Fear and courage are brothers. -Terri Guillemets

Ajuna (meaning ‘one who is pure and unsullied’) was the third of five sons of Queen Kunti. Arjuna had immense liking for the sport of archery. He practised this art with great concentration and perseverance. Soon he became the best archer in his land. His teacher (referred to as Gurudev) was very pleased with Arjuna and showed preference toward him. This caused the two older brothers to display a natural adolescence jealousy towards Arjuna. One day the older brothers openly criticised Gurudev for the preferential attention he gave to Arjuna, telling him that they were no less skilled in archery than Arjuna. In response to their criticism, their teacher arranged a test to decide the best archer amongst them. Accordingly, a wooden bird was put on a branch of a distant tree. It was partly hidden by the foliage. A prominent artificial eye was painted on the wooden bird. Gurudev called his three students together and said, ‘Look my dear students, a bird is sitting on that far off tree. You have to shoot your arrow through its eye. Are you ready?’ Everyone nodded. First the eldest brother was invited to demonstrate his skill. He stretched his bow-string and was about to release the arrow when Gurudev asked him a question. ‘O eldest son of Queen Kunti, may I know what is visible to you at this point of time?’ The eldest son replied innocently, ‘Why, O Gurudev, I am seeing you, the tree, people around me, and the bird!’ Gurudev said, ‘Take aim and shoot’. The eldest son took aim, held his bow steady, and shot — and completely missed the bird. Gurudev then invited the second son to demonstrate his skill. Like his elder brother he stretched his bow-string and was about to release the arrow when Gurudev asked him a question. ‘O second son of Queen Kunti, may I know what is visible to you at this point of time?’ Sensing that Gurudev was seeking a response that was directly related to the target, the second son quickly replied, ‘O Gurudev, I am seeing the sky, the tree, and the bird!’ Gurudev said, ‘Take aim and shoot’. The second son took aim, held his bow steady, and shot. Like his elder brother, he completely missed the bird. Then it was Arjuna’s turn. He readied himself, his bow and arrow in perfect graceful harmony, when the Guru asked him, ‘O Arjuna, will you tell me what is being observed by you?’ And Arjuna replied, ‘Sir, at this point of time only the eye of the bird is visible to me.’ When asked by Gurudev whether he was able to see the bird, the tree, and people around, Arjuna replied in the negative maintaining that he saw the eye of the bird and only the eye of the bird. Gurudev said, ‘Take aim and shoot’. Arjuna stretched his bow-string, took aim, and shot… and hit the bird in the centre of the eye! Gurudev said, ‘Well done, Arjuna’. He then explained to the others how Arjuna’s immense focus and concentration, and correct approach towards the art of archery gave him the winning edge, and it was for that reason that he regarded Arjuna as his best student. ~ Mahabharatha

Fleas can jump extremely high. In fact, a flea can jump over 150 times its own height. In an experiment, a scientist placed a number of fleas in a glass jar. They quickly jumped out. He then put the fleas back into the jar and placed a glass lid over the top. The fleas began jumping and hitting the glass lid, falling back down into the jar. After a while, the fleas, conditioned to the presence of the glass lid, began jumping slightly below the glass lid so as not to hit it. Basically, they got smart. They realised that there was no point knocking their heads against the lid. In fact, they got too smart for their own good. They became conditioned to jump a ‘safe’ height. When the lid was removed, the fleas continued to jump at a ‘safe’ height. Essentially, they accepted the limit imposed on them and thereby imposed it on themselves. They were conditioned to remain trapped in the jar forever!

George Bernard Dantzig
who solved two mathematics problem of Einstein

One day in 1939, George Bernard Dantziga doctoral candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, arrived late for a graduate-level statistics class and found two problems written on the board. He quickly copied the two math problems on the board, assuming that they were the homework assignment. It took him several days to work through the two problems, but he finally completed them. The next day he dropped the homework on the professor’s desk. On a Sunday morning a few days later, George was awakened early by a call from his excited professor. Since George had been late for that class, he hadn’t heard the professor announce that the two problems on the board were mathematical mind-teasers that even Einstein hadn’t been able to solve. But George Dantzig, believing that he was working on ordinary homework problems, had solved not one, but two problems that had stumped mathematicians for hundreds of years! (Kersey, 1998)

When people are allowed to pursue goals free from presumed limitations on what they can accomplish, they just may manage some extraordinary feats through the combined application of natural talent and hard work.

A Hindu legend aptly describes the divine power inherent in each of us. There was a time when men were gods. But they abused their divine powers so much that Lord Brahma, the master of all gods, decided to take these powers away and hide them in a place where they would be impossible to find. The lesser gods debated the issue of the hiding place. They suggested: ‘Why not bury man’s powers in the earth?’ Lord Brahma replied, ‘No, that will not do because man would dig deep and find them.’ Then the gods said, ‘We will send their divinity to the deepest depths of the ocean.’ but Lord Brahma replied again, ‘Sooner or later man will explore the depths of the ocean and he will find those powers and bring them to the surface.’ The lesser gods concluded, ‘Neither land nor sea is a place where man’s divine powers will be safely hidden. Therefore there is no place to hide them.’ At that moment Lord Brahma exclaimed, ‘This is what we will do with man’s divinity! We will hide it deep within him because that is the only place he will not think to look.’ From then on, according to the legend, man searched the world over; he explored, climbed, dove and dug in search of something that was inside himself the whole time.

Once upon a time there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing.  He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.  One day he was walking along the shore.  As he looked down the beach, he saw a human figure moving like a dancer.  He smiled to himself to think of someone who would dance to the day.  So he began to walk faster to catch up.  As he got closer, he saw that it was a young man and the young man was not dancing, but instead he was reaching down to the shore, picking up something and very gently throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer he called out, "Good morning!  What are you doing?" The young man paused, looked up and replied, "Throwing starfish in the ocean." "I guess I should have asked, why are you throwing starfish in the ocean?" "The sun is up, and the tide is going out, and if I do not throw them in they will die." "But, young man, don't you realize that there are miles and miles of beach, and starfish all along it.  You cannot possibly make a difference!" The young man listened politely.  Then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it into the sea, past the breaking waves and said, "It made a difference for that one!"

When the best things are not possible, the best may be made of those that are.

Richard Hooker

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, encountered numerous obstacles on his way to his eventual presidency. His childhood wasn’t exactly a happy one and his education was less than what was expected of an American president, yet his days as the President remain as historic and significant as his life.

Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 in a small log cabin in Kentucky. His parents were Thomas and Nancy Lincoln. At the time of his birth, Abraham’s father owned extensive farm land and Abraham was able to attend basic education courses.

When Abraham was seven, the family moved to Indiana, where the family had a much better life. The prevalence of the milk sickness in the area, however, was the beginning of Lincoln’s difficult life. His family was greatly affected by the illness as it took several family members to the grave, including his mother.

The household chores were distributed between Abraham and Sarah, his sister. Some people said that Abraham seemed lazy at this time, refusing to participate in household chores but, later, he learned and contributed greatly to the work around the house and to the family’s earnings. Because of this circumstance, Abraham had to stay home to help rather than attend school.

He had attended only a year’s worth of lessons and his yearning to learn was fresh and alive. He had no choice but to remain at home, though, so he started to study on his own.  He was basically self-taught the rest of his life. Even his law degree was a result of intensive self-study.

Abraham’s father remarried a widow with three children. Missing his relationship with his real mother, Abraham instantly bonded with his stepmother and would later even refer to her as “mother.” They moved several more times until Abraham was old enough to go about his own life. He opted to leave his family and travel to New Salem, Illinois. New Salem played a part in the development of his skills in speaking and persuasion. He worked at a store there and, thus, came into contact with different personalities every day.

He was motivated to learn everything he could about the practice of law. He borrowed books from people he knew as he could not afford to buy his own, but he studied rigorously and later used this knowledge as an avenue to public office. Abraham Lincoln’s path to the Presidency was tedious.

He served as a captain of a troop of the Illinois Militia during the Black Hawk War. Soon after this, he started to venture into public office. Although his first try as a candidate of the Illinois Legislature failed, he was re-elected thereafter and served four full terms in office.  During this time, he perfected his law studies. Attempting to advance his own position failed, however, as he was unsuccessful in his bid for the Congress.

He resorted to building a strong foundation for his law practice. He spent more or less fifteen years in the business representing everyone who needed a lawyer. The cases he handled ranged from transportation issues to monetary disputes and even murder charges. The challenges in Lincoln’s life were not exclusive to his political career alone. His romantic and family life proved to be a trying department, too.

Abraham was engaged to be married to Ann Rutledge in 1835 when she died of Typhoid fever. He ended up marrying Mary Todd who was from a prominent family in Lexington, Kentucky. Their first scheduled wedding was broken off by the couple after having decided they actually didn’t want to get into the marriage, but two years later, they ended up marrying each other after all.

Abraham Lincoln had four sons and he managed to outlive three of them. The first-born, Edward, died of tuberculosis at age 3, while the second child, William, died when he was only 11.  The fourth son, Thomas, died when he was 18 due to heart failure. Only the third son, Robert Todd, lived to see adulthood and ultimately died at 82.

The times proved difficult for the couple. Mary struggled emotionally and psychologically and was admitted to a mental institution later in her life. Abraham also suffered from depression, so severe that he spent six months confined at home. The reactivated issues on slavery in the United States had encouraged Lincoln to try to capture another position in public office. His popularity grew as he openly expressed his disagreement with the acquisition and trading of slaves in the country. The birth of the Republican Party further strengthened Lincoln’s chances in making it to the Senate. He envisioned a world wherein everyone was equal and in which the government favored no specific race. Lincoln’s aspirations captured the hearts of the people and, although he was not elected to become a senator, he was as popular as ever and his name was brought up whenever there was talk about the Presidency.

As Lincoln assumed his duties as the 16th President of the United States, many opposed his liberal idea of abolishing slavery. His thoughts seemed so radical that seven states immediately ceded and decided to produce their own country, the Confederate States of America. His term was defined by the advent of the Civil War. At the peak of the war, a total of seven states united against his leadership and its ideals.

The circumstances in Abraham Lincoln’s life led to great leadership during the Civil War. As he had always done, he studied military tactics and operations independently to better lead his army. Furthermore, he still insisted on the concept of equality among all men and, later during his term, he finalized the decree that all slaves be freed. With his skill in military operations and his knowledge in political manipulation, the United States won over the Confederate States.

His successfully bringing an end to the Civil War earned Abraham Lincoln a second term as President. He addressed his fellow Americans and said that it was time to build up the nation, as one of freedom. He, however, did not live to see the day. Shortly after the end of the war, Lincoln was assassinated while watching a stage play with his wife. Despite the premature end of the political leader’s life, the results of his battles are evidently well lived today.

America is now the land of the free where gender and race are no longer measures of social status. Most importantly, and as Abraham Lincoln wished, the United States built a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.

Once a group of around 50 employee of a company was attending a seminar.

Suddenly the speaker stopped and started giving each person a balloon. Each one was asked to write his/her name on it using a marker pen. Then all the balloons were collected and put in another room.

Now these people were let in that room and asked to find the balloon which had their name written, within 5 minutes.

Everyone was frantically searching for their name, pushing, colliding with each other, and there was utter chaos.

At the end of 5 minutes, no one could find their own balloon.

Now each one was asked to randomly collect a balloon and give it to the person whose name was written on it. Within minutes everyone had their own balloon.

The speaker began: This is exactly happening in our lives. Everyone is frantically looking for happiness all around, not knowing where it is. Our happiness lies in the happiness of other people. Give them their happiness, you will get your happiness.

"It is never too late to be what you might have been. " - George Elio

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value. –Albert Einstein

#Grand salute to #inspiration of thousand minds
APJ Abdul Kalam

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough

Story of Colonel Sanders | Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC)
COL Sanders an older man, who was broke, living in a tiny house and owned a beat up car. He was living off of $99 social security checks. At 65 years of age, he decide things had to change. So he thought about what he had to offer. His friends raved about his chicken recipe. He decided that this was his best shot at making a change.

Sanders left Kentucky (southeastern state bounded by the Ohio River in the north and the Appalachian Mountains in the east) and traveled to different states to try to sell his recipe. He told restaurant owners that he had a mouthwatering chicken recipe. He offered the recipe to them for free, just asking for a small percentage on the items sold. Sounds like a good deal, right?

Unfortunately, not to most of the restaurants. He heard NO over 1000 times. Even after all of those rejections, he didn’t give up. He believed his chicken recipe was something special. He got rejected 1009 times before he heard his first yes.

With that one success Colonel Hartland Sanders changed the way Americans eat chicken. Kentucky Fried Chicken, popularly known as KFC, was born.

NEVER GIVE UP.

opportunity is always under our feet only we need to recognize

Nothing in the universe can stop you from letting go and starting over

“A ship is #safe in #harbor, but that is #not what a #ship was #built for” – William H Shedd

The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person who is doing it. –Chinese Proverb

Power is only given to those who are
Prepared to lower themselves to pick it up: Ragnar

"To a real warrior, power perceived may be power achieved."