ksrikrishna's posterous

Recipe for a Happy New Year 2012

Take twelve whole months,
Clean them thoroughly of all bitterness, hate, and jealousy,
Make them just as fresh and clean as possible.
Now cut each month into twenty-eight, thirty, or
thirty-one different parts,
but don't make up the whole batch at once.
Prepare it one day at a time out of these ingredients.
Mix well into each day one part of faith,
one part of patience, one part of courage,
and one part of work.
Add to each day one part of hope,
faithfulness, generosity, and kindness.
Blend with one part prayer,
one part meditation, and one good deed.
Season the whole with a dash of good spirits,
a sprinkle of fun, a pinch of play,
and a cupful of good humour.
Pour all of this into a vessel of love.
Cook thoroughly over radiant joy,
garnish with a smile,
and serve with quietness, unselfishness,
and cheerfulness.
You're bound to have A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

~ Author Unknown

via Raj, chief mentor at NENglobal.org

We are the same till we are different #irony #religion

I was walking across a bridge one day, and I saw a man standing on the edge, about to jump off. 

So I ran over and said "Stop! Don't do it!" 

"Why shouldn't I?" he said.  "Well, there's so much to live for!" 

"Like what?"  "Well... are you religious?" 

He said yes.  I said, "Me too! Are you Christian or Buddhist?" 

"Christian."  "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant ? 

"Protestant.""Me too! Are you Episcopalian or Baptist?" 

"Baptist" "Wow! Me too!  Are you Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord?" 

"Baptist Church of God!" "Me too! Are you original Baptist Church of God, or are you reformed Baptist Church of God?" 

"Reformed Baptist Church of God!" "Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915?" 

He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, reformation of 1915!" 

I said, "Die, heretic scum", and pushed him off.

Selling v Marketing - does this definition still hold good?

 “Selling is preoccupied with the seller’s need to convert his product into cash; marketing with the idea of satisfying the needs of the customer by means of the product and the whole cluster of things associated with creating, delivering, and finally consuming it,”

Theodore Levitt
“Marketing Myopia,” Harvard Business Review 61 (July–Aug. 1960): 50.

Poem Thursday - I did not die

Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow,
I am the diamond glints on snow,
I am the sun on ripened grain,
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circling flight.
I am the soft starlight at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there; I did not die.

Mary Frye

A Glorious Life - a poem

For years you had been suffering
Something you did not deserve
The good deeds you had done are innumerable
Your legacy will be preserved.

You helped many fulfil their dreams
Yet you strived on your own
You worked hard throughout your days
Your wisdom has helped me and continously grown.

When I think of all that you went through
And still came out the way you were
People like you are very few
I look up to you and respect your values.

You always put others first
But people have not treated you the same
Your early years were hard
But you looked far for that silver lining!

Sometimes, I cry when I think of your end
It happened when I hoped it never would
I lost a grandfather and many lost a friend
I promise I’ll remember your life as it was
A glorious life.

Malini Srikrishna (13), Class IX ‘A’, SKCH (CBSE)

via deccanherald.com

Lessons from failed businesses #entrepreneurship

While it’s tempting to think that each tale of entrepreneurial woe would be unique, that’s not the case. As a failed American dreamer myself, I saw in all the books, chapters, and posts the same core set of “mistakes”:

  • I didn’t have enough experience—now I know.

  • I thought I knew everything—I did not.

  • I thought it (selling toasters, watering lawns) was going to be easy—it was extremely hard.

  • People (customers, employees, partners, investors) are reluctant to change what they’re used to—I didn’t sell anyone anything.

  • I forgot to try to make money.

From all these examples, in print and online, the message is clear: Failure happens; it’s what you take from it that makes the difference between a fall and a stumble. With one, you hit the ground and stay there; with the other, you regain your footing and keep running. Or, to quote from an executive who has overcome adversity, Soichiro Honda, founder of Honda Motor Company, “Success is 99% failure.”

via hbr.org