Changing gear..

A New Day Has Come, with the belief that the best is yet to come. A move away from my previous job into this new role in a slightly different domain. Talking to the same target customers but solving different problems. From thinking inside out to outside in. A much needed different perspective in life. I don’t know if I have made the right decision in life. May be or may be not. There is no authority that can tell you this. This is the open ended question about every new job for anybody who decides to pursue a new job. But I am happy that I took the decision. This is my risk, my adventure. If you remember the book Who moved my cheese, my cheese had indeed moved and I had to move too. Someone told me one day professional life is like a golf game. You have to go through 18 holes. It does not matter if you get a hole in one or a hole in two or a hole in many. It’s your game and you are a winner as long as you reach the hole. You don’t get there if you don’t try. Remember sometimes you win, sometimes you learn and I am up for both.  

Brocade has a special place in my heart. It is unbelievable how much I have learnt in the time I spent there. It was a touching moment to read all the responses that I got on my goodbye email. I am happy that I could make a difference and be of help to everyone. I look forward to my new journey and hope to make a difference. 

Every word means a world!

From a formal conversation with your company executive or your high profile customer to the most informal conversation with you family and friends determines the person you are. There are thousands of words you speak each day. Some of them in your mind and some of them as vocals. Each word has a meaning and makes a significant impact to your life. I was at my workplace and I had asked for a favor from my colleague. He helped me out and I thanked him. His response was “Always a pleasure, anything for the team”. He could have left the conversation at “You are welcome” and things would have been perfectly fine. But he chose to assert in a much more positive tone. More words are not always bad even though they say Silence is Golden. He made me happy. I knew I could rely on him when in need. On the flip side a petty conversation with wrong words at the time of early morning coffee with you family member can set the stage for a messed up day. The emotion, the bad mood carries forward to your work place and in that negative frame of mind you might mis-interpret you colleague or your boss or may be anyone and things go bad two folds. I am sure many can relate to this situation.  You end up removing your frustration on somebody else.

Never take anyone for granted. It is foolish to expect someone to understand you what’s inside your heart. What you speak is what is perceived and words once spoken cannot be revoked.  The closest undo button is the word “SORRY” but how many times sorry works? The scare is always there. The second closest that I can think of is probably “JUST KIDDING”. There is always some truth behind every just kidding J.

Very recently I was put to test in life where I used a few words and it had a huge impact to my life. I am still in the process to figure out if it for the good or the bad. There is nothing bad, there is always learning. Just read this line somewhere on the web and its stuck in my mind “Sometimes you win and sometimes you learn”. Anyways, I spoke a blunt truth which was good but may be the words I used were not correct and I did not win but I had to learn J. I cannot share the exact incident here in this blog but ofcourse it did make me realize a few things, a few short comings within me but the question is would things have been little different if I would have used different words, May be yes.

If you google search for “What is the average number of words spoken in a day” you will be able to find that the number is 16,000. That a lot of words. Every day every word can help define you, your day and you life and in general the person you are. Use words wisely. They matter and oh by the way I think I have a long way to go to implement this. I am only at a realization stage. It’s time to execute. Well, sometimes you win, sometimes you learn J.

Eye of the Tiger

Its not original but truly inspirational. Time and again I listen to this song and it inspires me every single time. Here is a song which might be long forgotten from the movie Rocky.

                                                 "Eye Of The Tiger"

Rising up, back on the street
Did my time, took my chances
Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet
Just a man and his will to survive 

So many times it happens too fast
You change your passion for glory
Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past
You must fight just to keep them alive

It's the eye of the tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger

Face to face, out in the heat
Hanging tough, staying hungry
They stack the odds 'til we take to the street
For the kill with the skill to survive

It's the eye of the tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger

Rising up, straight to the top
Had the guts, got the glory
Went the distance, now I'm not going to stop
Just a man and his will to survive

It's the eye of the tiger
It's the thrill of the fight
Rising up to the challenge of our rival
And the last known survivor
Stalks his prey in the night
And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger

The eye of the tiger
The eye of the tiger
The eye of the tiger
The eye of the tiger

Lost or Stuck?

How can I be lost?If I've got nowhere to go – Unforgiven 3 by Metallica

How many times you hear people say I just don’t know I am lost!! Are they really lost or they just don’t know what they want? Every human goes through this phase in his or her life. I think I am in that boat too and hence every time I listen to the song I can relate very well to the line. It’s not necessarily a bad thing to be lost. It’s the time to question yourself and begin the search within you of what is it that you want ! Where do you want to go ! As long as you are asking the right questions to yourself, answers will come through. Time is the key and yes ofcourse give time, time! These phases in life can make or break you.

You are the one who has nowhere to go if you wake up every morning and feel lost about different things. One day its your profession, another day its your professional domain, some other day its your passion, could be your job, could be something outside of your job, I just don’t know if it is my friends, family or just the place. Sounds dramatic and actually one would officially tag that he or she is LOST! Is it bad? NO! Give it a positive spin. The very fact that you are in hunt of something that you don’t know of make it a very adventurous journey. The hunt of “something”. You have to strive to figure out what is it that you want. If you don’t strive for something you will not reach there. You will be happy in your mundane daily life with no ambition. It’s a good sign that you want something more out of life and there is either room for improvement or there is room for progress. In either case it will make you or take you to be a better person. Remember give time time! Its not a quick fix type of a solution. Could take months or years. The fortunate or unfortunate part of this hunt is that you are alone and there is no help. No mother, father, friend or boss can help you with this hunt. Its your journey.

Its funny to make this statement by its great if you are feeling lost. There are bigger better things coming your way. Keep up the hunt, enjoy the journey, try out different directions to test the waters of discomfort. Finally once you get your direction execute it and then if you feel lost its not a big deal. You friends, family or boss will be able to help you since you know the direction.

If you find this article abstract and too high level to understand then more than likely you have not yet reached the truly LOST phase. Its good and bad J

A new day has come

Finally the hyperbole of 2012 has ended. Its 2013 and the world has indeed not “ended”. And once again the day of promises the day of forgetting the past is at its best. January 1. It is undoubtedly the most optimistic and the most positive day of the year. Life would be different if every day was a January 1^st.

A new day has come. Mistakes accepted, lessons learnt & a pat on the back for the good job done. Taking the wonderful experience one year ahead, I am a touch wiser than I was yesterday. It’s important to look back and analyze what went right and what went wrong. It’s only after learning from your own mistakes you become a better man. 2012 was one year where I realized something different. In the process of getting something right I compromised on other things that turned the wrong way. In the hunt of professional success may be I have compromised on a lot of other aspects of life. It is important to balance life and he is a great man who does excel both ways professionally and socially. I aspire to be on that stage. The hunger and passion to succeed has been there and to be honest I did see myself in the execution mode in 2012. Things could have been done differently but overall it feels good to look back at 2012. The job is far from done. The effort continues in 2013 but just a little bit of alteration from the lessons learnt.

Every passing year is critical and it is important to make the most of every year. Working towards your dream could be an analogy to the game of golf. There are 18 holes. A hole in one in the first shot can be deceptive since your dream resides on the 18^th hole not any other. Each hole has a different layout. The good part is that it is your dream and there is no competition. You judge yourself and can take as many try’s you want. Even if you play badly but complete the game you are a winner. Once you conquer your dream you are a winner. Just learn from your mistakes and strive for improvement. Pushing yourself every year to do better will help you reach where you want much faster.