The dilemma “ be strong or be intellegent”

“According to Darwin’s Origin of Species, it is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives; but the species that survives is the one that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.”
 — Leon C. Megginson, Civilisation Past and Present, 1963

The thing that separates us humans from other animals is that we constantly change into new forms, new avatars. We are sad, we are happy, we are emotional, and we are angry. We communicate through different languages, we do different kinds of work, and we deal with different kind of people differently. Effectively, we keep on changing ourselves as per the demands of time and situation.

In fact, success in life depends largely on whether we are able to change ourselves with changing times.

If we are flexible and formless – like water – taking the form of whatever is around us, we gain power and succeed against those who rigidly hold on to their ground.

Despite this, when it comes to our ideas – especially when we have only one – we rigidly hold on to them.

This is very much like Henry Ford who supposedly said, “People can have the Model T in any colour – so long as it’s black.” This nearly ruined Ford Motors Company in the 1920s, because while Mr. Ford was in love with his idea of “only black Model T” cars, Americans were shifting to bigger, faster, fancier, and brightly painted automobiles.

Source:  “Origin of Species" by Charles Darwin 

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Art of work… ?

There was a painter named Peter Paul Rubens who found himself inundated with requests for paintings. To alleviate this, he created a system. He employed dozens of extremely talented painters, one specializing in robes, another in backgrounds, and so on. He created a vast production line in which a large number of canvases would be worked on at the same time.

When an important client would visit he would ask all his painters to leave for the day. Rubens would work at an incredible pace, with unbelievable energy. The client would leave in awe of this prodigious man, who could paint so many masterpieces in so short a time.  

Another story centers around a young Serbian scientist named Nicola Tesla and US inventor Thomas Edison. The significance of this story is contained within the lessons of how Nikola Tesla was taken advantage of and how he is the real inventor of many critical inventions to the technological advancement of our society, such as AC power system. This story illustrates how Edison observed this law and Tesla became the transgression. 

When Tesla met Edison in New York, the famous inventor hired him immediately. Tesla worked 18 hour days finding ways to improve the primitive Edison dynamos. Finally, Edison offered him a big reward to redesign them completely — a monumental task that could last years without success. Tesla finally did it, as he went to Edison to break the good news and claim his big reward. Edison told Tesla, “you don’t understand our American humor!”, offering him a small raise instead.

A lesson from 48 laws of power..

“Use the wisdom, knowledge, and legwork of other people to further your own cause. Not only will such assistance save you valuable time and energy, it will give you a godlike aura of efficiency and speed. In the end your helpers will be forgotten and you will be remembered. Never do yourself what others can do for you.”

Source:  “The 48 Laws Of Power" by Robert Greene 

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Yes Face' Attitude

What you do when you don’t have to will determine what you’ll be when you can’t help it – William D. Hersey

In his book, The Grace Awakening, Charles Swindoll tells a story about Thomas Jefferson and a group of companions who were travelling across country on horseback. They came to a river which had left its banks because of a recent downpour. The swollen river had washed the bridge away. Each rider was forced to ford the river on horseback, fighting for his life against the rapid currents.

The very real possibility of death threatened each rider, which caused a traveler who was not part of their group to step aside and watch. After several had plunged in and made it to the other side, the stranger asked President Jefferson if he would ferry him across the river. The president agreed without hesitation. The man climbed on, and shortly thereafter the two of them made it safely to the other side.

As the stranger slid off the saddle onto dry ground, one in the group asked him, “Tell me, why did you select the president to ask this favor of?” The man was shocked, admitting he had no idea it was the president who had helped him. “All I know,” he said, “is that on some of your faces was written the answer ‘No,’ and on some of them was written the answer ‘yes’. His was a ‘yes’ face.

Maintaining a ‘yes face’ attitude can be challenging, even for the best of leaders.

Source : “The Grace Awakening “ by Charles Swindoll

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The River and the Lion

"After the great rains, the lion was faced with crossing the river that had encircled him. Swimming was not in his nature, but it was either cross or die.

The lion roared and charged the river, almost drowning before he retreated. Many more times he attacked the water, and each time he failed to cross.

Exhausted, the lion lay down, and in his quietness he heard the river say, "Never fight what isn't here."

Cautiously, the lion looked up and asked, "What isn't here?"

"Your enemy isn't here," answered the river. "Just as you are a lion, I am merely a river."

Now the lion sat very still and studied the ways of the river. After a while, he walked to where a certain current brushed against the shore, and stepping in, floated to the other side."

Is there something you are fighting? 

Take a moment to pause, quieten and study the situation. You may find that there is nothing to fight.

Source : "The little book of Letting Go"   by Hugh Prather

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Be like water, my friend

"Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way around or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.

Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle. You put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now, water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend."

-- Bruce Lee

A similar thing I have read in the following book by RUSKIN BOND , the author  says being like water will help us being soft and limpid , finding the way through ,over and under any obstacle ,  sometimes travelling underground for great distances before emerging into the open . It does not quarrel ; it simply moves on….

So... Be like water my friend...

Source : A Book of Simple Living by Ruskin Bond     

                   Brief Notes from the Hills...

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STORY that can change your life

In 1972, Jim Cathcart was working at the Little Rock, Arkansas Housing Authority, making $525 a month, with a new wife and baby at home, no college degree, no past successes, and not much hope for the foreseeable future.

One morning, he was sitting in his office listening to the radio, to a program called "Our Changing World" by Earl Nightingale, who was known as "the Dean of Personal Motivation." That day, Nightingale, in his booming voice, said something that would change Jim's life forever: "If you will spend an extra hour each day in study of your chosen field, you will be a national expert in that field in five years or less."

Jim was stunned, but the more he thought about it the more it made sense. Although he had never given a speech, he had always wanted to help people grow in areas of personal development and motivation. He began his quest to put Nightingale's theory to the test by reading books and listening to tapes whenever he could. He also started exercising, became better organized, and joined a self-improvement study group. He persisted through weeks of temptations to quit, just by doing a little more each day to further his goal. Within six months he had learned more than he had in his few years of college, and he began to believe he could turn his goal of becoming a motivational speaker into reality. All the hard work, the discipline, and study paid off. Jim now has delivered more than 2,500 speeches worldwide and has won every major award in the speaking industry.

Just like companies have market value, so do people. In the simplest terms, your market value increases by knowing and doing more. Knowledge is power, not only for your career, but also to improve your family and spiritual life. I once heard a quote that sums it up well, 

"Knowledge is like climbing a mountain; the higher you reach the more you can see and appreciate."

Source : The Nature of Success by Mac Anderson             

Founder, Simple Truths

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Top 5 Regrets of the Dying

For  many years Bronnie Ware (a nurse by profession)   worked  in palliative  care.  Her  patients  were  those  who  had gone home to  die and   shared special  time and secrets of their life. She  was with them  for  the  last  one month  of  their lives. The patients were very emotional during the last moments of their life and shared the truth . Every  single patient  found  their peace  before  they departed  though,  every  one  of them. When questioned  about any  regrets  they  had  or anything  they  would  do differently, common  themes  surfaced again  and  again.  

Here  are  the  most common and top five:

1.I  wish  I'd  had  the  courage  to  live  a  life  true  to  myself,  not  the  life  others expected  of  me. 

2.I  wish  I  didn't  work  so  hard.  -This  came  from  every  male  patient  that  she  nursed.  

3.I  wish  I'd  had  the  courage  to  express  my  feelings.* -Many people  suppressed  their  feelings  in  order  to  keep  peace  with  others. 

4.I  wish  I  had  stayed  in  touch  with  my  friends

5.I  wish  that  I  had  let  myself  be  happier. -This  is  a  surprisingly the most common  one.  

Choice is yours  and Life is yours. Choose  wisely,  Choose friendly,  Choose  happiness, Choose truth. What is your biggest regret till date , give a thought ( share in the comment column if you want for the benefit of others) ?

Source :  The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing   by Bronnie Ware

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_A71hRDOPg

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Teaching the horse to fly

The sultan of Persia had sentenced two men to death.  One of them, knowing how much the sultan loved his stallion, offered to teach the horse to fly within a year in return for his life.  The sultan, fancying himself as the rider of the only flying horse in the world, agreed. 

The other prisoner looked at his friend in disbelief.  “You know horses don’t fly.  What made you come up with a crazy idea like that?  You’re only postponing the inevitable.”  “Not so,” said the first prisoner.  “I have actually given myself four chances for freedom.  First, the sultan might die during the year.  Second, I might die.  Third, the horse might die.  And fourth…I might teach the horse to fly.” 

Instead of submitting oneself to the situation a great idea at proper time will not only save from trouble, but it can be turned into an advantage.

 Source:  The Craft of Power, R.G.H. Siu

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgUsPrkj4yY

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