How to be Happy Most of the Time — if Not Always
An extract from Chetan Bhagat’s speech to the new batch of MBA students at Symbiosis, Pune, India in July, 2008.
There are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the spark to be happy in us. These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration, unfairness and loneliness of purpose.
Disappointment
Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the expected return. If things don’t go as planned or if you face failure. Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do, come out stronger. Failure can and will make you feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians kill themselves over low grades – how silly is that? But that is how much failure can hurt you. But it’s life. If challenges could always be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or potential. And that’s where you want to be.
Frustration
Disappointment’s cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don’t know if you chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release. Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with it? A realistic assessment of the time involved – movies take a long time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain enjoyment in the process rather than the end result – at least I was learning how to write scripts, having a side plan – I had my third book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it. Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign that somewhere you took it too seriously.
Unfairness
Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful faces, pedigree find it easier to make it – not just in Bollywood, but everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high, and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some people luckier than you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty damn lucky by Indian standards. Let’s be grateful for what we have and get the strength to accept what we don’t. I have so much love from my readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don’t get literary praise. It’s ok. I don’t look like Aishwarya Rai, but I have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It’s ok. Don’t let unfairness kill your spark.
Isolation
Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, perhaps all you wanted was ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family. But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise. Love yourself first, and then others.
There you go. I’ve told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment, frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die.
What the Heck is Palin-tology? Newsweek Defines
On stands today, the September 15, 2008 issue of Newsweek helps define the new word with a story on Sarah Palin’s record to get a better understanding of where she stands on issues.
UPDATE
September 16, 2008
Now that I’m talking about ‘palintology’, little did I realize that a site devoted to the subject has been around much before I saw the word on Newsweek’s cover. And that is Palintology: the science dealing with Alaska’s first female governor & USA VP nominee, Sarah Palin. Check out the latest ‘Palinistic’ news, stories, forums, the store and more:
Now, I’m not sure if the above Newseek photo is authentic or not, well, it does look real, but the following ‘image’ of Palin is definitely, positively Photoshopped:
Check out the orginal here.
Source The Huffington Post
You’d Have to Go Nude to be More Eco-friendly Than This
How eco-friendly can you get? In the words of EcoGear founder Robert Hii, “you’d have to go nude to be more eco-friendly” than the world’s first 100% recycled clothing.
Incredible EcoGear is just about to change forever the way we think about our clothes. Robert Hii, a 20-year veteran of Toronto’s garment industry, began researching the possibility of creating a 100% recycled fabric in 2007, following a string of devastating natural disasters around the world. His research led to the possibility that a wide range of clothes could be created for even the fashion-conscious, and that was when Hii struck out with Incredible EcoGear.
The fabric is created from leftover cuttings from the floor of clothing factories. The cuttings are separated by color and shade, then cut into ultra-fine fibers and attached to a continuous strand of polyester thread made from recycled plastic bottles. The resulting yarn is then spun into EcoGear clothing products. The process is free of dyes, bleaches and other harsh chemicals. To top it, the inks used on EcoGear labels are organic, and garments’ hang tags are printed in soy inks on recycled paper.
“EcoGear clothing is the first 100% recycled clothing available to consumers,” said Hii. “We realized that any difference in climate change will have to start with you and me, and that is the founding principle of EcoGear.”
Incredible EcoGear’s commitment to environment doesn’t end with producing eco-friendly clothing. It also donates 1% of sales to environmental organizations, including the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, the World Wildlife Fund and the Toronto Zoo to name a few.
SOURCE Incredible EcoGear
Naughty Duck Promotes Sex Line
Some think that former governor of New York Eliot Spitzer could be behind the slip in the proofreading, but the carrier card for the new duck stamp also carries a misprint that’s sending callers to a sex line.
Duck hunters are invited to a different kind of sport when they call the number, which takes them to a certain “Intimate Connections” with a husky female voice inviting them to “talk only to the girls that turn you on,” for $1.99 a minute.
Blame it all (or thank) a printing error — instead of listing 1-800-782-6724 (1-800-STAMP24, it lists 1-800-872-6724 (1-800-TRAMP24).
Strangely enough though, no one seems to be complaining.
“I’m going to order a lot more stamps,” said New Jersey native Brad Jones, who’s suddenly become a die-hard fan of duck hunting, having called the number three times to ‘order duck stamps.’
It has even enabled 14-year-old Kevin Anderson to discover a new world. He’s raised money with his neighborhood gang to pay for some steamy chats. “I had no idea such a thing existed, me and my friends love it,” said Kevin.
About 3.5 million federal “duck stamps,” featuring artwork by a Plymouth artist, are affixed to a card that bears the misprinted number, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday. Cost of reprints? About $300,000.
The revenue from duck stamps goes toward purchasing waterfowl habitat for the National Wildlife Refuge System. For 2006-2007, that amounted to nearly $22 million.
The card also carries their website URL duckstamp.com. Hmm… wish there was a misprint there as well and they’d printed offbeatbuzz.com.
Top 10 Biggest Mistakes Made by Travelers
I agree traveling is meant to be fun. Matter of fact, even the sheer anticipation of a holiday can be so exciting that some us tend to overdo or underdo something or the other, which can end up making a mess of our travel experience. And we always see what we did wrong when it’s too late. (Recall Murphy’s Law? If everything seems to be going well, you have obviously overlooked something.)
But there’s no need to panic. Help is available — travel experts at VirtualTourist.com reveal what not to do on vacation.
“Every experienced traveler has a war story or two of missed flights, nights spent in train stations, or full vacation days at an embassy trying to get missing paperwork,” explains Giampiero Ambrosi, general manager of VirtualTourist®. “While there are always situations that can’t be avoided, this is a great checklist to help you avoid some very common blunders. The list may help you avert disaster, but remember that the biggest travel mistake of all is not to keep a sense of humor about your mistakes!”
1. Overpacking. A good rule of thumb is, if you have to sit on the suitcase to zip it up, you’ve packed too much.
2. Not anticipating passport expiration. Double-check the expiration date the day you start planning your trip and be sure to confirm that it won’t expire while you’re on vacation!
3. Leaving too little time between flight connections. As any seasoned traveler will advise, any between-connection time less than two hours and you’re really rolling the dice.
4. Forgetting time differences. Not taking into account time differences is a very common mistake travelers make, along with not realizing that some countries count time from one to 12 while others count from one to 24.
5. Not renewing prescription medication. Getting refills in some countries isn’t easy, so ask your pharmacist about an advance refill.
6. Neglecting to confirm hotel reservations. Even if you booked months ago and made a deposit, always call a few weeks before to confirm and if possible, get something in writing.
7. Not bringing an adaptor. If a day without a hairdryer is a day spent in agony, make sure to bring the appropriate adaptor.
8. Not checking to see if your ATM card works in other countries. Even if you’ve used your ATM card somewhere before, always check with your bank and keep in mind that different countries often require shorter or longer PIN numbers so ask about that as well.
9. Leaving valuables in a hotel safe. When you come back to the hotel each night, make it a habit to leave your key on the safe so when you’re ready for a final departure you’ll be reminded to have one last look.
10. Not learning how to say “help” in another language. Before arriving, learn words like “help” and “fire,” and make sure you know the local equivalent of 911.
Now, from my experience — the problem is that these tips seem too obvious. And I tend to take them for granted. “Knowing” something never worked for me, while actually “doing” it always did. Take care of the finer details, and the bigger ones will take care of themselves.
Bon Voyage!
SOURCE VirtualTourist.com
Never Underestimate the Power of Make-up
| When it comes to photography and make-up,
ANYTHING is possible! |
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Top 10 Olympic Bloopers by NBC Commentators
While a proven source of these ‘bloopers’ is rather tough to pin down, these Olympic ‘bloopers’ have been in circulation for nearly six years now. Yet their ‘glory’ has continued to rise, even be refined, revised and recycled to the point they are generally believed to be authentic.
But I can assure you that these were not uttered during the Beijing 2008 Olympics, except for the last, No. 11 by Venezuelan sportscaster Willie Oviedo on Micheal Phelps.
1. Weightlifting commentator: “This is Gregoriava from Bulgaria. I saw her snatch this morning during her warm up and it was amazing.”
2. Dressage commentator: “This is really a lovely horse and I speak from personal experience since I once mounted her mother.”
3. Paul Hamm, Gymnast: “I owe a lot to my parents, especially my mother and father.”
4. Boxing Analyst: “Sure there have been injuries, and even some deaths in boxing, but none of them really that serious.”
5. Softball announcer: “If history repeats itself, I should think we can expect the same thing again.”
6. Basketball analyst: “He dribbles a lot and the opposition doesn’t like it. In fact you can see it all over their faces.”
7. At the rowing medal ceremony: “Ah, isn’t that nice, the wife of the IOC president is hugging Cox of the British crew.”
8. Soccer commentator: “Julian Dicks is everywhere. It’s like they’ve got eleven Dicks on the field.”
9. Tennis commentator: “One of the reasons Andy is playing so well is that, before the final round, his wife takes out his balls and kisses them… Oh my God, what have I just said?”
10. At the diving competitions: “Look at that… you aren’t getting anything between those legs.”
And the prize catch:
11. TV commentator Venezuelan sportscaster Willie Oviedo on TVes during the 2008 Olympics:
“Never in the Olympic Games has any mortal, any living being been able to win eight gold medals. Only Michael Phelps in the Olympic Games of Munich in the year 1972, over there in the Germany of Hitler, where he refused to give him the medals himself back then.” Duh.
Is Your Marriage Perfect? Ask Red Skelton
Richard Bernard “Red” Skelton (1913 – 1997) was an American comedian who was celebrated as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. By age 15 Skelton was performing on the Vaudeville circuit, and went on to Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, while also pursuing painting as a parallel career.
In 1988 he received a Life Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild.
The following set of one liners is considered a classic on the humor circuit. They’ll never fade away, forever bringing a chuckle to anyone reading them.
1. Two times a week we go to a nice restaurant, have a little beverage, good food and companionship.
* She goes on Tuesdays; I go on Fridays.
2. We also sleep in separate beds.
* Hers is in California, and mine is in Texas.
3. I take my wife everywhere….
* … but she keeps finding her way back.
4. I asked my wife where she wanted to go for our anniversary.
“Somewhere I haven’t been in a long time!” she said.
* So I suggested the kitchen.
5. We always hold hands.
* If I let go, she shops.
6. She has an electric blender, electric toaster and electric bread maker.
She said “There are too many gadgets, and no place to sit down!”
* So I bought her an electric chair.
7. My wife told me the car wasn’t running well because there was water in the carburetor.
I asked where the car was.
* She told me, “In the lake.”
8. She got a mud pack, and looked great for two days.
* Then the mud fell off.
9. She ran after the garbage truck, yelling, “Am I too late for the garbage?”
* The driver said, “No, jump in!”
10. Remember:
* Marriage is the number one cause of divorce.
11. I married Miss Right.
* I just didn’t know her first name was Always.
12. I haven’t spoken to my wife in 18 months.
* I don’t like to interrupt her.
13. The last fight was my fault though.
My wife asked, “What’s on the TV?”
* I said, “Dust!”
“If some day you’re not feeling well, you should remember some little thing I have said or done and if it brings a smile to your face or a chuckle to your heart then my purpose as a clown has been fulfilled.”— Red Skelton
How the World’s Greatest Companies Got Their Names - Part I
| There are hundreds of products we use on almost on a daily basis; products manufactured by world-renowned companies. Companies whose logos are recognized instantly by millions around the globe, and we treat their names as if they’ve been around forever.
I unearthed some fascinating stories behind some of the best known companies and how they evolved into what they are today. |
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3M |
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Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company started |
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Adobe |
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This came from the name of the river Adobe Creek |
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Apache |
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It got its name because its founders got started by |
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Apple Computers |
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It was the favourite fruit of founder Steve Jobbs.He |
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Cisco |
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It is not an acronym as popularly believed. Its short for San Francisco. |
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Coca-Cola |
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Derived from the coca leaves and kola nuts used as |
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Compaq |
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This name was formed by using COMp, for computer and |
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Corel |
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The name was derived from the founder’s name Dr. |
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eBay |
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Pierre Omidyar, who had created the Auction Web |
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GNU |
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A species of African antelope. Founder of the GNU |
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The name started as a joke boasting about the amount |
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Hewlett-Packard |
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Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard tossed a coin to |
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Hotmail |
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Founder Jack Smith got the idea of accessing e-mail |
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Intel |
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Bob Noyce and Gordon Moore wanted to name their new |
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Java |
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Originally called Oak by creator James Gosling, from |
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LG |
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Combination of two popular Korean brands Lucky and |
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Linux |
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Linus Torvalds originally used the Minix OS on his |
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Mercedes-Benz |
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This was actually financier’s daughter’s name. The |
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Are You One of Them?
THIS is NOT a trick question. It is just as it reads. No one I know has got it right. I hope you don’t get it right either.
A woman, while at the funeral of her own mother, met a guy whom she did not know. She thought this guy was amazing. She believed him to be her dream guy so much, that she fell in love with him right there, but never asked for his number and could not find him. A few days later she killed her sister.
Question: What is her motive for killing her sister?
I’ll post the logical, scientific and all conclusive answer here in exactly 48 hours from now [GMT 22:00 HRS, Aug 27, 2008].
Tip: You don’t want to be among those in the title of this post.
Well, dear readers, here’s the official answer:
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She was hoping the guy would appear at the funeral again.
If you answered this correctly, you think like a psychopath.
This was a test by a famous American Psychologist used to test
if one has the same mentality as a killer.
Many arrested serial killers took part in the test and answered the
question correctly.