Saturday, January 18, 2014

Extraordinary.



Today, I will tell you a story; an ordinary story of an ordinary boy who lived an almost ordinary life.  He was born smart and exuded it even more in school. Curiosity and support drove him to read, read and read that at 16 he managed to pass Physics and Mathematics University entrance examinations.  This is the part where the story gets ordinary. Reality hit hard after he graduated from college, he couldn’t get a job.  All he wanted was a teaching post at a university. Well, every dream job is hard to find. It must have been a turn down considering he was THE genius since childhood.  After 2 years of unemployment, he got a job, not the dream job but still a job. He worked at the local patent office in Switzerland. He used this opportunity to play around with stuff. That is how he got to unveil the secrets of the universe. This ordinary boy was Albert Einstein.

“Have ambition but not too much, it’ll cost you” We hear this voice of mediocrity from almost all corners of life.  If the boy was not Einstein, this story would have a slightly quieter ending. Some other boy would simply listen to voice of mediocrity, live an ordinary life and leave an ordinary legacy.  Einstein, on the other hand, had passion and ambition.

We look at people like Einstein and think they were either superhuman of some sort or they were more talented. We look at legends like Dr. Ben Carson, Barrack Obama , Bill Gates  and immediately assume these people were born to succeed. They weren’t, they simply realized the power of the human brain and were confident enough to explore it. In short they had ambition and guts to ignore the voice of mediocrity.

I think there is nothing with a little ambition, nothing wrong shooting for the stars. Many will kill your ambition to ‘protect’ you from disappointment. Here’s the somewhat good news, everyone fails at some point and its’ no reason to quit. We might be fragile physically but mentally, we are stronger than we think.  Bring intention to your actions and everything will fall into place. As you keep with 2014 resolutions, hold onto that ambition no matter the circumstance, that’s you make change happen. 

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Making magic.


They say a New Year is supposed to bring some sort of magic. They say you get one wish on this day, a wish we want granted in the next year. Scientifically this doesn’t make the minutest of sense simply because nothing is expected to come out of nothing. But then again, as credible as science is, it can’t explain a lot of things, especially when the human mind is involved.
Truth is there’s nothing special about beginning a New Year. Technically, its’ just a day we change a digit of the date on a calendar conventionally made for our convenience. A new year could begin in February, June or even December; any day could mark the beginning of a new year. It is that moment when you make the decision to make life amazing and explore its magic.That is what makes it special.
I remember this day Tuesday 1st January 2013; I was sitting with a blank page trying to come up with realistic resolutions, so I wrote a list of everything I wanted to do. Excel academically, Build my character, make better lifestyle choices, oh yes and start a blog. I had an idea of a silent blog, fun, progressive, a blog that draws inspiration from science, blocks the noise we constantly we listen to and believes in humanity.  Now that I look back I think I did just fine. This blog has over 4500 pageviews, something I never expected. Yes, I've had accomplishments and disappointments too. But that’s life, failure is never the end but merely means to the end. The journey continues in 2014.
So, here’s 2014, am still staring at a blank page, just like 365 days ago. This time it’s not the same. This time, I actually believe in New Years’ resolutions, I’m not afraid to fail or take chances; I actually believe that life is amazing. There’s a common phrase that everyone uses on New Year, ‘New Year, New me’.  Well, I think I’m still the same old me, only bolder.
They say New Year is supposed to bring some sort of magic.  They forget that magic is all around us. We make magic in the choices and commitments we make. Here is a perfect moment to make that wish and make it come true, you got the magic. On this first day of the rest of your life, I would like to wish you an amazing new year.