ONE “Dad, let me take this summer job.” “What?! You’re just sixteen! People will think I can’t provide for my family.” “It’ll be good for my future, I’ll learn so much. Please?” “I’ll become the laughing stock of town. I’ve said no, discussion over.” The child fell silent, spirit crumpled under the weight of society’s […]
Success
The Journey is Everything
Sir Ernest Shackleton was an Irish polar explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He is best known for what is now called the Endurance Expedition. The expedition more than justified its name. It was a true test of endurance. In August 1914 Shackleton set sail with a crew of 28 men and […]
Beyond Limitations
One talks about not letting one’s limitations determine the size of one’s sky. Like you, I too have heard the stories. I too have been inspired and impressed. To my own limited extent, I too have tried to emulate them in my own life. But no other story has impacted me as much has this […]
Not Enough Time
The Pareto principle (also known as the 80–20 rule, the law of the vital few, and the principle of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, observed in 1906 that 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% […]
The Educator
Contrary to common belief, the meaning of the word education is not to ‘give knowledge or wisdom’. Education comes from the base word EDUCE which means- Bring out or develop (something latent or potential). Edutation, therefore, doesn’t refer to a giving of knowledge or wisdom, it refers to drawing out the inner knowledge and wisdom […]
Come Alive
Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive. ~ Dr. Howard Thruman I have met hordes of people who would have a fit if you repeated the above quote in their hearing. There are also […]
Look Before You Leap
I was in the seventh grade. My class teacher was this stunningly gorgeous girl called Celine. We called her Miss Celine and loved her madly. She had her own voodoo. She made sunshine her personal accessory. When she swished into the class in the morning, tripping along briskly, she would be glittering with sun beams. […]
Timeless Skills
In the past twenty years, the world has transformed. Communication has been the key to this transformation. It has shrunk the size of the world to amazing extent. Who could have thought that you could see people in real time from half way across the world? Who could have thought that complicated operations could be […]
Unlimited
Shane Koyczan was bullied when he was a child. Children are cruel at times… without meaning to be. To carry that pain, to ‘obey’ the perceptions of those whose world view is immature and miniscule, to shape your life with words used by those who had no idea of their power, to live out someone […]
Who do you want to be?
Today is one of those whimsical days I refuse to do anything. Today I want to be a sponge, to soak up life. I want to sit on a fallen tree- trunk by the side of the road and watch life go rolling past in its numerous carriages- some gaudy, some plain. Today is a […]