AmI ready to take the first step ?

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Seth's Blog: Deconstructing generosity

Just brilliant... Seth Godin at his best... Must read (sharing the entire post below.. Highlights are my take-aways!)

The connection economy is based on generosity. After all, why would someone want to connect to a selfish organization? But the critical need for generosity as an element of our new economy is easy to get lost because it leads to the question, “what is generosity?”

The obvious answer, I think, is the wrong one. Generosity is not merely giving a discount, or giving what you make away or creating a race to the bottom. It’s far more complex than that. Some thoughts:

It’s understandable that generosity creates trust, but also worth noting that trust is required to provide generosity. If a well-meaning person started leaving sandwiches all over the airport departures lounge, her goal probably wouldn’t be achieved, because we just don’t trust random unwrapped sandwiches left anonymously in public places.

That’s one reason why it seems so difficult to give ideas away online. We don’t know you, so we don’t trust you, perhaps not even enough to invest the time to find out what it is you’re trying to give us or how you're working to help us. Earning this trust, in an effort to be generous, is time consuming and dissuades some from going down this path. Sometimes this effort leads marketers to spam, to take shortcuts, to lie, all in a self-justified but ultimately doomed and deluded effort to be generous.

Sacrifice is a crucial element in our perception of generosity. When someone takes the time to share a finite resource, one that they cannot hope to be repaid for, generosity happens. So favors can’t be generous, because favors imply a sort of gift economy of repayment being due.

Kindness also rides along with generosity. When someone is generous with us but does it begrudgingly, just this one time, don’t ask again, face scrunched with tension, then no, it doesn’t feel generous.

Danny Meyer has revolutionized restaurant culture around the world (starting with Union Square Cafe and then with many other eating places) by placing an emphasis on generosity. Not the (sometimes unwanted) generosity of huge portions, nor the discounting approach of charging ever less, but in the generosity we feel when we’re waited on by someone who treats us with genuine humanity, with kindness and with care.

A variation on kindness is design. It’s entirely possible to create buildings or signs or products that are brutally efficient, where no effort is put into grace or style or beauty. But when the creator of the thing also donates the extra time and care to make it magical, it feels generous, a generosity that scales to all who use it.

There is also the generosity that we feel when someone comes with right intent. People likeBernadette Jiwa, Tina Roth Eisenberg and Mitch Joel have no ulterior motive in the work they share online. They share because they can, because turning on a light for themselves also turns on a light for others. This is not the trading-up version of selfish networking, it’s merely generous.

Vulnerability, as Brene Brown and others have written about, is a key element of what it is to be human, to make art and thus to be generous. The vulnerability of showing up and caring and connecting, even if this time, it might not resonate. And yes, vulnerablity builds trust, all in an endless cycle.

And the killer of generosity is bitterness. You may have noticed while traveling on airlines like American that many of the employees you encounter act as though they’re trapped. Trapped by a race to the bottom in efficiency, trapped by a long history of bureaucracy that offers no control and no room for humanity. In those situations, it’s easy to give up, to shrug one’s shoulders and to soldier on, just doing your job. It’s not surprising, then, that any attempt at organizational kindness instead feels like a poorly constructed marketing come-on, not the human act of generosity we seek.

We long to connect, all of us. We long to be noticed, to be cared for, to matter. Generosity is the invisible salve on our wound of loneliness, one that benefits both sides, over and over again.

PS: My thoughts, though I feel I am incapable of adding anything to this thought provoking post. There is a quote from Indian scriptures. 'Paropakarartham idam shareeram'. It means 'our physical body is to serve others'. If every thought, word and deed is performed with this awareness & firm belief, then you are not just being generous. Not just human. But, Divine... and that is our true entity! (that is the destination of my journey... miles to go!)

Seth's Blog: Deconstructing generosity

W-A-T-C-H

Master says, "Watch your Words, Action, Thoughts, Character and Heart" 


Words : We often discuss the current affairs, stories we read, soaps we watch on idiot box and sheer gossip... by doing so, we are spreading negativity into ourslves, into others and beyond... thus The Universe!

To be aware ('watch') of every thought-word-action, (= trikarna shuddhi) also means being mindful. Be in the Here & Now. 

Good to 'watch' what we say to others....what others tell us. Also, think... as the Universe picks up the energy of the thought, positive or negative....

#Mindfulness !

Let us Spread Positivity, only!

Master's words... to conclude: 
Your thoughts, words and vision should be filled with love. This is Divine Love in action.


Blissfully!

Crucifying Yuvi - An Armchair Cricket Expert's Perspective

India failed to make it a triple win of world cups. ( Columbus!! It is almost 24 hrs since the disaster hit us!)

Extending one of the pre-game What’sApp messages to the post-match scenario... MSD can have his tea in a normal cup, or even a clay-pot! Else, in one of the two world ‘cups’! 

Hopefully, they would not fill either of two earlier cups with alcohol and drown in the sorrow of a final loss to the new, 'traditional' rival, Sri Lankans!! (Thankfully we abstained from the recent voting at UN, strategically !!) 

MSD is perhaps above all that… He even tried to cover up Yuvi, even though he blamed the last four overs for the loss! It might have dawned on him by now; it was not just the last four overs, but the entire 20 overs of their batting that to be blamed…!

Whole lot of Indian supporters would have gone to bed very upset. Many of them would have got up, on a Monday morning, feeling very low. Like our corporate evaluation/promotion lists, these matches should be held on a Friday/Saturday evening, so that we bounce back on Monday morning to make some valuable contributions to our economy!! (As some of my friends say, it makes huge economic sense if we focus less on cricket and more on work, responsibility!)

The problem with the average Indian supporter is he/she thinks he/she is an expert too. Very vocal about opinions, analysis and judgment. These are the same people who ridicule Ravi Sastri (for his ‘opinions’), Harsha Bogle (for dramatizing, though he may attribute it to his passion), Manjrekar (for his expertise) and foreigners (for their lack of understanding the average Indian fan)!!

I am reminded of Shahid Afridi’s young daughter complaining about Misbah’s inability to improve scoring rate and win the match against India…  Now after few years, she would be repenting for making the comment, on TV, and exhibiting (childish) ignorance of the nuances of the game!!

We love villains in our movies, corporate, politics, government, society, et al. We love to find a bakra. Yesterday, Yuvi volunteered to be a convenient bakra. Monday morning, social media is over-flowing with Yuvi-bashing!! Many of them would not have played cricket even at school level, let a alone deeper understanding of the game. It is easy to comment from sidelines… it is different to get into the middle and experience…! (Even a non-expert will concur)

Our bowling is as good as Netherlands or Bangladesh. On his day, Amit Mishra or Ashwin, may be deadly. On his day, Yuvi is in a different league, they can not even dream to reach. Even Bhuvi was looked threatening. Second new ball bowler, is still a hunt!! They are just not consistent, which is the true yardstick of a great player.

Law of averages…. After the dream run in Bangladesh, the numbers had to catch up, even if it was in sub-continent. One of the experts was comparing this team with the Aussies, at their best, few years ago. (This expert surely needs to unlearn and re-learn or BCCI should investigate his motive!)

We may boast of the best in class batting line up. But against the best bowling, backed by some crisp fielding, our batsmen just succumbed to the pressure.  Imagine, if the fielding was better, and stand-in captain Malinga took the catch of Kohli??!! (May be MSD or Raina, or even Yuvi, would have fired!!)

Opener went off early. Rohit’s batting strike-rate was like traffic lights, to borrow from ‘Samantha’ on FM Radio, this morning!

We lost momentum early on, not when Yuvi struggled to score.

Why did MSD not come in early, even before Yuvi?

Towards the end even Kohli was struggling. Don’t blame it on loss of momentum and Yuvi, if he is rated the best in the world by our expert commentators and columnists. 

Kohli needs to look within about his attitude, which gets lot of ‘wah, wah’ in a winning cause.  But, perhaps plenty of scope to improve there? If he wants to be an inspiring leader....(Raising the bar for Indian Cricketers ET )

May be Sammy was right ! God was smiling on them, Lankans? 
Yet another perspective.... Perhaps, we die-hard Indian fans deserved this set back?  Why? let us ask ourselves . . .

health - Prevention is the key

'..."The health industry is essentially a sickness industry ....
My prediction for the near future for those interested in health and well-being is that physicians, nutritionists, health practitioners, physical therapists, nurses, massage therapists, counselors, LIFE COACHES, yoga teachers, and all those who are able to improve the health of their clients will be in high demand.' 
- Dr Deepak Chopra

That is for physical, emotional, mental or spiritual health! 

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