Pace Vs. Potential

Have you ever noticed a strange thing when you get off the highway onto an off ramp or side road? On the highway you're doing about 100 miles an hour, and the speed limit on the side road says 60 miles an hour. You hit the brakes, and think you may have slowed down to 60mph. Yet, you're still doing 80mph. Horrors! You were sure you'd slowed down enough and yet you haven't.

You're experiencing pace vs. potential.

If you were driving at 60mph before you hit the off ramp, you'd do 60mph quite easily. It's because you were oh-so-fast, that you ended doing an 80. But how the heck are you going to ever do an 80 in your life, if you don't hit 100?

Because when you're on 100, even your hit-the-brake speed is a good 80.

People hate to be pushed

They want to go at their own pace. They believe they know what's good for them. Yet your life is like a car. You don't know your potential till you really hit the accelerator. You don't know how far you can go unless you hit feel the tires steaming up.

Look around you. The little ol' lady in the next lane is still getting to her destination, but she'll get there whenever. At her own pace. Pace is great. But potential, ah...now that's when you really know the stuff you're made of.



Which is why Tiger Woods has a coach

Which is why Tiger is the best golfer in the world. Because his coach knows the pace of Tiger. But the coach pushes Tiger to his potential.

The difference between pace and potential isn't always a big gap. Try it. It will make a world of a difference in both your business as well as your personal life.

Summary:
Pace is good. But pace is you. And goodness gracious, you don't really know yourself as well as you think you do.
Potential is when you hit the accelerator. When you find what is really possible to achieve. Once you know what you can achieve you're breaking the speed limit.
Tiger is naturally talented. Yeah right. So are a squillion other golfers. The difference between Tiger and the others is Tiger doesn't keep to the pace of the others. He keeps stretching his own potential. You should too.
What is Your Potential?

We Can Make A Difference!!!

Indeed a pleasure connecting with all the sacred souls through this magazine.

There are so many thoughts that come to me while I sit and write. May be I should write all the wonderful sounding big things that speak a lot but do not give access to yourself. May be I should have the courage  and tough love to ask you some critical questions or maybe I should just connect  to your hearts and ask you…as you read this magazine today..

It gives me immense joy and sense of fulfillment when I look back during my high school days. As and when I recall a small little story “it makes a difference”, I ask myself am I practicing the value I learnt during my school days.

 The story goes like this:-

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like dancer. As hegot closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young  man, and that what he was doing was not dancing  atall. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out “Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?”

The young man paused, looked up, and replied ‘Throwing starfish into the ocean.’

I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean? ‘asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean, as it met the water, hesaid, “It made a difference for that one”.

The wise man spent the morning throwing starfish.-Loren Elseley

Do I exhibit the values I learnt like the wise man from my teachers? If I ask the same question to all of you, will the answer come in affirmative?

I was intrigued when prime minister NarendraModi in his maiden Independence day speech uttered the words:-“sangachchhdhvamsamvadadhvamsamwomanansijanataam”,We Walk together, we move together, we think together, we resolve together and together we take this country forward”. Amazing thought I said to myself once I listened it.Can i request you toplease read the sentence as let’s walk together, let’s move together, let’s think together and let’s resolve together and let’s take this country forward.

Let’s all commit to living a life of passion and commitment.

My optimism says we all can make a difference to humanity in our own unique way.

May Lord bless Maharaja High School to spread wisdom and right values till eternity.

Open to feedback :

KalidashAchari,e-Mail:-k.kalidash@gmail.com,Mob-9583144405

Manger Learning &Development,Max Life Insurance 

NB.Published in a magazine..

The Secret of Happiness

by Steve Brunkhorst, © Copyright 2004

The old man shuffled slowly into the restaurant. With head tilted, and shoulders bent forward, he leaned on his trusty cane with each unhurried step.

His tattered cloth jacket, patched trousers, worn out shoes, and warm personality made him stand out from the usual Saturday morning breakfast crowd. Unforgettable were his pale blue eyes that sparkled like diamonds, large rosy cheeks, and thin lips held in a tight, steady smile.

He stopped, turned with his whole body, and winked at a little girl seated by the door. She flashed a big grin right back at him. A young waitress named Mary watched him shuffle toward a table by the window.

Mary ran over to him, and said, "Here, Sir. Let me give you a hand with that chair."

Without saying a word, he smiled and nodded a thank you. She pulled the chair away from the table. Steadying him with one arm, she helped him move in front of the chair, and get comfortably seated. Then she scooted the table up close to him, and leaned his cane against the table where he could reach it.

In a soft, clear voice he said, "Thank you, Miss. And bless you for your kind gestures."

"You're welcome, Sir." She replied. "And my name is Mary. I'll be back in a moment, and if you need anything at all in the mean time, just wave at me!"

After he had finished a hearty meal of pancakes, bacon, and hot lemon tea, Mary brought him the change from his ticket. He left it lay. She helped him up from his chair, and out from behind the table. She handed him his cane, and walked with him to the front door.

Holding the door open for him, she said, "Come back and see us, Sir!"

He turned with his whole body, winked a smile, and nodded a thank you. "You are very kind." he said softly.

When Mary went to clean his table, she almost fainted. Under his plate she found a business card, and a note scribbled on a napkin. Under the napkin was a one hundred dollar bill.

The note on the napkin read...

"Dear Mary, I respect you very much, and you respect yourself too. It shows by the way you treat others. You have found the secret of happiness. Your kind gestures will shine through those who meet you."

The man she had waited on was the owner of the restaurant where she worked. This was the first time that she, or any of his employees had ever seen him in person.

Note: This story is based on actual events experienced by a friend from St. Paul, Minnesota. The note is the exact wording on the napkin that she has kept in her scrap book for fifteen years.

The Mouse Trap

A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package.

What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"

The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."

The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The pig sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers."

The mouse turned to the cow and said "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose."

So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone.

That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital, and she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient.

But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer's wife did not get well; she died. So many people came for her funeral; the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in the wall with great sadness.

The next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember -- when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage and help one another.

Dreams

The first day of college our professor introduced himself and challenged us to get to know someone we didn't already know. I stood up to look around when a gentle hand touched my shoulder. I turned around to find a wrinkled, little old lady beaming up at me with a smile that that lit up her entire being.

She said, "Hi, handsome. My name is Rose. I'm eighty-seven years old. Can I give you a hug?" I laughed and enthusiastically responded, "Of course you may!" and she gave me a giant squeeze. "Why are you in college at such a young, innocent age?" I asked. She jokingly replied, "I'm here to meet a rich husband, get married, have a couple of children, and then retire and travel." "No seriously," I asked. I was curious what may have motivated her to be taking on this challenge at her age. "I always dreamed of having a college education and now I'm getting one!" she told me.

After class we walked to the student union building and share a chocolate milkshake. We became instant friends. Every day for the next three months we would leave class together and talk nonstop. I was always mesmerized listening to this "time machine" as she shared her wisdom and experience with me.

Over the course of the year, Rose became a campus icon and she easily made friends wherever she went. She loved to dress up and she reveled in the attention bestowed upon her from the other students. She was living it up. At the end of the semester we invited Rose to speak at our football banquet. I'll never forget what she taught us. She was introduced and stepped up to the podium. As she began to deliver her prepared speech, she dropped her three by five cards on the floor. Frustrated and a little embarrassed she leaned into the microphone and simply said, "I'm sorry I'm so jittery. I gave up beer for Lent and this whiskey is killing me! I'll never get my speech back in order so let me just tell you what I know."

As we laughed she cleared her throat and began: "We do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop playing. There are only four secrets to staying young, being happy, and achieving success. "You have to laugh and find humor every day. You've got to have a dream. When you lose your dreams, you die. We have so many people walking around who are dean and don't even know it!" "There is a huge difference between growing older and growing up. If you are nineteen years old and lie in bed for one full year and don't do one productive thing, you will turn twenty years old. If I am eighty-seven years old and stay in bed for a year and never do anything I will turn eighty-eight. Anybody can grow older. That doesn't take any talent or ability. The idea is to grow up by always finding the opportunity in change." "Have no regrets. The elderly usually don't have regrets for what we did, but rather for things we did not do. The only people who fear death are those with regrets." She concluded her speech by courageously singing The Rose. She challenged each of us to study the lyrics and live them out in our daily lives. At the years end Rose finished the college degree she had begun all those years ago.

One week after graduation Rose died peacefully in her sleep. Over two thousand college students attended her funeral in tribute to the wonderful woman who taught by example that it's never too late to be all you can possibly be.

Love you Rose as always i ll..

There are many messages in this story: you are never too old to learn, always pursue your dreams, you are never too old to set your goals and accomplish your dreams, laugh and find humor in everyday, find opportunities in change, especially in today's world where change is moving at a fast pace, don't let change overwhelm you, let change help you find opportunities you may have never seen! have no regrets - her story is so true, so many people use words such as "if only", "I wish", "I can't", etc. Do you have a dream, a wish, then turn it into a goal today - break it down, take one step, then another and accomplish your dream.

Building Your House

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisurely life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. He would miss the paycheck each week, but he wanted to retire. They could get by.

The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go & asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work, his employer came to inspect the house. Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said, "This is your house... my gift to you."

The carpenter was shocked!

What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then, with a shock, we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we would do it much differently.

But, you cannot go back. You are the carpenter, and every day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Someone once said, "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Your attitude, and the choices you make today, help build the "house" you will live in tomorrow. Therefore, Build wisely!

How i live my life..

How Are You Living Your Life?

We Are Not In Control Of Destiny

Any minute, any second we could lose someone we know. We are not in control of our life's destiny.

How we live our life, while we are here in this world, is what counts. How we share, help and touch someone else's life is what counts. It's not all about you, it's not all about me but it's about a continuous circle of giving.

I have always said that nothing lasts forever and I mean NOTHING. I go through my own life without having expectations.

I have always been the type of person who has appreciated the simple things in life ... my friends... my family... and when I wake up each day, I think about what I can do for someone today.

I may not have much but what I can give comes from the heart. I have two shoulders for you to lean on, two ears that will listen and two arms to wrap around you in times of comfort.

People may come and go in our lives, but they leave their footprints within each of us.

Memories are what we continue to make through a lifetime and they become a part of us. Those memories will always be there for us to reflect upon. In a period of time we are allowed to connect to others who make our day somehow a little brighter.

People come into our lives for a season and a reason and even if it is for a short period of time, they give our life meaning.