Month: October 2016
Crazy! Can this really happen?
Mali is a great friend. He was next door to me in Ruby hostel at REC, Trichy. One time we were talking about nail-biting finishes and he shared a story about his friend Kalyanaraman from high school who managed to get the last seat in Chemical Engineering at the prestigious IIT Madras (now Chennai).
A year or so later I was in the city of Coimbatore, waiting for a bus. It started to rain and a guy wearing gold rimmed glasses, about my age, offered to share his umbrella.
“Are you an engineering student?” I asked. He nodded.
“IIT Madras?”
He was a little startled, and he nodded again.
“Chemical Engineering?”
“Wait, is this some sort of a trick?” He asked.
“Did you get the last seat in Chemical Engineering?”
He was evidently confused and taken aback…. Continue Reading →
Another Tree Story
Words of encouragement. Uplifting, belief giving words. They cost nothing, but can change lives for the better.
I have shared my story hundreds of times with audiences of all types and sizes. I have talked about people who have showered me with great, empowering words that contributed to my success in life- my parents, my wife, my sisters, a couple of high school teachers, and business leaders who came into my life in my mid twenties. However, I have failed to acknowledge a few of them that came into my life, primarily during my college years. In this post, I want to talk about one such person.
In an earlier post, Lessons from a Mango Tree, I talked about my spectacular failure in a singing contest. Despite the encouraging lesson I learned through that, I became a reluctant performer. While I would sing in class during free periods,… Continue Reading →
Living Rooms around the world
I started to write this blog in-flight, on my way back from London, UK. I am extremely fascinated and grateful that I am able to connect to the internet at 35,000 feet.
In my business, I teach people how to build an asset through business ownership, without jeopardizing their primary income, and not having to worry about raising capital and hiring employees. Through the Britt Worldwide system, we have an elaborate training, coaching and mentoring program to empower people around the world with the right mindset and tools to own and operate their own Independent Business.
While we have meetings of all sizes from homes to coliseums, my favorite ones are small huddles in living rooms. This is where great relationships are built and we get to know about people by listening to them.
Once again, my weekend trip to London, taught me that people have the same basic desires all over the world. … Continue Reading →
The Superhero Inside
Inside me is a superhero, always rearing to go. This guy is limitless. He has unbounded energy and a limited list of real talents, but an inexhaustible set of “possibility” talents and skills. If my body is an institution, then this superhero heads two departments – “Dreams and Vicarious Living ” and “Goals and Accomplishments “. The first department has taken me from benign indulgences like simply day dreaming to fantasizing the possibility of becoming a world class tennis player well into my forties. In my mind I have been an adviser to the U.S President and other world leaders, and on the board of Google, Facebook, Apple and Tesla. In this world I have won the Oscar, and the Augusta Masters tournament. I could have landed the plane on the Hudson just as effectively as Scully.
This crazy department also made me think out of the box,… Continue Reading →
My Amazing Wife
Today is Anjali’s birthday. In our family, we celebrate happy events, but on our terms. We went out to dinner a couple of times last week, and to a comedy show in New York, and decided that they were all part of the birthday celebration. Today there won’t be any special plans because it is also Karva Chauth. This means Anjali is fasting. She won’t eat a morsel until the moon shows up at night.
I would hardly classify our family as religious or ritualistic. Karva Chauth is the only ritual that Anjali follows diligently each year.
What is remarkable is her equanimity. It is one thing to read about and preach an evenness of spirit, calmness in demeanor, and a non-judgmental attitude, it is a whole different thing to implement all of this.
Anjali Kumar does this effortlessly, every day of her life,… Continue Reading →
Lessons from a Mango Tree
I grew up in Chembur, Mumbai in a rented one room and kitchen apartment, with my parents and two sisters. My extracurricular life revolved around a giant rectangular play area (we called it “the compound”) surrounded by buildings on three sides and a street up front. There was a huge mango tree smack in the middle of the compound, which belonged to the landlord. Each summer the tree would be laden with delicious green mangoes. Not unlike a plot from Mission Impossible, we did our groundwork. We timed the landlord’s afternoon siesta, and struck with unpredictable frequency. The rocks and stones we threw at the stems to dislodge the mangoes would rustle the leaves, but we managed to get away before he could find his bearings.
On one occasion my Dad caught us in the act. “I know we are not rich, son” he said, “but we can afford to buy mangoes from the market.”… Continue Reading →
What happened to Jack?
There are many “good old days” that I do not miss. Like sitting in a class in primary (elementary and middle) and secondary school (9th & 10th grade). I can count the classes I enjoyed with one hand – 9th & 10th grade English, Math and Physics. Only because the teachers seemed to care and knew how to mix some fun into the process. I have never particularly cared for a daily repetitive routine that feels like a rut, be it school or a job. I was christened “junglee” on the first day of pre-school (nursery) by the teacher in response to my ferocious protests to being carried into a class by force by a concerned mother and aunt. As a side note, the English word jungle comes from the Hindi word jangal which has a Sanskrit origin. A junglee would be an anglicized Hindi version of belonging to the jungle as in Tarzan,… Continue Reading →
Early Serendipity
In 1971, India was at war with Pakistan. Ours was a simple community of middle class South Indians. Generally it is said that South Indians make good tenants even in the other parts of India because they are generally bovine, and had the reputation of paying their rents on time. One night the armed forces of India sent out tracers into the sky- bright bursts of light to detect enemy aircraft. “Black out” had been mandated in our area- no lights were allowed and all windows had been sealed with thick paper to prevent any light from escaping. Someone in our community decided that the tracers were bombs, even though they were clearly traveling in the opposite direction. Basically controlled frenzy set in, and everyone started to pray in loud whispers, simultaneously an expression of panic and a reassurance to one another that God had us covered. Whoever made the effort to sound confident owned the credibility of the moment…. Continue Reading →
There is always a Silver Lining
I grew up in a building named “Tilakwadi” in Chembur, Mumbai. There was a huge quadrangle with a building on each of three sides, and the fourth was open to the street. This was the the heart of the community, cricket and soccer ground, community theater at night (Chakyar Koothu), cultural activities, seven stones (Lagori) venue, Diwali & Holi celebration space and a hot spot for a score of other activities.
I missed a lot of the late afternoon action during the week because I was the only one on the afternoon school shift in the building. The rest of them went to OLPS, Saraswathi Vidyalaya and SIES. I was the only one in GEA- the only school that let me start 1st grade a year early. As I reached home in the evening, dragging my school bag and water bottle,… Continue Reading →
Attitude, Gratitude and other freebies
“Free Stuff” usually has a cheap connotation. However, the most important things in life do not cost any money. Like love, forgiveness, gratitude, positive attitude, dreams.
Waking up grateful each day with a happy attitude does not cost anything. I believe that gratitude is a perfect foundation for great expectations. We are grateful about – Health (emotional, spiritual, relational, physical, financial), Peace of mind, family & friends, joy & laughter, dreams and goals). Then we find specific things to be grateful for each day. For instance, today I am grateful to Shekar Raman, who suggested a name for this website- “My Words My Life”. The “.com” url was unavailable, and this led me into a quest for names, and I ended up with “My Words My World” and I quite like the alliteration. Very grateful for that…. Continue Reading →