The Power of Focus!

Today I wanted to write something, but I am unable to proceed further. I just do not have the focus to concentrate and build something better. The same happenned during my MSQM closed book exams a week back. This time,I just made a very ordinary performance because my strategy totally lacked planning and preparation. So ultimately it resulted in a poor performance. I did not live up to my strength,instead my strategy lacked focus and dedication. I just did not have the motivation to read for the exams and believed in my fire fighting capabilities. Out of the 4 exams, 2 were just out of sorts. I have to wait and see the results.

It was a clear indication to me, that I did not play to my strength(Planning,Preparation and Hardwork) for my 3rd sem MSQM exams. May be time for me to do some self-introspection,break the rules and re-allign my objectives,goals and balance.

Mr Kalam : Being Humble!

2 days back I was watching the interview of Mr. Abdul Kalam on CNN IBN and I personally felt, it was a great loss to our country that he was not given a second term. Thanks to our politicians who are still focussing on personal gains. During the interview Mr. Kalam showed how he transformed the Rastrapathi Bhavan into 'People's Bhavan'. His love for nature and his concern for birds/animals was very much evident in his character. He also said that music should be an essential part of every human being. He motivated people to cultuivate the habit of listening to good music. I also learnt that when his relatives came to see him during the year of 2004, Mr Kalam had asked the controller of Rastrapathi Bhavan to keep track of every single rupee that was spent on his relatives. Not once was his office car used for his relatives. Finally he paid from his own pocket for all the expenses incurred by his relatives for their food,transportation,sight seeing and stay at Rastrapathi Bhavan etc. By his act, Mr Kalam has become a source of inspiration for everybody and what I like most about him is that - he is a positive energy centre! His greatest success was the way in which he conceived and transpired his vision of making India a developed country in 2020. This shows that he is a true leader who can clearly see the invisible and shape strategies to achieve his vision.

Another greatest asset(s) of Mr Kalam is his sense of modesty and humility. Inspite of being such a great person, he is just down to earth and so humble. People who are looking for the real all round development of our country will definitely miss Mr Kalam and indeed our politicians will never miss him!

I once read in a book by Robin Sharma that : Mahatma Gandhi,Mother Teresa,Thomas Edison and Abraham Lincon were neither smart,beautiful nor gifted. But there all had the following traits in common :

a) Courage b) Persevearance c) Modesty and d) Humility.

Thanks to Mr Kalam for bringing in a mindset change and awareness into the country. Let's wish and work to get his vision concretized!

Long Pending Tag!

I am back with a long pending tag from my side. I did not know about these tag protocols until Shiva shared the essence of it.

The tag requires me to share the 5th paragraph in the 123rd page of the book I am presently reading.

1) I was tagged by Shiva : To know more about Shiva,take a look into

http://kodaihills.blogspot.com

2) The book that I am currently reading is "Happiness Now" by Andrew Matthews.

3) The book does not have a direct reference to 123rd page.Hence I am sharing the content of the last para in the 121st page(which is the last page).

Everything is Connected!!!

Have you noticed that whenever you exercise regularly,you feel like eating healthier food? Have you noticed that when you eat healthier food,you have more energy-so you feel like exercising more?

Everything in life is connected.Effort you put into one part of life affects all the other parts.When you are happy at home,you are happier at work.When you are happier at work,you are happier at home.

So what does all this mean?

1. That to improve your life you can start on ANY positive path.You might start with a savings plan,a goal list, a fitness program or a commitment to spend more time with your children.That positive path will lead to other positive results because everything is connected.

2. It doesn't matter WHERE you start to put more effort into your life.It matters THAT you start.

3. It works both ways!If you let one part of your life collapse,everything will begin to spiral downward.This keeps us paying attention!

In a nutshell :

Everything you do matters! Happiness is a daily decision.

Express yourself - Don't wait for looong!

Today,I was reading the blog of Abrachan and I found something that was very much needed at this point in time. The crux of Aby's post was this :

Kiss me now . You may not get another chance!!!

Don't wait for too long to express yourself and your feelings. Often in the middle of hectic schedules, I often tend to get into the groove of holding my feelings and thinking that there is still time for me to take care of my near and dear ones. But at times, I don't realize that the time is running out and the people who are present today, may not be present tomorrow.Even the situations might change. So whether it's good or bad - it's always the best to express yourself today, at this very moment.

This is a powerful self-realization that has to happen. So whether it's :

- Taking care of your parents,Hugging your friends,Kissing you child,Expressing your love,Saying thank you,Motivating others,Complimenting your friends,Making a change in your lifestyle .......

DO it this moment.

Thanks Aby.

Sivaji - Is it worth the hype?

Having watched Sivaji, two times and spending Rs 800/-(only for 1 ticket) - the question that comes to my mind : Is Sivaji really worth the hype?

1) Honestly,the film just rides on the strength of only one man named 'Rajinikanth'. In this way, Rajini has once again proved that he is still the 'Badshah' of the Indian Cinema. Success just falls at his feet. This film will not run with such packed houses for any other actor. It's only for Rajini,Rajini and Rajini all over.

2) Weak story line coupled with fragile screenplay.
3) Too much of makeup for Rajini, makes him unnatural.
4) Vivek has dominated every scene from the start,as Rajini's side-kick and he takes care of delivering the punch dialogues.
5) Thota Tharani's settings and K V Anand's camera has created a wonderful visual treat for the viewers.
6) Suman has played his role very well.
7) Since, the basis of the story is very weak - Shankar has taken enough care not to bring the story to the frontline. Instead, he has polished it well with Rajini's style and gimmicks.
8) Picturization of the songs are majestic and sexy.
9) Shreya is the real highlight of the film. She has added the needed richness, to the songs with her simple expressions.
10) Shankar has well displayed Shreya's assests to capture audience attention.
11) Rajini rocks throughout - but I felt he could have avoided using doop(s) especially for simple fight sequence like running....
12) With Sivaji - Please don't expect an Indian or Anniyan. I think, only Kamal and Vikram have that unique capability to ride through such roller coasters.

13) Watch Sivaji without any expectations, you will enjoy it for sure.

Shankar has once again proved that he is only a director and NOT a CREATOR like Manirathnam or K Balachander. He needs that high budget,long lead-time,tech-funda graphics, and big actors(like Kamal,Vikram,Rajini etc) to provide his share of (hyped) hits.

To sum it up :

"Sivaji" is a rich and flourishing design that has been constructed by Shankar, for a super-natural actor named "Rajinikanth".

Principles of SCRUM

Today, I was reading the 'SCRUM Development Process' by Ken Schwaber. A lot of these principles could be related to any kind of development. In today's fast paced world where the requirements are constantly changing,customer's are constantly evolving,priorities keep changing,new scope keeps coming in,each project being unique in its own way - Agile and SCRUM could be the ideal fit(may be not the best!).

The word SCRUM is basically derived from the game RUGBY. Scrum is a group of 8 individuals in Rugby, who move together closely inorder to move the ball down the field. This close integration and interaction is the fundamental principle of SCRUM.

Teams work as a tight integarted units, with each team member performing his/her well defined role for that increment to achieve the goal of the team. The entire team must have a single focus and goal and everybody works towards this. This team focus is the platform for the success of SCRUM.

The primary difference between the defined (waterfall, spiral and iterative) and empirical SCRUM) approach is that the SCRUM approach assumes that the analysis, design, and development processes in the Sprint phase are unpredictable. A control mechanism is used to manage the unpredictability and control the risk. Flexibility, responsiveness, and reliability are the results.

Characteristics of SCRUM methodology are :

· The first and last phases (Planning and Closure) consist of defined processes, where all processes, inputs and outputs are well defined. The knowledge of how to do these processes is explicit. The flow is linear, with some iterations in the planning phase.
· The Sprint phase is an empirical process. Many of the processes in the sprint phase are unidentified or uncontrolled. It is treated as a black box that requires external controls. Accordingly, controls, including risk management, are put on each iteration of the Sprint phase to avoid chaos while maximizing flexibility.
· Sprints are nonlinear and flexible. Where available, explicit process knowledge is used; otherwise tacit knowledge and trial and error is used to build process
knowledge. Sprints are used to evolve the final product.
· The project is open to the environment until the Closure phase. The deliverable can be changed at any time during the Planning and Sprint phases of the project. The
project remains open to environmental complexity, including competitive, time,
quality, and financial pressures, throughout these phases.
· The deliverable is determined during the project based on the environment.

Who will cry when you die!

Last saturday, I was at Odyssey - browsing a number of books on leadership,motivation,relationship,men,women etc. I was lucky to get hold of one of Robin Sharma's best ever book - "Who will cry when you die". I looked into some of the chapters and decided to buy that book immediately.The beauty of the book lies in the simplicity of the content and the abundant wealth of information that it carries through. Each chapter is like a sugar coated tablet and just 1-1.5 pages long. It has a total of 101 chapters and the book is defined in such a way that, one need not read it in a sequence. You can pick up any chapter at any point of time and read it. It adds a lot of meaning to your life. Some of the lessons that I read :

1) Discover you calling.
2) Be kind to strangers.
3) Maintain your perspective.
4) Practice tough love.
5) Live life.
6) Learn to say no gracefully.
7) Get up early.
8) Maintain a journal.
9) Spend a day without your watch.
10) Learn to be silent.
11) Talk to yourself.
12) Take a weekly sabbatical.
13) Honor your past.
14) Take troubles as your blessings.
15) Learn from a good movie.
16) Model a child.
17) Think of an ideal neibhourhood.
18) Focus on the worthy.
19) Take more risks.
20) Develop a honesty philosophy.
21) Write thank you notes.
........

Ever since I started reading this book - I have made some changes to my living pattern and started implementing some of the lessons. I find it really very benefical and it has a positive impact on me. As an individual I have alerady started realizing the benefits. Some of them are :

1) I feel more inspired.
2) Monotonity has reduced.
3) My energy levels have increased.
4) Able to focus better.
5) Commitment level has increased.
6) Self - realization that any change take time,effort,discipline and patience.

This book is one of the best gift that you can give to people whom you like and love.Sure it will make everybody's life better!