Kiran Biligiri

Maha Kumbh - Hara Hara Mahadev

It was pleasure and privilege being a Chief guest and sharing some thoughts, on the start of a new batch at .Thanks to Mr. Sudha kumar Chairman of Pioneer and also one of my fond professors from my IHM days for the invite. Here's wishing students a fantastic career ahead.

*Chasing perfection?*

If you’re chasing perfection, give yourself a break. Literally.

In my 20’s, I tried to do things perfectly. The more I tried, the more I failed. No matter how good things were, I thought they could be better.

No matter how well I did, I thought I could do better. Then a mentor told me that each of us are unique in our imperfections. That it is our failures that shape us. That it is our heartaches that make us human.

The Japanese have turned this idea into an art. Kintsukuroi is the art of “repairing with gold”.

When a pot breaks, instead of throwing it away, craftsmen repair it with a gold lacquer that celebrates its flaws.

In doing so, the pot becomes more valuable than when it was “perfect”.

It’s the flaws that tell the pots story, and it’s your challenges that tell your story. So celebrate them, embrace them, and know you are all the more valuable for having them.

*“There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.”*

James Hamilton

Happy women's day &
Happy Holi.

One night President Obama and his wife Michelle decided to do something out of routine and go for a casual dinner at a restaurant that wasn’t too luxurious.

When they were seated, the owner of the restaurant asked the President’s secret service if he could please speak to the First Lady in private.

They obliged and Michelle had a conversation with the owner.

After the conversation President Obama asked Michelle,

“Why was he so interested in talking to you?"

She mentioned that in her teenage years, he had been madly in love with her.

President Obama then said,

“So if you had married him, you would now be the owner of this lovely restaurant?"

Michelle responded,

“No, if I had married him, he would now be the President.”

*Now that's a woman's confidence.*

Author Unknown

*Women indeed are the real architects of the society.*

*Has the water entered my ship?*

In 1923, nine of the wealthiest people in the world met at Chicago's Edge Water Beach Hotel. Their combined wealth, it is estimated, exceeded the wealth of the Government of the United States at that time. These men certainly knew how to make a living and accumulate wealth.

Attending the meeting were the following men:
1. The president of the largest steel company,
2. The president of the largest utility company,
3. The president of the largest gas company,
4. The president of the New York Stock Exchange,
5. The president of the Bank of International Settlements,
6. The greatest wheat speculator,
7. The greatest bear on Wall Street,
8. The head of the World's greatest monopoly &
9. A member of President Harding's cabinet.

That's a pretty impressive line-up of people by anyone's yardstick.

Yet, 25 years later, where were those nine industrial giants? Let’s examine what happened to them 25 years later.

Has the water entered my ship?

1. The President of the then largest steel company (Bethlehem Steel Corp), Charles M Schwab, lived on borrowed capital for five years before he died bankrupt.
2. The President of the then largest gas company, Howard Hubson, went insane.
3. One of the greatest commodity traders (Wheat Speculator), Arthur Cutten, died insolvent.
4. The then President of the New York Stock Exchange, Richard Whitney, was sent to jail.
5. The member of the US President’s Cabinet (the member of President Harding's cabinet), Albert Fall, was pardoned from jail just to be able to go home and die in peace.
6. The greatest “bear” on Wall Street, Jesse Livermore committed su***de.
7. The President of the then world’s greatest monopoly, Ivar Krueger, committed su***de.
8. The President of the Bank of International Settlement, Leon Fraser, committed Su***de.
9. The president of the largest utility company, Samuel Insull, died penniless.

What they forgot was how to "make" life while they got busy making money! Money in itself is not evil; it provides for and is a very useful tool but is only a medium of exchange.

We need two kinds of education:
*a) One that teaches us how to make a living, and*
*b) One that teaches us how to live.*

There are many of us who are so engrossed in our professional life that we neglect our family, health and social responsibilities. If asked why we do this, we would reply that "We are doing it for our family".

Yet, our kids are sleeping when we leave home. They are sleeping when we come back home!!

Twenty years later, we’ll turn back, and they’ll all be gone, to pursue their own dreams and their own lives.

Without water, a ship cannot move. The ship needs water, but if the water gets into the ship, the ship will face existential problems.

What was once a means of living for the ship will now become a means of destruction. Similarly we live in a time where earning is a necessity but let not the earning enter our hearts, for what was once a means of living will surely become an end & a means of destruction for us as well.

Author Unknown

*So take a moment and ask yourself, "Has the water entered my ship?"*

*I hope not!*

Happy Sunday

*Who is guarding your post?*

In December 1937, a match between Chelsea and Charlton foot ball clubs at the Stamford Bridge stadium London was stopped in the 60th minute due to heavy fog.

Charlton's legendary goal keeper Sam Bartram remained unaware and kept on guarding the goal 15 minutes after the game had stopped, as he did not hear the referee's whistle because of the crowd behind his goal post.

He stood there with his arms out stretched and completely focused, looking forward so as not to be surprised by the opponent's shots.

Fifteen minutes later, when the stadium police approached him and informed him that the match had been abandoned, Sam Bartram said these famous words with great sorrow.....

*"How sad that my friends forgot me when I was guarding their goal post."*

Bartram thought his team was attacking and not allowing the opposing team to get close to the goal post.

There are so many players in the field of life whose goal post one defends with enthusiasm and support, but when the situation becomes like a wave of fog, they walk out of the field and leave us alone.

*Always pay attention to the goal keepers of your lives. Never abandon the one guarding your goal post.*

Author Unknown

*What are we teaching?*

*Exclusion Culture*

They bring nine chairs for ten children, and they tell the children that the winner is the one who gets the chair, and whoever remains without a chair is out of the game.

Then they reduce the number of chairs each time and a child comes out every time until one child remains and he is declared the winner.

The child learns the culture of “Myself, myself, and in order to succeed, I must remove others.”

And in Japanese kindergartens, they play the game of chairs too.

And they also come with nine chairs for ten kids, with a difference that they tell the children that you have more chairs If one of you remains without a chair, everyone loses.

All the children try to hug each other.

So that ten children can sit on nine chairs and then they reduce the number of chairs successively.

With the rule remaining that they must make sure that no one remains without a chair, or else they will all lose.

The child learns culture *"I cannot succeed without the help of others to succeed"!*

*From Exclusion to Inclusion*

Author Unknown

*Q?*

"According to Psychologists, there are four types of Intelligence:

1) Intelligence Quotient (IQ)
2) Emotional Quotient (EQ)
3) Social Quotient (SQ)
4) Adversity Quotient (AQ)

1. *Intelligence Quotient (IQ)*: this is the measure of your level of comprehension. You need IQ to solve maths, memorize things, and recall lessons.

2. *Emotional Quotient (EQ)*: this is the measure of your ability to maintain peace with others, keep to time, be responsible, be honest, respect boundaries, be humble, genuine and considerate.

3. *Social Quotient (SQ)*: this is the measure of your ability to build a network of friends and maintain it over a long period of time.

People that have higher EQ and SQ tend to go further in life than those with a high IQ but low EQ and SQ. Most schools capitalize on improving IQ levels while EQ and SQ are played down.

A man of high IQ can end up being employed by a man of high EQ and SQ even though he has an average IQ.

Your EQ represents your Character, while your SQ represents your Charisma. Give in to habits that will improve these three Qs, especially your EQ and SQ.

Now there is a 4th one, a new paradigm:

4. *The Adversity Quotient (AQ)*: The measure of your ability to go through a rough patch in life, and come out of it without losing your mind.

When faced with troubles, AQ determines who will give up, who will abandon their family, and who will consider su***de.

Parents please expose your children to other areas of life than just Academics. They should adore manual labour (never use work as a form of punishment), Sports and Arts.

Develop their IQ, as well as their EQ, SQ and AQ. They should become multifaceted human beings able to do things independently of their parents.

*Finally, do not prepare the road for your children. Prepare your children for the road."*

Author Unknown

Kiran Billi-giri 😃

*Get out of the hole*

One day a farmer’s donkey fell into a well. Poor donkey cried loudly for hours, while the farmer tried to find something to do to get him out.

Finally, the farmer decided that the donkey was old and the well was already dry and needed to be covered anyway; that it really wasn't worth pulling the donkey out of the well.

So, farmer invited all his neighbors to come to help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to throw the dirt into the well.

The donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly loud. Then, to everyone's surprise, he quieted down after a few shovel of dirt.

The farmer finally looked down into the well and was amazed at what he saw... with each shovelful of dirt, the donkey was doing something incredible: It was shaking off the dirt and stepping on top of the dirt.

Very soon everyone was surprised at how the donkey reached the mouth of the well, went over the edge, and trotted out.

*Life is going to throw dirt at you, all kinds of dirt, the trick to getting out of the hole is to shake it off and use it to step up. Each of our problems is a step up. We can get out of the deepest holes if we don't give up.*

Author Unknown

A man of words & class, who can make the cricket match look a lot more interesting than it is. It was a pleasure having a short interaction with arguably the best commentator in the world Harsha Bogle, yesterday at the IND NZL one day match at RGIS, Hyderabad, where we have been the catering partners to BCCI,Star Sports, HCA .
Delighted that guests were raving about batting and the food equally.
And what a match it was ..

*Three Important Questions*

Once there lived a king, he had everything he wished for, but one fine day three questions came across his mind. The questions were:

1. What is the most important time?
2. Who is the most important person?
3. What is the most important thing to do?

He became pretty restless and to find out the answers he went to his ministers and asked the questions.

The ministers after listening to his questions replied, “Oh, your holiness the most important time is the time you became king”. To his next question they replied, “You are the most important person because you're the king” and to his last question they replied, “King please expand your kingdom it is the most important thing to do”.

But the answers he got didn't satisfy him. Realizing this the chief minister got worried, as now his job was in danger, so he suggested the king to meet the sage who lives on the mountain at the edge of the kingdom.

The chief minister knew these questions are deeper questions and only that sage could answer them.

The next day the king goes along with his twenty soldiers and reached the mountain by the dusk. He thought it would be inappropriate to meet the sage with so many soldiers so he ordered them to stay there and started to climb alone.

As he reached the top he got very tired, but somehow he reached the cave where the sage was meditating, so he waited for him to complete the meditation, but after a long three hour wait the sage didn't wake up and thus king decided that he would spend the night there and in the morning he would ask the questions.

So, he puts down his turban and sword and goes to sleep.

The next morning he wakes up with the sunlight streaming in the cave with beautiful bird song and fresh air. He gets up, rubs his eyes to see the sage is not there. So, he walks out of the cave and goes to the edge of the cliff to see the glorious sight, he could see his whole kingdom from there. He was amazed to see his glorious kingdom and the beautiful sight brings a huge smile on his face.

In his palace every morning was so different, the first thing he gets is bad news, all his ministers and spies would come and tell him what wrong is going on and tension…tension…tension!

But as he is standing there on the edge of the cliff and admiring his kingdom, his heart just connects and realizes that this is why he is the king, to serve all these people.

Just then he realizes someone patting his shoulder, the king turns around to see the sage standing there, he has king's sword pointing at him and looking deeply into king's eyes and the sage says, “King, tell me, what is the most important time ? Who is the most important person ? & What is the most important thing to do ?”.

These three questions hit the king and a twinkle comes into his eyes. The sage realizes this man has got it, so he puts the sword down and says, “king, now you can go and rule your kingdom.”

That's the story!

Now you might be wondering, where are the answers ?

You should deeply think about these questions. If you were the king what will you say, standing on the cliff, sage pointing the sword at you?

1. What is the most important time?
All our concepts about time - past, future all that dissolves in the moment, there is only the NOW, all the thoughts vanished when the king saw the sword pointed at him. So, there is only the now, the present! everything else is a story and the quality of the story is the quality of our life.

2. Who is the most important person?
Some may say jokingly, “The guy pointing the sword” or some may say, “yourself” and that's correct, “the person you are with” is the right answer. But it happens upside down, when we are with someone we are preoccupied with ourselves, we are thinking about our own things, or what we are going to say & when we are on our own we think about other people.

So, the most important person is the person you're with. If you are own your own, you're the most important person at that point of time. If you're with someone, then that person is the most important person at that point of time.

3. What is the most important thing to do?
If you would like to discontinue receiving these messages Please reply DIS to this message Remember before the sage came, the king felt tremendous love and care for his kingdom. The most important thing to do is to love and care, be more kind. Even DalaiLama was asked, he said, “My religion is kindness” be kind to the people in your life.

*Live in the present, give your 100% to the person you're with and be more kind and caring. That's all is needed in life.*

Author Unknown

*Happy Sankranti, Pongal & Lohri*