Two Brothers !

Welcome to 94^th Monday Musings:

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This is a story of two brothers.

One was a drug addict and a drunkard who frequently beat up his family.

The other one was a very successful businessman who was respected in society and had a wonderful family.

Some people wanted to find out why two brothers from the same parents, brought up in the same environment, could be so different.

The first one was asked, "How come you do what you do? You are a drug addict, a drunk, and you beat your family. What motivates you?"

He said, "My father."

They asked, "What about your father?"

The reply was, "My father was a drug addict, a drunk and he beat his family. What do you expect me to be? That is what I am."

They went to the brother who was doing everything right and asked him the same question. "How come you are doing everything right ? What is your source of motivation?"

And guess what he said? "My father”.

“When I was a little boy, I used to see my dad drunk and doing all the wrong things. I made up my mind, that is not what I wanted to be."

Both were deriving their strength and motivation from the same source, but one was using it negatively and the other positively....

Moral of the story :

Negative motivation brings the desire to take the easier way which ends up being the tougher way.

Remember: The greatest motivator is belief. We have to inculcate in ourselves the belief that we are responsible for our actions and behavior. When people accept responsibility, everything improves: quality, productivity, relationships and teamwork

In our life we see many things every day and we can draw either positive motivation or negative motivation from it,  we need to decide wisely and choose what is right !

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Old clock & a new clock !

Welcome to 93^rd Monday Musings:

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There was an Old Church. It was more than 100 years old. While roaming around the Church building, Priest thought to do some renovation in the church to make it more attractive. With the help of the church committee, they did many things like bought new carpets, painted the walls, put new sealing etc.

As part of the renovation, the priest thought to change the old clock which is powered by key and making noise with a brand new electronic clock. But the priest decided to keep the New clock beside the old clock for the time being as many old people are so much attached to the old clock.

The new clock was very happily and smoothly jumping each second with "tick" "tick" "tick" "tick" sound. There was power and enthusiasm in his jumping.

At the same time the old clock with very difficulty and with the noise of wheels also tried to move along with the new clock.

In the beginning the new clock was very proud and was reluctant to speak to the Old clock. But after some time to burn the boredom, the new clock decided to talk to the old clock.

During the conversation, the new clock asked the old clock "How long have you been here?"

to that the old clock replied that more than 100 years.

Hearing the answer, the new clock fell into thoughts. It tried to calculate the jumps to make in order to complete the 100 years. For one minute 60 jumps, for one hour 3600 jumps, for one day 86400 jumps, for one month 2592000 jumps, for one year 31536000 jumps, for 100 years 3153600000 jumps.

Shortly after the calculation, the new clock stopped jumping the seconds. The old clock, noticing the silence of the new clock, asked the reason for the silence.

To that the new clock replied "I was calculating the jumps you have competed last 100 years. You have dome millions of jumps. I don't think I would be able to complete that much jumps. Thinking about all that jumps, I am stressed and cannot move. I am helpless and cannot jump one second. While thinking about it I had a heart attack."

The old clock knowing the situation, asked one question. "I know your situation, but I would like to ask you one question, Can you jump one second?"

To that the new clock replied. "It is very easy, I can easily jump one second. It is very easy.

“The Old clock replied "Do that."

The old clock continued, Just think about one second at a time and jump.

Don't think about 100 years, just think about one second. The new clock happily started to jump one second at a time.

Moral of the story :

Don't think about all the things to be done in a lifetime. Just think about the next moment. Just think about one day at a time. It will help us to continue our journey. Don't get depressed or discouraged.

One step at a time will lead you to the destination.

Don't give up!!!! Don't be a quitter!!, Just live the moment, live for today and plan for tomorrow.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Only one Move !

Welcome to 92^nd Monday Musings:

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A 10-year-old boy decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, but he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move.

The boy finally said, "Master, Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"

"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know," the Master replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his Master, the boy kept training. Several months later, the master took the boy to his first tournament.

Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches.

The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be over-matched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out.

He was about to stop the match when the Master intervened. "No, Let him continue."

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament.

He was the champion. On the way home, the boy and Master reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

Master, "how did I win the tournament with only one move?"

"You won for two reasons," the master answered.

1)      You've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo.

2)      The only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.

The boy’s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

Moral of the story :

Sometimes we feel that we have certain weaknesses and we blame God, the circumstances or ourselves for it but we never know that our weaknesses can become our strengths one day.

Each of us is special and important, so never think you have any weakness, never think of pride or pain, just live your life to its fullest and extract the best out of it!

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Push your way out of the comfort zone !

Welcome to 91^st Monday Musings:

This week I will continue from my previous week’s  Monday Musings…

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After an initial hard phase, Henry Ford's parents started doing well in America and they settled on a farm in Dearborn.

For young Henry, this meant that he need not struggle like his parents.

He could settle comfortably well in his father's farm. However, Henry chose a tougher path. When he was 16 years, he left the farm, and proceeded to Detroit, where after much struggle he found work as a mechanic's apprentice

His dream break followed soon, in the form of an offer as an engineer at the Edison Illuminating Company, where he would eventually climb the ladder to be the chief engineer.

Henry could have again very well settled into his comfort zone. He decided to break the mould this time again. He realized that there was a huge opportunity, if he could build a car which the masses of America could afford, since till then a car was a luxury reserved for the richest class.

He set his eyes on building such a car and toiled relentlessly towards it in a shed at the backyard of his family home. Most people, including his idol Thomas Alva Edison, thought that Henry should settle down in his job instead of wasting his time. But Henry was determined not to contain himself inside his comfort zone, but focused on the opportunity that he had carved for himself.

Leaders like Henry Ford are almost always defined by a continuous search for new opportunities. They are constantly striving to redefine the status quo. But this is easier said than done. Because 

people tend to be happy with their current lives, they definitely do not want to disturb it. Even the most adventurous sailor needs and feels at home in a particular attitude and lifestyle.

People build comfort zones for themselves in their lives and work places. They populate these comfort zones with known events and known people. Breaking out would mean a certain amount of physical and emotional pain. Embracing a new situation would mean loss of these comfort zones. And in this process, they end up ignoring opportunities around them, though they recognize them as important.

Moral of the story :

Potential leaders normally ignore valuable opportunities for one or more of three reasons.

1. People are faced with opportunities they start doubting their capabilities and resources to take charge of the opportunity. They start doubting themselves.
2. They start feeling insecure about the risks surrounding the opportunity and choose to remain in their comfort zones instead.
3. And third, they convince themselves that there would be grander opportunities tomorrow, when they would be better prepared and equipped.

Unfortunately, that tomorrow never comes. As people choose to ignore opportunities, their confidence levels start dipping. They start feeling pessimistic about events around them, doubting their abilities and that of the people around them.

Little do they realize that, if they utilized the opportunities that came their way, the more they would have them. And the more courage they would have to discover more of them.

I’m not really a fan of being out of my comfort zone but I’m amazed how some the best things in life happen when I step out into the open, follow my heart and let God lead the way.  So Wriggle out of your comfort zone and push open that door now! Because twice the amount of opportunities will knock at your door, if you open the door the first time around.

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh

Comfort Zone !

Welcome to 90^th Monday Musings:

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Once there was a king who received a gift of two magnificent falcons from Arabia.

They were peregrine falcons, the most beautiful birds he had ever seen. He gave the precious birds to his head falconer to be trained.

Months passed and one day the head falconer informed the king that though one of the falcons was flying majestically, soaring high in the sky, the other bird had not moved from its branch since the day it had arrived.

The king summoned healers and sorcerers from all the land to tend to the falcon, but no one could make the bird fly.

He presented the task to the member of his court, but the next day, the king saw through the palace window that the bird had still not moved from its perch.

Having tried everything else, the king thought to himself, “May be I need someone more familiar with the countryside to understand the nature of this problem. “So he cried out to his court, “Go and get a farmer.”

In the morning, the king was thrilled to see the falcon soaring high above the palace gardens.

He said to his court, “Bring me the doer of this miracle.”

The court quickly located the farmer, who came and stood before the king. The king asked him, “How did you make the falcon fly?”

With his head bowed, the farmer said to the king,” It was very easy, your highness. I simply cut the branch where the bird was sitting.”

Moral of the story :

We are all made to fly — to realize our incredible potential as human beings. But instead of doing that, we sit on our branches, clinging to the things that are familiar to us.

The possibilities are endless, but for most of us, they remain undiscovered. We conform to the familiar, the comfortable, and the mundane. So for the most part, our lives are mediocre instead of exciting, thrilling and fulfilling.

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone ~ Neale Donald Walsch

Make it a great Week !

Shailesh