My name is Shivaram Kumar and after two and a half decades of working with people from every conceivable race, religion, ethnicity, language, nationality and orientation, empowering them with self-belief and confidence, my wife Anjali and I know for sure that words make all the difference. The words we listen to, and the words we speak.
The aim with this blog is to make people aware of the power of words, because once we know how to surround and program ourselves with the right words, we can collectively increase self-esteem in society. Looking forward to get with you on our exciting journey called life and benefit from our stories and experiences.
Let my words play a small positive role in your world.
My Recent Book
Author: Shivaram Kumar
Opinions and Secret Trump voters
A couple said this to me recently — “Our children are so sensitive these days, politically and socially, that they will not listen. So we say nothing to them, we let them form their own opinions” . Really? and where do you think they get their opinions from? They don’t fall out of the sky, do they? They get their opinions from people. Be it from teachers, media, the internet or even AI, these opinions are still coming from people. Well, aforementioned couple, here is a news flash — you are people, too. And your opinion should be first and foremost. Otherwise the other opinions could hijack your values, common sense and everything you stand for. If your kids ultimately want to give in to the media, teachers and strangers, well that is their choice, but not before you have done everything you can to influence them.
This same couple,… Continue Reading →
Speak your mind, look people in the eye, and drive your car
You want the competitive edge? Do what we did in the nineties. This is what I tell my kids and the hundreds of entrepreneurs that I coach and mentor.
In the nineties, we did it out of necessity. Now, you do it out of choice.
First, use the phone for calls, not as much for texting. Just call people. Don’t hide behind text messages. Text messages have their place, but more often than not, they are a cop out. More often than not, people hide behind texting to avoid confrontation, even the good kind. If you lose the habit of looking people in the eye while talking to them, you are already losing in life.
And drive your car. Get in a train or a bus. Go meet people in-person. Don’t hide behind zoom windows. What’s often more important than the meetings themselves are the moments in between: sharing a cup of coffee,… Continue Reading →
Boomerang
I believe that words and thoughts are like boomerangs that bounce off our dreams and goals in the future. What comes back to us are signs, people and pathways that will help us move towards our dreams. Like a boomerang, these thoughts and words hit an “invisible plane” before returning to the sender. I think of this plane as the place in the future where dreams and goals dwell, and the strength of our beliefs in them determine how well the boomerang returns into the present, the path forward.
Have you ever remembered someone from years ago that you had lost contact with, and that very day you get a call from them? Have you ever gone to bed with a wake up time in mind, and your eyes open at that exact time, without an alarm clock? These two examples are not the stuff of dreams, but they are boomerangs…. Continue Reading →
Sign From Above
Sometime during the late 90s or early 2000s, I was at the Bridgewater mall in New Jersey. A vendor, let us call him Joe, had set up a booth. His product was God. His God. I had some time, so I responded to his plea. I am a little more knowledgeable about other religions than most people presume when they first meet me. And I love to learn. He told me what I have heard many times before, that his God was the only way to heaven and salvation. “You are Hindi, right?” he asked. Hindi is a language, and it is not my native tongue. So the answer would be a resounding “No!”, but I knew what he meant. So I said “You mean Hindu, as in the religion?”. He went on to tell me that nothing of what I knew from Hinduism mattered if I accepted his religion…. Continue Reading →
Humuhumunukunukuapua’a
Hawaiian names are often energetic alliterations, rhythmic and happy. The state fish is called Humuhumunukunukuapua’a. It is also the name of a restaurant at The Grand Wailea Hotel in Maui. We have stayed at this location maybe a dozen times over the past two decades, about a week each time. This resort is like a home away from home. This is a favorite destination for our annual trip with special invitations to entrepreneurs in our business who achieve certain specific goals. Many of us bring our children along, running the gamut of just palying by the beach and poolside to fostering an environment for the next generation to help build camaraderie amongst their peers, as some of them will one day take the baton from their parents to carry on the legacy.
Most attendees are financially free, with a rare combination of time and money. The trip features business meetings,… Continue Reading →
Contentious Elections and The Subconscious
Bill Britt introduced me to the power of words and its influence on our subconscious mind. This propelled me to probe deeper. My discoveries have changed my world view, and have certainly help me achieve great balance and alignment in my life.
You may have heard that the subconscious mind never sleeps. It cannot tell fiction from fact. It believes everything that comes its way. When it repeatedly hears statements like “I am bad at remembering names and faces”, it simply believes it and makes it a reality. Similarly, “I am great at remembering names and faces” has the exact opposite effect.
One aspect that is particularly intriguing is that our subconscious mind pays more attention to the predominant object of our thoughts and words, rather than the intent. For example, “Don’t yell” conjures up an image of someone yelling, whereas “Speak softly” paints a better picture…. Continue Reading →
Protected: What is financial freedom?
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
Meditate upon this
“Lucy” is a blatantly commercial film. The protagonist accidentally ingests vast amounts of a chemical named CPH4, causing her brain capacity to increase dramatically. As a result, she reaches an ultimate state of awareness. All at once she is in the future, in deep space, in the past with neanderthals, in China and Orlando and everywhere else. This was pure fiction of course, but it got me thinking.
Not about CPH4, but meditation.
Could deep meditation take one to a level of awareness that transcends space and time? Ancient Hindu sages understood planetary movements and many other patterns in deep space. They had insights way beyond what could otherwise be perceived. They were aware of the internal mechanisms of our body. All of this without any tools or formal instruction.
Every major religion has prayer and meditation at the core of it. Prophets and Messiahs were in a constant state of prayer and meditation ,… Continue Reading →
Boomerang
I believe that words and thoughts are like boomerangs that bounce off our dreams and goals in the future. What comes back to us are signs, people and pathways that… Continue Reading →
Humuhumunukunukuapua’a
Hawaiian names are often energetic alliterations, rhythmic and happy. The state fish is called Humuhumunukunukuapua’a. It is also the name of a restaurant at The Grand Wailea Hotel in Maui…. Continue Reading →