Live Life Large…

Dear professional friends of My LinkedIn Network,

 I feel honored scripting my 100th article on LinkedIn. I penned my first, “Thriving in Chaos,” on March 17, 2015. It’s been a joy and a great pleasure week on week to express myself.  It's time for me to express my gratitude to everyone who took the time read my posts, appreciate them, and also commenting. There learning journey, shall be cherished all my life. 

Always contentedly yours,

~Raman ~

And so, now on to what I want to share this time around...

We all are a big bundle of thoughts, of various sorts aren’t we?

Let me begin this piece with a story..

A famous Native American legend clarifies this idea beautifully. It lives on as a timeless parable from the Cherokee:

An old Cherokee chief is teaching his grandson about life: “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy. “It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

“One is evil — he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, self-pity, arrogance, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.

“The other is good — he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, truth, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, compassion and faith.

“This same fight is going on inside you — and inside every other person, too.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old chief simply replied, “The one you feed.”

Live Life Large…

It’s not what we have, it’s what we do with it…..that matters

At times we are unsatisfied with our life, while many are dreaming the life we have.

A child in the village farm sees a jet flying over head and dreams of flying, whereas the pilot who is flying that plane is dreaming of returning to his home.

If wealth was all that we wanted and that was the secret of happiness then the rich would be dancing on the streets, instead the poor kids are.

If power meant a lot of security, then all those enjoying security around them should be sleeping peacefully, instead it those who lead a simple life that sleep soundly.

If beauty, fame and money would bring about a happy relationship then all celebrities would have the best relationships and marriages, but that doesn’t happen.

Power is Who We Are, Not What We Have.

How many of us know this truth. We always have something of value to add. We need to always be authentic, and expose ourselves to realities by relying on it rather than relying on external sources to fuel our progress We ought to look inside ourselves to find our Signature Presence…our unique combination of passions, capabilities, qualities, values and beliefs.  In order to be something and to produce wealth, we need to figure out what to do with what we’ve got.

"At all times and under all circumstances we have the power to transform the quality of our lives." ~ Werner Erhard

These are some non-negotiable life skills we all need:

Integrity: to act according to your sense of what’s right and wrong.

Initiative: to do something because it needs to be done.

Flexibility: to be willing to alter plans when necessary.

Perseverance: to keep at it.

Organization: to plan, arrange, and implement in an orderly way; to keep things orderly and ready to use.

Sense of humor: to laugh and be playful without harming others.

Effort: to do your best.

Common sense: to use good judgment.

Problem solving: to create solutions to difficult situations and everyday problems.

Responsibility: to respond when appropriate; to be accountable for your actions.

Patience: to wait calmly for someone or something.

Friendship: to make and keep a friend through mutual trust and caring.

Curiosity: a desire to investigate and understand your world.

Cooperation: to work together toward a common goal.

Caring: to feel and show concern for others.

Courage: the ability to persevere and withstand danger, difficulty, or fear.

Pursuing Progress

Achievement does not come from wishful thinking. It comes from action. Before we can take action we need to know what that action is. We need to look at where we want to be, and lay out the path to get there. Relentlessly pursuing progress promotes self-awareness and growth. Then, when we get started every morning, we’ll know exactly where we’re going. We need to measure everything we do by the progress we make towards our aspirations. What we should really do to help the cause is never to stop learning.

Great achievements rarely ever come in a single shot. They come from a lot of little steps, one after the other, day after day. Successful people in life those who visualize their goals, but that’s really the easy part. Successful people are those who can also visualize the pathway to their goals, and the series of steps along the way.

"People can be divided into two classes: Those who go ahead and do something, and those people who sit still and inquire, Why wasn’t it done the other way?" ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Leaving a legacy

It makes our life meaningful. Living our legacy changes the game because what we do right now contributes to our legacy in real time. Building our legacy in the present inspires others. We all have at least one “Mighty Cause” in us…a reason for being that gives us special meaning. Finding ours and making that part of our legacy is one of the best gifts we can give ourselves.

Life is good. The life we can imagine and create is even better. Let’s live on the upside. Each day is a special gift. We get far too few of them. Let’s remember to treat each one as the precious time that it is.

I end this week’s essay here with a desire to continues as long as I can and this last thought..