The Leader who had no title

     Just finished this book by one of my favorite author Robin Sharma.This book is about personal mastery and as the name suggests leading without title.The character Blake, who narrates the whole story is a salesman at a bookstore..He returns from the war and then faces the trauma and after war effects faced by the veterans.One fine morning he encounters his dead fathers friend Tommy, whose looks are sufficiently weird. The story starts from their and then Robin describes how Blake meets the four teachers and the principles they teach him.The book is about the philosophy of LWT , i.e. Lead Without Title.. One of  the interesting techniques used in the book is acronyms. The author gives acronyms for techniques that one has to learn to actually follow the principle.I think that is a very nice way of putting it as we can easily remember those.One of the things that Robin has in all his books is attention to details.He makes sure that we get all the details about the place, the person and the whole situation. That is something that helps us visualise the situation.When he introduces Tommy, he describes his appearsnce in detail, may that be the spngebob squarepants watch, mickey mouse handekerchief in his pocket or the LWT chain.

The four masters/teachers are excellent in their own fields and are succesful in their own terms.I wont give the the full form or the meaning of the acronym here..The book is a nice read and I would like you to read it and find out what those acronyms stand for!! Some of the sentences used in the book are really catchy and remain in your mind for a long time..

The four principles of reading without title are
1. You need no title to be a leader
2. Turbulent times build great leaders
3.The deeper your relationships, the stronger your leadership
4.To be a great leader, first become a great person

Let me leave you with acronyms, IMAGE, SPARK, HUMAN and SHINE..read the book and find it out yourself, what do they stand for!!

Valentine's Day..

          The special day is here!! The day to express our feelings to our loved one..To do something very very special for the special one..To remember that we are being loved..To remind people that we love them..I believe we should take such opportunities to express our feelings for everyone we love!!
         I just read about the origin of Valentine's day.Well you can read it on Wikipedia!!
         The point  I want to put is we realize  on only one day that we need to express our feelings.As my favorite author Robin Sharma says, express your feelings..In the famous movie Lage Raho Munnabhai, Sanjay Dutt, says it well in the dialogue when he says that he had a lot to say to his father, but never did that..Lets make it a point to express our feelings..To say I care for you(Its more about doing!! and not saying)..On this Valentine's Day lets say it to people whom we love, to people who matter, to people whom we care for..Happy Valentine's day..

UTD shuttle 883

    We have this UTD shuttle which runs around the campus and McCallum every 15 minutes.One of the bus drivers is a fantastic person..It seems he really loves his job..Every time when someone enters the bus, he does not forget to say "Come on in folks" with a very pleasant smile on his face..You feel fantastic because of the way he welcomes you..When you get down from the bus, he wishes you (again with that lovely smile) "stay warm" or "enjoy the sun" or "take care" or "enjoy the weekend" or simply "take care"..
    He is so caring and a true gentleman! He waits for students if he finds us running behind the bus..He is just a wonderful person..He makes the small journey (5 - 10 minutes) a very pleasant one..I truly want to thank him for that..
    There are some people who love their job and some who do their job..And it is always good to work with people who love their jobs..It feels nice to be with people who love their job..

NASA SPACE WEEKEND

    I am just back from Houston after a lovely weekend.As the name suggests it was a space weekend..The weekend was organised by International Students Incorporation..We were around 20 participants from the university.The Houston trip involved visiting the Johnson Space Center, Kemah..But most importantly, we had a chance to meet an astronaut, Randy Bresnik.I had read about him in the newspaper and knew him as an astronaut father but seeing him live was a great experience..He shared his experiences from space.Not only the technology part but also the fun part!!One of the fun things you can do is partying in space!!Anyone can reach anything on(?) the table without disturbing the other person!!You can dance the way you want!!
    I also got an opportunity to meet a wonderful family and get to know them.These people are just fantastic. As I was staying with them for the night, we got some time to talk and get to know each other.These people have gone through thick and thins of life.It is great to learn from their experiences..What can be more fascinating than learning from the people who you think are successful in every aspect of life..People who are ready to share their experiences..People who are very very caring and loving..I had great time with them.
   Surely it was not only space weekend but much more than that..

Martin Luther King Day

          Last Monday(16th), we all had a holiday.It was Martin Luther King Day.As we all know it is observed on the third Monday of January each year, which is around the time of King's birthday, January 15.And we had a nice event on campus related to that.The university hosted a breakfast on this occasion.
         We were really lucky to have a fantastic speaker.He spoke about his childhood and problems in the nation around that period of time and what was the impact of Martin Luther King's struggle. I sincerely suggest you to find the "I have a dream" speech and listen to it or read it.  

पाणी, चप्पल आणि तापलेली जमिन!!

       जेंव्हा जेंव्हा जमिन खूप तापलेली असते तेंव्हा आपल्याकडे दोन पर्याय असतात. एक म्हणजे आपण सोप्पा पर्याय आपल्या पायात चप्पल घालायची आणि रस्ता ओलांडायचा!! आणि दुसरा म्हणजे रस्त्यावर पाणी ओतायाच..खरतर शेवटी आपण इतकच बघतोय की आपले पाय भाजत नाहीत ना!!
       फरक आहे ना दोन्हीत? माझ्यासमोर अशाच प्रकारचा एक प्रश्न आला होता या आठवडयात!! मी काय केला ते जाउदे, मुद्दा असा आहे की अशावेळी आपण काय करायला हव..जमिन तापली आहे म्हणून पाणी घालत बसायच , सुर्याला दोष द्यायचा की चप्पल घालून रस्ता ओलांडून पुढे जायच ?
      तस बघायला गेल तर आपल्यासमोर असे प्रश्न रोज असतात, कधी लगेच तर कधी कालांतराने निर्णय घ्यावेच लागतात..कधी खरच पाणी घालायची गरज असते पण त्याचा फार काही उपयोग होईल अस दिसत नसत..कधी कधी वाद न घालता चप्पल घालून पुढे निघून जाण्यातच शहाणपण असत..ते त्या प्रसांगानुसार ठरवायला हव नाही का??

A night at airport!!

         After new year's blast in California the trip is not over yet..The adventure continues..Due to some unforeseen events, I am forced to spend a night at the airport!!
        Well its not I, its WE.Me and my friend..Finally one night at the airport!!Since childhood especially in the primary school, we all had a very irritating subject for essays in the language exams.."One hour at the railway station", "One hour at the bus stop"..I am sure all of us are "PRO" in writing this essay! One of my cousins has the essay so well prepared that he just changes terms according to the place whether its bus stop or its the railway station..Place 'train' in place of 'bus' or 'platform' in place of the 'bus stop' or 'ticket checker' on 'conductor' and his essay is ready!!
        Well I am not writing an essay right now..I hope this post is not giving you that feeling!Now lets get back to the LOS ANGELES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT..So as I said, due to some unforeseen events I had to take some flight early in the morning..So being a caring and loving friend, my friends did not let me go to the airport..And knowing him, I saw no point in arguing.. But I am really thankful to him for joining me there.. Its hard to imagine what would I have done for such a long time..
       So, we reached the airport in the night at around 10.30-11..Got the boarding passes..Then we had the whole night in front of us..Very Very excited..First I thought, its a great thing, finally we would be able to talk for a long long long time..So we went to the International terminal as their is no one at the domestic terminals in the night..Ok so, talking!!But then we realized we have no topics left to discuss the whole night..Then comes food..We grabbed some burgers and Fanta from McDonalds..Now we need a place where there is a charging station so that we can watch movies!! Well watching movies can be fun..There we realized, we have company!!There are many people here at the terminal..Most of them are sleeping..Some are chatting..Others are eating..Reading books!!And one guy who had been at the airport for last two days!!With no money and no food and no charging cord for his iphone!!
      This guys was going to UK, but due to some weather conditions, his flight had been delayed..And somebody had stolen his wallet too..He was exercising, listening to music, talking to almost everyone..He was different..He had been in the united states for almost 11 years now..He hardly did any schooling in India..But he has seen every Indian film..All the movies, the old ones, the new ones, the hit ones, the flop ones!!ALL THE MOVIES..Before meeting him, I thought I have enough knowledge about hindi movies and songs but I was totally wrong..He could sing any hindi song with the right lyrics..He was talking about the songs and movies which I had never heard of!! He was giving his american accent to the hindi songs!!Hats off to him..How can anyone be so passionate about movies!!But I must admit, we spent quite a time with him..
     In the morning, we returned to our terminal, I never thought there people actually get up and board flights at 4 in the morning..Then the security check!!After spending the whole night at the airport and after struggling very hard to make sure that everything gets into that small bag, if the officer opens your bag and removes your stuff, you fill awesome!! Finally we reached the gate and sat(almost slept) there for sometime before boarding the flight..
    Finally I can say, now I can write a good essay about a night at the airport!!