Ant and Wealthy man

One Sunday morning, a wealthy man sat in his balcony enjoying sunshine and his coffee when a little ant caught his eye which was going from one side to the other side of the balcony carrying a big leaf several times more than its size. The man watched it for more than an hour. He saw that the ant faced many impediments during its journey, paused, took a diversion and then continued towards destination.

At one point the tiny creature came across a crack in the floor. It paused for a little while, analyzed and then laid the huge leaf over the crack, walked over the leaf, picked the leaf on the other side then continued its journey.

The man was captivated by the cleverness of the ant, one of God’s tiniest creatures. The incident left the man in awe and forced him to contemplate over the miracle of Creation. It showed the greatness of the Creator. In front of his eyes there was this tiny creature of God, lacking in size yet equipped with a brain to analyze, contemplate, reason, explore, discover and overcome. Along with all these capabilities, the man also noticed that this tiny creature shared some human shortcomings.

The man saw about an hour later the creature had reached its destination – a tiny hole in the floor which was entrance to its underground dwelling. And it was at this point that the ant’s shortcoming that it shared with the man was revealed. 

How could the ant carry into the tiny hole the large leaf that it had managed to carefully bring to the destination? It simply couldn't!

So the tiny creature, after all the painstaking and hard work and exercising great skills, overcoming all the difficulties along the way, just left behind the large leaf and went home empty-handed.

The ant had not thought about the end before it began its challenging journey and in the end the large leaf was nothing more than a burden to it. The creature had no option, but to leave it behind to reach its destination. The man learned a great lesson that day.

Isn't that the truth about our lives?

We worry about our family, we worry about our job, we worry about how to earn more money, we worry about where we should live – 5 bedroom or 6 bedroom house, what kind of vehicle to buy – a Mercedes or BMW or a Porsche, what kind of dresses to wear, all sorts of things, only to abandon all these things when we reach our destination – The Grave.

We don’t realize in our life’s journey that these are just burdens that we are carrying with utmost care and fear of losing them, only to find that at the end they are useless and we can’t take them with us.....

Buddha's Advice to Calm a Disturbed Mind

Once Buddha was walking from one town to another town with a few of his followers.. This was in the initial days. While they were traveling, they happened to pass a lake. They stopped there and Buddha told one of his disciples, "I am thirsty. Do get me some water from that lake there."

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy, very turbid. The disciple thought, "How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink!"

So he came back and told Buddha, "The water in there is very muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink." After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake.

This time too he found that the lake was muddy. He returned and informed Buddha about the same. After sometime, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back. The disciple reached the lake to find the lake absolutely clean and clear with pure water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said," See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be ... . and the mud settled down on its own - and you got clear water. Your mind is also like that! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don't have to put in any effort to calm it down. It will happen. It is effortless."

Top 10 quotes on Family

10. “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it”  – George A Moore

9. “In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future”  – Alex Haley

8. “The family is one of nature's masterpieces” – George Santayana

7. “Family is not an important thing, it’s everything”  – Michael J. Fox

6. “Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten” – David Ogden Stiers

5. “Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one” – Jane Howard

4. “To understand your parents’ love, you must raise children yourself” – Chinese proverb

3. "Some of the most important conversations I’ve ever had occurred at my family’s dinner table” – Bob Ehrlich

2. “The best inheritance a parent can give to his children is a few minutes of their time each day” – Orlando Aloysius Battista

1. “Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family” – Anthony Brandt

Get Rid Of Pessimism

There was once a farmer who devised a competition between his dog and his rabbit. He made a hole in one of his biggest fields, and hid a carrot and a bone in it. He wanted to see which animal would find them first.
He made a hole in one of his biggest fields, and hid a carrot and a bone in it.

The rabbit was very cheerful and optimistic, and he threw himself into looking for the carrot, digging here and there, totally convinced that he would find it. But the dog was pessimistic, and after sniffing around for a bit, he lay down on the ground and began to complain how difficult it was to find one bone in such a big field.

The rabbit dug for hours, and with every new hole the dog complained even more about how difficult this was, even for the rabbit. The rabbit, on the other hand, thought that each hole dug was one hole less that needed digging.  When there was no place in the whole field left to dig, the rabbit dug a tunnel to right under where the dog had been lying all that time.

There he found the carrot and the bone. And this is how it was that the dog lost due to his pessimism. Because, thanks to his great instinct, he had already found the right place at the very beginning!

Life Changes When Your Thoughts..

One day all the employees reached the office and they saw a big advice on the door on which it was written: “Yesterday the person who has been hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym”.

In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that man who hindered the growth of his colleagues and the company itself.

The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room. The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up. Everyone thought: “Who is this guy who was hindering my progress? Well, at least he died!”


One by one the thrilled employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it they suddenly became speechless. They stood nearby the coffin, shocked and in silence, as if someone had touched the deepest part of their soul. There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see himself.

There was also a sign next to the mirror that said: “There is only one person who is capable to set limits to your growth: it is YOU.” You are the only person who can revolutionize your life.

You are the only person who can influence your happiness, your realization and your success. You are the only person who can help yourself.  Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your partner changes, when your company changes. Your life changes when you change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs, when you realize that you are the only one responsible for your life. “The most important relationship you can have is the one you have with yourself”.

Moral: The world is like a mirror: It gives back to anyone the reflection of the thoughts in which one has strongly believed. The world and your reality are like mirrors lying in a coffin, which show to any individual the death of his divine capability to imagine and create his happiness and his success. It’s the way you face life that makes the difference.

Tiger in the Toilet

Once a stranded Tiger entered the washroom in a Corporate Office and hid in a dark corner. Since there were people outside the washroom through the day, the Tiger was afraid to come out.

Many people frequented the washroom, but the frightened Tiger didn’t touch anyone. However, after four days it couldn’t bear hunger anymore, so it caught a man who had come in, and ate him.

This man happened to be an Assistant General Manager in the organization, but nobody noticed his disappearance.

Since nothing untoward happened, the Tiger became bolder and after two days caught another man and ate him.

This man was the General Manager of the organization.

Still, nobody worried over his disappearance (Some people even happy that he was not seen in the office).

Next day, the Tiger caught the Vice President who was a terror in the organization.

Again nothing happened. The Tiger was very happy and decided that this was the perfect place for him to live.

The very next day the happy Tiger caught a man who had entered the washroom while balancing a tray of teacups in one hand.

The frightened man fell unconscious. Within fifteen minutes a huge hue and cry ensued, and everyone in the office started looking for the man. The search team reached the washroom, flushed out the Tiger and saved the unconscious man. He was the tea boy in the office.

Moral of the Story

It is not the position, but our usefulness to others that makes us lovable and respectable.:)

Acknowledgement: From the book Tiger in the Toilet
Submitted by: Sanket Shah

Integrity is Everything

Happy Thoughts for Everyday

1. No Troubles are Permanent
 
We all had spent good and bad times in our life. Just like everything else, there is no trouble which is permanent. We all have to face problems in our life which varies from people to people. But everything will pass. We just need to be patient and have to work hard to get us out of that situation and then a time comes when all are troubles fade away from our life.

2. We Can Do It
 
If one can do it then anybody can do it; they are no exception. We must.

3. Be Positive About Yourself

We all will face people who will speak and think negative about us. Their opinion about you really doesn’t matter. It is necessary for you to have positive thinking for yourself. This is so because if you can’t think positive about something then how could you turn someone else thought into positive ones for yourself. So to be happy you must keep your vision clear for yourself.

4. Be Patient

Do not think that the problems will end without any kind of efforts in a blink of an eye. One must have to put efforts and wait for the end results which will turn out to be positive if the person keeps enough patience.

5. No one is Bad; it’s Their Thinking
When we are angry or disappointed in people, we think that they are negative personalities or that they are just too bad to live in this world. However, no one is bad in this big world; the way they think is not right. All we need to do is to change their thinking to improve their abilities. This will also help us to see the world with a positive vision.

6. There will Always be Light at the End of Path
 
The difficult time comes in our life but it’s on us how that how hard we try to get out of that darkness. Focusing on your targets and goals will help you to achieve them and let you reach towards the light. It will also change the way you see the world.

7. Be Thankful of What you Have

We all grieve for what we don’t have or things that are missing from our life. Instead of this, we must be thankful to angels of heaven for the things that we have in our life- the happy moments, precious memories, fun with friends and families, love and care. Keep positive and stay happy for what you have and enjoy those little moments of your life.
 
8. Life is a Competition

We have to work smartly and hard to achieve a good rank in this competition among trillions of other participants. So don’t feel defeated and always keep trying.

We should always live positively to life a happily everyday life. Obstacles are the steps to success.

9 Habits of People Who Never Settle for Mediocrity

When someone says it can't be done, or that it is impossible, you should be the first one in line to test it out.

1. Pack your schedule.

Most people waste a LOT of time, usually 60 - 100 hours every week, because they have too much down time and are not busy enough.

Make a schedule. Schedule every 30 minutes and fill it to the brim with stuff; this can be stuff that makes you excited, it can be work, it can be sleep, it can be watching a movie, it can be learning to play an instrument, etc.

Just pack it full so that you are the one in control of your time and so that you learn what you are capable of.

2. Do things no one else is willing to do.

When someone says it can't be done, or that it is impossible, you should be the first one in line to test it out.

Test it, see if it actually is impossible, and then make it work out somehow. Become the person everyone goes to if they want something handled that is too hard.

That will make you way above average through the skills you learn in handling difficult problems, never giving up, and through realizing that your potential is far greater than you believe.

3. Learn more than anyone else.

Not just by studying in school, but especially about yourself, how to improve yourself, and how to master all the areas of your life.

Study every single day. Learn at least for an hour a day by watching videos or reading, and you will be way more knowledgeable than the average person, which gives you more control over your life.

4. Read between 2 and 4 books a month.

That's at least 1 every two weeks, maybe even 1 a week.

Most people finish 4 books in a year; if you can do 6 - 12 times that amount, that means you will be 6 - 12 times ahead of everyone else, ahead of the average person.

5. Quit the TV and video game addiction.

If I meet you in 10 years at the airport and ask you what you have done in the last 10 years, would you rather say, "Oh ... I just watched a lot of shows and movies, and played a lot of games ... nothing much."

Or would you want to say, "I worked really hard on achieving my dreams, I became a master in every area of my life, I traveled the world, met amazing people, and finally got my dream job."

You are not choosing this life in 10 years. You are choosing this right now! Make the choice that the average person is too afraid to make and go for your dream.

6. Wake up earlier than everyone else.

If you can wake up early, it shows that you are in control of your life.

Most mistakes, regrets, and bad decisions are made after 10 PM. Go to bed early so you can wake up early and make better decisions, which lead to a better life, which gets you out of "average."

7. Stop thinking of money as an evil thing.

"Money isn't everything", "Money doesn't make you happy", "Money corrupts". Those are all sayings of average people that never had any money.

How do they know? Sure, money isn't everything and it alone doesn't create happiness, but it sure as hell is not what corrupts people, and I bet I could be a lot happier being rich than poor.

Money is almost everything; with money we are free to do what we want, so stop thinking of it as this evil thing and actually make it your DUTY to have money!

You are obligated to take care of yourself, of your family, and to give yourself and them the best life imagineable, which means you need to have money. It is your duty.

Become the person that uses money for great things, good deeds, and who invests it in noble organizations. Be ethical and be rich at the same time, but be rich!

8. Never surrender on the things you truly want.

Most average people give up as soon as things get tough and then they complain that they never got what they wanted.

Of course things will get hard! You will cry, be frustrated, afraid, angry, and totally beaten to a pulp, but when the average person stops getting up, you have to rise once more.

What do you want?

What do you truly desire?

Whatever it is, however impossible it seems, never surrender, never give up on it, and never settle for anything less than that.

Get it, or die trying. That is the attitude of winners.

9. Be excited.

The average person is bored, upset, annoyed, or even all three. If you want to be above average, then force yourself to be ecstatic about life!

Even if you don't feel like it, just decide to be excited and enthusiastic.

Practice this and you will learn to be it every day, all day; it is a muscle, not just an emotion, so train it like one!

Live-By Rules From History’s Masterminds

Here are five timeless pieces of leadership advice from a few of those masterminds:

1. Machiavelli: Make big changes stick.

“It should be considered that nothing is more difficult to handle, more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to manage, than to put oneself at the head of introducing new orders.”

That statement sits at the heart of Niccolo Machiavelli’s The Prince, one the most infamous leadership books ever written. For several hundred years after its 1513 publication, it was regarded as a how-to book for tyrants, dripping with sinister advice. In recent decades, however, it has been defended as a steadfastly practical examination of what does and doesn’t work for a leader who wants to make big changes.

Machiavelli knew cultivating change is one thing, while sustaining it another. He tells us, “Better to be feared than loved,” but when it comes to making change stick, this tough leader advises us to pay attention to the soft stuff: how people feel about the changes in question. Force may work in the short term, but in the long run, an effective leader knows it’s a matter of winning over hearts and minds. “For a prince it is necessary to have the people friendly,” says Machiavelli, “otherwise he has no remedy in adversity.”

2. Shakespeare: Stay in the learning zone.

Shakespeare’s Henry V, known for his inspiring speeches, is also the most self-reflective leader. But he never falls prey to analysis paralysis. In a crisis he moves forward, listening and course-correcting as he goes, transforming hatred and violence into lessons for a better future. He brings the same spirit of learning to his team members.

On the eve of his make-or-break battle with the French at Agincourt (Act IV, Scene i), a disguised King Henry roams through the army camps to discover the soldiers’ mood and what they think of him. The overheard conversations, not all of which are flattering, lead him to consider what it means to be a king. His musings reveal a leader in the learning zone—where our mistakes, my mistakes and their mistakes are pondered as one interconnected whole.

Later, right before the battle, he motivates his vastly outnumbered troops with a speech that, far from inciting fear or anger, appeals to their sense of pride and unity: This day’s anniversary “shall ne’er go by,” he says, “but we in it shall be remembered—We few, we happy few, we band of brothers.”

3. Jane Austen: Help people achieve their own greatness.

Jane Austen’s Emma features a heroine who loves to develop talent but takes the wrong approach. Emma Woodhouse’s excitement about one of her mentoring projects is reminiscent of some present-day managers’ misplaced enthusiasm for talent development. Watch how the “handsome, clever and rich” Emma pictures herself coaching her protégé: “She would notice her; she would improve her… she would form her opinions and her manners. It would be an interesting and certainly a very kind undertaking.”

Emma’s coaching efforts are well meant, but here’s the problem: Instead of cultivating people’s strengths, she tries to fix their weaknesses. The results are terrible. Her mistake is the same as that of the manager who writes employee development plans citing “opportunities for improvement,” or the supervisor who conducts “coaching sessions” telling you exactly how to do your job (which usually means exactly how they do it).

Leaders, Austen suggests, should spend less time trying to mold their team in their own image and more time helping them become better, stronger versions of themselves.

4. Plato: Be fair; be flexible.

Plato’s The Republic (featuring his famous teacher, Socrates) explores the surprisingly complex idea of what is due to groups, individuals and even parts of us.

The central question of the dialogue is, “What is justice?” Up front, someone says justice means being truthful and paying one’s debts—following the rules, one might say. But Socrates rejects this definition, citing the example of someone who borrows weapons from a friend only to find later that the friend has gone violently insane and wants the weapons back. Do you hand them over? Of course not.

This seemingly trivial example is actually quite serious: Justice can’t mean following the letter of the law, because we can always think of special circumstances, often having to do with a person’s intent or character, which would call for a different approach. Rules and policies are well and good, but if we don’t show appropriate flexibility—giving people their due diligence based on their role and the circumstances—we’ll be seen as unjust. Conversely, leaders who know when to bend the rules can be exemplars of justice.

5. Mary Shelley: Face your monsters.

Imagine making a bold move: an investment in critical new software, or a bet on an innovative product. Soon after rollout, you realize all’s not well. The software isn’t working. The product is flopping. It’s a nightmare.

What do you do? Do you run from the “monster” you’ve created? Or step forward and see how you can help?

In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, a cowardly leader runs from his scary creation. In one scene from the book, Dr. Frankenstein and his creature meet in a lonely forest. Frankenstein thinks he’s a dead man, but all the monster wants is to be heard. “I ask you not to spare me,” he says, “Listen to me, and then… if you will, destroy the work of your hands.”

Leaders show courage when they face their adversaries, but they show greater courage when they face up to their responsibilities. Often, that means standing calmly in front of your “monster” and listening to what it has to say.