The Excellence

A German once visited a temple under construction where he saw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need two statues of the same idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up, 

"We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage." The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. "Where is the damage?" he asked. "There is a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work. "Where are you going to install the idol?" 

The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. "If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked... The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, "I will know it." 

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not. 

"Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency... 


from my email
27 August 2010

Ash Greig's 10 Steps to Keeping Hope Alive

Hope is about the most difficult thing to find and keep alive. Every day when we wake up and face the world, we face challenges. Sometimes, we handle it just fine. Sometimes, it pulls us down so much we feel that we just don't have the strength to get on our feet again and move on. No matter how tough life gets, we always know that everything will turn out just fine. There is never an ending to anything – only a continuation and new beginnings.

I've had my share low moments in life – losing loved ones, less-than-impressive test results, painful goodbyes to friends, bad days at work and even embarrassing slip-and-falls in public. No matter how horrible I felt, I always knew that there was a rainbow at the end of the day, that one day I will be able to look back and be glad that I went through it all because it made me the strong person  I am today.

Here it is, my very own 10 steps to Keeping Hope Alive.

Step 1: Be positive. The thing about hope is that it only lives within a positive mind, a positive environment. The day you stop being positive will be the day hope dies. :)

Step 2: Learn to trust. People might have hurt you deeply in the past, but that doesn't mean you stop believing in goodness. There are angels around us to help us through all our ups and downs – you just need to know who they are and thank your lucky stars for having them in your life. :)

Step 3: Help the ones who need you most. Not everyone is lucky to have a bowl of rice on their table each day or know what love is. Donate to an orphanage or spend a day making new friends at the old folks' home. You give them one day of happiness; you get a lifetime's worth of joy. :)

Step 4: Dream big. Most of us are afraid to think of something that we may never have, but it is the one thing that keeps our hope alive in the bleakest moments in life. :)

Step 5: Take one small step at a time. Don't rush into anything, and don't expect miracles to happen overnight. If you're trying to have a baby, don't try for two weeks and give up when the pregnancy test kit points to negative each day. Things will happen when it's meant to happen. :)

Step 6: Stay strong no matter what life throws at you. You lost a loved one, it will hurt. You will cry, you will be upset, but you will come out of it. Remember the good times, reminisce the memories shared, and you will find yourself smiling again. :)

Step 7: Ask yourself what matters most to you. It's not always about money or popularity; it's the values that you hold true to yourself, values that are important to you and make you happy. :)

Step 8: Remember that every wrong will turn out right. We all make mistakes, but it's not the end of the world. Deep inside we know things will one day be okay. :)

Step 9: Give hugs to the ones you care about. We all need to be reminded that we are not alone in this world and nothing says more than a warm hug from someone we love. :)

Step 10: Know that there are always new beginnings. Every one of us goes through some sort of pain at some point in our lives. It's how we learn to accept it and move on that makes life worth living. Don't ever forget that there is always a tomorrow waiting for us. :)

~Ashley Greig~

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Wisdom of Happiness

One on the most convincing pieces on happiness. Khushwant Singh (who is now over 90yrs old, and known well in India) at his best. The rationale applied to each preference is absolutely top class.

EIGHT CLUES TO HAPPINESS

By- KHUSHWANT SINGH

Having lived a reasonably contented life, I was musing over what a person should strive for to achieve happiness. I drew up a list of a few essentials which I put forward for the readers' appraisal.

1. First and foremost is GOOD HEALTH. If you do not enjoy good health you can never be happy. Any ailment, however trivial, will deduct from your happiness.

2. Second, A HEALTHY BANK BALANCE. It need not run into crores but should be enough to provide for creature comforts and something to spare for recreation, like eating out, going to the pictures, travelling or going on holidays on the hills or by the sea. Shortage of money can be only demoralizing. Living on credit or borrowing is demeaning and lowers one in one's own eyes.

3. Third, A HOME OF YOUR OWN. Rented premises can never give you the snug feeling of a nest which is yours for keeps that a home provides: if it has a garden space, all the better. Plant your own trees and flowers, see them grow and blossom, cultivate a sense of kinship with them.

4. Fourth, AN UNDERSTANDING COMPANION, be it your spouse or a friend. If there are too many misunderstandings, they will rob you of your peace of mind. It is better to be divorced than to bicker all the time.

5. Fifth, LACK OF ENVY towards those who have done better than you in life; risen higher, made more money, or earned more fame. Envy can be very corroding; avoid comparing yourself with others.

6. Sixth, DO NOT ALLOW OTHER PEOPLE to descend on you for gup-shup. By the time you get rid of them, you will feel exhausted and poisoned by their gossip-mongering.

7. Seventh, CULTIVATE SOME HOBBIES which can bring you a sense of fulfillment, such as gardening, reading, writing, painting, playing or listening to music. Going to clubs or parties to get free drinks or to meet celebrities is criminal waste of time.

8. Eighth, every morning and evening, devote 15 minutes to INTROSPECTION. In the morning, 10 minutes should be spent on stilling the mind and then five in listing things you have to do that day. In the evening, five minutes to still the mind again, and ten to go over what you had undertaken to do.

RICHNESS is not Earning More, Spending More Or Saving More, but ...

"RICHNESS IS WHEN YOU NEED NO MORE"