Captivating Lines From Here and There- 23

• I define materialism as putting the value of money and things above fundamental principles, such as love, balance, or wisdom- Ellen Tadd, Author,Counselor & Educator 
• We are separated from the world by "Six degrees of separation. It means that a very small number of people are linked to everyone else in a few steps and the rest of us are linked to the world through those special few- Malcolm Gladwell in the book "Tipping point" 
• Golden Banana principle of motivation: Recognize someone's success promptly from the depth of your heart.
• A brand is a promise to customers that a specific level of value, quality and service will be received. The promise is usually communicated through mass media advertising.
• Align the behaviour of your people with the brand promise.The brand promise is delivered by the people, not the lines in the advertisement. 
• The Law of Control: You feel happy to the degree to which you feel you are in control of your own life. You feel unhappy to the degree to which you feel you are not in control of your own life. 
• Rephrase your definition of "Success" from success to significance, from making money to making a difference, Celebrate other's success if you wish to have success in life- From the book " Corporate Soul" by Moid Siddiqui 
• We do not manage better, we manage less and that is better- Jack Welch Former Chairman & CEO, General Electric.
• Managing a big country is like cooking small fish. The more you stir them, the less their shape can be maintained- Lao Tzu, Philosopher  
• The inaccuracy of generalizations lead to much confusion in our attitudes, which then translates into inappropriate actions-  Ellen Tadd, Author, Counselor & Educator 

Captivating Lines from here and There- 22

• The one you feed  will take over your life.  The choice is between  joy, peace, love, hope, sharing, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, faith  and fear, anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self pity, guilt, resentment,inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, ego. 
• Charity is fruitful when there is joy before giving the gift, it is given gracefully and there is a lingering pleasure afterwards.
• When you are passing on information about a third person make sure that it passes the triple filter test:-  (1) That it is true - make sure absolutely that it is true (2) Filter of Goodness- It is something good (3) It is going to be useful to the one receiving the information. 
• Have a mind that is open to everything- thing, place, person. Resist being a pessimist; a closed mind seals off creativity and growth. Opening your mind to limitless possibilities enables participation in miracles- Wayne Dyer, Author 
• Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony- Mahatma Gandhi
• Sometimes there are stones thrown at you and you convert them into milestones. It is a great feeling- Sachin Tendulkar, cricketer. 
• Efficiency is all about how the "Producer" has felt and Effectiveness is all about how the "User" has felt about it. It is not efficiency Vs effectiveness but efficiency and effectiveness.
• We create recessions, we turn small ripples into a tsunami. Don't get panicky. Use this time to re consolidate your business by spending your time and energies for grooming managers. It is the most opportune time- Moid Siddiqui, Management Guru & Author 
• Work as though you would live for ever but live as though the world would end today.- Og Mandino, Author
• Indian scientists must move from "Publish or perish" to Patent, publish and prosper" - R.A. Mashelkar, Former Director General, CSIR.

Hope

The 11th Edition of the Guntur International Poetry Festival was organised at Guntur, AP from September 20 to September 22, 2018. I recited my poem "Hope" which is included in the anthology "Tranquil Muse" edited by Prof Gopichand and Prof Nagasuseela.

Look into the eyes of our countrymen

Look deep within and you will see hope

hope that survived, over 5000 years

hope that couldn’t be erased

by physical or mental invasions, aplenty!

The essence of our cultural ethos

our great civilization- of inclusion and acceptance

is so powerful,  so strong...

that It remains the bedrock

for our people, who never give up hope

for their hope is not built on one man

on one or other faith, or ideology

It is built on a belief in universal love

and  hope in mankind!

Polarization

Has the polarization flu, of all hues,
spread its tentacles, across the globe-
with groups of people, preferring ignorance
not exposed to alternative views, perception
closing their eyes, to create darkness?

Reading only, those newspapers/seeing TV channels
that trumpet one's own views
interacting socially, mostly with
those similar, and shutting out
all contrary opinion,viewpoint...?

No wonder, there is a lot more
hate, suspicion and despair today!

It is easy, to hate someone,
you hardly know...

Choosing a Motto for Living

Living within one's means
the old fashioned dictum
replaced today with the
motto of "Living on credit"-
"beg, borrow or steal" but live!
You only live once! 

Old, they say is gold
every old saying had a meaning
a golden reason-
credit card living add up
before you know it, the legitimate means
fall short of illegitimate needs
or rather nonessential needs

The new motto, maxim for living
drives one to a life of waywardness,
away from one of righteousness,
peace and happiness...

Handling the Seesaw of Life

The life of the guy next door
the average, simple,ordinary person
may seem riddled with cycles of "Hope" & "Despair"
with one endlessly following the other...

yet, perhaps,we can all shorten
the cycle of despair, by dwelling
more and more on "Hope"
and less and less on "Despair"...

Silly, Sweet Memories

Middle aged and grey haired
he went back in time for a moment
to his teen age and its silly thoughts
Smiled, recalling the silly stuff
he had written in her book, bidding farewell
on last day of college....

"I live and relive images
of your tender face on my bosom
as I gently cup your delicate shoulders
-images that give me strength
to keep going- come rain,come sun...."

Yes, silly, perhaps 'immature' as well
yet, its sweetness lingers

to be recalled once in a while
as respite to an aging, tired life...