7 Great Minds...7 important Lessons

Have you ever wished you could go back in time and have a conversation with one of the greatest minds in history? Well, you can’t sorry, they’re dead. Unless of course you’re clairaudient, be my guest. But for the rest of us, we can still refer to the words they left behind.

Even though these great teachers have passed on, their words still live, and in them their wisdom. I’ve made a list of seven what I believe are some of the greatest teachings by the world’s greatest minds.

1. Realizing Your Dreams

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”
- Lawrence J. Peter

In order for us to achieve our dreams, we must have a vision of our goals. Writing down our dreams and creating a list of actions helps us stick to our plan. As it’s said “if you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it”. When we turn our goals into measurable actions, we gain clarity and are able to see the necessary steps we must take in order to achieve them.

Action: Visualize a life of your wildest dreams. What did you dream of doing when you were a child? What would you do if you had a million dollars? Create a vision for your goals and start breaking them down into small actions that you can take on a day by day basis.

2. Overcoming Fear

“It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, “Always do what you are afraid to do.”
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The best way to learn something is to dive right in to it. When we overcome our fear of failure, we learn that only those who are asleep make no mistakes. Fear is the only thing keeping us from experiencing a life of love and fulfillment. If we make a commitment to an uncompromisable quest for truth, we will realize that as we grow more into the truth, our fears start to disappear.

Action: You must define your fears in order to conquer them. Create a list of everything you’re afraid of and start facing them one at a time. Make a commitment to yourself now to not let fear rule your life.

3. Intention and Desire

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think, we become.”- Guatama Buddha

Our thoughts determine our reality. When we stop thinking about what we don’t and begin thinking about what we do want, our lives begin to transform. Instead of working against our desires and intentions, we move into alignment with them.

Action: Create a list of your intentions and desires. Wherever you go, take this list with you. Read it when you wake up and before you go to sleep.

4. Happiness

“Happiness depends more on the inward disposition of mind than on outward circumstances.”
- Benjamin Franklin

Happiness comes from an inner peace, understanding and acceptance of life; a perspective of truth that opens your eyes to the beauty of life all around us. Happiness cannot be achieved by external status, it must be an internal state that we realize when we see our innate perfection.

Action: Realize that happiness is a choice. In every decision you make ask yourself “how can I respond to make myself happy and fulfilled?”

5. Self Acceptance

“If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.” – Jesus

When we stop trying to be what we are not, we realize our authenticity. Before we had knowledge, we were completely authentic. We learn to use knowledge to measure and judge, which is a powerful tool we have as humans. However we create an image of perfection in our mind of what we should be, but are not. We confuse knowledge for nature. We believe in the lie of our imperfection. When we realize this we can reclaim the truth of our perfection and live in love and acceptance.

Action: Make a commitment to never go against yourself. Practice non-judgment and realize that the same part of your mind that condemns you is the same voice that caused you to take the action in the first place. We don’t even have to believe what we say to ourselves.

6. Appreciation and Gratitude

“So much has been given to me, I have not time to ponder over that which has been denied.”
- Helen Keller

How many times do we count our misfortunes rather than our blessings? When we take time to open our eyes to the miracle of life we can see the many gifts that have been given to us. Remembering all the beautiful aspects of life and all the reasons you are blessed can immediately shift our mood. We can move from sorrow and despair to appreciation and hope.

Action: Each time you find yourself complaining about something, re-direct your focus to something you are grateful for. Make a habit of transforming your awareness of troubles into an awareness of abundance.

7. The Art of Simplicity

“I made this letter longer than usual because I lack the time to make it short.”
- Blaise Pascal

Perfection is not when there is nothing to add, but when there is nothing more to take away. As Bruce Lee once said “the height of cultivation always runs to simplicity.” True mastery of our lives is realizing the simple joys of life, removing distractions and clutter from our lives.

Action: The art of simplicity is knowing what to take away. Practice recognizing when you’re spending your time on unimportant tasks and re-focus on the important.

This list is by no means exhaustive. There are other many great teachings that I did not include here because I felt like they were already expounded on thoroughly elsewhere, such as Einstein and Gandhi’s timeless classics. There are also great teachings to be found from our parents or friends.

Source: The Internet

The Czar and his Quarter

This post is just something that I had promised to do a long time ago when a friend tagged me in a silly facebook game. A person will write facts about himself and tag his friends on it. Every friend who is tagged will have to write facts about himself adding an extra fact to the number of facts given in the post he was originally tagged in. Silly game, I know, but at times you like taking a break from the usual and doing something completely new, maybe I am doing this for the very same purpose.

 The following is the break-up of the 25 facts I will tell you about myself:

General Facts:

1. Family, Friends, Bikes and Career, these are the most important things in my life, beyond this there are very few things which I like thinking about.

2. Love collecting motorsport merchandise and Die-Cast models of cars and bikes. It helps me stay in touch with the kid inside me.

3. Love every aspect of technology, how it affects us, how it helps us and how it can bring about a change in our future.

4. I like my coffee without milk and sugar, toast with lots of butter and chocolate with tons of nuts and caramel.

5. Always wear a scapular with Mother Mary on one side and Lord Jesus on the other, makes me feel as if I have a personal angel guarding me from all evil.

6. I am a big time mumma’s boy, I like sleeping on my mother’s lap, walking around with her handbag when we go shopping and crying in front of her when I am not in the best state of mind.

7. I respect everyone who mentored me and made me what I am today, it’s their love, support and values which has made me capable of doing what I am doing today.

8. Travelling is a full time passion and I see life through the Lens of my Camera.

9. If given a chance, I would love to trade my life with a nomad. Something about being free which gets me.

10. A day without technology and gadgets is the longest day of that year for me.

Superstitions: 

11. Whenever I am going out for a long/interstate bike ride, I always look at a picture of a female who is close to me before starting. Till now, it has mostly been mom with my ex/fling being the picture (and reality) on a couple of occasions.

12. Like stepping out of the house with my right feet when I leave for office in the morning. Don’t know why and how but always try doing that.

13. If anything strange happens when I am doing something, like a fall or hit on the body, I pray to god thanking him that something bigger was avoided.

14. Always wear a Black Livestrong band which I feel keeps me in touch with my past and reminds me of my inner strength.

Emotional Facts:

15. Love holding onto memories in the form of gifts, cards, letters, photographs, t-shirt etc. I still have all the cards that any of my friends have given me in the past 6 years, old gifts from ex girlfriends and photographs from school, college and outings etc.

16. Hate people who lie to me and hate people who don’t have a backbone to own up to things they have done.

17. If I have made a promise to you, I will make sure that I respect it. Even if that means abstaining from something I really like.

18. Break my trust; I will give you a second chance. Break my trust again; you won’t even come to know when I moved out of your life.

19. Forgive and forget or Forgive and remember, I am still confused, which one do I choose??

The Really Personal Facts:

20. My first proper experience of love was on the dance floor of a Kolkata discotheque. My wingman just happened to click a picture of the moment I was completely lost in her eyes and vice versa, a picture which I still treasure.

21. I had to get my chest waxed for a play because I was supposed to wear a low neck shirt, unfortunately, director changed my costume and I was left with a slick chest for no reason.

22. Hate looking at my past laurels, I believe if you did something great yesterday, you were good yesterday, today is a whole new ball game.

23. I am a responsible son, an indulgent brother, a friend of friends and a great guy if you know me but just in case you don’t, I would suggest don’t try using your attitude while getting to know me. I don’t react too well to people who have a snobbish air about themselves; I will verbally rape you and then take a leak on your sorry carcass.

24. I am a very possessive person, so if you have space issues, please define what’s your space and I will not encroach it. I am also a person who hates people getting in his personal space so I respect the individual space the people have for themselves.

25. Last but not the least, I make a crazy first impression, works well with some, doesn’t work well with some, but if I like you, you will come to know instantly, the opposite is also true.

With that one, I have done my bit of promise keeping, yes it was late but I did it. This blog-post has been a welcome change from my usual blogs where I am generally writing about my experiences. Hopefully you will see more fun blog-posts in the near future.Cheers!!

A Believer's Prayer

Lord Jesus, it is you who wakes me up everyday
And I am forever grateful for your love, this is why I pray.
You let me touch so many people and it is all for the good
And influence so many children, I never thought that I would.

I couldn't take the credit for the love they gave,
because it all comes from you, Lord; I am just the one who is given it.

When it seems like the pressure gets to be too much,
I take time out and pray and ask that you be my crutch.
Lord, I am not perfect by a long shot,I confess to you daily,
but I work hard everyday and hope that you hear me.

In my heart I mean well, but if you help me to grow,
then what I have in my heart begin to show.

And When I get going, I am not looking back for nothing,
for you are the guide to show where I am heading.
I don't deserve what you have given me, but you never took it from me
For that I am grateful

If what you want from me is to bring your children to you,
then the only regret is I have only one life to do so.

Amen!

The Circus, Lady Dada & The Return of Disco Biker

Every end is the beginning of something new, it’s only after you have experienced the highs and lows of life do you realize that life is all about having a great time and enjoying every moment of everything you do. The past year has been a roller-coaster ride for me and it has also been one of the most educating years of my life as an individual. It started on a rather sad note, but like the dialogue of The Dark Knight goes – “the night is darkest before dawn”. After starting the year with no aim, no hope and no love, I actually went learn the most important lesson in life. You should be the epicenter of your life. Some friends will betray you, Love will betray you but you will never betray yourself.

When the heart and mind think alike, great decisions are made. In my case, I never had my heart and mind agreeing on anything but thankfully a certain aunt & niece team made the best decision of my life for me (No, she wasn’t my aunt or niece). As funny as it sounds it wasn’t funny for me at that point of time but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

The funny thing about being in a relationship (read fling, in my partner's case) is that, you are spending so much time worrying about your partner that you don’t realize what you are missing out on. Once you are out of it, in true ‘How I Met Your Mother Style’ you grow a break-up beard (to get the feel) and one fine day you start paying attention to all the people who were paying attention to you all the time while you were busy paying attention to people who didn’t care (or took it for granted). That, my friend, is the beginning of your new and improved life. It was a similar case with me. After my post break-up ‘Devdas’ period was done, I started a new life. A life where your friends are closer to you, a life where you don’t have to keep anyone happy or be someone’s punching bag, a life where new friends keep coming and adding to your ever growing social circle and a life where you suddenly become a socialite in a city you weren’t born in. When you have such a freedom, you try experimenting with a lot of things, especially your no-alcohol rule. I did it too and by god was it a crazy night. After having some 12 neat shots of vodka and 8 beers, I probably became the most emotional person on planet earth. Since that night, I made a rule of following my no-alcohol rule again. I still, somehow, feel that it was worth it, my wing-man claims I hugged, cried and thanked everyone who made my life in Kolkata fun, something I wouldn’t have been able to do it in my senses.

If you are at peace with yourself, it is because of the support system you have, in my case it was my family, my wingman - Sanjit ‘The Great One’ Singh and close friends Paridhi 'Conventee' Agarwal, Ankita ‘G.I Joe’ Jajodia, Reechal ‘Miss Delhi’ Vardhan, Swati ‘ Cutest’ Khanna, Neha ‘Random Plans’ Mangal, Shreya ‘Butterfly’ Das, Chitra ‘Awesomest Sister’ Gupta, Devika ‘Chendga's Killer’ Bedia, Anubhav ‘Big Brother’Agarwal, Gaurav ‘ Mr. PWC’ Daga, Siddhant ‘Chengda’ Jain, Ray ‘Shorty’ Stephanos, Akash ‘ Thakur’ Bhotika, Saket ‘ Playboy’ Gupta and Chirag ‘ Good Guy’ Jain. They were the people who were with me during my most testing times and also happened to be the fun element in my life. I don’t think 2011 would have been as much fun without them being around. I really had a hard time leaving Kolkata and I miss them like crazy even today.

2011 began on a low so the only direction left to go was UP and it did go that way. After 1 month of ‘Devdas’, it was 2 months of ‘Barney Stinson’ for me, a phase which proved I had become way more awesome from my last flirting stint in December 2009. As much fun as it was, it wasn’t me, so then it was return to the Biker-boy phase. Played lots of quality cricket, handled Insignia, the exams came and went, college ended and my world changed yet again. Thankfully, I was prepared for this one. Leaving Kolkata showed me how much I was loved by my friends. Yet, I wasn’t exactly thinking about them when leaving, reason being a crazy stomach ache (or so I thought). My first day (and the next 4 days) back in my lovely Jamshedpur was spent in an air-conditioned cabin on the 5th floor of Tata Main Hospital; doctors were examining my kidney stones (which is still beyond my belief, coz I chug atleast 7 liters of water a day). I was like, WTF! Why did I have to come back, I was better off partying in Kolkata. Once I was back, for the next 20 days it was me & Eleanor (That’s the name of my car) restarting our love story which had been put to a halt because of my fling. The 20 days also had me receiving 5 offers for my upcoming life A.K.A job. On 28th May I got a call from my-then future boss - Nakul Patel. “Hi, Sushant. Congratulations, you have been selected, I just spoke to Naina and you have to join the team in 7 days”.

God must be really happy with me, I thought as I went to sleep that night. Next 5 days were spent in shopping, packing, catching up with friends and making plans for my future home, Bengaluru (funny that Bengal stayed with me somehow :P ). There was happiness all around me, my family was happy and my friends were happy as well for my future.

All my happiness dissolved when the news of a batch-mate’s accident made its way to facebook. Not a very close friend but a gem of a person and a truly awesome sportsperson. Some people have such clean hearts that God loves having them around him earlier compared to us sinners. It was rather hard to deal with, I personally didn’t think it would affect me much, but it did. It made me realize, we have a time-bomb inside us and it’s constantly ticking towards zero. Why spend the little time we have on planet earth hating and killing each other. It made me realize that we need to make a difference, however small it is. For me, my small way of making a difference was giving pep talk to friends, family and any other person who thought he was an underdog or an underachiever.

Moving to a new city was a little tough because of the events that had happened just before I left Kolkata for Bengaluru, but the transition somehow happened and soon I had my own workspace and was a part of a crazy team which spent most of their time travelling and doing crazy events which were one of a kind in South Asia. Working for one’s mentor is every protégé’s dream. I had my dream fulfilled. Working was never taxing as long as you had Nakul Bhaiya around to have fun with; our team lived out of a suitcase for 2 months in 2011. It was one of a kind experience and I travelled a total of 13 cities and about 4000 kilometers in that period. Not just that, there were also amazing road trips. Road trips which were absolutely crazy with the entire set of crazy things my crazy team did. An added plus point was the fact that my work (or should I say play) also paid me enough to get things which people say makes a gentleman (I am talking about all the expensive bullshit, shallow people use to gauge your tastes and class)

For a guy like me, this was like the epitome of fun and enjoyment one could have but I was wrong. December 2011 was the craziest month of them all. It started with a visit to my good old homes, Kolkata and Jamshedpur. When I was in Kolkata, I met my friends after what seemed to be an eternity and raised hell like a college guy once again (it was so much fun to get out of the formals and back to the torn jeans and tees) . I also visited some of the places which were a last minute plan or places I didn’t imagine I would visit ever (only the 1st one), such as:

1. Modern High School: This school and I have had a history, my friend Neha (who also happens to be an ex-student of this very school), took me along to watch Sarod Maestro Amaan Ali Khan enthrall the crowd. The visit makes a great story, will put it up on the blog sometime.

2. Chandni Chowk Market: As crowded it may seem, it’s still the best place to get great electronic brands, at wholesale rates and 100% original stuff.

3. South City Mall: I have visited this place so much that I promised that I won’t visit it this time around but god had other plans and this was the most visited place during the Kolkata vacation.

4. Harshita’s Party: A day before I landed in Kolkata, I was invited to a close friend’s party. Although it was tight on my schedule but I made it. It was a fun party where I met quite a few old friends and made a few new ones.

5. Blue Poppy Restaurant: I have always loved momos, but I least expected it to have it here. I am more of the Tibetian Delight- road side eating types, and somehow having momos in an air-conditioned place feels strange.

After 5 days in Kolkata, I was off to my small town, Jamshedpur. I was in town to see the youngest of all the Georges make a statement at her last school sports day and oh she made a statement, in a big way, be it bearing her squad flag or winning medals in all her events.

It had been a long time since people saw me so everyone came to catch up. I had awesome family dinners, social gatherings and also a short fling with my baby Kaira. It was so cool to meet Bitsy, Mansi and Srijonee after such a long time. Plus this trip had so many magical things happening, Bitsy and me planned to start a venture together, my friendship with Srijonee suddenly evolved (it was like the most surprising thing to happen considering the love-hate friendship we have had) and not to forget, I took my family out for a dinner at my expense (wow moment of the year#1 ; such a proud moment when I gave my card to pay the bill, my parents were like, “looks like our little boy has grown up”)

I was back in Kolkata to catch my flight back to Bengaluru after 8 days of home-time. Before leaving, I had just enough time to catch up with people who mattered once again but the dinner with Anubhav Bhaiya was definitely the best. I talked about how this year has evolved me and he told me how I have my smile back, the true biker one. His assurance gave confidence to acknowledge the fact that I was over all the bull-shit of the ‘Devdas’ period.

Return to Bengaluru was rather chilled out and the only thing worth mentioning was the awesome weather when I touched down. As soon as I got back to office, I was happily reintroduced to a new team and given additional responsibilities (which I loved). A week into my work, I was finally given my new business cards (wow moment of the year#2), when I put up a status about it on facebook, Richie, a close friend, asked me if I would like to get married to her (on the condition, I give her 2 diamond rings :P) which I happily agreed to (considering, one bird in hand is better than 2 birds in bush) and I am sure she will beat me up (she is a hatti-katti punjaban) when she reads this. After all of the above mentioned thing, the toping on the cake was, on the last day of this year, my aunt, Sr. Elizabeth George, was appointed the as the Provincial of her order of nuns (yes, it might not seem like it but I am a very religious guy because of my family’s religious connections)

2011 changed me like every other year, I have matured a little more, I have a little more experience, I have a little more friends (maybe enemies too) and I have a little more confidence that I will make something really good out of myself in the future. It’s really funny that it all started with a decision taken by an aunt & niece duo which totally crushed me yet was the driving force behind the changes in me that happened in 2011. After everything said and done, everything does happen for the best. No matter how random things might look, the Boss who sits up there has a special plan in store for you.

Here’s wishing all of you a very Happy New Year. Make moments with people, enjoy 2012 to the fullest, make a change which is worth making and most importantly, don't feel bad when you are low because God is busy making a plan for you.

To 2012 & You, my friend!! Cheers!!!!

1038 days of joy

It’s strange how life keeps making you go through things when you least expect it. My last night in the city of joys was not spent thinking about my friends, the memories or the pains I suffered in the past 3 years in that city. My last night was spent in the emergency room of AMRI hospital undergoing a very bad stomach ache which refused to go away till I was injected 7 times with some funny medicine. That night was enough to make my exit from Kolkata a rather ordinary ordeal and not to forget, on a train.

The excruciating pain I was undergoing was enough to keep my mind diverted from Kolkata and my friends from that great city while on the train. On reaching Jamshedpur, I was admitted into the hospital and it was while I was alone in my bed in a silent cabin up in the fifth floor of TMH that I realized my world had changed. Those 3 years spent with people who I didn’t know before 1st July 2008 suddenly came back and brought the first tears in my eyes in months. Life has its own way of making you stronger but somehow I didn’t seem to be equipped to handle the emotions I was feeling. A sharp feeling of having left your heart in a different city, a feeling of being incomplete, a feeling of having no one around to bug me with some work or random tom foolery filled me.

My 3 years in Kolkata has been a real roller-coaster ride, from being an unknown guy to being the always-on-the-edge biker boy of XCS, I saw everything. The feeling of being loved, betrayed, camaraderie, team work and most of all friendship. People say that you are remembered by the number of enemies you leave behind, I respectfully disagree, I think you are remembered by the number of hearts you touched when you are alive. The Sushant who left Kolkata was completely different from the Sushant who entered Kolkata with 2 bags full of luggage and a dream of starting over new. I left as a more matured person, a person who knew how life cheats when you least expect it to, a person who knew who he could count upon, a person who had bucket-loads of good and bad memories but most importantly a person who left the city knowing he had touched hearts. Call it bragging or the good vibes I got when I went through the presentation my lovely friends made me before I left Kolkata but something deep within told me I always did whatever was best for my friends and never gave them a chance to complain. We might have had tiffs and quarrels but I don’t think anyone of those have been so bad that they changed the love my friends had for me.

My blog is dedicated to all those people who gave me memories that will last me a lifetime. It is a funny thing that I have ‘time of my life’ playing as the background music at this moment. All you guys will have a special place in my heart, it doesn’t matter if I am a million miles away from you, I will always be there when you need me and if you know me well you know that Sushant will never go back on his word. You have no idea how much I miss each one of you at this moment. Someday, Somewhere, Somehow we all will be together once again and when that day comes, I will suit up just like I did for our XCS events and meet you guys with a 12 inch smile on my face and ask, ‘What up?’.

Beginning of the End

Everything which has a beginning has an end to it. No matter how much we cry or try to hang onto it, it will go away at the end of it. You might be wondering why such a sad topic to blog about? Well it’s just so that I happen to be travelling a lot these days and in these travels of mine, I am lucky to meet people who change the way I look at life. If you go through my previous blogs you will know that the genre I write on is basically ‘people’. While I was travelling on my lovely little Kaira from Kolkata to Jamshedpur, I met this Saadhu while stopping for my lunch. Wise guys, as they are said to be, I thought lets interact with him and ask him what his wisdom is all about?
I asked him if he has a family or a set of friends as they are the most common thing in a social person’s life. He replied saying that he has been a nomad for almost 55 years, he has lived all by himself and he had only the sky for company. I thought he was lying and I asked him that if he feels the need for having someone he could talk to or travel with him. Hearing this, the old Saadhu gave a hearty laugh and said, “Kaun kiske saath aata hai, Kaun kiske saath jaata hai, Sab log zindgi bhar apne paap ka karz utarta hai” and he went away. His tone had a strange thing in it which was kinda mocking me. I thought he was living a sad life but his tone gave me an impression as if I was the one who was having a sad life!!
I continued back to Jamshedpur after this episode but somehow the mocking comment of that Saadhu was still ringing in my ears. The night after reaching, I sat down and thought about his comment; I realized that he made a point. We all live lives of slaves, work our asses off, live life as society dictates and on our death bed think of what we could have done out of our lives. We worry about Global warming, EMI payments, Traffic, Credit Card hassles and forget that there is something called life which is getting wasted.
We worry about our friends, the girl who we fall in love with, our rides, our expensive watches and what not but at the end of the day, they all will not go everywhere along with you. Everything is a mirage, when you come close to it, it vanishes. When I looked at my life from the Saadhu’s point of view I saw how I was being punished for my sins in a way I never knew. Think about it, a life full of trouble, you love people, only to see them go away, you make friends, only to be back-stabbed, you give your heart to someone, only to see it being shattered into a million pieces. Life from his point of view just seemed to be Gods way of punishing us.
After this encounter, I had a new prospective towards life, how its programmed to kill us, there is no way out but the best you can do is to make it worth something you can be proud of. Don’t waste your life; go do something which you are proud of on your death-bed. Beginning of life is nothing but the beginning of the end.

Lucky Strike

You are said to be lucky if you find someone who shares a smile with you. In my long list of friends there are only a few I call my besties and this post is dedicated to that one bestie who has been the closest to me in recent times. we have shared a lot of smiles and good times.. :P

I know she is probably reading this so here goes..Happy Belated Birthday Cookie..I know I am a few days late in wishing you online but I hope you dont mind. You have been a great friend and you always make me feel special. I hope you enjoyed your day and also the little surprise I gave you..Keep Smiling :)