Ask the people around you the life question: 'What is life?' and you will recieve myriad of answers, all of them way out of league with one another and even then you'll find all the answers to be correct. Bang!! Life is fun, life is pain, life is love, life is hatred, life is money, life is greed, life is gluttony, life is power, life is lust, life is friendship, life is work, life is spirituality, life is party, life is solitary, you just name it man. So huge and different are the facets of life and we experience all of them in our own life without sometimes(read always) being aware of it. How more foolish can we be !!
Friends, according to me the most integral part of life are dreams. Your dreams define your life. If you have some dreams for your life -- take it from me, you are still alive. No dreams, no life. I say this because life is nothing else but the process you undergo while trying to realize your dreams. Hence, Dream!! Yes, yes dream as big as you can. You are supposed to do that.
Obviously, if you have dream you'll chase it, and rightly - why not. But it is in this very chase the key to life lies. There are people who succumb under the weight of their own dreams and this is exactly what one can easily avoid by being aware. Be aware of yourself and your dreams. Enjoy the feeling, whatever you go through, you get while chasing your dream. And that is the only, and i mean it - ONLY, way to enjoy your life. That is how you live a successful life. Thats because when that dream is achieved, it will become valueless for you. Suddenly, what you've been yearning for so long will look like nothing. But what will remain with you will be your deeds, your memories of your past, your pursuit. And if that doesnt please you you will definitely not have the feeling of achieving something. So it is important to enjoy while you pursue. You may well fail some time in the pursuit of your dream but dream again and chase again. Never fail to dream.
That is what life means to me !!
Keep Chasing!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Work Culture
The term Work Culture is hugely attached to lives of all of us and may be that is why the term has become so commonplace. Ask any employee about the kind of company he/she wants to work with and you will definitely find 'good work culture' as one of his criteria in his wishlist. Ask any employer why should any employee work with him and the answer, in most of the cases, will have the phrase ' we have a good work culture'. Now what befuddled me was the meaning of the term - work culture. What in hell, or may be heaven, does the word work culture mean. Why is it so much talked about and why do people long for good work culture. Seems like offices with good work culture besides giving good salary doesnt demand any work or may be employees are allowed to come at any time and leave at any time they want or may be they are granted unlimited leaves every time they ask for it. But no, though workplace rules may deny all of the aforementioned things and yet the place may have a good work culture. I'd just like to share what I came to understand about work culture after working for 3 months in my workplace.
Why does anyone do a job....simple.. to earn money. So do your work, get your salary. Where does the 'good work culture' gets into picture. Well it gets in when our emotions come into action at the work place and being humans it is almost impossible to just block emotions from our response system.
Imagine:
You do your job sincerely and report it to your boss but you dont get back any reply or feedback Your boss not knowing what are you working on or if you were on a leave
Working in team where no one knows what the other team members did
And now imagine:
You do your job sincerely and report it to your boss and he discusses it with you, envisages problems attached with it, shares his experience with you or instilsl some more creative thoughts in you
Your boss asking you how far has your work progressed and discussing the problems you are facing
Working in a team so nicely gelled that you just feel at home though in office with them.
Well, if you imagined that and felt something in response you've got the meaning of work culture. Though I may have stretched the imaginations beyond practical limit, the work culture at any place will be tilted more towards either of the limits. Good work culture motivates people to work harder. It makes each and every employee feel that their contributions were valuable. Everyone feels a sense of attachment towards the work place. Everyone feels they are capable of doing something and are hence wanted. These feelings give pleasures which no other thing could give. Nothing!!
May be that is why work culture is so important.
Why does anyone do a job....simple.. to earn money. So do your work, get your salary. Where does the 'good work culture' gets into picture. Well it gets in when our emotions come into action at the work place and being humans it is almost impossible to just block emotions from our response system.
Imagine:
You do your job sincerely and report it to your boss but you dont get back any reply or feedback Your boss not knowing what are you working on or if you were on a leave
Working in team where no one knows what the other team members did
And now imagine:
You do your job sincerely and report it to your boss and he discusses it with you, envisages problems attached with it, shares his experience with you or instilsl some more creative thoughts in you
Your boss asking you how far has your work progressed and discussing the problems you are facing
Working in a team so nicely gelled that you just feel at home though in office with them.
Well, if you imagined that and felt something in response you've got the meaning of work culture. Though I may have stretched the imaginations beyond practical limit, the work culture at any place will be tilted more towards either of the limits. Good work culture motivates people to work harder. It makes each and every employee feel that their contributions were valuable. Everyone feels a sense of attachment towards the work place. Everyone feels they are capable of doing something and are hence wanted. These feelings give pleasures which no other thing could give. Nothing!!
May be that is why work culture is so important.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
The Way Ahead
The Indian Filmdom is producing movies like never before. I'm not concerned with the number of movies released every year. Its rather the quality of movies which interests me. Movies like TZP, Munnabhai I&II, 3 Idiots are in true sense, revolutionary. These movies reflect the thoughts of great thinkers and visionaries of our bollywood industry.
What is so different about these movies is the message they convey to their audiences. These movies compels the audiences to think. They stir thoughts in their minds. Though these movies have flaws like over-emphasizing and things which we find in most bollywood films, what sets them apart is that at the core of the movie lies a thought, an idea which show us a way for the betterment of tomorrow, for freedom of thought and action, for chasing what you believe in and for making this society a better place to live.
I do not intend to say that these movies change the way we live life, because the thoughts stirred are not sustainable. The thoughts lose its charm within few hours for some and few days for the rest. As soon as people start handling their regular affairs and start facing the same problems those thoughts just get wiped off from their mind. The thoughts fail to percolate through every individual's life into their everyday affairs. But nevertheless what is important is those few hours and days which is spent over the movie. It is with the integration of those few hours and days the result, which the movie makers wanted to achieve, will be achieved. Those few hours would sow the seeds of revolutionizing the minds of the people. The bollywood industry needs more thinkers like Rajkumar Hirani and Aamir Khan. And its not only upto the thinkers to improve the quality of life we live. Everyone of us who agrees to their thoughts should try applying those idea in our day to day affairs. This is how the result will be achieved and the world will become a better place to live.
What is so different about these movies is the message they convey to their audiences. These movies compels the audiences to think. They stir thoughts in their minds. Though these movies have flaws like over-emphasizing and things which we find in most bollywood films, what sets them apart is that at the core of the movie lies a thought, an idea which show us a way for the betterment of tomorrow, for freedom of thought and action, for chasing what you believe in and for making this society a better place to live.
I do not intend to say that these movies change the way we live life, because the thoughts stirred are not sustainable. The thoughts lose its charm within few hours for some and few days for the rest. As soon as people start handling their regular affairs and start facing the same problems those thoughts just get wiped off from their mind. The thoughts fail to percolate through every individual's life into their everyday affairs. But nevertheless what is important is those few hours and days which is spent over the movie. It is with the integration of those few hours and days the result, which the movie makers wanted to achieve, will be achieved. Those few hours would sow the seeds of revolutionizing the minds of the people. The bollywood industry needs more thinkers like Rajkumar Hirani and Aamir Khan. And its not only upto the thinkers to improve the quality of life we live. Everyone of us who agrees to their thoughts should try applying those idea in our day to day affairs. This is how the result will be achieved and the world will become a better place to live.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Yes Boss !
Almost every person doing a job has atleast one member in his hate-list. No points for guessing, its obviously one's boss. But this is not always true. Very recently I had an opportunity to work under a person, though for a very brief period, for whom at the end of the day I myself only with words of praises for him. As a matter of fact, he wasn't my boss but his leadership just drew people on their own to follow his instructions. His knowledge about the subject was thorough, and his visions extremely clear. He persona oozed with confidence. People just paved the way themselves for him to lead. I want to share one of the experiences I had with him.
Well, the background first. We were in the early stages of commissioning a unit. One of the other plants of the company at a different location already had that unit in operation. He being familiar with operations of the unit was sent at our location to assist our process. Now its only his third day in our plant and every one is ready to trust him, and everyone is asking for his opinions. Well on his third day, while we were about to leave for home after work the 'superboss' ordered us to start one of the equipments of the unit. Now, there was many process parts of the equipments which were either not completed or were not checked if they worked properly. But we had orders from superboss. Nothing, He figured out a solution under given circumstances and started instructing us on how to go about it in a very organized manner. It was as if he's been here with us for a long time. Our bosses who've been here since the very starting and some even more experienced looked up to him. And indeed the equipment was started without any hiccup.
The thing I want to make note of is that a person with true knowledge and good leadership skills doesnt take much time to make people realize what his true worth is. Here, among all the people it was he who took the charge, when there was no need for him to do so. He was the center of co-ordination for this entire operation. From a foreign element at out unit he transformed himself to an integral part in no time. It was really a nice experience working under him. Working under a good leader always motivates you. One should consider oneself if he has a good leader to lead him in.
Well, the background first. We were in the early stages of commissioning a unit. One of the other plants of the company at a different location already had that unit in operation. He being familiar with operations of the unit was sent at our location to assist our process. Now its only his third day in our plant and every one is ready to trust him, and everyone is asking for his opinions. Well on his third day, while we were about to leave for home after work the 'superboss' ordered us to start one of the equipments of the unit. Now, there was many process parts of the equipments which were either not completed or were not checked if they worked properly. But we had orders from superboss. Nothing, He figured out a solution under given circumstances and started instructing us on how to go about it in a very organized manner. It was as if he's been here with us for a long time. Our bosses who've been here since the very starting and some even more experienced looked up to him. And indeed the equipment was started without any hiccup.
The thing I want to make note of is that a person with true knowledge and good leadership skills doesnt take much time to make people realize what his true worth is. Here, among all the people it was he who took the charge, when there was no need for him to do so. He was the center of co-ordination for this entire operation. From a foreign element at out unit he transformed himself to an integral part in no time. It was really a nice experience working under him. Working under a good leader always motivates you. One should consider oneself if he has a good leader to lead him in.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Its all about basics
Few days ago we were trying to commission a very high profile gas compressor. Its components costs a couple of times the amount a person would have earned after answering fifteen questions to BigB in kbc, leave alone the total cost of the equipment. Moreover, its costliest component is so delicate that a moment of silliness or a few seconds of inaction after emergency situations could render it useless and cause irreparable damage. Considering the potential losses a silly mistake could cause the task of the start-up should be entrusted to an experienced professional who is totally converse with the system. Hence specialized professionals were flown in from different places to ensure successful startup of the equipment and we did witness a successful startup. Being a part of this operation I very well understand the skill set required for such a highly specialized job and also the fact the how rare are the people possessing those. Now the thought which stirred my mind was, why is it that the people who possess such rare skills and are capable of doing such specialized jobs dont have a market value which can do justice to the talent they have??
Well, after a lot of thinking this is what I could finally settle on. Yes, it is true that these people possess rare skills and such people are very few in number but there are even fewer number of people who could employ there skills. Such rare skills are used in rare places only. A better way of understanding it would be : the supply after all has to be equal to the demand. And this is not just true for this case, it is applicable everywhere and that why the people refer to it as the "basics". If you can understand the basics, you can rule the world !
Well, after a lot of thinking this is what I could finally settle on. Yes, it is true that these people possess rare skills and such people are very few in number but there are even fewer number of people who could employ there skills. Such rare skills are used in rare places only. A better way of understanding it would be : the supply after all has to be equal to the demand. And this is not just true for this case, it is applicable everywhere and that why the people refer to it as the "basics". If you can understand the basics, you can rule the world !
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Changing Times
The wave now sweeping across the globe is the wave of start-ups. Everyday there are numerous young people getting into start-ups. People have now started prefering jobs in start-ups than some established average company. The amount of awareness, the support that is now available to people doing start-ups is tremendous and is contibuting lavishly to expand this community.
The reasons for this increased momentum of start-ups is not very hard to guess. The youths today long for freedom, and start-up is one way of life where you can enjoy all the freedom you want. Its you who decides what to do and its you who decides how to do. Apart from it the feeling of establishing something on your own is just beyond imagination. You feel yourself on top of the world and you feel like the world is for you to conquer. Also, going by my personal experience, when you work for yourself, your work brings out the best from you and in the process you just keep improving your average performance level.
Yes, start-ups gives you all the above mentioned pleasures but as usual no damn thing in this world is available for free. While in a start-up you dont have a fixed income source, there is risk involved in everything you do, there is no end to your work and every small thing crops up like a big challenge to overcome. Your life style becomes very unstable. Hence it becomes more difficult for people with a family dependent on them to do a start-up. For the same reason its mostly the youths who are involved in the start-up firms. Looking this from another perspective we can say that when young and single, if possible try having an experience of a start-up. The job market was and will be there for you all the time but risk involved in start-ups may multiply in the later part of your life.
Keep Chasing !!
The reasons for this increased momentum of start-ups is not very hard to guess. The youths today long for freedom, and start-up is one way of life where you can enjoy all the freedom you want. Its you who decides what to do and its you who decides how to do. Apart from it the feeling of establishing something on your own is just beyond imagination. You feel yourself on top of the world and you feel like the world is for you to conquer. Also, going by my personal experience, when you work for yourself, your work brings out the best from you and in the process you just keep improving your average performance level.
Yes, start-ups gives you all the above mentioned pleasures but as usual no damn thing in this world is available for free. While in a start-up you dont have a fixed income source, there is risk involved in everything you do, there is no end to your work and every small thing crops up like a big challenge to overcome. Your life style becomes very unstable. Hence it becomes more difficult for people with a family dependent on them to do a start-up. For the same reason its mostly the youths who are involved in the start-up firms. Looking this from another perspective we can say that when young and single, if possible try having an experience of a start-up. The job market was and will be there for you all the time but risk involved in start-ups may multiply in the later part of your life.
Keep Chasing !!
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Oh My Money !
I am being haunted by questions which almost every bachelor (with a little concern for himself) faces while moving from studenthood to professionhood. Questions like 'Where am i heading to?' , 'Wherein lies my future?', 'Shall i do an MBA or CFA or ... ?' and other of the sorts keeps the mind guessing the seemingly best alternative. Now, while discussing such concerns with elderly and experienced people they ask me what is it that you want. I say I want to taste success, I want to be rich. For me being successful is being rich. To my answer they reply, money should never be your cause but this answer has always eluded me.
Why is it that money should not be your cause. I believe that today money is all powerful. Every person wants to earn money and become rich. Everyone works for money, its just that some dont want to accept it. Money has the power to solve all your problems. Money can give you happiness, it can five you fame, it can give you an opportunity to fulfil your fairy tale dreams, it can give you power and what not. Money is the solution for all your problems. I know there will be lots of people who will disagree with me on this but I urge them to think deeper into it, just think what if money is scarce in situations you've thought. People say money is not everything. Yeah, the marginal utility of money decreases after a certain extent and it ceases to be everything but dammit you need to reach to that extent before you can realize it. People say money cannot give you happiness ans some even say I dont work for money, dude dont you desire bonuses in your salary or profits in your business.
Now dont start thinking that I support smugglers or anyone like that. Earn money but dont lose your integrity. Its just that I want to say that money is a valid cause for anything which is not crime. Each and every one works for money. Its just that some accepts it and the remaining fail to realize that money is the basic cause they are working for. If someone is working for free, it means he already has enough of money, the case where marginal utility has decreased.Even if you are a socialist and you are very noble and you want to help others its again money which is the solution.
So money is very well a valid cause for anything you do. Just keep a balance of things in your life. Whenever marginal utility of money decreases for you, reshuffle your priorities and set them straight. Thats it!!
Keep Chasing!
Why is it that money should not be your cause. I believe that today money is all powerful. Every person wants to earn money and become rich. Everyone works for money, its just that some dont want to accept it. Money has the power to solve all your problems. Money can give you happiness, it can five you fame, it can give you an opportunity to fulfil your fairy tale dreams, it can give you power and what not. Money is the solution for all your problems. I know there will be lots of people who will disagree with me on this but I urge them to think deeper into it, just think what if money is scarce in situations you've thought. People say money is not everything. Yeah, the marginal utility of money decreases after a certain extent and it ceases to be everything but dammit you need to reach to that extent before you can realize it. People say money cannot give you happiness ans some even say I dont work for money, dude dont you desire bonuses in your salary or profits in your business.
Now dont start thinking that I support smugglers or anyone like that. Earn money but dont lose your integrity. Its just that I want to say that money is a valid cause for anything which is not crime. Each and every one works for money. Its just that some accepts it and the remaining fail to realize that money is the basic cause they are working for. If someone is working for free, it means he already has enough of money, the case where marginal utility has decreased.Even if you are a socialist and you are very noble and you want to help others its again money which is the solution.
So money is very well a valid cause for anything you do. Just keep a balance of things in your life. Whenever marginal utility of money decreases for you, reshuffle your priorities and set them straight. Thats it!!
Keep Chasing!
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