Category: Email Forwards

Secret for Success


A young man asked Socrates the secret to success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue. Socrates pulled his head out of the water and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air. Socrates asked, ‘What did you want the most when you were there?” The boy replied, “Air.” Socrates said, “That is the secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted the air, then you will get it.” There is no other secret.

A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment.

Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results…

Importance of self-discipline


During the 1960s, psychologist Walter Mischel conducted “the marshmallow test” with four-year-olds in the preschool at Stanford University, to assess each preschooler’s ability to delay gratification. Each four-year-old was given one marshmallow. They were told that they could eat it immediately or, if they waited until the researcher returned in 20 minutes, they could have two marshmallows.

Some kids in the group just couldn’t wait. They gobbled down the marshmallow immediately. The rest struggled hard to resist eating it. They covered their eyes, talked to themselves, sang, played games, and even tried to go to sleep. The preschoolers who were able to wait were rewarded with two marshmallows when the researcher returned. Twelve to fourteen years later these same kids were reevaluated as teenagers.

The differences were astonishing. Those who had been able to control their impulses and delay gratification as four-year-olds, were more effective socially and personally. They had higher levels of assertiveness, self-confidence, trustworthiness, dependability, and ability to control stress. Their Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores were 210 points higher than the “instant gratification” group!

A key difference between successful people — leaders — and those who struggle to get by, is self-discipline.

As Confucius wrote, “The nature of people is always the same; it is their habits that separate them.”

Tips to reduce stress at work


1. Improve your time management and organization skills

Of the many things you can to in this area the best ones include getting a to do list that works, learning to say “no”, asking for help when you need it, and stop setting unrealistic goals for yourself.

2. Relax and breathe deeply.

Whether you are feeling overwhelmed by the amount or work you have to do or if someone is “in your face”, a good thing to do is to “breathe through your nose”. You can’t get as worked up if you force yourself to breathe through your nose. Your body simply can’t maintain the same level of energy without that extra oxygen you get when breathing through your mouth.

3. Take more breaks from your work.

Even a five-minute break will help. Get away from your desk. Go for a walk – outside is better, but up two flights of stairs and back down is good too. Getting more exercise in general will help you reduce your overall stress levels and that will make it easier to reduce your stress level at work.

4. Lighten up.

Smile more. We all know laughter reduces stress. You will be amazed at how much more pleasant the people around you are when you make an effort to be pleasant yourself.

5. Learn to listen better.

Rather than getting upset when others disagree with you, listen actively and find the areas of agreement. Be assertive and stand up for yourself, but don’t be rigid.

6. Fix your environment.

Make whatever adjustments you need to the lighting, temperature, noise level, and other controllable factors in your office.

7. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Realize that there are some things that just aren’t worth worrying about and there are some things you just can’t change. Don’t waste time stressing over the things in either category.

8. Get more sleep.

This is another of the things you can do to reduce your overall stress that will have benefits at the office as well. In addition to reducing your stress, it will increase your energy level and your ability to concentrate.

9. Find a mentor

If not a mentor, a friend will do. Having someone to talk to can take a lot of stress off you.

10. Spend more time with optimistic people.

Negative people will pull you down to their level. Choose to work with people who have a positive attitude instead.

Hell or Heaven – It is the way people treat each other….


Rabbi Haim of Romshishok was an itinerant preacher. He traveled from town to town delivering religious sermons that stressed the importance of respect for one’s fellow man. He often began his talks with the following story:

“I once ascended to the firmaments. I first went to see Hell and the sight was horrifying. Row after row of tables were laden with platters of sumptuous food, yet the people seated around the tables were pale and emaciated, moaning in hunger. As I came closer, I understood their predicament. Every person held a full spoon, but both arms were splinted with wooden slats so he could not bend either elbow to bring the food to his mouth. It broke my heart to hear the tortured groans of these poor people as they held their food so near but could not consume it.

Next I went to visit Heaven. I was surprised to see the same setting I had witnessed in Hell – row after row of long tables laden with food. But in contrast to Hell, the people here in Heaven were sitting contentedly talking with each other, obviously sated from their sumptuous meal. As I came closer, I was amazed to discover that here, too, each person had his arms splinted on wooden slats that prevented him from bending his elbows. How, then, did they manage to eat?

As I watched, a man picked up his spoon and dug it into the dish before him. Then he stretched across the table and fed the person across from him! The recipient of this kindness thanked him and returned the favor by leaning across the table to feed his benefactor.

Moral: “Heaven and Hell offer the same circumstances and conditions. The critical difference is in the way the people treat each other”.

10 Reasons To Date An Entrepreneur


1 – Their sense of possibility.  To date someone who accepts no limitations means that there is no end to how much they are capable of loving you.

2 – They see things in ways that others don’t and understand the power of thought and faith to offer an entirely fresh and inspiring view of a challenging situation.

3 – They know the true meaning of commitment and persistence to an idea – a love – far bigger than themselves.

4 – They attract and draw into their world new people, experiences and opportunities that make every day of being with them a continual adventure.

5 – Their vision for the world extends to a vision of long-term relationships and family life no less important than their cause, but as equal to and intrinsic to working together to contribute to the betterment of humanity.

6 – They have seen failure and know that it is never what defines a man or a woman.  It is their ability to get back up, with integrity, humility and service to a higher cause that builds the character and loyalty necessary for life-long commitment.

7 – They are passionate souls with tonnes of energy and a great love and lust for life…..and we know how important that is for the more, erm, intimate areas of a relationship…..!

8 – They know the value of partnership in getting things done, the power of teamwork necessary to build something of mutual value.

9 – They know how sometimes you just have to hang in there, work really hard and keep trusting the original love for the vision/person and what drew you to it/them in the first place……and it will turn out with way more blessings than you can imagine.

10 – They are visionaries who understand the power of love over fear.

Cold Calling Experiences by Sivaraman Natarajan


This is what transpired during one of my calls –  

Me: Hello, Good Morning!
Receptionist:  Good morning Sir
Me: I am Sivaraman calling from company – Y
Receptionist: Okay…
Me: Can I please talk to Mr. X?
Receptionist:I would need his badge number
Me: I am sorry. What is that?
Receptionist: All our employees have a badge number Sir. You have to give me that
Me: Sorry, I don’t know Mr.X’s badge number. Can you look him up in the extension directory please?
Receptionist: Let me see…(a min later) Sorry Sir, I cannot find him
Me: Can you please find Mr. W then?
Receptionist: Mr. W? This is regarding?
Me: This is regarding a business meeting
Receptionist: What business Sir?
Me: Can I please talk to him directly about it? (ending with a smile)
Receptionist: Hmm…I am putting him through. Please hold
Me: Thank you! 
W: Hello, W speaking, who is this?
Me: Good morning Sir! I am Sivaraman calling from Y. I got your reference from ____. Is it a good time to talk to you? Can I have 5 minutes of your time?
W: (a little hesitating) Yes…What is this regarding? 
Me: Sir, this is regarding….blah blah..

This is one experience where I got to handle 3 objections and got rewarded ultimately. When making calls, it is important to handle certain objections, especially if we are calling the board number and talking to a receptionist. 

Objection: Mr. X does not work here/Mr. X is in a meeting/business trip/on vacation
Counter: Can I talk to Mr. W then?
Objection: He is not available today/He is not at his desk
Counter: Is he on vacation?/Is he in a meeting?/When can I call again?/Can I have his extension number?/Can I have his email id please?

The idea is to get as much information as possible in a single call. It can get really annoying to a receptionist if we assume a rigid/matter-of-fact tone. One has to respect the time of a receptionist.

When we get to the person we want to talk to, we ideally get a maximum of 5 minutes, so, we should get to the objective of the call as quickly as possible. 

Homework before calling is paramount. 

The success rate of cold calling is not very high. Hence, it pays to be persistent and methodical. Cold calling should always be complemented by direct mailing and follow-ups to be effective. 

For all those born in 80’s!


Got this post from a friend and it really made sense… Wanted to share it…

We are the last generation that learnt to play in the street, we are the first who’ve played video games, see cartoons in color and went to amusement parks. We were the last to record songs of the radio on cassettes and we are the pioneers of Walkman’s and chat-rooms… We learned how to program VCR before anyone else, play with the Atari, Nintendo and believed that the Internet would be a free world all on a 56kbit modem… Traveled in cars without seat belts or air-bags & lived without cell phones… Rode our bicycles down the road without brakes… We never had phones but still kept in touch… We did not have Play stations, 99 television stations, flat screens, surround sound, mp3s, iPods, computers and broadband…

but never the less we had a GREAT Time…

Why wedding ring is worn on the fourth finger…its very interesting!!!


This is interesting Try it out !

Why should the wedding ring be worn on the fourth finger?
There is a beautiful and convincing explanation given by the Chinese…..

  • Thumb represents your Parents…
  • Second (Index) finger represents your Siblings…
  • Middle finger represents your-Self…
  • Fourth (Ring) finger represents your Life Partner & the Last (Little) finger represents your children…
  • Firstly, open your palms (face to face), bend the middle fingers and hold them together – back to back…
  • Secondly, open and hold the remaining three fingers and the thumb – tip to tip…

(As shown in the figure below):

Now, try to separate your thumbs (representing the parents)…, they will open, because your parents are not destined to live with you lifelong, and have to leave you sooner or later.

Please join your thumbs as before and separate your Index fingers (representing siblings)…., they will also open, because your brothers and sisters will have their own families and will have to lead their own separate lives.

Now join the Index fingers and separate your Little fingers (representing your children)…., they will open too, because the children also will get married and settle down on their own some day.

Finally, join your Little fingers, and try to separate your Ring fingers (representing your spouse).
You will be surprised to see that you just CANNOT….., because Husband & Wife have to remain together all their lives – through thick and thin!!

Please try this out………….
ISN’T THIS A LOVELY THEORY?

ABBREVIATIONS Which Are Not Known To Many Of Us


CHESS: Chariot, Horse, Elephant, Soldiers..
COLD: Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease..
JOKE: Joy Of Kids Entertainment..
AIM: Ambition In Mind..
DATE: Day And Time Evolution..
EAT: Energy And Taste..
TEA: Taste And Energy Admitted..
PEN: Power Enriched In Nib..
SMILE: Sweet Memories In Lip Expression..
BYE: Be With You Everytime..