Happiness Unlimited -Awakening with Brahma Kumaris

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CHOOSING HAPPINESS

Happiness is not dependent on physical objects.

Objects, possessions, gadgets etc. are designed to give us comfort.

Physical comfort is different from emotional comfort.

Happiness is our internal creation and can be created irrespective of external comforts.

We use objects as a stimulus to create a response, but the response is our choice. Different people create different responses using the same stimuli.

Problems will come, challenges will be there, but to despair or deal with them is our choice.

Happiness is the state of being: created while working towards the goal, not a feeling to be experienced after achieving the goal.

If we believe that happiness is experienced after achievement, then we create stress, anger and fear while trying to achieve it. Thus we ultimately do not experience happiness.

Before I take responsibility of those around me, I need to take responsibility for my own thinking and feelings. When I am happy and take care of others, then they will be happy.

You cannot make your child emotionally strong without being emotionally strong yourself.

Stress is a pain that comes to make us realize that there is something I need to change.

Stress is our  creation of negative thoughts, which has an effect on our efficiency, memory power, decision power and hence our performance.

Stress has an impact on our physical and emotional well being and hence, any amount of stress is damaging.

Targets, pressures, deadlines, exams etc., are natural, but stress is our choice.

Stress= Pressure / Resilience , that is, inner strength. My first responsibility in any situation is to first take charge of my state of mind because that is the only thing which is in my control.

Our belief systems decide our way of living; we need to experiment with what we are learning, in order to change our old belief systems.

I dont want peace. I am peace. Now I will be at peace and do things outside.

Try a new belief system. Experiment with it. When you experience the result, it becomes the truth.

Every act I do, I will do it with the awareness that I am a peaceful being.

Unlimited Happiness is not dependent on people, objects or situations; no one can make me happy and I cant make others happy, till they want it themselves.

No one is responsible for my hurt, pain, fear, or anger . It is my own creation in response to their behaviour, and I have another choice. The choice to be happy. 

CHOOSING AWARENESS

My responses to people should be based on my personality, not on the behaviour of others.

The way we think and behave, is not for other people. It is first for ourselves because we are the first ones to experience it.

Let us take charge of our mind, instead of trying to control others and thinking that if they change then my mind will be in control.

Let us choose how we want to think, feel and be in every relationship. We have always tried to make other happy because we thought when they would be happy, I will be happy too.

When we do something for others, let us first understand that we chose to do it because they matter to us and we are doing it for ourselves. Only then will we be happy.

Taking our mind off from problems by watching television, going shopping and other distractions is only a temporary deviation from the pain; it is not happiness because the healing has not happened.

Our personality is a combination of five types of sanskars - personality traits.

1. Some sanskars we get from our parents and other family members. We call these hereditary sanskars because we are within the influence of their vibrations.

2. There are sanskars we create because of our environment: our nationality, religion, culture and friends.

3.A very important set of sanskars are those that we carry from our past birth. Our soul carries its personality traits created in one costume to the next costume.

4.We create the fourth type of sanskars through our own will power. Everyone has the same amount of will power. Everyone has the same amount of will power; it just depends on realising that we have will power and then using it favourably. 

5. The fifth set of sanskars are the original sanskars of every soul, these being purity, peace, love, bliss, knowledge, power and truth.

Self awareness means to just watch my thoughts, to be able to see what I am thinking and to be aware that I am the creator of these thoughts. 

Next step is to check whether this thinking is the right kind of thinking for me. 

We create 25-30 thoughts per minute- that is , 40-50 thousand thoughts in a day. Thoughts are the most powerful source of energy that we have, so lets be careful about how we use them.

There are 4 types of thoughts

Pure-Powerful, positive and selfless

Negative- thoughts of ego, anger that create hatred, resentment, fear, rejection , or criticism

Necessary - thoughts related to action; these are neutral thoughts, yet they can be pre-cursors to negative thoughts

Waste - thoughts about past or future- both not in our control, and so a waste of time and energy

If we change our thoughts, our words and actions too will change. Hence, personality transformation begins with our thoughts.

When we interact with people, let us interact with the soul, the pure being, rather than the acquired body, positions and achievements. When we talk through the consciousness of our acquired labels, then it is the ego of one talking to the ego of the other.

In any situation, we are playing our role along with the so many actors. Let us stop writing their script because they are not in our control. Instead let us write only our script. When we keep thinking of what others are doing, we are only depleting our own energy.

If other people are behaving in a reactive manner, at that time for me to remain stable internally, is strength, and hence peace is strength not weakness.

 Anger is not strength. It is a sign that I have lost control of myself. Even hurt, resentment, are silent forms of anger, and damage me the creator.

My every THOUGHT is followed by a FEELING. SO if I am not feeling nice, I have to stop and check- what have i been thinking ?

My feelings over a period of time, created on the basis of my thoughts, develop my ATTITUDE- about people, situations, work or about the world.

MY attitude comes out into ACTION, Any action done repeatedly becomes my HABIT. all my habits put together is my PERSONALITY. At every step in life this personality determines my DESTINY.

I the being am an embodiment of 7 qualities - Purity, Peace, Love, Bliss, Knowledge, Power and Truth.

People predicting our future are only telling us a probability. It is only a probability, not a reality.

We have the power to listen to the prediction and still choose our response- that is, our thoughts and actions- and therby create a reality based on our choice.

We always think that we need to do things outside to change the way we feel inside. The reality is we need to change how we feel inside to change the things outside.

Happiness is not something that we should expect to get from other people- it is to be created within and shared with people we meet.

We are not 'human doings' doing things to be at peace, we are "human beings" at peace and doing things.

People say when angry, count one to ten; these are external measures to postpone our reactions. However, if we take care of our thoughts we will not create even the thought of anger.

Our thoughts are created based on our past experiences and the information that we take in through our sense organs.

During the first few hours in the morning, the power of mind to absorb information is very high. We need to take care of the quality of information we take in then. To protect ourselves from creating negative thoughts, we need to avoid newspapers or news channels or anything that has some disturbing information to offer early in the morning.

Let me try a new way of living, to be able to create pure, powerful, positive thoughts naturally. Let me begin the day by reading or listening to pure and positive information.

The last layer of information at night influences the quality of my thoughts while sleeping. So lets finish the day with few minutes of reading or listening to pure and pleasant information.

There is only one person who knows me well and thats my own self.

Be 'in-dependent' : dependent only on that one who is inside; because outside things will change and they a reason for changing.

Our thoughts are created based on past experience, the information we take in and most important our belief systems.

Its important to take charge of how we feel, instead of being dependent on others. To be INDEPENDENT means to be dependent only on the one inside.

Let us be ourselves and not keep changing our behaviour according to the way others behave with us. 

Every time we think of the past, we are making it the present because we are creating the same emotions again.

The past is passed. Full stop. Let it not repeat in the mind; when you do, it is like rubbing a wound and therefore not allowing it to heal.

There is nothing to learn from situation that happened. The only thing I need to learn is whether I had the choice of responding in another manner. 

Holding on to the past - not letting go- will only create pain within. The situation is the same but the longer we hold on to it, the pain increases.

In relationships, no one is ever wrong; each one is right from their perspective. Detaching from my own perspective and understanding the others perspective is empathy.

While working towards our achievements, if we take care not to compromise on our values of peace, love and happiness, we will be always contended. 

The Psychology of Money

 After long a full book read. 

- Your personal experiences with money make up maybe 0.00000001% of whats happened in the world, but maybe 80% of how you think the world works.

-How different experiences can lead to vastly different views within topics that one side intuitively thinks should be black and white.

- Luck and risk are both the reality that every outcome in life is guided by forces other than individual effort. They are so similar that you cant believe in one without respecting the other.

- The line between the bold and reckless can be thin. 

- Risk and Luck are dopplegangers

- Focus less on specific individuals and case studies and more on broad patterns

- There is no reason to risk what you have and need for what you dont have and dont need.

- Knowing when you have enough

- Enough is realizing that the opposite an insatiable appetite for more - will push you to the point of regret.

-Takeaway from ice ages - you done need tremendous force to create tremendous results.

-Getting money is one thing. Keeping it is another.

-Compounding only works if you can give an asset years and years to grow.

-Controlling your time is the highest dividend money pays

-The ability to do what you want, when you want , with who you want, for as long as you want, is priceless. It is the highest dividend money pays.

-Having a strong sense of controlling one's life is a more dependable predictor of positive feelings of wellbeing than any of the objective conditions of life we have considered.

- Money greatest intrinsic value- is its ability to give you control over your time.

- No one is impressed with your possessions as much as you are.

- People generally aspire ot be respected and admired by others, and using money to buy fancy things may bring less of it than you imagine.

-Humility, kindness and empathy will bring you more respect than horsepower ever will.

- Wealth is what you dont see. Wealth is financial assets that havent yet been converted into the stuff you see

- If you spend money on things, you will end up with the things and not the money

- Rich is current income , may be spend on car/ house. But wealth is hidden.Its income not spent.

- Wealth is an option not yet taken to buy something later. Its value lies in offering you options, flexibility, and growth to one day purchase more stuff that you could right now. 

- Building wealth has little to do with your income or investment returns, and lots to do with your savings rate.

-Learning to be happy with less money creates a gap between what you have and what you want. 

-Past a certain level of income , what you need is just what sits below your ego. 

- One of the most powerful ways to increase your savings isnt to raise your income. Its to raise your humility. 

- Saving does not require a goal of purchasing something specific. You can save just for savings sake. 

- Saving is a hedge against life's inevitable ability to surprise the hell out of you at the worst possible moment. 

- The flexibility and control over your time is an unseen return on wealth.

- Having more control over your time and options is becoming one of the most valuable currencies in the world.

- There are times when its fine to be reasonable instead of rational with money.

- History is the study of change, ironically used as a map of the future.

- The correct lesson to learn from surprises is that the world is surprising

- The purpose of Margin of safety is to render the forecast unnecessary

- You can be risk loving and yet completely averse to ruin.

- The ability to do what you want, when you want , for as long as you want , has an infinite ROI.

- The biggest single point of failure with money is a sole reliance on a paycheck to fund short term spending needs, with no savings to create a gap between what you think your expenses are and what they might be in the future. 

- People are poor forecasters of their future selves.

-Asymmetric aversion to loss is an evolutionary shield. Organisms that treat threats as more urgent than opportunities have a better chance to survive and reproduce.

- Progress happens too slowly to notice but setbacks happen too quickly to ignore.

- Growth is driven by compounding , which always takes time. Destruction is driven by single points of failure, which can happen in seconds, and loss of confidence , which can happen in an instant. 

- Stories are more powerful than statistics. 

- The more you want something to be true, the more likely you are to believe a story that overestimates the odds of it being true.

- Everyone has an incomplete view of the world.

- Coming to terms with how much you dont know means coming to terms with how much of what happens in the world is out of your control. And that can be hard to accept.

- Go out of your way to find humility when things are going right and forgiveness/compassion when they go wrong.

- Less ego, more wealth. saving money is the gap between your income, and wealth is what you don't see.

- Use money to gain control over your time

- Become Ok with lot of things going wrong. You can be wrong half the time and still make a fortune.

- Uncertainty, doubt and regret are common costs in the finance world. They are often worth paying. But you have to view them as fees (a price worth paying to get something nice in exchange) rather than fines ( a penalty you should avoid)

A Geography of Time by Robert Levine

An Excellent read on TIME ! 

Perception of time across different cultures and different people has been aptly studied by the author and interesting observations are made on same basis. Talking about the history of time to the current locking people have to the clock dial and the differences which author experienced through personal experience and experiments carried out by him with help of his students. Even within big countries the differences persist between different regions. 

After reading and living in a fast paced city I could relate to what author was saying. Also, another point got clarified that living in fast paced city does not necessarily mean a bad thing... it all depends on Personal Tempo and how flexible one is as per the need of the hour. It also plays a vital role in relationships as if personal tempos are different and inflexible it will be very challenging to tune along with your partner. 

The cross linkage element of this study of time to many facets of day to day life is clearly reflected as one reads through the book. 

India will have various cultures of time for sure as I have experienced on my own being a native and living in both North and South India. Differences need to be appreciated and noted. But mostly I find people getting jittery and uncomfortable with that and start complaining of all what does not fit right in their view. I too indulge in it sometimes :P.

Listing few of the interesting observations 

- Patience derived from latin word for more suffering

-Travel derived from french word "Travail" meaning hard work and penance.

-experience with a Japanese friend: “Oftentimes a ‘Yes’ is just a way of saying, ‘You’ve really got a good idea there.’ One of my colleagues is a Japanese national . . . I [might say to her]: ‘Work meeting, noon, Friday at the Maple Garden Restaurant. Okay?’ She says, ‘Maple Garden, what a great choice for a restaurant.’ Now is that a ‘Yes’ or a ‘No’? It’s a ‘Yes’ from my perspective. But from her perspective, she’s just telling me what great taste I have in restaurant choices. She hasn’t committed to showing up. Oftentimes ‘yes’ meaning ‘no’ and ‘no’ meaning ‘yes’ is to keep a positive current going through the relationship.”

-The Japanese, for example, hold the concept of ma—roughly meaning the spaces or intervals between objects and activity—in the highest esteem. Westerners might refer to the space between a table and a chair as empty. The Japanese refer to the space as “full of nothing.” What doesn’t happen for the Japanese is often more important than what does occur, a concept that often baffles Western visitors. For example, comprehending the meaning of verbal communication in Japan requires attending to what is not said, sometimes more than to what actually is said. Because of this, simply understanding the difference between “yes” and “no” can make a naive gaijin (foreigner) have a fit. Although the Japanese have a definite word for “no” (iie), it is rarely used. Most questions, it turns out, are answered “yes” (hai), or not answered at all, no matter whether the respondent means “yes” or “no.”

-Psychological pleasure is, I think, channeled in time, as physical pain or satisfaction runs along the conduits of our nerves. When time compresses and shortens, it strangles pleasure; when it diffuses into aimlessness, the self thins out into affectless torpor. Pleasure exists in middle time, in time that is neither too accelerated or too slowed down.

-By working for and with the group, the pressure is divided among one’s co-workers. As a result, Japanese workers appear to avoid much of the stress that typically accompanies hard work in the West. 

Man's search for meaning

Read an article on same in Psychology today and based on Balu's recommendation read this book subsequently. An excellent read after a long time. Timing is also correct and dealing with the same dilemma of whats in life? meaning? bla bla bla... The reading helped in clarifying some doubts. The author has narrated his survival story and the observations he made while taken as prisoner in concentration camp during World War II. The Later part of the book focuses more on the Logo-therapy as such which is based on premise of driving force through meaning in life for humans.

Some quotes from the book:
1. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge.


2.If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete.

3.Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.

4.It seems to me that there is nothing which would stimulate a man's sense of responsibleness more than this maxim, which invites him to imagine first that the present is past and, second, that the past may yet be changed and amended. Such a precept confronts him with life's finiteness as well as the finality of what he makes out of both his life and himself.

5.we can discover this meaning in life in three different ways:
(a) by creating a work or doing a deed;
(b) by experiencing something or encountering someone; and
(c) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering.

6.the perception of meaning, as I see it, more specifically boils down to becoming aware of a possibility against the background of reality or, to express it in plain words, to becoming aware of what can be done about a given situation.

7.today's society is characterized by achievement orientation, and consequently it adores people who are successful and happy and, in particular, it adores the young. It virtually ignores the value of all those who are otherwise, and in so doing blurs the decisive difference between being valuable in the sense of dignity and being valuable in the sense of usefulness. If one is not cognizant of this difference and holds that an individual's value stems only from his present usefulness, then, believe me, one owes it only to personal inconsistency not to plead for euthanasia along the lines of Hitler's program, that is to say, "mercy" killing of all those who have lost their social usefulness, be it because of old age, incurable illness, mental deterioration, or whatever handicap they may suffer.

Call of the Wild

Call of the Wild takes us through the story of a dog called Buck. The background is set is early period of 1903 by author Jack London during the gold rush period. I came to know about this book through a TED talk Dr Anu Vaidyanathan .  
It takes through the journey of Buck having good time as a tamed dog with a Judge's family to the being sold off by servant to the gold rush parties.... had to toil through extreme conditions of survival and good instinct to survive the ordeal... learning many things on the way and finally realizing his true potential and living up to it.

Do all of us realize our true potential?
Is it always has to be an life turning event to prompt us to think harder?

I feel like I am sitting in a cocoon...and not ready to come out unless someone breaks the cocoon itself. There is so much more which can be achieved but I am putting on too many breaks on self. Money is driving everything.... damn.. or may be my own self... Need to BUCK UP.

I would recommend this book to all who find themselves in slumber ( unless they realize they are ;) ) !!

Who Moved my Cheese?

Just finished reading this book. First online complete book reading .

Change is the only constant is one of the lessons drawn after reading the book.  I could see a reflection of self in all the 4 characters Sniff, Scurry, Haw and Hem. Just like Haw gets discomforted by not seeing any progress when their Cheese gets moved  I have found myself in similar situations many times.

One of other links with brief of story and lessons learned: http://philipo.hubpages.com/hub/Why-is-Change-Constant-in-Life-Lessons-from-Who-Moved-My-Cheese

The Break Up by Vijayendra Haryal

If you have to appreciate the depth of this book don't go by the title but read it without bias for all stories ending in a depressing state... btw that's not the case for all. The author has penned down nicely short stories which though in length are short but leave a lasting impact and prompts one to think through. It also raises question on true love and that's what author tries to unearth in the final story. The story narration has depths which makes me think that author has narrated his experiences in life through the medium of this book. At some places though it felt that the story has been hushed up just to keep it short :). I would have liked the depth to flow seamlessly in all stories. The other good part is shortness of stories gives you flexibility to read and contemplate even if you dont have luxury of time. On certain occassions though I could not resist continue reading even when the stories end on negative note. It is like one carving for reading on pain more and more. In the 21 stories author has penned down one will surely associate with one or more if he/she happened to be in love anytime ;). The writing style is plain and clear and author does a good job of putting in the perspective of real life situations in love.
The poems are equally expressive and one does not need a dictionary or a high intellect to understand the meaning. I hope author continues his writing spirit and amass more fans like me :). Looking forward to his next book......   

I Too had a Love Story

Nice read by Ravinder Singh. The story is captivating and I ended up finishing it in one sitting from 11.30- 4 AM. Last book i did this way was 11 minutes.
  One can really relate well to the story as it sticks to the reality. Though at times it felt otherwise but overall it holds on the attention very well. You cant help but get this feeling of chocking (for guys) by the end of the story and maybe waterworks (for gals). It hits you hard and the down part extends and makes it more intense leaving you feel literally chocked..... at least that's what I felt.

Immediately after finishing the book I checked on what happened to Ravinder and got to know he is releasing a new book soon titled- Can Love Happen Twice?

The Difficulty of Being Good by Gurcharan Das

This book takes few character of Mahabharata and try to decipher what is the meaning being conveyed through the acts of each. Author covers Duryodhana, Draupadi, Yudhisthira, Arjuna, Bhishma, Karna, Krishna and Ashwatthama in the book. After the read it looked like no one is right all time including God. Lot of emphasis is put on actions described in the epic and trying to decipher if that was the best way. Even the God's are at fault at times  when seen from dharma point of view. I never new Mahabharata went way beyond the ending of war until I read this one. The art of dharma is subtle... likely it depends on the context one is in which defines what to do. There is no one right answer all time.

Some notes:
1. If greed is the sin of capitalism envy in the vice of socialism. Envy is felt more strongly between near equals than those widely separated in fortune.
2. Draupadi assumption: Law too often reflects the will of the powerful in the society and diverges from the right thing to do.
3. Manu smriti - Satisfaction of the mind is the only authority in cases of conflicting alternatives
4. Idea of dharma based on one's reason  sits side by side with deep faith in the existence of God in the Mahabharata.
5. Happiness comes from upholding a certain balance, by living according to a system of beliefs that restrains them and gives coherence to their desires.Dharma is precisely discipline of ordered existence
6. To fight is easy, to forgive is more difficult
7. The great divide in ethical thinking is between those who judge an act based on its consequences versus those who judge it based on duty or some role.
8. One who is destitute of wealth cannot practice dharma.
9. Adopt a friendly face to the world but do not allow yourself to be exploited.
10. Caste duty-- Svadharma
     duty of Consciousness - Sadharana dharma
11. Be intent on action, not on the fruits of action.
12. On some occasions we let "ends" dictate our behaviour; on other occasions, 'means' seem to matter more.
13. Selfishness is the principal cause which makes life unsatisfactory
14. Let no man do to another that which is repugnant to himself
15. Purpose of yoga- to calm the ceaseless activity of mind
16. To be happy one must not be too concerned with the opinion of the others. One should pursue one's goals single mindedly. with a quite confidence. without thinking of others.
17.True dharma is not the sva dharma of caste , but the sadharana dharma of truth, commitment , generosity and friendship.
18. Karma has its optimistic side in a human being's ability to act with freedom , and be responsible for this act. Its pessimistic side is a feeling that we cannot escape from our past.
19.Point of Mahabharata is that dharma is Sukshma (Subtle) and it is often difficult to tell right from wrong.
20. In taking revenge, a man is but even with his enemy; in passing it over, he is superior.
21. There is no future without forgiveness.
22.If strict justice is viewed as a precondition for peace, then the quest for national unity and peace may be doomed to failure.
23. One who gains victory also suffers loss.
24. Ahimsa is the highest dharma
25. One should never do to another what one regards as injurious to oneself. This, in brief, is the law of dharma.
26. Compassion is the highest dharma
27. Moral integrity begins with the awareness of other human beings.
28. Good behaviour grounded in dharma earns good karma.
29. Mahabharata was divinely pre planned in order to rid the earth of Kshatriya's. This is the epic's way of reminding that human lives are vulnerable.
30. Who has in his heart always the well being of others, and is wholly given, in acts, thoughts and in speech, to the good of others, he alone knows what dharma is.
31. Unexamined life is not worth living

Aleph !

11th read of Paulo. This one is more on making peace with your past . He goes through a soul searching mode once again by travelling through the Trans Siberian railway (9288 Kms)--Moscow to Vladivostok. I improved knowledge on Russian cities as well :). I found it not as captivating as the earlier ones but still holds on the interest.

Some quotes from the book which attracted my attention:
- There are lot of people who care about others and are extremely generous when it comes to GIVING and who feel real pleasure when someone asks them for advice or help. On the other hand very few people are capable of RECEIVING, even when the gift is given with love and generosity. Its as if the act of receiving made them feel inferior, as if depending on someone else were undignified. They think: if someone is giving something that's because we are incapable of getting it ourselves. Or else: The person giving me this now will one day ask for it back with interest. Or even worse: I don't deserve to be treated well.
- Anyone who knows GOD cannot describe him, anyone who can describe GOD does not know him

-Controlling your aggression in order not to harm other is Path to Peace

-The most sophisticated things in the world are precisely those within the reach of everyone

- Is it possible to avoid pain? Yes, but you will never learn anything

-Is it possible to know something without ever having experienced it? Yes, but it will never truly be part of you.

- Sometimes you have to travel a long way in order to find what is near.

The Fall of Human Intellect

Finally, after a long break managed to finish reading one book :). The book is such though that i will need 2-3 readings to understand fully.
A Parthasarthy has spent his lifetime understanding Vedas and other ancient scriptures and have good deal of things to reflect upon in this book.
He reflects on developing the Intellect which relates to ability to think and contemplate which has been gradually minimized by majority in world. Starting with the basics of human body and mind and then  dwelling into the understanding of the Thinking process is very well explained. The good part is that many things are there to reflect upon and improve with practical life including work and family life. Reading will definitely prompt one to think over and reflect upon the life we live today .

24 X 7 Marriage

Quite interesting read and very much relevant for India's newly married couples and those soon going to be married. The writer has spent around 25 years consulting people on advice for happy married life. I could relate very well on few shortcomings and circumstances of my own. The author gives useful advice on how to build on to the marriage and make it successful. One thing is for sure...there is no magic jingle.... you have to work towards marriage all times. From individual suddenly the life is changed to couple ....it is an intersting and colorful journey !!

False Economy by Alan Beattie

Came across this book in Landmark stores at Spencer Plaza some time back. It was put on discount so got it cheaper than original price. Rs 90 savings. I have been finding it hard to keep up with the habit of reading but still try to take out time whenever I can...."as long as one has will one will find a way".The book took a relative longer time to finish , roughly around 1.5 months. Quite a tough read if you try to put a correlation with the title of the book at first. Now since it took 1.5 months I vaguely recall some parts and trying to put a meaning to what I read ...how does it fit.Anyways , about the book. It is quite interesting and informative on many aspects..... trying to put a meaning to why the things are the way they stand today even when they sometimes look so foolish.... book is filled with examples. At first it looks puzzlingly but then Alan tries to put the reasoning behind the observed phenomenon.... something all "Economist" are fond of doing....why only them though...in fact anyone having the curiosity . The book gives a lot of emphasis on the historical origins of the current state of affairs and observations. Author has indeed done a thorough research on history as well to write this book. Book also covers about the India's growth in service sector and dominance of China in manufacturing and why that is the way it is. Again all things are explained with historical perspective with sufficient details and reasoning.Rather than call it False Economy I might also prefer to call it "Real Economy" also .

Here is good reference for review.

Handwriting Analysis (Graphology)

One can know the characteristics of an individual through his/her handwriting. It is called Graphology. I came across this methodology on my last trip to Bangalore. It is quite interesting though controversial as well. Even though controversial it is still worthwhile to have knowledge. So I looked around on Amazon for most useful books on the subject and got hold of this one depicted in the picture. Author is Andrea Mc Nichol. Quite easy to follow book with many exercises to see for yourself while you read.
Things to analyze in writing are:
Slant
Size
Spacing
Margin
Pressure
Baseline
Type of writing ( Printing or Connected)
Speed
Upper/Middle and Lower Zone
Connecting strokes
Signatures
Very interesting insights revealed from the book. I would recommend it to read and have fun analyzing writing you may come across anytime. Oh ya ! Start first with your own to check the correctness. Some characteristics may come out as blind spots so ask those close to you if they feel the same :).

The Seven-Day Weekend

Another great read from the author of "Maverick". This one talks in length of the policies followed in Semco with relevant examples to illustrate the point. Ricardo does it effectively. After reading it it feels the current workplace is to improve way far to reach at same level as SEMCO. I definitely feel like working for SEMCO after reading the 2 books. A place where employees are trusted, treated as adults who can make decisions themselves, can choose their own salaries, choose their own boss, set goals for themselves and work towards it, have a flexi time to go out for movie/entertainment any day of week and not necessarily on weekend, have a equal say in decisions made for the unit, have a place in board of directors meetings, can decide to join or not to join any meeting ( no one turning up meeting indicative of people don't think it is important), have ownership in company profits, have no fixed place to sit and work ( so not under constant scrutiny of their supervisors), have an open communication channel ...dismantling hierarchy culture ( most current organizations look exact replica of military structure with levels and hierarchies).

The democratic culture followed at SEMCO is difficult to believe in but its actually what Ricardo has done for SEMCO with the help of his senior management. When people treat each other with respect irrespective of the level they are then the combined strength is much more effective making it 1+1 =11 .....against 1+1=1 in traditional companies where people up in hierarchy usually have their way or those having connects with top.

Companies talk of innovation, new ideas but usually have hard time getting it from people working?? I believe the primary reason is as most in workforce dont feel much attachment for company....its just a means of earning their livelihood. Expecting innovation and creativeness from such workforce is nothing more than day dreaming. Compare the benefit of getting innovative ideas from 1000 motivated workforce people rather than a team of 10 people under " Innovation wing" banner.Asking 3 why's to all things done would make company/employees much wiser in decisions made .

Talking with respect to current Recession: Most companies have gone for cost cutting measures primarily at lower levels...firing freshers/ non performers / bench people. Looking at from another angle...a senior management person getting Rs 50Lakh deciding 10% cut on his/her salary would save 1-2 freshers from being fired whose annual salaries are Rs 4-5 Lakh. would it make much difference to person earning Rs 50 lakh/annum to take a cut and let salary be Rs 45 lakh/annum??? to the person whose annual salary is 4-5 Lakh/annum suddenly founding himself jobless it makes a hell lot more difference. What message is being sent across in workforce .....if you dont perform then you will be out of job next. Then expecting them to give in passion/innovative ideas/others ...do you think they would even thinking on those lines with the insecurity built in?? I definitely don't think so.

Reading the book has surely helped to ? a lot of things practiced in workplace.....its not to say putting up a rebellion but to make it a place where one looks forward to go to every day.

More reviews here.

Maverick!

Maverick: A lone dissenter, as an intellectual, an artist, or a politician, who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates.

True to its name, the latest read by Ricardo Semler , owner of famous Brazilian company called SEMCO is a delight to read for all people in workforce...at least it was very true for me. I remember my MBA colleague Dipankar mentioning it while doing module on Leadership but somehow did not read it then. The book is about the story of SEMCO and how the changes were made to it under the leadership of Ricardo and all of associates, controllers, partners and counsellors in the company to transform it into something UNUSUAL...where it was difficult for outsiders to comprehend how the company works.

List of some UNUSUAL things:

* Associates( thats what workers are called in SEMCO) decide their working hours

* The Financial report is shared from the top to the sweepers in the company and efforts are put in to make all understand the same.

* The subordinates decide if the boss is fit to lead them. Boss has to prove his worth to lead the team.

* All memo/reports in the company are limited to 1 pager ( No exceptions)

* In case of relocation- all employees have a say in where to shift plant and all visit the final 3 shortlisted places after which decision is made.

* Employees fix their own salary

* Does not have a quality control unit in its plants

* No organizational chart

* Has a 3 layered circular structure of management instead of pyramid

* Though internally company has 4 ranks only ( Associates, Controllers,Partners and Counsellors), it allows people to publish on their business cards what they feel like.

It tries to question the usual corporate norms and ways of running an organization prevalent in the modern world without much change over a century and more. The ideas thought of and implemented are just unbelievable.

It felt after reading , if you give the power to the mass instead of concentrating it in few individuals...you will be surprised by the impact it brings in for the company. Richardo has tried to do it in SEMCO. Innovation, productivity improvement, creative thinking all would be taken care of by themselves. The same is not limited to manufacturing companies.The ideas can be very well applied in other industries.

Here Richadro's video speech in MIT in 2005:

More reviews here.

Link to video on You tube on SEMCO.

The Winner Stands Alone

10th read of Paulo and I am impressed yet again. This one centers about the glamour world and author's interpretation of how people in this high luxury and branded world go on in their life. The story is centered around lost love of a Russian millionaire who's wife has left him some 2 years back and he chooses to get her back finally during the Cannes film festival in France putting an end to his agony and pain he has been suffering ever since she left him. At some points it feels like a psychopath story and the story's end also unusual kind as what one usually expect. The interesting part is characters portrayed and how author describes the world of each.... some already a star, some on the verge of becoming a star and some others who just want to know each and everything about the stars and then the police. The story flows in interesting fashion and midway one would find the aspects of larger society related questions writer tries to put across with the use of different characters. One could call it a mystery novel but I didn't find it very grasping as Paulo goes off track at times but nevertheless interesting. Though the interesting aspect of naming of chapters with time stamp....the story completes in a period of 24 hours.

The content common to most Coelho books are : Religion,Love, Sex, questioning what is accepted normal in society, dwelling on what we refer as happiness, love, anger, madness..and others ...give it a definition in different ways.

More reviews here.

A New Religion? H+

This latest read was good but somewhere down the line towards the end it feels more of a marketing mantra. 

Author suggests a new concept on thinking on religion based on the following elements:

Human

Happiness

Humour

Help

Hope

Health

The approach is clearly explained in a very simplistic fashion without use of complicated jargon. The primary emphasis is on the Positive element ..hence the name H+. To look at all the positive elements around you and to work on the positive note and not under fear of negativity. One's actions to be driven by willingness to help and not because of fear of committing a sin. The emphasis is on action and contribution to the world around you than personal purification. Many interesting concepts are introduced like Pons- meaning any positive action. It is something one is suppose to do and about which one is encouraged to feel proud of. Acts of giving money to beggars or being asked for help and helping are not counted as they are opportunities coming to a person and promoting begging may be anti-social by encouraging the act. Through conscious effort one is suppose to do good actions on daily basis.It may be as simple as helping an old lady cross the street. And I have no doubts the amount of satisfaction and good feeling after doing such simple acts having experienced myself. Need to be proactive.Another thing I found interesting was upon Ritual..... It is pointless but it helps in bringing in discipline and as an indicator of "I belong to". 

Point of disagreement:

Author emphasizes the fact that other religions focus on negativity(avoiding sins and wrongdoing) aspect mostly but I don't think so. Most religions have both positive and negative elements attached to them. Negative are more so to bring in order/discipline in society and prevent chaos. 

 

Some other notes from the book:

- H+ is a belief in the potential of yourself and in the potential of your fellow human beings

- Goodness is not just absence of badness but an active contribution

- It is not enough to be a good person.  You must be a person doing good things 

- Happiness is a matter of attention. If we get into the habit of focusing attention on negative aspects, we are likely to be unhappy. If we learn to focus on more positive aspects, we can be happier.

-Thinking is very important to happiness

-Judgement brings the past into the future. Design brings the future into the present.

-Humour is a social glue.

-Our brains like certainty. Perceptions seeks certainty. We then lock on to that certainty with rigidity , arrogance and intensity. Humour is all about the possibility of looking at things in a different way.Humour is all about changing perceptions.

-Humour builds self esteem. One is not at the mercy of the world around because one can laugh at it.

-with hope one seeks to make things better. Also learns to 'shrug' and become less hostage to the world around.

-being Cool concept came from American slave culture. As a style cool is defensive and contributes nothing.It is very ego-centric.

-Waffo meaning generous, warm and human (opposite of cool)

More info here .

Six Frames for Thinking about Information

Very interesting read from the world renowned author on lateral thinking- Edward de Bono. It gives a framework approach of how to work on information in a structured way. The framework is set to "directing" our attention in a conscious manner. The Six frames provide a method of extracting more value from information. After reading it looked that most of it many people know as what is to be done but putting a structure to it and working according to it what is missed often. Rather than working in jumbled form...where the directions are random and astray the framework helps in putting proper structure and direction. The missing part of the book is a concrete example of how the framework is put to use in a particular scenario. Though snippets of examples are highlighted in each frame but it would have been more helpful to see the whole framework put to use in a situation.

Some notes from book:

1.Purpose - Triangle frame : to lay out very clearly the purpose of looking at the information. What? is the purpose of information search or scan. Why? the information is required? is this information of value? will this information affect us? Where? should we look for this information ? are we looking in the right place? Laying out the exact basis of need for information and interaction with it.

2. Accuracy - Circle frame: used to pin point importance of some piece of inroamtion and the need to check it. To indicate an area of existing doubt and let others know about it. To invite investigation of an area in order to collect accurate information. To judge accuracy of information sources.

3.Point of View- Square frame: To pay attention to the degree of bias or neutrality in the information. To look at inofrmation from different angles. Not to get into a biased information piece. A balanced representation is very rare and vey powerful. Look out for alternative views from same point.

4.Interest- Heart frame: There is more to information than the satisfaction of need of the moment . Heart frame directs attention to matters of interest.These may be matters of general or specific interests.

5.Value of information-Diamond frame: It is sort or summary or overview. What has been the value of this information? There are different types and levels of value.

Gold Medal:Human values which apply directly to people.There are both positive( appreciation etc.) and negative (humiliation etc.) values.

Silver Medal:Values that apply to organization, whether business, family ,group etc. These may include profits,market share etc.

Steel Medal: These are direct quality values. How does it impact quality?

Glass Medal: for inovation and creative values.what is new?

Wood Medal: ecology value in the broadest sense

Brass Medal: perceptual value

Diamond frame is all about clarification of these values through direct attention.

6.Outcome-Slab frame: represents a platform on which something is to be placed or exhibited. Using this frame conclusions are laid out.

Frames provide a simple shorthand for directing attention or suggesting that attention may be directed to one particular aspect of information. It can be used by individual or group.

Truth Paste: The way we treat things so that they appear true to ourselves and to others.

It has a problem when subjective opinion is put forward as a fact. eg newspaper article with lot of adjectives used by reporter indicating more of a personal stance than actual facts.

More reviews here.

The Empty Raincoat

Quite interesting book to read. The book is especially written with respect to developed economies like Western Europe and US ( as proclaimed by author himself) but many things talked of are quite relevant in general. It touches both on the managerial aspect and on personal aspect of living with paradoxes. I found the book a little confusing at times and hard to continue reading in one stretch. It talks about the various paradox which the people would have to live with. Throughout the book a good comparison is made between the US, German and Japanese management. A little insight on why is this so as well. Learned few new terms like Subsidiarity ( reverse delegation from lower rank to higher) , Sigmoid Curve ( know more). The author does a good job of looking how the organizations function as today and what ought to change in the future. The thoughts are quite insightful but confusing at times. A neat summary of the book can be found here.