Talent in happiness

Where does happiness come from?

An especially ragged morning... these days it doesnt take much to put me in a ragged mood. just a cup of tea spilling and i can switch to a tragedy queen internally and mourn long enough to even miss the best that life has to offer me that day.

Elizabeth Gilbert said you have to have a 'talent in happiness'. I wrote that down some time ago. I wanted to develop that talent, that was the mission of my life. until the tea spilled or something similar happens.

it wasnt just any tea mind you. it was taj mahal, and had the right balance of ginger and sugar. and i did not get a single drop of it. my flask fell to the ground from a good height, the whole of the tea blasted out on to the white floor. i just looked on helplessly and a little mesmerised.

When you are frustrated, watching things get smashed or destroyed is like chicken soup to the soul. i have experienced this once before, few years ago.

I was wearing a hideous bracelet. i had never really liked it, but it came as a set with a necklace i loved and it also matched a number of my clothes. so i wore it anyway. that day was a very difficult day, i going through something at work for many days and it had reached a peak and this day, had been heart breaking, at the same time i wanted to break some people's bones.

Come to think of it, i dont remember what it was that set me off. its always like this, isnt it - things that matter soo much, over which we get so flustered about, 3 years down the line, you cant hecking remember them!

So anyway, i stepped out of the office, i could not take it any longer. I was out near a small garden, walking furiosuly and something got stuck in my shoe. i ripped it out and threw it away.

in the force of what i was doing, my hideous bracelet slipped out of my wrist and hit a nearby rock with such violence that it broke. it didnt just break, it BROKE. it blasted. in 50 directions. i think it had as many as 25 beads. but it seemed to blast in 50 directions.

i just stood there, time went still. i felt like i saw it in slow motion. every single hideous bead flying helplessly away from the violence of what just happened to them. even the band that held them together, something elasticcy, broke into a few pieces. it was glorious.

about 3 or 30 minutes had passed. passers by stared curiously at me. I could have said 'f**k off' but i didnt. In such times of intense vulnerability, life has taught us to always care about what perfect strangers who matter nothing to us and will not even remember us the next moment thought of us. but in that moment, i could have told all of life's teachings to go fly a kite. but i didnt care enough to do even that.

what i just saw was therapeutic and those people had no idea. and i needed therapy. strangely, the frustration had vanished. in its space, there was... nothing.

so i took in a deep breath with my eyes closed and time slowed again. I wanted to fill this emptiness with something. something useful, something helpful. fast, i told my brain. My brain sprung into action, looking at its archives for memories. finding all sorts. it kept tossing out the angry ones, the sad ones, the bitter ones, until it got to the happy ones.

My son looking into my eyes,
my mother and i on a trip,

I am eating a steaming hot plate of perfect fried rice,
and my lungs had reached its full capacity, my breath was done, now it was time to exhale..

I slowly opened my eyes and let out a long, calming breath of air.
Talent in happiness, here i come.

and to all those people whose bones were spared, my hideous bracelet said 'you are welcome' from the 50 different places its pieces lay.

"At one point in life you either have the thing you want or the reasons why you dont"

T shirt quote in Chennai Times today :)

Perfection

SCENE 1

A client reviews a newly designed poster, made by the designer according to the client's instructions.

Client: Its not quite what it should be.. I feel.. no, I am almost sure there is something missing
Designer: I will try adding better pictures, ones with more colours
Client: Hmm
.
.
Client: Um hm, We are getting there, but not there yet. (After a long contemplating pause) Come on Reg, give me your all. We need the perfectly designed poster. Tell me, what are you going to do about this?
Designer: The tagline? I will work on that
Client: Yes, that too..but we need more. It needs to pack more punch. You know what I mean?
Designer: (nods)
.
.
Client: There is only one thing I can tell you Reg. Its not perfect yet. I need perfection. got that?
Designer: hm (uncertainly) which part of the poster you want changed?
Client: Am I to tell you that? Is that not your work? Give me the result, dont ask me for details. Why else am I paying you?
.
.
Client: This is your best? I cant believe this.. After four weeks of work, this is what I get??
No No! this cant go on.
----------------------- END OF SCENE 1 ----------------------
SCENE 2

He had been searching for a simple pair of jeans. You might think it is easy to get, but no, he just could not find the right one. He tried at all the major stores in the city. The one that came closest to his liking was a Levi's pair, but that still needed alterations which the store offered to do, but he refused. He just did not see any sense in paying Rs.3000 for a pair of jeans that needed alterations! An altered one is never the original one.

After months of searching, he chances upon one hanging in a dingy shop in spencers plaza. He tries it on, and in that instance, he knew, he just knew that it is perfect. He finds it hard to believe that he had to look for months, MONTHS, to find this!

He is furious! He demands an explanation! Why the hell doesnt the other stores just stock up the perfect jeans??

Why you ask? Well, let me explain. He knows, very well that it was THE perfect jeans. So, it should be available everywhere. He doesnt understand why these other stores keep all those other ill fitting jeans. Its quite simple, no rocket science. all they need to do is get rid of all the other stock and keep on the shelves only the prefect jeans! Now isnt that only logical?

------------- END OF SCENE 2. CURTAINS DOWN--------------

The most over rated entity in all walks of life and work. "Perfection"

My salute to all professionals whose work is based on other people's definition of perfection. Rarely will there be a perfect unison of the expected deliverable and the actual output.

Is it really necessary that I agree with you on the exact definition of perfection? You have your own definition, I respect that, but I have mine. and if that fits with yours perfectly, there is a good chance that you are looking back at me from a mirror.

Plastic new-sense

Just the other day, I had a heated argument with a fellow pal about a revolutionary product that has made our life incredibly easy at the same time is unbelievably evil..plastic. He was arguing for and i was arguing against.

My friend considers plastic to be the most important invention of all world history, only next to the invention of wheel. Understandably so, he is a product designer. If you are a designer, you will know what exactly i am talking about.
Just look around you and you will realise that plastics have become an integral part of your life. right from complicated machinery to the water bottles and pens that we use everyday, almost everything around is made with plastic. This is a wonderful chemical component that has made life so easy.

Agreed! also to be considered is another factor of concern- the waste that is generated beacause of plastic use (read misuse). We do not have an amazing plastics waste management system as yet. That means they are just dumped in the soil.
Plastics are notoriously synonymous to the term 'non-biodegradable'. Anything that is non biodegradable chokes the earth, takes away the fertility of the soil and pollutes the ground water.

I am not forming a league to ban all plastics on the planet, I am addressing only a small (but considerable if long term) portion of the pie - something that i practise and is immensely satisfied with. Minimal use of plastic bags.

Multi-coloured plastic bags are almost omnipresent. All stores- big and small, market places and commodity shops use them because they are very cheap. And we the consumers accept them because they are very convenient. Observing at one of the stores, I saw people asking for/accepting plastic bags even for carrying single,tiny pack of snacks

Next time you buy something, think if you really need that plastic bag. Cant you just carry it in your handbag/pocket? Cant you just throw it in the back of the car/the pouch of the bike? or even better, if you have a shoppers bag lying there in your vehicle, use that when you shop for veggies or other commodities. Now, thats not too much to ask for, is it?

How to become a successful entrepreneur

Here is an article that I stumbled upon few days ago..
Disclaimer: This article was not written by me. Writer: unknown. Source: I dont remember!

Cheers!

How to become a successful entrepreneur


Anyone who is employed has dwelled over this at some point or the other, some far more than others. That's the kind of allure 'being your own boss' holds for most people.

The sense of achievement in owning a set-up, and being chiefly responsible for it's future is the kind of kick one can never derive from a job. But, greater returns always involve greater risks. One needs to plan and execute with a high degree of detail to counter the many challenges a business throws at the entrepreneur.

Keep a lookout for these pointers if you finally get down to executing your dream of self-employment:
Being fed up with your current job isn't a good enough reason to start-up. It is more than a full time responsibility. Work does not end with office hours, and chances are that initially you will see more hardships than success. It takes intense commitment to stick it out through these tough times, especially when you know that your past job pegged you at a certain market value, which you are not matching with this new business.

More importantly, a half-baked decision to start a business not only leave you with little chance of doing well, it also jeopardises your options of getting back to as good a job as the one you left.

Understanding the nature of a business
The first step is to understand that businesses don't start with a great idea, or a breakthrough innovation, every business starts with the customer. If you are looking to get into a business as an inventor, try finding a client who'll pay you to develop something they need. Most of these clients will let you keep the rights over the invention, so that you can sell it to other clients later.
Entrepreneurship = 60 hours of work
This might be easier than it seems, and in business, success has got to do more with creating such opportunities and making the most of them.

Check for these skills:
Engineering -- the skill to invent and develop new products (or services)
Manufacturing -- the skill to deliver products, consistently and reliably, with quality, service, and price
Selling -- the skill to sell the products
Business -- the act of making a profit by doing the first three

While starting a business, the skills you will surely need are engineering and selling.
The longevity and profitability of the business are usually determined by the manufacturing and business skills. The level of competency you choose for the business decide how refined these individual skills need to get.

In case you choose the competition space as a local market or a niche industry, then the focus goes up drastically on one skill, while going down to a basic hygiene on the rest.

Breaking the 'notion' barrierAll your education and work-experience must have given you a perspective on how businesses work. These experiences, and the notions that they bring along with it have their own limitations. They don't quite give you the complete picture.
Also, most of this 'experience and knowledge' constitutes the answers to yesterday's problems. It might not necessarily apply to what goes on today. And there is an even stronger possibility of this know-how getting obscure in the future.

Finding the fundingIn the ideal case scenario, find someone who will be willing to pay you for what you are currently doing. This is a critical stage for most businesses. Do not let go until you are convinced that you have exhausted all opportunities.

Got what it takes to be an entrepreneur?
The next best option is to find someone who has a similar business need. Then go about designing a solution for him. Try brainstorming further to keep customisation to a minimum so that the solution can be taken to other potential clients with minimum modification.

The benefit of having partnersThere is only that much one person can do.
Like most businesses have separate business units or heads such as manufacturing, marketing etc., the skills needed to run most businesses too are quite varied.
What are the odds that you will be adept at the technical, marketing, selling, business and political aspects of the business? Besides, having partners makes sense on many other levels. Firstly, as the number or people owning the business goes up, the risk and intensity of a loss goes down. You can stay on in the market for longer in case of a lean period.
Also, since the business heads will most likely be split among the partners, one can focus on a couple of areas while doing complete justice to them and focusing on nothing else. This makes the entire business a lot more competent.

Don't quit your day job, just yet
You don't need to take the big jump straight away. Building a business takes a lot of time and groundwork. Spending up to an hour a day after work is a feasible option initially. It also helps you get a feel of what a business must be like.
Moreover, getting in a pay cheque every month is always the smarter option, especially when you might not have a steady income for some time to come. A few things you can do alongside work might be:
Examine the feasibility of the business model
Buy market research target market
Understand the selling patterns of related products
Get options on funding
Develop a marketing plan for various budget constraints
Talk to other entrepreneurs and get some tips off them
Try getting inputs from a venture incubation centre
Get a transition plan ready
Consider the worst-case scenario, and work on a feasible exit clause even for that. Chart out the future, the incoming revenue streams, how long do you plan to be in the business, exit options etc. Also, have a financial cushion in the form of some investments that you leave untouched while at the business.

Starting a business? Say goodbye to your ego
Try roping in venture capitalists at the earliest stage in the business to enable you to work under lesser financial pressure.
Tomorrow is just a second away from today
There is only that much preparation that one can put in. Stop finding excuses to delay getting into the business. You cannot learn swimming from a textbook. Take the plunge. Learn what works for YOU and what doesn't. There is no right or prescribed way to run a business. In fact, there are as many ways as there are people running successful businesses.
Also, this is as good a time as any to be an entrepreneur. The economy is growing; the government is supporting new ventures through various measures in the recent budget. And most importantly, the number of avenues for growth and the kind of opportunities available are unparalleled today.
So go on, what's stopping you from being your own boss?