Bamboo In The Wind

Hasn't this been our question for a long time? Everyone aspires to do well. Not everyone does.   What is different between those who do well and those who seemingly don't? The reason is not obvious but often a simpler one. Those who can find themselves closer to their roots often have better resilience. Their ability to deal with unknowns is at the base of their confidence. Confidence is an outcome of the conviction one has. And conviction culminates in actions we take. Actions are responses to situations. Whether known or unknown. The more we expose ourselves to situations the better we are at dealing with situations. The more we deal with situations the greater our resilience and stronger our convictions!! Start dealing with something. Do it first and the rest will happen. Start it and experience how you thrive!

It's hard to be a creator in the knowledge economy. Often we don't know what to solve and why to solve when to solve and for how long to try to solve it. There are always others who are thinking of problems we are thinking of solving. And thus one gets cold feet before even getting started. There are times when we know what we are solving and why but feel the urge to have a sounding board. There are other times when we know we have an excellent idea but just no ability to validate whether it may get traction. In either case, we often wish we knew someone to hold hands during discovery, can merge their thinking with ours, show proactivity in what we are solving and provide us an outside perspective - often a mirror. Are you in search of a sounding board? By all means, let's catch up!

  का असतो  आपण मनाने एवढे असमाधानी, गोंधळलेले, असावध, भित्राट? का इतके दुःखी असतो? कशाची काळजी?  इतरांच्या विचारांना खरच मानतो आपण? देतो आवश्यक ते लक्ष? करतो सगळ त्यांच्या विचारांनी? का एवढे मदतीचे हात पाहिजे असतात? हात कसले मागतो आपण, काम करून हवे असते. मन संभाळून पाहिजे असते. दुःख सारवणारे शब्दच हवे असतात. खरं म्हणजे आतून जागं करून पाहिजे असतं. कोणीतरी येऊन दटावल, कानउघडणी केली, उकल करून दाखवली, पुढचा पाऊल घेण्याचा उत्साह भरला की मन सुरक्षित होत, प्रफुल्लित होत. निर्धास्त मार्गस्थ होतो मग आपण. अनेकदा हवा असतो असा विश्वास वाढविणारा पण निशब्द वावर. तर कधी आपल्याला अनामीकाप्रमाणे बोट धरून मी आहे ना असेच जाणवून देणारा. कधी कणखरपणे स्पष्टवक्तपणा दाखवुन जाणारा. आपल्याला पाहिजे असतो बिनशर्त पाठिंबा. नाही जाणवला तर आपण मनाला लावून घेतो, रागावल्याची भावना घेतो. झुगारून टाकतो तो आश्वासक वावर. विसरतो की मुळात तो होताच आपल्यासाठी.  ते मात्र निष्पापपणे तेथेच. आपल्याच अंगणात. हाक मारायचा अवकाश की नेमकी मदत घेऊन हजर. कसे जमते हे झटणे? स्वतःच्या आयुष्यात काय यांना सगळे ताट मांडून ...

The woman appears to be in the mid-50s. A tea stall owner. Busy, enjoying, has her own circle of life. The husband and wife built a business some 30 years ago. The place is gushing with tea enthusiasts. There is busy activity at the stove, rush to open milk packages, wash emptied glasses, serve guests all at one time. The tea is served with a content, confident and responsible smile. Credit to the enthusiastic lady who has assumed her role in the days of people who need tea to get through their day with energy. Her day apparently starts every day at 630AM. The tea stall platform is about 20ft by 10 ft. Reasonably clean; appears swept a few times in a day. Four poles and shanty roofs made up of polythene wraps give the place shade from Sun or Rains. The place is right next to pavements and on the main street, adjacent to a Bank, a small eatery and a travel agent office. There are few sitting stools and a couple of benches that make the place welcoming for visitors. There appears...

I have formulated a  framework  on how to approach problem-solving. 1. Inspect the problem and define the problem clearly I have realized that it is not prudent to  jump into solution mode immediately  and under the temptation to get over the problem at hand. Often we are forced to act with our own pressure and external factors that push us to act on inconclusive data.   I recognize that it is vital to  understand the issue  fully . In some cases, a small problem can become a big one with inappropriate actions.  In other cases, asking the right set of questions result in problem inspection from various angles and it has often resulted in me finding that the problem is really not a problem that needs a solution beyond appropriate explanation!  2. Isolate  facts of life  from genuine problems I have often realized there are certain issues which are facts of life.  T here are some things that you can do nothing...

Top Three Values for a Starter Core values play a vital role in the way a small set of people embark upon a purposeful journey to solve problems. I call them "Starters". They are self-starters indeed. It is the act of doing something meaningful when no one is watching over your shoulders. How you conduct and hold yourself accountable under no supervision, defines how well the starters collaborate, course correct and produce. As such core values are defined by the core beliefs of a person. In my opinion, there are many important virtues of our personal beliefs that extend into our work-life equally suitably. 1. Honesty/Truthfulness It is important to avoid short-cuts in startups where all initial brand creation will likely happen by keeping the given word. Truthfulness is the foundation of building trust and lasting relationships. Starters usually have a promise of a bright future (how they can contribute) and passion (enthusiasm and commitment) to marc...

मला माझ्या मनाचे विचार करू दिले जातील? असा विचार जेव्हाही भेडसावतो  तेव्हा समोरच्याशी  संवाद करताना आपल्याला काहीतरी राहून गेल्याची भावना तीव्रतेने जाणवते.  या प्रकारच्या संवादामध्ये  नक्की राहून गेलेले असते? (१) मला माझे मन पुरेसे बोलून दाखविता येणे.  (२) समाधानकारक देवाणघेवाण झाली आहे अशी भावना. आणि या प्रकारच्या संवादामध्ये  नक्की काय मिळवून आपण बाहेर पडतो? (१) विरोध केला जातोय हे भावना. (२) माझे ऐकूनच घेतले जात नाही असे मत. म्हणजेज सामान पातळीवरील तो संवाद नव्हता. असे का घडते? दुसरे काय करतात यापेखा आपण काय विचार करतो, कसे ऐकतो, त्यावर कसा विचार करतो आणि मग कसे वागतो यावर विचार करणे आवश्यक आहे. आपल्याच मनातील विचार दुसऱ्या समोर मूर्त स्वरूपात आणताना ते विचार आपलेच स्वतःचेच आहेत का? याचा नीट विचार करायला पाहिजे.  आपले विचार मैत्रीच्या, जिव्हाळ्याच्या लोकांना, सहकारीच्या किंवा विश्वासाच्या लोकांना घेऊन मूर्त होतात. कसे? आपले विचार त्याच्यासोबत मांडून, त्यामध्ये सगळयांना सामील करून, सहभागी करून घेऊन, विचार मूर्त आणण्यासाठी...

My Quest: I want to succeed I want to progress I want to grow I want to make friends I want to work for the best company I want to have  the  best company I want to be recognized I want to showcase my work I want to be liked I want to be popular I want to change everything I touch And then the bliss: I am someone. I  am  onto something. I am somewhere.  And then I have this other side: I don't want to get into trouble I don't want to get burdened I don't want to work on what I am given I don't want to listen I don't want to be lonely I can't tolerate It doesn't matter to me I can't make it happen It can't be my problem I don't care I don't want the responsibility I am not being heard And then the puzzle: I am not sure. I am not someone, something, somewhere. And one quiet moment and a discovery that I have a daunting list of ...

I am realizing that liking for individual contribution is important no matter what you do for a living. It stems from hobbies or liking. They tend to be personal and usually are doable without anyone else's help. e.g. Reading, Gardening, Travelling, Exercising. The problem is when we work, we fill up our day with a number of activities that are generated not out of liking but out of interaction needs and hence they tend to be an annoyance. Often the label is a prioritization problem (i.e. urgent vs. important etc). Even when we have the choice to prioritize we do not focus on work of our liking, something that stimulates, something that creates (thoughts, artifacts, collaborations, etc.). When the workplace ceases to be available to you, you are left on your own and then the time that is available to you is hard to spare. There is too much of it with too little hands-on work (individual contribution) of our liking.  Then we simply do not know how to spare our time even when ...

Individual contribution (contribution as an individual) is the single most important habit we should not lose touch with. Our career and home progress heavily depends on that. Delegation while useful should retain the individual's work habits at all costs. Or, you are not walking the talk and then over time you are ineffective in showing others the path of their progress and then eventually you become short on confidence and become out of place. Each set of 20 years of our life has different individual contribution and we must retain it and replenish it with distinct things we will enjoy as our own work that does not require participation from others. When there is an expectation of others to do thing that we are required to do then often there is room for us erring on the side of delegating dis-proportionately not losing the fun of doing it ourselves. Art, Music, Encounters with Nature, Travel, Reading are so uniquely individual preferences that replenish you en...