Thou shall not get comfortable.

He is a straight A student, his family was probably not the richest but they can afford a luxurious lifestyle. What could else could he need? He has the ultimate life 'it' life you would call it, or not. Dont be surprised to find that he is the most hardworking person in the batch, and so we think he is crazy. A number of history legends fit into the shoes of this description, Isaac Newton, Bill Gates, you name them, look around and the list might overflow. These people are not crazy, they just know a little better than incubating in the comfort zone. 

Comfort zone is literally that place of comfort, where everything is pretty much where it needs to be.  We all love this zone, and our ultimate goal is probably to get comfortable. We pursue goals, when we succeed we get comfortable and when we fail we lower our expectations to get comfortable. The comfort zone is safe, its' warm, and cozy, which is not a bad thing in itself. We need that warm place to reenergise. The only downside to this zone is that it is marked by absolute zero life.

People measure success by how much they have, or appear to have. Successful people measure success by the rate at which they are moving. You don't need calculus to understand the difference between the two. What you have isn't good enough if it is currently depreciating or not growing at all. Stepping out of your comfort zone implies growing with every second, learning something new and facing each day with passion and enthusiasm.  Assets and material rewards are important but what really counts is what happens subconsciously as you acquire those rewards.

A Chinese proverb goes, "a man grows most tired while standing still" further pointing that the comfort zone is comfortable, but not in any way fun. I have a simple algorithm that has pushed me to places I never imagined, pursue goals, if you succeed, move on to new challenges; funny thing is even when you don't succeed you'll have to do the same. Life is too dynamic to settle for anything. Point is keep moving, life is most amazing out of the comfort zone.

The world needs you!

There is a common saying that goes, Be yourself, others are taken'.  It is true, only that it is not necessary. Scientifically speaking, we are made of over 20,000 genes. Different permutations of these genes produces an astronomical humans number of humans. That is from natural factors alone. Factoring in the influence of environment and culture on personality then we have an infinitely diverse pool. There shouldn't be a possibility that two people are the same. As Galileo put , we are indeed in between infinitesimals and indivisibles.

That being said, what exactly is being yourself? I'll tell you exactly what it is. It means fighting against your human nature. We naturally love to compare anything to anything, which is a good thing when it comes to products and objects as its the only way to know what's best. When it comes to humans, emotions tend to complicate things a bit. Being yourself means muting all that noise and looking inside you. It means competing with nobody but yourself and doing the best you can. When you think about it, its a bit scary, well, it is for me. No one else has had the combination of experiences and talents you have and no one else will. You are history in the making.

Think of the mathematician Leonhard Euler, in 1735 , after suffering from a fever, his eyesight began deteriorating towards total blindness. His story is funny cause Leonhard became even more productive thereafter, publishing more papers than before. Instead of whining about the illness, he compensated for it with his mental calculation skills. Stephen Hawking is another living proof that life is amazing. According to his physician's report 51 years ago he should have be dead now. He's not, he's actually considering a vacation in space and I do hope he will have it. We can name a lot of people who had to undergo a major transformation in their lives and turned it to something amazing. How did they do that?

We scientists love formulas and equations, we just throw in variables and an answer magically appears. Well, life is a bit more complicated, there are no formulas and there are no answers. Life is literally what we make of it. We can choose to stand on the shoulders of giants or whine after comparing ourselves to them. We can choose to panic at the circumstances we have or embrace them and make the most out of them. We can choose to be afraid or work on our fears instead. There is no formula to life, but if you learn from the giants, make a couple of mistakes and have a little bit of hope, you should be fine.

As you get to experience life you then realise you should be yourself not because its wiser or the right thing to do but because it is easier. Its easier to learn from people than envying them, its easier to appreciate than complain. So, yeah, others are actually taken, live your life, bring out the best in you because that is what the world needs. Have a you-some week!!

The clock is always ticking..

You know you have the ability, you also know that nothing is impossible under the sun, you have the passion, drive, determination to overcome an obstacle. There is always a but somewhere along those lines. Yes, but time is not enough, in fact its never enough to do all that we want to do. Statistics reveal that time rather than lack of confidence is the major reason people back out of challenges.It is a major challenge to fit everything into 24 hours.

Deadlines, there is a reason they are called so because they are truly killers. Living in the 21st century you can't really avoid deadlines. Truth be told, we live for deadlines. As much as we don't like them, deadlines are actually good. With our lazy human nature, deadlines can perhaps be the only way to get things done. The bad in deadlines comes when we live for them; studying under pressure to hand in an assignment is bad , studying to learn and apply something new not only lifts the fear of a deadline but also leads to a rewarding experience.

We all have 24 hours in a day. Guess what? so did Isaac Newton, Thomas Edison, Plato, Albert Einstein, Mother Theresa and everyone else you know. Leonardo da Vinci is a living proof that time can actually be enough to practice any profession you may want. He mastered all skills from painting to engineering in just 67 years. Their secret? Its simple, on reading their biographies I have learnt a pattern among these legends; One step at a time. They prefer to focus on one problem rather than scattering attention to whatever everyone is doing. There is a lot happening, a lot you have to do but at this time you can only do one thing so stick with it.  If a problem takes more time than expected, forget the deadline and stick with it. Castles are not built in one day!

We use time to solve problems but time is an even bigger one, it keeps popping up and the clock just never stops ticking, once lost time will never regained. Well, its a good thing because it makes us focus on what really matters. This world's biggest challenge is solved by three words, 'One step at a time', make a poster out of them, paint them on your wall if you can. Plan ahead, take the one step you can take right now and if it gets too overwhelming, relax, be grateful you are alive. Life is indeed amazing, have an amazing week ahead!

Life's basic algorithm

We don't need the second law of thermodynamics to know that the universe lacks order, we don't need the M-theory to realize  that life is not straight and that things happens at random. Fact is, no matter how much we try some things are just out of our control. Some things will just happen whether or not it is what we want. The amazing part is that life comes with a simple algorithm to ensure we are not as helpless.

Scientists have a lot to tell us, not only form their theories but also from their personal lives. Stephen Hawking, the smartest man alive is one of my huge role models.  At 21,when he was diagnosed with ALS, a deadly motor neuron disease and  was given 2 years to live . Like any other human he almost gave up on his studies and life in general, I know I would. But he learned for a to value every second of life, living everyday like it was the last day.
Today he stands at 72, physically weak but mentally strong, probably stronger than any other person alive,  a living testimony of mind over matter power . He couldn't control the fact that he got the disease but he could control how he dealt with it.

Magical isn't it. We have the ability to defy the laws of nature and it all lies in our minds. It all starts with accepting the situation and then doing something about it no matter how small. Soon enough your mind will take charge and you will be well on your way to regaining your control.

No path is ever clear as we might expect it to be. As amazing as it is, life gives us an algorithm that should sort everything out. It is simple as this: Something happened, is there anything you can do about it? If yes then do it already!! if no, don't waste your time and energy, adjust to the wind and you wont break. There is no point in fighting what you can't control. With this simple algorithm you should be well on your way to a productive week, have an amazing one!

It always seems impossible.

I know you are using an electronic device to read this article, a device you recharged using electricity generated miles and miles away. But take a moment and imagine you lived somewhere around 1910. You would probably be living in some remote village and the furthest you would ever dream of getting would be the next village unless of course you were prepared to spent days and months on a ship. If overseas countries went into war you would only hear about it after the war was over. You would marvel at the stars, the moon and the beautiful night sky with no hopes of ever unwinding their mysteries not to mention, touch them.

In less than a century, the rules have changed so much so that a 1930's civilian would never survive. Computers have completely changed our lifestyle, notorious humans have landed on the moon. Weird machines are out there seeking answers to our burning questions. We are flying across continents in a matter of hours, or fractions. At this point, you can imagine what it'll be like a century or 50 years from now. Mind boggling, isn't it.

That my friend, is how it all starts, the journey begins when it seems too impossible to achieve. When you start to imagine the exciting end result even though it sounds crazy when you say it loud. Some people imagine, savor that possibility and that's all they ever do, some imagine it but get overwhelmed by the obstacles so end up resenting that imagination. The survivors, the winners are those who already see the results, they work at it until it gets real. Uncertain? Of course they are, so much could go wrong but they stand strong working from plan A to Z. They enjoy the journey, they stick with it until the world responds. That my friend is how change happens, how history is made, how nothing yields something.

 I always give stories of historical men who walked the earth but today I'd like you to look inside you. Remember the last meaningful achievement you made, doesn't matter how small. Whether it was loosing 5 pounds or getting a promotion or acing a test or even doing your laundry on time. Remember how good it felt, didn't you want to feel that way for the rest of your life? I know I do. Life is amazing and it allows you to feel that way everyday; by taking small steps and challenging yourself until something happens. That feeling is priceless so remember it the next time you shy of an opportunity.


 The late legendary Nelson Mandela left us with a witty quote that I keep reciting to myself every now and then. "It always seems impossible until it is done", damn right it does. I hereby challenge you to take the first step and enjoy the journey, I promise you it will be amazing.

Do it anyway!

Sometimes life is too uncertain to believe, too opaque to see the big picture. But you know what, it still is amazing. It is in those low moments, that we need the wise words of Kent M. Keith. 

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth.Give the world the best you have anyway.




It is a long poem, but you have read it anyway ...:) . May your week have an amazing start. 

If I had a time travel.

You might think the idea of a time travel is another one of those puerile ideas scientists come up with to prove just how weird they are. Its probably true, but as long as there is a  possibility its only a matter of time before the government starts taxing trips through time. Like any other positive thinker I already have a list. A list of stops I'll make as I make my trip through time.

  I don't know if watching philosophers makes you wise, but I'm hoping it does. It is why I will stop at centuries before Christ. Perhaps I'll absorb the minds of Plato, Aristotle, Aristarchus and Archimedes just simply  observing them. I have a  likening for smart minds so I would have would admire the smart minds of Egyptians and Babylonians, the minds that invented Algebra. It is my hope that I'll swallow their thought process.

   Next stop would be the 17th century, to catch up with my buddy (in a parallel universe) Isaac Newton. I think I will spend years there. There's a lot to learn here. All the way from half my Physics textbook to the real stories behind them, to the brain behind them. Newton is a living proof that you don't have to be loud or normal to make an impact. 

   Thereafter I would have to meet Michael Faraday, the black smith's son who later refused the prestigious position of President of the Royal Society of Britain. This man's life will re instill in me the fact that passion is the real key to sucess not even finances can get in the way. 

   Next stop would be 20th century. I will of course pay tribute to the big names of Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking and Steve Jobs among others. I also wouldn't want to miss out on the really extraordinary people; Mother Teresa who believed in the power of small, Jessica Cox, who is a living proof that we can't make excuses to achieve what we want.

   All these people were pretty ordinary, they didn't have 25 hours in a day and neither did they eat special manna from heaven. Everything about them was just ordinary, in fact if I hadn't seen their familiar faces, am pretty sure they wouldn't stand out from the crowd. I guess that's what makes life amazing, when extraordinary is borne of ordinary, or even less than ordinary.  Through passion, perseverance and persistence they have built something, broken barriers and lived miracles.

 Am not sure if the time travel will travel to the future but I would like to leave that a mystery. I would come back to now, a messy world where the real adventure happens. I don't know how this experience will affect me but am pretty sure I will be wiser. Every obstacle will just seem so small compared to what these giants had to live through.

   Here I am, with so many possibilities for the future, with opportunities Newton never dreamed of and visions of a professional dreamer. I guess that that's enough because if there is anything I am certain of is that, there is nothing wrong with wanting things you can't see.