The stone that caused the ripple does not see the ripple touch the distant shore. But had it not been for the stone there would have been no ripple at all.

 

I have always tried to live by the thought that I will not allow what is not in my control to prevent me from doing what is in my control. To do what I can in any situation without worrying about what I can't.

 

Dreams are the language of the soul when it talks to us

To show us what we are capable of doing.

Then it watches in silence as we make the choices.

Sometimes we live the dream

And the soul is happy to find fulfillment.

At other times we let go of the dream because we are afraid.

Then the soul cries silent tears.

For you don’t fail when you fall.

You fail when you refuse to get up.

Over the years I have tried to document the journey of my life. The challenges I faced, the way I overcame them. The opportunities that came my way and what I did with them; some I was able to capitalize on and some I missed. Especially I tried to document those challenges that I deliberately chose to face, for they opened doors for me that I would not have believed possible.

As I lived my life, I have been keenly aware of and most grateful for all the good fortune that has come my way. I consider myself particularly blessed in that there were several things that I was desperately eager to do but which for some reason, were blocked for me. I tried every trick in the book and some others besides, to no avail. I prayed so hard that if I had prayed that hard for the sand to turn to gold it would have. But in this case my prayers remained unanswered. Naturally I felt very discouraged and dismayed. But I also learnt to accept the decision of my Lord. And life went on, I took new decisions in the light of the given circumstances and my life took a different turn from the one that I had initially wished for it. Today with 20:20 hindsight, I am profoundly grateful to Allah that He did not allow me to do what I wanted. In the words of Sayyidina Ali (RA): I recognized my Lord by the breaking of my resolve.

Allah said: 2:216- It may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allâh knows but you do not know.

 This site is to share some of that learning with anyone who is interested. I consider myself to be an ordinary person. I was born in a very honorable family but which at that time had very little money or influence. So our life was of a standard which today would have been called middle class and that too tending towards the lower end of it. But my parents took decisions about priorities, about what to give importance to in life, which decided the path of our destiny. For this I am very grateful to them.

I consider myself an ordinary person, born in ordinary circumstances, living a life like anyone else. The only difference is that I always tried to live it consciously and with as clear an intention as possible, to achieve results. I always asked myself (and I continue in this) after every event, every incident, every decision; 'What did I learn?' Some learnings were not pleasant or flattering. Others made me feel proud of what I had done. But there was always learning. 

As you read this, if you hover your pointer over the headers it will direct you to the different blogs that talk about various stages of my life. Do read them, share my dreams, comment and if you find anything useful, tell me how you used it. 

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I hope that when you read what I write you will come to the conclusion that there is nothing in this world that can stop you from succeeding. I have always believed that the only thing that stands in the way of a man or woman and what they want to achieve is their will to try. All my life I have seen this belief justified time and again. I hope you will see the truth of this, that anyone from any circumstances in life, can choose to exercise leadership. And that if they do it with positive and moral intentions, behave with honor and work to a clear strategy, take feedback and are willing to change and adapt, then they will leave a legacy that honors their memory. Success is not measured by whether you achieved your goals or not. Success is measured by the result of your effort. After all Hitler, Modi and Bush were all successful. So were Gandhi, Mandela and Mother Teresa. We are free to choose our own role models.

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Three of these learnings were most important and are the reason for this writing:

 

1.    It not who we are but what we do, that counts. So our mindset must change from 'What can I get?' to 'What can I give?' - From Consumption to Contribution. So we need to ask, 'What do I want to be remembered for?'

2. Anything done with a clear intention and according to a system gives value added benefits. As in the case of the Yogic breathing technique called Pranayam; a person breathes the same air, through the same nose, yet he gets value added benefits because he/she breathes consciously and according to a system.

3. Sharing increases knowledge. I have tried to practice this throughout my life and have shared whatever I know freely and without hesitation. Such sharing often came back to me with the learning of others added onto it. For this I am profoundly grateful to those who took the trouble to complete the loop.