Volvo Bus

I travelled by Volvo bus few times. I know how it looks like. Recently, in bangalore, BMTC introduced volvo city buses. After looking at the bus, I wondered how it is Volvo bus, because it looks completely different. After few seconds, I got the answer.

The answer is, "API is same, but the UI is different". ;)

Change your thoughts, not the way you live

A Master and disciple were returning from a temple to their ashram.

They were passing by the sea shore, when they heard a female voice crying for help. She was drowning. The Master saw this and immediately jumped into the water, swam caught hold of the lady and saved her. The disciple was watching the whole act.

When the Master lifted the lady out of the water she was literally half naked. The Master made her lie down. After she came to her senses in a few minutes, they left her there and walked back.

It was a two hours walk to the ashram.

The disciple asked his Master - "We both are Sanyasis and leading a life of renunciation. Was it proper on your part to lift that beautiful young lady literally half naked condition. Can a Sanyasin touch Women like that?".

The Master asked - "When did I save that women?".

Disciple said - "Two hours ago".

The Master replied - "I lifted her out of the water and dropped her two hours back. I have also dropped the thought that I had saved her from the sea. You have not lifted her, but even after two hours, you have not dropped the thought. You have been carrying this for more than two hours ".

This story shows it is not the action, but what you carry inwardly that counts. People are so ignorant that they give importance only to the outer, external things and not the internal.

Good deeds never go unrewarded

His name was Fleming, and he was a poor Scottish farmer. One day, while trying to make a living for his family, he heard a cry for help coming from a nearby bog. He dropped his tools and ran to the bog. There, mired to his waist in black muck, was a terrified boy, screaming and struggling to free himself. Farmer Fleming saved the lad from what could have been a slow and terrifying death.

The next day, a fancy carriage pulled up to the Scotsman's sparse surroundings. An elegantly dressed nobleman stepped out and introduced himself as the father of the boy Farmer Fleming had saved. "I want to repay you," said the nobleman. "You saved my son's life." "No, I can't accept payment for what I did," the Scottish farmer replied, waving off the offer.

At that moment, the farmer's own son came to the door of the family hovel "Is that your son?" the nobleman asked. "Yes," the farmer replied proudly. "I'll make you a deal. Let me take him and give him a good education. If the lad is anything like his father, he'll grow to be a man you can be proud of." And that he did. In time, Farmer Fleming's son graduated from St. Mary's Hospital Medical School in London, and went on to become known throughout the world as the noted Sir Alexander Fleming, the discoverer of Penicillin.

Years afterward, the nobleman's son was stricken with pneumonia. What saved him? Penicillin.
The name of the nobleman? Lord Randolph Churchill.
His son's name? Sir Winston Churchill.

Someone once said: What goes around comes around.

Work like you don't need the money. Love like you've never been hurt.

Can you say NO to your manager?

In June of 2003, Steve Jobs gave a small private presentation about the iTunes Music Store to some independent record label people. My favorite line of the day was when people kept raising their hand saying, "Does it do (x)?", "Do you plan to add (y)?". Finally Jobs said, "Wait wait - put your hands down. Listen: I know you have a thousand ideas for all the cool features iTunes could have. So do we. But we don't want a thousand features. That would be ugly. Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It's about saying NO to all but the most crucial features."

My managers don't have good impression on me, because I say no to too many things. ;)

Manage your time

The busier you are, the more important to stop and read this story.

One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget.

As he stood in front of the group of high-powered over achievers, he said, "Okay, time for a quiz." He then pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth masonry jar and set it on the table in front of him. Then
he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one by one, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?"

Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the space between the big rock. Then he asked the group once more. "Is this jar full?"

By this time the class was on to him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel.
Once more he asked the question. "Is this jar full?"

"No!" the class shouted. Once again, he said, "Good!". Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim.

Then the expert in time-management looked at the class and asked,"What is the point of this illustration?" One eager Beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it."

"No", the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is this:

If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all.

What are the big rocks in your life? Your children. Your spouse. Your loved ones. Your friendships. Your education. Your dreams. A worthy cause. Teaching or mentoring others. Doing things that you love. Time for yourself. Your health.

Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first, or you'll never get them in at all. "If you sweat the little stuff (i.e. gravel, the sand) then you'll fill your life with little things you will never have the real quality time you need to spend on the big, important stuff (the big rocks).

So, tonight, or in the morning, when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the "big rocks" in my life?

Then put those in your jar first.