the meal that was arranged for by the day's toil. As if the silence of day's work needs to be balanced with the continuous chatter. Humans arent different too!
The city begins to glow. It is time for the lights to come on. How wonderful a view it must be from the sky to look as the city becomes defined by these jewels of lights. The different streetlights like necklaces, the big buildings like diamond studded tiaras- and the occasional dark patches done in by the load shedding! It would be as if the star studded skies were mirrored and then magnified.
The evening is always a time for change. While most people often talk of daybreak as the time of the day, it is the evening that smoothens our entry into the comfort of darkness. When we are far away from the glare and it is easy to be ourselves.
Maybe that’s what evenings are about. A chance to be Ourselves. The light has mellowed and the glare has gone. The lines on the forehead have vanished and the smile on the lips has returned. It is time to be alive.

Its not about the bike!

Have you ever read something that makes you feel totally different about the way you view life?
I just did. It was Lance Armstrong's autobiography ( that explains the title). For those of you who dont know about him, his is a story of a fighter -- a cycle champion who got struck with cancer in the prime of his life. A cancer so malignant that it made his living hellish. A doctor told him that by the end of his chemotherapy, he would crawl out of the hospital unable to cycle anymore. But he survived. And then lived on to win tour de france 5 times. A story of grit, courage and winning when the odds laugh at you. And the best part is, it isnt a story. It really happened!
Want a quick lesson on how to live? Just grab the book or browse the site.

Knowledge has organising power

I heard this some time back and still get awed by its powerful simplicity.
Finance has never been my forte - something like how most people look at mathematics. I found it boring and of little practical use. But now that my new job requires a lot of understanding of how to take investment decisions, how to value banks, when does a merger make sense, I was pushed to go back to the textbook. And what joy it has been.
Financial terms which seemed totally out of context have started to make sense. Sample this-- greenmail, white knight, poison pill, poison put-- whoa!!
And as i delve deeper, things have started to fall in place and make sense. The work on my desk now is easier to go through and i feel a sense of direction in what i am doing. Not just that...am already itching to put all these terms to use ( hopefully at relevant places before interesting audiences!) and get some bigger eyeball responses :)

Scared!

It is a good idea to live your life - one moment at a time. It works for me. Not always though.
It works only when i am naturally happy and not when am scared that if i dont act - things would take an ugly turn. Fear is not good.
Let me explain. If your search for a new job is based on the fear that you would not get a raise or a promotion in your present job - you would act fast--as if there was fire below your tail. The problem is not whether you did something or how fast you acted, it lies with how you did. Your search would be a job that pays well and not really whether it would make your happier.
Same for relationships.
Dont love people because if you dont, they would go away. Love them because you feel nicer if they are around. Powerful thought this.

Where are u looking dude..

I work for a bank and we were deciding on what kind of bank would be a good target to acquire so that we can grow rapidly. We have had countless debates in the last 2 months. Still no clarity.
It was then that we discovered why the confusion arose. We had spent all our effort on research and finding out how attractive were the banking sectors of other geographies. Nothing had been done to really understand what kind of gaps exist in our portfolio that needed to be filled. Once you realised where you really want to grow, doesnt finding the right thing to do ( identify the bank in this case ) become so much easier. A eureka moment!
And so true about life too.
Look within. After all, thats where you'll find the answers. Be it anything from finding a life partner to directing your career path. Once you are clear within, the right answer just pops infront of you. Who says that the information around us is too much? What we lack is knowing what we want?

There is technique to every art

I jog in the mornings. A recent passion.
Over the past few years, I had tried everything to boost up my stamina. But barely a km of running and i was puffing and panting like those coal locomotives. Almost gave up the thought that I could do any long distance running.
But then a friend confided."The way to do it is .. stop running. Dont sprint. Just jog along at a steady consistent pace and you'll soon be on an auto pilot when your second wind catches up with you."
It worked.
Whatever activity you do in life-- be it jogging, pottery or painting.. remember there is a technique behind it. If you are smart ( and lucky!) , you'll discover it yourself. But never be afraid to ask and learn.
It works!

Dream on

Dreams. Wishes. Fantasy.
A different world that you create out of nothing. Or is it?
I dream of a day when:

• i could step into space and view the earth - get mesmerized by its beauty and realise how really small we are
• i would make the most perfect pots on the wheel with my hands
• i would complete the sub-sahara run
• i would get my first book published
• i could make people realise how much of their life is wasted in analysing things which just dont matter
• i would earn enough to finally retire in a luxurious cottage in kausani
• my daughter would ease off into sleep after a bedtime story that i just made up
• i would have my 2 weeks of fame ( yes! i know the phrase is 2 minutes ;) but then its a dream, right?

Oh! dont i wish