Work... Like there was no yesterday...

M S Dhoni has won numerous matches with his 'out of the box' thinking. Whether its a genius stroke or sheer dumb luck, nobody knows. But I have seen one thing for sure... Everytime he wins a match for his team, he's hailed as the next generation captain. And everytime his decision backfires, the entire media starts talking about his retirement from captaincy. Then, he comes back with a win and he's a legend again.

Long before I stopped wearing shorts, Sachin has been playing, and in so many years, I've heard the media talking about his retirement almost every year. Yet, he plays a winning inning and is hailed as a legend again. Let him go duckout the next time and I promise to you all will be forgotten in a moment.

I have gone through this myself. I was one of the best of the lot in my batch. As a result, I used to keep getting more opportunities. Somewhere over the years I found myself struggling to keep up. I wasn't sure whether it was overwork or whether it was complacence.
Now I understand what it was. Everytime I was successful, I became relaxed.
"I've done this"
"I've acheived this"
etc...
and then, life will throw in a test and a rude wake up call.

Over years, I have realised that no matter what I have achieved in my past, it does not matter. I have to continue achieving in the present.

Just because I was the best student in my school doesn't mean I have to work less in my office. I still have to go to office every morning and give in my best.

Whatever I did till yesterday, is exactly there... in the yesterday. It carries no value today. I still have to carry my bums to the office and work today...

Of course, what I did till yesterday has brought me where I am today, but that's where its role ends.
Of course, what I did till yesterday has added value in me in different ways.
What I did till yesterday has already added value to my today.
If I continue to sit on past laurels, past successes... I would be sitting on outdated successses while everyone continues to achieve more.

So the next realisation turns out to be... "Work like there was no yesterday..."

Infact, this very same realisation holds true even in relationships. One has to keep on working on his relationships... No matter how much loving I have been in the past. Just one quarrel with my loved one can wipe the slate clean and I have to begin again....

Infact, what an amazing life we could have if we could put these two realisations together...

"Love like there's no tomorrow... Work like there was no yesterday"

Love... like there's no tomorrow...

Do you remember when was the last time you hugged your loved one?
Do you remember how it felt?
When was the last time you looked at someone with pure love in your eyes... Do you remember how it felt?

People very close to me know how crazy I'm about hugs. I believe that a hug is the purest form of expression one could express.
As a kid, I would always be found hugging my grandma. I would hug her at every possible opportunity. Infact, she used to tease me - "Itna chipakta hai..."
Then, I grew up and somehow the number of hugs per day went down.
Then, one day, she was gone.
Today, I remember so many hugs and the loving experiences my grandma gave me, but I don't remember how my last hug with her felt. I don't even remember when I had hugged her before she left.
Somehow, in my immaturity I thought that she will always be around to hug me and did not value every moment which I had with her.
But, somewhere in the whole process, life gave me one message - "Love like there's no tomorrow"

Love like there's no tomorrow, cherish each moment you have with your dear ones and let it go in the deepest corner of your heart and your very being.
My communication is not yet good enough to explain it... But I think the message itself says it all... "Love like there's no tomorrow"

Whether it is your little one, whether it is that pet, whether it is your parents, grand parents, your beloved... whoever it is... Love like there's no tomorrow...
The TV serial can wait... That T20 can wait... That game of Sudoku can wait... Food can wait... Your newspaper can wait... work can wait... The WORLD can wait... Don't make love wait...

Please take this sharing in its right sense. I know that we are all blessed with beautiful long lives, I'm not saying that anyone is leaving the world tomorrow morning. What I'm only asking you to do is to cherish the beautiful loving moments our life gives us. Lets not let them pass away as shallow experiences to be forgotten with time, but lets take these beautiful moments and relish till the next ones come and then beyond.


Love Like there's no Tomorrow...

Extra Home Work...

I remember when I was a kid, my mother used to help me with my studies.
Every day I would come back from school, have lunch and sleep for an hour. After that I would sit on my homework. Generally my homework lasted from an hour to hour and a half. It was routine stuff like math problems,tables, history answers, science diagrams etc.
Everyday, after I had finished my homework, my mom would ask me to do extra home work. So many times I used to ask her why do I have to do the Extra Homework.
Everytime, she would nicely make me sit in her lap and tell - "What you did till now is what the teacher told you to do. Everyone will do that and come. Everyone will do the same studies. But, you want to be first rank, right? How will you get first rank if you also do what everyone is doing? You have to do something extra right?? That's why you should do Extra Homework. We'll do what others are not doing, then you will know what others don't know and you can get extra marks and first rank."

Now, which 8 year old wouldn't want to get the first rank?

So I happily used to sit and do the Extra Homework. The extra homework would generally include extra practice as Dictation, some oral maths, text book math problems twisted in some way, mom pulling out questions from middle of the chapters instead of those given at the end, sometimes a quiz and other tricks like that.

I went with my family for a dinner today, to our favourite restaurant, we ordered the food of our choice. As we were having the starters, the steward came and served a dish which we had not ordered. The manager was right there, and seeing the confused look on my face, he smiled and said - "Sir, we want you to experience this dish as well. It's on the house" (that means, its free)
It was a pretty nice dish and we liked it a lot, but what I liked more is the gesture from that person. It obviously tasted good, but more importantly, we all felt good - we felt special.

The manager could have served us exactly what we ordered and we would have come back completely satisfied, but he did that little bit extra and we came back more than satisfied. (why he did? I still don't know, but for some reason he chose to do it)

Today I realise what my Mom was actually giving to me. She was not just giving me the Extra Homework, she was giving me an attitude. She was giving me a message - "If you do exactly what is expected from you, then it is not good enough. Everyone does that. You have to do something extra"

In homework, spend those 10 minutes extra.
If the office is 9-6, then sitting till 6.15 won't hurt that much.
If you have waited at the signal for so long, waiting a few more seconds and allowing that old lady to cross won't hurt.
If you have made a mistake, apologising the 101st time won't kill.
If you already hugged your loved one in the morning, another quick hug while leaving for office won't hurt.

I know what you are thinking... If I have already downed 4 for today, 1 more won't hurt... Take the knowledge in its right meaning...

I repeat... If I do exactly what is expected from me, it's not good enough... I have to do something extra...

Are you still wondering why you didn't get that promotion???

Start something good...

It was 12.40 midnight on a Friday and I was riding home from the train station after dropping my friend. I saw a signal go red and stopped my bike on the side. It was a 2 minute signal. As I was waiting at the red light, a Honda Civic full of drunk dudes passed by at full speed... hooting at me... shouting stuff like "Uncle Jee"... "Wakey wakey"... (and a few other things which I can't share on this blog)

Another guy with his family passed by me in his Nissan... He too blasted through the channel, of course he was looking at me as if something was wrong with me.

Another dude, with blasting music in his car passed me, looked at me and stopped. Yep, unexpectedly, the dude stopped at the white line. Seeing 2 vehicles waiting, another Auto rickshaw stopped.
Within another 30 seconds a few more vehicles stopped at the red light and by the time the signal went green, there was a respectable line of vehicles waiting at the line.
All this happened within those 2 minutes waiting time of the signal.

I felt pretty good that night. I made a choice to follow the rules. A few mocked my choice and just one got inspired. 1 became 2, 2 became 3 and 3 became many.

All of us keep complaining that nobody follows the rules. Have we started?

All of us keep complaining about corruption... You have every right to complain... just one tiny little question... Have you never done a single rupee adjustment in you tax returns? Have you never gotten away by paying 50 bucks when you were supposed to pay 500 in traffic violation?

I don't have a problem when you complain about the cleanliness in the city... By the way... Can I ask where you threw your last chocolate wrapper / cigarette butt?

You have all the right in the world to complain about the pollution... Do you turn off the engine when its a 2 minute signal??

You cannot catch me jumping a signal or getting away by bribing or trashing around...
I have started something good by changing myself... I know that by looking at me, a few more will... The important thing is to make a choice... A choice to change...

Like we have so many times heard... "You can either be a part of the problem or you can be a part of the solution..."

You cannot be in front of a problem and stay neutral. You are either a part of the problem adding on to it, or you are a part of the solution and eliminating the problem. There is no room for fence sitters?
Pick a side... Be a part of a problem or be a part of a solution... but be something...
Make a choice...
Start something good...

Pro-Active...

Long long ago... in a place far far away... was a kingdom ruled by King Chakramaditya.
The King had 2 ministers Dondu and Pandu. Dondu and Pandu had been in King's service for many years and also happened to be best childhood friends. But, it somehow happened that Dondu always got promoted before Pandu and obviously Pandu was never happy with that bit. He thought the King was partial towards Dondu.
This time, Pandu gathered enough courage to go and speak to King Chakramaditya and express his concerns.

Pandu: Your Majesty, With all due respect, I would like to know where I have fallen short in my service. Everytime, Dondu gets promoted before me eventhough we have done the same work for the same number of  years.
King Chakramaditya: You are right in asking that question and I'll answer it to your satisfaction. But first, I have a few traders from the neighbouring kingdom, one of them wants to meet me. Can you do the first review with him and see what he has got to trade.
Pandu: (immediately left to meet the trader, came back 2 minutes later) Your Majesty, this man is a silk trader and wants to sell us silks.
King Chakramaditya: Good. What price does he ask?
Pandu: (immediately left and came back in 2 minutes) Your Majesty, he asks for a 100 gold coins for a silk carpet and the prices are fixed.
King Chakramaditya: We are a large kingdom, will he give a better price if we order in large volumes? Will he be able to deliver?
Pandu: (rushed out one more time to return in a couple of minutes) Your Majesty, his prices are not negotiable.
King Chakramaditya: Just forget it. We do not want to trade with him.

Exactly at that moment, Dondu walked into the hall. The King told Dondu - "We have a few traders from other states. Can you meet one of them and do the first review?"

Dondu, bowed to the King and stepped out. He was gone for over 10 minutes. When he came back, he gave the following answer to the King.
Dondu: "Your Majesty, the person I met is a trader of precious jewels. He wants 25 Gold coins for each single jewel he sells to us. I saw a few of his samples and they are really valuable. I checked with the trader and he was very particular about fixed price. However, given the fact that we are a large kingdom and will order large quantities, he is willing to negotiate. If your majesty could approve, I can go ahead and initiate a transaction with him"

King Chakramaditya, smiled at Dondu and asked him to leave. He then turned to Pandu and asked, "Do you still want me to answer your question?"

Most of us come across this feeling every once in a while. Why is he getting promoted before me. I do everything that my boss asks me to do... then why???
That is probably the problem right there... You might be doing everything the boss tells. While someone else might be doing something even before the boss tells.

There are people who answer the questions and then there are those who answer questions before they are asked.
I had a similar experience long ago, (Now don't start guessing whether I was Dondu or Pandu). But I decided that I will work on myself and grow into the Dondu above.

The secret is quite simple - The boss always likes the team to whom he doesn't have to give instructions. A team which takes away his work so he can focus on bigger things. I know that I will eventually grow into being a Dondu and who knows someday I might become the King Chakramaditya.

The Test is coming!!!

I have always been very particular about punctuality, at times my passion for punctuality even borders fanaticism. Anybody who knows me well knows that if I agree to a time, I'll do everything under the sun to make it. But many people don't know one thing which is the amount of testing I face everytime I discuss this topic.
A couple of years ago, I was sharing my passion for punctuality with my students and I made it a very strong point. Guess what... the very next class started 7 minutes late. That's absolutely criminal going by my record. Of course, I promised that it would never happen again and that promise was kept.

A few months later, I was involved in another activity. I was working with a friend and we used to meet at odd hours to work together. At one instance my friend said - "Gulshan, you don't have to be so punctual, you make us feel guilty". Wanna guess?? - Next session, I reached late by a few minutes and was out of the activity.  This year, I'm again a part of that activity and have made it so far.

Infact, I was probably the most unpleasant groom in the history of mankind because in my own marriage, I went around chasing everyone to get ready on time and I was not very pleasant in doing so.

Everytime I speak of my strength, I speak of my conviction... Life decides to throw in a test for me. If I make it through, it means my conviction is true. If I don't, it just means that I need to work more on it.

Recently, I had shared about alcohol and how much I'm against it. Within a few months, I find myself sitting in the company of grown ups in a social gathering with all of them having a glass in their hands... All these are people I highly respect.
What do I do? What can I do?
Do I go ahead an lecture them on the disadvantages of Alcohol? --- Obviously not... I'll be way beyond my line there.
Do I stand there and watch them destroy their bodies one sip at a time? --- Definitely not... that's a huge damage to my subconscious.
What do I do?
I just walk out of the room with faith in my heart that maybe one day Life will find a way to show them the light.
That's what I did.
Maybe you'll think I took the easy way out. Maybe you would have done something different... But that's what seemed right to me.

Right now, I'm throwing in another challenge to Life...
Till now, I had a conviction that I will not consume or pay for anyone else who consumes alcohol... Let's take this one step further...
"Right now, From now on... I have a conviction that I will not sit on the same table and in the same room where my friends, colleagues, or anyone whom I know and care for is using alcohol."
"You will not find me in the company of alcohol"
"So much as the smell of alcohol will not enter my system"

I know that the moment I wrote this, Life has already started conspiring a test for me and I'm ready for it.
Because my faith in my conviction is stronger than my faith in my God.
Whether it is punctuality... whether it is anti-alcoholism... whether it is my belief in word...
I have chosen my convictions and I'm ready for life to test me.

Everytime one has a Conviction... It will be tested... over and over...
Check your own history... everytime you believed in something, you were tested by life. And your success or failure in that test has defined your growth ever since...
If a conviction is not tested... it is not a conviction.

Are you strong enough to find yourself a conviction and stand by it no matter what happens???

Don't waste it...

Just got off watching the movie Iron Man. Its amazing how we can miss the most profound learnings even after life slaps them in our face more than half a dozen times. Well, atleast thats the number of times I've seen this movie.

In this movie, the hero (originally a weapons designer) is almost killed in an explosion and a scientist saves his life by building a contraption around his heart. The hero is held captive but helped by this scientist at every step. With the help of this scientist, the hero escapes in his invented robot suit but the scientist is killed.
Just before the scientist dies, here's what they spoke...
Hero: Thank you for saving my life.
Scientist: Don't waste it... Don't waste your life...

"DON'T WASTE IT... DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE..."

I asked myself this question... If I were to be held accountable for every day of my life... Will I be able to answer for it???

There are thousands of people who did not get up today morning. I got up. He chose to give me a day of life which so many did not get. There must have been a reason for it... right?

There are so many who may not get up tomorrow morning. But I know I will, I know He has a plan for me.

He still feels that I'm worth investing a day of Life.

Right now as I asked myself - Today.... Have I been worth the Life that was given to me today?? Maybe not. I did not touch a life today.
So here I am, sharing my realisation at well past midnight... hoping that these 10 minutes invested from my Life will touch another Life and make a difference...

In the material world, we make huge achievements every day. You could have made a few millions today, but how much of it was invested in Life. What you and I achieved was achieved because 1 day worth of Life was invested in us. Did we invest back in Life???

All our achievements are needed for us to grow and we have to continue that... but where is our investment in Life? Our Life? The Lives of our loved ones? The Life of a stranger you bump into on the road?

Almost everyday I touch a life... by inspiring... by teaching... by loving... by guiding... by helping someone grow... someone... anyone... even a stranger. By doing so, I'm giving Life a reason to give me another day so that I can touch a few more lives.

The more I invest in Life... The more Life will invest in me...

I'll make every single day invested in me... worth investing...

Every day that I end... I'll ask myself... Was I worthy of the today given to me?

With Gratitude in my heart that I was given a day of Life...
With the knowledge that I have lived a day I was worthy of...
Signing off for the night...

Wishing you most and more...