Steve Jobs' Words of Inspiration

Of the 300 million Apple ipods sold (as on October 2011), I happen to use one. This had been my only connection with Steve Jobs so far. A video on Youtube changed my perception of Jobs.

Apart from being the game changer in the electronic entertainment industry, Steve Jobs also had a deep, uncanny philosophical outlook on life that combined ancient truths with personal observations and experiences. Experiences that were far from what one would expect for a top achiever like him.

Many of us may be unaware that his early life was full of hardships and uncertainties. Startlingly, here was a man who was given away by his biological mother to a childless couple, a man who had to drop out of college because he didn't want to study on his parents' hard earned money--but look at what he became, what he achieved. Stupendous!

Here's Steve Jobs' Stanford 2005 commencement address:

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The Motivation to Change

Pain is the motivator that forces instant change.

At some point in our lives, we might have endured immense pain-physical or psychological-which left us desperately seeking a remedy: Oh God, I'd do anything to get rid of this, to be out of this terrible experience.

What about those who commit major offences?

Students who get caught cheating in exams, cheating partners, corrupt officials and ministers who get caught, all have their fall from grace, their moments of ignominy. Recently, three ministers in the state of Karnataka (India) were caught on camera viewing porn in the state legislative assembly. They were forced to resign, and their political career and stature would be difficult to redeem.

We read of many officials and ministers around the world getting retribution for their shameful acts. Some of them pay with their lives-like Gaddafi. Others are subjected to disgrace-public inquiries, trials, impeachments, which are worse than death. Lets not make a list of those people here.

If even after such painful experiences, such people do not reform, greater and greater tragedies await them.

Mata Amritanandamayi, modern day renowned mystic and spiritual teacher, relates this story to stress the importance of commitment to duties-worldly and spiritual:

"A corrupt businessman was not willing to pay taxes. According the law of his land, the punishment for not paying taxes was either to drink 10 glasses of salt water or to receive 30 whip lashes. "I'll take the punishment," he said, thinking he could easily drink salt water.

The day of punishment arrived. The officials took him to the public square and put the glasses of salt water before him. He took a sip, and reeled back, nauseated. He was used to dainty dishes and wines, and the taste of the intensely salty water was too much to stomach. "OK, I'll take the whiplashes", he said, still not wanting to part with his money.

As the first blow landed on his back, he cried out, wincing in pain." Oh, I'm going to die", he thought. Never having had done any sort of physical work, his body was like butter.

When the guard raised the whip again, he fell on his knees and begged,"Enough, enough, pleeease! Let me go, I'll pay all my taxes with interest".

He not only drank salt water, but also had to endure blows, and in the end, paid the taxes as well.

If man does not evolve, nature will force him to evolve, even at the point of the bayonet, said Swami Vivekananda, a saint and social reformer of the early 20th century.

So whenever a small inner voice from inside whispers to us: "Don't do that......do this...it is the right thing to do", we better heed it.

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Lessons From an Animal

We humans are impatient with everything. We want instant solutions to everything- jobs, money, career skills, marriage, health…When something goes wrong, or doesn't work out well, we are frustrated, have a bout of depression, trauma, and what not.

Recently, I learnt a lesson in patience from a neighbor. It was an animal, a female dog. Every year, she gets pregnant and gives birth. The births occur during the winter, and sadly, few pups survive the intense Delhi cold which dips down to 3 degrees Celsius.

Last year, I had seen her with a fresh litter, cuddled under the staircase of a building. People did provide blankets and food, but only one survived. It was too sad to see the tiny pups lying dead, the lone survivor moving over their bodies. The mother was unusually silent, weeping out her sorrow in a corner. She didn't usually allow anyone to pass that way, but that day, she didn't even lift up her head. Perhaps she was angry with us humans for not providing a shelter, for not protecting her pups from the chilling winds.

This year, to atone for that, we did not drive her out when she came for shelter inside our compound. We let her have a portion of the portico, and there were blinds to keep out the wind. Tonight I heard sounds of licking tongues, and moments later low pitched squeals. She was in labor! We watched as she patiently tugged the pups out of her abdomen, one by one. It went on for hours.

She had every reason to give up when her pups died last year, but the instinct of life innate in her made her go on. We humans could take a cue from this when faced with setbacks: Keep on keeping on, there's light at the end of the tunnel.
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For a Change..Laugh, Seriously!

Oh my God! Laughing Buddhas!

Inspired? Why not try it out ? See this video below:



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Self-belief For Better Personal Relations

He didn't look at me, she did not greet me, these people don't smile...these are pet peeves of people at social gatherings:  How often have you gone to social functions and felt that people don't show warmth or consideration? This is more true in big cities. If you are a teacher or a public speaker, you must've felt exasperated sometimes by the expressions of people in the audience-blank stares, angry glares,...never acknowledging your best efforts.

I believe it is possible to have a nice time even if you go to a place where you know no one. You need to be happy with yourself. Somebody said: You've to be comfortable with yourself if you're to be comfortable with others. You've to like that person whom you see in the mirror. Only if you accept yourself unconditionally, as you are now, will you get that self love-not regarding your past, your failures, your errors and omissions-not withstanding. It doesn't matter at all who you are or what you have achieved.

All that matters is -to ACCEPT YOURSELF AS YOU ARE NOW. You'll feel instant relief, a lightening of the heart, a relaxed, lighter state of being. You have acknowledged your divinity, you're at peace with yourself.

You might need to work on this, contemplate this fact, meditate on this-and be convinced. Then it will form the solid bedrock of self-belief on which you can have fun developing your skills in whatever way you want.

ACCEPT THIS: No matter what I have been in the past, no matter what I have done, I AM GOOD. I ACCEPT MYSELF UNCONDITIONALLY. I APPROVE OF MYSELF. I LOVE MYSELF.

There is no limit to reinforcing this belief-one may do it all the time till it becomes second nature. You'll feel gradual transformation, you'll forgive yourself when you make mistakes.You'll be more open to others, to observe evolving life situations from a neutral vantage point and respond in a balanced way. You wont get caught up and give off knee-jerk reactions which complicate matters. You will learn to free yourself from the grip of circumstances.

And when you have that freedom, you'll be able to view others' shortcomings with compassion. Instead of attacking them and deepening their wounds, you'll be able to let go of your hurts, and accommodate others.

Everybody is the result of their circumstances, and people are doing the best they can.
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The Vanishing Muse

By muse I mean the rare thought train that inspires you to write. Lately I'd been gifted with many ideas to write but I kept postponing putting them down. I thought I had so many ideas I needed only to choose one of them-and write. Surprisingly, when I sat down to write, I was left with a blank mind. No topic to write about. Nada.

Perhaps the muse had deserted me for the lack of attention I showed, it must have affronted her.
However, Joel Saltzman came to the rescue. I had been reading his If you can talk, you can write! and it inspired me pretty well. In fact, I had not wanted to reveal any information about this book: it is a treasure. Losing the advantage by making it public didn't seem a good idea. But now I realize whatever you share comes back to you multiplied many times over, so just out of selfishness, here it is:

If you are a professional writer or intend to make a living out of writing, you can't afford to miss this book. Written in a disarmingly frank style, this book has tons of inspiration for the disheartened writer. Those who find it too audacious to attempt creative writing will also find it impossible to not write after reading it.

Have a look at some of my favorites from Saltzman's book:
If you gave a typewriter to a chimpanzee and let him type long enough, in time, he'd produce the complete works of Shakespeare (the intention of course, is to emphasize the point that skill in a task develops naturally when we repeat it long enough).

Another one on the same theme, (its a Hollywood legend):
If you want to be a famous writer, keep at it for ten years. By that time everyone else will have quit and they'll have to hire you.
Grab your copy!:
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Addictions : Why and How

People who don't take charge of their own lives, expose themselves to various risks: a major risk is posed by addictions. I came across the following videos on two of the main addictions: porn and drugs. It is not pretty, sad actually -but that makes it all the more a reason for including here: it is what some people go through:





Source: PornographyAddiction.com

Also see this tragic video about Heroine addiction from National Geographic.
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Little Hands Can Make a Difference

The song is in Hindi, but the message seems universal: Be the change you want see.


How often have you wished we would all join hands to tackle the world's problems instead of fighting one another?__________________________________________________________________________________
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Is Majority All That Matters ?

We have all heard it, though no one dares to write about it in public. It's our secret desire to convert everybody else to our own lifestyle, thought, philosophy, and religion. Everybody wants to be the majority. It probably arises from the fear of being overwhelmed as a minority. Propaganda goes on at all levels- religion, politics, philosophies, sexual orientation, lifestyles,...We are constantly subjected to evangelism, and do it on our own. Everybody is trying to win others over to their own way.

The minority tries persuasive methods, and the majority uses forcible coercion- to convert others. Now we see less of open force in the more civilized societies, because the world immediately gets to know of any excesses. Perhaps, the media is also being suppressed-we never get to know some news.

Lets look at the futility of attempts at religious conversion using some historical examples, and what might really work, using a story at the end.

Religious fanatics have long believed that if all of the population were converted to their own religion, all problems would vanish. The 'enemy'-the people of the other religion must disappear-either by conversion or by elimination. Lets conveniently forget that this contradicts the very foundation of all major religions-GOD or the SUPREME POWER is everywhere, and therefore, in the 'people of other religions' also.

The most recent examples of religious states (theocracies) that failed are Nepal (Hindu), Pakistan (Muslim), and Libya(Muslim). One can say the Colonial Empires (British, Spanish, Portuguese,...)  also failed because they could not adhere to the principles of their guiding religion (Christianity)-their colonies would not have struggled for independence if all were well. One can go back through history to revisit the gory details!

If one religion was sufficient for the entire mankind, there would not have developed numerous sects within that religion (take any religion). Differences of opinion arose among followers because each individual is inherently different.

The "gaining majority" solution is doomed to fail, sooner or later, wherever it is tried-whether religion or politics. Eventually, differences arise due to ego or selfish interests of the leaders and the followers. All 'isms' are thrown to the wind then.

Religion does not guarantee the experience of the Truth that it professes. One needs spiritual practice for that. And that starts when we start seeing the essential unity of human beings. It is not possible for love and hate to dwell in the same heart together. Only one can survive.

The solution?
Perhaps the following story indicates a way out: It's the lament of an old man on his death bed:
In my youth, I tried to change the world. By middle age, I realized it was futile, and started trying to correct my family instead. I couldn't change my family either-they only resented it. Now I don't have much time left- Oh how I wish I'd tried to change myself all this time!
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Communication Challenge: How to Empower Children Against Abuse

One of the challenges of professional communicators like instructional designers and technical writers is, adapting their message to the level of the audience, the readers. It is even more daunting when the message is sensitive and complex and the audience consists of little children. Borderlines are blurred and still we need to get the message across clearly.

I found the following instructional ad addressed this challenge in an innovative way. It uses the method of "minimum words", with simple, yet powerful pictures.

Source :http://www.childsexualabuseinindia.blogspot.com/2011/11/secrets-about-touching-need-to-be-told.html
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God And Negative Thoughts

However great the successes people achieve, there are times when they are mired down in negative thoughts. It can be because of domestic issues or personal relationships. It can be very trivial issues that hit a raw spot at a vulnerable moment.

What about the ones who are not successful ? They wallow in negativity- day in and day out-blaming parents, neighbors, colleagues, their children, the Government, and of course, God.

I have had my own share of this negative patch, which was very intense in the beginning. Now, I am getting better, thanks to repetitive positive self-talks, fairly regular Meditation, Yoga, and keeping myself busy.

In the nadir of our negative patch, we are at war with the world, with God, and with ourselves. The train of negative thoughts increases in speed. We may seek some relief by external diversions-cinema, food, alcohol, sex, drugs. When it goes too far, and if we never try to look within ourselves for the reason, it can hit the deepest trough-suicide.

Where does God come in all this? Why doesn't He (or She) lift a finger to rescue us hapless beings from our misery? Why does he allow mass massacres in Cambodia, wars all over the world, genocides in Bosnia, tsunamis in Asia, torture, starvation deaths in Eritrea and Somalia?

I haven't yet received an authentic response from God for this question, but I've concluded that God has nothing to do with this: it is all about ourselves.

Yes, taking the responsibility squarely on our own shoulders is the best option. I alone am responsible for whatever I am now. Buddha said: We are what we think. What we are now is what we have thought. What we will be is what we are thinking NOW.
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The Truth About Dale Carnegie

Like most self help fans, I too had been an ardent follower of Dale Carnegie. His "Stop worrying, start living", " How to win friends and influence people", and other works were the primary inspiration in personal development for me.

So, it came as a rude shock when a friend told me that Dale Carnegie had committed suicide. A shock that left a wound in my teenage faith.

Those were the days prior to the Internet and I never got to verify the truth. Today, I finally found it on Wikipedia: Dale Carnegie died of Hodgkin's disease, complicated with uremia, on November 1, 1955.

Still curious as to the origin of the rumor, I found the answer on Yahoo Answers (please see link below):

Another author by the name of Irving Tressler wrote “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People” as a satirical parody of Dale's classic " How to win friends and influence people". Tressler later committed suicide. Sadly, it was attributed to Dale Carnegie also, probably by a mischief maker, him being more famous.

Justice prevails, doesn't it?


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Sources: 

http://www.thoughtclusters.com/2007/01/dale-carnegies-death/

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080516111228AAbjy7g

http://mrontemp.blogspot.com/2008/07/strange-case-of-irving-dart-tressler.html

Is the fear of failure sabotaging your attempts at personal transformation? Find out: How to overcome the fear of failure

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Meditation To Calm Wall Street Jitters

Liked this talk for its simplicity. Rasanath Das, the Wall Street investment banker turned monk speaks on being true to yourself, as a balm for work life anxiety.


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