Get Fed Up

Maulik Unadkat

On the other side of the Gate

1. Get fed up! 1
2. STOP! 5
3. Launch iOS 2015 9
4. Write your ‘SOP’ for 2015 14
5. Compete with your yesterday, every day 19
6. Don't let your dreams die. Water them, DAILY 23
7. Live your "Someday" life, Today 27
8. Live an 'Autobiographic Life' 31
9. Half time buddy. Score your goal. 34
10. Oranges don't grow on apple trees. 37
11. Time to upload on www.life.com 41
12. Deactivate Autopilot mode of living Life 45
13. Do not prioritize your priorities! 51
14. Inhale Carbon Dioxide and convert it into Oxygen 55
15. Gratitude is the currency used in the casino of life 59
16. Love Your Struggles! 64
17. Every Season has a Reason 69
18. Ignite the fire within you 72
19. Inside Outside! 75
20. Get that masti back in you 80
21. Feed the good in you. Starve the evil in you. 84
22. God is your Architect. You are the Interior Designer. 87
23. When man plans, God laughs 91
24. The Rain fills the size of your vessel 96
25. Throw some starfish back into the ocean 100
26. Don't let technology hack into your life account! 104
27. Life may have an MH17 end! Add more Life to Life! 110
28. On the other side of the gate 114
29. Prayer - O Lord 120
Get fed up!

1
 Get fed up!

We have always learnt NEVER GIVE UP! Today let us

learn to GET FED UP!

NEVER GIVE UP works when things are going from

good to great. GET FED UP will help you when things
will be going from bad to worse.

Life is not bad, does not mean life is good. Lack of

failure, isn’t success. Just because things aren't going
wrong for you does not mean they are going right. When
life is sub-standard, GET FED UP!

When we read good books or meet influential

personalities, we feel WOWed. WOW is a great place to
be, but FED UP is even better.

WOW is a positive emotion with a negative outcome. At

WOW, you only admire, applaud, appreciate the
experience, dream to change for the better but ultimately
you just WOW it and continue living the way you were.

FED UP is a negative emotion with a life changing

positive outcome. At FED UP, if your WOW experience
has something worth learning from, you express the
admiration, applaud and appreciation by living the
change. You have that constant urge in you to make your
today better than your yesterday. You begin to live a no
compromise, no regret life.

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It is crucial to select your FED UP targets wisely. But the
'make it or break it trick' is to time your fed up right.

When you feel that you are unwillingly or unpleasantly

tolerating your habits, your relationships, your health,
your career, your lifestyle, etc., that’s the right time to get
fed up positively and change whatever needs to be
changed. Once the tolerance limit is passed, the outcome
will always be undesirable.

If you get fed up with your habits at the tolerance stage,

you will bring about the positive change and give up the
habit. Once you surpass the tolerance limit of the body, it
will only backfire with illness.

You have a lot of tolerance in the early days of any

relationship. If you get fed up with the differences
positively in that flexible stage and change for each other
affectionately, the relation will only get better. If you
keep compromising and resist the change, one day your
tolerance limits will get surpassed. Thereafter, the
relationship will only end up falling apart.

If you get fed up with a wrong career choice at the right

time, you will quit and find your calling. Beyond
tolerance, you will only live the rest of your life in regrets
because then it becomes too late to quit.

On a broader perspective, isn't it high time we stop

tolerating our indifference towards certain social issues,
even though they do not affect our life directly? Get fed
up when your house helpers cannot even afford education
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for their children, when people on the streets are dying of
hunger and disease. Get fed up of bribing the cop, if you
want corruption to eradicate. Get fed up of littering
around.

Enough of ‘NEVER GIVE UP’ for the things in life that

deserve to change. GET FED UP and take a U turn at the
right time. Else life is an express highway; if you miss the
right U turn, the next one may be too far away.

In case you find this write-up even remotely helpful,

please do not Wow it. GET FED UP! Live the change!
Live more deliberately!

4
STOP!

-5-
 STOP!

'Don't live the same year, 75 times, and call it life.' -

Robin Sharma

When our tomorrows begin to get predictably sad, boring

or stressful; Change is inevitable. Life has a knack of
knowing exactly when we are ready for that positive
change. Whenever life throws problems at us, it also
throws some positive life changing experiences or makes
us read some magical words of wisdom that are capable
of making our lives fuller and happier again.

For example, we read, 'Growth is painful. Change is

painful. But nothing is as painful as staying stuck
somewhere you don't belong' and an inner voice shouts,
"Enough is enough. I surely do not belong here anymore .
I better change than suffer so much."

And the search for what to change and how to change,

begins. But for most of us the search itself has become
the problem because by trying to change our direction
while life is travelling at 200 km/hr, we get even more
muddled and ultimately crash. The decision to change
was perfect. But there are 2 things we need, when we
want to go from point A to point B, speed and direction.
When we realize we have lost direction, we have to
reduce the speed before changing the direction.

When we start off in a wrong career option, we lose

direction. When close relationships fall apart, we lose
direction. When things don't go our way in life, we lose
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direction. When something within us does not feel right,
we lose direction. So once we realize we have lost
direction, what are we supposed to do?

STOP! We cannot take U Turns at high speeds. STOP!

The answer is STOP! For a bit, just STOP! Traffic lights
are not made with the intent to curb your speed but they
are placed strategically to help us change directions
safely. Our lives are cluttered with excessive
preoccupations, we have no extra time. We pack as much
activity as we can in the 1440 minutes that we have each
day. We cannot make changes at this over stimulated
pace of life. In our STOP time, we don't have to let life's
demands seep through into our minds, we got to
completely switch off from all routine activity. When you
want to change something, First STOP! Focus on what
you want to change. Reassure yourself by answering why
this change is so important for you. Decide how you will
make the change happen.

Once the instruction manual is in place, RENAVIGATE!

Understand this. Even Google Maps' navigation system
will fail to help us, if we do not know our destination
explicitly. If where we want to go is clear, how we will
get there becomes a simple question to answer.
Sometimes, we do not even know what we are looking
for; the search for a solution becomes our biggest
problem when we do not identify the problem clearly.
That explains why our happiness is usually short lived,
success does not come effortlessly to us and somehow we
are not able to make peace with ourselves and the people
around us.
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Once the situation is in control again, START! Then at
every start you will add new energy and meaning to your
life and begin to enjoy your life much more than ever
before. LIVE THE WAY YOU LOVE TO LIVE, ELSE
YOU WILL NEVER LOVE THE WAY YOU LIVE.

Next time that life seems to be losing direction and you

are motivated to change, STOP! Spend quality time with
yourself to make sure you do not let the ‘motivation to
change’, decay. RENAVIGATE and once in control,
START again.

STOP! RENAVIGATE! START!

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Launch iOS 2015

9
 Launch iOS 2015

When apple releases their latest iOS (iPhone operating

system) software update, it excites iPhone enthusiasts,
because the same old phone suddenly feels refreshingly
new, it changes the whole interface experience.

If you are a Life Enthusiast and want a refreshingly new

experience in Two Thousand and Fifteen,
launch iOS 2015 ("i" Operating System), which will
define how we operate the "i", i.e. ourselves in the new
year. The same old you, will suddenly feel all new.

The phone, the hardware is only as powerful as the

software that energizes it. You are only as happy as your
perspective in life allows you to be. There is no other
motto of life than to be happy. There is
no other way to be happy than to set your perspective,
your attitude right.

Each one's journey is different, so all of us will launch a

different version of iOS 2015, customized to our life
specifications. But the design protocol for
launching iOS 2015 is the same for all of us, it's a 4 step
process.

Step No. 1 - Design iOS 2015 :

Apple has the world's best engineers on board but it does

not mean that there will be no bugs in their software.
Even if the old software was launched with vigorous

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testing, it always has bugs which appear
only when you put it to practical use. Apple does not beat
up these engineers for the bugs, they just encourage them
to fix them right as soon as possible.

You may engineer your life to perfection but it will

always have some bugs. To err is human, but make sure
you end up making a new mistake each time you err. Do
not repeat the same mistakes. To begin with, go
through your 2014 thoroughly and identify all the bugs
and fix them. Every mistake, every wrong decision, every
struggle, every failure, every betrayal redefines your
perspective of life. And with that new
perspective, you are supposed to redesign your life in the
best possible way you can today.

Fix the Bugs. Design iOS 2015.

Step No. 2 - Launch iOS 2015 :

iOS 2014 is now officially out-dated. You can continue

using the out-dated OS if your motto in life is just to
survive. But as Robin Sharma says, "You cannot live the
same year 75 times and call it
Life". Most of us are still using an obsolete iOS 2006 and
wondering why life is so unkind. Gear up to launch the all
new iOS 2015.

Feature pack yourself, transform yourself completely, put

yourself centre stage, add the neon colours to your life,
change your whole experience, add energy to your life.
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Change your whole perspective
such that the ups and downs and the perfect imperfections
of life do not disturb your peace and happiness. Do not let
anything totally out of your control, control your life. Be
in total control.

Launch a power packed iOS 2015.

Step 3 : Download and Install :

Most of us want to change, we know what to change and

how to change it but we simply do not change. It is like
designing and launching iOS 2015 but not downloading
and installing it. Big changes are a cluster
of small changes implemented, one at a time. There is no
point in designing iOS 2015 if you have decided to
change NOTHING.

Download and Install iOS 2015 and give yourself a

chance to experience the new You.

Step 4 - Version 15.X :

Even the first version of the apple iOS was by far the best
operating system ever launched, almost perfect. But they
did not sleep their success away. They thrived to make
the best, even better and that is
what life is all about.

Why wait for 2016 to launch the next new iOS. Consider
the last date of each month as 'new month’s eve' and
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release iOS 15.2 in February, iOS 15.3 in March and so
on. In fact why not launch a completely new " i" daily.
Wake up each day to a new You.

Make yourself a little better every day, make this world a

little better every day.

Don't live an outdated life. Update to iOS 2015.

Do not make any new year resolutions this year. You

have already buried too many resolutions in the grave
every February, when they were just one month old.

Design, launch, download and install iOS 2015. Happy

New Year. Happy New Life.

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Write your ‘SOP’ for 2015

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 Write your ‘SOP’ for 2015

So, not even 2 weeks into the seemingly refreshing and

ultra promising 2015, and the New Year is already
behaving OLD. There have been more cancellations in
New Year Resolution take-offs in January than Spice Jet
take-offs in December. More promises have been broken
in these 2 weeks than in election campaigns. The official
count of "To Dos in 2015" that died in the first 2 weeks of
January is on the rise. We all were so sure that 2015
would turn out to be our ‘life changing year’ but the
enthusiasm is already silently fading away.

Have you ever experienced or witnessed someone

preparing for extremely competitive entrance exams like
CAT, GMAT, CET or GATE, to get admission in top
Universities? The preparation is maddening, 24x7x365.
Those who manage to win a seat experience an adrenaline
rush, the excitement levels are unmatchable. But the shelf
life of that excitement is only about 2 weeks. With the
victory celebration, of winning a seat in a University that
many dreamt of but only a few managed to get, comes a
sense of achievement, which deceives one from the main
purpose. In reality, it was the education and the
experience of studying in one of the most esteemed
Institution that one should have been looking forward to.
Measure the excitement levels after two weeks of college
routine and the result is a no brainer, the enthusiasm
disappears. Isn't it too funny, it is like looking forward to
going to the most happening party in town and losing the
excitement as soon as you manage to buy the entry ticket
for the party?
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Sure you wanted to get admitted to 2015 and you showed
great vigor, passion and promise. 11th day into 2015 and
measure your excitement levels already. If your job
profile is not defined, you are bound to end up spending
more time doing unproductive things than productive
ones. You are bound to get fed up with your job. Define
your job profile for the year 2015 clearly or be prepared
to get fed up with your life anytime soon.

May be that is why, if you seek a seat in the top

universities of USA, The Statement of Purpose (SOP) is
the single most important part of your application. The
SOP is a document through which you basically justify
and try to convince the admission committee about why
you deserve this seat. You do this by explaining who you
are, what has influenced your career path so far, your
professional interests, where you plan to go from here and
most importantly why they should give you this
opportunity to you. The SOP clarifies your purpose of
wanting admission in this university and course, first to
yourself and then to the admission committee. It's an ideal
way of ensuring only people who are well inclined and
focused, step into their campus. Every time you feel lost
in direction, your SOP will remind you how desperately
you wanted to be here.

Write your SOP for 2015. Why should life give you
another year? What will you make of it? Justify your
eligibility to deserve this opportunity? On December 31st
2015, what can life expect in return of giving you this
privilege to walk through the campus of 2015.

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Writing your SOP is no rocket science. Do you want to
buy a car or a house this year or in the next 5 years. If
yes, back calculate, how much do you need to earn and
save for it this year. That is your FINANCIAL SOP for
2015.

You read loads of life changing stuff last year, but life did
not change even one percent. Focusing on what you wish
to change and implementing that change this year,
starting NOW will take care of your POSITIVITY SOP
for 2015.

If you have been through one struggle in your life, it

would have revealed to you your true friends. You have
only so many of them. If you value them, want them, then
sparing enough time for them will take care of your
EMOTIONAL SOP for 2015.

When you want to have a nice day, define nice and you
will get a clear idea how to make your day nice. When
you want to live a great life, define great and you will
have a clear idea how to make your life great. Do not
have subjective goals. Set the target clearly and
explicitely.

2015 can give you a better life only if you make better
choices. But if we do not change our moment to moment
choices, we cannot change our annual results. Write your
SOP, print and paste it in your wardrobe. Every day when
you select your clothes that match your schedule, also
select your thoughts that match your SOP. Make sure you

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live each day such that it gets you closer to your goals for
this year.

In life, we always have a choice; either to continue living

a 2006 life forever. 2015, 2016 will all be like your 2004,
2005, 2006. Nothing will change.

Or else, write your Statement of Purpose (SOP) for 2015

and live a more purposeful new year.

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Compete with your yesterday, every day

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 Compete with your yesterday, every day

You should earn a little more today than you earned

yesterday, else there is something wrong with the way
you work. Today's meal should taste a little better than
yesterday's meal; else there is something wrong with the
way you cook. People should love you a little more today
than how much they loved you yesterday, else there is
something wrong with the way you love them. You
should live a little better today, than you did yesterday,
else what is the fun in living a Liftman's life?

A liftman's work profile is a classic example of how a

wrongly used 'never get fed up, never give up' attitude
can stagnate your life and make your living a complete
waste of time and energy. A liftman spends his entire life
in a suffocating 20 square foot cabinet, executing the
silliest work profile on earth. Literate human beings
employ a comparatively illiterate human being to follow
their instructions of pressing the button of the floor they
want to go to, even though the button keypad is as
accessible to them as it is to the lift man. God alone can
answer why such literate people employ a liftman, but I
surely wonder about what inspires the liftman to come to
work every day, every single time I witness this scenario
in a lift.

Most of us drag life just like a liftman, doing the same

stupid thing day after day, year after year. Monday 9 am
press the work button. Saturday 7 pm press the Stop
Button. Sunday press the Snooze button. 'Work hard, play
hard' is what we often do, hectic weekdays are
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often followed by more hectic social and recreational
schedules in the weekend. Before we even realize it is
weekend, the week ends and thus the Monday Blues.
Weekdays lack a sense of fulfillment. Weekends lack a
sense of refreshment.

If you know what you want to achieve in your life, it is an

exciting game. Otherwise, what's the fun? Where is your
goal post? Remove the goal post from the football
ground, then what's the fun in playing anymore. Can you
imagine two teams competing on a football ground
without a goal post? How do you score? Where do you
score?

Most of us have never failed miserably, in fact never

tasted failure, because we have no significant goals. But,
no failure does not mean success. No failure generally
represents no ambition. There is a huge difference
between feeling busy and feeling fulfilled. Even a liftman
feels busy, but there is no sense of fulfillment at the end
of the day. Feeling busy = Failure. Feeling fulfilled =
Success. If you continue in the direction of feeling busy,
disappointment is just 0km away for you.

Add purposeful ambitious moments in your weekdays, be

a super achiever. Add refreshing, relaxing moments in
your weekends, enjoy life to the fullest. Soak yourself in
the beauty of life, watch the sun rise, dance in the rain,
make a crying baby smile, give a ten minute long hug to
your best friend, have late night talks, dance in front of
the mirror, treat friends as family, treat family as friends,
listen to soothing music, join some selfless cause, say a
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humble prayer or just read another good book. Do
whatever it takes to make your today better than
yesterday.

You cannot add moments to your life but you can

definitely add a lot of life to each moment. Compete with
your yesterday, every day.

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Don't let your dreams die. Water them, DAILY

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 Don't let your dreams die. Water them, DAILY

A few months back, my brother gifted me 2 plants, a rose

plant and a creeper. I had gardening on my New Year
resolutions’ wish list and this seemed like a perfect
opportunity to start. I was very excited and started
watering the plants every morning and kept the pots in a
good sunlight corner of my window so that they get the
required energy. I saw the first rose blossom a few days
later and the feeling was awesome, a plant that I watered,
blossomed into a rose. The first rose in this world that
blossomed because I took care of it daily, the first rose
that I could call mine. The creeper started growing and
was almost trying to hug the window grill. I felt so proud
and happy.

Life got busier, I started losing the excitement and

somehow I couldn't retain the habit of watering the plant
everyday. I skipped days in between and the enthusiasm
started fading away. I started feeling guilty when the
creeper showed signs of drying and the roses stopped
blossoming. As the guilt grew stronger and I felt the fear
of these plants dying away, I started watering them twice
a day now. But the damage was done. The plants were
withering away to death and sadly in a few weeks the
pots were empty.

Sad and discouraged, while looking at the empty pots at

the window, I could see a few empty pots in my life too.
So many dreams of my life that I couldn’t water everyday
had withered away. So many dreams that were on my
aspiration radar did not see the light of the day.
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Every dream, every new business venture, every
department in your current organisation has plenty of
such daily watering need arenas. If sales are going dead,
it means you are not giving sales and marketing their
deserved daily attention. If daily operations management
is weak, it means you are not putting energy in that
direction daily.

The plant of good health requires daily watering in the

form of exercises, walks and some sports activities. It’s a
daily regime. Some things in life demand Dinacharya,
daily repetitions, just like watering the plants.

Whatever becomes a part of your daily routine is bound

to blossom, grow and prosper. Whatever you neglect and
water randomly, erratically, as per your moods, as per
your whims and fancies; withers and dies, in front of your
own eyes.

The plant only requires about 500 ml of water a day.

Forget to water the plant for 5 days at a stretch and the
damage is done and the damage is irreversible. You
cannot put 5 litres of water on the 6th day and revive the
plant back to life. There are a few rehydration tricks that
work in few cases, but they are always much much more
difficult that spending 20 seconds everyday to water the
plant. It is amazing how these 20 seconds of daily
watering is so important. Do it and have hundreds of
roses blossoming from that small pot. Ignore it and
witness the plant die away.

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Evaluate your Relationships. The ones that you talk to or
meet on a daily or regular basis grow. The ones that you
cannot do justice to because you are too busy fade away.
It only takes a few minutes every day to stay in touch, to
say that you love, to express that you care. The
relationships that can’t get those few moments of daily
watering eventually fade away with time, however deep
or true they were in their blossoming days.

The dreams that really mean a lot to you, that you want to
fulfil in this lifetime, will need just this one trick. Water
them daily, it only takes a few moments. But it needs
daily attention.

We are in the 6th month of 2015. We all have dead

aspirations on our New Year resolutions' list. It is not too
late. We all thought on 31st December 2014 that 2015 is
going to be my year. And my life will take off this year
and there will be no looking back. All of us would be able
to relate to this. The aspirations that didn't blossom failed
to get our daily attention. Plant those aspirations again
and give them some time slot in your daily routine, direct
some energy on them and ensure that 2015 does not pass
away as just another year. Let your life take off and make
sure 2015 becomes your year of blossoming.

Don't let your dreams die. Water them, DAILY.

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Live your "Someday" life, Today

27
 Live your "Someday" life, Today

Everybody has 8 days in a week .... Monday, Tuesday,

Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and
"Someday"!

The dreams that we cannot fulfill in seven days of the

week are snoozed away and rescheduled for Someday!

All of us, young and old, have a Someday list, which we

happen to recycle and refresh on all milestone days like
birthdays and new years eves.

Someday is that magical day that we wait for when our

stars will align themselves with ideal circumstances to
enable us to fulfil all our desires, big and small and live
our dream life.

Our someday list always paints an exciting, amazing and

beautiful picture of life - Someday I will do this, someday
I will do that, someday I will go on a vacation there,
someday I will buy that house, someday I will become
this and someday I will fulfill that.

The major obstacle for most of these wishes in our

Someday list is that if they don't get executed or atleast
initiated in the first 21 days window of their making, they
will probably sleep in your list forever.

Someday lists allow us to dream, hope and plan to do all

those things that will help us live an ISO 9001 certified
life. But if you do not live your 'Someday' everyday, then
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you will continue experiencing the same boring seven
days a week life.

Script your new years day 'Someday list' TODAY, not

Someday. And decide immediately when will the kick-off
day of executing your wish list be, today, tomorrow or
again Someday?

Make your list very thoughtfully. Only include what you

really really, really really, really really want. Let it be
just 3 or 5 wishes long to begin with. But let it be
executable.

Wishful thinking minus execution is equal to

disappointment. Wishful thinking plus execution is equal
to a life well lived.

For example, 'lose weight' is unexecutable wishful

thinking; 'thoughtful eating' or '1 hour of exercise daily' is
executable.

'Live a more balanced life' is unexecutable wishful

thinking; 'wake up at 6:30 am everyday and spend time
with family over breakfast before going to work' is
executable.

'Enjoy life to the fullest' is unexecutable wishful thinking;

'spare at least 1 hour daily to do what you love doing the
most' is executable.

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A lot of wishes will contest for the elections to win a seat
in your Someday list. Use your power of choice to elect
and select only the best.

Make an executable someday list for this New Year.

Choose to make your life a little better.

Take the first step to live your Someday Life Today!

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Live an 'Autobiographic Life'

31
 Live an 'Autobiographic Life'

Until now, if your life has not been worth writing an

autobiography on, play a trick with Life. Start writing
your own autobiography today and make a life that can
make the story worth telling. The difficult part is to start,
to start believing your life story can also be that exciting,
that someone would like to read it.

No one is born a prime minister, a spiritual master or a

business tycoon. Life is about discovering yourself, your
purpose and then creating moments each day that tell an
interesting tale. All human beings travel a common
course until their teens with more or less similar
education, activities and upbringing, until the power of
free will is at your disposal. You too have a fair chance
of living a great life if you don’t settle for good.

On the chess board, the rook, the bishop, the knight & the
queen are all powerful pieces and have greatness thrust
upon them. But the rook is a rook, the knight a knight till
the end of the game.

But have you ever realized that every pawn is just 6

moves away from becoming the queen, or whatever it
desires to be.

Even we are born with our nature like the pawn but we
are blessed with this power to transform ourselves, if and
only if we can just make the 6 moves against all odds.
These 6 moves are your experiences, your struggles, your
32
failures, your successes, your ups and downs, trials and
errors until you figure out your space in this world.

Each player has 8 pawns. Even if one of them makes it,

the game transforms for him. Life, too is kind enough to
give us multiple opportunities. Even if we can identify
one and make our moves tactfully, our lives will be
transformed.

Play to win. Do not settle for an ordinary life. Don’t just

be an audience or a passer-by in Life. Dont underestimate
yourself. Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it
is the task of the sculptor to discover it. The rain fills the
size of your vessel.

Life is too short to be little. Be what you want to be. We

cannot go back and make a fresh start but we can begin
now and create a fresh end.

Write page one of your own autobiography TODAY.

Live an ‘Autobiographic Life’.

33
Half time buddy. Score your goal.

34
 Half time buddy. Score your goal.

I just turned 30 this week. And it feels as if its half-time

in a football match and have still not managed to score
any goals.

Most of us reading this would have easily crossed half-

time of our life. How many goals did you score ? Did you
live a useful or a used-less life ? Will you leave the
world a little better ?

If like me your answer is still no, even if you score in the

89th minute, you win. Begin now. Add drama to your
game of life, don't let it be a dull and boring match.

To begin with first thank life for not giving us a red card
before half time in spite of all our fouls. Atleast we can
still play to score.

Remember these 3 facts about football and your game

will never go dull and boring.

One, football is a game in which you chase the ball for 90

minutes in a focused attempt to create opportunities
where you may be in a position to score the goal. You
cannot score without building the plot first. Dodge your
way through the obstacles of life and keep running closer
to your goals.

Two, you can end up creating 90 opportunities in a 90

minute game but you cannot expect to score 90 goals.
With every passing non scored minute, it just gets more
35
difficult to keep going with the same zeal. You feel like
giving up. If you keep scoring, you never feel tired.
Success refuels you. But if you play with the same zeal
long enough and not give up, you will eventually score.
The secret is to play with zeal, keep creating better
opportunities and never give up.

And three, just because you failed to score a goal in 89 of

these 90 attempts, it does not signify a failure. What
matters is One goal. Some may score in the first few
minutes, some mid way, some right in the end. In the end,
it does not matter when you scored, as long as you did.

Failure to score also symbolizes successful creation of

opportunity. Its like a baby learning to crawl and walk.
Falling and failing should not stop you from trying again.

Also, once u score a goal, you do not sit and rest. Even if
your score is 5-0 in the 85th minute, you do not stop
playing. You have to play till the end. Or else 5 minutes
are enough for the other team to score over you.

Life is a game between your life and life itself. Life plays
for you and also against you. When you play strong, it
plays for you. When you play half heartedly, it plays
against you.

Make life play for you. It may already be half-time

buddy. Score your goal.

36
Oranges don't grow on apple trees.

37
 Oranges don't grow on apple trees.

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its

ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing
that it is stupid. - Albert Einstein

The crowd at Wankhede stadium and Sachin Tendulkar,

both share the same intense passion for cricket. The only
difference being that the crowd uses its passion to cheer
while Sachin made it his career.

Sachin too could have easily been lost in the crowd

cheering his passion away, had he decided to follow his
passion after getting more stability in life or after
completing his graduation.

Oranges don't grow on apple trees. Had Sachin chosen

any other profession in the world, he would not have got
any closer to what he acheived in this lifetime.

You managed to get a degree that adds Dr. as a prefix to

your name but is treating patients your profession or
passion ? You may just be a housewife but do you enjoy
being the homemaker ? You studied engineering but by
passion are you an engineer ?

If you are a fish, do not waste your life trying to climb the
tree.

First, identify yourself, find your calling. How ? No

rocket science, it's simple. If you like doing something

38
and if you are fairly good at doing it, then thats your
calling.

Do you think on day 1 when Sachin started playing

cricket he scored an enlightening triple century and found
his calling ? Like each one of us he also had multiple
faded interests or likings. Tennis was one of them. At the
age of 11 when he enrolled for cricket coaching, it was
just another time killing fun activity in his life. Lets be
realistic, at this age no one envisions or even understands
career and success.

Passion takes birth as liking. It is when you start injecting

your liking into your everyday routine that it becomes
passion.

When Sachin started liking cricket, he no longer

restricted cricket to be just another time killing fun
activity in his life. He made cricket a way of life.

Being good at something is easy. The journey from good

to great is travelled by adding more passion to your
passion everyday.

Once Tendulkar identified his passion, his journey from

good to great was just 13 coins away.

When he used to get exhausted while practicing for hours

in the nets, Achrekar would put a one-rupee coin on the
top of the stumps. The bowler who dismissed Tendulkar
would get the coin. But if Tendulkar managed to pass the
whole session without getting dismissed, the coin was his.
39
The 13 coins that he earned transformed his liking into
passion and took him from good to great.

Sachin was somewhat lucky to have identified and

nurtured his passion so early in life. We have witnessed
that for many super acheivers some midlife failure
became a life changing event. Because that failure
brought them to a point where they had nothing to lose
anymore. In all their losses they also lost their fear of
failure. And then they found their calling, followed their
passion and became super acheivers.

Failures were blessings in disguise for these people but

thats not the case for majority of us. For most of us, there
is neither path breaking success nor path breaking failure
and hence you never get the kick to follow your passion.
You drag life and life drags you into a monotonous
routine.

Oranges don't grow on apple trees. First know your

genes. Find your hidden treasure of passion in the mine of
various likings that you have in life. Then earn those 13
coins that will transform your liking into passion and take
you from good to great.

As Jim Collins says, Good is the enemy of Great. Do not

settle for good. Be great.

40
Time to upload on www.life.com

41
 Time to upload on www.life.com

Every night while we are asleep, life is awake; busy

distributing a new day to everyone. Since you are reading
this, it is obvious that last night life decided you deserve
the gift of another day yet again.

Nothing special about that, right? Today, ONE LAKH

FIFTY THOUSAND people will not receive this gift.
Their name is stroked off from life's distribution list of
‘TODAYs’ forever. Hypothetically if you are 30 years
old, it means that in your lifetime until now you have
been an unaware witness to such 165 CRORE people (a
population larger in number than the whole of China)
who stopped receiving this gift, while you still continued
receiving it for more than ELEVEN THOUSAND days
and are still counting. Realize the value of Today. Do not
treat these as mere statistics.

Why is life being so generous and finding you worthy of

another day again and again and again? Will you not play
any significant role in the act of life even after realizing
this? How many lives do you make a difference in? Not
more than 1000 people on this entire planet know that
you even exist. Have you brought any little positive
difference to this world?

In raw hindi language, 'Bohot ho gaya, ab kuch toh

ukhaadnaa padega'. We all have to pledge to raise our
quality of life, live such that our living matters to the
world and leave some evidence behind that we had
walked on this planet too.
42
To begin with, let us change sides with life. Let us go on
the giving end instead of the receiving end. Understand
this, if someone would have never uploaded anything on
the World Wide Web, i.e. the WWW internet world, you
would never have been able to surf or download anything.
Internet exists and survives because of people who
upload, not because of people who download. All of us
would be reading travel experiences, health tips,
restaurant reviews, movie critics and many more useful
things uploaded by innumerable people but we never
share our experiences anywhere.com. You have the
fundamental right to download, only if you intend to
upload something in return.

We are born to create, not just consume. If you want to

participate in the act of life, create, don’t just consume.
When we breathe, use paper, eat fruits, we consume.
When we plant a tree, we create. If someone plants them
for everyone else to breathe, why can't we? If we have
been blessed with education, why can't we support the
education of a child who is not as blessed as us. You have
the fundamental right to consume, only if you intend to
create something in return.

We were born to upload our dreams on www.life.com

and make a difference, not just live like a NOBODY on
earth.

Remember how we felt on our last day of school and last

day of college. We felt so powerful, like a rocket that was
ready to be launched. We were full of aspirations, not
limitations. We all had dreams of becoming the best
43
doctor, the best architect, the best businessman, the best
cook and the best human being. We had larger than life
dreams of opening better schools, better hospitals, to
bring a revolution and solve all the problems that existed
in the world.

When Aamir Khan sang, 'Papa kehte hai badaa naam

karega, Beta humaaraa aisa kaam karega, magar yeh toh
koi naa jaane, ke meri manzil hai kahaan’, we truly
believed it was for us. We were all set to upload our
dreams on www.life.com. But then some viruses like "I
don't think I can do this", "let me get some job
experience", "I do not have enough time right now",
"priorities", "circumstances", etc. etc. crashed all dreams.
Your hard disc of dreams got empty and you finally gave
up the dream to upload something great and settled for a
mediocre life.

Today is a good day to start. Because there is no

assurance whether your name will be present in
tomorrow’s list of 'TODAYs'.

Dream again. Fulfill your dreams. Succeed so much in

your personal life that you can afford to fulfill your larger
than life dreams to make the world a better place. 'Kuch
toh Ukhaado'. Leave some evidence behind that you
walked on this planet too.

Enough of downloads. Now upload@life.com

44
Deactivate Autopilot mode of living Life

45
 Deactivate Autopilot mode of living Life

We are living in a herd mentality generation where we

first become engineers, MBAs or doctors and then start
taking efforts to figure out what we actually want to
become in life.

For the first two decades of our existence, our life is

actually driven by everyone else and everything else
except us. What this habit of having no control over life
does that when we are finally in a position when we can
control life, we all put it in auto-pilot mode.

Auto-Pilot means predetermined speed and direction. In

cricket, the most common reason of a batsman getting out
is misjudgment due to predetermined selection of shot.
Batting is all about the right selection of shot within that
fraction of a second when the ball leaves the hand of the
bowler. The decision is not random; it is based on the
speed and direction of the ball. The batsman cannot play
the same shot for every ball.

So is life. We are living a routine life where almost the

entire team is playing the same shot for every ball. You
cannot play life without knowing its speed and direction.
It is like being in the ocean on the Titanic but not using
its powerful engine and navigation system even though
you are equipped with one. You are bound to collide with
an iceberg, you will not reach where you want in time and
chances are you may drown. Again, when you have such
a mean machine at your disposal why would you move at
46
the speed of a paddle boat. We are underutilizing the
potential of our titanic and then stranded in the middle of
the ocean with no clue where to go we feel weak and lost.

If we introspect and analyze how our growing up story

unfolded, we would discover the root causes for our
underperformance in comparison to our potential.

Before reading further sincerely close your eyes for a

minute and just answer this, what does it take to live a
happy life?

Today if we are asked what it takes to be happy we would

make an endless, unsure list for it.

As children we never needed a reason to be happy. Our

inner nature itself was happiness. What does it take to
make a few month old infant laugh; just laughing aloud
when he's looking at you. As children we could play
alone for hours and enjoy. Happiness came easily to us
because we were connected with our inner net. Internet
connects you to the world; inner net connects you to
yourself, to happiness.

Our education system is very well designed and is

evolving but it is still only in its clinical trial stage
because as much as its effects are working, its side effects
are more dangerous.

47
Education is a blind development system. Every child,
every human is different and special yet the syllabus
remains the same for all until at least 16 years of age.
Even for our final leg of education, i.e. graduation, we go
with the trend rather than with our talent. Most of us
never realize our calling in life until it's too late.

There have been enough examples to prove that a single

talent if identified and nurtured is enough to make a
fortune and be very happy doing what you like. But it is
extremely difficult for parents and teachers to identify
and nurture talents in this mass competition circus where
everyone is made to do everything. You keep doing what
you are trained to do not what you are good at doing.

Evaluate our evaluating system itself. It is not meant to

make everyone excel by the end of the year; it is made to
grade everyone at the end of the year. The soul of the
system itself is mistuned, how can it create music? It is
fundamentally not designed to help each one find their
calling. In fact we all have experienced that we gradually
lost connect with our inner net.

By the time it is our turn to control our flight; we all

begin to fly in autopilot mode. Inner net communication
with the base stations is lost. Accidents are bound to
happen.

Your inner net was always the single most powerful

source of happiness. But you were taught to search for
happiness outside.
48
Wake up now. Do not snooze away your dreams and
aspirations again and again.

As Master T.T. Rangarajan rightly mentions, the secret of

happiness is in this simple poem :

Row, row, row your boat,

Gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.

You have to row your own boat, you have to make a

conscious effort. Do not auto-pilot it. Row is mentioned
thrice, row with enthusiasm, row with speed.

You have to row your boat down the stream, not against
the stream, direction is the key factor.

Merrily is mentioned four times to ascertain the purpose

of life is to enjoy the journey. Happiness is a way of
travel, not a destination. Do not be under the impression
that happiness is at the shore you are heading to.
Happiness is in the journey. Live merrily, merrily,
merrily, merrily.

Once you learn to live merrily while rowing down the

stream, you will live your dream life. It is also a
reminder, life is short like a dream, live it before it ends.

49
There is no perfect approach to live life. The approach is
right if you find happiness in it, else it is not. Do not live
any ‘Kaash’ moments in life, make that ‘Kaash’ a part of
your life.

De-activation of Auto-Pilot mode is not a process, it is a

spontaneous action. Decide right now to switch it off and
take manual control. It is a 'Do it Now' action.

De-Activate your Auto-Pilot Mode, connect to your

inner-net and stop snoozing away happy moments.

Row, row, row your boat,

Gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily,
Life is but a dream.

50
Do not prioritize your priorities!

51
 Do not prioritize your priorities!

Life gets haywire when unimportant things eat away most

of our time. Imbalance exists when priorities are
mismanaged.

The first thing that comes to our mind when we hear the
word ‘priorities’ is:
Priority No. 1. - Extremely Important
Priority No. 2. - Very Important
Priority No. 3. - Important
Priority No. 4. - Less Important
Priority No. 5. - etc.

Prioritizing for us is an award ceremony where we grade

important arenas of our life in chronological order. But
we completely fail to recognize that once something is
important to us and it has entered into our priority list
means it should be at position no. 1 in our life, period.
There are no position nos. 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. in priorities.
When we put something at position no. 2 and beyond, we
are creating irony by first saying it is important and then
giving it less importance.

Heart is one of the most vital parts of the body but can the
heart alone take care of the entire body without the help
of other vital organs such as brain, lungs, kidneys, veins,
etc.? Each and every part of the body is important. Mal-
functionality of even one part disrupts the whole system.
The day when even one of your vital organs will fail, that
day will go down in history as your THE END.

52
You cannot choose between the left eye and the right eye.
Both are important. You cannot choose between work
and fun, between health and wealth, between family and
friends.

You will only fool yourself, if you say currently you

cannot give time to your loved ones because workload is
unbearable and is currently your priority no. 1. You
cannot say you have problems at your personal front and
hence work can take a backseat for a while. You cannot
say your schedules are over exhausted, so it is ok to not
find time for exercise and good health.

Forget prioritizing priorities for a bit, to begin with, how

do we decide what deserves to be on our priority list and
what does not? Two questions will solve this mystery for
us.

Question No. 1. Does the presence of this, add happiness

to my life?

Question No. 2. Will the absence of this, reduce

happiness from my life?

Wikipedia Answer: Yes = Priority. No = Waste of Time.

Presence of health may not add happiness but absence of

health definitely reduces happiness from our lives and the
lives of our loved ones. Good Health = PRIORITY.

53
Presence of quality time spent with family and friends
adds happiness in our lives. Friends & Family =
PRIORITY.

Presence or absence of fake relationships neither adds

happiness nor reduces it. Declare them as 'waste of time
and energy' and never let them be treated as priority.
What is not important does not deserve to be a part of
your life.

Once your priorities are clear, life is like Tetris level 1.

Assuming that you will never give unimportant things
any more space in your life anymore, consider each block
in the game of Tetris as your priorities like health, love,
friendship, family relationships, work, success, etc.

Life throws blocks of different sizes and shapes at you

randomly, you got to rotate, flip and adjust it to fit it
perfectly as a building block in your daily routine. Master
the skill to align these blocks and fit them into our life in
the right way, priorities will never pile on. When we fail
to give importance to any important aspect of our life, we
misalign one priority block and the rest will just pile on
and mess up our life.

Break your life into days. Fill your days with priorities. If
your priorities are not clear enough to you, make your
priority list now. From today onwards, don't kill your
time doing things which do not make it to your priority
list.

Do not prioritize your priorities.

54
Inhale Carbon Dioxide and convert it into Oxygen

55
 Inhale Carbon Dioxide and convert it into Oxygen

Trees very very silently recycle carbon dioxide (CO2)

into oxygen all their life.

Of course we are not biologically designed to do that. But

we are definitely well equipped to convert CO2 like
NEGATIVITIES in our RELATIONSHIPS into oxygen.

If your words, your actions or your silence add happiness

in someone's life, you are adding oxygen in their lives
and if your words, your actions or your silence subtract
happiness from someone's life, you are adding CO2.

UNFULFILLED EXPECTATIONS are the root cause of

negativities in any relation. If each one of us can inhale
all the expectations that our loved ones have from us and
can fulfill them, we will exhale a lot of happiness into our
relationships. Expectations are never bad but if they
continue to be one way, your relation will never hit the
highway. It is give and take, in fact, GIVE THEN TAKE.

Relationships were never emptier than this. Unfortunately

all of us have an asterisk mark saying *TERMS &
CONDITIONS APPLY on most of our relationships*.
Unconditional love is more extinct than dinosaurs. It is
almost like we are trading love. We calculate how much
love was showered upon us and love back in exactly
equivalent quantity and quality.

Friendship is the purest relation we can ever have because

it is never enforced upon us, it has no strings attached. It
56
is the only relation in this universe that we choose for
ourselves; all others are bestowed upon us because of the
parents we are born to.

Friendship acts like salt, sugar and spice in the recipe of

perfect relations. We only associate friendship with
friends and unfortunately sometimes friendship is missing
between friends as well. If your chemistry with your
family, friends, relatives or colleagues is becoming
tasteless, pump more friendship in them.

The day one gets the news of becoming a father or a

mother; unlimited dreams start building about being the
most amazing friend to the child. What happens to the
parent child chemistry eventually? Why does it end up
becoming such a serious relationship and so full of
unfulfilled expectations? There can never be a generation
gap between a parent and a child; it is the friendship gap
that is increasing.

If a friend makes you a dish at their house party you

never fail to appreciate, but when your mom or your wife
does it for you every single day why is the appreciation
always mute.

Friendships do not exist at workplaces and if they rarely

do, they also follow office timings, start at 9 am and wind
up at 6 pm and are closed on Sundays.

The day you learn to be friends with your grandparents or

grandchildren, the communication gaps will fade away.

57
When you strike a friendship with God and your Gurus,
spirituality will no longer be a boring subject for you.

All instruments of the orchestra have to tune themselves

and synchronize to each other to make music, else it is
noise. Even if one relation in your life is mistuned, it will
create so much noise, that you will not enjoy the music of
life. Sadly, a lot of us without realizing why we are doing
it, very very silently exhale a lot of negativities in the
lives of our loved ones.

None of us are God. No one is immune to negativities.

Positive and Negative emotions will always be present in
all of us, it is beyond our control. Learn to be positive
enough that you can inhale and fulfill all the expectations
expected from you and exhale immense friendship and
happiness in all your relationships.

It is impossible to SWIM across the ocean of life. If you

want to survive all storms, build robust friend SHIPS.

58
Gratitude is the currency used in the casino of life

59
 Gratitude is the currency used in the casino of life

Evaluate this. You have to pay Rs.40 to buy an apple. Is it

a fair price for something that grows so naturally? We
call this inflation, right? Now let us understand gratitude.

Did you know that if someone would not have planted the
apple seed 10 years ago (read 10 YEARS AGO in bold
and capital), you would not have been able to enjoy that
delicious apple today. It was grown in an orchard which
was a few acres in size, the cost of maintaining which
runs into millions. Add the cost of labor, logistics and
then compare it to paying “Rupees Forty Only” for it.

I am not trying to suggest that apples should be sold at the

price of gold. But Rs.40 should only be considered as
DOWN PAYMENT that we could pay for this apple. The
lifetime EMI we owe for it is Gratitude. Because we live
in an era when everything is so easily available to us in
abundance, gratitude is extinct.

You will never get the opportunity to thank the ones who
planted it, nourished it, plucked it, packed it, transported
it but you can always thank life for bringing it to you.

Now evaluate the time, energy and efforts that were put
behind bringing all ingredients used to cook your meals
to your kitchen. The next time you feel you have earned
these meals for yourself, laugh at yourself.

60
It took ages of engineering and millions of rupees to
invent an airplane. You buy the experience for Rs.3000
only.

For a few hundred rupees a month you enjoy 24 hours

water supply by just turning a tap in your house. The
government never checks whether you have paid the
taxes to lay the pipelines to get this water to your home.

Be grateful from the bottom of your heart for everything

that you have in life.

Rhonda Byrne's one statement on gratitude for simply

waking up to a new day, says it all - "If you think a new
day isn't such a big deal, then just try missing one!"

Your gratitude is the only currency in which you can pay

the correct price of what you use.

Have you ever seen a casino in which the casino owner

pays you to play in His casino? Welcome to the casino of
life.

Imagine, you get a free gift worth Rs.270 crores when

you enter the casino of life. If you sum up the cost of
replacing each and every part of a human body, your
body is valued at about 45 million dollars, i.e. Rs.270
crores. Each one of us begins the gamble of life with this
same wealth.

61
How much did you pay for this marvelous wonder, your
human body? Nothing! How much did you pay for
having family and friends around you? Nothing!

The easiest way to feel deprived in life is to take things

for granted.
The easiest way to feel blessed in life is to be grateful for
everything that you have.

How much do you pay to the people who sweep the roads
everyday? If you cannot be grateful for it, at least do not
take it for granted. By littering around, you are only
making their life more miserable.

You get loved by your loved ones without asking for it. If
you cannot value that, at least do not take them for
granted. Stop making their life more miserable by
littering around with your negative emotions.

Every time your office clerk or your house help, your

hairstylist or your driver or any person in this world, use
their 270 crore human bodies to make your life a little
better, pay back in the currency of gratitude and do
something to make their life a little better too.

In spite of being indebted to life for all these free of cost

blessings, little money we begin to earn and we start
feeling that we buy all the happiness we have in life with
our hard work. Next time you claim anything to be yours,
mind it! These are all gifts of life. Nothing belongs to us.

62
Have you every seen a casino in which whatever you win,
will eventually be taken back from you when you leave
the casino? Life is a gamble in which everything you
earn, collect and accumulate in this lifetime will stay
back, when you are gone. Now only a fool will play to
compete. Play for fun. Play for happiness. Enjoy this
Casino Royale.

Where there is gratitude happiness will never elude.

Where things are taken for granted, happiness will never
survive. If you ever feel sad in life, it only means that you
have lost count of your blessings and are taking things for
granted.

This Diwali, celebrate this attitude of gratitude and while

you exchange gifts with loved ones, thank life for all
these priceless gifts it keeps giving you. This New Years
day, make a promise to yourself that you will no longer
take anything or anyone for granted and that you will no
longer deprive yourself from happiness. Happy Diwali!
Happy New Year!

Use the currency of gratitude to win happiness in the

casino of life!

63
Love Your Struggles!

64
 Love Your Struggles!

The stars are up there in the sky all day long but we can
see them only when it is pitch dark.

The star in you will never be, even remotely visible,

during your sunny days, when life is a cake walk. It is
during the dark nights, during your struggles, that the star
in you will shine so bright.

Yes, I agree, every struggle breaks you apart first, into

tiny little pieces, it hurts. But every struggle gives you
this rare opportunity to put your broken pieces together
again, even more beautifully. Every struggle only makes
you find in you, a better YOU. Yet foolishly, irrationally,
we still hate and curse our struggles, crib all the time and
pray for them to never come back to us ever again.

We just want to enjoy the sunny days, the smooth runs

and there is nothing wrong with that. I’m not at all
saying, invite struggles everyday to have tea with you.
But remember this, after every 12 hour day is a 12 hour
night and nobody in this world can change that for you.
When struggle knocks your door in the middle of the
night, do not forget to shine bright. Do not expect a 24
hour day. More importantly do not fear a 24 hour night.
They have 12 hours each, period. The sun does not
disappear during the day. It is right there, behind earth’s
back. When life turns it back on you, it’s not forever, it’s
a short little phase that will pass, it’s a cycle. Every dark
night will be followed by a bright sunny day again.
65
We spend the day searching for stars and spend the night,
waiting for the day, a big ‘LOL’ for that. Each one of us
has had and will continue having our fair share of
struggles and cake walks in life. When the day is bright,
ENJOY the sun! When the night is dark, SHINE bright!
When there is a storm, DANCE in the rain!

Believe it, during the sunny days, you are more blinded
than in the night. When life is going smooth, everything
goes right for you no matter what. Even the wrong that
you do, will work in your favor. Even if you
underperform, you will succeed. Even if you do not
deserve it, you keep getting. It seems like a sunny day,
but it is actually a dark night because there is not enough
light to see the lack in you, you lose your shine.

You feel you are climbing up, but you are actually falling
down.

When you trek to the top of a mountain, the most tiring

part is getting up there, but believe it or not, you feel most
tired when you are actually climbing down. Getting to the
pinnacle, the topmost point of the mountain is by far the
happiest moment because the view from the top is worth
every struggle. But the irony is the happiness of the view
from the top lasts only for a few moments. Ever lasting
happiness, which we always fail to recognize, is always
in THE CLIMB, not at THE TOP.

66
When you are climbing, it seems like you will never
make it to the top, but whoever has taken one step at a
time and not given up the faith has made it to the top. The
secret is, enjoy the climb. A big thanks to my wife to
introduce me this beautiful Miley Cyrus song that says it
all ....
“I can almost see it
That dream I am dreaming
But there's a voice inside my head saying
"You'll never reach it"
Every step I'm taking
Every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking
But I gotta keep trying
Gotta keep my head held high
There's always gonna be another mountain
I'm always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be a uphill battle
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the CLIMB
The struggles I'm facing
The chances I'm taking
Sometimes might knock me down
But no, I'm not breaking
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most,
Just gotta keep goin
67
Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the CLIMB”

Remember, the next time that struggle knocks your door

in the middle of the night; do not forget to shine bright.

68
Every Season has a Reason

69
 Every Season has a Reason

It is only the beginning of summer and its already getting

unbearably hot. In this scorching heat, when we have to
walk a few miles, how we wish that the sun would
disappear. Thank God all our wishes do not come true
because if the sun really disappeared, we would all just
freeze and die. Without the heat, there is no rain, without
the rains, there is no chill. Without summer, there is no
monsoon, no winter. If the sun would disappear, darkness
is all that we would be left with. Without heat, there
would be no light.

There will be several phases in life when nothing will

seem to work. Whatever you touch, will turn coal.
Success will seem impossible, relationships will go bitter,
life will seem unfair, and it will all seem like a conspiracy
against you. You will wish and pray for life to get a bit
easier on you. You will just not be able to take the
scorching heat of life any more. That's when we need to
remember. Without heat, there is no light. It is all heating
up, and soon there will be light at the end of the tunnel.
The hotter it is, the brighter you will be. In this heat, you
will learn to shine like the sun.

Life's struggles will often evaporate you. In the scorching

heat of the sun, the water evaporates and forms vapour.
As vapour rises higher and higher, it gets cooler and
cooler and finally vapour condenses to form clouds that
finally burst into showers. So when life’s struggles
evaporate you, in these testing times, do not give up, in
fact rise higher and higher. That’s the lesson that life
70
wants you to learn. If you curse the heat, you stay where
you are, you make no rain. The trick is to go higher. The
higher you go, the cooler it will get. And finally when the
lesson it learnt, you will convert the heat of your
struggles into showers of blessings. That is what the
purpose of the heat is.

When it is hot, it seems that it will only get hotter and

hotter. When it rains, it rains cats and dogs. When it
snows, you just cannot move out of your house. In those
‘aaaarggghhhh’ moments, remember, THIS TOO SHALL
PASS. The first rains seem beautiful because of the
scorching heat. The rain that you had been waiting for so
long to come, now you are desperately waiting for it to
go. When it gets too chilly, you wait for a sunny day. It is
always this way, that when we have THIS, we want
THAT and when we have THAT we want THIS. Grass
always seems greener on the other side. When you get
THIS, make the most out of THIS. THIS TOO SHALL
PASS. Make the most out of every THIS.

When the heat gets unbearable, remember to rise higher.

Convert the heat of your struggles, into showers of
blessings.

Rice cannot be sown in winter. Wheat cannot be sown in

summer. There are crops for every season, every season
has a reason.

71
Ignite the fire within you

72
 Ignite the fire within you

You do not need a wildfire to cause a wildfire, a spark is

enough.

All of us have a wildfire within us waiting for the spark.

Flintstones have nothing in them to suggest that they can

spark a fire. It attains this power only after going through
a lot of friction.

Amidst a lot of friction, a lot of struggle, a lot of

problems in our life we somehow attain this power
to ignite a wildfire in our life.

Problems are blessings in disguise. Problems make you if

you don't allow them to break you.

When Michelangelo looked at a piece of marble, he saw a

statue already present in it. He just hammered and
chiseled the unwanted parts of the stone and unveiled the
statue. The statue was always there. He just knew exactly
what to remove.

Problems, when faced in a positive spirit, chisel away all

the unwanted negativities from your life and unveil the
beauty within you.

What gets the beggars share in your life suffers.

What gets the lions share in your life prospers.

73
We give the lions-share attention to the problem and the
beggars-share attention to the lesson that life wants us to
learn from the problem.

The next time you face problems, focus on the lesson.

Thank life for the hammering it does.

As Mahatria Ra says, the silversmith sits for hours

holding the piece of silver in a hot furnace, only to purify
the silver.

When life puts you into the furnace, its only to transform
you into your purest form.

Always remeber HE, the SILVERSMITH is holding you

while you are in the furnace of life. HE, the SCULPTOR
wants to unveil the beauty within you while hammering
you.

Everytime life adds friction into your life, use the spark
to ignite a wildfire within you.

74
Inside Outside!

75
 Inside Outside!

People love, people hurt. People you love, die. You fail,
you succeed. Sometimes life sucks, sometimes life rocks.
You may be born with a silver spoon and suddenly a
phase comes when nothing seems to work for you. At
times, good does not beget good. Bad rejoices, good
suffers. Life seems unfair but IT IS NOT.

Inside Outside! If your PERSPECTIVE of analyzing your

current circumstances is rightly aligned inside, even the
worst outside happenings will not be capable of
disturbing your peace of mind, harmony with life and
happiness quotient. A peaceful mind does not need
flawless circumstances to remain peaceful. All it needs is
the right perspective to look at the given situation. If
something CAN be done about your current problems in
life, why get upset about it? If something CANNOT be
done about your current problems in life, why get upset
about it? If your PERSPECTIVE in misaligned inside,
whatever be your outside environment, your complaint
box will never be empty.

Inside Outside! The postal address of happiness is

INSIDE. But we somehow love to place happiness
somewhere OUTSIDE and then spend all our life chasing
it. Stop looking for happiness outside. Your perspective
dictates your happiness. The better your perspective, the
happier you are.

At a young age you perceive ‘success’ as happiness and

hence perceive working hours as happy hours. In your
76
midlife crisis, you perceive ‘balance of life’ as happiness.
You look forward to retiring young and enjoying life and
hence perceive idle time as happy hours. When you
actually get retired, you realize you perceived idle time as
happy hours only because you worked rest of the time, so
now you perceive happiness in getting back to work
again. For a peon drawing 8000 salary, 12000 is
happiness. For an engineer at 12000, 25000 is happiness.
By the time he reaches 25000, he feels it was a mirage,
now 40000 is happiness. The survival expenses of all
human beings are the same and HE always gives us our
daily bread. But it is for the butter and the cheese, for our
lavish lifestyle expenses, that nothing will ever be enough
for us. I do not mean be happy at 8000. You have to
strive for more, but that should not disturb your
happiness. Happily chase more happiness. Do not make
the chase miserable.

For a bachelor, marriage is happiness. For those married,

getting kids is happiness. For the ones with kids, creating
stability in the lives of their kids is happiness. I am not
saying marriage is not happiness. Companions are
necessary, but until you find one, you must enjoy your
own company. I am not denying the fact that kids bring
bundles of joy with them. But kids are a gift of God and
you cannot receive until HE gives. It happens when it has
to happen. Wait happily. Your kids’ future should be your
concern, but it should not steal away your happiness.

Stop placing happiness outside in relationships.

Happiness is not in relationships. Happiness is in how
you perceive them. People do not change. People remain
77
the same, your perception changes. When you are tolerant
and let go of their shortcomings, their presence gives you
happiness. Nobody is perfect. When you become
intolerant and start looking at their flaws, their presence
steals away your happiness.

Get your perspective right and happiness is right there, in

you. And if it is present INSIDE, you will find it
everywhere OUTSIDE.

What content will be broadcasted to our television

through the 600 odd TV channels is under the control of
the media houses, but what we wish to see is totally under
our control. All media houses have one motive -
Entertainment, Entertainment, Entertainment. Yet each
one has a different basket of offerings. A horror movie is
never made to horrify you. If you see it with the motive to
get entertained, nothing is as thrilling and refreshing as a
horror movie.

50000 thoughts being broadcasted, or let me say

bombarded to our minds every single day are beyond our
control, but which thought to hold on to and which ones
to filter away is totally under our control. Of the 50000
thoughts technically 40000 thoughts are negative even for
the most positive person in the world. But life has only
one motive - Happiness, Happiness, Happiness. Our
choice of thoughts directly impacts how we feel. Destiny
decides what happens to us. But whether these
happenings affect our peace and happiness depends on
our selection of thoughts. Especially when things go
wrong, make the right choice of thoughts.
78
Question: How do I know what my current inside status
is? You have a direct two way communication link with
your Inside. You speak through your THOUGHTS. You
listen through your FEELINGS. If your thoughts are
right, you will feel good. If your thoughts are wrong, you
will not feel right. It is impossible that you may be
thinking right, yet feeling low. Whenever you do not have
a positive feeling, it only means you are not having
positive thoughts.

We have to live life forward, but we understand it only

backwards. Everything happens for a reason. Choose
your thoughts wisely. Set your PERSPECTIVE right.
What’s in here is out there. If something outside is wrong,
look inside. Find happiness inside, be happy outside.

79
Get that masti back in you

80
 Get that masti back in you

If you did not wish yourself Happy Children’s Day today,

you have forgotten the child in you.

Childhood is our sweetest memory, our purest form and

the happiest phase of our life. Damn it, we can never get
our childhood back.

All those who want to live the rest of their life like their
childhood again, please raise your hands up, :). Eureka!
Eureka! The child in you is still alive, it has just
hibernated due to inactive usage. Forget your age, jump
in the air, wish yourself Happy Children’s Day right now,
decide to live like no ones watching and the child in you
will wake up again.

A child knows no fear, no limitations. An adult knows too

much, his fear kills all the fun. Your fear factor represents
your disconnect with the child in you.

The adult in you waits for the storm to pass, the child in
you wants to dance in the rain. The child in you wants to
play with fire, the adult fears getting burnt. The child
wants to climb the tree and sit on its highest branch, the
adult fears falling down. The adult in you associates
'Golas' with throat infections. The child in you has had
and can have hundreds of them without even catching the
slightest of cold. The child wants to touch the stars, the
adults logic defies his dreams.

81
There are 2 identities in all of us, our innate self and an
acquired self. The innate self is the child in us, happy go
lucky and full of masti, love, fun and happiness. The
acquired self is the grown up mature adult in us which the
external factors like our family, society, education, etc.
made us by imposing their values, beliefs, experiences on
us and manipulating us which took us away from our
innate self.

Who doesn't like to be happy go lucky? Everybody has a

happy go lucky bud in them which blossoms in front of
people they are most comfortable with. Happy go lucky is
the child in us that comes out when we be ourselves and
we behave as if no one is judging us.

Can you differentiate between your laughter when a joke

is cracked on a conference table and your laughter when
you are with your closest friends. One is the laughter of
the acquired adult, extremely measured and controlled.
The other one is the innate child, the real you.

Your relations that have their roots in your childhood are

generally deeper if you have kept watering them. They
are extremely shallow and superficial otherwise.

Childhood was so awesome because it was complete.

You had time for creative things like drawing and
painting, activities like sports and trekking, hobbies like
reading, writing, singing, enough time for friends and
family. Life was like a 7 course meal. Now, in this mad
rush all we have time for is earning our bread and
enjoying an occasional dessert.
82
When we think of a child, the first things that come to our
minds are laughter and freedom. When we think of an
adult, the first things that come to our minds are
responsibilities and seriousness. Wipe that seriousness off
your face. Do not fear looking silly. Do not mind getting
dirty.

The thermometer of measuring the presence of the child

in you is by measuring the masti in your eyes, the
innocence in your smile and the happiness in your
laughter.

Get that masti back.

83
Feed the good in you. Starve the evil in you.

84
 Feed the good in you. Starve the evil in you.

What you feed, grows. What you starve, perishes.

Dussehra is celebrated as triumph of good over evil. But

to me Dussehra does not signify war of good and evil, it
actually signifies giving up evil for good.

No man chooses evil because it is evil, he only mistakes it

for happiness, the good he seeks.

Jain philosophy affirms Ravana was not evil at all. In fact

he was just, peace-loving and a pious ruler of
Lanka. King Ravana was an expert among warriors; a
specialist among medical men; a Rishi among
astrologers; a superior statesman among rulers; a maestro
among musicians.

But a drop of poision is enough, you do not even need a

spoonful. If good is fed with a drop of evil, good turns
evil.

A sage once told him that his past karmas had scripted his
death from the hands of God, Lord Rama. Lord Rama just
wanted to end Ravana's Karmic cycle with His own hands
and take Ravana to His abode.

But Ravana perceived this as punishment and could not

understand what wrong he had done to beget this. To
safeguard himself from such an unfortunate happening,
he kidnapped Sita. As scripted by karma, this became the

85
drop of poison that turned his good into evil. Or you can
simply say this was the plot of Karma.

As karma indicated, may be Ravana was evil before he

was good. But If evil is fed with a lot of good, evil turns
good.

Because of all his good, did you know that Ravana is

believed to become one of the next 24 Tirthankars of
Jainism? If you delete this one event in the life of Ravana,
his life was Rama-like. He starved the evil in him to
death, hence the good in him triumphed.

Ravana in sanskrit means 'causing to cry'.

All your thoughts, words and actions that bring tears to

someones eyes and cause hurt signify the Ravana in you,
the evil in you. All your thoughts, words and actions that
bring a smile to someones face and spread happiness
around signify the Rama in you, the good in you.

In life you always have a choice. Good and evil will

always be a part of you. What you feed trimphs and what
you starve perishes.

It is in your hands to turn the Ravana in you into a

Tirthankara. Feed the good in you. Starve the evil in you.

86
God is your Architect. You are the Interior Designer.

87
 God is your Architect. You are the Interior Designer.

An architect can engineer a space to perfection. But it

takes an interior designer to make that space beautiful.
There is no point in appointing the world’s best architect
and then handing over the space to a mediocre interior
designer.

Luckily the architect of this world has designed and

engineered His creation, i.e. YOU to perfection.
Unfortunately, you alone can be your Interior Designer.
Don’t be mediocre.

Beauty cannot be bought and placed. Beauty has to be

created. Beauty is in the details. Detail your life to
beauty.

Interior designing is all about having a place for

everything and having everything in its place. The
primary job of the interior designer is to understand the
utility of the user. An impractically designed beautiful
house is never appreciated. First understand His design,
His concept, His ideas, His vision. Understand the intent
and purpose behind the creation.

The Architect created you out of happiness. As ‘Mahatria

Ra’ rightly points out that if you understand the science
of creation, you were the ‘lucky one in a million’ sperm
to have made it to life. You are a born winner. It is when
God connected with you in that victory, in that
celebration, in that happiness that you became LIFE.
88
God’s affirmation in letting you win had some purpose.
So now you have to design your life to assist the architect
in making His vision come to life, design it for eternal
happiness. Of all the emotions that life has, happiness is
the most beautiful. And within this state of happiness,
live a purposeful life.

Design your life such that the right things are always in
the right place. Don’t place stress in your work spaces.
Don’t place insecurities in the beautiful corners of
relationships. Paint the walls of your mind with colorful
thoughts; don’t litter it with garbage. ‘Garbage in,
Garbage Out’ !

Fill the air diffusers with the aroma of love and

understanding. Don’t let the termites of negativity eat
away into your wardrobes of peace. Every corner of your
heart and mind should be filled with blissful artifacts.

Design your inner self such that anybody who gets a

chance to experience it is awestruck by the positive
vibrations and the beauty that you have created within
you.

Life has blessed us all with the same architecture. What

we all have is similar. It is what we do with what we have
that makes us all different.

In case your space is currently in a mess, you can start

right away. First apologize to the architect and forgive
yourself for not doing justice to yourself. Commit to
89
yourself that you will turn this space from rags to riches.
Start by clearing the unwanted things that you have filled
your space with. Trash the negative emotions of
procrastination, irresponsibility, carelessness, laziness,
insecurity, hatred, etc. Fill the newly created spaces with
peace of mind, love, happiness, care, ambition, faith, trust
and above all happiness. Place each thought and emotion
into your space with great care.

Never forget that God is your architect. This life is His

gift to you.

You are the interior designer. What you do with what you
have is your gift to HIM.

Live beautifully.

90
When man plans, God laughs

91
 When man plans, God laughs

My Mission: To grow 10 apple trees.

Plan A:
Step 1: Buy an apple. You will find about 10 seeds in it.
Step 2: Plant all 10 seeds in 10 different spots in a garden.
Step 3: Water them every day and Eureka, 10 apple trees.

Result - When man plans, God laughs.

Every seed we plant, we expect a tree. Wish life was that

easy. We plan our lives similarly, isn't it? But it doesn’t
work that way. Understand this; God and Man have
clearly defined job profiles.

Man – Free-Will - God will never come and plant a seed

for us. Planting a seed is our job. Putting in efforts is our
job profile.

God – Destiny - We can only plant a seed. We cannot add

life in those seeds, that’s HIS job. Even if you plant a
hundred seeds, how many of them germinate, is totally
upon HIM. Giving you fruits for your efforts is in HIS
hands.

GOD is a task master, a master director, not a dictator.

HIS destiny is not an abstract art, it is a Science. Science
of the destiny of an apple seed indicates that
approximately 1 out of every 6 apple seeds will
germinate. But no science can look at a seed and
conclude, this one will and this one will not. Only way to
92
find out whether God has given life in that seed or not is
to plant it will utmost care with a hope that this one will.

Plan B: My Mission: To grow 10 apple trees.

Step 1: Buy 6 apples. You will find about 10 seeds in it.

That makes it 60 seeds.
Step 2: Plant all 60 seeds in 10 different spots in a garden.
Step 3: Water them every day and Eureka, 10 apple trees.

Result - 50 of your seeds did not germinate into apple

trees. But 10 apple trees did, Mission Accomplished.

If everything is eventually in HIS hands, then what’s the

fun? Mind it, our life is FIRST in our hands. Whether we
want to plant a seed in our garden or not is completely up
to us, God plays no role in that. Whether the seed will
germinate or not is completely up to HIM, we play no
role in that. Each time a seed does not germinate you can
either sulk or accept it as God’s will.

We all are HIS creation. Our very existence is because of

HIM. HE knows what is best for us. Acceptance is the
key to happiness. If you accept HIS will as your will, you
will never have an unhappy day again.

When things go our way, we never question Why Me?

Stop asking "Why Me?", every time you do not like your
life script. Stop those prayers that try to manipulate His
version of your story. Don’t try to play God.

93
Life is like a ‘Snakes and Ladder’ game. Each time you
roll the dice, you will either get a ladder, a snake or you
stand still. At every snake, do not sulk. At every ladder do
not get carried away. At every stand still, do not feel
restless. Keep playing. None of the snakes and none of
the ladders, get you out of the game. If you play long
enough, each and every player on the board eventually
gets to the end of the game.

Everyone plays to win, winning is important and that

adds to the fun, but the goal of the game is not to win, it
is to enjoy the game. As soon as someone wins, the fun
ends for him because the game ends for him. The ones
still playing may not have come first but will enjoy the
game a little longer. So when you roll the dice, don’t get
too anxious. A 1 or a 6 on the dice is not going to change
your game. Yes, it will change your current position. You
may climb up or you may climb down. But you are still in
the game. Acceptance is the key to happiness. Happiness
is a way of travel, not a destination.

No, I am not at all suggesting that put your life on auto-

pilot. Plan, plan each step. But leave the outcome on
HIM. You work on the micros and let HIM decide if the
macros will favor you or not.

God has given us 2 very very powerful weapons. One is

free will and the other is acceptance.

Free will means do not leave everything on God. Act, and

see how life reacts. When life reacts, accept it as His will
and plan your next act. When God plans, may be you
94
don’t always feel like laughing, you don’t easily
understand HIS ways. But if you accept HIS plan
willingly, you will never lose your smile again.

When man plans, God laughs. When God plans, accept it

with a smile.

95
The Rain fills the size of your vessel

96
 The Rain fills the size of your vessel

With a hundred rupee note, you can either buy few fruits
or you can buy a lot of seeds and plant them to make a
garden full of fruit bearing trees. Similarly, with this gift
of life, we can either live in scarcity or create abundance.

Think about this. Even though plants cannot plant their

own seeds to make new plants, how is there so much
abundance of plant life?

The fruit of abundance is hidden in the seeds of giving

out of gratitude. Gratitude is their secret. Plants feel so
grateful for the gift of their life that they live to give.

If the plant kingdom has to prosper, it needs to disperse

its seeds, far and wide. Who would bother to plant its
seeds if plants would only grow seeds? So, ‘plants gift
pack their seeds inside juicy fruits’.

Fruits are plant's way of giving, to get abundance in

return. Plants gift fruits to everyone with the hope that in
return, someone would plant its seeds so that it can
become another plant. Even if you do not intentionally
return the favor, seeds being indigestible get dispersed
when humans and animals eat fruits and discard them.

Plants always give first. Hence they grow in abundance,

only to give more. Moreover they never expect anything
in return. When you want something to grow in your life,
do not forget to give first. It is not when you get more that

97
you start giving. It is when you start giving that you will
start getting more.

Life is a privilege, not a right. This life and everything

that you have in life is gifted to us by someone else
directly or indirectly. Whatever you are today, you owe
gratitude to a lot of factors. Life never made you starve. It
bestowed the gift of health upon you. The more gratitude
you feel towards life and all the gifts of life, the more you
will realize that it is your responsibility to return the
favor.

You control what you receive from life, by what you give
to life. Life knows exactly what you intend to do with
what you get and gives you exactly how much you
deserve.

God never stops showering His blessings but the rain

fills the size of your vessel. Your vessel grows as you
give.

If you hold a glass, all you get from the rain is a glassful
of water. It can only quench one man's thirst.

If you build a dam, you make a lake. You serve a higher

purpose. A lake can fulfill the needs of a larger
population. But the lake has self created boundaries.
Hence it is always in need.

If you make a path, a river will flow. The river overcomes

many hurdles and obstacles to support civilization all

98
along its way. The higher your purpose, harder your
struggles.

If you dream big, drop by drop an ocean you can create.

An ocean did not become an ocean overnight. It accepted
and accommodated all rains, storms and rivers within it.
It aimed for abundance and hence abundance it created.
Because the ocean serves such a high purpose, the earth
gives away all its space to it.

A glass, a pond, a lake, an ocean all take time and energy

to evolve. You make a choice whether you want to put
your time and energy filling a glass, building a dam,
making a path or drop by drop filling an ocean.

The altitude of your gratitude elevates the purpose of

your life. The higher the purpose, the harder your
struggles and in turn larger the size of your vessel.

The seed called 'Art of Living' is hidden in the fruit called

'Art of Giving'.

Be grateful for what you have. Live to Give.

God never stops showering His blessings but the rain

fills the size of your vessel.

99
Throw some starfish back into the ocean

100
 Throw some starfish back into the ocean

This week, my friend Dwiti introduced me to this

beautiful Loren Eiseley story:

“Every morning a young man would go to the shore, pick

up starfish that were thrown out by the ocean, and throw
them back into the ocean.

A passerby witnessed this for many days and finally one

day asked out of curiosity,” Why are you throwing
starfish into the ocean?"

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the

tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die
because of the sun's heat."

Upon hearing this, the passerby commented, "But, young

man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of
beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You
can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another

starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water,
he said, “It made a difference for that one.”

There is no happier happiness in this world than being

able to make a difference in someone else’s life. The
starfish that you threw back into the ocean will bless you
for the rest of its life. Because of you one life lived
longer, lived better.

101
Each one of us have our circle of love, a few twenty thirty
or forty people amongst friends and family, whose
happiness makes us happy, whose sorrows make us feel
low, people around whom our whole life revolves. First
of all, identify all such people who form your circle of
love.

Every single day, make someone in your circle of love

happy. If possible, make sure everyone in your circle of
love is happy every day. Starfishes represent the struggles
faced by people in our circle of love. Each time you spot
a starfish in their life, throw it back into the ocean for
them.

Every single day, every one of us is facing the heat of the

sun in some way or the other. We all have our own tides.
Life is nothing but miles and miles of starfish along a
beautiful shore. We can either get too busy, enjoying the
beauty of the shore and not notice the starfish at all. We
will be busy with our own lives and never understand
their pain and end up with excuses of having no time for
our loved ones when they need us the most. Or we could
do our bit and throw at least some starfish back into the
ocean for them and add some more happiness in our
circle of love.

If each one of us is sensitive to each others problems and

genuinely care and love each other in times of need,
problems won't seem like problems at all. It is not as
difficult to fight a disease, when you have all your loved
ones around your bed. Having them around doesn't cure
your illness but it transforms those difficult moments into
102
beautiful memories. Problems when faced hand in hand
with our loved ones become memories.

Another acquaintance, Mr. Sunil Kulkarni, said these

wonderful words in a casual meet this week, "If you
remove memories from life, life becomes so lifeless. All
we remember about life lived so far, is memories."

Identify your circle of love. Throw some starfish back

into the ocean for each other and create happy memories.

Remember you cannot save all starfishes, but the one that
you can manage to throw back into the ocean; you will
make all the difference to that one.

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Don't let technology hack into your life account!

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 Don't let technology hack into your life account!

Without any intent to criticize, we must admit it’s simply

astonishing what an inseparable part mobile phones have
become of our life, they are almost an extended body
part. Where we are, it is! It’s impossible to separate the
two of us!

The uneasiness we feel when the battery has drained to

5% at 4 pm and there is no way to recharge is
unmatchable and explains our handicapped dependability
on this gadget. Whenever we have a few spare minutes
our hands reach out to it again to check profile pictures or
notifications, chat or just ‘unlock, scroll and lock’ it
again. Simply put 'We Are Addicted’!

If only we could channelize such addiction to life and

more important aspects of life.

Let us get uneasy when our own battery, our enthusiasm,

our happiness quotient goes low. Let us get uneasy when
our potential goes used-less. Let us get addicted to good
living.

Looking at the mobile phone is the first as well as the last

thing most of us do each day. What if we could replace
this habit with gratitude for another day of life as the first
activity of our day and retrospection to check if the day
was spent well as the last thing we do each day.

Social networks are great expression platforms for long

distance relationships. But what we do not realize is that
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every time we are online and available on whatsapp or
facebook, we are offline and unavailable to the people
around us.

Think about it, have you never felt that YOU are a
different YOU when you chat and when you talk to the
same person face to face you cannot be yourself. The gap
is not between you and him, the gap is between YOU and
YOU.

Sometimes login to your own self and spend more time

with yourself and try to decode the emoticons within
yourself.

Be online when you communicate with people in person,

not just when you chat with them. Be available and
express your emotions with a hug, smile and warmth
rather than just smiley emoticons in chat windows.

Sometimes the soul wants to be alone, sometimes the

mind wants to be at peace, sometimes the body does not
want you to overeat. LISTEN ! Keep yourself logged in
to yourself!

Adding unwanted people into your facebook account

adds a lot of junk on your newsfeed wall. Adding
unwanted people into your ‘Lifebook’ account adds a lot
of junk into your life.

Are you as selective in adding the right people in your

‘Lifebook’ as you are on Facebook. You eventually
become like the people who you hang out with.
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And more importantly have you completed making a
profile for yourself in your ‘Lifebook’ account? Do you
have enough clarity on your ‘Lifepath’ to make your life
story an interesting autobiography, a tale worth telling?
Have you found your calling?

Even the most undisciplined person would have a strict

disciplined habit of charging the mobile everyday. This
daily chore of charging the mobile almost twice a day is
never faltered.

What if we could channelize this habit and recharge our

souls, recharge our minds and recharge our bodies with so
much care and discipline everyday. Spend a little more
time in that lunch hour and instead of having 'fast food'
have more nutritious food to recharge your body. Spare
some time to read good books or listen to positive stuff to
recharge your mind. Meditate or find solitude in a temple
to recharge your soul.

Let’s assume each one of us has an average lifespan of 60

years. If we deduct the passive hours, i.e. 8 hours of
sleep, 10 hours of work, 2 hours of daily chores and 2
hours of miscellaneous time killing activities from our 24
hour day it spares us with only 2 hours of active-life for
ourselves. Effectively it means that if you are 30 years
old right now, you have less than 1000 days of active-life
left which is also only “IF” you are actually lucky enough
to survive for another 30 years.

On an average we use our mobile phones for 120 minutes

i.e. TWO FULL HOURS EVERY SINGLE DAY. We
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tend to check our mobile screen once in every 10
minutes, in totality over a 100 times a day of which only
about 20 times is for something worthy of our attention.
So effectively 80% of our time spent on this device is a
criminal waste. Although these are average usage
statistics, most of us would fit in.

So basically we ourselves are killing our balance 2 active-

life hours. No wonder our lives are stressful and it’s a
mad rush out there. Aren’t there a lot of things in life
which you have not been able to do just because of
scarcity of time? So many vacation destinations still
waiting for you, so many things to improve at work, so
little time for family, so many ideas or projects planned
but never kicked off.

We should realize that shockingly the average duration

spent by us daily with family, friends and our spouse all
put together in a 24-hour day is only about 60 to 90
minutes.

Can we name any other single entity in the entire universe

which we remember 100 times in a day or which gets
such immense attention from us on a daily basis? If we
remembered God so many times a day, we would be
living examples of enlightened Buddhas.

So if we could spare so much of time, attention and

importance behind one technological tool and yet have

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the 'I have no time' excuse for more important things in
life, we are surely not doing ourselves any good.

You have only about 1000 days of active-life left. Don't

let technology hack into your life account.

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Life may have an MH17 end ! Add more Life to Life !

110
 Life may have an MH17 end ! Add more Life to Life !

MH17 did not have a signboard 'FATAL'. Those onboard

the MH17 would have bartered everything they had for a
little more time to say goodbyes, to let loved ones know
what happened, to hug them and tell them they love them
a lot, to caress their kids one last time, to thank their
parents for all their sacrifices, to apologise for their
mistakes, to pray one last time with gratitude or just to
ask God WHY ?

Ask them the value of another moment with their

beloved, the value of another day and the value of life.

If you keep excusing yourself for not saying enough "love

you"s and "thank you"s by believing you are an introvert,
would you still be the same even if you knew this is the
last time you could express your love; the last time that
you could hug someone and say thank you for the good
they did to you; the last time that you could let them
know what they meant to you. Would you really still be
the same?

Their screams at the time of the accident would have been

devastating eye openers for the rest of us to understand
the value of life. So many unfulfilled dreams crashed with
the MH17.

When you feel life is dead, scream for more life.

Understand the value of life. Add so much life to each
day of life that you may not have any unfulfilled desires.
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Would you still not follow your dreams ? Would you still
not take that first step ? Do not live life in auto-pilot
mode. Steer your life with the fuel of your dreams.

Live a happy and successful life ! Live no regret, full of

life days !

They would have wanted to give away so much if they

knew they were leaving so much surplus behind and
could not use it themselves now.

Raise your standard of giving while you raise your

standard of living.

All of us are going to die with a lot of useless surplus.

Giving is not just about food, shelter and clothing. Give
your time, your care, your support, your love to those
who need it or to those who are less blessed than you.
Learn to Give !

The irony of life is we all still believe that our life wont
have an MH 17 end. What makes us believe that those on
board did not have the same misconception ? Does it only
take death to understand life ? Isn't life a good enough
reason for life ?

If you were dying right now, would you not have any
unfulfilled wishes n dreams ? Wouldn't you want to say a
lot of things to a lot of people before you die ? Wouldn't

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you like to achieve a little more, love a little more, play a
little more, laugh a little more and live a little more.

Consider each nights sleep as death and consider waking

up each morning as rebirth, a new life. Consider each day
as one Lifetime.

Death steals away life from you. Steal so much life from
life that even if death steals it away, you would be left
behind with a life well lived.

With a prayer for the souls who lost their lives and a
prayer for the lives left behind who lost their loved ones
in the MH 17 mishap, let us promise them and ourselves
that we will walk this path of life valuing each day as
they would have if they would have got another chance.

Life may have an MH17 end ! Add more Life to Life !

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On the other side of the gate

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 On the other side of the gate

Know Your Roots

Imagine a beautiful fruit bearing tree growing in your

garden. If you did not believe in the science that the
whole tree absorbs its energy from its roots, you would
foolishly spend hours watering the leaves, fruits, trunks
and branches, only to see it die. But if you would just
spend a few minutes everyday to water 'the roots' you
would nourish every part of the tree and enjoy its
beautiful fruits for years.

Similarly are we watering OUR roots or foolishly

watering the leaves, fruits, trunks and branches and
expecting the tree to give fruits? Because we refuse to
identify our unseen roots we malnourish ourselves by
watering the wrong sources and hence despite all efforts,
happiness eludes us. Our lives are filled superficially and
empty within. Our lives are cluttered with activities and
our minds are cramped up with noise.

Although life expectancy is averaged at about 70 years,

none of us know when life will suddenly pull back this
opportunity from us. The creation cannot be directed for
such an abrupt or imperfect end. There is definitely
something beyond what meets our eyes. When one dies
the heart, mind, nerves, lungs do not disappear but they
just get permanently disconnected from the source of
energy. It is like uprooting a tree. We call this energy
absorbing roots of ours ‘Soul’. Soul is the energy behind

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the body. Water your soul and your entire self will be
nourished and give you the fruits you desire.

Death cannot be the end of this game. Life cannot be

without any reason. It is how we spend this ‘Soul-Life’
that shall decide what we get ‘On The Other Side Of The
Gate’, in our next Soul-Life, in our Life after Death. And
this cycle of life and death will continue until you fulfill
the purpose of your life.

Every creation has a Purpose. Try to know yours! Listen

to your Soul. Did you know that at present about 700
crore of us are part of this show and an estimated 10000
crore people have existed so far. Everyday about 1.5 Lac
people die and about 4 Lac new lives come to being. So,
what are YOU doing here? What is YOUR life exactly
for?

Life is a Treasure Hunt

What life seems to be is a game of treasure hunt. Between

birth and death, we keep searching for hints and clues
about the final destination. Treasure hunt is not exactly
about thinking right or wrong, it is all about thinking the
way the conductor of the game who wrote the clues wants
you to think.

The problem begins when you stop looking for clues, stop
enjoying the game or become a spoiled sport. If you do
not understand the motive of the game, it is nothing but a
time killing activity.
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 Life-pedia

Live with an Eternal Quest to know what you are meant

to do in this Soul-Life? There are no Wikipedia answers
that will settle these details but it will change the way you
live.

Sooner or later you will believe that God is the Master of

all Souls. There is enough light for those who want to
believe in faith and enough shadows to blind those who
don't. Big Bang could have been the process, but every
creation needs a creator, nothing happens on its own.
Such a perfectly coordinated synchronized well thought
world cannot be evolved out of ‘Nothing’.

God is the Master Director of Life, the brain behind all

brains, the creativity behind all creations.
Behind every piece of art is an Artist, Behind Nature
there's God.
Every book has an Author. Destiny is written by God.
Every action needs energy. Evolution is energized by
God.
Those who deny the existence of God have never tried to
know HIM because of deep seated misconceptions.

The Da-Vinci Code

He didn't create Life in so many million forms with such

detailed beautiful Nature in the backdrop just for us to
catch up with 8 hours of sleep, spend 8 hours earning
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money and the remaining time trying to barter that money
in search of happiness and peace of mind. There is
something more to life.

The Purpose of Life is one; to happily enjoy this life that

God gifted us and two; at the same time Love God, the
Giver as much as His gifts. To Love God, you need to
know God, understand God. You may forget God but
God will always be with you. You may not need God but
God needs you. You may not want God but God wants
you. We do not live the Creator but he loves His creation.

Pratikraman

So, where to find these answers? You will only find them
if you learn to connect with your own self. Music is in the
space between the notes. Everyday spend a few moments
with yourself in absolute silence, until you hear the
whispering voice inside you. Ask yourself, 'Why am I
here? What do I need to do?'.

'Pratikraman' literally meaning Introspection is the self-

examination of one's conscious thoughts, feelings and
mental state, self-evaluation of the productive utilization
of these gifted minutes. Close your eyes. Let the thoughts
in your mind switch off and then listen to your inner
Voice. The more you listen to this voice, the more
meaning it will add to everything you do.

As Mahatria Ra says, God completes the sentence you

begin. Begin it well.
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Some worthy pursuit is waiting for you to get engaged wi
th. Most of us go through Life without Zest. Days slip
into weeks, months slip into years. Life is mostly hectic
and all you are left with is a heart filled with regrets and a
life half lived! Regrets are merely a symbol of the
disconnect you have created with yourself that cannot be
bridged without listening to your inner voice.

Finding your purpose will take time, evolve as you live. If

you don't act on life, life has a habit to act on you. You
may be late but enjoy the Journey of Life before it is too
late!!!

Understand each clue. Play to Win. Prepare for life on the

other side of the gate.

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Prayer - O Lord

120
 Prayer - O Lord

A Humble Prayer

"If I ever ask for something from You, please listen to

me, But please don't act upon it. Let Your will alone be
fulfilled O Lord.

My happiness lies in obeying you. I don't understand

what is good for me ! Whatever You do is right, even if I
always understand it late O Lord.

I never knew I was coming to your beautiful world. In my

Mothers womb, it would have been suffocating, but You
took care of me. When I was born, When I couldn't talk,
You made them understand why I was crying. They gave
me my name and taught me how to live when I didn't
understand anything and now I keep believing that this is
me. Help me know my nameless true self O Lord.

I never realized how I grew up, I never understand who

taught me to breathe and how my heart pumps. Even
though I never remember you when I sleep, You never
forget to wake me up O Lord.

Please help me know Me. I spend years in knowing about

the world you made but never ever spend moments in
knowing You, the Master. I must have hurt you a lot. I
looked out for happiness everywhere but I realize
happiness is in me, happiness is in You. You took care of
me like a Father, You loved me like a Mother, Now I
want to be friends with You O Lord.
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Please help me know You. Some people say You created
this world. Some say You are just a myth, everything
around that seems so perfectly in harmony is Nature's
doing. I am always amazed at how a huge tree evolves
from a seed, how the complete human structure evolves
from a drop of life. All I can believe is You are
Something without which We are Nothing, You are our
Everything O Lord.

Help me understand You so that I never displease You. I

am ignorant and always get tempted to do what You don't
want me to. I am your child, filled with ignorance. I can
predict nothing in life, but that life has an end. I don't
want life to end without knowing what life was for O
Lord.

Make me Live a Life so that you come and receive me

with a smile, on the other side of the Gate O Lord."

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