Imagine, if you had all the money, freedom and fame you wanted. After that, to feel useful to yourself and society, what would you spend your time doing? What if you started doing a bit of that today, as you wait for money, freedom and fame. Sometimes I wonder if we use the “one day I will” thinking to avoid asking ourselves the hard questions, today. Money, freedom and fame are effects. Do the maths.
Part of Einstein’s charm was his disheveled look. In addition to his uncombed hair, one of Einstein’s peculiar habits was never to wear socks. Einstein went without socks everywhere – sailing, formal dinners and even to the White House. To Einstein, socks were a pain because they often would get holes in them. There are two ways to be fashionable – Following trends – and staying ahead of the curve Being authentic – and expressing oneself, naturally Both work. One leaves a stronger impression.
The palmist looks at your palm and says – you have suffered a lot because of your inner anger. You are essentially a calm person, but situations get you angry… And you nod your head. She is correct. Palms, zodiac columns, tarot cards, foreheads, coffee mugs, palm leaves – they can all tell you a bit about yourself. But so can your own behaviour. When was the last time you looked at your behaviour and thought patterns to know who you are? So much data there to predictive analysis on “who you might be”. Start with observing yourself first. Then perhaps
Looking outwards at the sky – we essentially stare at things as they were in the past. Sun’s light takes almost 8.5 minutes to travel to Earth, so we see the Sun as it appeared 8.5 minutes ago. The nearest star to us, Proxima Centauri, is 4.2 light-years away, so it appears to our eyes as it was 4.2 years ago. The nearest galaxy is 2.5 million light-years away and looks the way it did when our hominid ancestors walked the planet. Something similar happens when we look inwards. We remember things not as they were but as we want
Sign Vs. Symbol Stop, Start, Move – are traffic signs. So are the ones that go up on doors, construction sights, the road bends… Danger, No-Smoking, Do Not Enter, Slow, Bend Ahead… The Cross, on the other hand, is a symbol. So is the lotus, crescent moon, swastika, Nike swoosh, Vulcan salute. Both are simple images, and yet they are dramatically different. The goal of a sign is literal – to communicate an instruction, unambiguously. The Symbol, on the other hand, is a communicator of ‘meaning’. Meaning – that is deep, cryptic, symbolic and also difficult to interpret. We should
Speed Matters A car driving beyond a threshold can harm the people in the car, and a few on the road. A startup is moving towards a destination, like a car. Runners train at speed, like a car. Thought moves at speed, like a car. Speed matters for the ambulance and the fire engine. Better to be aware when we need speed and when we need ‘slow.’ https://dash.coach
If I met you for the first time and asked you to introduce yourself to me, what would you say? CEO at XYZ, Entrepreneur, Musician, Makeup Artist, Teacher, Priest, Mother, Adventurer… What you are referring to is your dominant identity, and also your dominant vulnerability. Because we hang our coat of self-worth and confidence on our top one or two dominant identities, if anything were to happen to those identities (lost job, the son left home, music gig didn’t go well…), we will stumble. We are as strong or as weak as our dominant identity. It helps to – 1/
Who Are You? If I ask you this question, you will answer in one or more of following ways – Your Name – but that’s your name. Not you. Father, Sister, Husband, Friend – but that’s a role you play. Not you. CEO, VP, Manager – but that’s your position. Not you. Musician, Adventurist, Painter – but that’s your passion. Not you. American, British, Indian, Australian – but that’s your nationality. Not you. Beyond all the tags you have collected, who are you? Keep asking that question till you find (your) answer.
