Cleanliness & Purity - How ?

Cleanliness Concept

Cleanliness has great significance in Hinduism. Heaven (swarg) is a pure realm. The earth (bhu) and the mid-region (bhuva) are mixed worlds, and the underworld (patala) is an impure place. They only can reach the heaven (svah) who are pure like the heavenly beings. Therefore, Hindu scriptures emphasize the importance of cleanliness and purity in the physical, mental and spiritual wellbeing of humans upon earth, and prescribe self-purification for salvation.

Mortal life is an impure life. The mortal world is an impure world. Hence, whoever lives upon the earth and suffers from births and deaths is not free from impurities. In the mortal world, beings accumulate impurities for various reasons. They may arise due to one’s own actions, the actions of others or the acts of God. 

In Hinduism, cleanliness is an important virtue and the Bhagavad Gita describes it as one of the divine qualities which one must practice. The Sanskrit word for cleanliness is shauch. The importance of shauch can be clearly ascertained by the fact that Bhagavad Gita repeats this word in five slokas. 

But what is it that makes house cleaning a compulsory practice during Diwali? According to popular Hindu belief, Goddess Laxmi resides in cleanliness. So, the cleaner the house is, the greater are the chances for the deity to shower blessings on your house. Besides, Goddess Laxmi is also considered the goddess of wealth – and we all want to welcome her in our houses.

The Scientific Reason? It is not Diwali when people start cleaning or renovating the house. As soon as Chaumasa (Rainy Season) ends, several Indians starts cleaning the house. India is a tropical country where most of the dust is generated from heat and side by side, the rainy season produced several insects/germs. It was an old tradition that once the rainy season is over and humidity reached too low then we Indians starts cleaning the house either whitewash or applying cow-dung (old house) which was used as a disinfectant. This removed/killed germs/insects from houses. Further, a cleaned house is always good to maintain a healthy life.

How to Approach Cleaning the House
1. Some of these tips shared by Marie Kondo come in handy home light and bright.
2. Keep only those objects which bring out the excitement in us.
3. When we start organizing our things, rather than going room by room, or space by space, we attempt to do item by item, like books first, then utensils then clothes etc.
4. It's important to finish a task that we started to ensure that we reach a sense of completeness.
5. The drawer or the box where we keep all extra is a good place, to begin with. generally, these are the places where we keep our extras, which never come in use.
6. While beginning it's difficult to even imagine myself doing this. So I begin with the simple stuff which I can finish easily and fast. Can look at the order to be: clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous, and, finally, memories.
7. Arranging clothes by type will help in easy arrangement and finding as per need.
8. A certain way of keeping clothes comes in handy in identifying as they become visually appealing. it's called Vertical Folding of items.

Marie Kondo shared with us the Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing - We have so many things in our house which we do not use in years. We bought them in anticipation that we like them and may come in handy at some point in time. To make our surroundings lighter and more congenial for us to stay, we need to get rid of things which are not useful. Easier said than done. Only because we have no idea how to choose the things we need from those which we do not.
Simple, discard what does not make us happy.

Cleaning in Business

We cleaned our House – How to clean our workplace? Everything I Have is important – after all – I MEAN BUSINESS!

Red tags are a simple, but critical, tool used in the first step of 5S which is an integral part of the Lean and KAIZEN™ process. A red tag system is simply a communication tool used to identify items that a person has flagged for removal from a work area. While the tagging is most frequently done during kaizen events, it can be done at any time.

In a nutshell, when a person finds an item that they either don’t know what it is or is not needed in a process, they tag it. The red tag acts as a signal to everyone else in the area that someone intends to move the item out of the work area at some point in the near future. This leads to a discussion about the item, and ultimately, a decision about whether or not the item stays or goes.

Cleaning Body & Soul – How to?

Shuddi Kriyas are detoxifying/cleansing practises that remove dietary/ emotional/ environmental toxins as well as waste by-products of metabolic processes, to cleanse, detox and make pristine your body, mind, spirit, soul and energy. This is a great way to wellness and prevents a host of diseases. 

Sometimes however yogic practices alone may not suffice, especially in chronic conditions or if a diseased state is already in an advanced stage - in which case one would have to undergo a much deeper, more comprehensive cleansing in the form of Ayurvedic Panchakarma.

The six cleansing processes are Neti, Kapal Bhati, Dhauti, Basti (Enema), Nauli and Trataka. These kriyas clean the eyes, respiratory system, food pipe and tone up the abdominal viscera and the intestines. They also build up resistance to diseases, sharpen the mind and wash the colon.

The Sudarshan Kriya of the Art of Living school of yoga is for cleansing negative emotions and stress that gathers within the body.

CONCLUSION

The body is cleansed by water, the internal organ is purified by truthfulness, the individual soul by sacred learning and austerities, and the intellect by (true) knowledge. Manu Smriti (1.109)

 

The Purity of  Karma is brought by Seva, Dhan By Daan, Mann By Saadhna.

Let us take up something for each of the aspects of our life – HOME – BUSINESS – BODY & SOUL to succeed in our aspirations. Cleanliness / Shuddhi holds a special place as the civilizations have grown and become established. It becomes more important when godliness is unlikely.  

Alternative Therapies - An Option to Explore !

    

    Modern medicine has progressed exponentially. Multiple illnesses are treatable in the current times which were not treatable 100 years back. Penicillin the antibiotic, Organ transplants, stem cell therapy, immunotherapy are just to name a few. That's the achievement modern science has made in the past 100 years.  

It's easy to say that it is only modern science that has done wonders and no other therapy will be able to cure ailments. But we may not know the entire truth. I heard in a video documentary that our human civilization is about 30, 000 years old. We have been masters in living like a civilization. Our history about our ancient gods and kings tells us many stories about how humans have mastered special arts in curing themselves.

Certain examples are exemplary and modern science has nowhere reached close to them even today. When Lord Shiva cut off the head of Ganesha, he had to attach the head of a baby elephant to Ganesha's body to bring him back to life. That is one of the marvels of ancient advancement. We all know about the stories of ancient Chinese travellers who used to travel to India from far and wide to learn cosmetic surgery. This kind of surgery has been detailed in our Ayurveda books like the Charak Samhita. 

There are more than one therapies that are prevalent in every part of the world in today's times. With the advent of communication across the world, it has been easier for these therapies to make their way across the world to other corners reaching far and wide. Not every therapy is effective on all ailments but you will definitely be able to find more than one therapy being impactful on ailments where modern medicine has no reach. 

Recently when Malay had an attack of cervical spondylitis, he was bedridden for two weeks. If that was not enough, modern medicine specialists gave him nerve relaxants to relieve him of the pain. We approached a Neuro Surgeon to take an opinion on what options we had.  He simple told us that he will cut across the throat and screw the ribs which had been displaced. I was flabbergasted. Something so minuscule could be treated in such a grave manner was beyond my imagination.

I promised myself, I will not let them insert even a needle into Malay, leave alone slitting his throat off ! And then began my journey of searching for alternative therapies for him.

On the top of my list was Ayurveda. The panchkarma treatments have been beneficial to many in similar ailments and we gave it a shot.

Cranio Sacharal therapy was next on my list. This therapy stimulates the cranial joints and helps in self healing of the body. 

Malay was keener to try out a Chiropractor specialising in multi-dimensional therapies, including CST, physiotherapy, and needles.

Someone recommended Accupressure. Accupressure and Accupuncture provide stimulation to the corresponding nerves of the regions of the body where pressure is applied.

I being Reiki and Pranik healing practitioner also started giving energy to him to relieve him of his stress.

Stress. This is one of the biggest culprits in the cause of any ailment in the body. These days, auto immune diseases have been very prevalent. This happens because of the stress that gets accumulated in the body because we are unable to get rid of it. Stress can come in any firm. Someone said something to me and I couldn't take it, some event that happened in my life that triggered stress and so on. To live a healthy life, it is important to get rid of this stress. The body collects stress in itself and can be relieved through Yog, Pranayam and Meditation. Luckily for us, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravishankar has our back and with practice and his blessings, we will sail thru soon!

My Forced Experience on Minimalism

I was visiting a client and then to my inlaws place for a total of the 5-day trip. And then things started to change. The one-day trial lockdown happened and then a few days and then indefinite. I didn't know my fate as I got stuck in a place without resources or even clothes!

I had watched a documentary on minimalism. It looked like those who adopt minimalism are renouncing the world. That was never an option for me. With at least 50 odd dresses in my closet, I thrive on the colour of life. Yet, here I was, stuck in another town, with 4 sets of clothes in my suitcase, one nightsuit, a toothbrush and nothing else. Oh Yes, thank god for small mercies. I had my laptop and phone with me too!

Minimalism is not about having fewer things. It's about having only the things I need. Sometimes I think, what is the only thing I may need for survival. Maybe 2 sets of clothes ( one to wear and the other to wash) a pair of footwear and food to eat. Is there anything else I may need for survival? yet there is so much ruckus in the world, a rat race to achieve so much in life and why?

In routine, I use only very few things on a regular basis, such as clothes, shoes, mobile and wallet. Just the thought of not having other things with you makes me go crazy. When the lockdown was announced, the first thing I realized was that I had a roof above my head, but without any of the daily resources that I use. I thanked God, that I was not in the midst of a natural calamity, which would have made it really bad and the best thing was I had my hubby n my daughter around. I needn't worry about anything. Then I thought to myself, at max what I need is my wallet and my phone. rest all can be managed. 

So, off I went, to the store, to buy the daily needs items and food supplies to last us for some time. That was it. Four months on the basics of life, made me appreciate the little things in life.  The sunlight, the fresh air, the flowers, yoga, meditation and food to eat. These became my companions. I felt like a yogi. A Sadhu. These little things, which actually are needed for living life comfortably were with me. The rest were just fancy items that we barely use. To tell you the fact, I never missed any other items. I never missed my dresses, my decorations, my electronic appliances. 

This made me think, minimalism isn't all that difficult. Although my last encounter with it was forced, it made me appreciate the little things of life. 

Entrepreneurship can be taught ?

An entrepreneur is a person who takes a concept and controls its implementation. Almost all of us have ideas, but we are unable to put them into practice. The difference lies in the characteristics, skills, knowledge, and experience that the entrepreneur has learnt / acquired throughout his life. 

Life is the biggest teacher and entrepreneurship can be taught in many ways.

Management guru Peter Drucker thought that entrepreneurs were not inherently different from others and that anyone could be an entrepreneur.  He wrote in Innovation and Entrepreneurship that entrepreneurship is a discipline much like management, it had methodologies that could be learned: “Most of what you hear about entrepreneurship is all wrong. It’s not magic; it’s not mysterious; and it has nothing to do with genes. It’s a discipline and, like any discipline, it can be learned.”

There is a Structured – Formal Learning Process –at  Business Schools and from community. I will be sharing with you about the UnStructured – Informal Learning Process – which can be seen @ Home, from friends, relatives, mentors etc. & Learning through failures (which is one of the most important facets practiced by entrepreneurs today – the Fail Fast methodology)

Learning is an integral part of life. It is as important to learn in the initial formative years as is in the later part of life. This is proven by the fact that young children at the age of 6 years were sent to gurukuls for their education in various fields in ancient times. This is the right age where children and their knowledge can be nurtured and they can be exposed to various opportunities in life. This exposure, fosters independent and positive thinking, helps students to identify opportunities, and encourages students to have faith in themselves and their abilities.

The exact thing happened to Tilak Mehta – 

He Belongs to a business family – got exposed to business discussions at dinner table. Discussed his idea with his father who mentored him on his financials, put in the initial seed money and supported on implementation of his idea. Has 200 employees and 300 dabbawalas collaborate with him for deliveries.  He makes 1200 deliveries per day and aspires to do 1 lac deliveries per day in 2 years time. He won the youngest entrepreneur award in the logistics sector @ India Maritime Awards.

The 13 year old boy who started papers and parcels – an app based courier service for same day delivery within Mumbai showed that unless there is a proper support from the system, it may be difficult to manage everything on your own.

We also derived that Life is the biggest teacher and entrepreneurship can be taught in many ways.

This is how we see, EARLY INFLUENCE  means a lot in shaping a child’s career choices. An example of entrepreneurship education for kids is the initiative started by Galit Zamler (Israel based business and social entrepreneur). Started in 2009 The k-12 entrepreneurship program is one of the most successful programs for teaching kids entrepreneurship within a school setting. The program has a children's version (aged 7-12) and a youth version (13+). The sheer growing numbers of the program with dozens of Schools implementing it in Israel and across many countries like - USA, China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam, and Papua New Guinea - are only a proof of the value it adds to the children in their lives. 

Similarly, Voluntary organizations like TiE Young Entrepreneurs program, many ed tech startups like MetamorphosisEdu, Kidspreneur, Bornpreneur, are providing experiential learning process to kids which helps kids start their own business in a fun and productive manner. 

Learning From Failure aspect can be well understood from our very own Col Sanders of KFC. Having quit school in 7th standard at the age of 12, he used to work on field. After trying his hands at numerous occupations – selling insurance tyres, lighting systems, Col Sanders started a restaurant while working for a gas station. That also didn’t go on for very long and he approached 1009 restaurants to sell his product ; after which he got his first break and thus started the journey of KFC. At 75 he eventually sold his KFC business because he realized that growing this business was beyond his capacity.

In fact he did an 8 week Hotel Management course from Cornell university to learn how to manage his restaurant business better. He also studied Law from La Salle Extension University eventually. This clearly shows that  Life is the biggest teacher and entrepreneurship can be taught in many ways.

Stories of Kids like Tilak Mehta and entrepreneurs like Col Sanders provide us with proof and motivation that Life is the biggest teacher and entrepreneurship can be taught and learnt from many sources and in many ways - which can be Unstructured too – Like at home and from failures.

Gamification - A Lesson for all

When the lockdown happened, Nandika and I installed a game on our mobile. just to put things in perspective, the online gaming industry is estimated to reach 200 billion dollars by 2023. During these times, 44% of online population was playing games. The people who were hooked to online games, spend on an average of 3 hours every week on the game. About 70% of people who played games, spent some time on the games, daily - and we were no different.

Whoa. With this information, we tried to justify our act by ensuring that the game will polish our intelligence when we play it. But what was destined to happen, will happen. We spent sleepless nights playing the game to get more points. We used those points in the game ultimately. When we lost we were sad, when we won, ecstatic. Similar to the verse in geeta which tells us : 

तुम क्या लाए थे, जो तुमने खो दिया ? तुमने क्या पैदा किया था, जो नाश हो गया ? न तुम कुछ लेकर आए थे, जो कुछ लिया यही से लिया । जो कुछ दिया यही दिया । जो लिया इसी (भगवान) से लिया । जो दिया, इसी को दिया । खाली हाथ आए थे, खाली हाथ जाओगे । जो आज तुम्हारा है, कल किसी और का था, परसों किसी और का होगा । तुम इसे अपना समझ कर मगन हो रहे हो । बस यही प्रसन्नता दुखो का कारण है ।

We earned more and more coins (for god knows what). There was nothing we brought to the game and nothing we were going to take away from it. The more we played, the more difficult the levels became. We learnt what Tom Sawyer had learnt - 

Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it – namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. 

Making the points more and more difficult to attain, we got further hooked to the game, when one fine day both Nandika and I decided to delete the game from our mobile. It was eating away our entire day without any tangible benefits. Nandika, was now exploring more utilitarian games and came across a Typing tutor. Learning typing in todays world is an amazingly boring job. The animation and gamification of the activity made it interesting. To make it better, giving away of accolades and telling where u stand in the country made the difference and attracted her interest.

While she was running around to get accolades it made me think, about the craving or underlying need of getting those accolades. Why do I want to play games? For me, it de-stresses me, makes me happy. Winning games, makes me feel heroic. The sense of achievement makes me thrilled. This makes it an instant mood lifter. It keeps you in a blissful state.

So it happened, during these times we were slightly worried about Nandika's screen time. Spending a lot of time on screen, left her with less time to do other physical jobs and activities. She loved watching videos and Byjus videos. Although all educational and exploratory in nature, we wished she did a little more physical work as well. My husband Malay has a solution to every problem. He thought of an experiment to derive some benefits from this feverishness. He created a game with Nandika. 

She would get 5-10 and 15 points on doing every activity that she does during the day. these activities included reading a book, taking dictation, helping with house hold chores, eating in time and finishing her homework in time. Every activity that she loved doing and that was supposed to be on her scheduled, fetched her points. Getting points on attending to her regular dance classes, yoga and meditation were also a part of the game. There were no negative points. She could accumulate as many points as she wanted. At the end of the week, those points could either be redeemed for cash or converted to screen time. She could use as much screen time as she collected during the week.

SCREEN TIME ! This put things in a different light. 

Before we could understand what was happening, Nandika was running from pillar to post to collect points. All the pending home work was completed, Reading Writing started happening and the hobby classes started. To top it all, she was helping around with the household chores. I was overwhelmed. 

Collecting points is not easy. Not because you need to work to earn them, but, to accumulate them, you need a lot of maths to keep adding the points. What else could I have asked for! Even maths was being practised and polished. Thanks to GAME BABA, things started off well.

She searched for opportunities to help me and earn points. Did all she could to earn more and more. I started feeling guilty. Was I not exploiting the child to get work done ? I voiced my feelings to Malay who explained to me that the newness of the activity is making her do all this with so much vigour. He said that it is only time, when this becomes another old game and the excitement will start withering away. 

I seemed even more worried now. What will happen when the excitement dies out ? To which he simply replied, By then she would have got used to performing these tasks in her routine life.  With this he plugged in my brain and switched on my bulb. 

Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do. And this would help to understand why constructing artificial flowers or performing on a tread-mill is work, while rolling ten-pins or climbing Mont Blanc is only amusement.

We realized this great law of human action through this little game. This little game with Nandika, made me think, If god said, u will get +ve points for doing good in life and -ve for doing wrong, which will ultimately define our happiness in this life and future ones. Will we comply? Will we run from pole to pillar to collect good points for happiness and satisfied life? Yes, Definitely. As you sow, so shall you reap. Our Karmas are getting accumulated and every karma will either be rewarded or punished. What type of Karmas would u like to do ?

But the game has to be played in true spirit - After all, Bhagwad Geeta says - 

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन । मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भुर्मा ते संगोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥

You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty. - Bhagavad Gita, Chapter II, Verse 47

Management Lesson - Accepting your mistakes

Have you ever made a mistake ? I often do. It's a natural with me. Mistake is defined as "An Act or judgement that is misguided or wrong".  It definitely means that the action was wrong. But no where it says that the act was intentionally done. This means, if I didn't do a mistake intentionally, i should get an opportunity to accept it, apologize for it and rectify it if possible. 

We cannot hold still. As human beings ought to do some work. Take some action. Those actions maybe be good or bad. Some intentional, some unintended. When unintended actions hurt others, bring misery to thoughts, people or work, it becomes important for us to accept them and work out a rectification plan. What seems to be very difficult is the fact that whenever I make a mistake i need to realize my mistake. I realize that something wrong has happened and that realization is the first step towards acceptance. 

Accepting a mistake essentially means that I was wrong. How can I accept that I was wrong ? My Large Sized Ego comes in between my thoughts, awareness and acceptance. It tells me, " How can I be wrong? Why should I accept that this was my mistake ? It was someone else's mistake. I didn't do anything wrong. Even if something wrong has happened, it has nothing to do with me." On and On.  The most difficult thing in life is acceptance, but it helps solve problems that are destined to arise if not done so.

Once in College we were working on an assignment and it being a very boring assignment, my partner Tanu and I ran away to a party. The net result was that it affected the project adversely and we could not finish in time. A Mistake. Yes. Grave. We were reprimanded by the professor Narayan sir, which made us realize the gravity of the situation. The only saving grace was that we accepted our mistake and apologized. We felt sorry for our actions. The professor graciously pardoned us and left us with a warning of not repeating the same mistake again. He forgave our little act and things quickly came back to normal. Had we not accepted our mistake, a small act would have become an ego battle between the insignificant us and the professor community at large which would have led to serious consequences.

Corporate life is no different. When we act on situations, some actions will be right and some wrong. Making mistakes is not wrong. But what is wrong is not realizing, not accepting them. Once a team member Rashi, was assigned a launch project to work on. She prepared proposals, identified distributors, took activation permissions and did a lot of activities to complete a pilot of the launch. What she missed was to prepare a concept note and take approval. Due to the miss she did not get approval of the schemes and landed up all mixed up in her launch. The project did not proceed as expected and her review with her seniors yielded unacceptable results. 

Although Rashi had put in lot of effort her bosses felt that she did not put in enough efforts. They did not even know what work was done and why the project did not proceed as per plan. Also when discussing with her, she kept on saying that she has worked very hard and it's not her mistake that the project did not succeed. Her seniors felt that she was not ready to accept her mistake and demoted her for delivering sub standard performance. The only reason being, she did not accept where she faltered. She was not ready to take the responsibility of the mistake and blamed it on system and not getting approvals.

The major challenge was the ego issue between the boss and her. The boss took offence on the point that he tried to help her with whatever suggestions and solutions possible, but Rashi did not take enough initiative to take things to conclusion. As if this was not enough, she blamed the entire failure to not getting approvals from the boss. On the other hand, Rashi was not ready to accept her mistake. She kept repeating that she had worked very hard and did her best.

This brought the situation to a deadlock. Things went from bad to worse. The two people who were working on the project were not ready to cooperate and collaborate. Rashi found out another job for herself and moved out of the organization. Since the project did not move ahead as desired, the boss was given another responsibility and he moved on. In the end, it was the organization which Lost. A Small mistake, a little disagreement, which could have been corrected by acceptance, took things to extreme and to a point of no return. 

A little slip, which could have been corrected by careful thought and acceptance, made matters worse. Someone else came in and completed the project. After all, work will be done. Either you do it, or someone else will.

An alteration in the situation was, that a mentor stepped in, she explained the situation to both the parties and brought them to a point of amicable working conditions. Both the team members took responsibility of their own work and concluded the project well. After all, ALL IS WELL, THAT ENDS WELL.

Management Lesson - Reinvent Yourself

 

Reinvent yourself. Yet Again. A voice told me. 

It was a cold winter morning and I was sitting in the house, doing nothing. This was when I was back after an onsite trip with my husband. I was exploring some opportunities but nothing was materializing. I didn’t want to get into a job, yet I wanted to do something.

An Empty mind is a Devils’ workshop. And so true it was. I kept thinking of my past, what a wonderful professional career I had and how much money I made. And then, it all vanished like a dream. Days, months and years flew away in front of my eyes and tears rolled down. 

I didn’t know what to do. With no work and moreover with no hope of getting work, I was shattered. A man can survive without food and water. But surviving without hope is impossible. And the same was happening to me. Tears kept rolling off my eyes. The Devil told me, there’s nothing left for you in life. So, Give Up. Just then, A Voice told me, Reinvent yourself.

I had done this earlier. Many times. A transition from Infosys to Amul was one of the biggest reinventions I had done. Being a software engineer, wasn’t exciting enough to keep me motivated to pursue this as a career. Even though I was good at it, I decided to reinvent. 

I got attracted to a very special college known for its contribution to the development sector. I had heard that IRMA changes your DNA. It wasn’t easy, I would be visiting villages, spending time with the underprivileged and learn to empathize with them. Thus to learn the ways of the world, to be a person who could make a difference to others’ lives, a voice told me, Reinvent yourself. With Open mind I embraced the ways of the new world I was in.

But this was only the first step. The choice of assignment I made after college was amusing to many. I had taken up sales in a dairy cooperative organization. After a very posh work environment in one of the largest IT companies in the country, when I landed in office on the first day at work, I was culturally shocked. The office was in a hot warehouse with the walls covered with a tin shed on top. There was no Air conditioner, and the fans were not working because the electricity often went off in the area. I did not have a place to sit. I decided to leave the place right away. I came out of the warehouse and called my husband. I told him I am quitting. And guess what He told me, Reinvent yourself. Slogging hard without the luxuries I was used to, I made a mark for myself in the industry.

So, That Winter morning, I thought to myself, I’ve done this before. Why not again. I have not let anyone else control my life earlier. And I would not let it happen now. I heard the voice again. Reinvent yourself. And I decided to.

Just then, I came across a wonderful technique called The Art of Living to fix myself. I learnt the art of meditation which helped me to flush out the emotional garbage I had collected in me over a period of time. To add fuel to fire, Toastmasters happened and made me believe in myself. During my initial meetings, I used to crave for ribbons. Those days, I was not able to gather courage to stand up and speak. Under guidance from my mentors, I took up the role of a club mentor. The more responsibilities I took, the better I became. Things took a turn and with a little rework, I collected a bundle of ribbons for myself. Parallely Work started pouring in. and I have never looked back since then. 

It was easy to give up. But I decided otherwise. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I took the one less travelled by and that has made all the difference. 

I realized that life is all about persistence and resilience. Its about reinventing yourself. All the time. 

There is so much more to life. It may be near, when it seems afar. So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit, Its when things seem worst, that you must not Quit. 

I urge you, not to Give up in times of distress. Instead, Reinvent yourself. 

Management Lesson - Commitment

“Most people fail not because of a lack of desire but because of a lack of commitment.” -- Vince Lombardi

All an Entrepreneur aspires for, is success in her domain. What she needs to know is how to conduct herself in business & personally, so that she is able to pull off what she started. But how will that happen? To become a successful businessperson, one needs to evolve into a dynamic leader who is fully committed to the assignment at hand. Thus Commitment is a necessary quality that Entrepreneur needs to inculcate in herself.

Commitment, which means the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause or activity, is not just a word, but it encapsulates a leader’s entire personality. It is not a one-time activity but a habit, a continuous promise that once you have confirmed to take-up an activity, you will deliver, come what may. The famous epic sentence “Praana Jaaye par vachan na jaaye”of Ramayan clearly demonstrates the values effective and revered leaders of those times practiced. This essentially means that whatever i have said ( or committed ) has value more than my life and i will stick to it, come what may. 

 An opportunity to demonstrate commitment is seen in every walk of life. It can be as little as attending your club meeting every week, or delivering to your client at the promised time in accordance to what you have promised. I will share an incidence here.

I always knew that it was important to commit and have always delivered on what I said I would. I realized its value, when I saw the manner in which our club’s founding president Ajay conducted himself. He would attend club meetings even when he was unwell and would leave all else for another time. I was filled with astonishment. After all, missing a meeting, creates no imbalance in the universe. But the impact he created on us was humongous and with that we became even more committed to the club and all other responsibilities that we took. 

In a recent incidence, I was required to travel to Raipur for a preliminary discussion with the client. The flight was from Mumbai and was booked by the client. Excessive traffic on expressway got me delayed in reaching Mumbai and after parking my car, I took a cab to go to the airport. I would have been in time, had everything gone well. But I got stuck in traffic again and the traffic was not moving on the road. I had two choices – First get down from the taxi and walk across the traffic for another cab, Or Second keep sitting in the taxi and wait for the traffic to clear. If I didn’t reach the airport in time, I would definitely miss my meeting. Learning from commitment lessons, I decided to take the former option. Walking through the traffic with my luggage for about a kilometer, I took another cab to reach the airport just in time for my flight. It probably would have been easier to let go of something that painful, but was worth every ounce of effort eventually.

It is not always that you get a chance to demonstrate commitment. And not everyone decides to go through the hardships to maintain their commitment. But, when u get an opportunity, it is imperative that you grab it, because it is said, that Opportunity knocks once. Prove yourself, as it would open doors for many other opportunities in different forms. There are very few people in this world, who would be able to keep their commitment. Had I not decided to give it my best and reach for the flight in time, I would not only have lost the project that I was going for, but also all future projects from that organization. 

It is definitely well said in the words of Robert Frost,

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.

-- Robert Frost

Thus commitment plays a larger than life role in all facets of life and those who have been able to manage this spirit of commitment have always come out as a winner. I am sure we all will Commit and Fulfil.

Conference Sponsorships - Will you Walk into my parlour ?

 "Will you walk into my parlour?" said the Spider to the Fly,

'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy;
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I've a many curious things to show when you are there."

"Oh no, no," said the little Fly, "to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can never come down again."

As Mary Howitt tells us, the spider goes on, to lure the fly who finally gives in to the temptation.

Isn’t attending a conference a tempting yet tedious task? . You need to dress up well, be on your feet all day long and specifically be prepared for table topics full day. Pretty stressful.

What is worse than attending a conference? Organizing one. Organizing a Conference is like a black hole. It takes u in, consumes u and you are never going to come out of it. 

You have to find the right venue, get participants / speakers, organize the lunches and dinners, etc. It is all too stressful and steals away your work and family time. This is the perception of most of us. We feel that this is a useless activity and there is nothing beneficial associated with it.

But there’s light at the end of the tunnel. 

I had been struggling with setting up my client’s brand. Incidentally we stumbled upon an opportunity, where architects from all across the country had come together for a special event. The client acted on my suggestion and took up sponsorship and got a speaking slot at the event. The benefits were immense.

1. Networking

2.  Get New Ideas

3.  Access to decision makers

Generating sponsorships for a conference is the most daunting task of all. And this is precisely what attracted me to taking up the responsibility of getting Sponsorships for the annual conference of District 98, Eloquence. Toastmasters is a well-known brand. But not so well known in the business world. 

My Vision is to bring about acceptance in the business community about the value one can derive by participating and sponsoring a Toastmasters Event.

1. Building a positive brand image sends out a message that the org is in the growth phase
2. Reconnect to older connects and Increase reach to new clients automatically leads to growth
3. Generate leads and get stronger ROI than mass media – which is the aim of all businesses.

This means that a sponsor should be able to clearly understand the target group and the ROI which he will be able to derive from it. Accordingly, he should himself be keen to participate and fund the event.

Who Can Sponsor?  – Anyone looking at growing their business should sponsor. There is a bakery chain, and they have stores across Pune. They are in their expansion mode and have invested a lot in their infrastructure growth and want to recover their money faster than normal. They want more clients to come to them and clients in turn get a good place to go to for their bakery needs. It’s a win win situation.

Along with the benefits the sponsors are going to derive, my team and I stand to gain tremendously from this activity. We will learn to approach people without hitch. Thinking off the cuff while answering questions, learn sales techniques, make friends and develop contacts which eventually benefit us in the times to come.

It was a bright morning in October last year, when I walked in for an interview with the Eloquence Convener. And like the fly, I was lured into this fascinating world of Sponsorships.

The Surya Namaskar Benefits for Entrepreneurs !

 

Hanuman, The Monkey God from Ramayan was very strong and possessed supernatural strength since birth. He was intrigued by the Sun God. When he was a little boy, he looked at the delicious mango in the sky and soared in take the sun in his mouth. As soon as he enveloped the sun in his mouth, the balance of the universe was disrupted. The gods from Indralok requested him to release the sun. A request, which the little monkey simply denied. It was then that the king of Gods, Indra, hurled his Vajra towards him. The Vajra hit the little boy on his jaw and left him unconscious.

Hanuman released the sun while falling on the earth, which brought the balance of the universe back. Because of the trauma he had to undergo, his mother Anjana, who was a celestial maiden got angry at the gods, who to please her, bestowed Hanuman with boons and celestial powers of Strength, Speed, Shape changing, Gift for Celibacy, Prodigious memory including reverence & love for God. 

When Hanuman grew up, his mother wanted him to get the best education. Since the Sun god was the one who went around the world and was knowledgeable about all scriptures, Anjana suggested that he approach the Sun god and become his disciple. Hanuman now approached Sun god to become his teacher, but Sun was apprehensive. He was too busy fulfilling his duties, moving around in his chariot and couldn't afford even a moment of delay. Teaching Hanuman would require him to take pauses which didn't go well with his duties as Sun.

Hanuman promised to keep moving with the Sun and keep pace with him if he taught him. This meant that Sun wouldn't have to stop to teach him and the education can go on seamlessly. Hanuman then positioned himself facing the sun and moving backwards with the speed of the sun, so that the sun can complete his round of the world with his prescribed speed. Hanuman learnt all the Vedas in a week's time and was ready to return. He asked for Sun's fees to which Sun refused. He was very happy with his disciple and did not want to take any fees from him. Hanuman dedicated his backward movement poses to Sun God as gratitude towards him, which came to be known as the Surya Namaskar.

It is said that as you perform the Surya Namaskar early in the morning, with gratitude and love, the Sun god will guide you, keep you healthy and keep your life illuminated with knowledge, success and happiness. The sequence of Surya Namaskar is a well designed sequence of alternate backward and forward bending asanas with a well regulated breathing pattern. It is such that it builds strength, reduces weight and stretches the spinal cord along with giving meditative orientation in the process. The mantras chanted along with each pose bring in rejuvenation to a specific centre of energy called the Chakras which get aligned and energized.

What does getting so much energy and stability do to us ? Let us derive an analogy with the Entrepreneur. An Entrepreneur needs to be focussed in their approach and work. If their mind wavers away, it is very difficult to bring it back, since in most of the cases, there is no accountability to anyone else. This makes it extremely difficult for the entrepreneur to be disciplined. On a parallel analogy, if the body is not healthy and ailments arise from time to time, the entire energy and focus shifts towards solving the urgent problem at that time. An Entrepreneur does not have the luxury to spend time on recovering from health issues consistently. Thus, the policy of prevention is better than cure works best. This means a tool which helps you maintain your body and mind, is a must for everyone, more importantly for entrepreneurs.

A healthy body is a gift to us & it is our duty to maintain it well. This will enable us to study well, work well and do physical activities well. The mind is fickle. It is the natural tendency of the mind to waver away. The sequence of Surya Namaskar is such that it brings stability in practise. It stabilizes the mind and body along with giving better digestion and appetite.  It energizes the Body, Mind and Soul.  Surya Namaskar is a tool passed on to us generation after generation to enable us live a healthy and happy life. 

आदित्यस्य नमस्कारं ये कुर्वन्ति दिने दिने।
जन्मान्तरसहस्रेषु दारिद्र्यं नोपजायते।।

Aadityasya namaskaram ye kurvanti dine dine |
Janmaantarsahasreshu daridryam nopajaayate||

The shloka in sanskrit says, that a person who does Surya Namaskar every day, is untouched by poverty for his thousand lifetimes. For some people, the World is not Enough, but, for me, even this much is enough !

Management Lessons for Entrepreneurs - Inspiration from Everywhere.

Yawn. It was time to sleep, the movie I was watching was too interesting to leave midway. I decided to finish the movie and then sleep. It was way past my bed time. An hour later, when the movie got over, i decided to go to bed. I tossed and turned but there was no sign of sleep. The incidents of the movie were still lingering on in my mind. I put on a meditation music and quietly rolled off to sleep.

The alarm bell rang at its usual time and i cracked open one eye to see who was disturbing me. The twilight brightened the sky and the sun was about to rise. I wanted to sleep more. I pulled the blanket on my face to cover any noise and light that may fall on my face. Then i made a sigh. I thought to myself, if I didn't get up in time, all the work will get rolled on. It will spoil the entire day's routine. I turned around and stuck my face in the pillow. 

I decided to lay in bed for few more minutes. Then i suddenly remembered my friend Madhur. It didn't matter what time he slept the previous night. He would always get up on time in the morning. It was easy to catch him and speak to him at that time. This helped him to be a regular in studies and never had any pending work on him. We used to envy this quality which always kept him ahead of us always. I was inspired.

Kids are the source of inspiration all the time. My daughter Nandika, takes up a task and doesn't stop doing it until she is satisfied with it. Eating, sleeping, playing, everything comes to a stand still for her, until that activity gets completed. You cant cajole her to do anything else. She doesn't budge. This dedication is a result of an innocent and sincere fascination to do some activity. It does not matter whether or not it is a points earning activity or just fun. It has to be finished once started. So true for us Entrepreneurs. I was inspired.

Being a generally positive person may not be very difficult but being always positive is definitely a challenge. Further to motivate others to be positive makes it even more complicated. We had once decided that we will start drinking at least 3 liters of water everyday. So the first day, 3 bottles full of water were kept on my table for me to have a count of what i did. I managed to finish two, which was by far a great achievement by my standards. To take a stock of the progress, next day my hubby, Malay, asked me, how much water did you drink yesterday? I was definitely not proud of my achievement and shyly told him, one bottle was remaining. He smiled and told me to look at the glass as half full rather than otherwise. This made me realize how we make our life complicated by making simple things negative and then its all downhill from there. Keeping Positivity Up lets us have a right approach to situations. I was inspired.

I was a part of Toastmasters club and was generally regular one at the meetings. Once in a while i chose to skip the meetings as well. Our founding president, Ajay, was a regular. He never missed a meeting. One meeting i saw he was not too well. I asked him what happened and he explained how a medicine had reacted while treating his fever. Had I been in his place, I would have decided to stay at home and relax. But here he was, all dedicated, participating in the meeting. It was no wonder, that in due course of time, his speeches improved drastically and the hold on meetings became better. He has been consistently winning contests, making the club members proud and the fans happier. This kind of commitment doesn't come in one day. It is the result of long sensitivity and genuine interest. Commitment delivers results. I was inspired.

I don't want to become DTM, i told him. But Amol wasn't listening. He always believed in getting results out of any activity. Put in good effort and derive value out of whatever opportunity you have. Don't do an activity without any results. Do not leave it in the middle. He said, if you are putting in efforts, why not derive something out of it. You have put in efforts and now it's going to take a little more push and you will be able to achieve it. Logically it made sense. Focussed effort will always deliver results. I was inspired.

Inspiration brings in Hope. It brings in the confidence. Yes, Even I can do it. It tells us, that we should also commit. Dedicate ourselves to a cause and give our best with positivity. Then, nothing will be unachievable in life. It tells us that focussed efforts will deliver results. All these above, are little, day to day stories of people who inspire us. People around us, motivate us, make us realize that aha moment we get because of actions of others. It is about being aware and noticing these little things which we are surrounded with. And get inspired. 

Thus, i decided to get up and make myself useful. Since, i remembered Madhur, i remembered that i had to read his daughter's blogs and give her feedback on them. A morning nicely spent, reading lovely blogs from Kashvi who is growing up to be a darling child. But more importantly, her blogs inspired me to write. For Entrepreneurs, self discipline and inspiration works the best. Keeping our eyes and ears open and get your inspiration. Its high time we open our eyes and see around us. Get Inspired.

Management Lessons from Failure - I am Happy I Lost.

Failure can be emotionally draining but it has its benefits too. I am happy I lost the contest.

I was a regular at my club meetings and the practise made me a winner in a contest series. I used to be very excited and happy. More than me, there was someone else who was excited. My then 8 year old daughter. She used to be very excited and happy whenever i won those contests. In due course of time, she assumed that I was the best and that I will always win. 

For the past two years, due to work commitment, i was unable to participate in my club meetings. One thing is sure, that when you reduce the effort tap into your pitcher, the water coming out if it will naturally reduce. The same happened to me. Due to reduced participation and with the advent of online meetings, the challenge of performing became tougher. While others improved, i went down on my quality of content and time management. This was the red signal which i didn't realize and it led to my failure. I lost in the contest.

What i didn't realize was that someone else was much more upset than me. Yes, my daughter. She is ten years old now. She has this image of a perfect mother who always wins in contests. She was unable to take the blow when i lost. She was angry and blamed someone else for my failure. I realized the good that had happened to me and thanked god for my failure. 

I sat down with my daughter to share the benefits of loosing. It is important we inculcate the acceptance of failure in our children. This makes them stronger and enables them to face failure in future. I shared with her that;

1. It is okay to Fail -  There is no one on this earth who hasn't tasted failure. This means that it is normal to fail. This needs to be understood and demonstrated in your emotions and actions both. 

2. Do not become over confident - Once you realize that you are not invincible, you will always strive harder when you participate in competitions, events or life. You will prepare well and give your best to it. 

3. Do not blame anyone else for your failure - Its not right to blame anyone else, but yourself for your failure. Identifying the reasons for your failure, helps you eliminate them effectively. As is said - असफलता केवल यह सिद्ध करती है कि सफलता का प्रयास पूरे मन से नहीं हुआ। Find out what is missing and improve on it.

4. Failure presents an opportunity - Failure in itself is an opportunity to identify what efforts were missing and improve upon them. You should do exactly that. Plan in advance, Practise and Execute well.

5. Derive inspiration from Failure - Observe people and animals around you. Take inspiration from poems like कोशिश करने वालों की by - सोहन लाल द्विवेदी (Sohan Lal Dwivedi) - (appended at the end of my article). Even a tiny ant does not give up when it falls from the wall. A diver doesn't give up when he is unable to find pearls in one dive.  It is important to keep the faith and rise again. Rise and try again and again with more vigour every time.

6. Remember, No effort goes waste, you will succeed ultimately - Efforts are always rewarded. In different forms maybe. But whatever efforts we put in will be rewarded. If you have decided that you want to succeed nothing can stop you. Keep trying till You Succeed. Put in all your efforts. And You Will Succeed. Like in the saying -  If you think you can, You WILL. If you think you can't, You're RIGHT. So, believe in yourself, and nothing will be unachievable. 

All these aspects of failure are equally applicable to Entrepreneurs and Businesses. It is said that Sports or extra curricular activities inculcate the fighting spirit in us. I can see that happening. I learnt, whether it is work or business, it is important to rise again when you fall. And Again. And Again. And In the end, you will be able to walk.

 

I am glad that this failure gave me an opportunity to share all these facets and more with my daughter. She shared her emotions and love for me and in turn, I gave her the gift learning to accept failure. I am happy I lost. My next step is to work harder and win. After all, Winning is my habit ! 

 कोशिश करने वालों की

- सोहन लाल द्विवेदी (Sohan Lal Dwivedi)

लहरों से डर कर नौका पार नहीं होती,

कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

नन्हीं चींटी जब दाना लेकर चलती है,

चढ़ती दीवारों पर, सौ बार फिसलती है।

मन का विश्वास रगों में साहस भरता है,

चढ़कर गिरना, गिरकर चढ़ना न अखरता है।

आख़िर उसकी मेहनत बेकार नहीं होती,

कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

डुबकियां सिंधु में गोताखोर लगाता है,

जा जा कर खाली हाथ लौटकर आता है।

मिलते नहीं सहज ही मोती गहरे पानी में,

बढ़ता दुगना उत्साह इसी हैरानी में।

मुट्ठी उसकी खाली हर बार नहीं होती,

कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।

असफलता एक चुनौती है, इसे स्वीकार करो,

क्या कमी रह गई, देखो और सुधार करो।

जब तक न सफल हो, नींद चैन को त्यागो तुम,

संघर्ष का मैदान छोड़ कर मत भागो तुम।

कुछ किये बिना ही जय जय कार नहीं होती,

कोशिश करने वालों की कभी हार नहीं होती।