I’m no longer Ordinary

Having been reading my favorite author Robin Sharma’s blogs (The author of excellent books entitled ‘The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari’, ‘Who Will Cry When You Die’, ‘Greatness Guide’ etc.,) through my subscriptions on his website and a few them are marked with ‘To Blog’ label in my Gmail inbox. This one was also more or less happened to fall in the same category, but there was a special request from the beloved Robin Sharma which explicitly requests the readers to share and spread this message across people.

I am obeying sincerely with no second thoughts.

Here you go.

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I started off the first chapter of “The Greatness Guide” with “I’m No Guru”. Nearly every leadership presentation begins with me sharing my VHB (Very Humble Beginnings) and the fact that I am right out of the audience. In nearly every one of the thousands of media interviews I’ve done, I fight for the fact that I’m just an ordinary guy. Why do I do this? Because I never want you to think that I’m somehow different from you. I never want you to think that the practices I live by and encourage you to embrace so you get to your best in terms of leadership and success and personal development are not possible for you to do because I’m somehow cut from a different cloth. But today I make the change. I have to admit it. I’m special.

Now before your eyes glaze over and you begin to question why you read my blog each day, kindly stay with me. I’m trying to make a point here. And it’s a big one.

I am special. And here’s the beautiful thing: SO ARE YOU. Saying that I’m ordinary is to deny the gifts that have been given to me. And you classifying yourself as ordinary is to make the very same mistake. Let’s choose not to do it anymore, ok?

No one walking the planet today is ordinary. Yes, too many have forgotten that they have remarkable gifts living within them and extraordinary potential to craft strikingly great lives and the power to be the change that they most wish they could see in the world (to paraphrase The Mahatma). Yes, too many people have resigned themselves to mediocrity and coasting through their days because they actually have been seduced into believing the liars in their minds that are nothing more than the voices of their fear (aka doubt). Yes, too many people actually believe in the false reality that The Great Ones (in business, arts, sciences, society) are different (and smarter/faster/stronger/luckier…include your own Excuse of Choice here). But none of that’s Truth. Is it? (And Leadership is a Hunt for The Truth).

The glaring truth of the matter is so staggeringly clear to anyone who wants to open their eyes (and heart) wide enough to see it: you, me, the grocery clerk at your local grocery story, the cabbie in Colombia, the poet in Pukhet, the banker in Buenos Aires, the nurse in Nepal, the teenager in Texas, the farmer in Fredericton… Every single one of us who inhabits the planet this very moment is special. We have great gifts that long to be sculpted into our own unique form of genius. We have authentic power that aches to be awakened and then used for a worthwhile purpose. We have potential that – if realized – could profoundly elevate organizations and communities and nations…and so The World. There’s not a single person alive today that doesn’t have the potential to positively influence a cast of thousands if they get out of their own way (by breaking through their doubts, fears and excuses) and act as the person that they truly are. Please think about that idea. No extra people on this planet. We all have Calls on Our Lives.

So no, I’m not ordinary (and I will no longer disrespect myself by saying that; the words we use have staggering power to create our reality). And the thing that makes me just as happy. Neither are you. Remember that.

P.S. Please share this blog with all those you know who will benefit by it. It’s a pretty powerful idea I think – that none of us is ordinary. And an idea that has the potential to help someone see themself -and their ability to make a difference in a whole new way. I fiercely want to get this message out to as many people in as many countries as possible over the next 12 hours. Please help me to do so. Let’s work together here.

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It does make sense. Right? In a way we are all *special* to save the purpose of our existence in the earth . Let’s be more special hereafter and do many special things to the people around.

Be Special.
Feel Special.
Do Special..

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Friends and Acquaintances

Friends and Acquaintances

There is a difference between being an acquaintance and being a friend. An acquaintance is someone whose name you know, who you see every now and then, who you probably have something in common with and who you feel comfortable around.

It’s a person that you can invite to your home and share things with. But they are people who you don’t share your life with, whose actions sometimes you don’t understand because you don’t know enough about them.

On the other hand, a friend is someone you love. Not that you are ‘in love’ with them, but you care about them and you think about them when they are not there. The people you are reminded of when you see something they might like, and you know this because you know them so well. They are the people whose pictures you have and whose faces are in your mind and heart regardless.

Friends are the people you feel safe around because you know they care about you. They call just to see how you are doing, because a friend doesn’t need an excuse. They tell you the truth, the first time, and you do the same. You know that if you have a problem, they are there to listen. Friends are the people who won’t laugh at you or hurt you, and if they do hurt you they try hard to make it up to you. They are the people you love, regardless of whether you realize it.

Friends are the people you cried with when you got rejected from something you really wanted in life and during the last song at a farewell or funeral. They are the people that when you hug them, you don’t think about how long to hug and who’s going to be the first one to let go. Maybe they are the people that hold the rings at your wedding, or maybe they are the people who give you away at your wedding, or maybe they are the people you marry. Maybe they are the people who cry at your wedding because they are happy or because they are proud.

They are the people who stop you from making mistakes and help you when you do. They are the people whose hand you can hold, or you can hug or give them a kiss and not have it be awkward because they understand the things you do and they love you for them. They stick with you and stand by you. They watch you live and you watch them live and you learn from them.

Your life is not the same without them.

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Courtesy: Thanks to my friend Viji Rajesh for sharing this through an email and I just could not stop myself from sharing the same here!

I believe you agree with me not just in the way you enjoyed reading through and also you find out how many friends Vs acquaintances you have got! Aint I?

are family values the scapegoat of love?

What do you think you can lose for the ‘love’? I would not say ’sacrifice’ since i feel it has some implied meaning for a dedicated but noble cause.  Beforehand i insinuate that i am not against ‘love’.

The main reason for blogging this is the hot news about tollywood megastar chiranjeevi’s younger daugher’s elope with his love and they got married in Delhi 2 days back. People who were not aware of this incident or would like to read about this, here you go..

you can read the article here in IBNLive wherein she said that she was under housearrest.

you can have a look at here for the exclusive interview she had given to the press.

 I know every individual has their own views and arugments towards this love. But to what extent? I remember the same incident happened with Rajinikanth’s daugher Aishwarya with the actor Dhanush and by then it was like a cataylst for the magazines, newspapers, weeklies asking, “Will Rajini sustain his  image by accepting his daugher’s love?”. Whatever happened, atlast they have succeeded. May be chiru’s daughter also might have done the same. But why couldn’t she just prolong the same struggle?

Ideally and generally, no parents are against their children. If at all they seem to be like so, its all because of the same old  ’society’ and ‘family values’ and on top of which the incidents they have  been experiencing. What insipires the children to simply forget everything in a moment and just run away? If at all the education had been supporting indirectly by any chance, right from your very basic identity till the happen-to-get-blamed-education, you needed your parents for the same.  Had you ever eloped in your childhood for your preferences being declined by your parents? Irrespective of your maturity level by then, you were not bold enough to take such a decision right. Why they alone should suffer, sacrifice for their children? Its after all the same body everyone is given, filled with blood, veins, feelings.. No one is an exception. 

You could not even have a moment to just think of the entire journey your parents have come across for developing not only their images and whereabouts, also so much dreams and beliefs on you? Then what for the whole life is? Obviously any parent would seem to oppose initially when they hear from their kid saying that he/she has chosen their life partner. Definitely it would be because of the pain caused by their dreams demolished. I just felt bad for Chiranjeevi, for having had a well developed image. I don’t say that i pity him or his image would get spoiled. But he happens to face all those unnecessary intrusions by press, court, relatives etc., 

One good and bad thing is they are all celebrities. Once they offer themselves for the photo flashes, they are donated to media and publicity who are always willing to make use of these people atleast just to boost themselves. No matter your parents are well renowned or not, would not it set an example for others and inspire them?.

Well, you may ask one good question. “where is the life we wanted to live, if we keep considering others?”. Obviously it makes sense only when its considered for ‘others’. But the parents are not ‘others’ without whom you don’t have any colourful feathers!

Don’t you think it is an insane ? Adding to that i feel the whole point of you possessing the ‘maturity’ is an utter non-sense!

Just thought of sharing my views on this.  Any comments/critics/counter arguments are most welcome!

If at all it invigorates atleast one person to think before they ink in future, my 50th post in this blog would get the credits by then!!