Sunday, September 21, 2014

You are gonna die.. soon..



You'll wake up tomorrow morning, accomplish what you planned, probably more, probably less. you'll probably give up at some point, or succeed beyond your expectations. Oh yes and you'll definitely die, somewhere in your well planned future. Yes, as harsh and far fetched as it may sound, its the truth. No one lives forever. So,whats the point? Why hold on? It doesn't matter how hard we work, how much we give, we'll all decompose to some resourceful organic matter which won't have your name on it.

Everybody dies, not even Isaac Newton , or Albert Einstein or Michael Faraday or Steve Jobs or Nelson Mandela could escape such fate. But there is something different about these individuals, their names are immortal. Its like they never died because we feel their presence in every aspect of our lives. Perhaps that's the kind of death we should strive for. Perhaps that's what will make death a little less terrifying, perhaps nothing ever goes in vain, perhaps...

We wont all be as famous or as innovative as the above names and that's the point, we are all unique. We have the opportunity to make each other's lives better. Whether that means saving lives, teaching them, engineering useful machines, or simply putting a smile on someone's face. In some way your name becomes immortal to that and perhaps that is the point, perhaps that is what really matters.

As you go through life, people will tell you not to be ambitious, perhaps because they care that you will get
hurt when you loose, perhaps because they are actually bad people and do not want you to succeed. Either way, you should realise you are stronger than what they think. You are capable of so much more than you know.

Before you reject that project or pass that opportunity or even give in to procrastination, remember that you will die, pretty soon actually,  the legacy you leave behind is literally the decisions you make and literally what you do next. So rule of thumb, do your best,and do no evil (credits to Google's motto). You probably wont be the next Mark Zucherberg, or Thomas Edison, but perhaps that's what really matters, after all ...





Monday, September 8, 2014

Everybody lies...


We have a tendency to admire successful people. They are smart, hardworking, all-rounded , all the qualities we want for ourselves. Here's one thing you don't know about them, they are liars. They lie so much that it has become part of their subconscious. Of Course, they don't lie to the world, they lie to themselves.

Lying is not good, not by any standards and I don't advocate it at all. There is a different kind of lying, lying to yourself about yourself, its totally legal and its actually encouraged. You have a bad day lie to your subconscious that its a very good day that you don't want it to end. You are feeling incapable? Lie to yourself that you are so smart that worldly standards don't have a category for you.  This t
technique has worked for so many people.

Richard Feynman was a theoretical physicist who has been named among the top ten most influential physicists of all time; his name is mentioned of the likes of Einstein and Newton. But he had an average IQ of  126 (In comparison, Albert Einstein had an IQ of 160). The interesting part is that he knew about it, he took the IQ test while in high school. But he knew better than that, that he was smarter than any test could ever reveal. He went on to excel in Physics and Mathematics, producing theories people of 130 IQ would never dream of.

Its actually a trend in the scientific community. James Watson , the co discoverer of the human DNA had an IQ of mere 124. He failed to make 130 twice. E.O Wilson, the father of sociology has an IQ of 123. At this point, am starting to think if Newton took the test, we shouldn't something abnormally high.

So what's the missing link  between low IQ's and world class research? Between success and mediocrity? A little habit called lying aliased as faking. The IQ test reads low, lie that you have a higher IQ. You have only been shortlisted, lie that you actually got the job. Everything is going downhill, lie that life is so amazing that you have never been better. What have you to loose anyway?

Fake it till you make it. The adage never gets old. Some call it believing, some call it faking, some call it lying, whatever it is that you do to counter the negative self talk. Do it, the universe responds to that, that's simply the law of attraction. On that note, I too have a confession too! Life is not always amazing but I fake it until it is, after all everybody lies. Have an amazing week (or at least lie about it).