Courage and Inspiration

"So you think I'm courageous?" she asked. "Yes, I do." said he.
"Perhaps I am. But that's because I've had some inspiring teachers." And she told him about one of them.
Many years ago, when I worked as a volunteer at Stanford Hospital, I got to know a little girl named Liza who was suffering from a rare and serious disease. Her only chance of recovery appeared to be a blood transfusion from her five-year-old brother, who had miraculously survived the same disease and had developed the antibodies needed to combat the illness. The doctor explained the situation to her little brother, and asked the boy if he would be willing to give his blood to his sister. I saw him hesitate for only a moment before taking a deep breath and saying, "Yes, I'll do it if it will save Liza."
As the transfusion progressed, he lay in a bed next to his sister and smiled, as we all did, seeing the color returning to her cheeks. Then his face grew pale and his smile faded. He looked up at the doctor and asked with a trembling voice, "Will I start to die right away?"
Being young, the boy had misunderstood the doctor; he thought he was going to have to give her all his blood.
"Yes, I've learned courage," she added, "because I've had inspiring teachers."
We see courage and inspiration all around us - from the smallest and the most ordinary.

Everything happens for good

The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island. He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon for help, but none seemed forthcoming. Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions.

One day, after scavenging for food, he arrived back to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief and anger. He cried out, "God! How could you do this to me?"

Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! "How did you know I was here?" asked the weary man of his rescuers.

"We saw your smoke signal," they replied.

It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, even in the midst of our pain and suffering because everything happens for good.

Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground; it just may be a smoke signal for someone

Just a couple of noisy frogs

A farmer came into town and asked the owner of a restaurant if he could use a million frog legs. The restaurant owner was shocked and asked the man where he could get so many frog legs!
The farmer replied,"There is a pond near my house that is full of frogs ---millions of them. They all croak all night long and they are about to make me crazy!" So the restaurant owner and the farmer made an agreement that the farmer would deliver frogs to the restaurant, five hundred at a time for the next several weeks.
The first week, the farmer returned to the restaurant looking rather sheepish,with two scrawny little frogs. The restaurant owner said, "Well... where are all the frogs?" The farmer said, "I was mistaken. There were only these two frogs in the pond. But they sure were making a lot of noise!"
Remember that problems always seem bigger in the dark. Have you ever laid in your bed at night worrying about things which seem almost overwhelming like a million frogs croaking? Chances are pretty good that when the morning comes, and you take a closer look, you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.
Next time you hear somebody criticizing or making fun of you, remember, it's probably just a couple of noisy frogs

Story of Pencil:

The Pencil Maker took the pencil aside, just before putting him into the box.

"There are 5 things you need to know," he told the pencil, "Before I send you out into the world. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best pencil you can be."

"One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in someone’s hand."

"Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, but you'll need it to become a better pencil."

"Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make."

"Four: The most important part of you will always be what's inside."

"And Five: On every surface you are used on, you must leave your mark. No matter what the condition, you must continue to write."

The pencil understood and promised to remember, and went into the box with purpose in its heart.


Now replacing the place of the pencil with you. Always remember them and never forget, and you will become the best person you can be.

One: You will be able to do many great things, but only if you allow yourself to be held in God's hand. And allow other human beings to access you for the many gifts you possess.

Two: You will experience a painful sharpening from time to time, by going through various problems in life, but you'll need it to become a stronger person.

Three: You will be able to correct any mistakes you might make.

Four: The most important part of you will always be what's on the inside.

And Five: On every surface you walk through, you must leave your mark. No matter what the situation, you must continue to do your duties.

Allow this parable on the pencil to encourage you to know that you are a special person and only you can fulfill the purpose to which you were born to accomplish.
Never allow yourself to get discouraged and think that your life is insignificant and cannot make a change.

Race of life

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle awakens.
He has only one thought on his mind:
To be able to run faster than the fastest lion. If he cannot, then he will be eaten.
Every morning in Africa a lion awakens.
He has only one thought on his mind:
To be able to run faster than the slowest gazelle.
If he cannot, he will die of hunger.

Whether you choose to be a gazelle or a lion is of no consequence. It is enough to know that with the rising of the sun, you must run. And you must run faster than you did yesterday or you will die. This is the race of life.

Either you need to know to chase and kill everyone like a lion;
Or else you need to know to escape and save yourself from him, like a gazelle…

You need to definitely know to be either of the one…
Else it's tough to survive…

Very much like a corporate culture…

Which one would you choose to be? I would choose to be the lion, because the Lion can afford to fail repeatedly. There is always another opportunity to catch the gazelle another day, the lion can learn and try new tricks and techniques for hunting the gazelle, all it needs is to find one successful technique and it won't go hungry.
The gazelle on the other hand, if it fails to elude capture will die! No second chances here I'm afraid.

Abhinav Bindra Story

Abhinav Bindra - India’s first ever individual gold medalist. All Indians are proud of him and there are many stories about his long journey to winning the Gold. One which is interesting was in the papers recently and narrated by one of his friends and co- competitors.

Abhinav and his friend were at a shooting competition where Abhinav won the Gold and his friend the Silver. The prize money for the two was Rs 5000 and Rs 3000 respectively. During the ceremony the envelopes got exchanges and Abhinav got the envelope with Rs 3000. After the ceremony, he congratulated his friend and then with a smile asked for his rightful envelope. All know that Abhinav Bindra comes from a well to do family and that the Rs 5000 or 3000 would not really matter in monitory terms to him. But as his friend said, "He valued his achievement and hence he valued those Rs 5000".

The amount was small, but what it signified was important. Abhinav strived hard to get that Gold and he valued his own achievement. In his own quiet way he knew he was a winner and was proud of the fact. Sometimes, it is important to know and appreciate oneself and that becomes the strength we need to excel.

Let’s raise our coffee mug to Abhinav Bindra....and also don't forget to pat yourself on the back for a job you may have done well.

Dreams can be realized with determination and persistence

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However, bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea.

After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up-coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.

During surveying for the East River Bridge project, Roebling's foot was badly injured by a ferry, pinning it against a pylon; within a few weeks, he died of tetanus. His son, Washington, succeeded him, but in 1872 was stricken with caisson disease (decompression sickness, commonly known as "the bends"), due to working in compressed air in caissons. All he could do was move one finger. Everyone felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built

By moving his fingers, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife. For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances.

Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal. Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seems impossible can be realized with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.

Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.

Click Here for Details of Brooklyn Bridge

You become what you believe you are

Once upon a time, there was a large mountainside, where an eagle's nest rested. The eagle's nest contained four large eagle eggs. One day an earthquake rocked the mountain causing one of the eggs to roll down the mountain, to a chicken farm, located in the valley below. The chickens knew that they must protect and care for the eagle's egg, so an old hen volunteered to nurture and raise the large egg.

One day, the egg hatched and a beautiful eagle was born. Sadly, however, the eagle was raised to be a chicken. Soon, the eagle believed he was nothing more than a chicken. The eagle loved his home and family, but his spirit cried out for more. While playing a game on the farm one day, the eagle looked to the skies above and noticed a group of mighty eagles soaring in the skies. "Oh," the eagle cried, "I wish I could soar like those birds." The chickens roared with laughter, "You cannot soar with those birds. You are a chicken and chickens do not soar."

The eagle continued staring, at his real family up above, dreaming that he could be with them. Each time the eagle would let his dreams be known, he was told it couldn't be done. That is what the eagle learned to believe. The eagle, after time, stopped dreaming and continued to live his life like a chicken. Finally, after a long life as a chicken, the eagle passed away.

Moral of the story:

You become what you believe you are; so if you ever dream to become an eagle follow your dreams, not the words of a chicken.

Just shake off the dirt

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was too old and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Comparing it to real life scenario, life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a steppingstone.
We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping and never giving up! Just Shake off the dirt, take a step up ahead

Lesson for life

This is an extract from article written by great Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam. It’s a long one but worth reading.

I remember my dad teaching me the power of language at a very young age. Not only did my dad understand that specific words affect our mental pictures, but he understood words are a powerful programming factor in lifelong success.
One particularly interesting event occurred when I was eight. As a kid, I was always climbing trees, poles, and literally hanging around upside down from the rafters of our lake house. So, it came to no surprise for my dad to find me at the top of a 30-foot tree swinging back and forth. My little eight-year-old brain didn't realize the tree could break or I could get hurt. I just thought it was fun to be up so high.
My older cousin, Tammy, was also in the same tree. She was hanging on the first big limb, about ten feet below me. Tammy's mother also noticed us at the exact time my dad did. About that time a huge gust of wind came over the tree. I could hear the leaves start to rattle and the tree begin to sway. I remember my dad's voice over the wind yell, "Bart, Hold on tightly.." So I did. The next thing I know, I heard Tammy screaming at the top of her lungs, laying flat on the ground. She had fallen out of the tree.
I scampered down the tree to safety. My dad later told me why she fell and I did not. Apparently, when Tammy's mother felt the gust of wind, she yelled out, "Tammy, don't fall!" And Tammy did fall.
My dad then explained to me that the mind has a very difficult time processing a negative image. In fact, people who rely on internal pictures cannot see a negative at all. In order for Tammy to process the command of not falling, her nine-year-old brain had to first imagine falling, then try to tell the brain not to do what it just imagined. Whereas, my eight-year-old brain instantly had an internal image of me hanging on tightly.
This concept is especially useful when you are attempting to break a habit or set a goal. You can't visualize not doing something. The only way to properly visualize not doing something is to actually find a word for what you want to do and visualize that. For example, when I was thirteen years old, I played for my junior high school football team. I tried so hard to be good, but I just couldn't get it together at that age. I remember hearing the words run through my head as I was running out for a pass, "Don't drop it!" Naturally, I dropped the ball.
My coaches were not skilled enough to teach us proper "self-talk." They just thought some kids could catch and others couldn't. I'll never make it pro, but I'm now a pretty good Sunday afternoon football player, because all my internal dialogue is positive and encourages me to win. I wish my dad had coached me playing football instead of just climbing trees. I might have had a longer football career.

Here is a very easy demonstration to teach your kids and your friends the power of a toxic vocabulary. Ask them to hold a pen or pencil. Hand it to them. Now, follow my instructions carefully. Say to them, "Okay, try to drop the pencil." Observe what they do.
Most people release their hands and watch the pencil hit the floor. You respond, "You weren't paying attention. I said TRY to drop the pencil. Now please do it again." Most people then pick up the pencil and pretend to be in excruciating pain while their hand tries but fails to drop the pencil.
The point is made.
If you tell your brain you will "give it a try," you are actually telling your brain to fail. I have a "no try" rule in my house and with everyone I interact with. Either people will do it or they won't. Either they will be at the party or they won't. I'm brutal when people attempt to lie to me by using the word try. Do they think I don't know they are really telegraphing to the world they have no intention of doing it but they want me to give them brownie points for pretended effort? You will never hear the words "I'll try" come out of my mouth unless I'm teaching this concept in a seminar.
If you "try" and do something, your unconscious mind has permission not to succeed. If I truly can't make a decision I will tell the truth. "Sorry John. I'm not sure if I will be at your party or not. I've got an outstanding commitment. If that falls through, I will be here. Otherwise, I will not. Thanks for the invite."
People respect honesty. So remove the word "try" from your vocabulary.
My dad also told me that psychologists claim it takes seventeen positive statements to offset one negative statement. I have no idea if it is true, but the logic holds true. It might take up to seventeen compliments to offset the emotional damage of one harsh criticism.
These are concepts that are especially useful when raising children.

Ask yourself how many compliments you give yourself daily versus how many criticisms. Heck, I know you are talking to yourself all day long. We all have internal voices that give us direction.
So, are you giving yourself the 17:1 ratio or are you shortchanging yourself with toxic self-talk like, " I'm fat. Nobody will like me. I'll try this diet. I'm not good enough. I'm so stupid. I'm broke, etc. etc."
If our parents can set a lifetime of programming with one wrong statement, imagine the kind of programming you are doing on a daily basis with your own internal dialogue. Here is a list of Toxic Vocabulary words.
Notice when you or other people use them.
Ø But: Negates any words that are stated before it.
Ø Try: Presupposes failure.
Ø If: Presupposes that you may not.
Ø Might: It does nothing definite. It leaves options for your listener.
Ø Would Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn't actually happen.
Ø Should Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn't actually happen (and implies guilt.)
Ø Could Have: Past tense that draws attention to things that didn't actually happen but the person tries to take credit as if it did happen.
Ø Can't/Don't: These words force the listener to focus on exactly the opposite of what you want. This is a classic mistake that parents and coaches make without knowing the damage of this linguistic error.
Examples:
Toxic phrase: "Don't drop the ball!"
Likely result: Drops the ball
Better language: "Catch the ball!"
Toxic phrase: "You shouldn't watch so much television."
Likely result: Watches more television.
Better language: "I read too much television makes people stupid. You might find yourself turning that TV off and picking up one of those books more often!"
Exercise: Take a moment to write down all the phrases you use on a daily basis or any Toxic self-talk that you have noticed yourself using. Write these phrases down so you will begin to catch yourself as they occur and change them.

Turn rough pieces of sand into precious pearls

An oyster on the ocean floor opened its wide shell to let the water pass over it. As the water flushed through, its gills picked out food, sending it to stomach. Suddenly a large fish nearby stirred up a cloud of sand and silt with a flip of its tail.
Sand! Oh, the oyster disliked sand. It was so rough and made life so unpleasant and uncomfortable and was such a bother whenever any got inside its shell. Quickly the oyster slammed its shell shut, but it was too late. One hard gritty grain of sand had gotten in and lodged itself between his inner flesh and his shell.
My, how that piece of sand bothered the oyster! But almost immediately, its special glands for coating the in-side of his shell began working and coated the irritating grain of sand with a lovely smooth and shiny covering.
Year after year the oyster added a few more layers of the coating onto the tiny grain of sand until at last it had produced a beautiful lustrous pearl of great value.
Sometime the problems we have are a bit like that grain of sand. They bother us and we wonder why we have the irritation and inconvenience. But they can be blessings in disguise and make us achieve way beyond our own expectations.
So take the rough pieces of sand in life and turn them into precious pearls....

All faces in world are mirrors

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was a place known as House of 1000 Mirrors.

A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the House, he said to himself, “This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often.”

In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he said to himself, “That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again.”

Lyricist Gulzar has narrated this in 3 beautiful lines-

आओ हम सब पहन ले आइना,

सारे देखेंगे अपना ही चेहरा,

सबको सारे हसीन लगेगे यहाँ

Aao hum sab pehenle aaine
Saare dekhenge apna hi chehra
Sabko saarein haseen lagenge yahan

All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do you see in the faces of the people you meet? Observer this next time

Do the right thing

A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. Turtles, being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outing. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place. During the second year of their journey they found a place ideal for them at last!

For about six months they cleaned the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they have forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.

Three years passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five years...six years... then on the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich. At that point the little turtle suddenly popped out from behind a tree shouting, "See! I knew you wouldn't wait. Now I am not going to go get the salt."

Some of us waste our time waiting for people to live up to our expectations of them. We are so concerned about what others are doing that we don't do anything ourselves. Often we wait for people to make , what we think are mistakes so that we can 'get back' at them. Its a mindless and fruitless exercise doing so.
You do the right thing without waiting for people to do what you think is their bit.

Know where to make an effort

A giant ship engine failed. The ship's owners tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure but how to fix the engine.

Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was a young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully, top to bottom.
Two of the ship's owners were there, watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly, the engine lurched into life. He carefully put his hammer away. The engine was fixed!

A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for ten thousand dollars.
"What?!" the owners exclaimed. "He hardly did anything!"
So they wrote the old man a note saying, "Please send us an itemized bill."

The man sent a bill that read:
Tapping with a hammer....................... $ 2.00
Knowing where to tap.......................... $ 9, 998.00
Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference.

Act of Leadership by Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam

Let's look at an incident in the professional life of Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, which captures an important aspect in the art of management.

Dr. Kalam felt that during the 1970's and 1980's, while he was working at ISRO, he had a priceless piece of education which couldn't have been imparted by the best of universities. His narrative of this invaluable lesson was something like this - 'I was given a significant responsibility by Prof. Satish Dhawan, the then Chairman of ISRO. I had to manage the project to develop India's first Satellite Launch Vehicle - SLV-3, to put our satellite ROHINI into orbit. This was one of the largest high technology space programmes undertaken in the 1970's'.

'The whole space technology community was geared up for this task. Thousands of scientists, engineers and technicians put in tireless effort for a number of years, resulting in the realization of the first SLV-3 launch on 10th August, 1979. SLV-3 took off in the early hours and the first stage worked beautifully. But the mission could not achieve its objectives, as the control system in the 2nd stage malfunctioned. The project had failed'.

'Tough questions had to be answered to all the stake-holders. There was a press conference at Sriharikota, where the media glare had to be faced. Prof. Dhawan took me to the press conference but asked me to just stay at his side, while he tackled the press. As part of it, he was unequivocal that the whole responsibility for the failure of the mission rested on his shoulders. This despite me being the Project Director!'

'Work re-commenced on the SLV-3. Prof. Dhawan again handed me the responsibility of managing the mission, despite the previous failure. When we launched SLV-3 on 18th July, 1980, successfully placing Rohini into orbit, we were overjoyed. Obviously, there was a press conference. Like the last time, I expected Prof. Dhawan to handle the press. He called me aside and said that I would need to do it and he would not accompany me. When I asked why he had spoken to the press last time but not now, in our moment of success, his logic was astonishing'.
'He said 'when a project fails, the leader has to take the flak; when it succeeds, the person who has been responsible for the success should have the limelight''

Simple; yet profound?

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