Mind is not constant, its concentration waxes and wanes. When the mind wanes the smallest you take action, and follow through to the next action. Don't let your spirit drop. Thoughts arise like a spring at the top of a hill. Unchecked and unattended the water will begin to flow down one part of the slope and will form a well worn gully. You’ve got to divert the spring at it’s source.
They are the sons and daughters of life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. And though they are with you yet they belong not to you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts. You may house their bodies but not their souls. For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you can not visit, not even in your dreams. You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you...
It is early morning as I write this. Relaxing in my library. Listening to Luciano Ligabue, an extraordinary italian rock star who I got introduced to in Rome and whose music has been shaking the foundation of our home for the past few weeks. And I'm reflecting about Leadership and life.
I read a little piece in an issue of Vanity Fair on Art Butchwald, the writer , 80, when he was battling kidney failure. ( Butchwald passed away on January 17, 2007), Coming close to death brings a human nearer to what's more important in life. Brings tremendous clarity. Strips away all the accessories that we think are so essential when we are younger. Connects us with the truth ( and truth sets you free doesn't it?)
He was asked "Whats is your idea of perfect happiness?" "Being Healthy" was the reply. He was asked "Which talent would you most like to have?" "Living" was the reply. Then he was asked "What is your most treasured possession?" "All of my 32 books and all of my columns." . The point of wisdom that you and I can take away? Greatness comes when you create something with your life that is not only bigger but outlasts you. Legitimacy and recognition and prestige and material things are all fine and are all very human pursuit. But there is something far more important: legacy. Making a difference. Having an impact. Creating something special. And meaningful.
What body of work will you create over life so that generations who follow will know that you've been here ?What bold acts and brave moves will you make at this moment to let the greatness that slumbers within you come out and visit the light of this very day? What will your " most treasured possession" look like? And , at the end, what will you have done with all that talent with which you have been blessed? Just wondering.
Somehow I can't believe that there are any heights that cant be scaled by a man who knows the secrets of making dreams come true.This special secret to me, can be summarised in four C's. They are Curiosity, Courage and Constancy and the greatest of all is Confidence.
When you believe in a thing, believe in it all way. Implicitly and un-questionably. All our dreams come true, if we have the courage to pursue them. -Walt Disney
More than 100 years ago, author Robert Louis Stevenson offered the following tips for maintaining a positive attitude. They still apply today
Make up your mind to be happy. Learn to find pleasure in simple things. Make the best of your circumstances. Everyone has problems. The trick is to make laughter outweigh the tears. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Don’t think that somehow you should be protected from misfortunes that befall others. You can’t please everybody. Don’t let criticism worry you. Don’t let your anybody set your standards. Be yourself. Do the things you enjoy doing, but stay out of debt. Don’t borrow trouble. Imaginary burdens are harder to bear than the actual ones.
Hate poisons the soul, so don’t carry grudges. Avoid people who make you unhappy. Have many interests. If you can’t travel, read about new places. Don’t hold post-mortems. Don’t spend your life brooding over sorrows and mistakes. Do what you can for those less fortunate than yourself.
Keep busy at something. A busy person never has time to be unhappy.
"Again and again I therefore admonish my students in Europe and America: Don't aim at success - the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success:
You have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run - in the long-run, I say! - success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it."
-by Viktor Frankl The great psychotherapist and the author of "Mans Search for Meaning".
When we read we are capable of taking in only one key word and then four characters to the left and fifteen characters to the right at any one time.
The reason we can focus clearly on only that much text only that much text is that most of the sensors in our eyes - the receptors that process what we see - are clustered in a small region in the middle of the retina called the fovea. Thats why we move our eyes when we read: we can't pick up much information about the shape, or the color, or the structure of words unless we focus our fovea directly on them. Just try for example , to read this paragraph by staring straigh ahead at the center of the screen(without scrolling through it) It's impossible.
If you can track where someones fovea is moving and what are the fixating on, in other words, you can tell with extraordinary precission what they are actually looking at and what kind of information they are actually receiving.
I have a humble confession to make. I believe in the Quote 'An idle mind is a devils workshop' . Thinking about myself, on, how bad I am. Whenever the situation leading to it arises I rush out to the nearest mall, bookstall anywhere doing anything which will keep this wayward mind of mine occupied not necessarily buying something but just rummaging through the book stalls and reading everything that interests me between life & death. It was in one of these escapades that I came across this nice little story.
The topic I read in it was a small story of two samurai's one the master & the other student. Well as far as I can recollect the story goes like this the student asks the master a simple description of heaven & hell. At this the master jokingly replied Ha Ha You are undergoing the samurai training by not even knowing this. At this joke the student samurai took out his sword and was ready to strike out at his master, at which the master calmly replied "this is hell". The student suddenly realized his fault sheathed the sword and began to ask his master for forgiveness, that when the master remarked "this is heaven".
If you don't take the time to control your thoughts they will control you. When you control your thoughts, you control your mind. When you control your mind, you control your life. And once you reach the state of being in total control of your life, you become the master of your destiny. An abundance of willpower and discipline is one of the chief attributes of all those with strong characters and wonderful lives. Willpower allows you to to what you said you would do, when you said you would do it. Its willpower that allows you to get up at five in the morning to cultivate your mind through meditation or to feed your spirit by a walk in the woods when a cozy bed beacons you on a cold winter's day. It's willpower that holds your tongue when a less actualized person insults you or does something you disagree with. It's willpower that pushes your dreams forward when the odds appear to be insurmountable. It's willpower that offers you the inner power to keep your commitments to others, and, perhaps more importantly to yourself.
With extracts from 'A Unknown Book', 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari', and the 'blogging workshop'
Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.
Paperwork
"Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not; it is the first lesson that ought to be learned; and however early a man's training begins, it is probably the last lesson that he learns thoroughly."
I have discovered that one of my fondest wishes is granted. Though, I may not be so sure that I am happy with the results! All my hopes and wishes squares transformative Pattens of life and I may have to come to grips with the knowledge that while I have achieved something I wanted very much, it no longer suits me. I may have changed and evolved because I first made my wish, or it is possible that I wished for something that was more of an illusion to me. Now that I am faced with the reality of the situation, it is a lot different than I thought it would be. I dont know if I feel disappointed, but at least I have the knowledge that I have changed a lot over the years and am a new person in many ways. Transformation and rejuvenation are a big part of my life. I am geared to change and evolve over time.....
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