Reflections on Life

Leadership

2009-07-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

This is the best article on leadership I found
http://businessonmain.msn.com/knowledgeexchange/articles/managingpeople.aspx?cp-documentid=19050332&gt1=25049&source=msneditorial&gt1=25049

What Makes a Good Boss?

By Jeff Wuorio

Everyone tells tales of the boss from…

But what about the angels of the workplace? Have you ever considered what makes a good boss good?

The answer to that question is admittedly mercurial, as one person's view of a top-notch employer will differ from somebody else's. However, there are a number of traits, attitudes and abilities that are common to all good bosses. Moreover, the need for solid leadership skills is especially telling with smaller businesses.

"Being a good boss is important in any organization, but it's particularly important for small business," says Rob Sheehan, director of executive education at the James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership at the University of Maryland. "With smaller businesses, you really have the opportunity to set the tone for the entire company."

Bearing in mind the importance of good leadership to business, consider the following lineup of skills, strategies and attributes:

1.) Be inclusive. With a smaller operation, it's essential that everyone feels like an equal and involved part of the team. A good employer is certain to treat each employee fairly, not only in terms of salary and other forms of compensation, but also in how that employee is involved in the daily function of the business. Encourage feedback, innovation and creativity so employees feel genuinely engaged. "You need to create an environment of integrity, trust and respect to make absolutely certain that everyone is treated fairly, regardless of the differences they may have," says Sheehan. "It's essential to be inclusive, because that keeps everyone on the same page when it comes to the business's long-term goals."?

2.) Mission, not just money. Very few businesses operate out of sheer altruism, but that's not to say that turning a profit is the primary philosophical and practical focus. Rather, an effective boss establishes a genuine business mission. How that takes shape depends both on the business and on the overriding focus the boss wants to set. For instance, a restaurant owner may push speedy lunchtime service as a way of serving the time-strapped business community. By contrast, a medical supply outfit may emphasize how its products improve customers' health. Not only can a clear mission serve to motivate employees, it can also infuse a sense of importance in their jobs. "The point to be made is that there's something bigger than money," says Sheehan. "That can really help in keeping employees from feeling as though they have some mundane, day in and day out job."

3.) Nothing to fear but fear itself. Many of us have had bosses who would be right at home with a guillotine next to their desk calendars. Make one mistake on the job and feel free to slip your noggin right in beneath the blade. Conversely, an effective boss encourages his or her employees not to be gun shy about an occasional snafu along the road toward better job performance. "This requires a mentality that encourages learning rather than a fear of making a mistake. Try something new and different, but know we're not going to kill each other if things don't work out," says Sheehan. "I was a swimmer in college and I swam fast when I imagined a shark was after me. I swam just as fast when I imagined I was in the Olympics. It's a question of what you want to focus on — fear or opportunity."

4.) Don't just lead — coach. It's common to hear a sports reporter observe that one coach out-coached another in a particular game. The same dynamic holds true for your business, in which you view your position both as a leader and a coach who teaches, encourages and, if need be, corrects employees. "A coach sees things very differently than the players," says Sheehan. "It's important to use that different perspective to educate and encourage. But it's also important, like a good coach, to lead your team by example. For instance, while you should point out mistakes by your employees, be sure to admit when you yourself make a mistake."

5.) It's their careers, too. Don't forget that the people who work for you are looking to you to help them navigate and advance their careers. As I said, it's not all about money. But it is all about making your employees see how to improve and create meaningful careers for themselves. If an employee has a goal of becoming a manager or running his or her own business someday, nurture that goal. Tell them the traits they need to work on to achieve their ultimate plans.

6.) Made, not necessarily born. One final aspect of being a good boss is recognizing that much of what goes into being an effective leader is, in fact, learned behavior. Of course, there always have been and will be bosses who seem to have a flawless touch in leading and motivating. But for every natural, there are just as many top-flight bosses who got that way by attending management classes and seminars, reading books on effective leadership and, just as important, understanding that a good employer naturally attracts first-rate employees. "People can definitely develop good leadership capabilities," says Sheehan. "To a certain degree, we all have innate traits that make us good bosses. All you really have to do is work to develop those traits to their utmost."

Jeff Wuorio is a veteran freelance writer and author based in southern Maine. He writes about small-business management, marketing and technology issues.

Secrets of Sleep and Waking up

2009-06-19T12:31:00.000-07:00

SECRETS OF A GOOD NIGHT'S SLEEP

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Everybody loves sleeping....right? Its pure joy is only next to meditation. Sleep....It seems like one the most important necessities in life. It is in sleep that we get the required rest for mind. Sleeping well and waking up fresh can boost productivity and energy by more than 50%. Imagine when you get all things done and are happy and cheerful, the whole day. Besides good sleep reduces stress and aging. Remember that you didn’t sleep well one night and ...you ended up spending the next day like a zombie. If you don’t get good sleep, it will cause low Serotonin levels in the body, which can cause depression, grumpiness, etc.

It always intrigued me...how to sleep better and wakeup fresh? I will share some very useful tips that I found with you. So are u ready?

SECRETS OF GETTING SLEEP ON TIME

When you don’t get sleep, you tumble and toss in bed for hours, it is called insomnia. I am sure some of you have friends who don’t feel sleep fast. What causes insomnia? What is the secret of getting sleep? It is recommended that you have one hour of winding down time before sleep. You can’t come from a race-course or video-game and go to sleep in next 5 minutes...it takes atleast an hour.

1. Number 1 secret is a hormone ...called Melatonin. Melatonin makes you feel sleepy, your eyes sag...have u experienced this? Melatonin is produced in the body when our eyes are exposed to darkness/ dim light for extended periods of time. So if you are not getting sleep one tip is to reduce the light intensity at night by buying a low-wattage bulb and use it at night after say 8pm. Bedroom should have a very dim light. Preferably something like a table lamp with shades. As a rule...AVOID BRIGHT LIGHTS AT NIGHT. Use of artificial light has shifted our body clock away from natural sunlight-rhythm. This can cause harmful effects on body and mind !

2. Number 2 secret is arousal hormones called adrenaline and norepinephrine. When you do
exiting activities at night such as watching TV, internet, video-games, gambling etc these arousal hormones are secreted. They will spoil the sleep causing effect of melatonin.

3. Number 3 secret is food. Everybody eats food....but have you observed that different foods have different effects on your moods. Very spicy foods, coffee, Tea etc can make you sleep late. Eat calming foods and alkaline pH foods at night. Oatmeal is known to cause sleep, chamomile tea is recommended by some. MILK is the BEST sleep inducing food. You can drink it fat free if you are afraid of gaining weight. Soy milk, almond milk also does the job.

4. Number 5 secret is having a shower in the evening reduces body temperature and signals the body to sleep

5. Number 6 secret is not to do any heavy physical activity such as dance, exercise before sleep can make up not feel sleepy

6. Sudarshan kriya, a breathing excercize taught by Art of Living foundation is known to reduce stress and normalize sleeping patterns.

5. If all of these don’t work....You can try some melatonin tablets from drug stores, which are safe and non-addicting/ non-habbit forming.

HOW TO WAKE UP FRESH

You can decide if you want to wake up like the cat in the picture above or like the good morning girl ;) We all want to wake up fresh, right? Some techniques can help in that. Not drinking lot of water before sleep is something you know. You can also do some breathing called as Ujjai breathing which calms the mind before sleep. Did you know that our mind is active even when we are sleeping? That’s why we get dreams. A five minute meditation before sleep can help your mind to a deep state of rest and wake up fresh. So the basic idea is you have to let go and RELAX before sleeping or else you will think-through the sleep. AVOID HEAVY FOOD at night..It can make up wakeup groggy.

HOW TO WAKE UP EARLY

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Why would someone want to get up early? Why are the most successful people early risers? ?? eg: Golf world Champion Tiger Woods , Benjamin Franklin the founding father of USA, Innovative Genius Thomas Edison, Bharat Ratna Dr Abdul Kalam etc. Morning is the MOST PRODUCTIVE TIME of the day....This is because your mind had lot of rest and is FRESH, FOCUSED and the atmosphere is very QUIET. Later during the day, there is a lot of activity and your mind is DISTURBED. Not much work gets done when mind is disturbed.You can finish all your work in the morning and be free whole day.

I know may people who want to wakeup early and get things done. But they end up snoozing and waking up late. Then they blame themselves and call themselves "I am not a morning person". Well...there is a secret behind this, which if you understand you can wakeup early as you wish to. Ok...here is it. When we are hitting the snooze button, we are not fully conscious. We are half sleepy or this state is also called subconscious mind activity. We can train the subconscious mind to overcome this. This is explained in a blog (I have given link at the end) by Steve Pavlina. Basically you break the subconscious habit of snoozing. How you do this is...you set the alarm during the day, when you are still awake. Then you let the alarm ring. When the alarm rings, switch it off and don’t sleep again. Doing this several times (5 times or more) will help you break the sub-conscious habit. Also keep the alarm AWAY from your bed...may be in next room. So that you have to be on your legs to shut it down. Keeping multiple alarms also helps. However, if you have an very important thing such as a exam next day, you will get automatically since your subconcious mind is worrying about it.

You can give a try to the wake up call service to wake up early using snoozester.com
They have free calls as promotional. Also go through Dave Cheongs blog if you want to get up early consistently.

How early to wake up
Some people decide to become an early riser and suddenly try to wakeup at 4 am next day. They do it for a day and then what happens.....? After a week....You can still find them sleeping till 9am :D . Why....?You can only shift your body clock by ~30 minutes every day without feeling sleep deprived. So I wouldnt suggest trying to do something overnight...it will be unsustainable. Slowly start waking up 30 minutes early for one week, then add 30 more minutes next week (total 1 hour).

How to reset yout circadian rhythm.

circadian rhythm is the natural body's rhythm to wake up in the morning and sleep in the night. The rhythm is controlled by light. A easy way to reset the waking cycle is to expose yourself to light in the morning. For example, going for a walk in the morning is a great idea. It signals your body, what time to wake up.

You can read...how to wakeup early by Steve Pavlina here
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2006/04/how-to-get-up-right-away-when-your-alarm-goes-off/

POEM: Let me Sleep!!!

Let me sleep
Let me be in the world of joy
Where there is no tension
Let my eyes sag a little
And there I go again
To the world of soft joy
Unparalleled peace and relaxation
Let the sun not rise bright into my eyes
And the alarm not ring
Let me sleep in peace (please!)
In the world of dreams
Be with my loved ones
They say that you have to dream big.
So let me first sleep...zzz...
- Gautham

Harmones in this blog.
Harmones are chemical agents causing changes in the body
Melatonin: Causes sleep
Seratonin: Feel good and happiness harmone
adrenaline and norepinephrine: Arousal harmones
Oxytocin: Bonding harmone

How to stay focussed at work? Read this blog by Dave Cheong.

What father said to his son

2009-04-26T16:18:00.001-07:00

Concentration:
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/Features/Columns/?article=ConcentrationIsKey&gt1=27004

Don't take these opportunities for granted; they were not always there and are in constant jeopardy.

Sleep early even if u think u want to stayup late

A person who wakesup at 5am succeeeds in life, one wakes up at 9 am is doomed to fail. The rest at intermediates wo wakeup between 5 am and 9 am!

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1608/is_7_18/ai_88583540/pg_3/?tag=content;col1

Increase ur willpower by motivating yourself.

51 ADVICES FROM FATHER TO SON

1 Keep your eye on the ball.

2 Do things the hard way sometimes--it's good practice.

3 The most important kitchen implement is a good, sharp knife.

4 Hold things so that your hand won't be in the way if the knife slips.

5 If you want to attract a woman s interest, make sure she knows that plenty of others are interested too.

6 Some bullies will respect you if you stand up to them; others are dangerous sociopaths who should be avoided altogether.

7 How to clean a fish: Okay, you've caught a nice one. Now rinse it off in fresh tap water (don't use lake or river water unless you know it's clean and free of dangerous organisms). If you aren't going to serve the fish whole, slice off the fins on both sides. Scrape the sides with a fish scaler or the dull edge of a knife to remove the scales. Cut into the vent (the small opening near the tail, where the body begins to widen) and slice the fish open all the way to the gills. Remove the entrails and gills with your hand. Check to make sure the cavity is clean and rinse it out with water. Store on fresh ice and discard excess water as the ice melts. Do a slightly messy job to prove you didn't buy salmon fillets at the A&P on the way home.

8 You can turn a loss into a win by learning something from it.

9 Stand up straight, shake hands firmly and look people in the eye.

10 No matter how good you are at your job, you won't get anywhere if nobody notices.

11 Don't go into the woods without a compass--or a satellite-controlled global positioning system.

12 Life is short. Enjoy it.

13 Become physically fit when you're young and it's still relatively easy.

14 No discomfort, no gain.

15 Don't lose track of your old friends; it's important to have people around who know where you came from.

16 Always use protection.

17 How to grill a steak over charcoal: Read the instructions that came with your grill. Make sure it's a charcoal grill, not a gas or electric one, and that it's in a well-ventilated outdoor space. (Your pappy didn't raise no dummy, did he?) For best results, light the coals with a metal chimney starter or an electric starter, both of which are available in grill stores--but here's how your dad probably did it:

Using about a half-cup of charcoal lighter fluid for each two pounds of charcoal (or whatever the grill instructions specify), stack charcoal briquettes in a pyramid in the center of the grill and cover them evenly with fluid. After about a minute, carefully light the briquettes with a long barbecue lighter or a fireplace match. (Note: Never add lighter fluid to the coals once they're already hot.) Let the briquettes burn for about half an hour until they're covered with white ash. Use tongs to spread them evenly over the bottom of the barbecue.

Next, trim the fat off a steak and rub the meat with spices (salt, pepper, garlic and a little olive oil are a good match). Grill for three minutes on one side; turn and continue cooking until it's done to your satisfaction. Make a small cut into the steak to see if it's the degree of pinkness you like. Once the steak has cooked, don't touch it with the same utensils you used when it was raw; wash everything that came in contact with the uncooked meat. Put the steak on a platter and serve, preferably on an outdoor picnic table.

18 No matter how many friends you have, you can always attract a gathering with food and good beer.

19 Your word is your bond.

20 But where the other guy is concerned, get it in writing.

21 If you want to be taken seriously as an adult, don't wear your baseball cap backward after the age of 18--unless, of course, you're a major league catcher.

22 The harder you work for something, the more you'll appreciate it--which is why you can't have your allowance until you're done with your chores.

23 Watch out how a woman treats other people; sooner or later she'll treat you that way, too.

24 Watch out how you treat your mother; sooner or later you'll treat other women that way, too.

25 Never say you can't do something well until you've practiced doing it a lot.

26 Learn basic auto repair. Anything you depend on that much you'd better know how to fix.

27 How to change a tire: Pull off the road to a safe place. (If you can't and there's danger of being hit, don't attempt to change the tire yourself--turn on the hazard lights, walk to safety, and call the highway patrol and/or the Auto Club or a nearby garage.) Put the car in park, with the parking brake on (leave manual-transmission cars in gear) and the engine off. If the surface isn't perfectly flat, put a wheel chock or large rock under the downhill side of the wheel diagonally opposed to the flat one. Get out the spare, jack and tire iron.

Remove the hubcap, then loosen but don't remove--the lug nuts by turning the tire-iron wrench counterclockwise. Be careful not to strain your back. Carefully jack up the car using instructions from your owner's manual. Remove the lug nuts and set them aside. Remove the flat tire carefully--sharp strands of steel may be sticking out of the back. Lift the spare onto the lug nuts with the air valve facing out. Replace the lug nuts. Lower the car carefully and remove the jack. Tighten the lug nuts with all the force you can muster and replace the hubcap. If the spare is in good condition, check the air pressure; if it's a temporary, get a new tire as soon as possible. Complain to the salesperson about the lousy condition of the old one.

28 Don't get married because you want to get married; get married because you want to marry her.

29 Fish is brain food. but beef is soul food.

30 Even if you think you know how to put something together, read the instructions first.

31 A cold drink on a hot day beats a hot drink on a cold day.

32 Don't just listen to what people say; try to figure out why they're saying it.

33 When you're afraid of something, admit it--if only to yourself.

34 No matter what it costs you to be who you really are, it's worth it.

35 Women will never understand the Three Stooges.

36 Protect your heart with regular cardio workouts, and by staying away from women with more than one tattoo.

37 Exercise machine? Try walking around the block a few times, buster.

38 The right way to hammer a nail: Hold the hammer firmly, and make sure there's nothing slippery on the hammer or on your hand. If possible, angle the nail against the wood grain. Hold the nail close to the surface, tightly enough that it won't fall, but loosely enough that it can move through your fingers. Keeping your eyes on the nail, bring the hammer back far enough to create force, but not so far that there's a chance you'll miss. With your wrist straight, use your forearm to hammer the nail, using the hammer's weight to create most of the force. (Additional advice from Mom: Wear eye protection and earplugs if necessary.) Now you're ready to build your bird feeder or fix virtually anything that's starting to come loose around the house.

39 Think about what you'd like to remember when you're old; it may help you decide what to do tomorrow.

40 Take the time to warm up.

41 People will treat you well if you let them--or if you show them that you won't stand for anything less.

42 If you lend money to a friend, not only may you never see the money again, you may never see the friend again, either.

43 Nobody ever lay in his deathbed and wished he had worked longer hours.

44 Or watched more TV.

45 If you're going to waste time, at least do it with your buddies.

46 Tip well--and if you're going to go back to the place, tip even better.

47 Don't swing if it's not in the strike zone. If it is, swing hard.

48 How to set up a hammock: Find two strong trees at least 18 inches farther apart than the unstretched length of your hammock. (If you don't have them, buy a hammock stand and follow the package directions.) If the hammock is dirty, clean it. (For a rope hammock, use soap and water in a bathtub, keeping spreader bars out of the water, and air-dry. For a quilted hammock, use a brush to scrub with soap and water; hose off completely and air-dry.)

49 Turn off the lights when you leave the room--especially when the electric bill is in the mail.

50 No matter what the game is, you'll enjoy watching it more if you've played it yourself.

51 Give your own son advice even if he doesn't seem to be listening; he'll remember it when he really needs to.

Senior Writer Ben Kallen was listening about half the time

Gaining muscles
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH6umeeKTSc

I THREW IT OUT

Last week I threw out Worrying,
It was getting old and in the way.
It kept me from being me;
I couldn’t do things my way.

I threw out those Inhibitions;
They were just crowding me out.
Made room for my New Growth,
Got rid of my old dreams and doubts.

I threw out a book on MY PAST
(didn’t have time to read it any way).
Replaced it with New Goals,
Started reading it today.

I threw out childhood toys
(Remembered how I treasured them so?)
Got me a NEW PHILOSOPHY too,
Threw out the one from long ago.

Brought in some new books too,
called I CAN,I WILL and I MUST.
Threw out I might, I think and I ought.
WOW, you should have seen the dust.

Reflections on a Dream

2007-10-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

If you are not living in the Present Moment....
you are missing out Something Precious!!!

PURPOSE OF THIS BLOG
The intention of this blog is to share whatever little I know, things that helped me, with the hope that it will be useful to you.

DREAMS
Imagine that you are watching a movie....a thriller... and people are watching TV in the movie. Now you start identifying with the movie in the movie. Multiple levels of conciousness simulataneously exists! Each thinks that he is REAL! It all goes on in the mind!!! Now how do you wake up from the dream? If you get it..great, otherwise still great!

Yoga vasistaa is the epitome of vedantic philosophy, which advanced philosophers can read:
http://www.divineaim.org/yogavasishta.htm

ABOUT THE MIND
MIND is more important than body. We live in our minds. The quality of your life will depend on the quality of your mind!!! Have u observed that our mind is not the present moment. Have u heard a chatter of your mind...usually about past or future. A chain of thoughts which you are not able to let go off...Everything is mind stuff.

PERVERSIONS OF THE MIND(From Yoga sutras of Patanjali)

Delusions -fantasies of the mind. Fantasies can be happy one or fearful ones.
False perception - perceiving that which is not. Eg: You think that people disrespect you though they are actually busy with their life to bother about you.
Demand for proof - many things cannot be proved. Like existence of God, friendship and Love.
Uncontrolled Sleepiness

http://swahilya.blogspot.com/2008/02/patanjali-yoga-sutra-vi.html
http://swamij.com/yoga-sutras-10104.htm#1.3
http://personalyogainstructor.com/patanjali.htm

Metaphysicians say that we are an elaborate differential equation. We are pre-programmed robots - destined to eat(we get hungry automatically-harmone ghrelin), sleep(melatonin), breed(Dopamine, oxytonin, seratonin) and survive monotonously in this planet. So do you still think life is exiting? You have been genetically preprogrammed and bugged!!!
http://www.inthelight.co.nz/topics/asrelationships.htm

How to be free? Are you ready to take the Red pill? Meditation is a way out of the maze. It helps us get out of depending on material needs such as food, relationship, etc for getting seratonin levels. Similar to the movie Matrix, which is actually based on an Indian scripture called as Yoga Vasistha, which I read (I saw all the matrix series at least 6 times).
http://www.arrod.co.uk/essays/matrix.php

Practises such as Meditation, Yoga, Breathing etc were given a lot of importance in Indian culture for this very reason. They also help us be disease free in body and mind - to be happy always.

MENTAL ATTITUDE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAT WORK
I believe that the attitude/ intention with which u do things is more important than what u do. There is a saying which says that "Before enlightenment you chop wood and collect water, and after enlightenment... you chop wood and collect water".

HOW TO DO THE ACTIONS.
All actions happen first in the mind and then in the body!
I think that "When you drop all selfish interests and attachments in what you and do it as a worship of the Divine, then the action is pure and you dont get caught up". Else you will get caughtup and not be free from it - karma"

GOOD WEBSITES:
Stevepavlinas personality development Site
How to become an early riser:
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/05/how-to-become-an-early-riser/
visualization:
http://www.college-success-guide.com/power-of-visualization.html
http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/02/the-essential-missing-half-of-getting-things-done/

HOW TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF YOUR LIFE?: Do you want happiness, success, better relationships, confidence, peace of mind. Something I would recommend if you really want to improve the quality of your life 10 times is to take the Art of Living course. Existence is a fact, Living is an Art -Sri Sri Ravishankar
http://artofliving.org

MIND IS BOTH RATIONAL AND IRRATIONAL: chemistry and mathematics:

http://www.uoregon.edu/~moursund/Books/PS-Expertise/chapter-1.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love

ABOUT SLEEPING RIGHT
http://www.mapi.com/en/newsletters/vata_pitta_kapha_sleep_disorders.html

SELF SUGGESTION FOR POSITIVE MIND
http://youtube.com/watch?v=gottKWB2Vho

ABOUT SLEEP:
Many people love sleeping. Its pure joy is only next to meditation.

Let me Sleep!!!

Let me sleep

Let me be in the world of joy

Where there is no tension

Let my eyes sag a little

And there I go again

To the world of soft joy

Unparalleled peace and relaxation

Let the sun not rise bright into my eyes

And the alarm not ring

Let me sleep in peace(please!)

In the world of dreams

Be with my loved ones

They say that you have to dream big.

So let me first sleep...zzz...