Raj Shankar's Blog, page 39

Interesting Links This Week: 15-September-2013

This week’s top three links from my reading list:

We all seek “social proof” all the time – we don’t even know we do it. That’s how our minds fool us all the time. No wonder that marketers (the smart ones) are able to convince us into believing that we are choosing the best option. Interesting concept. Here are some interesting examples and some serious learning for entrepreneurs to incorporate into their sales and marketing plans. Link: http://bit.ly/15mwx2B

Leadership of any kind is power! Everyone wants it. In fact in today’s world the most powerful form sought after is ‘Thought Leadership’. But what people miss is that with power comes responsibility! But is the converse true? Some interesting though triggers. Link: http://bit.ly/17jD5n9

When Paul Graham has something to say, it is good for entrepreneurs to listen. It is good for all involved in the entrepreneurial ecosystem to listen. Read this interview and make up for not having the chance to meet him in person and listen to him. Interesting questions on identifying entrepreneurs, how to evaluate startups and where to invest? Link: http://bit.ly/18fspmD

 

Books and Me: The One Minute Networker

Book Title: The one minute networker

Author: Bryan Thayer

Networking is an activity that human beings cannot not do.  The reason being our inherent social nature. At a more fundamental level, every being on earth is actually interconnected to every other being. The dependencies may seem absurd at times. But that does not do away with the dependencies themselves.  Not understanding the fundamental aspects of inter-connectedness has led to a lot of social turbulence, in the form of theft, robbery, revenge, intolerance and also at a larger scale; terrorism.  The appreciation of the fact, that we are a networked species gives tremendous strength, confidence and also a chance to enable each other live fully . This is the fundamental aspects of networking as a subject.

In today ‘s world, networking is seen as a short cut in achieving one’s dreams. Especially in the areas of business and entrepreneurship, networking is seen more as a tactical rather than a strategic activity. It is seen more as an expense rather than an investment. It is always done with a specific outcome in mind rather than waiting to receive the bounty.

How should one network? Where should one network? These are all subjects that need further thinking.  Most books on business and entrepreneurship don’t even talk about networking as an important topic. I remember one faculty who used my book “Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice” remark the chapter titled networking is one that he includes in every course of his even beyond entrepreneurship; not only because of its relevance but also due to paucity of available practical literature.

The present book under review is written in a very easy to read manner. It is a short book that can be completed in probably a short haul flight.  While the book shares some examples, do’s and don’t’s about the how of networking it is more about the what and why of networking. Much of the book’s content remain at the philosophical level of networking which in my opinion needs to be understood before anyone decides to network.  The content of the book at many places made me reflect on a number of aspects beyond networking about life at large.  One will definitely come away feeling good, positive and with a number of anecdotes ant quotations on finishing the book.

If you are looking to understand networking both as a skill and as a tool, this could be a good place to start!

My Inspiration this morning

After a couple of days of continuous rainfall this morning as I drove down to the airport, the dawn was such a welcome experience. The sun brightened up the day and the sky looked more beautiful than ever. Through the entire drive I kept looking back at the horizon wanting to see the sun come out. Blue, White, Orange, Yellow! The sky kept changing colors, the brightness of the day kept increasing and the darkness of the remaining part of the sky kept receding. It was a beautiful movie at its best. Silent but loud enough to send the message to every viewer!

The birds were beginning to signal daybreak, while the sun was slowly making its way out of the horizon. How did the birds know that the sun would come out? The entire period of an hour and a half remained a period of intense seeking. It was a period of intense inspiration in the hope that the day will break. The sounds of the birds kept increasing and finally with the sun fully out, their sounds stopped. The sounds of cars and people took over. The beautiful period of a different type of silence was over. Was it inspiration?

Yes it was! For me, yes it was!

Every day we have many such instances, which inspire us. Every day we have our own sources of inspiration. I always keep reading and asking people, what inspired them? And the ones that depend on nature for inspiration, seem to last the longest. No! I am not talking about longevity of life, but about the longevity of the inspiration. My big example here is Ruskin Bond!

Find your inspiration – something that will make you move. Something that will give you the hope to take one more step! Don’t ask me towards what, you will have to find it out for yourself. If you figure it out (and the source of inspiration is something in nature) you are saved, for a very deep inner reason, which you will know when you find yours.

Think about it!

Announcement: International Conference on Entrepreneurial Approaches to Librarianship 2013

As a person associated with Entrepreneurship both in theory and practice, I am happy to have the pleasure of associating with Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad. I have presented papers at their conferences, handled sessions at their programs and also continue to work along on number of initiatives. The importance this institute plays in the economic and social development of this country is vital. Apart from the impact, the hospitality and the friendly atmosphere at the institute, the high intellectual stimulation that one receives when one is on campus and also the lovely campus facilities makes a visit to the campus fruitful on many counts.

A conference from a reputed institution is a great place for intellectuals to assemble, learn, share and discuss. The topic of the conference makes it all the more interesting not just to people in Entrepreneurship, but also to Librarians, Book Lovers, Bibliophiles, amongst others. I am sure many of us would find value in the conference.

Block your dates if it appeals to you! Be there in whatever form you wish to be! If you have ideas to share, this is a wonderful event to get it published, if you want to learn, this is the event to learn from the experts, and if not anything else, it is a great chance to spend a few days just thinking about the ‘libraries’, ‘books’, and all about the love to spread it.

To know more about the conference such as objectives, themes, dates, etc.,. And to register please look up: http://manlibnet.in/manlibnet2013/index.html

Organizing Institutions and their websites:

www.ediindia.org or www.manlibnet.in

Vedantic Wednesday: Instability of Life

In a moment, the whole world changed! Have you or someone around you experienced something like that? Here are few examples to give you an indication:

a)    An entrepreneur works his guts out for a long time without much success. But because of his good nature and intentions he has helped some people who have become successful. One of these people suddenly pops up one day and offers him a million dollar deal – which has never seen or even aspired for! He has been seeking only a hundred thousand deal and he is now faced with a million dollar deal. He gets anxious and worries himself to breakdown with the upside possibility. Many people have told me this is not possible – it’s good when we are not the protagonist. We always feel we would have managed it better.

Go ahead and read a few more situations where there is more downside. Is it that we can handle that better than the individual protagonists as well? I am sure our minds will tell us it won’t happen to us and even if it happens we will manage it a lot better than others.

b)    A young man, extremely successful right through school, college and work is working on a really important engagement / initiative that can elevate him 5 levels. He is just a few days away from the end of the project and all of a sudden his health gives way – he is diagnosed with blocks and advised restrictions (food and work) and extensive rest.

c)    An entrepreneurial man with a PhD working as a researcher develops headache. He googles and identifies possible root causes. He takes some online tests. He tells himself he has anxiety disorder since the test says so! Within 3 months he is at the psychiatrist taking help to recover.

d)    A young boy who tops his class continuously and has number of good friends suddenly realizes that he does not have a girl friend. This is because most of his friends have one. Peer Pressure? He then forces himself into one and eventually gets serious to such an extent that he disconnects with all his loved ones. He starts getting angry when he does not get attention from that girl and eventually break down emotionally. He takes tests online which only aggravates the anxiety and stress. His whole academic career is now staked against something that started all of a sudden!

Innumerable cases like these exist. Why do people get attached to objects and beings knowing fully well that life is full of surprises? Learning to handle surprises is learning the skill of right living. Every religion in the world has scriptures and they teach the human being the meaning of right living. But man fails to get attracted to it early, looking up to it only after living life. In the ancient times young people were first sent to this ashram of a realized teacher who will teach them all skills for life and how to live life as well. They will then be sent to live in the world happily and peacefully. But somewhere we reach out to religion only towards the end of our lives – isn’t it the reverse of what should be actually done?

In a beautiful poetic composition of the 8th century saint Adi Sankaracharya he describes this instability of life with this metaphor: “Life is like a dew drop on a lotus leaf” – no, don’t think this is a pessimistic attitude to life. In the next week’s Vedantic Wednesday post i will detail how this understanding can help us lead a positive, peaceful and happy life. Till then think on this and similar situations that you have come across.

Ganesha – The Lord of the Start

Probably the most widely celebrated God in India. It is very unlikely to start an activity without seeking his blessings. A prayer to Lord Ganesha is said to be a great start to any activity because:

He ensures the action is well begun
He ensures obstacles to action are destroyed
He ensures the action is successful at completion

Is that not what every one of us wants? Then today is an amazing day to kick start important activities – because today is “Ganesh Chathurthi” , the most auspicious occasion of the Lord Ganesha himself.

What did you start today?

Starting does not necessarily mean only new projects, new ventures, new engagements. It can also be a habit, an activity etc., It can also be restarting something good that you started but let go too soon.

Seek the blessings of the “Lord of the Start” and get going!

Happy Vinayaka Chaturthi!

Happy Ganesha!

Ganapathi Bappa Morya!

Love is not attachment!

A boy and a girl fall in love! There is nothing wrong with it. In fact that sounds pretty much alright. But look at the way their lives become after that. During the course of my work with the youth of this country, I am seeing that this thing called “LOVE” become a stumbling block to their progress. They are actually finding attachments – not love! Because

True love will not separate, it will encompass!

True love will not create sadness, it will create joy!

True love will not create agitation, it will create peace!

True love will not create inaction, it will make your flower!

True love will not make you stop making friends, it will expand your friend base!

True love will not make you hide from your parents, it will make you closer!

True love will not make you a loner, it will make you attractive!

True love will not make your sad, it will keep you happy!

True love will not make you dependent, it will make your independent!

True love will not make you sick, it will make you healthy!

True love will not keep you holding hands forever, it will keep your thoughts in unison!

True love will not take away space, it will create more space for more people!

True love will not seek attention, it will only give attention!

But look at the young minds of India falling in love, except for a few exceptions, they are all fighting with each other for attention, they are fighting with each other for time and space, they are disconnecting with their entire network in the name of love, they lose friends, they lose their parents and their loved ones, they lose their peace of mind, they lose their happiness, they lose everything.

And they call this LOVE!!

God, please give these people some sense to understand LOVE first and then love!!

That love will feel eternal, peaceful and happy! That love will inspire! That love will show the path for progress! That love will show the path for evolution!

It won’t suffocate! It won’t depress! It won’t make you weak!

Love, Love you must – but understand what it is, else you will be lost forever! The world does not need more MAD (actually CRAZY, the mad ones are sometimes worthwhile) MEN! It needs wise ones…

I truly hope the potential of the youth of India, the so called demographic dividend, the so called power of youth, does not get wasted with the totally misunderstood concept of love, which is actually pure attachment. This will make them weak – physically, emotionally and mentally.

I hope they think, understand, make choices and then love everything they do – so that they rise in love and not fall in it!

On Teacher’s Day, 2013

The nice thing about teacher’s day is that it gives us atleast one opportunity to think about those people who have shaped us into what we have become.  It is an act of benevolence that cannot be repaid in any form.  Even if you are a teacher today, you continue to be a student at a higher level, under a more evolved teacher. So this is one day where nobody can refrain from saying ‘Thank You’.  This makes the day that much more special.

India today has more people below 35 than over it, and this trend is set to continue for a fairly long time in the future.  All of these people are like wet clay. They need potters. The sad part is that:

a)     Clay does not know it needs a potter

b)     Being a potter doesn’t seem too interesting to too many

India has clay. It doesn’t have enough potters. A country that has created some of the greatest teachers or gurus of the world is today finding it difficult to attract people to take on this role.  One of the reasons why it is becoming difficult is because we have begun treating teaching like any other profession, thereby undermining its immense context and contribution.

Let us today resolve in our own small way to respect, support and sustain the teaching community. Let us make every effort to showcase this noble profession in the right light and inspire enough people to consider it as a worthy vocation. I also hope that every teacher takes it on themselves to enhance their maturity so as to handle the rough clay with soft hands.  Happy Teacher’s Day!

 

Vedantic Wednesday: The good side of desire

Every religious and spiritual endeavour results in people asking the aspirant to renounce desires.  Even if you try to run a little experiment on yourself for a day you will quickly realise the futility of this task. It is almost impossible to force yourself to control or eliminate desires.  However Vedanta says it is not desire per se that causes the issue, but the set of conflicting desires. It begs a human to fix on that single inner calling and work relentlessly in its pursuit.

Desire creates two things in every one of us. One, energy. Two, effort. It is because of aspirations that we take efforts towards gaining something. It is also the sense of gaining it and the possible resultant happiness that creates energy and helps us sustain the along the path. Both of these drive action. Without desires it is very difficult of us even to visualize acting or working.  If we make an effort to understand what this spiritual path and what spiritual evolution means we can utilise the above two forces generated by desires to help us steadily advance on our spiritual quest.  The intention behind action while not visible to the whole world can help the individual make progress.

J&K EDI, An institution with a purpose

Imposing white building, green lawns, good infrastructure and great faculty; this is what I found when I spent four days at the J&K EDI. A state government initiative for furthering entrepreneurship in the state, J&K EDI’s cause is well defined and very clear. They are to inspire, encourage and facilitate people of the state to consider setting up ventures and if possible create employment opportunities for a couple of more people. And this is one institution which is taking its cause very seriously.

As I started working with about twenty faculty members from the institution, I found them not only committed, but extremely grounded on practicalities and anchored very well in theoretical framework. Something that is expected but one, that is conspicuous by its absence in many cases.  Due to this, the training itself moved to a higher level. The discussions moved from beating the basics to higher levels of applying theory in practice.  I found the faculty members despite being strong in their subject show a surprisingly large inclination to learn newer things. They were open not only to fresh thinking but also contrarian views. Everything that was being put in front of them was taken for consideration, discussed, analysed and then dealt appropriately with. And the most inspiring aspect of working with this group was that they clearly recognised the role they were to play in the long process of rethreading the societal fabric. You can read more J&K EDI here http://www.jkedi.org/

Very often when one works with a group, they are not prepared literally for such a kind of focus and seriousness. And especially when you know it is in a context where there could be as per the popular understanding priorities much greater than doing larger good.   So I was pleasantly surprised from day one, immensely motivated from then onwards and have come back with lot of learning – in both the individual and subject planes!