Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Interest & Commitment

There is a difference between interest and commitment.
When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it is convenient.
When you are committed to something, you accept only results, no excuses.
- Kenneth Blanchard

--
Siddharth Shah
PGDM 2010-12 | SPJIMR, Mumbai       
Mob: +91 99209 50422 | pgp10.siddharths@spjimr.org

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Salvation


You have to do it yourself, no one else will do it for you.
 You must work out your own salvation
Charles E. Popplestone

Friday, June 10, 2011

Quote worth quoting...

"Fate gives all of us three teachers, three friends, three enemies, and three great loves in our lives. But these twelve are always disguised, and we can never know which one is which until we've loved them, left them, or fought them." - Gregory David Roberts

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Move on

यह रास्तें सवाल करतें है, मंजिलें कहा चली गयी !
जाग  जा ग़ालिब, तू सोया है, वही, महफ़िलें बढ़ चली !


yeh raastein sawaal kartein hai manzelein kaha chali gayi
jaag jaa Ghalib, tu soya hai, wahi, Mehfelein bad chali


Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Lesson on Strategy From Mahabharata

When Kauravas planned to kill Abhimanyu ( the warrior son of Arjuna ), they weaved out a plot. Arjuna was challenged to fight the battle on a distant point. At the main front, Jayadratha made a CHAKRAVUHA ( a complex battle formation) and challenged the remaining Pandavas.

Among the remaining Pandavas, only Abhimanyu knew how to pierce the Chakravuyha but he did not know how to come out of it. In any case , Pandavas took up the challenge and Abhimanyu moved into the Chakravyuha formation. He pierced it and reached the centre of battle formation. Kauravas knew very well that Abhimanyu did not know, how to come out of it.They all surrounded Abhimanyu in the centre of the formation and Jayadratha killed him.

When Arjuna returned to the camp, he got to know about the unfair manner in which his son was killed. Arjuna's anger knew no bounds. He vowed unto himself that either he will kill Jayadratha before sunset next day or would commit self-immolation. Arjuna then went to Lord Krishna and declared his intentions. Lord Krishna was pilot of the chariot of Arjuna. Arjuna requested Lord Krishna to help him in meeting his vow/pledge/goal and the deadline.

Battle began next morning. Kauravas had known Arjuna's intentions to kill Jayadratha before sunset. They surrounded Jayadratha from all sides so that Arjuna could not even see him.They wanted that at the end of the day, Arjuna should commit self immolation.

Arjuna made all attempts through out the day to locate Jayadratha but did not succeed. He was constantly watching the movement of sun in the sky. As the day drew to an end, Arjuna looked at Lord Krishna for help. In a few momemts, sun appeared to have set in the horizon. Conch shells were blown to declare closure of the battle of that day. All the Kauravas rejoiced and Jayadratha came out of his hiding. He went close to Arjuna and said sarcastically, " Buddy, I am here. What about you and your vow ? Getting ready for self immolation ? "

Just at that time, sun appeared again in the sky. Lord Krshna told Arjuna, " Dear Parth,see there. The sun has not set as yet. Take your bow and arrow and kill your enemy." Arjuna shot an arrow and killed Jayadratha instantly.

Once this was over, Lord Krishna addressed Arjuna , " Dear Parth, I knew that you would not be able to kill Jayadratha till sunset because he was being protected witha ring of warriors around him. I felt it necessary to help you out , hence, I enveloped the sun inside the clouds for a while. I knew it was a little unfair, but everything is fair in love and war"

"But" , Lord Krishna continued " I must tell you Arjuna, thet all of you Pandavas have a peculiar habit of taking vows and pledges unnecessarily. Even if you do that, why you guys irrelevantly connect one thing with another. For example, your wife Draupadi has taken a vow that she will not tie her hair till she rinses her hair with the blood of Dushaasan. Bheema is moving around with a pledge that he will never relax till he breaks the thighs of Duryodhana. You took a pledge to kill Jayadratha before sunset. Whatever you have to do, do it, but plan your strategies properly. Never be in a hurry".

Learnings from the story :-

* War should be fought with peace in mind.

* Targets/deadlines should not be set when emotions are running high.

* If we mix up two or more issues in our targets, we may not be able to focus on any one of them. Arjuna mixed up his target of killing Jayadratha with sunset. He had to continuosly look at sun while looking for Jayadratha. 



http://www.chrmglobal.com/Replies/1418/1/Management-Lessons-from-Mahabharat--The-Epic.html

Sunday, April 10, 2011

P.G. Wodehouse

“Warm-hearted! I should think he has to wear asbestos vests!”

“The fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or wrong end of the gun.”

“Employers are like horses—they require management.”

“Always get to the dialogue as soon as possible. I always feel the thing to go for is speed. Nothing puts the reader off more than a big slab of prose at the start.”

“Has anybody ever seen a dramatic critic in the daytime? Of course not. They come out after dark, up to no good.”

“Everything in life that’s any fun, as somebody wisely observed, is either immoral, illegal or fattening.”

“What's the use of a great city having temptations if fellows don't yield to them?”

“It is a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them.”

“It is true of course, that I have a will of iron, but it can be switched off if the circumstances seem to demand it.”

“Well, you know, there are limits to the sacred claims of friendship.”

“It is the bungled crime that brings remorse.”

“I don't want to wrong anybody, so I won't go so far as to say that she actually wrote poetry, but her conversation, to my mind, was of a nature calculated to excite the liveliest of suspicions. Well, I mean to say, when a girl suddenly asks you out of a blue sky if you don't sometimes feel that the stars are God's daisy-chain, you begin to think a bit.” 

“A man's subconscious self is not the ideal companion. It lurks for the greater part of his life in some dark den of its own, hidden away, and emerges only to taunt and deride and increase the misery of a miserable hour.”

“When you're alone you don't do much laughing.”

“Marriage isn't a process of prolonging the life of love, but of mummifying the corpse.” 

“A man who has spent most of his adult life trying out a series of patent medicines is always an optimist.” 

“When a girl uses six derogatory adjectives in her attempt to paint the portrait of the loved one, it means something. One may indicate a merely temporary tiff. Six is big stuff.”

”Memories are like mulligatawny soup in a cheap restaurant. It is best not to stir them.”

“As we grow older and realize more clearly the limitations of human happiness, we come to see that the only real and abiding pleasure in life is to give pleasure to other people.”

”There is only one cure for gray hair. It was invented by a Frenchman. It is called the guillotine.”

“Just another proof, of course, of what I often say - it takes all sorts to make a world.” 

“Cheer up, Crips, and keep smiling. That’s the thing to do. If you go through life with a smile on your face, you’ll be amazed how many people will come up to you and say ‘What the hell are you grinning about? What’s so funny?’ Make you a lot of new friends.”


Friday, April 8, 2011

To Risk

To laugh is to risk appearing a fool.
To weep is to risk appearing sentimental.
To reach out for one is to risk involvement.
To expose feelings is to risk rejection.
To place your dreams before the crowd is to risk ridicule.
To love is to risk not being loved in return.
To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure.
But risks must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing.
The person who risks nothing does nothing, has nothing, is nothing.
He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love.
Only a person who risks is free.
-- Author Unknown

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Of Hate and Indifference

Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike. - Albus Dumbledore

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Abraham Lincoln’s letter to the teacher of his son

He will have to learn, I know, that all men are not just, all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero: that far every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader…

Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend. It will take time, I know a long time, but teach, if you can, that a dollar earned is of more value then five of found.

Teach him, to learn to lose…And also to enjoy winning. Steer him away from envy, if you can, teach in the secret of quiet laughter.

Teach him, if you can the wonder of books…But also given quiet time wonder the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on the green hillside.

In a school teach him, it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat…

Teach him to have faith in his own idea, even if anyone else tell him they are wrong…

Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with tough.

Teach him to listen to all men…But teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth, and take only the good one that comes through.

Teach him, if you can, how to laugh when he is sad. Teach him there is no shame in tear.

Teach them to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidder but never to put a prize tag on his heart and soul.

Teach him gently, but do not cuddle him, because only the test of fire makes the fine steel.
 

Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself because then he will always have some sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order, but see what can you do… He is such a fine little fellow, my son! Dad”

Friday, March 11, 2011

Connecting with people..

"ના ધારા સુધી, ના ગગન સુધી, નહિ ઉન્નતી, ના પતન સુધી,
ફક્ત આપને તો જવું હતું, બસ એક-મેક ના મન સુધી"
- ગણી દહીવાલ

--
Cheers!
Siddharth 'PV'
http://siddharthpv.blogspot.com/

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Stopping by the woods

Whose woods these are I think I know,
His house is in the village though.
He will not see me stopping here,
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
 
My little horse must think it queer,
To stop without a farmhouse near,
Between the woods and frozen lake,
The darkest evening of the year.
 
He gives his harness bells a shake,
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep,
Of easy wind and downy flake.
 
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
 
- Robert Frost 

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

The Voice


“A heart needs only its own voice to do what is right.”
-Vanna Bonta