Inspirational Stories #169 - The Brick

The Brick 

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. 

He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag's side door! 

He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing? That's a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?" 

The young boy was apologetic. "Please, mister...please! I'm sorry but I didn't know what else to do," he pleaded. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" 

Inspirational Stories #168 - Mount Everest

Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest. On May 29, 1953 he scaled the highest mountain then known to man-29,000 feet straight up. He was knighted for his efforts.

He even made American Express card commercials because of it! However, until we read his book, High Adventure, we don’t understand that Hillary had to grow into this success.

You see, in 1952 he attempted to climb Mount Everest, but failed. A few weeks later a group in England asked him to address its members. 

Hillary walked on stage to a thunderous applause. The audience was recognizing an attempt at greatness, but Edmund Hillary saw himself as a failure. He moved away from the microphone and walked to the edge of the platform.

Inspirational Stories #167 - The Blind Boy

The Blind Boy 

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which said: “I am blind, please help.” There were only a few coins in the hat.

A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around and wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by would see the new words.

Inspirational Stories #166 - The Idle Fisherman – A Pleasant Life

The Idle Fisherman – A Pleasant Life 

A corporate executive, on holiday in a small, Greek sea-coast village, was strolling by the docks and taking in the local colour. He complimented one fisherman on the quality of his catch.

“How long did it take you to get all those fish?” he asked.

“Not very long,” answered the Greek. “An hour or two.”

“Then why didn’t you stay out longer to catch more?”

Shrugging, the Greek explained that his catch was sufficient to meet his needs, and those of his family.

The executive asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a nap with my wife. In the evening, I go to the village to see my friends, dance a little, play the bouzouki, and sing songs. I have a full life.” 

The executive said, “Well I have an MBA from Harvard and I’m sure I can help you. You should start by fishing longer every day. You’ll catch extra fish that you can sell. With the revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring you, you can buy a second boat and a third one, and so on, until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can ship fish to markets all around the world. In time, you can then move to New York City to direct your huge enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked the Greek.

“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the executive.

“And after that?”

“When your business gets really big, you can sell stock and make millions!” exclaimed the executive with zeal.

“Millions? Really? And after that?”

“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a small village near the coast, sleep late, play with your grandchildren, catch a few fish, take a nap with your wife, and spend your evenings singing, dancing, and playing the bouzouki with your friends.”

A good life-balance means taking the time to appreciate what we’re doing now. Try thinking again about what you’re doing and what you hope to achieve. Being satisfied with what you’ve got can be a liberating experience. Knowing when enough is enough could transform your perception of success. Keep your guard against narrow definitions of success.  Try to stop and smell the flowers!

Narendra Modi - Next Prime Minister of India Some Known and Unknown Facts

10 Facts to know about Narendra Modi, the new PM of India

Narendra Modi is going to be the next Prime Minister of India.

Narendra Modi is both an ‘enigma’ and an ‘open book’ for his supporters as well as his detractors.

Nobody can explain what exactly makes him so popular among hoi-polloi.  At the same time, he is widely known as a person who wears his heart on his sleeves.

Even his opponents admire him for his bold and fearless stand on sensitive issues that can dent his carefully crafted image of a no-nonsense man.

No other Chief Minister in India evokes as much hatred as Narendra Modi but at the same time no other Chief Minister commands as much respect as Narendra Modi.

The hatred for Modi is community specific but he is admired across communities and his popularity transcends  all barriers of caste, community and religion.

Let’s have a look at some of the little known facts relating to Narendra Modi who is positioning himself as a serious contender for Indian polity's most sought after 'hot seat' in  2014 general elections:


1. The biggest mystery of Narendra Modi’s life was his relationship status. The world knew him as a ‘bachelor’ till the time he declared himself as married in his election affidavit . A magazine published a story in 2009 that claimed Jashodaben to be Modi’s wife. The fact that Modi never contested the facts of the story gave credence to the content of the article. Modi's wife is a retired school teacher and  lives in Rajosana village of Banaskantha district. She is said to got married with Modi when she was 18. She had studied up to class VIII only and that is supposed to have spoiled their relationship. It is said that Jashodaben does not like to be photographed as she believes she is not good looking. Not only this, she is conscious of Modi’s high position and does not want to create any embarrassment to Modi although she is hopeful that someday Modi will come to her and publicly accept her as his wife. In 2014 elections the media covered when she went out and cast her vote. According to another popular story about Modi’s marriage, he got married during his childhood. It was a child marriage and Modi never met his wife again as the ‘second marriage (Gauna)’ never happened because Modi got attracted to RSS by that time and decided to remain bachelor for the rest of his life. It is said that his wife also took the vow of remaining single for the rest of her life.

2.Narendra Modi is a patriot since childhood. During Indo-Pak war of 1965, Modi, as a 15 year old boy, volunteered to serve the soldiers in transit at the railway stations. Similarly, in 1967 at an age of 17 years, he served the flood affected people of Gujarat.

3. Modi was born in an OBC family of grocers in Vadnagar of Gujarat. Modi wanted to become a sanyasi when he was a child. In fact, he was always fascinated with Sadhus, different forms of worship and meditation. He ran away from home after completing his school education. He visited many places including Ramkrishna Ashram of Belur in West Bengal. Finally, he reached Himalayas and wandered aimlessly and stayed with unknown but yogic Sadhus for months. After two years of wandering in Himalayas without money and with two pairs of clothes, he suddenly decided to give up ‘Sanyas’ life and returned home.

4. After returning from Himalayas, Modi ran a tea stall with his brother at the State Transport Office in Ahmedabad. Modi sold tea for many years. That was the time when Modi learnt what hardship really meant. It made him more determined and resolute in his approach towards life.

5. Narendra Modi is very particular about his appearance in public. He prefers trimmed beard and hair. As for his clothes, his favourite cloth store used to be Jade Blue of Ahmedabad. He ensures that he looks elegant whenever he moves out.

6. Narendra Modi has done a three-month course in US on public relations and image management. This could be one reason why he has succeeded in positioning himself as one of the most affable and sought after politicians in India.

7. Narendra Modi adores his mother and never forgets to take her blessings whenever he undertakes any new initiative- political or otherwise. Even today he went to meet his mother after it became clear that Modi is going to be the next Prime Minister. In fact, she is his only closest relation. He has got all traditional virtues of an Indian man. He  is a teetotaler. He doesn’t drink, doesn’t smoke. He is a complete vegetarian. In nut-shell, he is miles away from even minor vices.

8. Women all over India and cutting over age bracket adore Modi. In his home state, he is seen as a sex symbol among women. A close look at his public meetings makes it abundantly clear that women outnumber men among attendees. Analysts say this is mainly because of his emperor like image exuding absolute power and authority.

9. Modi is a prolific writer and poet.He writes in Gujarati language and his favourite topics include life and teachings of Hindutva icons. Narendra Modi is a big fan of Swami Vivekananda. His most recent election campaign was christened as ‘Vivekanand Yuva Vikas Yatra’.

10. Narendra Modi sleeps only three hours. He is a workaholic. As CM of Gujarat, he reports to his office around 7 in the morning and works as late as 10 or even late in the night.