Monday Blues: Command, conquer and captivate!

When Karl Elsener started working on the cutlery in his shop in 1884 little did he realize the gigantic trend he is starting in the genre of collectibles and pocket knives. Called the iconic Swiss Army knife, the multi-utility knife is known for its quality standard and encourages the spirit of adventure. This is exactly what it chose to represent when they were Gold sponsors for the IIM Bangalore Vista last week.

Nestled among the budding young leaders of the management students who carry on them a great amount of pressure to be the best in what they can, Victorinox offered a chance to experience handling tremendous pressure while being cool, sustainable and relevant even with the changing pressures, situations in the modern marketplace.

While the pocket knives were all time favorite, the luggage was a surprise choice for many. While most youngsters were captivated by the clean design, immaculate finish and simple corporate looks, the multi-utility theme was its best conquering element. Some of the handpicked items were given as gifts to the honored guests from the corporate diaspora who graced the workshops and the keynotes.

The gift hamper was chosen to accommodate the high-flying, traveling, rigorous usage clientele and had a passport organizer, backpack for the laptops and some pocket knives. My favorite being the huntsman and the rescue tool, the passport organizer can actually be useful for anyone like me. I prefer to travel light and this would make a perfect companion for your long distance travel across continents and handling various currencies.

Command, conquer and captivate, the theme of  IIM B Vista, pushes us to think beyond the current situations on our desk, our monday blues and our problems in general. The army officer who holds the Victorinox pocket knife or the trekker who uses it to cut his food, ropes for his tent or the hobbyist who adds them as his collectibles, try and push you to look at the next adventure with a fresh set of eyes and seek solutions that may not be quite obvious. This Monday, I urge you to look at the next problem and instead of moving away or finding a simple solution, seek to command, learn to conquer and strive to captivate. Yes, while you are at it, look at the message from the most loved knife designer - Build to quality, trust and deliver functionality and innovation. Have a nice Monday.

Don't give up

That is the potential each of us have. Every day, we can move forward and start a new day, a new life. Everyday is a gift from the Lord and it is your responsibility to ensure you make it worth it. Sky is your limit. You can reach it. Don't give up yet. 

Don't give up even if things don't go your way. Even if that friendship doesn't work, even if you don't get that job, you can't repay the loans. can't make it big, can't get what you want today! Remember tomorrow is another day, another chance, another fresh start. You never know what you can become if you don't try. Don't give up yet. Don't quit. This is not a race. This is a marathon. You should be in for the long run. You have many people who love you, care for you and are rooting for you. Don't quit.

If you feel depressed, feel that your life has no meaning, feel that the world is closing on you, feel that you are alone and don't have anyone who can understand how you feel, still, DON'T QUIT. Find someone who will listen to you. Take help. Call a friend, brother, parent, teacher or someone who will listen to you. Visit a place of worship, help someone in need, take a walk, join a gym or do anything that will keep your mind busy. Just DON'T QUIT yet when your life is a story about to unfold. You are important. 

If you feel you are #depressed and need to talk to someone who will listen to you without judging and can help you, mail me or message me. If you have a friend who is going through stuff, refer them ti someone who can help too. I am always ready to lend a patient ear, warm #coffee and a comforting hug. 

God has put immense potential in you and you have to give it a chance to bloom. Be a blessing to many people and you will see how many people care for you and love you. If everything else fails, talk to someone you love or #TalktoTiger write2tiger@gmail.com

Monday Blues: Work for a change!

Do you have a colleague who enjoys being idle. Most of the time watching at the dumb WhatsApp screen or a YouTube video or pretending to work? I bet you do and get irked. May be it is beyond being lazy, callousness, may be it is a habit or a disease. 

Sometimes simple solutions can be found to major problems, if we are ready to look beyond the box. A new habit or idea is as strong as this little red chilli and can change the flavour of the entire process. Use it for good and you are adding something nice and powerful in the right direction or you are killing your productivity, your morale and in the end your own self.

As you progress in your work and try to step it up, you sometimes can be benefited by a small change in your routine. This Monday, I want to encourage you to look for that small change that can help you improve. There is no fun in being stubborn. Your monkey brain may be holding you back, but just calm it once and try to work differently. Learn to push yourself to contribute.  May be that will change your psyche to the right side!

Monday Blues: The better exercise

How is your day going? Are you in the right frame of mind? Are you at peace with what you are doing and is it going to help anyone? 

The human endeavor is one with outstanding opportunity. When you have a chance in making things happen, make them happen in such a way that it builds, is constructive,  makes positive relationships, enables meaningful change to someone who interacts with you. Even if you are at the most depressing place or task, you can still make it work! Yes. When I say you can make a change and when made in the right direction, you will see the outcome is better than what you intended it to be.

Given an option, choose to lift people up. All around you there are many who need the uplifting and you have an excellent opportunity to do just that. As John Holmes says, “There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”  Do more of that and you will be witness to amazing stories all around you. 

This Monday, let us choose to lift people up, even higher than you can. Have a great day!

#MondayBlues #PositivePsychologist #Changeforbetter

Munching office politics - Monday Blues

So, how is your Monday going? How is the attitude at work and politics? How are you driving yourself to keep up with the pressures of life? When faced with certain circumstances, we are often tempted to take a path that is curt, to the point and  dusted with harmful options. 

These are easy to come up with and react. However, as a leader, you need to look up above the simple low-minded people's attributes and behave. Learn to let it go, forgive, move on to be a better person than you can be. Revenge is not ours and it will be taken up when needed. Not by you and I but by the power high up above. I am really telling you this.

You may be thinking that I don't understand your situation but trust me when I say, I have been in the worst of politics, dealt with people who behave like animals fighting for survival and have still come up victorious. The revenge when the pride falls is sweet, beautiful and worth waiting for. The key is in understanding the psyche and learning to let the barking snarling dog go. You will find your light, soon enough.

Here is a hymn by Horatius Bonar that keeps me from losing my cool and waiting patiently for the show to mature.

Thy way, not mine, O Lord, however dark it be;

Lead me by Thine own hand, choose Thou the path for me.

I dare not choose my lot; I would not if might;

Choose Thou for me, my God, so shall I walk aright.

Immerse yourself in your domain, responsibilities. Keep that smile on, push forward and perform better than anyone you know and you will live to see the fall. 

Off with the mask you!

Masks. Masks everywhere. Each of us have masks we wear and act out scenes in our daily life. The funny part is when people see you and see you through. This farce act gives out when you are trying to live a life that you are not. It is really interesting when you want to be in my good books and behave in a particular way and when you don't need help, you have a different mask. 

In every team there is someone who plays out the others for their advantage. Unfortunately, people fall for this. In life brands also try the same. They try to put up masks and act out in a peculiar way to win your confidence. They talk like they care, act like they care and lure you to believing, but when the act comes down, what do you do? You boycott the brand like a dreadful plague and it takes immense confidence building to get back the consumer psyche to like you again. Strange as it sounds, there may be a momentary gain when you play out to the audience and not be truthful but you lose this game. 

As a marketer, if you pick the best mask to wear, pick the most truthful one, the one you don't need to act out to and you are etched into the consumer psyche. 

Applies to people too. Alas! Only few live to learn this. What mask are you wearing today?

Leadership

 

Leadership means sacrifice. Good leadership means a greater sacrifice (Jn 10:11).

Monday Blues: Make your effort count

Did you know this? To produce one tablespoon of honey, the little bee makes 4200 trips to flowers. It makes about 100 trips a day to the fields, each trip lasting 20 minutes average and 400 flowers. That is a mind-boggling amount of trips to get very little honey. Buzzing around all day without a purpose doesn't help the bee collect honey. Ensuring that it works as per a strategy, does. 

Whether you are coding, building something, parenting, writing a book or building a website, the process is tiresome, invisible to the one looking from the periphery. From the psyche of a consumer, this only counts when you see progress. So show progress, however small it may be, every day.

When you are trying to explain it to someone who is seeking an update, you need to be able to show progress, movement, a change in the status quo. Be very clear to document, set expectations right, involve all those needed and ensure you meet them. 

Today's Monday blues message is simple. Make each of those trips, steps, attempts count! Be at it, vigorously, moving forward, every time.

Image is from here.

Do a great job or don't

There is a fine line between doing your job and serving. Most of the guys out there are just doing their job in the most literal sense and then keep wondering why they are unable to grow or score high on job satisfaction. Today I had one such experience.

We recently got a AO Smith water purifier for home and this was waiting to get installed for a couple of days. Today finally the technician turned up and started fixing the new purifier. He was deliberately clumsy all through. Right from the time he stated tearing open the box, peeling off the covers carelessly, throwing the thermocol packing on the floor, zip tags cut and strewn all around, talking on the phone all the time and when he finished he didn't even clean up. I had to send extra time to clean up all the mess he made, pick up bits and pieces from the sink, floor and what not. After all that he had the guts to ask me to buy an AMC that would cover my for two years! Though he didn't ask me for a tip, he lingered around for quite a bit expecting one. 

The problem is when you stick to a job you don't like, and go through this routine of doing it day in and day out. There is no human element, emotional involved at all. You just show up and finish your work like a robot. 

Compare that with the Ola guy I took today. He waited for me patiently to arrive, called me to confirm the location, apologized for the traffic (though it wasn't his fault) and thanked me for taking his ride. He was conversant while being polite, silent when I had to take a couple of office calls and truly professional. 

Guess who got the tip, better rating and who I remember from these two interactions!

Every individual or brand should focus on one and the only thing. Have a pleasant demeanor and leave an interaction with a positive impact. Even when you are the bearer of bad news, it is always important to be more than a machine and convey your EQ. If you aren't willing to put in more emotion in your work, handling clients, you are collecting nails for your customer delight coffin.

Bones, bare and delicate

Bones. A feeble bag of bones covered by sensitive flesh and skin. 

If you explore enough, wait enough, we are all bones and go to dust at the end. Some early, some later on but eventually, it is the same end. 

Learn to be humble, make a name, help someone, be in the now. Be positive, be pure, be kind. Be how you want everyone else to be with you. 

Be the clear blue sky for someone you don't even care. 

#AugustLessons #PositivePsychologist #Talktotiger #DubaiAirport

Monday Blues: Mill & move

You may be doing really well where you are. 

Be humble and keep moving ahead. 

If you don't move ahead and stay where you are you don't progress and mostly die. However slow the progress may be move, forward, inch by inch. 

Push yourself and you will find strength.

Lessons from Chennai Super Kings and Shane Watson in IPL final 2018

Congratulations Chennai Super Kings and well played Sunrisers Hyderabad. Here are some quick takeaways from the super charged final of IPL 2018. 

1. 1. Face the tough times:Watson had been resilient in these situations like the final twice - today with the calm Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and with the instigating charged up Wahab. In both situations, he maintained his composure, didn't let the situations dictate his moods or actions and came out as winner. Just like this, Each of us will have many tough things we have to go through in life, work, relationships and there are no two ways about it. The best way when nothing is working your way is to hold your head high and absorb everything happening around you and make that as your experience.
   
2. Have a plan and a back up plan and another back up plan:
   What makes leaders differ from others is that they are always thinking about strategies and have a plan to back up if things don't work out and always keep improvising and put things they planned in to execution. Keep thinking on your feet, all the time. When Watson had 9 dot balls on his score card, he wasn't thinking about the match or the bowler, he was focusing on how he can start going back to run a ball and then accelerate. Be in the how and hold your peace.
   
3. Believe in yourself and your team:While things weren't going well, Watson got enough support from Raina, Bravo and team in the dugout who didn't have a tense moment as they believed he would come up with a cool knock. You could see Dhoni in the dressing room keeping his cool and pacing calmly.
   
   Believe and depend on your team to help you get out of tough situations and be there when someone is not doing well. You need to back your team and work together. Working as a team and focusing on the enemy will help everyone move forward.
   
4. Training and process pays:Did you observe Shane Watson was not able run singles? His lower body wasn't helping him and he decided not to push himself in running singles and strategically played to score 4s & 6s. This applies to our business and life too. When you know you aren't going well in any area, play to your strengths and recuperate where you are down. Simple logic but very useful. If one of your products isn't doing well, focus on the better moving ones and help rework on what is not working.
   
   Having the best training where you can see all possible scenarios and work on them before going to the field.
   
5. Winning is not everything:
   While it is important to win, it is not everything. Going there in tune with your value systems, trust, respect makes it as important. Williamson proved this just right. Thrust upon the responsibility to captain a team who lost their leader in an ugly scandal, he evolved into one of the top leaders easily this IPL. Dhoni has his share of points in this as well. He could come back after a gap, regroup and live up to the tremendous pressure of the fans, management and himself. In business world we need to always remember the values you have for yourself and your team. Respect, trust and honesty are virtues you need to live for and this will be with you even after you have moved on with the situation you are handling.
   
6. Family is equally important, if not more:
   Seeing visuals of Dhoni carrying is daughter, Sakshi, Anushka and lot of family support in the ground actually helps show how important it is for the players and the fans. Spending time with the family and sharing your thoughts with the experiences help your reduce stress. Giving equal importance to the family helps you think clearer and be peaceful. Make time for the family.
   
7. Keep yourself fit.
   Several players in CSK are over 30 and no one seemed slow or easy to go. This shows the amount of importance given to physical fitness and mental strength they have. Dhoni is as for as ever. Time to bit the gym and lose those extra pounds and get fit. Being fit helps you take things to a different level.

What is your takeaway from today's game? Share in the comment below!

Photo courtesy: i.guim.co.uk

Make peace with traffic, try #OLARental

When you have a long list of things to get done across the city, you don't have time to drive, you choose to take a cab. But the hassle of time taken to get your stuff out, waiting, using different vehicles and many other things are a headache. So, when on this particular day, I had to take kids to school, had a hospital appointment and a couple of other things to do, I was stuck with Ganesh travels which I regularly use. Hiring a taxi from known contacts wasn't working out too. I have had some bad experiences with billing and so on. They came back saying that I had to choose either a 4-hour option or an 8-hour options which weren't working out. I couldn't choose to drive my self as I had to be with the baby alone. Then I stumbled upon Ola Rental. I use Ola all the time for travel but that has always been one-way travel. Wifey reasoned why we shouldn't try Ola rental and so I did!

When wifey said there was an option in the Ola App, I checked out the Ola App and picked the rental option. It was so simple. It has several options to choose from, like point to point pick up, changing destination en route and many more. You must explore the app more to see what options are available. The app has many options and time frames to choose from giving you the flexibility to hire from point to point and even for one hour. Here are some pictures. 

You can pick a ride to suit your need and how heavy or light your wallet is that day. Picking a better set of wheels is not going to lighten your pocket as the prices are just too good.

This makes a lot of sense as you are hiring based on your requirement and the price is so much better than the travel agents in the market. I picked one, that made sense to me!

Now that I was familiar with the app and the options, I summoned the cab for 8 hours as I did not know how long my work would take. The package was decent and what makes it really interesting was that the cab was available just like the normal cab, in 6 mins! This is simply incredible as in normal circumstances, I had to call in advance and book at least a couple of hours before and that too I had limited options about the type of cab available as the fleet was limited. I could choose a basic car, a luxury sedan and even a high-end vehicle for just few thousand rupees. 

  

We were ready in few minutes and soon enough a well-dressed driver turned out at our location and I was really happy to see that the car was very clean and nice. We pushed off to drop my child at her school and could carry all the bags - school bag, laptop, one other bag I had in the trunk and we could comfortably sit in the seats without worrying about the luggage. Once she got off at school, we went off to the hospital appointment. Here is where the comfort comes into the picture. I need not carry my bags or worry about them! That is a huge luxury when you have to collect reports from various departments and lug all the bags along. I left my bags and told him the approximate time I would take and go away. Now I know the GPS location of my cab and see where he is and how much time it would take to come back, in case I needed him to be back. 

Once I finished my work, I called him and got him back by the time I reached, all the while I could track the cab. Once I am back in the cab, I could change the destination and pick up a friend who wanted to meet and there was not even a word of resistance from the driver about the location, traffic, distance and anything else. It was just too comfortable, just like your own car. We picked up my child from school, grabbed something to eat, went shopping, practically filled the car up. I could do all this at my own pace, no nonsense from the usual banter. I could play my own songs, watch to sitcoms and pick up where I left off. The Ola Play tablet was easy to use and had enough content to keep me entertained in case I need to be.

The behavior of the driver was exceptionally good. He let me take my calls, be silent and think, no too many questions, no discussion on pricing, bargaining, no directions as I could control the path through my app, and best of all, he was happy to serve! Complete professional and crisp. By the way, Ola Rental drivers are called Partners and he was truly one. The car was cleaned after my child dropped few crumbs of biscuits and it was a pleasure to be served that way. 

Once we were home, I had some 3 hours left on the clock and wanted to go away to a place we all wanted to visit. I requested the partner to have lunch and we were ready in half an hour to go again. We weaved through traffic, five of us and it was again a professional drive. I actually dozed off while my family chatted up and the drive was swift, clean and safe. And the trip back was awesome too. I could spend time with my family and friends, finish my chores for the day, catch up on work and a bit of sleep, being free all the while not concentrating on the driving. I got the best car to travel thanks to OLA Rentals. It is indeed a cool option to try out the #OlaRental solution. 

Balm to the soul from Tea Culture of the World

I wake up and refresh myself with a hot cup of tea in the morning. Tea is a way to tell my body to get up and get ready to a working day. Did you know that tea is the second most consumed drink in the world after water? For centuries, tea has played an important role in solving problems of mankind. Whether they are having problems in families, businesses, and even nations, the simple gesture of pouring a cup of tea is itself an opener. Tea is a universal beverage which is mostly used to welcome the guests. A cup of tea either generates either a quiet reflection in an individual or conversation between two people. Tea is a rich source of phytochemicals and polyphenols, type of antioxidants, which can boost the workout stamina.   

Having said enough about tea, how many of you have green tea instead of the milky one? I like the milky one too but the green tea helps me to remain charged for longer time. While checking out for a good brand to replenish my stock, a friend asked me to check out the offering from Tea Culture of the World. So I got the special Tea Culture Of The World Box with a mix of exhilarating flavours. So here is where the affair with flavours started. 

First of all, these teas came in a crafted box, neatly sorted out and the bright colors tempted me to keep the covers for myself. Well we had a bad case of cold at home with kids falling sick and then us, so we didn't get these beauties out until wify decided to try one out and it was a saga after that. 

Unlike most other companies with limited marketable product offering of tea, Tea Culture of the world, comes with a whole plethora of variants (close to 80) and you can keep tasting each one of them and fall in love. For us though we liked all of them, some strong, some soft, some soothing, the winner was Darjeeling.

People of different countries drink tea in different styles but, basically, it is prepared by pouring hot water over the lid, and when the water becomes brown, the tea is ready to drink. People from India like to take their tea with milk and sugar, and they also add crushed ginger and cardamom for extra flavor. I personally like to have it with some snacks and sip away my weariness in the evening. 

Here is Darjeeling, packed in a jesty colored dress, it evolves out fresh. The first aroma of the leaves, when in contact with piping hot water takes you to a world of an exceptional Indian tea estate. The fine muscatel character in the tea gets on to your tongue and leaves a strong and lasting taste. What makes the offering special from Tea Culture Of The World is the wide varied exploration of your taste buds with their ensemble and it is only right to delve in. So here we go.  

Meet Earl Grey whose infusion of gently crushed leaves wake up from their slumber at the sight of brewing water letting out fresh & steamy aroma with a smooth texture that is left behind with every sip. As it's origin cites, it is a classic and clean tea to start your perfect day.

You need to go and get yourself these nice characters dressed as teas and get to know them and learn their world influence you. After all, tea is the balm for the soul. Go get yourself some nice balm for that soul of yours from Tea Culture of the world. Check out their snacks too.

Amazon Prints is REALLY worth the try!’ $1000 of Amazon Gift Cards to be Won!

I really miss my college days when we used to have the photo reels and manual cameras. I was usually armed with a Yashika camera with limited capacity to hold about 32 pictures with no preview and we chose moments to shoot. That camera hanging around my neck was super cool and drew a lot of attention. 

Printing pictures was a task in itself. We had to go to the photo studio for photo printing and give the roll for developing photo books, large prints. Once the printed pictures arrived at the photo studio, we could see the quality and order large prints of selected photos, try our hand a photo calendar creation, and what not. I particularly remember my parents get some of my large prints framed and used as wall decor. Some of them still adorn our walls as decor. The biggest disadvantage was the cost was too high for all this engagement. Technology changed a lot in the last couple of decades. 

With too many options to click and having the phone on you all the time, we end up clicking a lot of pictures on a regular day. I usually spend the time to delete the things I  don't want on my phone or send things off to people involved and try to free up memory on my phone. The other evolution is that I have learned not to click too many photos but try and capture the moments we will remember. 

The most beautiful moments are the ones where we create memories and these are to be shared. But where do we have time to sort images out, edit, create albums, send to a printer and expect good prints. Hardly ever! So here comes Amazon Prints service, a complete photo printing solution to adorn your wall decor or create cards or photo canvases. I am a tad bit picky when it comes to quality and won't want to leave anything to chance and mood of the guy behind the counter of the printing place. And like I said, it is a hassle to print and go back to pick up. 

Well, not anymore. Amazon has launched a photo printing service that allows all customers to print their memories.  Prime members can upload images to their Prime Photos account, print the product of their choice, and receive free delivery. If you’re not a Prime member, you’ll receive 5 GB of storage free on Prime Photos and be able to print your favorite photos. Prints start as low as $0.09. That is a great news!

The Amazon Prime Photos benefit is that you get free unlimited photo storage with Prime Photos. If you’re not a Prime customer, you can still get 5 GB of free storage. That takes away your worry about finding a storage space for all your photos you have just clicked and guess what, they are available whenever you want handy. With extremely low pricing where your prints starting at $0.09, you are no longer worried about the number of prints you are ordering. The specific features of editing, adding filters and photo calendar creation, large prints is made easy as the quality is just amazing. 

Just to make it more interesting, Amazon is sponsoring this blog post/providing the gift card prizes. Try the Amazon Prints service today and trust me, you might get hooked!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks to Amazon for sponsoring this post and providing prizes for the giveaway!
Amazon, Fire and the Amazon Fire TV logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates.
#AmazonPrints

Storytelling with the Little Tigress

I don't want to brush. No. No. No no no no no. Now, what do I do? 

Dad was opening Colgate bag he got from Blogadda as a part of the special "Magical Space Adventure" series from Colgate. But unlike every time, he didn't discard the box and helped me cut the shapes and cartoons in it! Yes, the box contains several characters, places, stands to set up the drama and children can play with them. You might need help from elders like I needed to as I am very small. Let me explain the story we made up from the characters.

While we quickly discarded the toothpaste (I ensure it is away!) and focused on cutting along the dotted lines and placed all the planets on the board, we found that they couldn't move as fast in the solar system. We got into the spaceship and started our journey towards Saturn. Here is what happened!

Me: "Dad why aren't the planets moving?" 

Dad: "Looks like there is some problem. The planets are all sleepy and slow."

Me: "Why dad?"

Dad: "Let us go closer and check out."

We slowly zipped to Mars. But could see some white, ash gray material all around us and Mars didn't even smile. 

Me: "Hello Mars! I am from planet Earth. Why are you not smiling and why are you still sleepy?"

Mars was pleasantly surprised to see me in my small Colgate spaceship.
Mars: "I don't know. I am just still sleepy and have slight tooth pain. These plaque monsters are not letting me eat anything."

Me: "I am scared. What are plaque monsters?"

Mars: "You see all these white creamy things on my teeth and in my mouth? Those are plaque monsters and I cannot bear the pain!"

Me: "There are so many around! What will you do? Are you in pain?"

Mars: "Yes. Can you help?"

Me: "Yes I can. Tell me what can I do?"

Mars: "I have to brush quickly to keep these plaque monsters away and heal my teeth. Do you have some paste and brush?"

Me: "Oh! No. I don't like brushing and so we left it at home on Earth."

Mars: "What do we do now? I need to brush or else my friends, Jupiter and I cannot move as there are too many plaque monsters in the way. Help me. I am your friend."

I looked at our special Colgate spacecraft and the plaque monsters were slowly crawling towards us. Dad had slept off so I had to wake him up! 

Me: "Dad! Dad dad dad dad dad... help!!!!! I need my paste and brush to help Mars and shoo away all these plaque monsters"

Dad: "But you hate brushing!"

Me: "Dad, I hate brushing but we have to help my friend Mars!"

Dad: "I have a small toothbrush in this spacecraft and super powerful Colgate paste we got today here with me. Let us help Mars!" 

Dad pulled the special Colgate paste out and spread it on the brush and we had to do so many runs around Mars to help him brush and with clean teeth and gums, my friend Mars could move again! All the plaque monsters saw the paste and brush and ran away! Haha! We could win over the battle.

Now my friend Mars said, he will help brush his friends and took the paste and brush from us.

Mars: "Thank you so much, little friend. You saved the day! I could not have survived the plaque attack if not for you. Thank you for helping me brush."

Me: "I hate brushing but good that dad carried the paste ad brush with us."

Mars: "Let me check your teeth." He looked into my mouth and saw some plaque!

"Little friend," Mars said, "you have some plaque monsters in your mouth too. You should brush every morning and evening to kill them and defend yourself. Or else you will be stuck like me."

Me: " OMG! I will brush right away." Mars gave me a special space brush that flies in the space and dad helped me brush with it!

Finally, we took a selfie with my friend Mars and came back home. I brush every day now and so does Mars. Next adventure is scheduled to Saturn. I need to tell her to clean her rings! Too much plaque you see. 

“I’m blogging my #ColgateMagicalstories at BlogAdda in association with Colgate.

Be remembered for Good

I came upon this wonderful video by Avijit Dutt from the Good Crusaders series and what a joy we can feel watching him narrate stories of how he helped create the child abuse helpline. If you are determined and be consistent and you will find a solution for the problem you are worried about. Avijit Dutt recalls how he was shooting a film on child abuse and his coincidental meeting with MTNL helped form 1098 which is available across the world now and helps save several children from the clutches of child abuse, provides counseling among other things. 

In another experience, he mentions about how generalization and extrapolation of urban data is used to bring out statistics to take decisions on health care policies. Avijit Dutt and his team worked on a health care camp to do tests generate reports and use the data (big data) to help find patterns of non-communicable diseases and thereby prevent them from happening. Also, he explains how the use of these tests, when made available to the patient, can help save a lot of money and also stop doctors and pathologists from cheating people and getting unnecessary tests from being made. This study of this vast data can help in making informed valued strategic decisions that will, in turn, help the people. This knowledge also equips the villagers and beneficiaries to be knowledgeable and stop diseases.

In another interesting episode, he explains how an idle mind can be a devil's workshop or sugar factory. The cause was 'worry'! Can you just imagine that? Worry. People had everything from money enough to last a couple of decades and this money was from land deals they sold out to the urbanization. When they were in the farms sweating day in and day out, they were happy and healthy. But once the money came in and they had no work to do, they started worrying about today, tomorrow and which helped grow weak to health problems like diabetes. Simple understanding situations like these are used to create awareness and use the CSR funds of companies and use them to create sustainable happiness and bring about change in the world around us. 

Another beautiful story is by Rashmi Tiwari who explains how her horizons expanded when she visited a village which was in absolute poverty and these poor people had too little to live and were ready to sell out their own children. Such economic deprivation pushed them to take extreme measures and how hunger can drive you to any end. How Rashmi Tiwari helped the tribal girls to get educated, motivated, knowledgeable and help reduce the human trafficking through Ahan foundation! The videos in this series would open your mind to endless possibilities in helping others in the society. The Good Crusaders is a platform created by 100 Pipers to help bring positive stories that would warm your heart and show how simple it is to make a change one life at a time. Compassion breeds happiness manifold and we need as much as we can!

#TheGoodCrusaders #100Pipers #BeRememberedForGood

Monday Blues: Let us protest

One of the disadvantages of growing up is that one needs to be sane and think like a grown up! Comes with the package, this responsibility I mean. No. The ability to do the needful doesn't get upgraded on its own. We need to grow this ourselves, unlike the hair, nails, tummy... you get the drift. Unfortunate to see how some of us can stay there as mental, psychological toddlers while we don bigger roles, move on from one job to another, demand higher salaries, better positions, respect, and claim to fame while our opinions are still the same as in the kindergarten.

Let me explain. Did you ever get up one day and think, "What value add am I doing to my company, my job, my clients, my family, my life?" Do you even care to know or do you even know! If you think I am trying to make you feel bad about yourself, then you are damn right I am. What is the point of the boring job you are doing or same thing you do repetitively every day without questioning the heck out of it when zombies of humanoids can do a better job than you and maybe they can be trained to smile while doing it? Have you heard the story of a guy who worked in a factory all his life doing what he thought was his job. He was punctual, readily available to volunteer, witty and smart in his dictionary! Well, that's the story he was all that in HIS dictionary. No one cares about him. Or will care about you when you end up like him. Time to wake up out of the perfect bubble you have designed for yourself. There is nothing called holding up, staying afloat, being flexible, surviving. Either you are surviving or dying. Nothing in between. 

Why do we protest or support certain things? Why do we beat up people when we see an accident? Why don't we rise up in protest when there is a rape incident or molestation like Nirbhaya? Why do we think voting is not important? Why do we think politicians beating up each other, drinking, throwing mikes, tearing off shirts is politics? We voted for these unruly rowdies? Do we know why we are doing what we are doing? Great revolutions were born out of passion and had a purpose. When you say you want to be in a world that appreciates what you are doing, better start contributing positively to what you are passionate about. I can be really passionate about Swachch Bharat (Clean India) movement on social media but be as dirty as I can when I am alone. I can be the flag-bearer of anti-corruption drives while ranting on social media but do things my way when I need. I can protest against MNCs trying to change our culture but live off a dozen of them every day. There is nothing more hypocritical than that. While screaming swadeshi, we choose to depend on thousand things that we have grown accustomed to even if they are made by MNCs. We chose to dump our parents in old age homes while giving lectures about how parents are a gift of God. Mob mentality shows how week our society is when it comes to taking decisions. Are we growing humans or zombies? 

Next time you are faced with a cause you feel like supporting or resisting, think like a grown up and decide. You might want to learn more about the cause, check facts, before actually protesting. If it is genuine, give your everything. If it is not, stay home. The maturity of a generation is measured on its ability to accept, adopt, challenge, grow and improve. The maturity of a wo/man is judged on his/her ability to take sane decisions, change, question, evolve and be compassionate. You got to be truthful at least to yourself. And if you are not adding value to your job, get a new one. If you are not adding value to a relationship, better start to contribute positively as you might not be very useful if you don't. If you have nothing positive to say or help grow, shut up! Don't be the noise, be the informed, concerned, rational voice. Have a great Monday.

#Jallikattu #Demockrazy #Rantpost #Hypocrisy #ProtestingCulture

Monday Blues: Be eternally optimistic

Did you know the story of the sage and the scorpion? Here it is. Just a two-minute read. May it inspire to do your best and relish those moments when life didn't have a chance to win over you. Let the goodness in you take over the bad things in your life and may you see the prosperity in life that you deserve - wealth, health, family, and happiness. Be optimistic eternally. Just like the sage. Do good anyway. Not just today but every day this year. Let optimism ooze out of you like a river and flow to conquer all the unwanted negativeness around you. Beat the Monday Blues out of every day in your life. Have a fantastic year.

One morning, after he had finished his meditation, the old man opened his eyes and saw a scorpion floating helplessly in the water.

As the scorpion was washed closer to the tree, the old man quickly stretched himself out on one of the long roots that branched out into the river and reached out to rescue the drowning creature.

As soon as he touched it, the scorpion stung him. Instinctively the man withdrew his hand. A minute later, after he had regained his balance, he stretched himself out again on the roots to save the scorpion.

This time the scorpion stung him so badly with its poisonous tail that his hand became swollen and bloody and his face contorted with pain.

At that moment, a passerby saw the old man stretched out on the roots struggling with the scorpion and shouted: "Hey, stupid old man, what's wrong with you? Only a fool would risk his life for the sake of an ugly, evil creature. Don't you know you could kill yourself trying to save that ungrateful scorpion?"

The old man turned his head. Looking into the stranger's eyes he said calmly, "My friend, just because it is the scorpion's nature to sting, that does not change my nature to save."