The power of being non-sticky

Hi,

Last week was hectic for different reasons. I had a friend's well-wishers turning against him (well, how many people can boast (!?) about this) . The following were their key "complaints":

"My friend is Non-sticky, lacks focus and is perpetually changing (jobs and the things he do)"

He felt blessed.

He told me why. During his final year at the managment school, he had a professor who was always restless - spending odd hours at the library, working on off-beat computer programs, reading Shakespeare & Dostoevesky, and of-course partying a lot. He had a way to surprise people by inquisitive queries, at the end of almost every shallow discussion. He is still my friend's role model. The major complaint against him was "non-sticking and perpetually changing".

The great poet "Bharathi" exhibited different interets - poetry, physical exercises, learning the vedas, etc. The complaint against him was being temporary on all things he did.

My friend also reminded me about the legendary Akio Morita's immortal words "Taravarane Sonova pokora" (donno whether I spelt it right, but I know what it means in Japanese - it means "the mind that never sticks").

He was thanking his folks for calling him non-sticky.

Thanks

Vijay

Hectic week

Hi,

Got caught in a whilpool of office work. Hence no time to even log-in into this wonderful area. Got to read some JK stuff from Eloor. Also revisited few of my favorite sites. List below for fellow bloggers:

www.jimcollins.com
www.tompeters.com
www.instapundit.com
www.feedster.com
www.danpink.com

Few years ago, I used to edit a knowzine (knowledge ezine) for a growing MR company based in the US. My job involved reading 50 newspapers (thanks to the web) daily. It was a fortnightly knowzine and hence the onus was to stay abreast of issues on a regular basis. I remember my mom commenting how fresh I looked everyday when I came home after work. Little did I know then I was not working but doing things close to my heart.

I was watching the Tamil Movie "Terrorist" last week. The protagonist gets into a room draped with wallpapers. One had words that went as "Pl. do not wake me when I am at work". (Or something in the same lines). I would have said the same thing when I was editing the knowzine.

Thanks

Vijay

The ethics of business

Hi,

This time it is an eye-opening incident I experienced in Chennai, my home town.

Public transportation in Chennai has witnessed an innovation; it is the advent of the share auto. It is the auto-rickshaw (the japanese root is jirigishaw) - made big to accomodate several people. These share-autos wait at Chennai's bus-stops to ply passengers. Each vehicle has a prescribed route and diligently follow the main roads since the primary catchment market comprises passengers waiting for buses.

I drive a car, but as my beginnings are humble, I love taking the bus, whenever I can. This happened last Sunday (BTW, try taking the public transport on a holiday! You will have the place for yourself and have a chauffer-run bus exclusively for you and a very few others). Last Sunday, I had been waiting for the bus when I heard the call of a share-auto driver. His vehicle had a name tag of the destination point. I was interested in experiencing the service this mode of transport offered. Hence I boarded the vehicle.

These autos work with a critical mass in mind. Unless these drivers have at least a couple of passengers in their vehicle, they would not start the vehicle. I had another fellow-passenger in the vehicle. The driver was waiting for more to come in. He was shouting the name of the destination at the top of his voice. Though there were people at the bus stop none were interested in taking the share auto.

The driver noticed a bus arriving and realized that it can take us to the destination point. He promptly informed to us (the ones in the auto) that the bus has arrived. The other passenger immediately alighted and took the bus. I was surpised about the driver's suicidal attitude. He has lost business by informing us about the bus's arrival. I inquired about his behavior. His reply shocked to me. His reply went in the following lines:

"Sir, I can start the auto only after having a critical mass. But, few passengers might want to move in a hurry. I do not want to deprive them of a chance to use a transport that is readily available. Taking my auto needs patience from my passengers and I do not want them to regret for having missed a chance of boarding the bus. I have seen the type of people who would want to take the share auto and I do not achieve a win-win with the hurrisome type of passengers."

His business values left me in a state of shock. He did not have proper footwear. He had sweated profusely (Thanks to Chennai's hot climate) and it had left him with a wet shirt. But he held a belief so high that it can make many corporate captains appear short.

See you with more such experiences.

Vijay

The mind of Pattinathar

Hi,

I am sure a majority of Tamil speaking folks are aware of the great saint "Pattinathar". It took an amazing turn of events for him to quote "Poiyyai, Pazhangathaiai, kanavaai mella poyinathuvae". An amateur translation attempt would lead to "It becomes a lie, then an old fable, and passess off as a pipedream". He talks about the emptiness of life and its craving.

I was shell shocked when I found this in the preamble of the great poet Bharathi's autobiography.

Vijay

Potpourri

Hi,

As we come to the end of the series of borrowed wisdom (I intend sharing my life's experiences in the coming weeks), here is a collection of phrases that again helped molding my life:

"Every time we come in a comfort zone, we will find a way to get out, because being comfortable in our busienss is very, very dangerous". - Business philosophy of Cirque du Soleil

"You have set sail on another ocean without star or compass
going where the argument leads shattering the certainties of centuries" - Janet Kalven

"Learn not to be careful" - Diane Arbus

"The unexamined life is not worth living." - Socrates

"The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing." - Socrates

This one (the one under), is my all-time favorite. It left me positively aghast and I ended up carrying it with me as a card in my purse:

"This is the true joy of life, the being used for a purpose recognized by YOURSELF as a mighty one, the being a force fo nature, instaead of a selfish, feverish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy. I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and it is my previlege to do for it whatever I can. I want to thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. Life is not a brief candle to me, it is sort of a splendid torch which I have got to hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before hadning it on to future generations" - G.B.Shaw

More later,

Vijay

Confucius - Another legend

Hi,

I know I had been bothering this blog's readers with a heavy dose of borrowed wisdom. I am a firm believer in standing on the shoulders of giants. The wisdom of these legends moulded me to explore newer terrains in life.

This time, I have the joy of sharing with you what I liked most among Confucius' teachings. Here we go:

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."

"I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand."

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance."

"The wheel of fortune turns round incessantly, and who can say to himself, I shall to-day be uppermost."

More to come,

Vijay

Shaw's mind

Hi there,

Some awesome stuff from my another favorite Bernard Shaw:

"Liberty means responsibility. That is why most men dread it."

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself."

"Man can climb to the highest summits, but he cannot dwell there long."

"My reputation grows with every failure."

"Nothing is worth doing unless the consequences may be serious."

"Property is organized robbery."

Bye for now!

Vijay

Emerson's wisdom

Hi there,

Thought I would share some quotes that inspired me. Happy reading.

My favorites from Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Always do what you are afraid to do."

"Children are all foreigners."

"Every man I meet is in some way my superior."

"Foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds."

"Intellect annuls Fate. So far as a man thinks, he is free."

"The sky is the daily bread of the eyes. "

"What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have never been discovered."

Watch out for more, in the coming days.

Vijay

Learner's diary

Hi there,

For folks serious on living a life as a learner, check out the following authors:

John Gardner
Stephen Jay Gould
Victor Frankl
Fyodor Dostoevesky
Subramanya Bharathi (Tamil Poet)
Kabir
Soren Kierkegaard
Thich Nhat Hanh

I am happy to share the above list of authors. I have benefitted immensely reading them.

Vijay

Welcome

Hi folks,

Welcome to my blog. This day is a remarkable day in my life as it marks the formal recognition of a learner in me. It calls for guts to share what one has learnt. The fact that you haven't learnt much lingers in one corner of your brain. Yet, I give up the inhibition this day to make blogging a part of my life.

In short, "Stay Hungry, stay foolish" - the immortal words of Steve (Pepsi To Apple), best summarizes this endeavor of mine.

Vijay