I was watching a Bollywood Flick today where the Hero says : No one trusts him anymore, barring his son who sees him as a Hero.

His wife sees him, sitting on the couch : an old cricketer who was a fine player in his time but now just a burden, not contributing anywhere.

When I look back and probably in everyone’s life , the situation might be quite similar. It seems all is lost, nothing is left, just keep on drifting in the stream of life. Let it carry us where it has to take us.

But at that moment comes a turn where there will be someone like a “little son” seeing him as a Hero, without any judgement, any remarks, any taunts. That is the only ray of hope that is required for us to propel forward. That is the only energy required to make our way ahead.

The only thing we fail to realise is, who is that little son in our lives who we are not able to see, not able to recognise. Are we even looking for them, or are they already there? No one knows if they are not looking in that direction.

I look at my own life. Quite often, the remarks are there : sometimes do something for the home, for the family too. It takes me back to this flick, am I in the same situation ? The protagonist had a Talent in which he sets out to excel, knowing fully well that if he will : he may end up losing his life. What is my talent on which I embark upon? Do I have one? Who is my little son looking up to me, as his hero. What do my own children think about me? Do they think of someone who goes to office and comes back home to sleep for the night?

Do they look up to me as their hero? Do I fit into their bill of a Hero? What if I die today? How will I be remembered? Or even be remembered?

I do not know, but what comes to me as a realisation, if people do not remember me fondly, is it even worth spending time in the manner I am doing. What should I do to change the stance and make my course to be remembered fondly? What should I take up so that I can be a person who people miss?

What is my one talent which can be of use for others to remember me fondly? Where do I hunt for it?

Some questions unanswered and making me think deep. Some day maybe I may look back through my search, this is what I did worthwhile.

Till such time, let me trudge along the stream of life.

Indians are friendly, and they are very kind. Mouthwatering dishes in our country you will find. Indians have a very smart mind

We have many colourful festivals, we have a lot of spices, We eat a lot of rice, with a lot of lentil nice

Indians are free and independent, I happen to be an Indian as well. Mostly we play cricket in our country. And lot of things we sell

There are many monuments like Taj Mahal, and our popularity is high. We like helping people and we surely don’t lie

We are very patient, we have freedom fighters who fought for us. Indians have a very kind heart. We are so friendly to everyone that we never fuss

Planned Diet          

Planned diet is what I need to stay healthy and for that I will need vegetables and fruits instead of burgers and drinks. To jog from day and night , I want to stay fit right. I was once sick of diseases, but now am fine, all thanks to my lovely Planned Diet

We are reeling under second wave of the Covid 19 pandemic. The preparation has not been upto the mark and probably the whole nation feels cheated and left abandoned. There is widespread criticism of the authorities, and rightly so, as we declared victory too soon.

But I am not here to talk about the above topic as there is ample debate raging on for it. One thing is bugging my mind is: seeing so much of misery, so much sadness, so much of helplessness. What is it that we as individuals have as “A Purpose”

During these tough times, I have been wondering why did the Almighty crafted us, breathed the precious life into us. What is the purpose which He has for me. As I deliberate the thought, nothing seems to be clear. Probably I have to dig deeper and deeper to get my inner calling in this life.

I am sure it is just not doing a 9-5 job, raising a family, seeing them grow and settle down. I actually envy people who have found their true calling, their true Purpose.

As a human being, it is such a necessity for us to have our True Calling, True Purpose. I would like to leave you all with that one thought, do you have the Purpose identified?

One book could be of help. The Ikigai. Give it a try.

God, give us the grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.

I am reading a book called Mindset. It talks about Fixed Mindset vs Growth Mindset. The definition of “smart” in the two sums up the whole difference. For fixed mindset people, the more perfection work depicts is what is smart for them. For Growth mindset it is about figuring out a small thing too, which they had been struggling for long, or able to do an activity which they were not able to earlier. It resonates with being in the “Learning Zone” And “Performance Zone”- another video which I saw the other day.

How do we develop next level leadership by choosing. Some factors which can help develop 1. Take Ownership 2. Use next level of thinking 3. Respect time (yours and others) 4. Focus on progress, not perfection

21st Aug — Today I met old timers from ZO, and we went out for lunch as we used to do during office lunch hours. One thing which stuck me over the discussion, the urge to leave the corporate and settle down as househusbands. Is the life become so boring in the offices, that we are ready for leaving it all? If yes, what is stopping us to do so? Is it a fear of the unknown? What will happen next? I too have the same feeling. How can we get over the fearful feeling? Is it time that we took the step? What will happen if we delay the ultimate step. What will happen to the earnings? How do I feed my family. Why is feeling of failure creeping in inside me, slowly and steadily— a very dangerous situation to be in. I have to get out of this, else the life becomes a stagnant state for me.

Let me tell you a story:
I don’t know how many of us are basketball fans, but am sure most of us must have heard about Michael Jordan.The other day I was watching the documentary : “The Last Dance” – outlining his team’s journey through the years and how 1998 was his last year in the NBA championships (the name “The Last Dance” was given by their coach Phil Jackson).
The story is not of the last year, but somewhere in between.Year 1989 :It was when the Chicago Bulls (the team for which Michael Jordan played), were progressing very well in the championship. The game plan for them was simple, Jordan was to shoulder the responsibility to score and win the games for them. 
In the Finals, they met a team called “Detroit Pistons”- a team known for playing physical. The Chicago Bulls played as per their plan.They were quite successful too, and took a 2-1 lead in the series, but then Pistons deployed the “Jordan Rule” – a simple one though, which said – Don’t allow Jordan space in the court. It worked for the Pistons and the Bulls were bruised and battered in their series defeat (in literal sense too). They lost to the Pistons 4-2 in the NBA Finals.
Here they had a “CHOICE”a) Enjoy the vacation as always, anyways the next season has a year to wait (a year is quite a long time to regain confidence and improve the game)b) Start the journey to rebound from tomorrow itself. (Sense of Urgency and ownership).
No one spoke to one another about anything. But guess what, all of them, even the person sitting outside the court on the match day, were in the Team practice session slogging out for next year, a season which was 365 days away.The Result: Next year, they met Detroit Pistons in the semis, and The Bulls swept Detroit to such a defeat that, at the end they did not even shake their hands. They just walked away from the court. 
What worked for the Chicago Bulls. The documentary says,two things:a) The perseverance and ownership the team had from Day 1: Remember they were still 365 days away when they hit the team gym/practice sessionb) They changed their game plan : Jordan instead of shouldering responsibility, he shared it with his team matesYou all may be asking yourself: Why is he sharing with us a story of Basketball when he knows that we all love Cricket (Dhoni/Kohli/Tendulkar Fans…..!!!!!)
Reflecting back, we are somewhat in the same shape as the Chicago Bulls team in 1989: battered and bruised with the lockdown effect and nowhere near to pre Covid phase. It is a general statement that things will remain bad during this whole year. What can we do? How will we achieve our goals for this year, is it even relevant?  Well just like theirs, we have a CHOICE to make:
a) Get behind the reasons of Externalities and say, let’s relax. Anyways things are not going to come in shape (remember the team had 365 days…!!!!)- how will Metrics improve?b) Start our journey of Rebound (tomorrow itself???) (Our own sense of urgency and ownership). We have to exceed what Goals we have set for this year..!!!
Whatever choice we make, remember it will be our own, (No one spoke to one another about anything: But still all were there in the team practice). Such is the power of the team comradeship. 
As we bounce back to normalcy, looking at the Goals we have set for ourselves, remember what worked for The Bulls (and probably made them Legends….) a) The perseverance and ownership the team had from Day 1: Remember they were still 365 days away when they hit the team gym
b) They changed their game plan : Jordan instead of shouldering responsibility, he shared it with his team matesIt is our Choice which will define our Moment for us. Let’s define our Moment.

Give it up, travellers, give it up.

For it’s humane, not divine.

The anger in your eyes,

Sour relationship in your thoughts,

It has never helped a passer-by

Be a year younger as he grows old…!!!

Give it up, travellers, give it up.

For it’s humane, not divine…!!!!

The hard feelings you have for your mate,

Flashing a frown, as if smile has never grown.

We have never been able to bloom

Keeping all these in our room,

Give it up, travellers, give it up.

For it’s humane, not divine

Give it up instead, for that friend,

for that acquaintance, with whom broken are all ties.

The destiny cries:

Give it up for that friend, give it up for that acquaintance.

Let’s be Divine, let’s be Divine…!!!!!

RB
#specialjourneycalledlife #04