Monday Motivational # 3: Emotions

Lets face the truth : Monday is the worst day of the week. And this was confirmed today when I realized that Blogger did not 'auto-save' my post which I was planning to publish today, instead of this. So, a little motivation for you and me to feel a little better about our lives and work our way through the next five days!

Credits : HighExistence 

Food for thought : Its all in the mind - your supposed 'emotions and feelings'. You feel what you want to feel, also because, apparently, we have been 'wired' to do so. NO. Beware, because your brain is playing tricks on you. You do have a choice over what you experience!

Remember :

All feelings are uncontrollable - happiness, anger, love, envy etc.. but we get to choose what to feel. Don't spoil your day by indulging in negative feelings!

Introverts : Rise!

Shy or just Emo? (Credits) 

My group recently had a presentation on a particular course in our college. There were 6 of us in the group. Now, the thing about working in groups is that some people put in more efforts than the others. In my group, I along with my friend - lets call him S, did most of the work. The rest of the members put in from medium to low efforts to prepare the presentation. But during the presentation, guess who did the most of the talking? Hint - not S and me. Guess who saved and steered the presentation in a new and teacher-friendly manner? The ones who did the lesser work. Well, damn..

Monday Motivational # 2: Individuality

Lets face the truth : Monday is the worst day of the week. A little motivation for you and me to feel a little better about our lives and work our way through the next five days!

Source : 9gag

Food for thought : Despite what others say, there is nothing wrong with you. In fact, the terms 'wrong' and 'right' are relative, not absolute. What may be right for someone is wrong for the other. You were hardwired this way. Its in your genes. Celebrate your uniqueness. And ignore the haters!

Because remember :

Haters gonna hate!

BTW, watch out for my next long post this week. Its also on the topic of individuality and adaptability. See you around and spread some motivation around!

Monday Motivational : A Day of Your Life

I've decided to start this series of short posts called the 'Monday Motivational', which I plan to post (almost) every Monday (duh!). Now I'm doing this because of three reasons:

1. Being an avid internet surfer, I come across a variety of inspirational and motivational material on the net and I want to share it with you all. Oh yes, I could share it on Facebook too, but then 90% of my friends on that social network don't care for such intellect stuff. 

2. Lets face the truth : Mondays are the worst days of the week. A little motivation for you and me helps in a big way! 

3. And ya.. some of my friends say that my blog posts are too long.. :-D  Well, I can't help it! I love writing long posts but I also understand that it puts people to sleep. To strive for some balance, these type of posts will be short but strong ones. Now without much bakwaas, lets get on with it :

Credits - HighExistence

Food for thought : Our life is limited. We all are gonna die one day. Make sure the work you do, counts. Why spend your day fighting with your neighbor, indulging in mindless gossip, complaining and cribbing, doing something that you don't love? Afterall, when you're on your deathbed and your whole life flashes before your eyes, you wouldn't want to regret wasting your life on silly things, would you? 

Remember : 

This is your life, ending one minute at a time  ~ (Fight Club, 1999) 

Ahmedabad : A Traveller's Delight

Ahmedabad, its a city I only wish to have good memories of, but have to be painfully reminded of one of my biggest failures this year (the MICA blunder). Neverthless, this post isn't about my failures or anything, its about the beautiful and serene city of Ahmedabad and why its one of the best places visited by me till now.

Now each city has some peculiar and unique features that sets it apart from others and some may argue that each deserves a post of its own. But then this post is not about other cities. Its only about what sets Ahmedabad apart from others - including my hometown. You already know how its the education hub of India - IIM-A, NID, MICA (no wonder it has an 80% literacy rate). Then there is an eventful history associated with its state - from the times of Indus Valley civilisation to the struggle for independence to the infamous riots - the state of Gujarat has seen it all. Lets start...

How Cartoon Physics Nearly Killed Me Once

We are the 90's and 80's kids and luckily, we did not grow up on things like iPhones, Tablets, reality shows and stuff. Entertainment for us was something else - playing cricket in the ground even during the hot Indian summers, hanging out with friends till night, going to art / music / dance classes, watching TV shows etc. But since the computers during our childhoods were just good enough for MS Paint, most of our time went into watching TV shows and cartoons.

I remember the craze the one such TV show called 'Shaktimaan' had. Such was the influence of the show that children were known to have attempted the famous 'Shaktimaan spin' from the top of their roofs and meet their untimely demise. 'Pfft, are these kids are stupid or what?', used to be my reaction until I attempted to do enact something similar and came very close to meeting Sir Yamraaj. So, here goes my story...

3Vs To Consider For Making Your Business Failproof

So these days I am preparing for my MICA GD/PI and for the case study preparation, dad gave me Telenor's (Uninor, India) Marketing Guide to understand how the company carries out the process of Marketing and CRM globally. So while I was flipping through the booklet's pages, I found something  called the '3V Model'. It was a method which Uninor followed to maintain focus on its business priorities and way of working. While it was being successfully applied within Uninor, I thought that it could be extended to almost any business out there, no matter how big or small, online or offline.

Now, if you are dreaming of having a business / venture / start-up of your own or already have one, this model is a must-know to maintain your sight on your venture's purpose of existence. It is easy to dream up big business ideas but if you don't know the purpose of existence of your venture, it is bound to fail.
 

Source

So here are the '3Vs' you must keep in mind before coming up with the next 'Facebook' or 'Google' :


1. Value Customer : (V1) Who to serve?

It defines what customers are most valuable to your business. Who you should target in order to build your business profitably. Afterall, if you target the wrong audience, they most likely won't be interested in your services and hence, you are bound to fail.

Example : A pizza chain like Dominoes needs to focus on their 'right' consumers - the youth. If they started putting more focus on -say, senior citizens, their campaign would fail as they seniors simply aren't the pizza generation and hence, they are the 'wrong' consumers.

I must admit that I've also had big dreams of having businesses of my own. But with time, my common sense asked me the question - 'Who are you planning to build this thing for? Yourself?'. Just because you like the idea doesn't mean everyone is going to like it. Build your businesses based on the needs of your consumers. The reverse isn't true.

2. Value Proposition : (V2) What to offer?

The second most important question. You define what your product / service is. That is because people will come to you only if you have something valuable to offer to them. They will come to you only if you solve one of their problems or make their lives a bit easier than yesterday. They will come to you only if your brand is unique in relation to other related offerings.

Time is of essence in this generation. Capturing people's attention with your product is what really counts. But remember - you need to have a product which has the potential to do it.

Example : I have seen many designers (including me) starting a design blog just because they know design stuff and can spew out design gyaan at others. But the problem is, there are literally thousands of design blogs out there, each churning out the same type content. Hence, these wannabe bloggers fail terribly. They do not get the expected number of visitors, lose heart and then stop blogging. It happened with me. This was because I was offering the wrong thing. People did not want more of design gurus. They already had enough of them.

It is a headache knowing and coming up with something that people really want. Seriously. But there are ways.. I'll tell you when I get to know of it myself.

3. Value Network : (V3) How to deliver?

If my interpretation is correct, it refers to the 'Place' and 'Promotion' part of the 4 Ps of Marketing. OK. So you've got a product (or service), you've researched upon the justifiable price and all, and are ready to sell it. But where and how do you plan to sell it? Seriously, just because you have a nice product, it does not mean that people will suddenly wake up from their sleep one day and realise that you have come up with something that could solve their problems. You have to tell it to people! You need to promote it, not everywhere and anywhere, but only at the place where your target consumer is.

Example : Since we are using their model, lets take up the case of Uninor only. In India, they are famous for their low prices and quality of service. They may not have as many subscribers as Airtel or may have been hit with the recent 2G spectrum verdict, but they are still adding customers like hell.

Source : Operator-wise net subscriber addition (Jan 2012)

And this is because they are doing something right : the place and promotion. They are targeting the semi-urban and rural areas aggressively as it is where their concept of low prices would be most effective. They are doing localized promotion. In short, they are 'delivering' their product in the right way.

So this is about the innovative 3V model. I am sure it'll help you think about the 'why' and 'how' of your business plan and weed out the unnecessary ideas.


I'm no businessman to talk about starting businesses but all I can say is that this does bring some clarity in the flow of our thoughts. Share this post if you like it!

The Dilemma

It was a day like any other. Nothing special about it - people may say what they want, but I beg to differ. Weekday, made obvious by the merciless honking of cars and the roar of their engines. Cars containing people pretending to be too busy with their lives to care about this world. Cars containing people working without a sense of clarity in their lives, scrambling to add up penny after penny in their banks accounts, aspiring to be the next Birlas and Ambanis, very well knowing that they'll never even be 1/1000th as close.

I shifted my focus. I looked up, and there she was again. She was sitting on what I suppose was her 'favorite spot'. I observed her actions carefully for some time, from a distance, just like the way I had been doing for the last one week or so. She was lonely. Nobody paid any attention to her. To the people, she was just another soul struggling for existence like them.

The photographer in me would have loved to capture her aura in a camera. The clothes she wore were so unlike the people around her. Now you see, we live in a society wherein when a poor man wears torn jeans, he does so because he has no other option. But when a rich teen wears the same style of torn jeans, it is considered as 'fashionable'. But personal opinions aside, my subject did not care about 'fashion' even a bit. Her hair kept unattended, like she no longer cared about the trivial rituals of women of her age. It was obvious that she had more pressing issues to care about.

Her most distinctive feature were her eyes. They were unlike any others' I've ever seen. Eyes, that had perhaps seen it all in life. Eyes, that cried for love and longing - like a kitten looking up at you expectantly for more food. Eyes, that had been doing all the talking since the day her dry lips got tired of it.

I wanted to help her. I wanted to make her happy. I wanted to solve all her problems, if I had the power. My mind was racing. Should I do it? Would it be the correct thing to do?

I finally decided to approach her today. Nervous, I started walking awkwardly towards her. What I was gonna do was nothing too spectacular to anyone around me. You all have done it so many times, without giving it too much of a thought. But it was a big deal for me. For reasons of my own, I never give much thought to helping her 'kind'. I am a man of science and I believe strongly in the 'survival of the fittest' theory. But there was something about her. She was different. Her skin and her clothes convinced my mind to betray my principles. I passed by her quickly, not looking in her too familiar eyes, bending ever so slightly in front of her.

Hearing the clank of my coin hitting her metal bowl, I walked away, smiling a little, knowing that at least two people in this world are going to have a fulfilling dinner tonight.

(By the way, this was my second entry in the Scribe Hunt competition, unfortunately it did not win. Still, loved writing this post!)

Who the Hell is Kony and Why Should You Care?

Its on Facebook. Its on tech blogs. Its on personal blogs. Its on Tumblr. There is no place where the word 'Kony' has not been sighted. If you are still unaware of this sensation called 'Kony', you've come to the right place, for I shall explain what the hell exactly this 'Kony thing' is and why you should care, along with all the controversies surrounding it.

Here is the original Kony video you must watch to understand what the recent brouhaha is all about. Everything is clearly explained in this video and that is why I am not going to explain what its about :

Now, just to get an idea of how viral this video has become, here are some nice looking stats for you :

Yes, 14 MILLION views in just 4 days. Assuming you have already watched the video by now, you may very well understand the reason behind the popularity of this video. If you skipped the video above, its a request that you watch it because the cause stated above is genuine and very well explained.

The controversy regarding Kony 2012

While everyone agrees upon the authenticity of the cause, not many agree with the intentions of the people leading this movement.

This article by Mashable pretty much sums up why this movement is getting a lot of critical attention. To sum up, these are the main reasons why the Kony 2012 movement is in the news for some wrong reasons :

1. Mashable says :

"..The video has also, however, begun to receive significant backlash from organizations and publications questioning the authenticity of Invisible Children. Many of the negative critiques have been targeted at Invisible Children’s practices as an organization, not whether Joseph Kony, the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army, is a war criminal."

So we know that the Joseph Kony story is real and there are no doubts that he needs to be arrested. But there is also a concern about the organization (Invisible Children) that is behind this campaign as it is being accused of misuse of funds. This is one major factor making some people (including me) a bit jittery about this whole campaign. Visit this Reddit thread to view a very thought-provoking discussion taking place about this whole issue and some more in-depth thinking.

2. KONY 2012 is being accused of promoting 'Slacktivism' - a belief (very common among the youngsters) that sharing a video on Twitter of Facebook is makes them an activist of some sort and hence contributing to the eradication of the problem. It only increases the awareness, fellas. The problem is still there unless you go out on the streets and actually do something.

Other important links worth checking out :

1. Visible children : A Tumblr blog explaining why we should think before supporting the organization behind Kony 2012. Seriously worth a read as this was probably from where the controversy originated.

2. What if : A second take on this whole issue. But then, the truth will never be known to commons like us..

3. And then I told Kony : A hilarious meme on the whole Kony issue (Warning : Nsfw language)


Well, the what side you take on this whole issue is up to you. My job was just to make you wiser than you were 10 minutes ago. Opinions please?

A Little Problem There, IIMs

I gave the CAT exam this year in an attempt to secure admission into the prestigious IIMs and such. But my preparation was incomplete in some respects and so I ended up with only 86%. However, some of my friends managed to secure excellent percentiles in the range of 99+.

But no, even 99% isn't good enough in our country. They didn't get any significant calls, just because of their lack of work experience and previous academic records. I remember all the brouhaha that took place when the IIMs' admission criteria was announced. While I fully support the work-experience criteria and somewhat partially the graduation percentage criteria, I find the inclusion of the secondary school and senior-secondary school percentages to be unnecessary. To support my case, I present to you three arguments :

Argument 1 : In school, we are too young to realise the importance our marks hold in our future. We were naive and carefree. We did not know what IIMs were. Heck, we didn't even know what IITs were, let alone IIMs! Why must we be punished for a mistake our kiddie versions committed 6 years ago?

Argument 2 : The subjects we studied in class Xth and XIIth mainly consisted of English (or some other language), Science, Maths and Social Sciences. Now if we observe the IIM's testing procedure carefully, it can be easily pointed out that English and Maths are tested in CAT already, the social sciences part is covered during the GD/PI rounds and science is mostly applied logic. Now, when we are being tested on similar subjects again during the admission process, then why is our former selves' ability to score in these subjects being considered at all? Why isn't our current performance being given the full priority? IIMs try to test the candidate's true current potential via CAT, yet they fall back upon their previous performances.

Argument 3 : One of the reasons given by IIMs for this step is that they are looking for 'consistent performers'. I agree that consistent performers will most likely perform the same way in the future. But does that mean we should disregard people who have attempted to change for good? People who have started performing well once they found out the course / subject / job of their liking? How can someone be expected to excel in excel in everything he/she has come across in life? In my opinion, IIMs' reason is unfair to the people who were probably not comfortable with the subjects taught in school. As they say, nothing is permanent but change. There's no guarantee that a high scorer in school and college will necessarily be a better manager or thinker than any of the others. Oh, and doesn't the candidate's securing of a 99%+ in CAT despite having 70% in school suggest that he has improved a lot in 6 years?

Oh yes, ranting against the system is easy and anyone can complain. But luckily, I also came prepared with some solutions to the supposed 'problem' we have at hand : 
 
The proposed solution :
Apart from CAT, I also gave other tests like NMAT, SNAP, IIFT etc. But one exam I particularly enjoyed giving is the XAT exam. It was just because of one section called the 'decision making' section. Anyone who has given this exam will understand what I'm trying to say. I felt that each MBA exam should have a section like this one because in the end, 'Business Administration' is all about 'making decisions'. So, if I was given the privilege of designing the structure of IIM's selection process, here's what I would do : 

1. Restructure CAT : Have the following sections -

• Quantitative Ability - Testing basic maths
• Verbal Ability - Testing basic english skills
• Logical reasoning and Data Interpretation : Interpreting stats and facts
• Decision Making : Because management in all about the ability to take correct decisions. Give this section a high priority.

2. Restructure the selection criterion and GD/PI round -

For selection, do away with the unnecessary childhood academic performance of the candidate. Instead, consider the recent factors like the graduation performance (but with less priority), work-experience, extra-curriculars etc.

After the selection, have the following rounds :

• Business case study round : For assessing how well a candidate can process business data.
• GD : For assessing the communication abilities and GK.
• PI : For testing personality of the candidate.

Just to make things clear, I have nothing to fear from this rule of IIMs.. I have scored very good percentages in school board exams. But then opinions are like bad habits - everyone has one.

Oh, by the way, I am also planning on entering this article in this competition. Pray that I win.. :D

The Manliest Motivation

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure."

We all have goals. We all have aspirations and dreams. We all want to succeed, good to know. But the road to success isn't paved with sweet flowers. Its rough in a sense that even the famous Indian potholed roads look cute in front of it.

Assisting in the process of enduring this journey called life is something called motivation. Motivation is fuel for the soul. Its the thing that is supposed to keep us going, everytime after we fall.

Motivation can come from a variety of sources and it differs for everyone. So, this being a kind-of personal blog, I will share one such video which inspires me, gets me on my feet and quit whining about life. This is one of the manliest motivation I've ever come across, more so when you hear it being spoken. Gives me the goose bumps everytime I listen to it :

Watch the video. I assure you that the video gets better with each passing minute!

And the full quote from Rocky Balboa's speech (my favourite part) :

"I’d hold you up to say to your mother, “this kid’s gonna be the best kid in the world. This kid’s gonna be somebody better than anybody I ever knew.” And you grew up good and wonderful. It was great just watching you, every day was like a privilege. Then the time come for you to be your own man and take on the world, and you did. But somewhere along the line, you changed. You stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you’re no good. And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. It’s a very mean and nasty place and I don’t care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done! Now if you know what you’re worth then go out and get what you’re worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain’t where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain’t you! You’re better than that! I’m always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens. You’re my son and you’re my blood. You’re the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain’t gonna have a life. "

 So, what are your ways of remaining motivated towards your goal? What quote / action / memory do you take help of, when you feel down? Reply in the comments below!

So It Begins... Again

I am back at it. After a lot of experimentation and correction, I am back on Blogger. I knew it wouldn't be long before I was back.

So what motivated me to come back? Here are some of the top factors in no particular order :

1. I am preparing for MBA exams and I need to improve my English and creative writing abilities. Though at this time most of my exams are over (with disappointing results), there are still some of them left (including that of my dream college - MICA). These exams require a lot of creative writing expertise and I'm wishing that I started a bit earlier..

2. As a medium for studying parameters of Web reputation management and influence (my areas of interest).

3. I think a LOT. A hell LOT. I need a medium to put my ideas down. I don't care too much about people reading my blog, but I'm sure I might build a decent readership in time.

4. My very good friend Sarabjeet. He has been a regular blogger for more than 2 years now and he is an excellent example of dedication and focus. His efforts are finally bearing fruits and I've seen his follower count increase exponentially in the last 3 months! This was the final kick for me to reconsider blogging as a hobby.


But then Sarabjeet asked me : "For how long can you blog on without stopping again?" (With reference to my previous failed attempts at blogging)

Well, Challenge Accepted bro.