Semi-Writer’s Block

My college has taken over my life. It is literally running my life these days. I can’t believe that I have so much stuff to deal with and that too within such a short time span. Two big lessons that I am learning from this episode are:

• Procrastination is bad.
• Time Management is awesome.

Otherwise too, I sometimes suffer from not being able to think about anything to write about, so here are some things that might help someone else, if he is unable to think about stuff to write about. The difference between an amateur and a professional is that a professional will deliver even when he doesn’t feel like it. (note: I am not claiming to be a professional writer.) Or he’s good at making himself feel like it. Someday I’m going to figure out how to be a professional writer. Till then, use some of the following techniques and see if you come up with something creative:

Here are the five things I’m going to try to break this writer’s block:

1. Write for five minutes about anything. Sometimes it’s just a matter of getting the words flowing from my mind to the computer.
2. Mindmap to see if the problem is that I don’t know what I’m talking about. If so, then this calls for some more research and playing around with text editors.
3. Tell myself that I only need to write for about five minutes. Just like in conversation, I tend to get carried away—but I have to start somewhere.
4. Take care of my other tasks so that I’m not thinking about them.
5. Deliberately not write until it drives me mad and I just _have_ to write.

See, that doesn’t seem too hard…

See other stuff on Technorati about: writing

A Very Moving Commercial

This commercial does something to you. It makes you realize how cruel Humans can be and how they really misuse even their best friends for fun and entertainment.

Stranger in a Strange Land – Accepting the Impossible

Sometimes I feel like I’ve arrived on earth having spent my formative years being brought up by Martians on a world where things were possible simply because everyone already did those things.  And now I’m on earth wanting to do things only to be told, “That won’t work?” or “I’ve never seen that work before”.

Harrumph!

I hate being around naysayers.  I abhor being around people who say, “That’s not how we’ve done it in the past.”  And I particularly struggle to show grace to those who simply don’t want to try new things just because we might have a spectacular failure.

What is it that people are afraid of? Why is change such a scary thing?  What is it about the chance of failure that makes people want to keep getting the results they’re getting even when they’re not happy with those outcomes?

As a leader, how do I motivate others, (both under my leadership and those who I report to), to take a chance?  How do I get them to accept… no welcome… no embrace and seek change?

I figure it takes a few steps but I’m sure I’ve missed some things out.  So, as you read through these, feel free to exclaim. “I disagree,” or “You need to include this step too!” and include them via the comments section.

1. Get people to Buy-in to the Vision

Even before discussion on doing something different, if you want people to embrace it, they need to both know why it needs to happen and be excited about where you’re all heading.

Simply put, people need to know that any hardship and sacrifice that any change will bring, (and it inevitably will), the benefits on the other side are more than worth it.

2. Get people to Own the Change

People need to know they’ve had input and been a part of the process when change is going to affect their lives.  Involve them in the process AND communicate the decisions that come out of the process.

3. Give people Time to Accept the Change

After the communication people still need time to get to a stage where they can embrace the change.

4. Communicate the Success Stories

When changes are made problems will always follow.  Expect them!  But know that the pain of the problems will be felt by all the people involved in the change.

So tell them about the successes that are happening.  This is where they know that the benefits they dream for are worth the sacrifices they’re making to get there.

Feel Free to Disagree

iPhone for Everything

Story of My Life

I came across this cartoon, and well this pretty much sums up my productivity; when working on assignments, papers and other homework. I can really connect with this graph.

He will be an Engineer

As a kid, I often got asked, ‘<insert nickname here>, what do you want to be when you grow up?’ Well as kids are, I never really paid too much heed to these questions and just rambled about the latest fads that I was obsessed with; and that I want to do something related to that. I, however, remember that at some point I had the answer to this question well prepared and I totally sounded confident as to what I wanted to be. This was my somewhat prepared answer, “I want to be a pilot when I grow up.” Well it sounded pretty interesting and it was obviously darn ambitious for a young kid to say that. I figured that it did impress everyone, but looking back at that time, I often wonder why did I chose to say, that I want to be a pilot, when I obviously could say stuff like, “I want to be a …..doctor, engineer, lawyer, teacher, and a million different things”.

I don’t quite have the answer, and I guess I never will, however I’d like to share my insights to what I thought of airplanes before I had never been on one: I used to think that to travel in a plane you had to be shrunk, and was really freaked out by the idea of someone shrinking me. And when I finally traveled on a plane from Bombay to Mangalore (My first trip, I still was pretty young), I remember demanding that I get to sit near the window, only to get scared midway (thinking I might fall off) and then demanding that I be shifted to the aisle seat. When I think back to stuff like this, I really appreciate all the people in my life, especially my family for making me have such awesome memories from childhood. And finally, I am currently studying to be an engineer and came across this hilarious video, so I thought I’d share it with you.

What did you want to be as a kid?

The Pursuit of Excellence

An interesting story that I came across. Well the story in itself may seem too trivial to take a lot of meaning out of it, but it has a deep rooted meaning none the less. It is a translation from another language. A story of Indian folklore, where temples are abundant and people are really hard working, especially in the villages and in the skilled trade, like in sculpting. Anyways I hope you like the story.

A man once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby.

Surprised, he asked the sculptor, “Do you need two statues of the same idol?” “No,” said the sculptor without looking up, “We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage.”

The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. “Where is the damage?” he asked. “There is a scratch on the nose of the idol.” said the sculptor, still busy with his work.

“Where are you going to install the idol?” The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high.

“If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?” the gentleman asked. The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, “I will know it.”

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not. “Excellence” is a drive from inside, not outside.

Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction.

The Right Angle

My favorite movie of all time is Dead Poets Society. If you’ve watched it, and if you really listen to the message, it is a message of change and progression, for if not we stagnate and die. Really, some of the quotes are so powerful, and the example of leadership played by the main teacher “Mr. Keating” (as portrayed by actor Robin Williams) is truly unique and absolutely remarkable. I’ll take this post into two parts, again, not to dilute the lesson it’s trying to convey.

Today I want to write about what I learned again from watching the movie AGAIN (probably for the nth time). Really, Mr. Keating’s message is one of hope and aspiration. His work is centered around reaching the young minds of his students and implanting them with a desire to succeed, but to be unique in being themselves. One of my favorite quotes is right in the beginning when he says, “You’re in a battle, gentleman, for your hearts and souls!”

That perfectly describes our journey through this life! It’s a battle to keep true to who we are…so very deep inside. A battle that if lost, we will lose our beings to the traps of mediocrity and non-achievement. Very powerful if you think about how we’ve been doing in “our” battle up until this point in time.

One of the most famous scenes in the first half of the movie is when Mr. Keating stands up on his desk, and then encourages his students to all take a turn doing the same. His point is to help them see the world from a different angle, give them a different perspective. He encourages this as a way of gaining new insight and revolutionary ideas in solving life’s challenges and discovering grand opportunities. I asked myself yesterday, “how often do I look at things from new angles?” Surprisingly we stay stuck in the same mental rut as we always have been, yet expect things to change! (That is the definition of insanity, by the way) Albert Einstein said, “You can never solve a problem on the level on which it was created.” Now if that’s not one of the most brilliant things ever spoken, I don’t know what is.

That quote is exactly what Mr. Keating was doing on his desk. By standing up there, you can view the world in a different scene and be on a different level. When we are faced with challenges, whether they be personal, family, or business related, the best way out of them is to look for new angles. Look for a new opening. Look for the opportunity.

Basically, stop focusing on the damn problem! The more we talk about the sorrows we have, the more we speak of the insurmountable obstacles we face, well, then, the more we have those situations come into our life. So let’s implore together to stand on a desk today (figuratively speaking, but if you’re inclined to actually do so, be my guest.

Let’s look at the way life is going FROM A TOTALLY NEW PERSPECTIVE. What are the possibilities ahead? What are the goals we want to achieve? What is the ideal target? Then let us put our undivided focus upon that end result. Minute by minute, until we have come to our planted destination. Worth a shot? Right?

MAY YOU SORE TO NEW HEIGHTS TODAY!

Beautiful Rain

I haven’t written in a while, mainly because ironically, I get a blog then suddenly have so much other stuff to do that I don’t get time to write stuff anymore. Not that anyone reads my blog anyway, which is evident from my stats *cry*.

I just felt like writing about ‘rain’ today, I got a little spark of inspiration whilst watching the rain out of my window and simultaneously listening to the rain and Caspian’s new album “Tertia”. I have always liked the rain,  I know and have known a few other people that also like the rain, however, most of the time people only talk about how much they loathe it. I guess that’s up to them, isn’t it? I don’t have a problem with the rain, I love it, and yes, that includes being out in the rain, playing in the rain.

As soon as it begins to rain, most people shoot off in all directions looking for shelter, followed by moaning about how “s***ty” the weather is and how it sucks to get wet. Personally, I love the sound of the rain bouncing off everything, I love the smell that the rain brings with it, I love the feeling of the rain landing on me. Rain is a beautiful natural phenomenon, how can people hate it? So you get wet, who cares? You can dry off. My favourite time to be out in the rain is when its really dark, and the streets are only slightly lit up by street lamps, and I’m walking along listening to some soft and beautiful music on my ipod, whilst the sky rains on me.

To most people, rain is just an inconvenience, something to be avoided, something that you should hate. It evokes feelings of depression, darkness and gloom. Do people really feel this way about rain? Or do they simply just act in this way because they think they’re supposed to?

I’d love to just stroll along somewhere quiet and dimly lit in the rain, with a significant other, having a meaningful conversation whilst at the same time being drenched in the beauty of the rain. That may seem weird to whomever may be reading this, but I think its wonderful.

Rain isn’t horrible, rain is water, and water is one of the main sources of life, I for one love to be soaked in life in such a beautiful fashion.

And now i leave you with this:

“Out where the stones lay like bones by the ocean

Out where the waves crash contempt on the land

Someone was trembling for fear of the tempest

Somebody silently reached for their hand

Said, understand that if you’re cold I’ll keep you warm

And besides, there’s so much beauty in a storm

So come down with me to the shore

And what’s more, I adore you

So tell me, what is there to fear

You think some seraph up above is trying to rob us of our love

Because the sky’s not clear

My dear, you know there’s not

Now listen to the rain upon the rooftop

But the wind picked up

Out where the stones stand up like thrones beside the ocean

Out where the waves make a grave of the sea

The lovers struggled in the middle of the tempest

And water angrily crawled up onto the beach

Said, hold my hand and stay with me

We’ll be released

But the tide clung like an anchor to her feet

And though he tried to make the water line recede

It pulled her out into the sea

He could not break apart the waves to bring her safely back in

He watched her hand break through the surface once

Then disappear again

Forever wait inside the sea for my, my dear

I hear you

You speak in every curling wave

And sing in every violent breeze

Someday not far away from here

My dear, I swear I’ll see you

And we will hear the seraphs cry

For they will still envy you and I

How they envied you and I

How they envied you and I

How they envied you and I”

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