This world has a way of trying to homogenize you. Trying to sanitize you. Trying to scrub you of your unique divine genius, this world wants to make you regular – Cory Booker
When we take action, we always make mistakes… knowingly or unknowingly. They are bound to happen and it’s important to have a good attitude towards mistakes. Mistakes are an integral part of learning. They teach us what we need to learn. As Miles Davies once said, “Do not fear mistakes; there are none”.
Today when I look back, I know I have done ample of mistakes some of them have costed me huge losses. However, at that time I wasn’t sure if the learning I was getting out of so called “learning experience” would make me a better person. But I have realised now actually they did it was like a tiny drop of water in the ocean of experience called life.
Second thing I learned about mistake was not to take them seriously, this helped me immensely to grow as a person and understand others point of view. people who think you should know how to do something perfectly almost immediately are making a fundamental error that can prevent learning in both themselves and others around them. There is no end to new things you can learn from your mistakes but you would only realise that once you have gone past it.
So at times when I get understanding of the “learning experience aka mistakes” I just take one lesson at a time and keep moving.
“Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans” – Lenin.
Have you heard new adage “sitting is new smoking” …
When I heard about it I thought hell yeah! better I had quit smoking already now I need to quit sitting too? Until I got diagnosed with chronic back pain a couple of years ago. I told my chiropractor “I am quite a fit bloke” How come I got back pain in spite of working out and leading an active lifestyle? He mentioned about the science of posture and how the human body is meant for hunting in the fields and not sitting in front of a damn computer the whole day long.
Now if this was 1860, I could have done something about the “hunting in the fields” part but in 2017 it is a pretty tough gig. Specially living in this civilization makes it even harder to imitate our ancestral modus operandi.
We might have come from the planet of the apes but now since we are in the information age let’s see how we can still quench our postural thirst by staying in “well-being worker” limits. This is what I suggest as our plan of action to make our work breaks count.
Breaks are good, but do we take them? Ask yourself, “What makes a good break for me?” Do you take yourself to the local park, call a friend, check into the gym, or laugh out loud with colleagues? Or it might be just eating your food mindfully—which one is your fit? Find it and use it.
Ensure you drink more than 2 litres of water: Have you been asked this questions – Do you drink enough water? I am sure you would know the benefit but it has the added advantage of making you run to the toilet pretty often and also break the sitting posture cycle for the sake of your bladder.
Get a fitness tracker: A little bit of technology to help you motivated and stay on track, most of the trackers can now start to beep (like mine) every 50th minute of an hour asking you to move your body (I said body…)
Don’t press the send button: At times you’ll catch yourself sending an email to a person sitting at the same floor. Have you done that? I know I have, why not try the alternate and walk to the person to have a chat.
Catch that yawn: Yawning is actually a signal from your brain craving for oxygen! That is body’s natural response to initiate a break in posture. Next time when you catch yourself yawning at work get up and stretch yourself.
7 min refresher: It is scientifically proven 7 minutes is what it takes to break your postural pattern, experiment all the activities you could do in 7 minutes like brushing your teeth after lunch with an added advantage of dental hygiene.
Power Naps: There is a misconception, you don’t have to actually sleep merely closing your eyes and listening to some relaxing music for 10-20 mins would do the job.
In conclusion, it matters less what you do than why you’re doing it. Pay attention to three aspects of body, mind and spirit to tune into your own energy style and choose work break activities that will truly refresh you.
“Hit the gym, quit sugar, cut down alcohol, eat more veggies, meditate, floss your teeth, and get a health cover…”
Cultivating a healthy lifestyle can seem like a mammoth task, but there are many ways to make it easier. Staying fit need not be an Olympic-level commitment, if you don’t like lifting weights in the gym then don’t do it. If you don’t like running, don’t do it. No point giving grief to your limbs if you are not cut out for it. However! Fitness and well-being is a thought processes and a lifestyle thing, there are ways to get your exercise dose complete without forking out a gym membership.
Consider this: “Your main goal should be for you to enjoy the physical activity” and find a way to do it more than four times a week. Also combine this with making better decisions about food you put in your body and that’s it.
Here is a list of my favorite fun fitness alternatives that don’t feel like exercise:
Hiking, especially with friends: I always love a walk around Woodcraft Lake near Blacktown NSW, I’ll be surprised if you can’t find a place to stroll or hike with family or friends in Australia. In darn blue Aussie accent “Hell yeah maties get on and get going…”
Zumba Fitness: I must admit I tried it myself once or twice apart from being the only guy shaking my booty along in a class full of ladies. I felt like quitting every 5 minutes but I stayed on and after 15 mins I was not only enjoying it but sweating like a pig.
Weekly sports night: I love to play Tennis, TT & Badminton and make sure I book at least one weeknight for it apart from socialising it is great way to stay fit.
Active Video games: Believe it or not Microsoft invented its first video game in 1990’s step dance (which you see at every game parlor) to overcome obesity in American kids. This was even taken further by Wii, Nintendo, Kinetic, and Sony, I personally love playing boxing on my Wii and it is bloody entertaining and a great work out.
Play childhood games: I don’t mean to push the world’s population in name of fitness J J… However, playing with my 3.5-year-old daughter gives me a good run for my breath. The best part is you get to re-live your childhood with kids and they never go out of energy J
Adult Gymnastics: That thing that couples do? Yeah? Do more of that, self-explanatory. Moving on! (Don’t laugh)
Clean the house: Yeah, yeah that’s my usual answer to my wife when she asks me to get up and clean when in the middle of an interesting TV show on Sunday morning. I know it sucks sometimes but you name it vacuuming, gardening, dishes, moping anything per say does get you sweaty. Isn’t it? So what are you waiting for? Do it for love. Clean house, happy partner, and fitness all in one!
Yoga: Build flexibility, strength, sweat and relax all in one. There are a million types of yoga, and it is the fastest-growing fitness industry in Australia so go and check it out yourself.
There are several other ways to keep fit like martial arts, salsa dancing, rock climbing, golf, ice skating, swimming the list goes on and on… Staying fit could never get easier than this best to follow this five-point approach if you need a push over the fence.
Say yes to it before you say no, commit in advance, go with a friend or family, and expect to suck in the beginning (like I did with Zumba) and finally have fun.
The impact your life has on society is going to be determined by what you do when life is difficult. It is easy to be productive when life is easy but can you find empowering meanings when the odds are stacked against you to produce the results? It is easy to regurgitate clichés do you have the fortitude to do the work to take the action, or are you all talk? The greatest heroes have overcome the mightiest obstacles, and this is not a coincidence. Some people run from problems, but greatness does not allow you to avoid problems it is in the overcoming of your problems that defines you.
This weekend my two-year-old daughter was after my life to watch her recently favourite animation “The Good Dinosaur” Being a Pixar film, I knew it was going to be fun. But I was totally bedazzled by the dialogue writing hats off to Pixar team and their writers. This is their third film I’m blogging about:
Butch the T-Rex [to Arlo] “If you aren’t scared, you ain’t alive.”
Arlo: [laughs slightly] you guys would have liked my poppa. He wasn’t scared of anything. [sighs] I’m done being scared! Butch: Who said I’m not scared? Arlo: But you took on a croc! Butch: And I was scared doin’ it. If you ain’t scared of a croc bitin’ you on the face, you ain’t alive. Listen, kid, you can’t get rid of fear. It’s like Mother Nature; you can’t beat her or outrun her, but you can get through it. You can find out what you’re made of. Butch: You’ll be alright, you are one tough kid
That’s your ultimate testing moment, which proves what you are made up of. The other day, I was speaking to my brother over phone about his struggles being an entrepreneur. Some wretched trader double crossed him, later he sent me a message “Life is full of idiots like these (that trader) who wants to burst your dream bubble (deal)” But he still chose to complete the deal even if it made him loss. At least to show what he was made up of, hats off to you brother! You are one tough kid!
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy – Martin Luther King, Jr.
In most of my recent conversations with budding entrepreneurs, this is the most important subject I harp upon. In today’s fast-paced business environment, and the Internet of Things age it is very easy to forget the basics and get swamped in the hurricane of information that is being thrown at us every day.
Recently I have been appointed acting VP on yet another board which will make the current mark to 3 start-up boards I am presiding on. All very different sectors one is the Food Industry, second training, and third technology company excluding my own brainchild Green Lab Films & Media. I can not reaffirm anymore the need to better plan upfront to save toil later. However, I also know for a fact no matter how much you plan things will still go wrong it will still rain during the parade.
This is when having a plan B comes into action, you must have already heard about the buzzword “fail fast, fail forward” for people who haven’t heard this term earlier. It means don’t be afraid to fail “let fear not freeze your actions” which is another way of saying plan better my friend. I remember my maths teacher always use to say “Try and try again until you succeed” and I can’t deny for fact how true it is for Lean Entrepreneurship.
In my 25 years of entrepreneurship experience (I started my first venture at fourteen, now don’t calculate my age ok!) I can’t tell how many times I have failed at one thing or another but still have kept going. From selling door-to-door instant dumplings mixture to selling pest control solutions to selling NB nature bonds to selling media technology and film distribution. One thing always led to another only what counted was not burying my head into failure but focusing on solution. In fact that’s what lean entrepreneurship and agile mindset talks about, which if succinctly to put in my words is nothing but planning enough to never run out of runway.
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. – Abraham Lincoln”
To read more about lean entrepreneurship or attend my upcoming seminar register here or put a comment below. Till then, Sayonara!
Want to build momentum? the quickest way to do that is to get up and get going! If you just sit there you are going to be forced to move by the changing times, movement is part of the human experience. You are either going to move yourself in the direction of your dreams or you are going to be moved by the progress of society.
Think about the universe it is in constant motion and we are part of it. To be static it to be out of the flow of the universe. If there is something between you ears stopping you for being in motion for goodness sake take care of it. Get moving, allow the flow of the universe to carry you to where you want to go. Think about it this way if you want to surf a wave on the ocean you have to do your part to get in motion and the wave will the rest. So what are you waiting for? I remember years ago I read this book by Justin Herald, in summary it said the same thing shortest way to reach your target is hard work.
“Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.”
– Thomas Jefferson.
I remember the very first time I attended a meditation course 17 years ago, the very question that seeped through my mind was “who are you” we were meant to sit with a partner repeatedly posing this question. Pretty much like a Buddhist monk, years later I found out another way of doing it, but this time not by asking a probing question. This time (2007) I was on the road working crazy 24×7 to make my start up business success. I found the answer and I would like to quote another great man who agrees with me in this approach.
“Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do” – Steve Jobs.
Lately, my two-year-old daughter has by-hearted this phrase “Daddy what’s the matter?” The other day we promised to take her to the beach if she sits in the car seat and be a good girl. She pretty much was in anticipation of her reward until we drove home without taking her to the beach. First words she exclaimed watching me reverse back into garage, “Daddy what’s the matter with the beach?” I gave her some gibberish reason and she cutely accepted.
Later on, I thought I shouldn’t be doing this to a two year old, for two reasons. First, “Integrity” being one of my core values if I exhibit this behavior to my kids, it would register in their subconscious brain and would later on become part of their personality. Second, Aanya & I both love the beach so not to miss out on great opportunity to escape from the grind.
Our value system is reflection of our personality because it feeds off directly from the experiences our brain had registered in past. For example, if “love & connection” is one of my values then I’m bound to have certain rules around looks, dress up, appearance and what I portray to the outside world. People with such values would want people to admire them when they look good and they do the same to others. It is part of the basic instinct “dress to impress” and becomes their second nature and a rule ensuring they wear their attitude.
Now if someone stops them from dressing up nicely or objects to their appearance they feel attacked and would react either passively or aggressively. In my personal experience, best way to stop such retaliation is to be authentic to them and vice versa. Irrespective of colour, race, or sex value does matter because it is deeply ingrained in our neural pathways based on personal experiences we have since childhood. They are your rulebook to decide what’s right or wrong when faced by situational or emotional dilemma.
So when in doubt speak to your values…
“It is not hard to make a decision when you know what your values are” – Roy Disney
I don’t exactly remember when the last time I went for a Bromantic trip (a term coined to amplify brotherly love 🙂 ha! I immediately fell in love with the term “Bromance” when I first heard it off Facebook (another benefit of safe social networking, thanks to all my wise FB contributors and to the nutty ones too…lol) Yeah, I guess it was summer of 1993 or so… that was the last time when two of us (the Baswan brothers) got out on a solo road trip. That was to a small town 230 kilometers northwest of Delhi and I guess we went there to resolve my brother’s astrological mystery looming over his fate as we didn’t know his exact time of birth. We were hoping to get some clue from the super-efficient Hathras Munciple administration (that was wishful thinking at its best ha!)
Another compelling reason for me was to taste the super delicious Hathras Rabri (a type of condensed milk custard) and my granny’s handmade meals that I used to relish ah! started drooling already thinking of that yummy aloo gobhi with poori and halwa! God bless Granny for creating those neural pathways that taste is still safely registered at some hexadecimal address in my memory. It is actually a bit crazy to compare the two cities and by far there is no correlation between the two, apart from the only two cities in the world I had made a solo leisure trip with my brother as of now. Later one is actually one of the greatest countries in the south of China whereas the former is just some small town of western UP (India). The only importance in the present is it’s my brother’s place of birth.
To me, that bus journey from South Hong Kong Island to Hong Kong Central was no different from Delhi to Hathras. Probably because I had the same company that no other person can give in this world. That is why they say the relationship is the best thing to cherish forever, this reminds me of famous lines from Fast and furious 7 paying tribute to Paul Walker…
[last lines]
Dominic Toretto: [remembering the time he had with Brian] I used to say I live my life a quarter mile at a time and I think that’s why we were brothers – because you did too. No matter where you are, whether it’s a quarter mile away or halfway across the world. The most important thing in life will always be the people in this room, right here, right now. Salute mi familia. You’ll always be with me. And you’ll always be my brother…
Coming back to Hong Kong, after some painful cross border experience (actually maybe second worse, worst was Shalu losing her passport in Thailand) this time we were travelling from Shenzen to Hong Kong and for the first time in my life I crossed over from one country to another on foot. Just cross the bridge from Shenzen to Hong Kong and you are in a different nation wolla!
We took a train to Hong Kong Central and first thing I noticed on the way out was Coca-Cola hoarding at Hong Kong Central just like at Kings Cross in Sydney. That reminded me Coca Cola had set up their first factory in Hathras ending 26 years of political exile from India and we got to drink one straight from the fresh red crates during our first solo trip to Hathras 21 years ago. It was probably one of the first Coke bottles on the first-day coke relaunched and guess what? It was served in Coke’s trademark 250 ml bottle. I felt pretty swish (didn’t know much about coke at that time) but I just had it as my brother was keen on tasting it and I tell you he wasn’t wrong.
We thought that was an accomplishment! it was probably the first Coke bottle of my life lol… Although we got used to Thumbs Up much popular alternative to Coke in India till date. I quickly gathered my focus back to finding our hotel coach pick-up point at Hong Kong Central it was bloody confusing and we frantically ran from one exit to another finally making it. Once again we came back to the same spot the big Coke hoarding except this time we chose to have some beer instead… bloody grownup kids I tell you 🙂
Originally Posted On May 23, 2015, By Arvind J Baswan
Every personality has their weak and strong phases, I have never come across someone who was made of complete steel (apart from Superman of-course!!). On contrary, I’ve seen a lot of people faking it, portraying something they aren’t may be due to popular mantra “fake it till you make it”. There is nothing wrong in that as long as if you are doing it for a good reason and not to showoff, like a job interview – where 80% people fake something or rather (that’s what statistics say).
Indeed it is quite natural instinct to put out your best, isn’t it? I mean almost every one wears a Shield or Armour or a strong-suit at times it is needed to hide your vulnerabilities. But there are times when we should put our guards down and allow our own personality to reveal.
It is totally up to you to choose who that person in your life is. with who you could be just yourself, with whom you don’t have to wear that Armour anymore and with whom we can reveal your true self.
This is what I call “having a connection“. This is when your heart and soul gets the opportunity to touch others, this is when you form a bond. I wish everyone finds that person.
To some lucky ones, connections are made in a heartbeat, and for some of us, it takes a lifetime. Some of us enjoy it for our whole lifetime and some of us wait for it for a lifetime. This is what happens to our protagonist in my latest romance drama feature “Bhindeshi Tara – A foreign star in the sky “. Saikat Majumdar (the lead character) who is a press photo journalist falls in love with a girl of Armenian decent during a time of political turmoil in Calcutta.
Saikat spends a lifetime waiting for someone he loves, it only takes a heartbeat for that connection which lasted a lifetime. This was the magical dance during a gala night (shown in the picture above) when Saikat holds his would-be lover’s hand and gets engrossed in her beautiful blue eyes.
I will reveal a more about Saikat and his charming lady love (name to be revealed in my next blog), until then please enjoy your time with your loved ones and do take a moment to connect and say “I Love You”.
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