The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari -2

- "Exactly, John. All success in life, whether material or spiritual, starts with that twelve-pound mass sitting between your shoulders. Or more specifically, with the thoughts that you put into your mind every second of every minute of every day. Your outer world reflects the state of your inner world. By controlling the thoughts that you think and the way you respond to the events of your life, you begin to control your destiny."

- 'There are no mistakes in life, only lessons. There is no such thing as a negative experience, only opportunities to grow, learn and advance along the road of self-mastery. From struggle comes strength. Even pain can be a wonderful teacher.'

- "What is luck, my friend?" Julian replied kindly. "It is nothing more than the marriage of preparation with opportunity."

- A book is the best friend of the wise.

- Pain is often the precursor to personal growth. Don't dread it instead, embrace it.

- 'We don't laugh because we are happy. We are happy because we laugh.'- William James

- Through the steel of discipline, you will forge a character rich with courage and peace. Through the virtue of Will, you are destined to rise to life's highest ideal and live within a heavenly mansion filled with all that is good, joyful and vital. Without them, you are lost like a mariner without a compass, one who eventually sinks with his ship.

- "Thoughts are vital, living things, little bundles of energy, if you will. Most people don't give any thought to the nature of their thoughts and yet, the quality of your thinking determines the quality of your life. Thoughts are just as much a part of the material world as the lake you swim in or the street you walk on. Weak minds lead to weak actions. A strong, disciplined mind, which anyone can cultivate through daily practice, can achieve miracles. If you want to live life to the fullest, care for your thoughts as you would your most prized possessions. Work hard to remove all inner turbulence. The rewards will be abundant."

- “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” – Albert Einstein.

- If there is a lack in your life it is because there is a lack in your thoughts.

- 'There is nothing noble about being superior to some other person. True nobility lies in being superior to your former self.'

- 'Every second you spend thinking about someone else's dreams you take time away from your own.'

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari -1

- Sure I am that this day we are masters of our fate that the task which has been set before us is not above our strength; that its pangs and toils are not beyond my endurance. As long as we have faith in our own cause and an unconquerable will to win, victory will not be denied us- Winston Churchill

- I'll admit one thing though: he ran his own race. He was determined to do things his own way
And he loved to put on a show.

- "John, on your deathbed you will never wish you spent more time at the office."

- Every event has a purpose and every setback its lesson. I have realized that failure, whether of the personal, professional or even spiritual kind, is essential to personal expansion. It brings inner growth and a whole host of psychic rewards. Never regret your past. Rather, embrace it as the teacher that it is."

- “I thought that, ultimately, life is all about choices. One's destiny unfolds according to the choices one makes. …”

- Great dreamers' dreams are never fulfilled, they are always transcended- Alfred Lord Whitehead

- "I've realized something very important, John. The world, and that includes my inner world, is a very special place. I've also come to see that success on the outside means nothing unless you also have success within. There is a huge difference between well-being and being well-off. When I was a hotshot lawyer, I used to snicker at all those people who worked at improving their inner and outer lives. 'Get a life!' I thought. But I have learned that self-mastery and the consistent care of one's mind, body and soul are essential to finding one's highest self and living the life of one's dreams. How can you care for others if you cannot even care for yourself? How can you do good if you don't even feel good? I can't love you if I cannot love myself,"

- “Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make. It will not only improve your life, it will improve the lives of all those around you.”

- “"It is only when you have mastered the art of loving yourself that you can truly love others. It's only when you have opened your own heart that you can touch the hearts of others. When you feel centered and alive, you are in a much better position to be a better person."

The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari

I just finished reading 'The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari'. Though I knew that it is a self-help book, I wanted to read it just to add some words to my vocabulary. You won't get anything new out of this book if you have read 'You Can Win'. What I like in this book are the quotes. I have copied some of the sentences which I like. You can read them in above.

CAT is over!

Finally CAT is over! Phew! There was a time when I would think that CAT is a very difficult test to crack and that I would never write this test. Few months back, I decided to face the challenge. Hence I started preparing for it.

The paper was very intelligently set. Now I think that, without preparation, I would have scored as much as I’ve scored in this test. The format of the paper was same as it was in 2006.

I started with mathematics. First problem was a sitter and I solved it within one minute. After that I read all the sums, and started worrying because the section was very difficult. I didn’t use any formula except the one which is used to find an average. (If you call it a formula) All the problems I solved, except first one, I went by options. (Leading to wasting time) Score- 27 7R, 1W (TIME)

Then I decided to go for DI, started with last set, and quit. Then I started solving first set, solved three problems, and then I realized my mistake. All three were wrongly solved. I solved all four problems. Data sufficiency was surprisingly easy. No need to tell that I solved all of them. Solved three more problems from other set. The data was inconsistent in fourth problem. This, I came to know later when I referred key. J Score-40 10R

English was a nightmare. I didn’t know what to attempt and what to leave. I had to go for reading comprehensions and leave verbal ability. I did solve some of VAs. Anything can happen here. (Fingers crossed) I didn’t dare to see my score.

Coming time is testing. With NMAT, CET, and maybe XAT…I have to score good, rather better: P (That was for you Sid)

Bye

Ullu

Currently I am experiencing side effects of what I would do. Night shifts!! I don’t, rather, I cannot sleep till 0400- 0430 hrs everyday. But I switch off lights at 0100.(till last Saturday). I would keep changing my side for 2 hours. According to Vrushali, I am ‘Ullu’ (an owl). That's what she calls me. I should have adapted. Can anybody guess the reason behind this insomnia?

Today a strange incident took place. I solved an entire DI set( 5 questions) correctly withing seven minutes. This has never happened before. I pinched myself to confirm that it was not a dream.

Busy

I am very busy nowadays. Managing both, studies as well as job at the same time, is very very difficult. I was trying my best to write a post on Vishwanathan Anand's (aka Vishy) unbeaten victory in chess world cup. But for the two reasons I am unable to write. First is, as mentioned above, I don't have enough time and second is there is so much to write about him that I am finding it difficult to structure the content. I don't know from where to start and where to end.
Bye

NO FRIEND AT ALL

I once had a friend, who was a wonderful girl,
Being her friend was like having a bright, new pearl
She was the best, she was so much fun
But then one day she decided that she was done
She would not talk, She would not play
So I was left alone, left alone all day
To tell her how I felt.. Well I didn't have the guts
Yet everyday the pain got worse like big paper cuts
This girl would get mad even when I would try to call
I had a friend, A really nice friend, a friend that was no friend at all

Everybody's Free- Lyrics

Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)
Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99 If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience…I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you Sing Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself. Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. Stretch Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.. Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth. But trust me on the sunscreen…
Lyrics- Baz Luhrmann

Hum Honge Kaamyaab (?)

When a governing body hints/ discloses any scheme/plan which will lead to citizen’s welfare and ultimately lead to development of society, it faces people’s curses. (Yes, you are right. I live in India.) I’m not giving you examples because it might point to a particular political party. In today’s time, we are competing with China (increase in GDP 11.9%, India has just crossed 6% ). Shall we ever be able to overtake China? Time will tell.

Well here is a description of Beijing, by former RAW officer. No further indirect comments on our governing bodies and people. You’ll know where we are.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?id=dd4e533b-2623-4c81-b803-59b9c140c611

After long time

I'm writing this post after long time. You may have thought why I didn't post here for almost a month. The reason is obvious.. there was nothing to write. Bye. Hope I post here soon.