The winds were blowing west and shrill
with trees humming a calm beat
The trail went winding all the way
and a cool blue reservoir made my day!
Just walking down the Crystal Springs/Skyline trail last night was an amazing experience; the climate was simply put outrageous - high speed winds, serene noises all thanks to the waves and trees and a relatively small army of hikers on the trail. Although, I had company it was easy to find time to enjoy nature at its natural self all pristine and calm in my mind! When I reflect on such trips, I often question why people go to religious places to seek peace. Its truly the lovely woods that offer us the best refuge to attain peace of mind and body! I can't think of any church, mosque, temple or monastery that I have visited that have offered anything like it. John Muir was right when he said - "In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks".
From a relaxing Sunday evening to an action packed Monday - the day zoomed by without so much as a pause. The climax of the day was actually getting all the things done on time albeit I was literally running and panting from 1 meeting to another task! Came home in time to log my 45 minutes of peaceful run time followed by eating, relaxing and loads of laughing.
The sudden deja vu realization of the week for me is that Silicon Valley disgusts me in some ways. How? Why?
I am always complaining to myself that I don't spend enough time reading the news. Of course I hate reading the NY Times or WSJ, they are way too uptight for my taste and any of the op-ed columns worth reading in them anyway get republished. Skimming through a 1 day old SJ Mercury newspaper at home is an almost daily activity unless today is the D-day when I shall spend 2 hours to read the whole thing cover to cover, word to word and all of a sudden I shall be a news enlightened person. But then reading a newspaper doesnt suffice. You gotta keep up with the business world, startup world, stock world, war world, Indian world, etc. Blog world news is a no-brainer; I must confess I have feeds from at least 100 sites/blogs that feed in to my google page that I see N- times everyday but how many links do I click and then how many do I read - well thats more like tracking google adwords click-thru ratio and conversion ratio - very very low! So what does news have to do with my disgust????
One of the popular feeds today brought me to this site: valleywag. While Peter Thiel is a person I would like to read about, the content and presentation of the first few postings on this blog filled me up to the mouth with disgust!!!!! Does Silicon Valley now work like Hollywood? Is trash talk and gossip now news in the valley? We might as well start talking about Paris Hilton's jail ride/upcoming movie-saga/her dog/her purse and all such nonsensical matters in the same line as Peter Thiel's political affliation/property/drinking habits etc.???!!! Who is reading this junk? I was shocked to see some 600 views on the latest post :(
Makes me feel like shunning the business world and Silicon Valley and most definitely the habit of clicking on feeds from tech news blogs!! What would the world be if its habitants would not pursue their need to impress others or to be cool/hip/rich/popular/successful all at the same time? Perhaps, we could then live as naturally as the cool blue water, be ourselves and relish every moment of doing something we really wanted to do...
I believe I can fly and I will fly! Sshh let no one hear that :)
productivity and 4Ps spoof
http://www.productivity501.com/interview-best-post/263/
found this amazing link somehow, somwhere on the web....checked out 3 to 4 links and they were all so useful...
note to self: be more productive, patient, proactive and passionate! these r my 4 Ps :)
the spoof 4 Ps are so much more coooler than the consulting/marketing 4 Ps: product, price, place and promotion
found this amazing link somehow, somwhere on the web....checked out 3 to 4 links and they were all so useful...
note to self: be more productive, patient, proactive and passionate! these r my 4 Ps :)
the spoof 4 Ps are so much more coooler than the consulting/marketing 4 Ps: product, price, place and promotion
Manic energy, sleepless nights and more..
Yesterday was a very strange day...In one single albeit elongated day, I was able to:
- priortize projects at work so I knew what to focus on when this week
- put my foot completely down and make a case for why I thought we shouldnt do project X
- bid on eBay for the object of my affection Kawasaki Ninja 250 cc motorcycle
- spend 3 freaking hours at the hospital getting some basic tests done (what is even the point of an appointment! American healthcare had put on its worst show...ahem sarcasm intended)
- attend a talk on Kiva.org
- do some work while struggling with a headache all thanks to the California heat and 1 beer at a going away party for a colleague....For someone who has never been drunk, such a reaction from my body leaves me shocked...
- do 2 hours of research on micro-finance in Eritrea
- rescue a friend with a flat tire late in the night
- come back and attend while meaningfully contributing (*rare*) to a late night conference call with our India team
- eat cereal for dinner at midnight
After all this, I expected to fall asleep and enjoy the pleasure of deep slumber as soon as my body hit the bed at 3 am. Instead, my brain experienced an occurence - one of those manic/frenzied/unexpected surge of energy moments. All of a sudden the atoms started colliding if you will and despite all attempts I kept thinking of new ideas for Janar on building Magis and site improvement ideas for Kiva.
Of course I had provided enough context to my mind during the day for these discussions to arise. I had a nice long conversation with Janar while waiting for my appointment at the hospital. Despite cash flow problems, Janar is very upbeat these days, has new plans, is back to his daily marathon workouts and an ever-increasing opportunity log. I think our new plan to tag team and make presentations at popular CA Jesuit high schools on all kinds of green and do-good topics is a step in the right direction. While selflessly talking about other non-profit ideas we can use the networking opportunities to increase assets under managemet with Magis. I am hoping that by the end of this year Magis will be close to if not net-positive!
Coming back to mania/fever: I had hibernated the laptop and was all tucked in when these ideas started popping in my brain - suggestions for Kiva. Of course laziness/procrastination won plus I didn't really want the guys at Kiva to think I was some crazy person trying to overwhelm them with 10 emails in one day. So I did the bad thing - after tossing and turning while drumming up things for 1.5 hours I finally dozed off. The first chance I got this morning at work I sat down to write all the things I had thought of. Lo and behold I had forgotten half of the ideas. This is bad, v. bad and its not the first time - since I like to write I have been in such situations before in the car, shower, meeting, lunch and even lounging on the couch at home; when random but cool ideas have struck me but just out of laziness I havent noted them down which means all those thoughts somehow evaporate and are gone forever. Never penned or typed down they are lost in some hidden cavities in my brain.
With continued nights of low sleep intake, I am hoping the brain tsunami will stike me more often AND this time I will be all gungho post-it note and pen all handy to write these babies down as soon as they occur to me!
Read these words on kivachronicles which struck a chord in me!
"If you're an entrepreneur, you should sound more confident than you are. If you're a social entrepreneur, you should be more inspirational than you feel. If you are an introverted social entrepreneur, you will face even more problems.
I struggled with depression for much of my young adult life. Sitting close behind a great optimism for other people lied a cloud of pessimism directed inward. In my short career in the corporate world, this pessimism would hang over me for weeks at a time. I would come home from work just wondering how I was going to escape the meaningless cycle I seemed to have fallen into. "
Further down on the same page one of the commenters Kevin Jones said...
- priortize projects at work so I knew what to focus on when this week
- put my foot completely down and make a case for why I thought we shouldnt do project X
- bid on eBay for the object of my affection Kawasaki Ninja 250 cc motorcycle
- spend 3 freaking hours at the hospital getting some basic tests done (what is even the point of an appointment! American healthcare had put on its worst show...ahem sarcasm intended)
- attend a talk on Kiva.org
- do some work while struggling with a headache all thanks to the California heat and 1 beer at a going away party for a colleague....For someone who has never been drunk, such a reaction from my body leaves me shocked...
- do 2 hours of research on micro-finance in Eritrea
- rescue a friend with a flat tire late in the night
- come back and attend while meaningfully contributing (*rare*) to a late night conference call with our India team
- eat cereal for dinner at midnight
After all this, I expected to fall asleep and enjoy the pleasure of deep slumber as soon as my body hit the bed at 3 am. Instead, my brain experienced an occurence - one of those manic/frenzied/unexpected surge of energy moments. All of a sudden the atoms started colliding if you will and despite all attempts I kept thinking of new ideas for Janar on building Magis and site improvement ideas for Kiva.
Of course I had provided enough context to my mind during the day for these discussions to arise. I had a nice long conversation with Janar while waiting for my appointment at the hospital. Despite cash flow problems, Janar is very upbeat these days, has new plans, is back to his daily marathon workouts and an ever-increasing opportunity log. I think our new plan to tag team and make presentations at popular CA Jesuit high schools on all kinds of green and do-good topics is a step in the right direction. While selflessly talking about other non-profit ideas we can use the networking opportunities to increase assets under managemet with Magis. I am hoping that by the end of this year Magis will be close to if not net-positive!
Coming back to mania/fever: I had hibernated the laptop and was all tucked in when these ideas started popping in my brain - suggestions for Kiva. Of course laziness/procrastination won plus I didn't really want the guys at Kiva to think I was some crazy person trying to overwhelm them with 10 emails in one day. So I did the bad thing - after tossing and turning while drumming up things for 1.5 hours I finally dozed off. The first chance I got this morning at work I sat down to write all the things I had thought of. Lo and behold I had forgotten half of the ideas. This is bad, v. bad and its not the first time - since I like to write I have been in such situations before in the car, shower, meeting, lunch and even lounging on the couch at home; when random but cool ideas have struck me but just out of laziness I havent noted them down which means all those thoughts somehow evaporate and are gone forever. Never penned or typed down they are lost in some hidden cavities in my brain.
With continued nights of low sleep intake, I am hoping the brain tsunami will stike me more often AND this time I will be all gungho post-it note and pen all handy to write these babies down as soon as they occur to me!
Read these words on kivachronicles which struck a chord in me!
"If you're an entrepreneur, you should sound more confident than you are. If you're a social entrepreneur, you should be more inspirational than you feel. If you are an introverted social entrepreneur, you will face even more problems.
I struggled with depression for much of my young adult life. Sitting close behind a great optimism for other people lied a cloud of pessimism directed inward. In my short career in the corporate world, this pessimism would hang over me for weeks at a time. I would come home from work just wondering how I was going to escape the meaningless cycle I seemed to have fallen into. "
Further down on the same page one of the commenters Kevin Jones said...
When the going gets tough, the tough get going?
Character is something you build through-out life and strength is something you acquire from within while building character. This realization has become more and more relevant and obvious to me in the last few months. Its the tough decisions one needs to make in life that take a lot of personal strength and conviction. A situation would not be tough if it did not demand an extraordinary amount of thinking, decision making and then sticking with it against all odds and literally the whole world! But doing just that is what makes you a stronger person.
In professional settings this is almost a weekly scenario - something important comes up and viola most people start worrying. Perhaps, that haven't heard of:
Of course there is his/her strategic reasoning, ability to rationalize, personal vested interest and a whole lot of politics that comes in to the picture. But this is also where the hammer meets the hot iron if you will. You feel cornered to take the path of least resistance, or the past of highest long-term or short-term personal benefit forgetting all about the company's future! The mark of a true leader (at least one I would look up to) is who comes up with the answer to what is the right thing to do for my team and company not for me!!!
Directors and executives who come up with popular decisions or decisions that help build their empires/organizations are a dime a dozen, who cares about them! Yes they will make a lot of money but they will also loose friends, loyalists, respect and their own selves as they continue to grow in the very rampant corporate model.
A really passionate leader should be able to make tough decisions without screwing someone. The first time you make a decision that works for everyone but screws up one person in your team; you are doomed you are going down the wrong path and every decision after that you will find it easier to screw others in making the most for yourself.
So keep it human! Be rational, reasonable, sensitive and less selfish if not selfless! Be strong, do good and inspire 10 others to follow your way; make the corporate world a good place to work in :)
In professional settings this is almost a weekly scenario - something important comes up and viola most people start worrying. Perhaps, that haven't heard of:
Of course there is his/her strategic reasoning, ability to rationalize, personal vested interest and a whole lot of politics that comes in to the picture. But this is also where the hammer meets the hot iron if you will. You feel cornered to take the path of least resistance, or the past of highest long-term or short-term personal benefit forgetting all about the company's future! The mark of a true leader (at least one I would look up to) is who comes up with the answer to what is the right thing to do for my team and company not for me!!!
Directors and executives who come up with popular decisions or decisions that help build their empires/organizations are a dime a dozen, who cares about them! Yes they will make a lot of money but they will also loose friends, loyalists, respect and their own selves as they continue to grow in the very rampant corporate model.
A really passionate leader should be able to make tough decisions without screwing someone. The first time you make a decision that works for everyone but screws up one person in your team; you are doomed you are going down the wrong path and every decision after that you will find it easier to screw others in making the most for yourself.
So keep it human! Be rational, reasonable, sensitive and less selfish if not selfless! Be strong, do good and inspire 10 others to follow your way; make the corporate world a good place to work in :)
Marathon Musings
I spent first few weeks this year planning my marathon spree but the inaction since then has been killing me. The plan was to build stamina for a marthon and not throw it all away like 2006. For 2007, I had planned a 6 month series full of a 5k, 10k, half marathon and then marathon. Once I got to the full marathon, I would get to blow some steam and then start the same cycle again. In this way I hoped to achieve 3 cool things: maintain stamina, keep fit year round and see new places that I go to run at. This was a good plan, all it needed was execution.
I kickstarted the preparation on 9th March: 1 hour of pilates followed by 3 rounds of the park. 1.5 miles in 20-25 minutes was not good at all but it was day one, so anything goes! I followed it up with running 2-3 miles everyday. Gradually, I was up to 11 minute mile runs.
However, I missed on my 1st goal - the Napa Valley 5K! Like an amateur, I ran the evening before and pulled my left thigh muscles. I planned with hope the night before for everything and even got up at the ungodly hour of 4 am so I could drive to Napa and run but alas the pull was still there in the morning. So I made the executive decision of not going for the run! It totally killed my spirit. Sheer dissapointment, I had even postponed a vacation around the 5k date; all that for nothing.
But I took it in stride, continued running and successfully finished the 5K fun run at work in April. In fact, I improved my timing to 37 mins, which is 1 min better compared to the fun run in August 2006, I guess thats something positive to be proud of.
Since then I have had binges of Forrest Gump days when I ran like crazy till my lungs literally were out of air and exceptionally stellar regular running weeks. But due to evening classes, work and a hundred other excuses I have not been able to run for more than 2 weeks nonstop.
At this point I haven't built the stamina or kept fit - basically I am failing miserably at my plan. My root cause analysis pinpoints that determination is not the problem here, its discipline. I lack self-discipline. So I must find a coaching program that helps me train rigorously and regularly. Hopefully, I can still make up for lost time and meet my fitness goals before 2007 is up!
I kickstarted the preparation on 9th March: 1 hour of pilates followed by 3 rounds of the park. 1.5 miles in 20-25 minutes was not good at all but it was day one, so anything goes! I followed it up with running 2-3 miles everyday. Gradually, I was up to 11 minute mile runs.
However, I missed on my 1st goal - the Napa Valley 5K! Like an amateur, I ran the evening before and pulled my left thigh muscles. I planned with hope the night before for everything and even got up at the ungodly hour of 4 am so I could drive to Napa and run but alas the pull was still there in the morning. So I made the executive decision of not going for the run! It totally killed my spirit. Sheer dissapointment, I had even postponed a vacation around the 5k date; all that for nothing.
But I took it in stride, continued running and successfully finished the 5K fun run at work in April. In fact, I improved my timing to 37 mins, which is 1 min better compared to the fun run in August 2006, I guess thats something positive to be proud of.
Since then I have had binges of Forrest Gump days when I ran like crazy till my lungs literally were out of air and exceptionally stellar regular running weeks. But due to evening classes, work and a hundred other excuses I have not been able to run for more than 2 weeks nonstop.
At this point I haven't built the stamina or kept fit - basically I am failing miserably at my plan. My root cause analysis pinpoints that determination is not the problem here, its discipline. I lack self-discipline. So I must find a coaching program that helps me train rigorously and regularly. Hopefully, I can still make up for lost time and meet my fitness goals before 2007 is up!
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im convinced that normal people don't become successful entrepreneurs. only people who really really need to succeed to make a statement or learn something or transform something through the crucible of business. each of my businesses was a step along a journey to become who i needed to become. my pilgrimage has been through business.