Decisions!!!

A beautiful day in Dallas, TX. Temperature hovering at 30 F, chilly winds and no sunshine. It appears like a romantic climate to me. Was glancing through my patio and realised that there are some decisions to be taken in my life. Decisions!!! This has become a cliche. People talk about decisions taken in the right spirit, decisions that went wrong, decisions that should not have been taken etc. Where does the buck stop?
When I was in India, I used to wonder why things never happened. Things such as laying out roads properly, building the necessary infrastructure for every day life and so on. I realised that people responsible for making those decisions where not responsible enough. They took such a long time to take a decision, by the time they take it, the need is outgrown or outrun by time. Then it becomes a poor decision anyway.
Decisions are meant to be taken promptly and with an educated guess. We will never know if a decision taken is right or wrong only if we fail to take it. Otherwise, it is as good as not thinking about it at all. This is the reason I hate elderly politicians. They have loads of experience, but they never exercise their experience at the right time. They are so stupid. The same applies to people in other career levels too.
The bottomline, decisions are meant to be taken when necessary.

Your time will come.

I was on the road today to drop off my friend at an auto shop. I needed to take a turn to reach the auto shop and was wondering, if I would ever get to cut through the traffic and make the turn. But after a few moments, the traffic eased and I was able to take the turn. On my way back, I was startled when I realised that it was a fact I ignored all together. Your time will come.
Many of us do not have the patience to wait for right time. I know it is hard to predict the right time, but your instincts and gut feeling will tell you when the time arrives. It will happen when there is a deep desire for something you need. I do believe in fate and destiny. But I will also advocate that you should not be content with what you have, but strive to better yourself.
There is an adage which says 'Every dog has it's day". There is a time for everyone, if they realize themselves, they will shine like none other. So wake up to the realization that you will shine and perform everyday. There is a time for everyone!!!

Compliments...

After a tiring day's work, I went to sip some coffee with my friend. Was having a discussion on complimenting people. I was of the opinion that more the compliments I give, less valued it will be. The reason behind my theory was that people will take it for granted that I will compliment them anyway. When I said this to my friend, I was amazed at the perspective that was thrown back.
According to that perspective, the more you compliment, the more you encourage people. The more you encourage, the better they become. But there is a disclaimer here. Never overdo it. It was interesting to get a different line of thought and I believe I will take that route from here on.

A reality check

Starting off my day with a post about something which made me take a deep breath and think. Last evening I and my colleague were engrossed in finding a solution to a problem. We figured that it didn't work in my colleague's machine and decided to try it on mine. But to my surprise, it didn't work on my machine as well. I got frustrated, because I wanted to help my colleague so that we could go home happy. Then I remarked, "If this is not solved, then I won't be able to sleep tonight". Pat came the reply, "If you can't take it, then you shouldn't be here".
I was initially stunned by the remark. I felt a bit ridiculed to be honest. More than the issue not being resolved, I left with the feeling that someone told me something which I didn't like. Later that night, I was in my bed wondering about it. Then I realized, it is the truth. Truth is always bitter!!! So I tried to find out what was it that I could improve upon. I found the answer. Simple, take it easy. I took the problem to my heart and it didn't help. So I need to ease off and take a breath and get back at solving the problem in hand.
It was a reality check for me. I never thought that someone would say that to me. But I am glad that my colleague and my good friend did. I would like to thank and appreciate my friend for being honest and forthcoming in those remarks. I wish I hear from you all the time!!!

Felt my oldself today

Today was the kind of day that you might call perfect. In many ways I enjoyed the day, even though I was stressed. I enjoyed it because I was able to help my colleagues with something they wanted. This is exactly what I want to do at work and in my personal life too. I want to be remembered as someone who inspired people. I may not be here forever, but I want my name to reverberate for as long as it can.
There was something else that became apparent to me. Over the past few days, I was feeling troubled. Troubled because I was unable to find a solution to a problem and that was hovering over my head even after I left the workplace. Thankfully the issue got resolved and all of us were happy. All is well when it ends well. But the point to drive home is that I got to realize that your true character is vivid when you are tested. Your true nature comes out when your back is against the wall. So, I knew from that experience, I wasn't strong enough as I would've liked. Got to improve!!!

Staying on the ground

Got inspired by what I read today. A friend of mine sent me an email which detailed a story about a U.S. Navy fighter pilot. This fighter pilot had flown many successful missions, but was shot down during an operation. He bailed out of the aircraft and landed in an enemy territory. He was tortured, brutalised and finally released to return to his homeland. One day he met a person at a restaurant who had saved his life during that tragic accident. It was none other than the person who folded his parachute before he left for the mission that eventful day. If that parachute hadn't opened, he would've been dead by now. But he realised a fact that most of us ignore. He may have walked by the the person who folded his parachute many times, but he never took a moment to wish him.
I've seen many people at the workplace do the same. We never say "Hello" to someone, simply because either we don't know them or we think they are less in calibre. The truth is, as the story stated above, the person who we never greet could be someone who is doing something important for us. Remember, you can be the most important person around at your workplace, but when you step outside, you are as normal a human being as anyone else. There are no CEO's or CFO's in the world outside.
Be an inspiration to someone. Show the way to people who need to be shown a path.

Thank you...Robin Sharma

I thank Robin Sharma (http://www.robinsharma.com) for making be think differently. I got inspired by what he had to say about life in general and leadership in particular. I have definitely taken a cue from him. To look at things that happen around me and get inspired. Get inspired and translate that inspiration into something useful. Doing something useful by sharing my thoughts with friends, who are around me and with other people over the internet through my blog.
Thank you Robin!!!