What ISHA has done and still doing to me?

Date: April 09, 2014: Let me tell you from the onset that Isha has done nothing that I can show. It has been a kind of inner transformation, a very slow and subtle process. Still, I will try to tell here, what Isha has done to me in about 1.5 years of my relation with it.

Isha has expanded my thinking. I now understand people, see beyond their personality…….I am able to relate to people. I think I have a better grasp/understanding of life now. I have started looking and appreciating at nature’s small-small miracles…...It feels like, from finite, I am becoming infinite. I am breaking my limitations, dropping them one by one. Now, I do what is needed and not what I like. Now I see life in a different way.

Also, Isha has infused devotion in me. And, it has taught me what stillness is. It has taught me humility. Now, I have no problem in bowing down in front of anything or anybody. Isha has given me patience and tolerance. I am able to better control my emotions. My ego is going down, I would not say that my ego has disappeared, but yes, it is going down. “I” is reducing in size and “We” is growing…….

I can say that education taught me how to make my living, Isha taught how to live. Many valuable lessons. Don’t know how to thank!

Importance of culture for an organization

Date 13 March: Most important asset of an organization is its culture. People come and go, products come and go, but culture remains. Second most important asset is its employees. It is the people who make an organization.

One can take away the organization’s employees, its products and its competitive edge, but culture is something that is deep rooted. If the culture remains intact, the company can start again from the scratch and reach wherever it wants.

The responsibility of maintaining the culture across the organization lies with the managers of the company. But, if the leadership of a company meddles with the culture, then that company, for sure, is doomed.

JAT: Just another thought.....

may 14, 2013

ok. here is a good thought that I would like to share. The thought- “people are not good or bad. They are just different. We call those, who are like us, good and those who are not like us, bad.” It is a simple but effective statement.

a drop of success! when??

May 02, 2013

Demotivated, depressed, disappointed with myself, without confidence, f***** up, that is what I am right now. why? because my career is stalled. but…..wait, wait, wait… this fact should not and cannot stop me from enjoying life. Why shud I let my shitty career destroy even my one second. I am not going to get the life again…………….YEAH YEAH

I failed in my mba pursuit, did not get promotion for five years , got ok rating during this year, am working with an inhuman boss. How many times does one fail before getting a drop of success.

Random thoughts

    Random thoughts

thought 1: Jokes should be cracked with mature people.

thought 2: people get mad for certain moments in their lives, but overall they are wonderful people. Try and look beyond these moments of madness.

My probable weaknesses that caused my failure at the B school

      My probable weaknesses that caused my failure at the B school

no leadership position in the job

no growth at the current job

poor LinkedIn profile

poor interview skills

round 2 application

project no. 3

March 26 2013

Objective: site clean up

Location: A vacant land opposite Alankrita restaurant.

update: have not contacted GHMC yet.

project no. 2

Objective: site clean up

Location: genome valley, turkapally, shamirpet

Background: I see this site everyday through  the bus window. It’s a very unpleasant site. I have decided to change it.

update: contacted GHMC guys to clean it up. made a call on GHMC helpline. They have noted down my name, address and concerns. Hopefully they (GHMC) will do something about it.

My first social impact project

    My first social impact project

Let me begin this post with a thought.I hear that india’s biggest problemis its population. I say that population is  not the problem, unproductive population is. It is like we have 125 crore machines and we are saying that this inventory is the the problem, if we talk in business sense, we are essentially saying that we have nmore machines/inventory that’s why we do not progress…….India’s biggest strength is its 250 crore hands.

March 18 2013, I got a phone no. of cantonment Board employee and requested him to clean the site. Next day, I passed by the site and saw that the site was unchanged and full of garbage.

It seems that municipal corporation employee Sudarashan has not understood the exact site that I requested him to clean. He has asked me to meet him on Saturday March 23 in Gandhi hall to discuss what and how of cleaning up.

March 24: By the time I reached Gandhi hall, Sudarashan had already left. I met his second-Balakrishna. Bala promised to clean the site by 30^th March. I asked him that we have to make sure that the site remains so once the cleaning is done.

Followers, Planners and the Doers

1    Followers, Planners and the Doers

I believe, broadly, that there are three kinds of people as far as problem solvers are concerned.

Firstly, I see around me many who are plain followers. This specie participates neither in planning nor in decision making. They have no ideas of their own. They just work on the commands they receive; they follow orders without applying mind. These comprise 60% of the people.

Then, there are idea givers. Free idea givers. They have solutions for almost all the problems and also know how to implement these solutions. However, they do not participate in the implementation of the solutions. Problem presented, solution given but not implemented. Job half done! These comprise 39% of the people.

Next are those who not only give the solution/ideas on solving issues but also take the ideas from the mind to the floor. These actually implement their ideas in solving the problem. These comprise 1% of the people.

In an organization, the higher the percentage of these doers, the higher will be the success.

anxiety at its peak

2) Nervous I AM???? yes of course….Yes I am anxious and nervous today, one day before my Kellogg interview. It is such a shitty feeling. I am not thinking or unable to think of anything else but my interview tomorrow. I have prepared for all possible questions, still I am nervous.

What if I succeed? That will be the happiest moment of my life. Moreover, there is a need to succeed in tomorrow’s interview. Why? Don’t know. Really, I don’t know. May be if I fail, the feeling will not be nice. Sometimes I imagine opening an email saying- “we regret to say that you will not be offered admission” for the class of 2015. I

ok, let me see what is my fear. I fear that I may feel extremely nervous and forget everything in front of the interviewer. I may sit blank in front of him. But, this has never happened in my entire life. I have always had an answer, right or wrong, but answered I have always. This reminds me of the famous oven-non oven joke when the interviewer asked me about woven and non-woven fabrics but I mistook it as oven and non –oven fabrics. So let us rule out the possibility of going blank.

Next, I may forget some of the things that I have prepared to tell him. This will result in the interviewer rating me average. But, what if the other students are rated below average? But let us think worse. I get the average rating and other candidates blow the interview. This will result in denial of admission. This, fact will be disclosed to me only by March 20. Why the hell then I am spoiling my today i.e., Feb 21.

Nothing that makes you anxious is worth pursuing. Nothing that makes you feel bad is worth doing. It is everybody’s right to live every moment of his life in joy and misery free. A single moment spent in misery is a great injustice to the life.

Now, after writing 339 words, I am feeling a bit better.

Thought negative? Now, let us try to be a bit positive. I

since  awhat If I fail.

Followers, Planners and the Doers

Followers, Planners and the Doers

I believe, broadly, that there are three kinds of people as far as problem solvers are concerned.

Firstly, I see around me many who are plain followers. This specie participates neither in planning nor in decision making. They have no ideas of their own. They just work on the commands they receive; they follow orders without applying mind. These comprise 60% of the people.

Then, there are idea givers. Free idea givers. They have solutions for almost all the problems and also know how to implement these solutions. However, they do not participate in the implementation of the solutions. Problem presented, solution given but not implemented. Job half done! These comprise 39% of the people.

Next are those who not only give the solution/ideas on solving issues but also take the ideas from the mind to the floor. These actually implement their ideas in solving the problem. These comprise 1% of the people.

In an organization, the higher the percentage of these doers, the higher will be the success.

gotta write on quite a few things happened in the last two weeks.

1) my srisailam trip

2) coimbatore trip to Isha Yoga center

3) Acupuncture science: working miracles

why kellogg?

Here are some of the reasons why I want to be at Kellogg:

A) Besides the experiential learning programs, the coursework, top ranked faculty, KIN, KWEST, JV, Nuvention Innovate for impact, and GIM, it is the account of students who have graduated from K tells about a strong bond that they develop with the entire ecosystem of the Kellogg. This makes me wonder what is there at Kellogg and makes me want to go there.

B) Alumni actually visit the kellogg campus to guide the current students on interview/job search process. It feels like people join kellogg as strangers but leave on becoming a family.

C) Since I want to make  a career in Tech strategy, Tech club Interview prep groups will be of immense help. I read on one of the blogs that these IPGs comprise 2nd year students who have either worked or have interned at tech firms. They guide you on recent industry trends, train you on skills required for tech jobs etc.

Hi,

Ross interview on Saturday! yes I am nervous, anxious, and  excited, all at the same time. One moment I am confident, the other I am loosing confidence.

I am doing a very elaborate preparation, I think.  I have made some slides on various topics my interviewer might interested  in. For example, a slide titled an example of team work; a slide on long & short term goals, slide on Why Ross, leadership example, and so on.

so here is me asking myself, why do I actually need an MBA?  Is it money? Nah!!, i dot want to eat gold biscuits, dont want expensive Armani suits, dont want mercedes or anything. Is it the authority, do I see it as a ticket to name and fame and success. yes , probably, Is it because I want to be surrounded by very smart people? yes? or is it the career growth? yes , this I am certain.

US and India: cultural differences (as told by Sandeep, my colleague at DuPont)

Difference no. 1: We (not all, I am not talking about the elite class who get to see travel the world and are English speaking) can burp in public but blow our noses in private. On the other hand, In US people   never burp in public but blow their noses everywhere.



Difference no. 2:  In India, it's a common sight to see people sharing food when they dine. This not only happens withing the families but also among the friends. Whereas, in US this practice is rare, non-existent. Probably, this has to do with the people in US are independent, isolated, and a bit cold as compared with the people from India.

Awful news!

Got a sad news today from the MIT. They denied me a position in the class of 2015.  324 seats and 4000 applicants was not too tough for me before the result was out.  But now, after the result, the competition seems insurmountable.

Now, I am having serious second thoughts about the Stanford. should I send app to the Stanford or not. 90% of me says- "you have no chance". 10% says -"may be they like you". what do I lose if I apply there? well $265 ~ Rs. 14, 500, that's the application fee.

Hey, in this sadness and gloom that has surrounded me, I am forgetting a very important lesson that failure teaches you more than a success. so what have I learnt? At least one thing that all my future applications will be better than the MIT's. I have to make them better. Also, this failure has given me the energy for the rest of my applications.

As I write, I think I should apply to the Stanford too, not caring about the results. If i fail, I will learn. If i succeed, there will be celebrations. Both ways, I will benefit. So here I go again to send rest of my applications!

Sandeep, a colleague, told me a story about this movie inspired from real life "everything is incredible". This man, paralyzed from waist, has a dream of making a helicopter and he does this in 58 years. That's a limit of perseverance and determination . And this is what I need right now!


G.

Here I am today, trying to write essays for Tepper and Ross. Unable to write, I am searching for the writer Gaurav in me. That's why I thought that I should write something here to activate/stimulate the writer in me.

I have been missing my kriya for three days straight. what to write??? ummmm.......

After thinking for 10 minutes, thinking what to write, got an idea. Let me write on the topic that i once thought i would write on. The topic is: "You will excel in sth you enjoy", or rather, "make your hobby your profession, you are bound to succeed". what we do in reality is make our work our hobby. we force ourselves to love the work we do, not realizing that love and hate can be forced upon you.

why we don't make our hobbies our professions. The simple reason is that we do not have hobbies in India.Only time we think about hobbies is when we have to fill a form that asks for hobbies. I remember asking a friend " whats your hobby". He took good 10 minutes to reply. I got my reply.

Now, the question arises why we dont have hobbies. I remember that my parents never had a hobby.
Just checked the dictionary definition of hobby- "Hobby: an activity or interest pursued for pleasure or relaxation and not as a main occupation"

Following are the problems Delhi is plagued with

Open manholes
Chaos of traffic on the roads
No red lights at certain intersections
People driving in the both direction on roads
Animals on the roads
Insufficient light on roads
One rain and the walls of bridges collapse
No water drainage during rains
Why there are electricity cuts when it rains
Broken roads
Violation of traffic rules
No lane system
People fear police

One bad news and my day is gone.

Wrote to poets and quants about my profile and asked them to evaluate my chances of getting into MIT Sloan, Haas, Kellog's , Stanford GSB and Ross and the reply I got spoiled rest of my day.

They say- "The XCS (extra curriculars) don't seem like a wow and 33 is on the older side. Those variables make me lean towards recommending you broaden your school list."

This is killing me.

Another negative on my side is that I have missed my first round deadlines of almost all schools.

Going for my Yoga Kriya. catch me later...