Ever since I shifted and started to stay alone, life has been a teacher for me. All alone, I have all the time to think about me and what I want to do with my life. And if one listens and looks around closely, there are a lot things one can learn from. And one of the things I am learning from is  other’s failures. I never judged people, I still don’t much; but now I have started to look into their way of thinking and start to analyze why are they where they are.

Fortunately people or incidents in my life have been teaching me lots of things. Few of them I would like to share:

1. Those who are not successful are so because they don’t know what they want. Thats why those who dream big tend to be more successful.

2. Hard work is not the mantra, smart work is. My boss asked me to write a logic in one day’s time, though it was not a one day thing. Then later on that same thing he asked to me write some other code in one day time, again it was a way too optimistic thought. Then again couple of such pieces of code. I worked hard but I knew it was not going to solve the problem. After weeks when the design team rejected the code, the work came back to me. This time fortunately my boss said – ok! just do it and finish it once and for all. One day planning and two days coding.

The code is now bug free.

3. People who are good managers tend to do better. There are no super men, but there are super managers. Every successful man is either a successful manager or has one working for him. You can’t fight the simple fact that there are 24 hrs in a day and that you do need a good 7to 8 hrs sleep every day. You have to manage your work, life, family etc in these 24 hrs only. If you do it, you are a winner.

4. Money is source of happiness. I must have mentioned it on the blog that I was never after money. I am still not but what I have realised is that money is important. I should not do wrong to get it, but if I can get it through right means, then its a great thing to have. And as my uncle says: “Those who say money doesn’t buy happiness don’t know the shop to buy it from”.

5. No point betting on a pony. No matter how much you want the pony cannot beat the horse in a race (under normal conditions). The pony is going to be a pony and horse a horse. We cannot change them and we shouldn’t expect much too.  I have to say this but my company is like the same, they are a pony and they would always be one until they change their DNA (style of working). I have spent years in that company but they still don’t realise my efforts. And there is no point continuing if they continue to do so…

6. Compromises don’t work: Thy shall not compromise. Compromises don’t work and thats a fact. And I don’t want to compromise any more. I know I can’t escape it but for most part of my life, I will not. I am where I am today because I compromised on something or the other. People might call me rude now but thats the fact. There are things I will compromise for but those would be for friends and family.

7. Give time to friends: I have not given a good time to friends, no thanks to my hectic office schedule. But I need to break this jinx. I need to go out and spend quality time with friends. What is life without friends and family?

8. Early retirement. I never thought about it but there is something like this too. If you have worked good and earned lots, its time to retire and enjoy life. But this would only happen if I earn a lot. So One should plan early and get it done.

9. Nothing beats a good plan: A good, thought out plan is hard to beat. The more planned it is, the more likely it is to survive. If you think and think through, you can work on a path for which you have done some research and this always help. Instead of waisting time on what to do when you reach a problem, spend time to choose path without a problem.

10. Successful generals are those who have a great back up plan. This I read somewhere and still have to think about. But what it states as you might conclude is an alternate plan if things start to go wrong or don’t fall at right places. If you have a back up plan, you can always switch to that. The back up plan might be different but the objective must be the same

You have been told some keys to success now and then by someone; add one more guy to the list:- Nalin Bakshi.
So why these fundas of life again. Well because I have realised these after making mistakes in my life and wouldn't want you to make some for yourself.

So here are some funda's.


Comfort, the very thing almost everyone seems to running after. It seems to rule our decisions, desires and habits. But the fact is that the Problems and Challenges are the fact of life. The more we run away from them, the more they seem to come after us. So what to do? Run after them and you would have comfort chasing you.

Confused? Hmm.... OK! What is that most beings desire? Its the comfort, right! But to get comfort what we do? Most of us tend to take the easy path out. But does it actually work? Well in short terms yes, but in long - highly unlikely. The only truth in life that you must focus on is problems and challenges, the more you run after them, the more simple and comfortable life would be. How? Let me further explain. Take the case of person who gets up early in the morning to go to gym, its a pain to get up, take time and go just to pump iron or for tuning the body. I mean first you need to take time out for that and then you have to go through more pain of doing the exercise. But the fact is that these people are fit, have fewer health issues, they don't get tired in parties - in fact they tend to enjoy them more, they don't have a problem of going to work the next day and then these people tend to live longer also.
Lets take another example: Lance Armstrong, a cyclist from USA who happens to be Seven time "Tour de France" winner. He went through all the physical, mental pain a person a person is likely to go through, but today despite cancer he is more fit than most of us, he has a big house, expensive ride, world wide fans etc. Lets take another example, Micheal Schumacher: This F1 Champ went through years of mental and physical pain (yes racing means fitness too), considered to be medically one of the fittest athlete. I am sure he would have been getting up early, running everyday, meeting technicians, practicing day in and out. But then look at him, he had an annual package of $35 million US more over he probably has to put in less effort than any of us to drive on a long trip. Success is after him, comfort is after him. He doesn't get tired, money is not an issue, world knows him, and if today he decides not to work , even then he would have better life than most of us middle class people. He has all the comfort in the world.

So, look around yourself and check out the successful people, all of them take on challenge, the one who seems to run after the most problems is probably the most successful person too (this also depends on what you see as success). Comfort seems to follow them, they didn't ask for it, they just got it.

Now look/think about the people who run away for comfort, he/she is probably the one who is nowhere. Living a life of comfort, everything to him/her seems a pain. Life also for the same seems to be a big pain.

No matter how hard you try to run from the problems/challenges in life, they will always be there unless you have someone who is always taking care of you. Which is either not likely to be there for ever, or it means that you are making someone else's life difficult, which would indirectly mean that you are useless. So stop whinnying about it and get ready to face the problem. Remember every problem is nothing but a challenge, its not necessary that you win every time but its necessary that you take it on. Conquer your problems and see the life getting better and exciting.

What distinguishes a champion from the rest? What makes them come again and again, against all odds. What gives them that invisible power to conquer? It can't be mere hard work or some special talent in them..... there are so many people with such talents , but what makes these people special? What gives them this amazing zeal to perform?

It's just not there competition, its something else. Its there Will Power. The power which is unlike anything in the world. This power makes pain seem like a small stone on their journey to success. The power which has the ability to control the ultimate desire. Its the only thing which is capable of opening the immense power inside every soul that roams this planet.

Will power is a magic which transform a normal human being into something better. A man into a soldier who can fight at heights of Kargil, a racer into a master piece to compete against the best machines in the world, the emperor the challenge to win the world, the queen the courage to fight against the freedom of her kingdom, a cyclist to defy cancer, a man the ability to win freedom for his country through peace. These men/women had immense will power to shake the world.

The Indian soldiers who fought the Pakistani Army at the worlds toughest terrain, Micheal Schumacher to challenge the engineering marvel Of McLaren Mercedes car, Alexander the strength to win the world, Rani Laxami bai to fight the Britishers while she hung her young baby (tied to ) her while she charged her horse against the guns of British soldiers, armed only with a sword; Lance Armstrong to defy everything and become 'Tour de France' championship seven times and Mahatma Gandhi to win India the freedom from British rule. These are just few examples of what the power of will can do. To die for one's country needs more than just hard work and guns. These humans transformed from normal humans to super men/women with the power of will. But the question is that can you control your will? Do you have the control of your self. This is something you need to answer your self. Will has no limit, it can push you as much as you want it to. Its the battle of wills that at the end counts.

The first step towards anything is understanding its capabilities, which I hope you have been able to get from the above text. The next is to start by implementing it on any one task that you do every day or something that you want to do .By this I don't mean watching to TV or surfing the net for chat etc because these won't be very important /realistic targets. So start with something you want to improve upon, lets say studying. So next time when you are studying and after some good studying have decide to wrap it up, Don't. Sit there and continue. Continue to the point that you can't just resist the temptation of doing something else to take the break. And then sit for 5 minutes more. Fruitful or not the start has to be that way. I do agree that you might come to a point that there is no actual advantage of pushing to much but then the idea for now is not simply to have efficient out put, but preparing yourself for that. What you would be doing is that you would be expanding your mental ability. And when it expands, you would later be able to be efficient even after sitting continuously. Relate this example to anything else, Gym, jogging, singing, etc.

But as with everything, if there is an advantage of it, there sure is a disadvantage of it. The main disadvantage can be that if you are pushing too much, then you are likely to lose interest in it. So you might want to avoid it. If you think that you are reaching this point, then take a break from it. Do something else but do get back on it. And try again this time pushing the same or less, defiantly not more. Its a gradual process and will take time.

One good thing about will power is that, if you improve on it, then you would have overall gain and not just for a given situation. What this habit will actually do is that consciously or subconsciously give you more control of yourself.You would be able to do what you want to do. That is of course possible when you have goals/dreams and you are not confused.

Control your will, and you would control your life.

This is a line from the CBZ Xtreme video advertisement. It didn't make much sense to me till I met one gal who despite her talent was not able to do things the way she could have, only because she was thinking too much. "Thinking is a waste of time" when you know what you want to do. Thinking on how to do it is good but wasting time on thinking about the fact that I need to do this or not is a sheer waste of time. Instead of just wasting time realising this and hoping that the thinking would settle in the mood, one should go out and do it. Atleast that way you would know practically will it work or not.

For instance I would like to mention about one friend of mine who likes this gal in office, she is smart and have the eyes that a person is likely to admire her. So one fine day this gal went out for snacks as usual and my friend after her; hoping to talk to her and get her number out. So he goes boldly to her and just before he could say something, he starts to think I don't know what. The gal seemed to be in hurry so I asked my friend to talk and he still kept thinking. The window of opportunity was small and he let it go. And I was like "what the hell are you thinking man". I knew that he was nervous but thats not gonna help anyways. And too much planning is not gonna help either. Instead of thinking he should have gone there and said something. Whatever may be the result he would not have wasted time thinking atleast. He is repenting it anyways.


This is what I guess happens when you just think too much and this is also what makes the difference between the winner and the loser. While the loser thinks, the winner goes out with the trophy. Think about it- what would happen if James Bond started thinking instead of just doing it - won't the movie be too long and bore; not to mention that bond would be dead. I mean should he think or just jump shoot and run?

Thinking, its a waste of time. If you know the goal then don't wait, its like a football game where time is your opponent. If you stand for long, then the other player would take it away, even if you are moving it about a given area even then you are prone as more players will move in to take the ball. Best option is see the target and move. Evaluate in that small time and move back and forth. Pass it even, your objective is the goal not the ball. Don't waste time thinking about it.

Remember, "Thinking, its a waste of time." And remember James Bond :)

Confusion - its a word that people commonly use every now and then. Sometimes we are confused where to go out to, sometimes which ice cream flavour to try out... the list is too long. This confusion though is harmless but it can be a dangerous habit. Confusion I would say is a killer. Something which I realised a bit late but none the less I did. So how is it dangerous? Well here are a few situations from my life:

I was in 6th standard when a classmate of mine who was a Takewando (One Dan) champ got into fight with a senior. The opponent in this fight was older and needless to say stronger physically. The senior had the first shot but as my friend was a trained fighter, his reflexes quickly kicked in and he retailed with a kicks and punches. Both guys were using a mix of offensive and defensive stances. But shortly into the fight I saw that my friend was a bit paused ,just defending himself and in the process got a few good punches. After getting good beating he fought back with a set of kicks, but all at one position, a bit too obvious for the opponent. So that guy moved accordingly and punched my friend back, but the kicks had done the damage, the set of punches from the opponent were light. Quickly my friend punched him here and there and soon that guys was down.
We were anticipating this but then the few punches he got in middle of the fight, had all us friends in doubt. So I went to him after the fight and asked him that why was he like paused in the middle of the fight, totally defensive and he replied back "I was confused, I didn't know what would be the best - kicking in the head so that I could.....or .... or...."

Well there you see, a moments pause got him a good deal of punches although he fought back but what he did was use the last damn trick that had come to his mind. Had he kept deciding, I am sure it was him who was gonna hit the ground.

Another life experience of mine: - I was coming back from college and few hundred meters before a roundabout ahead, I decided that I would take that turn on which there would be less traffic as both routes were equidistant to my home. As I reached the round-about I started thinking which turn to take. This slowed down my riding ability as I was more keen on deciding which turn to take. Within the span of few seconds I had changed my mind more than 5-6 times for which route to take and situation came to the point that I was almost gonna have an accident. I was not only confusing myself but others also. That was one of the two tries I ever had in my life regarding the better of the two routes and never again.

From these two live experiences of my life I want to say that don't think to a level that confuses you too much. Confusion will only waste time and get you no where. Had I been thinking while taking that turn any longer, I am sure I would have been involved in accident. So what should one do? Well when I get too confused and all options seem equal to me I just pick one of them and go with it. I mean whats the harm, anyways its not gonna be as bad as not deciding.


As the new CBZ Extreme advertisement says: "Thinking is such a waste of time". But be aware this is true only for those who know what they want. And you are confused because you don't know what you want. Never mix a wise thinking with confusion.
(Thinking means analysing - confusion means not knowing what to choose. If you still don't see the difference - then you are confused!)

Moral of the story: If you get confused, then go for anyone option and stick to it. Whatever happens would not be as bad as being confused.

There is a beautiful song sung by "Aerosmith" - "Dream on". One of the best lines in this song is "Dream on till your dreams com true" and I totally agree with it. But sadly most of us are too busy in our lives, that we have somehow forgotten to dream. Some people think its a waste of time while some think that it only break hearts when their dreams don't come true... the reasons for not dreaming vary and at the end people some how stop themselves from dreaming something big. Now HOLD IT. Why stop? Just because you didn't succeed the last time doesn't mean that you haven't gained anything or you can't succeed the next time. Why is it a waste a time - is it stopping you from being successful? There might be few amongst us who don't need to dream but what about the rest of us. Are we as successful as we want to be or have we just forgot what we want to do?

So why dream?
Everyday we learn something and the impressions of these activities are left in our un-consciences mind. Want it or not but this very much affects how we shape our selves. For instance what makes people exposed to something good (in most cases) are better than others? Simple reason is that this affects there unconscience mind. Another example would be movies, how sometimes a movie inspire us to do something - its a different matter that after few days this inspiration dies down in most of us. But what about that few hours? What was the trigger? The movie gives us a kind of illusion, a doorway to something not happening in real but still it inspired us. Same is the case with dreams. Dreams are our doorway to this mystical world. But the only difference here is that we don't have to waste some 2 hours to dream someone else's dream.
Makes sense?
If it does then read on else click on some other interesting link on the page.
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So you have decided to read on - Good!

According to me there are four types of people
1. Who have the fuel to last the race and ignition to motivate themselves.
2. Those who have the fuel but need some ignition (motivation) from outside.
3. Those who have the ignition but not the fuel to last it.
4. And finally those who neither have the fuel nor the ignition.

Which one you are and which among the top four would u want to be?
Question: Well those who want to be successful would have already chosen 1. But then how to be self motivating always?
Answer: Simple - Dream on!
Dream what you want to be and this would trigger the motivational factor with in you. You must have the want to do it. What would happen slowly and steadily is that your unconscience brain would start to motivate you.

Simple exercise: Ok so you think its a crap or you don't know what to think of, well here is an example - think of how you want to look like. Imagine yourself to be that - daily. And after few days see how its making you decide on certain factors while shopping, walking, eating.

I agree that just dreaming won't help - but if you are one of those who have that bit of spark you would see the difference. Try on!