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| Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching |
Never stop learning, because life never stops teaching
As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better.
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| As I look back on my life, I realize that every time I thought I was being rejected from something good, I was actually being re-directed to something better. |
The best way to predict the future is to create it
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| The best way to predict the future is to create it |
Sometimes the thing holding you back is all in your head
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| Sometimes the thing holding you back is all in your head |
Derek Redmond's Incredible Olympic Story!!
Derek Anthony Redmond didn't win a medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. In fact, the British 400m runner didn't even make it past the semi-final stage. But it was his determination to finish that will live forever in the minds of millions. Injury had forced the Briton to withdraw from the 1988 Seoul Games just ten minutes before the start of his 400m heat, so Redmond felt he had everything to prove in Barcelona four years later. Not to his peers, that is but, as he later admitted, to himself.
Redmond wanted a medal whatever the colour and he started well, qualifying for the semi-finals by clocking the fastest time in his heat. As the gun signaled the start of his semi-final, Redmond charged out of the blocks, making good speed over his first 250m. At that point his right hamstring snapped. The one time British 400m record holder pulled sharply up as the rest of his field ran away from him, leaving Redmond on his knees and crippled, his Olympic dream over.
What followed, however, is one of the most memorable moments in Olympic history. Redmond got back to his feet and tried to finish the race. In an act of true courage against adversity, Redmond could only hop on one leg towards the finish line. Pain etched on his face as each step became more painful than the last, Redmond would not give up. He had promised himself and his father, that he would finish the race 'no matter what,' and he would keep that promise.
Half way to the finish line on one leg and crying with desperation, Derek was joined by his father Jim. The moment Redmond crossed the finish line brought sixty-five thousand spectators to their feet in a standing ovation, many also in tears. Few can remember that Steve Lewis of the USA won the semi-final in a time of 44.50. But no one who saw it will ever forget Derek Redmond's courage on the day he defined the essence of the human and Olympic spirit.
Derek Redmond recalls the semi-final of the 400m at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics when, following a hamstring injury, his father helped him over the line.
The former British 400m record-holder, now 46, was at his peak when he lined up for the 400m semi-final in Barcelona in 1992. Here he relives the day that ended his career but made him an inspiration to millions...
When I took my place on the starting blocks I felt good.
For once I had no injuries, despite eight operations in four years, and I’d won the first two rounds without breaking sweat – including posting the fastest time in the first round heats. I was confident and when the gun went off I got off to a good start.
‘I got into my stride running round the first turn and I was feeling comfortable. Then I heard a popping sound. I kept on running for another two or three strides then I felt the pain. I thought I’d been shot, but then I recognized the agony.‘I’d pulled my hamstring before and the pain is excruciating: like someone shoving a hot knife into the back of your knee and twisting it. I grabbed the back of my leg, uttered a few expletives and hit the deck.
I couldn’t believe this was happening after all the training I’d put in. I looked around to see where the rest of the field were, and they had only 100m to go. I remember thinking if I got up I could still catch them and qualify.
‘The pain was intense. I hobbled about 50m until I was at the 200m mark. Then I realized it was all over. I looked round and saw that everyone else had crossed the finishing line. But I don’t like to give up at anything – not even an argument, as my wife will tell you – and I decided I was going to finish that race if it was the last race I ever did.
‘All these doctors and officials were coming onto the track, trying to get me to stop but I was having none of it. Then, with about 100m to go, I became aware of someone else on the track. I didn’t realize it was my dad, Jim, at first. He said, “Derek, it’s me, you don’t need to do this.”
'I just said, “Dad, I want to finish, get me back in the semi-final.” He said, “OK. We started this thing together and now we’ll finish it together.” He managed to get me to stop trying to run and just walk and he kept repeating, “You’re a champion, you’ve got nothing to prove.”
‘We hobbled over the finishing line with our arms round each other, just me and my dad, the man I’m really close to, who’s supported my athletics career since I was seven years old. I’ve since been told there was a standing ovation by the 65,000 crowd, but nothing registered at the time. I was in tears and went off to the medical room to be looked at, then I took the bus back to the Olympic village.
My dream was over. In Seoul four years earlier I didn’t even get to the start line because of an Achilles injury and had “DNS” – Did Not Start – next to my name. I didn’t want them to write “DNF” – Did Not Finish – in Barcelona. ‘When I saw my doctor he told me I’d never represent my country again. I felt like there’d been a death. I never raced again and I was angry for two years. Then one day I just thought: there are worse things than pulling a muscle in a race, and I just decided to get on with my life.
In the days after the race, Redmond received a host of messages from other competitors at the Olympics on the messaging system that had been set up. One, from a Canadian he had never met, captured the mood aptly.
"Long after the names of the medallists have faded from our minds, you will be remembered for having finished, for having tried so hard, for having a father to demonstrate the strength of his love for his son," it read. "I thank you, and I will always remember your race and I will always remember you - the purest, most courageous example of grit and determination I have seen."
For Derek Redmond, Barcelona '92 will go down as merely an accident, one final insurmountable hurdle in the way of an otherwise promising sprinting career.
For the rest of us, the image of a loving father helping to carry his son across the finish line will forever go down as a moment worthy of Olympic praise. A reminder that to be an Olympic champion doesn't mean you have to take home the gold.
A 15 step guide for nailing any interview
Source: businessinsider
2. Know your numbers
3. Be observant
4. Don't be late
5. Remember, everyone matters
6. Show your true colors
7. Make your mark
8. Be more than ready
9. Show off your work
10. Be one step ahead
11. Have confidence
12. Avoid negative associations
13. Be curious
14. Plan for the future
15. Wrap it up nicely
Bhagawat Gita Summarised in just 18 Lines
1. Your world is a perception based by your prejudices, shaped by your fears, fueled by your ignorance
2. The world of those around you is also a perception created by prejudices, fears and ignorance
3. Wisdom is ability to appreciate your perceptions and other people’s perceptions with empathy
4. I, Krishna, appreciate all subjective realities, without judgement, with affection, hence am God
5. God is eternal, undying, within you; your self-absorption prevents you from realizing it
6. Your reality is limited. So are others’ realities. Break your limitation and make room for theirs, even if they can’t or don’t.
7. You seek outcomes to match your expectations; so you seek control; when control slips away, you are angry, upset, unhappy, frightened.
8. You avoid action because you cannot control outcome; you rationalize withdrawal with nobility to mask your helplessness
9. All outcomes are governed by karma: it is reaction to various inputs, not all yours, many beyond your control
10. Your mind interprets this world as good/right if it favoyours you and bad/wrong if it does not favoyour you; natyoure favoyours none
11. What gives you pleasyoure may cause others pain; when they retaliate, you declare them villains and c yourself as victim
12. Many prefer to let others shape their point of view (tamas guna. . This is ignorance, born of inertia.
13. A few choose to see the world only from their own point of view (rajas guna. . This is control, born of fear.
14. You have the ability to see the world from others points of view (sattva guna. . This is wisdom, born of empathy.
15. When you do yoyour tasks focussing on the input and accepting the output whatever it may be, you are a karma yogi
16. When you do your tasks by placing faith in God who will take care of you no matter what, you are a bhakti yogi
17. When you do yoyour tasks by appreciating there are many forces at work, not all under yoyour control, you are a gyan yogi
18. Do dharma: don’t grab/dominate as animals do; outgrow your fears as humans can by observing others struggle with fears & control
A rare conversation between Krishna & Today's Arjun
A rare conversation between Krishna & Today's Arjun. Read it loud to family,
it's one of the best message I have come across...
it's one of the best message I have come across...
1. Arjun :- I can’t find free time. Life has become hectic.
Krishna:- Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you free.
2. Arjun :- Why has life become complicated now?
Krishna :- Stop analyzing life... It makes it complicated. Just live it.
3. Arjun :- Why are we then constantly unhappy?
Krishna :- Worrying has become your habit. That’s why you are not happy.
4. Arjun :- Why do good people always suffer?
Krishna :- Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don’t suffer.
With that experience their life becomes better, not bitter.
With that experience their life becomes better, not bitter.
5. Arjun :- You mean to say such experience is useful?
Krishna :- Yes. In every term, Experience is a hard teacher. It gives the test first and the lessons later.
6. Arjun :- Because of so many problems, we don’t know where we are heading…
Krishna:- If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides the way.
7. Arjun :- Does failure hurt more than moving in the right direction?
Krishna:- Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you.
8. Arjun :- In tough times, how do you stay motivated?
Krishna :- Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.
9. Arjun :- What surprises you about people?
Krishna :- When they suffer they ask, "why me?" When they prosper, they never ask "Why me?"
10. Arjun :- How can I get the best out of life?
Krishna:- Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.
11. Arjun :- One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.
Krishna:- There are no unanswered prayers. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Life is a mystery to solve, not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live.
Stay Happy Always.....!!!
It’s NOT the job you DO, It’s HOW you DO the job.
Shiv Khera, a renowned author and management trainer writes about his experience in Singapore
"Six years ago in Singapore I gave a taxi driver a business card to take me to a particular address.
At the last point he circled round the building. His meter read 11$, but he took only 10.
I said Henry, your meter reads 11$ how come you are taking only 10.
He said Sir, I am a taxi driver, I am supposed to be bringing you straight to the destination. Since I did not know the last spot, I had to circle around the building. Had I brought you straight here, the meter would have read 10$.
Why should you be paying for my ignorance ?
He said Sir, legally, I can claim 11$ but Honestly and ethically I am entitled to only 10.
He further added that Singapore is a tourist destination and many people come here for three or four days. After clearing the immigrations and customs, the first experience is always with the taxi driver and if that is not good, the balance three to four days are not pleasant either.
He said Sir I am not a taxi driver, I am the Ambassador of Singapore without a diplomatic passport.
In my opinion he probably did not go to school beyond the 8th grade, but to me he was a professional. To me his behavior reflected pride in performance and character.
That day I learnt that one needs more than professional qualification to be a professional.
In one line be a "Professional with a human touch and Values " that makes all the more difference.
Knowledge, skill, money, education, all comes later. First comes Human Values, Honesty and Integrity.
Professionalism:
It’s NOT the job you DO, It’s HOW you DO the job.
"Six years ago in Singapore I gave a taxi driver a business card to take me to a particular address.
At the last point he circled round the building. His meter read 11$, but he took only 10.
I said Henry, your meter reads 11$ how come you are taking only 10.
He said Sir, I am a taxi driver, I am supposed to be bringing you straight to the destination. Since I did not know the last spot, I had to circle around the building. Had I brought you straight here, the meter would have read 10$.
Why should you be paying for my ignorance ?
He said Sir, legally, I can claim 11$ but Honestly and ethically I am entitled to only 10.
He further added that Singapore is a tourist destination and many people come here for three or four days. After clearing the immigrations and customs, the first experience is always with the taxi driver and if that is not good, the balance three to four days are not pleasant either.
He said Sir I am not a taxi driver, I am the Ambassador of Singapore without a diplomatic passport.
In my opinion he probably did not go to school beyond the 8th grade, but to me he was a professional. To me his behavior reflected pride in performance and character.
That day I learnt that one needs more than professional qualification to be a professional.
In one line be a "Professional with a human touch and Values " that makes all the more difference.
Knowledge, skill, money, education, all comes later. First comes Human Values, Honesty and Integrity.
Professionalism:
It’s NOT the job you DO, It’s HOW you DO the job.
What playing pokemon go tought me...
Playing Pokemon Go got me thinking.
You play pokemon. Your six are Mewtwo, Dragonite, Charizard, Gengar, AwesomePkmn5, AwesomePkmn6.
You grow up trying to be a Mewtwo, a Dragonite.
Shit happens, maybe you're not a Mewtwo.
More shit happens, maybe you're not a Charizard.
Life happens, and you find you're a weedle.
I hated when I found out I wasn't automatically in everyone's top 6 team in everything.
But you know what? That's ok.
Be the best version of yourself; and be proud of that.
Don't worry about shit that wasn't in your hands in the first place, just focus on leveling up. You were born with the bug type, you were born with a weakness to fire, psychic, and rock.
But you'll be a Kakuna someday, and someday a Beedrill. Somedays you'll be so in-the-zone that you'll go Mega Beedrill, and be full-on beast mode, and on your day, they will tremble.
You can be a lvl 4 weedle, at the bottom of the food chain.
Or you can be a lvl 100 Beedrill. Sure, you'll still lose to any Charizard lvl 70+, but you can annihilate 80% of all pokemon and 100% of the pokemon who spend all their time complaining about being pidgeys, rattatas, and dunsparces.
It may be obvious to a lot of people, but it struck me that it doesn't matter what's happened in the past- it's me vs me first, and only then me vs opponents. Either way, level up.
Keep moving forward. That's all you can ask of yourself.
You play pokemon. Your six are Mewtwo, Dragonite, Charizard, Gengar, AwesomePkmn5, AwesomePkmn6.
You grow up trying to be a Mewtwo, a Dragonite.
Shit happens, maybe you're not a Mewtwo.
More shit happens, maybe you're not a Charizard.
Life happens, and you find you're a weedle.
I hated when I found out I wasn't automatically in everyone's top 6 team in everything.
But you know what? That's ok.
Be the best version of yourself; and be proud of that.
Don't worry about shit that wasn't in your hands in the first place, just focus on leveling up. You were born with the bug type, you were born with a weakness to fire, psychic, and rock.
But you'll be a Kakuna someday, and someday a Beedrill. Somedays you'll be so in-the-zone that you'll go Mega Beedrill, and be full-on beast mode, and on your day, they will tremble.
You can be a lvl 4 weedle, at the bottom of the food chain.
Or you can be a lvl 100 Beedrill. Sure, you'll still lose to any Charizard lvl 70+, but you can annihilate 80% of all pokemon and 100% of the pokemon who spend all their time complaining about being pidgeys, rattatas, and dunsparces.
It may be obvious to a lot of people, but it struck me that it doesn't matter what's happened in the past- it's me vs me first, and only then me vs opponents. Either way, level up.
Keep moving forward. That's all you can ask of yourself.
Pokemon Go: Overnight success? No, For John Hanke it took 20 years to create Pokemon Go
How long does it take to create an overnight success? For John Hanke it’s taken him 20 years to create Pokémon Go.
This week, the Pokémon Go app has broken all records, with 10 million+ downloads in the first week, exceeding Twitter in daily active users, and with higher average user time than Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram & WhatsApp.
How did John Hanke create such a massive overnight craze? Here’s the 10 times he levelled up in his lifetime to reach Pokémon Go:
1st Level up: In 1996, while still a student, John co-created the very first MMO (massively multiplayer online game) called ‘Meridian 59’. He sold the game to 3DO to move on to a bigger passion: mapping the world.
2nd Level up: In 2000, John launched ‘Keyhole’ to come up with a way to link maps with aerial photography, and create the first online, GPS-linked 3D aerial map of the world.
3rd Level up: In 2004, Google bought Keyhole and with John’s help, turned Keyhole into what is now ‘Google Earth’. That’s when John decided to focus at creating GPS-based games.
4th Level up: John ran the Google Geo team from 2004 to 2010, creating Google Maps and Google Street View. During this time, he collected the team that would later create Pokémon Go.
5th Level up: In 2010, John launched Niantic Labs as a start-up funded by Google to create a game layer on maps. John explains why he called it Niantic: “The Niantic is the name of a whaling ship that came up during the gold rush and through a variety of circumstances got dragged on shore. This happened with other ships, too. Over the years, San Francisco was basically just built over these ships. You could stand on top of them now, and you wouldn't know it. So it's this idea that there's stuff about the world that's really cool but even though it's on the Internet, it's hard to know when you're actually there.”
6th Level up: In 2012, John then created Niantic’s first geo-based MMO, “ingress”: John explains: “In the case of Ingress the activity is layered on top of the real world and on your phone. The inspiration was that it was something that I always used to daydream about while I was commuting back and forth from home to Google." "I always thought you could make an awesome game using all the Geo data that we have. I watched phones become more and more powerful and I thought the time would come that you could do a really awesome real-world adventure-based game.”
7th Level up: In 2014, Google and the Pokémon Company teamed up for an April Fools’ Day joke, which allowed viewers to find Pokémon creatures on Google maps. It was a viral hit, and got John thinking the idea could be turned into a real game.
8th Level up: John decided to build Pokémon Go on the user-generated meeting points created by players of Ingress, and the most popular became the Pokéstops and gyms in Pokémon Go: As John says, ”The Pokéstops are submitted by users, so obviously they're based on places people go. We had essentially two and a half years of people going to all the places where they thought they should be able to play Ingress, so it's some pretty remote places. There are portals in Antartica and the North Pole, and most points in between.”
9th Level up: John raised $25 million from Google, Nintendo, the Pokémon Company and other investors from Dec 2015 to Feb 2016 to grow a team of 40+ to launch Pokémon Go this year.
10th Level: John and his team launched Pokémon Go on July 6th in USA, Australia and New Zealand. Since its launch, Nintendo’s share price has risen $7.5 billion, and the app is already generating over $2 million daily in in-app purchases, making it an overnight phenomenon.
The overnight success of Pokémon Go has taken John Hanke 20 years to create. Throughout these 20 years, while he had a big vision of a game layer over the world, he didn’t know what form it would take. At every step, he just focused at his next level up.
At each new level, he had new powers, new team members, and new items in his inventory…
Are you, like John, treating your own entrepreneurial journey like one big MMO?
Keep the end in mind, but focus today on simply levelling up.
At every level, grow your powers, your team, and your luck.
And know it takes many levels to win the game.
It takes 20 years to make an overnight success.
A young girl and her father
A young girl and her father were walking along a forest path.
At some point, they came across a large tree branch on the ground in front of them.
The girl asked her father, “If I try, do you think I could move that branch?”
Her father replied, “I am sure you can, if you use all your strength.”
The girl tried her best to lift or push the branch, but she was not strong enough and she couldn't move it.
She said, with disappointment, “You were wrong, dad. I can't move it.”
“Try again with all your strength,” replied her father.
Again, the girl tried hard to push the branch. She struggled but it did not move.
“Dad, I cannot do it,” said the girl.
Finally her father said, “Young lady, I advised you to use 'all your strength'. You didn’t.
You didn't ask for my help.”
~~~
Some reflections on this story...
Our real strength lies not in independence, but in interdependence.
No individual person has all the strengths, all the resources and all the stamina required for the complete blossoming of their vision.
To ask for help and support when we need it is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of wisdom.
At some point, they came across a large tree branch on the ground in front of them.
The girl asked her father, “If I try, do you think I could move that branch?”
Her father replied, “I am sure you can, if you use all your strength.”
The girl tried her best to lift or push the branch, but she was not strong enough and she couldn't move it.
She said, with disappointment, “You were wrong, dad. I can't move it.”
“Try again with all your strength,” replied her father.
Again, the girl tried hard to push the branch. She struggled but it did not move.
“Dad, I cannot do it,” said the girl.
Finally her father said, “Young lady, I advised you to use 'all your strength'. You didn’t.
You didn't ask for my help.”
~~~
Some reflections on this story...
Our real strength lies not in independence, but in interdependence.
No individual person has all the strengths, all the resources and all the stamina required for the complete blossoming of their vision.
To ask for help and support when we need it is not a sign of weakness, it is a sign of wisdom.
The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried
The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.
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