Gladwell's Magic

We know Bill Joy and we also know Bill Gates. They are the achievers and we can also add many other names. I would put the Beatles here. Around 1969 we saw the 1st personal computer taking shape. Now the challenge is there are few places on earth at that time where you had access to computers where you can TIME SHARE. So to become someone who understand the system and use it in the future you need to be a person who has lot of patience and intellect and systems to practice.



The University of Michigan had one of the most advanced computer system at that time. Bill joy was lucky to be there to test his potential and also had access to free time share which if not have been very costly. After being dropped out of School Bill gates went to LAKESIDE, a private school run by the elites where too they had one of the best Computer System in place which no other schools in the world had. This was free. Bill Gates gave more than 10 -12 hours on weekends and many hours during weekdays. When the time share computer terminal closed down he went to a place called C-CUBED where one of his school friend's teacher worked and gave them free access on weekends and finally when this too got closed down Bill went to the UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON which also has installed a Computer where access was free from 3- 6 A.M. Something was happening and both Bill Joy and Bill Gates got access to something which no one at that age had. Now if we look at the number of hours they have practiced it comes to 10,000 hours. What has 10,000 got to do here.



In the world of Canadian Hockey the season starts in the month of January 1. All the top players for the last 30 years were born mostly in the month of Jan, Feb and March and very few in the other months. Think of the reason. This has nothing to do with Zodiac. A very simple phenomenon is playing here. Anyone born in the month of January has the best chance of getting into the team and get selected because of his age advantage. No doubt he needs to be good enough for him to be picked up. However, someone in the month of December would be too young or too old [ for the next year] to be picked up and most of the time missing the bus. Now if we look at the practice hours of this players who were picked up for championship and who undergo special coaching and training they end up doing their 10,000. Karna has done his 10,000 and Tendulkar has done his 10,000. 10,000 is Magical! Mozart too [Read his history]



Let's go back to the BEATLES. They are the best band of all time. They could play everything and any thing. They never started that way. They were a small band from LIVERPOOL. Playing mostly in clubs and there were many similar bands. The Beatle for the most obvious of reason had to go to HAMBURG. Without HAMBURG Beatles would have taken a different path. There is this person from Germany - Hamburg looking for musicians for his club landed in London and met this gentleman [ a business man] from Liverpool. Liverpool happened because of this gentleman and Beatles happened because of Liverpool. But how ? Let's dig. The Beatles ended up traveling to Hamburg five times between 1960 and end of 1962. On the first trip they played 106 nights. Second trip - 92 times , third - 48 times for a total of 176 hours and the last trip for 90 hours. In a span of little more than 1.5 years they performed for 270 nights and in fact this goes to 1270 live performance. Even the best of the musicians of today or in the past have not done 1270 performance in their live time. This made than try new things, new music all the time as they were performing LIVE more or less in the same place and they are required to keep on changing and innovate more to keep the crowd coming. This is their 10,000.


I agree 10,000 is a magical number and to become the best you are required to practice irrespective of knowledge, influence and intellect. I am off to fulfill something which needs lot of practice. Not sure if this could be accomplished as I am starting late. I am sure I will find my 10,000 soon.

What about you?

Read the latest book by Malcolm Gladwell to know more

The Law Of The Garbage Truck

One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space right in front of us.

My taxi driver slammed on his breaks, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches! The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us. My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly.

So I asked, 'Why did you just do that? This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call, 'The Law of the Garbage Truck.'

He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you.

Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on. Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home or on the streets.

The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day. Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets, so..... 'Love the people who treat you right.. Pray for the ones who don't.'

Life is ten percent what you make it and ninety percent how you take it.

Author Inknown

The Race

"Quit, give up, you're beaten"
They shout at you and plead
"There's just too much against you
This time you can't succeed".

And as I start to hang my head
In front of failures face
My downward fall is broken by
The memory of a race

And hope refills my weakened will
As I recall that scene
Or just the thought of that short race
Rejuvenates my being

Childrens race, young boys
Young men, how I remember well
Excitement sure, but also fear
It wasn't hard to tell

They all lined up so full of hope
Each thought to win that race
Or tie for first, or if not that
At least take second place

The fathers watched from off the side
Each cheering for his son
And each boy hoped to show his dad
That he could be the one

The whistle blew and off they went
Young hearts and hopes afire
To win and be the hero there
Was each young boys desire

And one boy in particular
Whose dad was in the crowd
Was running near the lead and thought
"My dad will be so proud"

But as they speeded down the field
Across a shallow dip
The little boy who thought to win
Lost his step and slipped

Trying hard to catch himself
With hands flew out to brace
And amid the laughter of the crowd
He fell flat on his face

But as he fell his dad stood up
And showed his anxious face
Which to the boy so clearly said
"Get up and win the race"

He quickly rose, no damage done
Behind a bit that's all
And ran with all his night and mind
To make up for the fall

So anxious to restore himself
To catch up and to win
His mind went faster than his legs
He slipped and fell again

He wised then that he had quit before
With only one disgrace
"I'm hopeless as a runner now
I shouldn't try to race"

But in the laughing crowd he searched
And found his fathers face
That steady look which said again
"Get up and win the race"

So up he jumped to try again
Ten yards behind the last
If I'm going to gain those yards he though
I've got to move real fast

Exerting everything he had
He regained eight or ten
But trying hard to catch the lead
He slipped and fell again

Defeat, he lay there silently
A tear dropped from his eye
There's no sense running anymore
Three strikes, I'm out, why try?

The will to rise had disappeared
All hope had fled away
So far behind so error prone
A loser all the way

"I've lost, so what", he thought
I'll live with my disgrace
But then he thought about his dad
Whom soon he'd have to face

"Get up" the echo sounded low
"Get up" and take your place
You were not meant for failure here
"Get up", and win the race

With borrowed will "Get up" it said
"You haven't lost at all"
For winning is no more than this
To rise each time you fall

So up he rose to run once more
And with a new commit
He resolved, that win or lose
At least he shouldn't quit

So far behind the others now
The most he'd ever been
Still he'd give it all he had
And run as though to win

Three times he'd fallen, stumbling
Three times he'd rose again
Too far behind to hope to win
He still ran to the end

They cheered the winning runner
As he crossed the line first place
Head high and proud and happy
No falling, no disgrace

But when the fallen youngster
Crossed the line, last place
The crowd gave him the greater cheer
For finishing the race

And even though he came in last
With head bent low, unproud
You would have thought he'd won the race
To listen to the crowd

And to his dad he sadly said
"I didn't do too well"
"To me you won", his father said
"You rose each time you fell"

by D. H. Groberg

I hope you enjoyed this wonderful poem. Comic Lovers visit the link below for some fun.

COMICS HERE

Cheers and Keep Winning

Words Have No Meaning

I was on a very important session few days back and I had to do some research on some subject where we are trying to make people take important decisions when needed. Out of this whole exercise I realised one thing and that is "Words Have No Meaning" until we put the context to it.

What is your take on this?

What comes to your mind when I say "High Speed". Rockets, F1 ,Super Bikes etc. What is that engulfed your mind now.

What happens when we put the year "1890"



The only thing fast we can think of is Train.

What further comes to your mind when I say "Customer Service". you could think of many words like "Customer Delight","Customer Experience" etc . However, in today's world Customer Service is weird Term and often coined as Absurd. Companies are coming up with innovations which would make no sense 10-15 years back. In short the world is changing.

Hey, This is not what I wanted to discuss. We are very much there discussing Words having no meaning. Do you believe in this now.

Our today is the Product of our thoughts. The same thought we have now would take us to our Tomorrow. We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are. We need to think right. Every word should have the right context and every context has to be positive. Now thoughts are also words which forms questions. Most of our thoughts are in the form of questions put forward to us and all the answers decides our tomorrow. This is true all the time and we all know that THOUGHTS BECOME THINGS in the long run. Lets watch this Tony Robin's Video and see How it works.



I will get back on this one soon. Till than you are required to decide and write back to me about your thoughts on this article. I have more to tell you. I am available at shamsud.ahmed@gmail.com or simply post o this site.

Cheers and Keep Thinking

Happiness

A small take from Stephen Knapp

Happiness is a part of our spiritual nature. In Sanskrit, that nature is called sat-chit-ananda. The word sat means eternal. The soul is eternal and its natural tendencies are also eternal. The word chit means knowledge, especially the higher spiritual knowledge that is connected with our eternal nature. In our natural and fully realized spiritual position, we are full of knowledge, and we know what to do and how to do it--in other words, no confusion. The word ananda means full of bliss. Again, the eternal, awakened nature of the soul is to always be full of happiness. It is always within us. The problem with attaining this bliss is that before we are fully connected with our higher Selves, we search for it outside of us. Thinking our inner joy comes from something external only contributes to our confusion and frustration. It adds to our misidentification of who and what we really are, and what we really need. The fact is, our body alone cannot make us happy. It is a machine in which we exist, although we may feel fairly pleased with it when we are healthy and in good shape.

Likewise, our mind alone cannot make us happy. What we seek is deeper than that. Finding the happiness within may not always be easy, but it is impossible to find it elsewhere.


To be convinced that our search for happiness should be in things outside ourselves is what shuts us out from finding the happiness already within us. What value is our happiness if we must work hard and struggle for it? That merely means we are looking in the wrong direction. Sure, maybe we do have to work hard, but that should not be the cause of either our happiness or distress. We attain happiness from what we learn, what we accomplish, and the experience or personal progress we derive from it. This is especially powerful when what we do is connected with how our inner Self is revealed.