How far will I go?

Here is a wonderful story I received from simpletruths.com
Great to keep up our spirits post-Diwali lull

The nest of young eagles hung on every word as the Master Eagle described his exploits. This was an important day for the eaglets. They were preparing for their first solo flight from the nest. It was the confidence builder many of them needed to fulfill their destiny.

"How far can I travel?" asked one of the eaglets.
"How far can you see?" responded the Master Eagle.
"How high can I fly?" quizzed the young eaglet.
"How far can you stretch your wings?" asked the old eagle.
"How long can I fly?" the eaglet persisted.
"How far is the horizon?" the mentor rebounded.
"How much should I dream?" asked the eaglet.
"How much can you dream?" smiled the older, wiser eagle.
"How much can I achieve?" the young eagle continued.
"How much can you believe?" the old eagle challenged.

Frustrated by the banter, the young eagle demanded, "Why don't you answer my questions?"
"I did."
"Yes. But you answered them with questions."

"I answered them the best I could."
"But you're the Master Eagle. You're supposed to know everything. If you can't answer these questions, who can?"
"You." The old wise eagle reassured.
"Me? How?" the young eagle was confused.
"No one can tell you how high to fly or how much to dream. It's different for each eagle. Only God and you know how far you'll go. No one on this earth knows your potential or what's in your heart. You alone will answer that. The only thing that limits you is the edge of your imagination."

The young eagle puzzled by this asked, "What should I do?"

"Look to the horizon, spread your wings, and fly."
Copyright 2001, Tom Reilly

Simplicity

Today is his day. His strength was simplicity but his plans were far more than just being simple. He had the whole world at his feet...he still gets them there.

I don't know much about him. There is another person who is closer to me than him. This person wears a shirt, yes. He wears a pair of slippers while going out and his goals are not as grand as that of our nation's father...And to me, he is the simplest person on this earth. I haven't met a more simpler, down to earth person than him. I am talking about my father.

I know two simple people.
One is of course the Mahatma.
The other one is someone who can give his life for me.

Today, I am glad to have reached my native place and am thoroughly enjoying his company. The more time I spend with him, the more I am getting convinced that I have complicated my life due to the numerous wants & wishes and have complicated my life over the years.

Here is raising a toast to the two simple humans I know...one not so well...and specially to the other one, who is such a major part of my life but from whom I have mentally drifted away over these years.

I am determined to take a goal or two...back with me to Bangalore...and make my life more meaningful.

No Surrender

When you believe in yourself, in your personal potential, in your own future,

you have no choice - surrender is not an option. There's nothing to do but continue.

Sometimes you want to give up, but you can't - something deep inside you won't let you.

No white flags, no bailing out, no throwing in the towel for you.

You have to keep going; you must carry on; you just take the next step...and the next...and the next...

...a poem by BJ Gallagher

Made in India

Was working up a bit seriously when this mail popped up from a friend..instantly lightened me up!

There was a Japanese who went to India for sightseeing.

On the last day, he hired a cab and told the driver to drive to the Airport.During the journey, a Honda drove past the taxi.

Thereupon, the man leaned out of the window excitedly and yelled, "Honda, very fast! Made in Japan!!!

After a while, a Toyota sped past the taxi and again the Japanese man leaned out of the window and yelled, "Toyota, very fast! Made in Japan!"

And then a Mitsubishi sped past the taxi. For the third time, the Japanese leaned out of the window and yelled, "Mitsubishi, very fast! Made in Japan!"

The driver was a little angry, but he kept quiet. And this went on for quite a number of cars.

Finally, the taxi came to the airport. The fare was 800 rupees!!!!

The Japanese exclaimed, "What?? So expensive!"

There upon, the driver yelled back, "Meter, Made in India VERY VERY FAST !!!!!

Staying the course

Recently there were a lot of things happening on the professional front. Huge demands meant 24 hours per day are not sufficient..at the end of each day it was the same feeling that something more could have been done...in short, it is like "Hey God, can I have one more me please?" Difficult times, indeed.

And then, when I stopped working for an hour in the night to catch up on personal mails, I had the regular mail from simpletruths.com. Well, I call it regular because I get such mails regularly but the content of that mail was nothing regular; it seemed like it was written specially for me, considering the messed up state of mind I was having at that time.

The mail was talking about BJ Gallagher's book The Best Way Out is Always Through. It had a poem excerpt from the book that seemed to fit in so well...

Our journey of life is about progress,
not perfection.
It's not about doing one thing
100% better -
it's a matter of doing 100 things,
1% better each day.

Progress is evolutionary
not revolutionary,
and most days we measure our progress
in inches,
not miles.

What matters most
is showing up for your life
whether you feel like it
or not.

Ask yourself,
"What two or three little things
can I do today
that would move me forward?"

You'll be amazed
at how much distance
you can cover
by taking it in increments.

The little things add up;
the inches turn to miles;
and we string together our efforts
like so many pearls.
Before long,
look what you have -
a whole strand!

It was definitely a WOW! moment.

We should never forget what we all have in common. That is...at some point in our life, we will face adversity. It's not a matter of if, but...when. And when adversity strikes, it's not about what happens that will determine our destiny, it's about how we react to what happens. And so many times, it'll be about...staying the course

- Mac Anderson
Founder, Simple Truths

Moving around

Throughout May, I had a great time going around a lot. Starting with Ahmedabad, I moved on to Chandigarh, Delhi, Kolkata, Guwahati, Hyderabad and finally ending up at Bangalore. It's only when one travels to such diverse locations within a short time that one could really appreciate the diversity in culture, language and almost everything we experience. The bonding is so immense.

There were many moments of interaction with people and their unique ways of responding are really interesting. The most common situation of asking someone for directions...it brings out so many unique behavioural traits. The underlying tendency to help someone who is asking for directions is universal. Needless to say, responses for directions at Kolkata were the most friendly and colourful; elaborate explanations and so much more additional information that made me smile on a number of occasions. Genuinely lovely people out there!

Today on the TV, there was lot of bad news; Air France flight's crash, incidents involving Indian students in Australia and such things. But, the news of 3 trains being burnt in Bihar by angry mobs was so shocking.

On NDTV Prannoy Roy was asking pertinent questions about this incidence to Kiran Bedi and Laluji. What a contrasting set of people! KB was in her element when she pointed out that the people who created this situation in the past and the people who changed it now acted only to gain political mileage for them and should be held accountable for the damages caused now. Laser sharp, really. I agree with Prannoy's comment that India needs people like her now. The most repeated statement during the program was "India is a punishment free country". Sadly so.

Before it's too late...

A man stopped at a flower shop for ordering some flowers to be sent as a gift to his mother who lived two hundred miles away.

As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, "I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother. But I only have seventy-five cents, and a rose costs two dollars."

The man smiled and said, "Come on in with me. I'll buy you a rose." He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother's flowers.

As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, "Yes, please! You can take me to my mother."

She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave. The man returned to the flower shop, canceled the gifting order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother's house.

At times we take many such relationships with our family and friends for granted. Learn to value them.

This was one of the useful forwards I got in recent times! What a powerful
message!

2009 in progress

The first quarter of 2009 is over and how! It just zipped past at such an amazing speed. Suddenly amidst the financial year end activities, it dawned upon me that yes, three months have already gone! That's what our mind does to our world. It shows the world through our actions. All said and done, I am really sorry that in these three months there was no time for any of my leisure time activities. Hoping to catch up with friends and personal activities soon..

The Tata Nano has launched. It's all over the newspapers..and the debate about it has undoubtedly shifted towards the positive. Interest free loans, new outlets...the whole city is abuzz...Auto drivers want to upgrade to Nano...citing increased safety at the same cost per kilometer...and above all..they smell the possibility...thanks to the vision of one man who engineered their dreams into reality. Quite obviously, it is one of the momentous launches in Indian automobile industry. Where are those critics? Any news?

Sadly, Maruti 800 may not be available in some months time. That is a good car for all it's worth; it was a revolution when launched. It was my first car and I am still fond of it. It pained a lot when I sold it; it had travelled half way across India with me, many times taking me to home sweet home. I will miss the faithful 800. Omni will also be stopped for production, but then, only the call taxi operators would miss it. Even they have almost upgraded to the Logans.

Come on Nano, a million Indian and a few more forign dreams are waiting for you.

The recent ads on the TV are increasingly goading people to switch off their cars at the traffic signals. How about a signal less junctions so people don't stop unnecessarily at all?

Shoes have started taking off in deadly trajectory's aimed at politicians. Foreign as well as Indian. It's in vogue now..and looks like it is not stopping any sooner. Talk about symbolic protests! This is disgusting irrespective of the target.

The weather is getting hotter by the day. The city feels a lot hotter than it was the same time last year. Not good at all.

Appreciating the days in between

Here comes another year which unleashes a deluge of emotions ranging from nostalgia to sense of achievement or a resentment. It's also the time for the annual ritual of looking back and looking forward.

I was looking for a positive thing to start this year when a very simple message landed in the inbox. It is so simple yet hits hard. I am sure to come back to this again and again just to get reminded to appreciate the in-between days.

Sometimes I need to see my life differently. Like stepping outside it and seeing it from a different angle. Maybe walking around it, underneath it or climbing on top. Better yet, through the eyes of a child. There is nothing complex about what I am about to share with you. In fact, the beauty of it lies in the simplicity.

I was talking to a friend about all the things I've been going through lately. We were sitting at a table in an open coffee shop located in the center of a mall.

I love coffee and I love conversation.

Just as we began speaking a woman with two teenage girls took the table just behind us. They were rowdy and unsettled as they were talking about all the shopping they were doing. Mom reminded them to sit quietly while she placed their order at the counter.

Remarkably, they quieted down immediately.

"All I want to do is to get through it," I said as we continued our chat.

"I know what you mean," my friend replied.

Then I said, "When I look back over my life all I see is me dealing with a problem and sooner or later another one pops up."

Without hesitation I heard, "What about all the days in between?"

I looked at my friend and he shook his head as he said, "I didn't say that."

"I did!" a young voice replied.

Then from behind him one of the girls turned around, smiled, and repeated, "What about all the days in between?"

I smiled. I thought it wonderful that she felt she had something to offer us.

"Explain." I said.

"Well, this is just my opinion, but people always think about their problems. What about all those days in between? Those days we throw away worrying about what happened and what might happen," she said.

"Those days are good days, probably more of those than the bad ones!" the other girl added.

Just then the woman returned. "Are they bothering you?" she asked.

"No, they helped me see my life differently," I said. "Now I see the days in between."

"More of those than the bad ones!" my friend added.

What do you see?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Bob's signature story, "I Wish You Enough," has circled the globe via the Internet. His inspiring true stories are based on the people he meets in his travels. In the mall, the airport, the park, or sitting in a restaurant, a simple word or phrase will often catch his attention; hook onto his heart-and from it a story blooms. Bob's unique perspective on life makes him "the philosopher of everyday moments."

http://www.IWishYouEnough.com
perksblog@hotmail.comSent as a courtesy of...Jeff KellerAttitude is Everything, Inc.Motivational resources to help you succeedhttp://www.attitudeiseverything.com