New Year Afformations...!

Hell0 Friends,

Welcome to Anbusivam's Blog Page.

Wishing you all a very prosperous New Year 2009.

Read it again....not Affirmations, its "Afformations". Before we talk about Afformations, let me tell you something that happened last week. Last Friday after dinner we discussing on some movies and suddenly my sister brought in the topic of an old time singer who was my favorite in school days. Surprisingly I was not even remembering his name and tried all my best to recollect it by all means from my memory, but couldn't. That night when I went to bed, I was unable to sleep without knowing the name of that singer. The question of What's that singer's name...? occupied my mind completely and it was a long night indeed.

Being a student of Human Mind, I just wondered how smart our mind is. It was literally stuck in a question, trying all means to find answer for that. Almost all of us are wired with this inherent curiosity to find/search answers for the questions posed to us in our lives. I was thinking how can this tendency of Human Mind to seek answers to the questions can be used in the field of self development.

After various searches in Google, I ended up with "Empowering Questions" which took me to this wonderful world of "Afformations" a word coined by Noha.St.John of The SuccessClinic. His wonderful book The Great Little Book of Afformations talks in detail about the power of Afformations.

Unlike affirmations, afformations are not just positive statements. Its all powerful positive questions. I've been using positive affirmations since my NLP days, but yes there is always a conflict between my conscious and subconscious mind each time I repeat my affirmation statements. As Noha says in his book, "I am rich" is indeed believed to be a positive affirmations. Important thing to notice here is do we sincerely believe this affirmation statement or do we doubt them..? Okie if I believe it and then, what's next after this art of convincing ourselves with what we are not. Noha's Afformations takes us to the next level, that is the new way of asking powerful questions to which our mind automatically try to find out the answers leading to greater results at the end.

According to Noha,

Affirmation --> "I am Rich", this is a statement to which our mind says "Yeah, Right". It all ends there most of the time.

Afformation --> "Why am I Rich?", this is a powerful positive question to which our mind starts seeking/searching answers. In the process we find all possible means and ways to become rich actually.

In this New Year 2009, We can simply modify all our negative questions into positive, empowering questions which will cause our mind to focus on the positive possibilities.

Thanks for visiting my page.

With Love.
Anbusivam

Leadership Skills for Legislators

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I was very happy and it is good to see our legislators sitting in the classrooms of IIMB the elite management institute, trying to learn the new way of social management. Yes, ofcourse they need it.

Who else can make this happen other than our great Indian Inspiration Dr.Abdul Kalam sir. He is an amazing Indian who deeply energies and inspires the youth of this nation to a greater level. I don't think there is anyother leader who could create this inspiration and passion throughout the nation. I am sure every school going children knows who he is and what's his dream 2020 is all about.

When Karnataka Legislators decided to take up a 3 days management class from our former president and some senior professors of IIMB, there is a hope that they would have at least picked up some basic managment lessons to implement in their constituencies.

Acording to Kalam, a leader must have the following eight qualities:

1. Vision
2. Passion to bring true the vision
3. Ability to travel on unexplored path
4. Know how to manage success and failure
5. Courage to take decisions
6. Nobility in management
7. Transparency in management
8. Work with integrity

The main problem I see is , as a country we have labeled politics as service to the society. During the days of independence people entering into politics were considered to be sacrificing their personal and family priorities for the sake of National priorities. Now even after 60 years of independence our politicians still think that they are doing a great service to the people and the society, while actually doing all possible things to keep their personal and family priorities on the top. I believe that this irony of thought and action should be fundamentally changed.

Why can't we consider at least our elected representatives as an executive of a company, who is accountable, perform, deliver his promises, fold his sleeves and get into action.

Thanks for visiting my page.

With Love,
Anbusivam

Leadership in the Times of Crisis

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When the entire world was glued to their television sets, watching the great mayhem of this year in Mumbai I was equally angry on our so called Leaders as any other young Indian. The 60 hours of action seemingly like a Hollywood blockbuster at last came to an end with unfortunate loss of the innocent lives.

It was very obvious, as a nation we are not even near ready for these kinds of times of crisis. Crisis is an unexpected, sudden disaster that can deeply impact the lives of the people, disrupting even their very existence in this society. Now with this Mumbai event it’s clear that not only Nations but businesses, institutions and even individuals need to be prepared to these kinds of crisis. Today’s society is more and more becoming vulnerable to these kinds of dastardly terror acts as it is easy for any one to get hold of the necessary materials, technology and expertise to make weapons of mass destructions.

In an open society where we value the freedoms of movement, we definitely can’t guarantee stopping these attacks completely. All that we can do is to make our best possible efforts in putting up all possible hurdles to carry out even a simple attack on the innocent lives around. In fact the Mumbai attacks clearly showed that, we don’t even have given a simple difficulty for those mindless animals to carry out such an outrageous act. It was just a cake for them into those high profile buildings. This is really a matter of deep concern for all the citizens of this country.

Leadership that can promptly act, make things happen quickly in the times of crisis is what we need. For all these years, we’ve allowed these problems to be part of our lives. At least this time it’s heartening to see the young Indians waking up, who don’t want to allow the problem to be part of their lives, instead wanted to deal with it strongly. We should be demanding our leaders to make things happen and make it clear to the world that we as a country will not allow these kinds of dastardly acts in our soil anymore in any form. We should firmly make it apparent that will go to any extent to address these issues right now at this moment.

Some critical points for the leadership during times of crisis I could think of are:

• Be proactive and not reactive (let’s at least have a crisis management team in place to handle such times of crisis)
• We shouldn’t even think of what to do when the moment hits us, instead we should be prepared in detail on what are the priorities in the times of crisis (faster we act, quicker we can take charge of the situation)
• Speculations and rumors are the killers in times of crisis. (we should have a one singe reliable communication channel to the people, instead of every one taking out to take political mileage out of the situation)
• We should be careful of every word spoken during crisis (especially for the media and political leaders)
• We should learn to rise to the occasion, leaving all our differences aside (religion, caste, creed, etc…)
  

As I always say, we often relate the word "Leadership" with politics, business, sports, and very few areas of our lives. Many a times I've noticed people think and talk, that Leadership is all about position. But, I strongly believe Leadership is everybody’s business. It is for men, women and children. It is for families, business and communities. It is for me and you. It is for each one of us.

Let’s take charge and make sure for a Fundamental Change in this great India. Jai Hind.

With Love.
Anbusivam

Leadership through Physical Fitness

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Welcome to Anbusivam's Blog Page.

When I was doing my regular weekend long-run this morning, the thought stuck in my mind was, "Is there a relationship between Leadership and Physical Fitness...?". From my few experiments and little experience I am fully convinced that, Yes there is a great relation between one's Leadership Qualities and his/her Physical Fitness.

It is also true that, children involved in rigorous physical activities like sports and games could concentrate better in their studies as compared to the children who spend most of their time with computer games or television.

Here is what physical fitness can bring in to our lives,

1. Keeps us healthy and fit.
2. Positively impacts our personality.
3. Increases our self confidence.
4. Certainly clears of all the stress and tension.
5. Brings in lots of clarity in thinking.
6. Provides more behavioral choices.
7. Increases our ability to handle stress.
8. Increases our endurance.
9. Makes us more flexible.
10. Gives better emotional stability.
11. ...
12. ... i am sure this list could go on and on.....!

Research have proved clearly that there is an obvious connection between the employee muscle and employee behavior. A study undertaken by Naval postgraduate school, gave organizations a better idea of what to expect from improved management and employee muscle. The results indicated the improved physical fitness can significantly affect the individual in terms of changes in personality and behavior. The changes also appear to have a significant positive effect on individual leadership traits.

Barack Obama, one of the very few fittest presidents usually starts his day in the gym. He says,

“I tend to be a healthy eater. So I probably could get away with cutting my workouts back a little bit. The main reason I do it is just to clear my head and relieve me of stress. It’s a great way to stay focused.”

One key thing to remember is, what ever we do, its all going to come back to us.

Thanks for visiting my page.

With Love,
Anbusivam

My Presentation at IgniteBangalore2008

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I am sharing the presentation slides from my talk at IgniteBangalore2008.

What is Ignite?

If you had five minutes on stage what would you say? What if you only got 20 slides and they rotated automatically after 15 seconds? Around the world geeks have been putting together Ignite nights to show their answers.

IgniteBangalore was the first of its kind in India organized by the folks from McKinsey here in Bangalore on Thursday, November 13, 2008. I must say it was an excellent evening, with enthusiastic and wonderful crowd. I was one among the 12 presenters , who were from different walks of life passionate about Technology, Biking, Humanity, Social Contribution, Child Education, Political Awareness, Innovation and so on.

World May End Tonight Ignite Bangalore

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own.

(Hope the video will be up soon too)

These slides were running at one slide per 15secs, I had 20 slides and 5mins to talk. Let me know if you can think of what I would have talked there...???

Thanks for visiting my page.

With Love,
Anbusivam

Hardwork Can Only End In Great Results

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Welcome to Anbusivam's Blog Page.

For the first time I've shamelessly copied few excerpts word by word from a wonderful article of SiliconIndia. Thanks to my friend Pradeep of SiliconIndia, for one of the best article that has ever come in SiliconIndia. (In my humble opinion)

This is a story of brothers who have proved clearly that no matter what the external circumstances are, but a sincere hard work had to end in great results. There is no other way actually. Nothing can be substituted to Hard Work in the world of consistent success. Though hard work may not be the only attribute for success in life, but I am sure every thing else without hard work is meaning less.


It's an amazing life lesson from Kalyan Raman, VP.Technology and Head of Amazon Bangalore Centre and Kumar Srinivasan, CEO of Global Scholar. This brothers had proved that sucess comes to those who dare to dream and have the spirit to make it true. This really inspired me to daringly dream for a next level in my life.

Do Visit this Link for Sure:
http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/48412

Disclaimer: Inspiration Guaranteed.

Thank for visiting my page.

With Love
Anbusivam

Yes, I am a Valuable Person

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Welcome to Anbusivam's Blog page.

I am writing this post when most of Bangalore is snoring in a cold midnight suddenly jumping out of my bed. Though writing a blog post has been one among my high priority tasks for the end of my work week, I thought of doing it tomorrow as I was little down with some overwhelming emotions and feelings. In spite of all, I couldn't resist myself jumping out of my bed to complete this task, prompted by Scott Peck.

I picked up a very interesting book "The Road Less Traveled" by Scott Peck last week. As usual I am sticking to it like a lizard on the wall and I will, until I complete it. Scott says,

"The feeling of being valuable - "I am a valuable person" is essential to our mental health and is a cornerstone of self discipline. If we feel ourselves valuable, then we will feel our time valuable, and if we feel our time to be valuable, then we will want to use it well."

I personally value my time spending in blogging to the most purposeful in my life This is the time during which I really think more critically, try to get more information, understand the subject to its deeper and subtler levels and so on. As I value blogging to the core, I was unable to sleep while that is not completed as required to be. This can also be looked as a way of "Delaying Gratification" means, by which I am ready to sacrifice a cozy sleep in this cold midnight in order to get this task of blogging accomplished on time.

Let's all value ourselves and hence value our valuable time to put it for our best purpose.

With Love,
Anbusivam

Congruent Living

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I am doing my DCS (Diploma in Counseling Skills) from Banjara Academy. Our teachers both Dr.Ali Khwaja and Raja Reddy are wonderful people. I really love and enjoy myself in this course with excellent classmates helping me to understand myself and others in a better way.

As a part of the course work we were out of Bangalore this weekend to Manthan, a six-acre farm located in Yelahanka (outskirts of Bangalore), belonging to the Banjara Academy serves as the venue for the many activities of the Academy. Manthan is an ideal weekend getaway in its wonderful serene surroundings. Two full days were all about "SelF AwarenesS".

I personally had a wonderful experience there, during the camp I could really get to know some of my unknown traits those are useful neither for me nor for anyone else. In fact those qualities in me were roadblocks to some extent in my interpersonal relations. So, having identified them I am gonna sincerely work on them to get rid of them to replace with some very useful qualities there in place. I did some soul searching there to identify few good qualities those will be certainly useful to me and in my interactions as well.

"Congruent Living" is the right phrase I would like to put in place for what I want in life. Carl Rogers originated the word the term congruence. For him congruence is only when our thoughts, feelings, emotions, values and behaviours are aligned in same direction. I always find meditation to be an excellent technique to strive towards congruence. I am sure this is helping me a lot in my never ending journey from the present real-self to the ideal-self.

Thanks for visiting my page.

With Love,
Anbusivam

Brick Walls Are Not There To Keep Us Out

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Couple of weeks ago I realised that I am almost stuck with one of my personal goals. All my efforts ended up in vein and I was about to give-up. My thought of giving up broke, when I came across this wonderful video of Carnegie Mellon University Professor Randy Paush's Last Lecture.

Randy talked about his application to Walt Disney Imagineering, saying "I dashed off my letters of applications to Walt Disney Imagineering, and they sent me some of the damned nicest go-to-hell letters I have ever gotten". But the rejection didn't discourage him and eventually wound up doing work for Disney.

He said, "The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something." In other words, the brick walls of rejection help us figure out who we really are and what we really want.

Randy went on to say, "The brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough. They're there to stop the other people."

So I asked myself , "How badly do I want that goal to be achieved? How good are my climbing skills to climb across? Or do I think success is 'too hard' to achieve and just give up?". After all these questions I started working with all my effort towards that goal and it looks like I am making some decent progress if not great steps ahead.

I am happy for not giving it up....!!! Find here the (Video)

Let's understand that, "Brick Walls Are Not There To Keep Us Out "

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With Love,
Anbusivam

Street Smart Leadership

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Welcome to Anbusivam's Blog Page.

When I was walking along the busy commercial street last evening, I noticed a young boy selling balloons on the road side. I was curious to know the way he does his business. I opted to wait and observe him rather than going and asking him questions about his way of business. I quietly picked up a cone of ice cream and stood near him, to observe what's going on there.

My observations:

1. First thing he did was gave a flashing, catchy smile at the little children looking at him and his balloons.

2. With his smile and some funny actions, he inspired the children to ask for a balloon to their parents.

3. He had a variety of balloons, round, long, twisted, doll like...etc in various colors.

4. He had no fixed rate for the balloons, it depends on the attire of the child and her parents. He charged Rs.15 to a posh looking family in a brand new car and Rs.5 for the same balloon to a middle class family. He even gave it out for Rs.2 to a poor child on the street.

5. He knows how to fix the rate according to the person....as well. The price starts with two to three times the basic price and comes down gradually if the buyer seems to be bargaining too much. Same balloon is fixed at a reasonable price if a decent and quick buyer is seen in front.

I am sure this young boy on the street side had acquired these skills just by practice, and experience not by reading any best selling books. All the above the very necessity of not loosing a prospective buyer.

We have the most highly educated, literate and engaged workforce in our corporate world. And these graduates from elite institutions are most of the times from well to do families and they hardly know what "Street Smart Leadership" means. Street Smartness is just a combination of life experience, intelligence, awareness, cleverness, guile, humor, ingenuity, agility and ability acquired beyond (or in place of) formal education.

I sincerely believe "Street Smartness" is a greatly valuable commodity these days for those who want to get ahead of those elite and highly educated.

Thanks for Visiting My Page.

With Love,
Anbusiva

Motivation from Special Children

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Welcome to Anbusivam's Blog Page.

Last Friday I had a great opportunity to visit Spastic Society of Karnataka, which is a special school for children with special needs. It was a part of my Counseling course and I was not even aware of the meaning of Spastics till I go there to see those wonderful children.

Yes, this school is mainly for children with Neuro-muscular disorders, Developmental and Learning Disabilities. All the teachers there are well trained special educators with lots and lots of care and empathy for those children. It was absolutely an amazing experience when we were taken to the classrooms. Those children seems to be enjoying and having a great time in their own world with their special school, special friends and special educators. Paradoxically I felt a huge pain and agony to see those innocent little ones in need of special care. Children were very happy to see us and they were well trained to handle thier basic physical needs and ettiquites by themselves. And the best part I observed is those children are highly helpful to eachother than the children we see in normal schools.

In spite of being differently-abled with special needs, I felt somehow the nature had given those little ones something more than what we all have and striving for. That something is Happiness. They are just laughing, giggling, smiling, talking, and playing all around with no big sorrow and worry on their disabilities. They also do some wonderful paintings, craft work, bakery products. We picked up some wonderful paintings and nice biscuits those were made by the children themselves.

The greatest Motivation I got from the visit is "When those children can be happy and enjoying life all the time, why can't we too...!!!"

Please, find out a special school near your place, do visit them, just spend some time with those little one's and help them as much as you can. I am sure you'll feel great and contented at the end of the day.

Thanks for Visiting My Page.

With Love,
Anbusivam

Becoming a Motivational Leader

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When I was browsing through my older folders this evening, I just came across this very interesting piece of information from Brain Tracy on Becoming a Motivational Leader.

Create a Big Vision:

To become a motivational leader, you start with motivating yourself. You motivate yourself with a big vision, and as you move progressively toward its realization, you motivate and enthuse others to work with you to fulfill that vision.

Set High Standards:

You exhibit absolute honesty and integrity with everyone in everything you do. You are the kind of person others admire and respect and want to be like. You set a standard that others aspire to. You live in truth with yourself and others so that they feel confident giving you their support and their commitment.

Face Your Fears:

You demonstrate courage in everything you do by facing doubts and uncertainties and moving forward regardless. You put up a good front even when you feel anxious about the outcome. You don't burden others with your fears and misgivings. You keep them to yourself. You constantly push yourself out of your comfort zone and in the direction of your goals. And no matter how bleak the situation might appear, you keep on keeping on with a smile.

Be Realistic About Your Situation:

You are intensely realistic. You refuse to engage in mental games or self-delusion. You encourage others to be realistic and objective about their situations as well. You encourage them to realize and appreciate that there is a price to pay for everything they want. They have weaknesses that they will have to overcome, and they have standards that they will have to meet, if they want to survive and thrive in a competitive market.

Motivating people properly will bring out their best:

Since you have built self-esteem and self-confidence in your employees, sales and output have been on the rise. When I started unlocking the full potential in all of my employees, performance and output have increased.

Motivating People to Peak Performance:

By learning my techniques you can get extraordinary performance out of ordinary people. With this video you will learn the 21 best methods ever discovered to manage and motivate other.

Accept Responsibility:

You accept complete responsibility for results. You refuse to make excuses or blame others or hold grudges against people who you feel may have wronged you. You say, "If it's to be, it's up to me." You repeat over and over the words, "I am responsible. I am responsible. I am responsible."

Take Vigorous Action:

Finally, you take action. You know that all mental preparation and character building is merely a prelude to action. It's not what you say but what you do that counts. The mark of the true leader is that he or she leads the action. He or she is willing to go first. He or she sets the example and acts as the role model. He or she does what he or she expects others to do.

Strive For Excellence:

You become a motivational leader by motivating yourself. And you motivate yourself by striving toward excellence, by committing yourself to becoming everything you are capable of becoming. You motivate yourself by throwing your whole heart into doing your job in an excellent fashion. You motivate yourself and others by continually looking for ways to help others to improve their lives and achieve their goals. You become a motivational leader by becoming the kind of person others want to get behind and support in every way.

Your main job is to take complete control of your personal evolution and become a leader in every area of your life. You could ask for nothing more, and you should settle for nothing less.

"It's not what you say but what you do that counts" is my favorite thought provoking statement in this article, which I think is the essence of a being a Leader.

Thanks for visiting my page.

With Love,
Anbusivam

David Allen's - "Getting Things Done"

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Welcome to Anbusivam's Blog Page.

When I was browsing through a near by book store this evening, I came across an interesting book titled "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. A quick read through that book gave me a number of tips and tricks to get things done in our personal and professional life.

Its all about productivity, achieving maximum out of our life while managing anxiety and stress to a great extent, making life simple and effective. "Getting Things Done" abbreviated as GTD is a simple and flexible method for managing our day-to-day tasks or activities, so as to maximize personal productivity. GTD basically changes the traditional focus of prioritizing the tasks to meticulously keeping track of opportunities and commitments for action. I wrote this post after a quick glance of the book and yes, I am yet to start reading the book.

I'll come with a detailed post after reading the book and experimenting some of the very interesting concepts of GTD.

Thanks for visiting my page.

With Love,
Siva

Power of Association and Dissociation.

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Welcome to Anbusivam's Blog Page.

Let's do a quick experiment before reading further. Think of two situations from your past, one pleasant and another unpleasant. Carefully notice when you recall those incidents, wether you relive them or just recall them as an observer. If you've relive them, experience the same emotions and feelings as if you are undergoing the same situation right now then you are fully associated with the incident. In case if you can objectively observe yourself going through the incident in the past then its clear that you are dissociated with the incident.

Now how does this association and dissociation helps us in our lives...???

Simple thumb rule I would prefer to follow is associate with positive or useful things in life and dissociate from the negative or not useful things in life. I think I've told this in one of my earlier posts as well. Few months ago I went to the hill station Ooty with few of my good friends. One of them had been to Ooty the previous year with her family,and they had a wonderful time spending there, enjoying with the nature. But, one unpleasant incident was, she had lost her gold ring in the lake. This time when we decided to go on a boat ride that particular friend was not at all ready to come with us, as she had closely associated that unpleasant memory of losing her ring in the same lake the previous year. Though she had so many other very pleasant memories from her previous visit, she has closely taken that incident to her heart and started reliving the same old incident right in front of us. We could see her literally going through the same experience she had when ring was lost. If she could have dissociated herself from that incident, she could have objectively thought about how to keep the valuables safe during such a boat ride and still enjoy and have fun in that beautiful lake and boat ride.

If you are seeing someone getting depressed, dejected very often, I am sure they dissociate from their positive experience and associate into the negative experience. Learning to choose when to associate and when to dissociate gives us a profound way of living our lives.

If we want to truly enjoy our lives, two basic principles to be followed:



1. Associate with the pleasant memories, so that we can relive that, relish the joy, enjoy all the happy and pleasant state of mind and use those positive attitudes for the success of our future.

2. Dissociate with the unpleasant memories. so that we can revisit that purely as an observer or onlooker, learn from it, correct our mistakes of the past and still use those learning for the success of future.


Thanks for visiting my page.

With Love,
Anbusivam

India Vision 2020:

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This morning when I was reading an article on freedom struggle, a strange thought came into my mind. I started imagining how India will be if it goes into the hands of a leadership that is really really young, strong, dynamic, energetic, ethical, truthful and, diligent with a great vision for education.

I went back to my memories of a great book by Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam along with Dr.Y.S.Rajan – "India 2020 : Vision for the new millennium".

Dr.Kalam in one of his speeches elaborated the concept:

“Transforming the nation into a developed country, five areas in combination have been identified based on India's core competence, natural resources and talented manpower for integrated action to double the growth rate of GDP and realize the Vision of Developed India.

These are:

• Agriculture and food processing -- with a target of doubling the present production of food and agricultural products by 2020. Agro food processing industry would lead to the prosperity of rural people, food security and speed up the economic growth;
  

• Infrastructure with reliable and quality electric power including solar farming for all parts of the country, providing urban amenities in rural areas and interlinking of rivers;
  

• Education and Healthcare: To provide social security and eradication of illiteracy and health for all;
  

• Information and Communication Technology: This is one of our core competencies and wealth generator. ICT can be used for tele-education, tele-medicine and e-governance to promote education in remote areas, healthcare and also transparency in the administration; and
  

• Critical technologies and strategic industries witnessed the growth in nuclear technology, space technology and defence technology”.
  

I am sure imaginations and dreams are alwaysthe stepping stones of a greater achievements. Yes, it sounds extremely exciting and inspiring, but these great men had given us the wonderful requirements and great national goals to be achieved. Now, we the younger generations have all the responsibilities to bring this true.

Let's strive to bring this India Vision 2020, a reality much ahead of the year 2020.

With Love,
Anbsivam

Swami Vivekananda on God and Religion

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I wanted to write my thoughts on God and Religion. I've been into this spiritual quest of understanding what is God? who is the creator? is he really sitting up above the clouds in a place called heavens? what is the need of prayer?........these questions goes on and on......!!!

Yes, sometime I get some answers but more often nothing but confusion remains. Being an engineering student, I always tend to look for logical answers than a conclusion that is merely based on faiths. Okie, I'll spend some good time to put down my own thoughts and understandings in one of my next posts.

For now, I've some thoughts from the Great Hindu Monk of all times Swami Vivekananda here:

"Many years ago, I visited a great sage of our own country, a very holy man. we talked of our revealed books, the Vedas, of Bible, of Koran and of revealed books in general. At the close of the talk, this good man asked me to go to the table and take up a book; it was a book which among other things, contained a forecast of the rainfall during the year. The sage said "Read That". And I read out the quantity of rain that was to fall. He said, "Now take the book and squeeze it". I did so and he said "Why, my boy, not a drop of water comes out. Until the water comes out, its all book, So until your religion makes you realise God, it is useless".

"A man may believe in all the churches in the world, he may carry in his head all the sacred books ever written, he may baptise himself in all the rivers og the earth, still if he hasno perception of God, I would class him with the rankest atheist. And a man may have never entered a church or a mosque, nor he performed any ceremony, but if he feels God within himself and is thereby lifted above the vanities of the world, that man is holy man, a saint".

You are most welcome to share your thoughts on the above passage.

Thanks for visiting my page.

With Love
Anbusivam

Great Leaders Wallpapers.

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Welcome to Anbusivam’s blog page.

Came across some nice wall papers from www.leadershipnow.com.

"What is the use of living, if it be not to strive for noble causes and make this muddled world a better place for those who will live in it after we have gone." - Winston Churchill

"No man is good enough to govern another man, without that others consent." - Abraham Lincoln

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Martin Luther King Jr.

Find here the Great Leaders Series

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With Love
Anbusivam

A Meditation on Winning Habits

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Welcome to Anbusivam’s blog page.

A very interesting and though provoking article I came across in SiliconIndia Magazine by Dr. Santanu Paul Vice President, Global Delivery Operations.

The last decade has seen engineers of all dispositions gravitating towards IT - like bees towards fresh blossom. Everyone knows that the profession pays remarkably well, and people are buzzing about the chances to catch a piece of the action. Interactions with aspiring IT professionals indicate that many do not have a clear view of what capabilities are expected of them, and which character traits are likely to accelerate careers and unlock growth opportunities. This article is an attempt to shed some light on the ‘winning traits’ that separate good IT professionals from ordinary ones.

First and foremost, a genuine passion and aptitude for software as a technology is an absolute must. A burning desire to become a master craftsperson is the hallmark of great software professionals. Couple that with high ability to learn and you have a winning combination. Regrettably, as the profession has become more lucrative, it has attracted mediocre dabblers and mercenaries who care little about the profession itself, except for the financial opportunity it represents. This must stop, or else over time we will have to witness the dilution our position as an IT-savvy nation.

If aptitude is a must, attitude is paramount. A ‘can-do’ mindset works wonders. The knowledge economy needs people who are self-directed and self-motivated. Most IT companies are moving too fast to have the time to baby-sit those that need excessive supervision and maintenance, are overly defensive or cautious, or for whom the glass is always half-empty. Because time to result is key, the industry disproportionately rewards the positive-minded; people who see opportunities in problems, not problems in opportunities.

Effective communication is just as critical. People who listen, speak, write, and present clearly and meaningfully in English have an unfair advantage over those that do not. Effective communication is not about imbibing Western accents – it is about clarity of thought, articulation, and purpose. It is also about the ability to listen to others with respect and learn from their viewpoints and opinions.

In his classic book ‘Emotional Intelligence’, Daniel Goleman writes about the importance of EQ, or emotional quotient. In no industry is EQ more valuable than in IT; after all, the lifeblood of the industry is effective collaboration between bright, capable, and sensitive people across service providers, customers, and customers’ customers. If you are blessed with a high degree of empathy and self-awareness, the IT industry is for you. For this reason alone, one can conjecture that women have an edge over men in the IT profession.

The next winning trait is teamwork. Every great achievement in the IT profession is a direct result of exquisite teamwork. In fact, nothing is more detrimental to an IT project than a self-absorbed IT professional bent on being a hero and engaging in one-upmanship. If you have ever watched a pit crew in action during a Formula One race, or admired the harmonious muscularity of a professional rowing team, you have a very good idea of what high performance IT teams look like.

Natural leadership skills are always at a premium. The ability to inspire and motivate fellow team members propels young IT professionals very quickly towards higher levels of responsibility. The ability to ascribe success to teammates and the willingness to take responsibility for failures is the hallmark of a natural leader. An IT professional with strong technical competency, natural leadership skills, and a desire to serve team members selflessly is guaranteed a glorious career in the profession.

Last but not the least, a commitment to global citizenship and pluralism is a must. The IT industry is truly global, and professionals that are comfortable with cross-cultural dialog have a major advantage. This usually means an appreciation for diversity, a willingness to welcome and even celebrate differences between cultures and individuals, and a ready acceptance of the fact that both the East and the West must learn from each other. There is no such thing as a Bangalore-class or India-class professional. Either you are a world-class professional, or you are irrelevant.

Here is the original link.
http://www.siliconindia.com/guestcontributor/guestdesc.php?69

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Anbusivam

Leading Life in a Simple Way

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Welcome to Anbusivam’s blog page.

These days, almost all my interactions and general talks ends up in the topics on increasing oil prices, rising commodity prices and rising inflation (This week's Indian inflation number is @ 11.36% hitting its 13year high). I am sure you too are hearing these talks everywhere in a bus, train, airport, mall, market and in all over the places.

Phew…!!! Companies are in to cost cutting mode. Finance managers are looking for reducing the operating costs in each and every corner, even to the extent of buying low cost toilet tissues.

Only way we individuals can cope with these kinds of situations is with “Voluntary Simplicity”. Voluntary simplicity comes from within. It is the only way of more sustainable human existence in this world. Voluntary simplicity is a matter of personal responsibility and conscious awareness of how we live on the planet. It means identifying the difference between our needs and our wants. Needs are those things that are necessary for our survival - food, clothing, and shelter. Wants are all the other things we desire and to a large extent are driven by media advertising. Simplicity as a life-style is the identifiable difference between needs and wants, and the awareness.

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak. ~Hans Hofmann.

Practical Steps to Simplifying Our Life:

1. Get yourself with what you really need and not what you want.

2. Limit your buying habits. If we can escape materialism, we can easily get into the habit of buying less. And that will mean less stuff, less spending, less frustration.

3. Limit your media consumption, media advertisements dominates most of our buying decisions. Simplify your life and your information consumption by limiting it.

4. Learn to live frugally. Living frugally means buying less, wanting less, and leaving less of a footprint on the earth. It’s directly related to simplicity.

5. Before you buy something, write the item down on a note and if you still want it after a month, purchase it then.

6. Have a Buy Nothing Day.

7. Walk down or take out your bicycle to round the corner shopping.

8. Decide what is really working in your life and let go of that which no longer serves you.

9. Brew your own coffee at home instead of spending time and money in that posh café corner.

10. Find friends who know the glass is half-full or in other words, find friends who share the same value system as you do.

After all the above,

Always ask: Will this simplify my life? If the answer is no, reconsider.

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Anbusivam

Excellence Always from Tom Peters

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Welcome to Anbusivam’s blog page.

In my previous post on Personal Brand, I just wrote down some of my thoughts, that popped up while pondering over the term "branding our own self" with the global brand Coke as an analogy. Interesting comments/replies from my friends and readers came in, which made me dig further into the aspects of branding.

My further study on personal branding ended up in the homepage of Tom Peters, an American writer on business management practices. The term Personal branding is thought to have been first used and discussed in an 1997 article by Tom Peters. Personal branding is the process whereby people and their careers are marked as brands.

His famous book In Search of Excellence was published in 1982, and became a bestseller. Here is an interesting video from Tom on "Excellence Always"

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With Love
Anbusivam

Leadership in Building Our Personal Brand

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Welcome to Anbusivam’s blog page.

After my previous post on PepsiCo's Leadership Philosophy, here I’ve some thoughts to learn from Coca-Cola alias Coke.

The moment, I thought of writing on branding, first came in my mind was the survey I came across last year from Interbrand’s Best Global Brands 2007. The brand “Coca-Cola” ranks 1^st among the 100 global brands surveyed, with the estimated brand value of worth $65B.

Personal Branding is some thing that each one of us should sincerely think about. I am sure the moment we hear the word “Coke” number of thoughts comes up in us about Coca-Cola, which is nothing but just a soda. In the same way, the moment when someone hears “our name”, what are the kinds of thoughts that occur in their mind…? Do we really have control on what others think of us…? Can we manage our reputation, perception, image that other people have about us…?

If not 100%, I am sure it is possible for us to have a substantial control of what others think of us. This could be made possible only by the way we live, the values we choose, the way we interact with others and the way we give back to the society. Key point to notice here is, we need not blow our own trumpet, but let’s clearly communicate to the people around us about what our values and ethics are, particularly through our deeds not just words. It’s nothing but creating an identity, mage or a perception on us.

Starting point of this is to answer this important question “What do we want to be known for?” When we seek answers for this question sincerely from the bottom of our heart, we would be able to effortlessly create our own reputation in our family, among our friends and colleagues, wherein they will clearly understand the kind of person we are.

As pertinent to any other brand, some of the key qualities of our personal branding should be honesty, clarity, reliability and consistency. Of course, better branding plays a key role in every aspect of our lives like getting a graduate school admission, finding a perfect soul mate, getting a good job and so on.

Above all it’s not going to be an overnight process; it has to be built brick by brick with utmost sincerity. Let’s start building our own “Personal Brand”, I am sure its going to be a pleasant life time pursuit.

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Anbusivam

PepsiCo's Leadership Philosophy of Performance with Purpose

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Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi, PepsiCo's CEO, named frequently as one of the most powerful business leaders in the world, listed as fifth most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine, named among Time's most influential people in 2007 - 2008, spoke about the key roles that PepsiCo's employees play in realizing the vision of "Performance with Purpose".

Nooyi says, she believes that each one of PepsiCo’s 185,000 employees is a leader. There are two reasons for this. First, PepsiCo is a meritocracy. Hard work gets recognized. Second, PepsiCo has an entrepreneurial culture, so people have the ability to take the initiative to develop good ideas.

These are some skills that Nooyi believes to be the hallmarks of a good leader:

1. Competence:
You must be an expert in your function or area of expertise. You will become known for that.

2. Take a stand:
You must be known for your courage and confidence to act and say what you believe is right.

3. Communication skills:
Communication skills are critical. You can never over-invest in them.

4. Coaching:
Surround yourself with good mentors. Listen. Learn. Your mentor is a major force.

5. Your moral compass:
Have the strength and courage to do what’s morally right, not what’s expedient. Your moral compass must be your true north.

She also says that, Companies that want to grow and prosper must attract the best people to come to work for them. That means having a work environment that inspires people, motivates them, and brings out their best.

According to her, it’s important to create an inclusive culture: a place where people can “bring their whole selves to work.” A place where diverse values, beliefs, and practices are treated with respect. It’s also vital that people are shown respect by speaking to them with truth and candor. Give people honest feedback. Let them know where they stand. Be clear about what they need to do to improve or to reach their career goals.

Find below her interview for ASTD's training and development magazine T+D. --> Performance with Purpose

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Anbusivam

What about becoming our own cheerleaders?

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Welcome to Anbusivam’s blog page.

It’s been long time since I posted an article here. Thanks to our great BSNL for restoring my broadband connection after more than 3 weeks.

Last night, when Rajasthan Royals trampled Delhi Daredevils by 105 runs http://www.ibnlive.com/news/royals-drub-daredevils-enter-ipl-final/66297-5.html, looking at those cheerleaders I thought, Why not have such a team to cheer us every time we accomplish in life? Oh, Yeah. Having Redskins to Shake Up for all our scores is way too much of imagination and practically impossible too. If that is the case then, What about becoming our own cheerleaders?

When we are on a project, for example like writing this article, we would've laid out an action plan with specific steps and schedules. I would prefer to start from choosing the theme, relevant information useful to me and my readers, appropriate anecdotes and quotes, good pictures and of course a captivating topic. Each step I complete is an achievement and yes it’s a success too. If I fail to give my own recognition and pats on the back for reaching these small milestones, then definitely I will not be able to retain the energy and enthusiasm to complete the entire project. But, if I’ve my own Redskins awaiting inside myself for those “Shake Ups” and “Whoo….Hoos” when I reach these small milestones, then I am sure I’ll be much more enthused and energized to take up the next step with lots of confident and bliss.

I am sure each and every one of us here are earning for some or the other form appreciations, pats on our back from our friends, colleagues, parents, teachers, and whomsoever. What if we have our own cheerleaders within ourselves ever ready to cheer up for each and every small accomplishment’s of ours.

Close your eyes, and imagine a cheerful group of cheerleaders in front of you with “Whoo-Hoos” and “Shake Ups” for all those commendable things you’ve done in your life till this moment, that includes reading this small piece of article on becoming cheerleaders within us too.

Make a separate section for “Success” in you personal journal and write down all your daily achievements. It doesn’t mean that, you’ve to find a final completion of some project or an activity; it could also be a smaller stepping stones towards a higher goal. Include also, the things trivial things we do in our daily routines and those taken for granted. Make sure every day, before your bedtime thanksgiving, just have a look at it and let the cheerleaders within you go ahead to do those “Shake Ups” for all your great achievements for the day.

Come on....Let's become our own cheerleaders.....Get ready to "Shake Up" :-)

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With Love
Anbusivam

Choosing to be Happy :-)

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Welcome to Anbusivam’s blog page.

Reading my previous post When I grow up! I want to be a little boy, one of friends was sharing his childhood days with me over a cup of coffee. I always feel great and wonderful seeing people talking their joyful days of young age.

(One of the best expressions I clicked recently)

Last night when I was pondering over various things, landed up there in that conversation I had with my friend. I deeply felt the joy and happiness of my early days, those blissful moments. But, when I look at my present life, I had a tough question, “Where is that happiness, which was there with me moment after moment???”

As grown ups, we wait for someone or something to make us happy. May be, easy going university teacher, no traffic jams way to work, always green stock market, never troubling children, ever understanding boss, pretty wife, rich mother-in-law, admiring friends, it goes on and on. The moment any of these is not coming the way we wish, then starts the trouble. We become the embodiment of all distressing emotions like hate, anger, and frustration.

As a child, what was our state of emotion? Is it not happiness always? I am sure we remember our young days, where in someone or something has to make us unhappy. Our siblings, friends, parents or teachers some one should make us unhappy, otherwise we are just happy jumping, running without any reason and playing always.

Now, I can hear you saying, Do you want me to be happy in spite of all the turmoil’s happening in my life..? Yes, life is never a bed of roses for any of us, and that’s why life is life. If we can understand that Happiness is nowhere else but it’s now here within us. When it is there with in, why wait for some to trigger it? We should takeover the control of turning it on ourselves. Something like an automatic water level controller in our homes, we’ve an enormous reserve of Happiness with in ourselves (Ground Sump), just by choosing to be Happy at any moment we want (Overhead Tank) we can automatically control our emotions (Electric Pump) to fill us with the Happiness.

A popular greeting card quote by Henry David Thoreau says:

“Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”

Let’s Choose to be Happy and Yes, Being Happy is Our Birth Right.

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With Love
Anbusivam

When I grow up! I want to be a little boy

Hello Friends.

Welcome to Anbusivam’s blog page.

Chinmaya Mission, Bangalore gave me a great opportunity to spend three days of my last week in a serene atmosphere at Chokkahalli 60kms away from Bangalore. I was with wonderful children of 8th, 9th and 10th grades. Being with them brought back my childhood days, which made me write this post...!!!

Do you ever yearn to be a child again? “Sure I do”

Joseph Heller said “When I grow up! I want to be a little boy”

Well, we all were children at one point of time with a lot many dreams and beliefs about our life when we grow up. As a child we never had any problems, worries, sadness, tension, anger and sense of failure. Children celebrate other’s victory because they know that they don’t have to be best at everything they do.

An infant's mind is unconditioned for it is not influenced by the world. Such Pure mind is free of imprisonment from false ego — lust, anger, greed, delusion, jealousy, selfishness, fear, desires, confusion, conflict, fear, grief. As an infant, we all were born with such a pure mind! However, afterwards, while growing up, we were programmed and trained to identify with the feeling of "mine, mine!”. In the process, side by side, false ego gets developed as we grow from infancy to adolescence. The moment physical ego becomes stronger in us, we become prisoner of cravings, fears and delusions. To all of us too-serious, on-the-edge, busy-and-preoccupied adults Many of us miss the freedom of childhood

Have you ever keenly observed children playing…..watching the child’s play is a wonderful experience. Child doesn’t care about consequences, it has no inhibitions, it has no fear, and all it knows is happiness, happiness and happiness.

There is a small kid next home in my home town and I used to play with him whenever I go home. One day he came back from school complaining about the girl next door who is his classmate. He was telling his mom, that he had a big fight with her in the school; she had taken his eraser and broken his pencil too. He had decided that he will never talk to her or play with her.

Then a little latter I saw him going to her home and call her to play, and both were playing, laughing, giggling as if nothing happened at school. I just went near and caught him and asked that he was telling that he will never play with her just a few minutes back to his mom. He told me something that instantly caught my mind, that I can never forget, that was “Anna! That was in the morning, this is evening…that was at the school, this is home!!!” The children never carry all the way with them, the big baggage of ego as we grown up do always. Children have neither past nor future; they enjoy the present, which very few of us still can.

Have you not seen a child in anger, at one moment, kick, scratch, pull the hair, beat, cry in the lap of its mother, sometimes cry rolling in the floor? But as soon as that anger is gone, the same child in all its pure love freely runs to its mother laughing, giggling, kissing and making mother totally forget all the past and get her ready to do anything to protect and nourish the child? Have you watched this? In a child's heart, the clutter of failure and judgment are not there for us to stumble over. In a child's heart the fears and pain of life's wounds have not shortened the stride or clipped the wings of imagination. In a child's heart, the eyes do not see the boundaries of nation, state, race or culture.

Be then a child in life, but let's understand it dosen’t mean being childish, ita all about being a child like. There is a huge difference between childish and child like. That’s what our great ancient masters insisted….get into the state of “Bala - Buddhi”.

“Bala – Buddhi” also characterizes the state of complete inner surrender.

“Bala - Buddhi” is transparency, Pure Truthfulness.

Let’s all rebounce back to our Own Nature, “Bala – Buddhi” i.e. Child like.

As it is said in the great book of Christ -

“Who ever humbles himself like a child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven!!!”

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With Love
Anbusivam