Thought Bubbles: Quotes

"I had to understand what were my true limitations Vs my perceived limitations. Once i understood my true limitations, the next challenge was what choices i could create"

- Sheena Iyengar
Professor, Columbia Business School
& Author of "The Art of Choosing"

said this in an interview with Times of India
Download the complete interview from here

You can watch another interesting interview of her at bigthink.com

Did you know she is blind? Despite that limitation, look at her accomplishments. Absolutely Inspiring !
If you have 18 more minutes, enjoy this interesting & cheerful talk at TED. It brings new perspectives on life

Her book "The Art of choosing" is on my wish list. Will read it soon

Jul 2, 2009

Focus on Performance, Not Power

Quote of the month for July, 2009

I have a bad habit. My life’s greatest ambitions come to memory when i switch of my bedroom light and try to get some sleep. So, i lay in my bed awake for a long time thinking about the glory when i get there. While having big ambitions in life is good, i think i am wasting a lot of time thinking about the day when i get there. It doesn’t help me much and worse, reduces the energy for next day.

Recently i read the following story by Colin Powell, former secretary of US state and a retired four star General and it had a transformational effect on me.

“There was a brand-new second lieutenant who was very ambitious and wanted to be a general. So one night at the officer's club the young officer spotted this old general sitting at the bar. So he went up and said, "How do I become a general?" And the old general answered, "Son, you've got to work like a dog. You've got to have moral and physical courage. There may be days you're tired, but you must never show fatigue. You'll be afraid, but you can never show fear. You must always be the leader." The young officer was so excited by this advice. "Thank you, sir," he said, "so is this how I become a general?" "No," said the general, "that's how you become a first lieutenant, and then you keep doing it over and over and over."

Throughout his career, Powell says he had always tried to do my best today, think about tomorrow, and maybe dream a bit about the future. But doing your best in the present has to be the rule.

You won't become a general unless you become a good first lieutenant.

Ground Rule: Do your best in the Present. Focus on Performance, Not Power

Images: Colin Powell as a General and as the Secretary of State

Story Source: Online Fortune Magazine on money.cnn.com

Apr 22, 2009

Well – Better – Best

Quote of April month

“ Make things work well, then better, then the best they possibly can”

- Sam Walton in “Made in America - My Story”

One of the most practical statements by one of the best entrepreneurs ever. We often don’t practice this statement. We are in such a hurry, that we always want the best to happen at the first trial. When it doesn’t happen, we complain about the system and the situations.

We have to realize that many challenges in life, are similar to mathematical problems in which you cant proceed to the second level, without using the results from the first level and whose solutions are iterative in nature.

We never like iterations. right? We want things to fall in place right away. It never happens in life, like it never happened for me in a mathematics exam. In an exam, starting with a good guess depends on your practice, intellect and also luck. In real life, it comes from experience.

Those who have started their careers recently, please remember one thing. The experience you gather in the first few years, will form the core for the rest of your career(Like the first level results of a complex mathematical problem). If you go wrong here, then you have screwed up the problem (Rest of your career)

Make sure you learn as much as possible during this phase. Don’t withdraw yourselves to dogma and useless philosophy thrown at you by false colleagues. Look for opportunities with open eyes and use your common sense before you make any decision. Be very sure about your priorities.

Don’t be in a hurry. By running too fast on the road to success, you are missing the fruits of wisdom lying along the road side. You cant survive in the race for long, with out the energy from those fruits.

Once you gather the necessary expertise, you are the King !!!! You can make everything work in the best possible way.

Mar 14, 2009

Quote of the month – March

“Happiness is not something that you find, its something that you create”

Source: Fwd email in Gmail

Hmm.. yeah.. We find it sometimes. That’s when some one who loves us creates it for us.

Though i don’t agree with the quote completely, i do believe that happiness majorly depends on you and your thoughts.

Keep smiling :)

Picture credits : www.animationxpress.com

Mar 4, 2009

Priorities – Your life compass

Is life-time really a very long-time? I believe all of us have huge expectations on our lives. We may be happy today, perhaps our today was a dream in the past. But this is very clearly not a destination for most of us. We dream for a better tomorrow.

Life is finite, but our desires and expectations for life are not. If we have to put it in a numerical value, how much time do we have, to reach a state we wish for?

Assuming that the average life of a human is 60 years, all the time we have is 525600 hours. Doesn’t the figure looks like a very small number? For me, it looks like a micro digit. I am 22 yrs old. If i have to reach a state of glory (definitions of glory differ from person to person) at-least by 50 years, i have just 245 K hours left. Is it just 245 K hours or a real good time to make it BIG ? The question applies for each one of us.

Yes, it is a real good time, if one gets his priorities right. If one has constant focus, and very clear on his goals. AR Rahman won an oscar, Sachin became the highest run getter in world’s cricket history only because they had their passions as a priority and pursued them constantly. They did it in very less time. Why can’t we ?

It is very important to do most of the things that interest you, entertain you and make you feel yourself. How much time do you allocate to each of those activities ? Decide what’s most important for you and plan Well. God hasn’t given us infinite lives, but he has definitely bestowed upon us, a smart brain that helps us make the right decisions and make our lives more meaningful.

Who doesn’t want a successful life ? To reach there,

“Priorities are your Life Compass”

Feb 23, 2009

Learnings - Quote of the month !

Life is all about continuous learning. We learn from our experiences and our mistakes. Self-motivation is probably one of the most important characteristics for a man’s success. From now on, i will try to write a quote every month, based on my learnings. Would love to listen to the reader’s opinions. Some of the quotes may be taken from sources that have inspired me. But, will try to be original most of the times, like the one for this month. They may not be poetic as those written by great people. But, what you will see here after every month, is more of a truth learnt, than a preaching.

Quote for the month of February

“It is easy to give up, tough to stay patient and keep trying.

But giving up will RUIN you” Picture credits: http://www.allposters.com/