Initiative

Employee "A" in a company walked up to his manager and asked what my job is for the day? The manager took "A" to the bank of a river and asked him to cross the river and reach the other side of the bank. "A" completed this task successfully and reported back to the manager about the completion of the task assigned. The manager smiled and said "GOOD JOB"

Next day Employee "B" reported to the same manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task as above to this person also. The Employee "B' before starting the task saw Employee "C" struggling in the river to reach the other side of the bank. He realized "C" has the same task. Now "B" not only crossed the river but also helped "C" to cross the river. "B" reported back to the manager and the manager smiled and said "VERY GOOD JOB"

The following day Employee "Q" reported to the same manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task again. Employee "Q" before starting the work did some homework and realized "A", "B" & "C" all has done this task before. He met them and understood how they performed. He realized that there is a need for a guide and training for doing this task. He sat first and wrote down the procedure for crossing the river, he documented the common mistakes people made, and tricks to do the task efficiently and effortlessly. Using the methodology he had written down he crossed the river and reported back to the manager along with documented procedure and training material. The manager said "Q" you have done an "EXCELLENT JOB".

The following day Employee "O' reported to the manager and asked him the job for the day. The manager assigned the same task again. "O" studied the procedure written down by "Q" and sat and thought about the whole task. He realized the company is spending a lot of money in getting this task completed. He decided not to cross the river, but sat and designed and implemented a bridge across the river and went back to his manager and said, "You no longer need to assign this task to anyone". The manager smiled and said "Outstanding job 'O'. I am very proud of you."

What is the difference between A, B, Q & O? Many a times in life we get tasks to be done at home, at office, at play.,

Most of us end up doing what is expected out of us. Do we feel happy? Most probably yes. We would be often disappointed when the recognition is not meeting our expectation. Let us compare ourselves with "B". Helping someone else the problem often improves our own skills. There is an old proverb (I do not know the author) "learn to teach and teach to learn". From a company point of view "B" has demonstrated much better skills than "A" since one more task for the company is completed.

"Q" created the knowledge base for the team. More often than not, we do the task assigned to us without checking history. Learning from other's mistake is the best way to improve efficiency. This knowledge creation for the team is of immense help. Re-usability reduces cost thereby increases productivity of the team. "Q" demonstrated good "team-player" skills,

Now to the outstanding person, "O" made the task irrelevant; he created a Permanent Asset to the team.

If you notice B, Q and O all have demonstrated "team performance" over and above individual performance; they have also demonstrated a very invaluable characteristic known as "INITIATIVE".

Initiative pays off everywhere whether at work or at personal life. If you have initiative you will succeed. The initiative is a continual process and it never ends. This is because this year's achievement is next year's task. You cannot use the same success story every year. The story provides an instance of performance, whereas measurement needs to be spread across at least 6-12 months. Consequently, performance should be consistent and evenly spread. Out-of-Box thinkers are always premium and that is what everyone constantly looks out for. The initiative, Out-of-Box thinking, and commitment are the stepping stone to success.

The initiative should be lifelong. Think out of the box!

The $100 story that will simply captivate you

A tourist walks into a curio shop in San Francisco. Looking around at the exotica, he notices a very lifelike, life-sized bronze statue of a rat. It has no price tag But is so striking he decides he must have it.

He takes it to the owner: "How much for the bronze rat?" "Twelve dollars for the rat, one hundred dollars for the Story," says the owner.

The tourist gives the man twelve dollars. "I'll just take the rat, you can keep the story."

As he walks down the street carrying his bronze rat, he notices that a few real rats crawl out of the alleys and sewers and begin following him down the street. This is disconcerting; he begins walking faster. But within a couple of blocks, the herd of rats behind him grows to hundreds, and they begin squealing. He begins to trot toward the Bay, looking around to see that the rats now numbered in the MILLIONS, and are still squealing and coming towards him faster and faster.

Concerned, even scared, he runs to the edge of the Bay and throws the bronze rat as far out into the Bay as he can. Amazingly, the millions of rats all jump into the Bay after it and are all drowned. The man walks back to the curio shop.

"Ah ha," says the owner, "You have come back for the Story?"

"No," says the man, "I came back to see if you have a statue of a politician in bronze!!

How I wish we had so called politicians statue!!!!!!!

The Weed Thought

There was once an earnest gardener who loved his work and his produce. One day he was walking through his delightful garden and happened to notice a weed. The gardener was particularly tired so he decided to leave it.

The next day he had to leave to visit his relatives in another country for two weeks. When he came back, the back yard was covered in weeds and all his produce was dead!

REFLECTION

Likewise, if we allow just one bad thought in our head and fail to remove it, it will sprout and instead of having to pick one weed, we will have too much to control.

If we destroy our negative thoughts, by allowing positive ones to grow, they will display in our personality like a beautiful garden.

Thats the power of positive thought. We are, what our thoughts are.
We should always entertain only good and positive thoughts in our mind and never give way for anything negative!

Be alert and conscious of your thoughts and pick out the weeds of your negative thoughts consciously and quickly, at the right moment--

Haste in doing good deeds

There was once a brahmin couple in Savatthi, who had only one outer garment between the two of them. Because of this, they were also known as Ekasataka. As they had only one outer garment, both of them could not go out at the same time. So, the wife would go to listen to the discourse given by the Buddha during the day and the husband would go at night. One night, as the brahmin listened to the Buddha, his whole body came to be suffused with delightful satisfaction and he felt a strong desire to offer the outer garment he was wearing to the Buddha. But he realized that if he were to give away the only outer garment he had, there would be none left for him and his wife. So he wavered and hesitated. Thus, the first and the second watches of the night passed. Came the third watch and he said to himself, "If I am so miserly and hesitant, I will not be able to avoid falling to the four Lower Worlds (apayas); I shall now offer my outer garment to the Buddha." So saying, he placed the piece of cloth at the feet of the Buddha and cried out "I have won" three times.

King Pasenadi of Kosala, who was among the audience, heard those words and ordered a courtier to investigate. Learning about the brahmin's offering to the Buddha, the king commented that the brahmin had done something which was not easy to do and so should be rewarded. The king ordered his men to give the brahmin a piece of cloth as a reward for his faith and generosity. The brahmin offered that piece of cloth also to the Buddha and he was rewarded by the king with two pieces of cloth. Again, the brahmin offered the two pieces of cloth to the Buddha and he was rewarded with four.

 Thus, he offered to the Buddha whatever was given him by the king, and each time the king doubled his reward. When finally, the reward came up to thirty-two pieces of cloth, the brahmin kept one piece for himself a King Pasenadi of Kosala, who was among the audience, heard those words and ordered a courtier to investigate. Learning about the brahmin's offering to the Buddha, the king commented that the brahmin had done something which was not easy to do and so should be rewarded. The king ordered his men to give the brahmin a piece of cloth as a reward for his faith and generosity. The brahmin offered that piece of cloth also to the Buddha and he was rewarded by the king with two pieces of cloth. Again, the brahmin offered the two pieces of cloth to the Buddha and he was rewarded with four. Thus, he offered to the Buddha whatever was given him by the king, and each time the king doubled his reward. When finally, the reward came up to thirty-two pieces of cloth, the brahmin kept one piece for himself and another for his wife, and offered the remaining thirty pieces to the Buddha.

Then, thinking again commented that the brahmin had truly performed a very difficult task and so must be rewarded fittingly. The king sent a messenger to the palace to bring two pieces of velvet cloth, each of which was worth one hundred thousand and gave them to the brahmin. The brahmin made those two pieces of valuable cloth into two canopies and kept one in the Perfumed Chamber where the Buddha slept and the other in his own house above the place where a bhikkhu was regularly offered alms-food. When the king next went to Jatavana monastery to pay homage to the Buddha, he saw the velvet canopy and recognized it as the offering made by the brahmin and he was very pleased. This time, he made a reward of seven kinds in fours (sabbacatukka), viz., four elephants, four horses, four female slaves, four male slaves, four errand boys, four villages and four thousand in cash.

When the bhikkhus heard about this, they asked the Buddha, "How is it that, in the case of this brahmin, a good deed done at present bears fruit immediately?" To them the Buddha replied "If the brahmin had offered his outer garment in the first watch of the night, he would have been rewarded with sixteen of each kind; if he had made his offering during the middle watch, he would have been rewarded with eight of each kind; since he had made his offering only during the last watch of the night, he was rewarded with only four of each kind." So, when one wants to give in charity, one should do so quickly; if one procrastinates, the reward comes slowly and only sparingly. Also, if one is too slow in doing good deeds, one may not be able to do it at all, for the mind tends to take delight in doing evil.

Then the Buddha spoke in verse as follows: Verse 116: One should make haste in doing good deeds; one should restrain one's mind from evil; for the mind of one who is slow in doing good tends to take delight in doing evil.

Daughter Joins The Same Court As A Judge Where Her Father Sells Tea!

Surinder Kumar has worked as a tea seller all his life. As an owner of a tea shop right across the court, Surinder has been serving people tea at the complex of the sub-divisional magistrate in Nakodar (Jalandhar district), for years. But little did he know that one day his daughter would walk through the doors of the same court as a judge!

23-year-old Shruti passed the Punjab Civil Services (Judicial) Examination in the first attempt, and after a year's training at the academy, she is now ready to pronounce judgments and bring some justice to the world.

A resident of Nakodar town of Punjab, Surinder has worked as a tea seller all his life. His 23-year-old daughter, Shruti, passed the Punjab Civil Services (Judicial) Examination in the first attempt, and topped in the SC category. After finishing her training at the judicial academy for a year, she is now set to serve as a judge. She completed her graduation from Guru Nanak Dev University, and went on to study law from Punjab University.

“I always wanted to be associated with the legal profession. I wanted to be a judge. I sat for the examination and stood first in the SC category,” Shruti told Deccan Herald.

The locals felicitated Shruti for this achievement. Like many fathers, Surinder Kumar also knew that his daughter would achieve something remarkable in her life, but he had never thought that she would get such a respectable position at the same place where he had been selling tea for many years now.

BROTHERLY LOVE

I have a brother who is 3 years younger than me. I wanted to buy a handkerchief, which all girls around me seemed to have. So, one day I stole 50 cents from my father's drawer. Father had discovered about the stolen money right away. He made me and my younger brother kneel against the wall as he held a bamboo stick in his hand. 'Who stole the money?' he asked. I was stunned, too afraid to talk. Neither of us admitted to the fault, so he said, 'Fine, if nobody wants to admit, you two should be beaten!' He lifted up the bamboo stick. Suddenly, my younger brother gripped father's hand and said, Dad, I was the one who did it!'

The long stick smacked my brother's back repeatedly. Father was so angry that he kept on whipping my brother until he lost his breath. After that, he sat down on our stone bed and scolded my brother, 'You have learned to steal from your own house now. What other embarrassing things will you are possibly doing in the future?
You should be beaten to death, you shameless thief!' That night, my mother and I hugged my brother. His body was full of wounds from the beating but he never shed a single tear. In the middle of the night, all of sudden, I cried out loudly. My brother covered my mouth with his little hand and said, Sis, now don't cry anymore. Everything has happened.' I still hate myself for not having enough courage to admit what I did. Years went by, but the incident still seemed like it just happened yesterday.

I will never forget my brother's expression when he protected me. That year, my brother was 8 years old and I was 11 years old. When my brother was in his last year of secondary school, he was accepted in an upper secondary school in the central. At the same time, I was accepted into a university in the province. That night, father squatted in the yard, smoking, packet by packet. I could hear him ask my mother, 'Both of our children, they have good results? Very good results?' Mother wiped off her tears and sighed,' What is the use? How can we possibly finance both of them?'

At that time, my brother walked out, he stood in front of father and said, 'Dad, I don't want to continue my study anymore, I have read enough books.' Father swung his hand and slapped my brother on his face. 'Why do you have a spirit so damn weak? Even if it means I have to beg for money on the streets, I will send you two to school until you have both finished your studies!' And then, he started to knock on every house in the village to borrow money. I stuck out my hand as gently as I can to my brother's swollen face, and told him, 'A boy has to continue his study; if not; he will not be able to overcome this poverty we are experiencing. ' I, on the other hand, had decided not to further my study at the university. Nobody knew that on the next day, before dawn, my brother left the house with a few pieces of worn-out clothes and a few dry beans. He sneaked to my side of the bed and left a note on my pillow; 'Sis, getting into a university is not easy. I will go find a job and I will send money to you.' I held the note while sitting on my bed, and cried until I lost my voice. That year, my brother was 17 years old; I was 20 years old. With the money father borrowed from the whole village, and the money my brother earned from carrying cement on his back at a construction site, finally, I managed to get to the third year of my study in the university.

One day, while I was studying in my room, my roommate came in and told me, 'There's a villager waiting for you outside!' Why would there be a villager looking for me? I walked out, and I saw my brother from afar. His whole body was covered with dirt, dust, cement and sand. I asked him, 'Why did you not tell my roommate that you are my brother?' He replied with a smile,' Look at my appearance. What will they think if they would know that I am your brother? Won't they laugh at you?' I felt so touched, and tears filled my eyes. I swept away dirt and dust from my brother's body. And told him with a lump in my throat, 'I don't care what people would say! You are my brother no matter what your appearance is?' From his pocket, he took out a butterfly hair clip. He put it on my hair and said, 'I saw all the girls in town are wearing it. So, I think you should also have one.' I could not hold back myself anymore. I pulled my brother into my arms and cried. That year, my brother was 20 years old; I was 23 years old. I noticed that the broken window was repaired the first time I brought my boyfriend home. The house was scrubbed cleaned. After my boyfriend left, I danced like a little girl in front of my mother, 'Mom, you didn't have to spend so much time cleaning the house!' But she told me with a smile, 'It was your brother who went home early to clean the house. Didn't you see the wound on his hand? He hurt his hand while he was replacing the window.' I went into my brother's bedroom. Looking at his thin face, I felt like hundreds of needles pricked in my heart. I applied some ointment on his wound and put a bandage on it, 'Does it hurt?' I asked him.. 'No, it doesn't hurt. You know, when at the construction site, stones keep falling on my feet ...Even that could not stop me from working.' In the middle of the sentence, he stopped.

I turned my back on him and tears rolled down my face. In the middle of the sentence, he stopped. I turned my back on him and tears rolled down my face. That year, my brother was 23 years old; I was 26 years old. After I got married, I lived in the city. Many times my h...usband invited my parents to come and live with us, but they didn't want. They said, once they left the village, they wouldn't know what to do. My brother agreed with them. He said, 'Sis, you just take care of your parents-in-law. I will take care of Mom and Dad here.' My husband became the director of his factory. We asked my brother to accept the offer of being the manager in the maintenance department. But my brother rejected the offer. He insisted on working as a repairman instead for a start. One day, my brother was on the top of a ladder repairing a cable, when he got electrocuted, and was sent to the hospital.

My husband and I visited him at the hospital. Looking at the plaster cast on his leg, I grumbled, 'Why did you reject the offer of being a manager? Managers won't do something dangerous like that. Now look at you - you are suffering a serious injury. Why didn't you just listen to us?' With a serious expression on his face, he defended his decision, 'Think of brother-in-law. He just became the director, and I being uneducated, and would become a manager, what kind of rumors would fly around?' My husband's eyes filled up with tears, and then I said, 'But you lack in education only because of me!' 'Why do you talk about the past?' he said and then he held my hand. That year, he was 26 years old and I was 29 years old. My brother was 30 years old when he married a farmer girl from the village. During the wedding reception, the master of ceremonies asked him, 'Who is the one person you respect and love the most?' Without even taking a time to think, he answered,' My sister.' He continued by telling a story I could not even remember. 'When I was in primary school, the school was in a different village. Everyday, my sister and I would walk for 2 hours to school and back home.

One day, I lost the other pair of my gloves. My sister gave me one of hers. She wore only one glove and she had to walk far. When we got home, her hands were trembling because of the cold weather that she could not even hold her chopsticks. From that day on, I swore that as long as I live, I would take care of my sister and will always be good to her.' Applause filled up the room. All guests turned their attention to me. I found it hard to speak, 'In my whole life, the one I would like to thank most is my brother, 'And in this happy occasion, in front of the crowd, tears were rolling down my face again.

STORY MORAL: Love and care for the one you love every single day of your life. You may think what you did is just a small deed, but to that someone, it may means a lot.

A WISDOM STORY... THE 3 HAIRS.

There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. 

"Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she did and she had a wonderful day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head.
"Hmmm..," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today." So she did and she had a grand day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said, "Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did, and she had a fun, fun day.

The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "YAY!" she exclaimed. "I don't have to fix my hair today!"

Attitude is everything. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly.

Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain.May we all learn to "Dance in the rain!"

You are a masterpiece

A plum once said, just because a banana lover came by, I converted myself into a banana. Unfortunately, his taste changed after a few months and so I became an orange. When he said I was bitter I became an apple, but he went in search of grapes. Yielding to the opinions of so many people, I have changed so many times that I no more know who I am. How I wish I had remained a plum and waited for a plum lover.

Just because a group of people do not accept you as you are, there is no necessity for you to strip yourself of your originality. You need to think good of yourself, for the world takes you at your own estimate. Never stop down in order to gain recognition. Never let go of your true self to win a relationship. In the long run, you will regret that you traded your greatest glory - your uniqueness, for momentary validation. Even Gandhi was not accepted by many people. The group that does not accept you the way you are, is not your world.

There is a world for each one of you, where you shall reign as king / queen by just being yourself. Find that world... in fact, that world will find you.

What water can do, gasoline cannot and what copper can, gold cannot. The fragility of the ant enables it to move and the rigidity of the tree enables it to stay rooted. Everything and everybody has been designed with a proportion of uniqueness to serve a purpose that we can fulfill only by being our unique self. You as you alone can serve your purpose and I as I alone can serve my purpose. You are here to be you... just you.

There was a time in this world when a Krishna was required and he was sent; a time when a Christ was required and he was sent; a time when a Mahatma was required and he was sent; There came a time when you were required on this planet and hence you were sent. Let us be the best we can be. Don't miss yourself and let the world not miss you.

In the history of the universe, there has been nobody like you and to the infinite of time to come, there will be no one like you. Existence should have loved you so much that it broke the mould after making you, so that another of your kind will never get repeated. You are original. You are rare. You are unique. You are a wonder. You are a masterpiece... your Master's piece. Celebrate your Uniqueness.

Most complex problem

Many years ago in a small Indian village,

A farmer had the misfortune
Of owing a large sum of money to a village moneylender. The Moneylender, who was old and ugly, fancied the farmer's beautiful  Daughter. So he proposed a bargain.

He said he would forgo the farmer's debt if he could marry his Daughter. Both the farmer and his daughter were horrified by the Proposal.

So the cunning money-lender suggested that they let Providence decide the matter. He told them that he would put a black Pebble and a white pebble into an empty money bag. Then the girl would Have to pick one pebble from the bag.

1) If she picked the black pebble, she would become his wife and her father's debt would be forgiven.

2) If she picked the white pebble she need not marry him and her father's debt would still be forgiven.

3) But if she refused to pick a pebble, her father would be thrown into Jail.

They were standing on a pebble strewn path in the farmer's field. As They talked, the moneylender bent over to pick up two pebbles. As he  Picked them up, the sharp-eyed girl noticed that he had picked up two
Black pebbles and put them into the bag. He then asked the girl to pick A pebble from the bag.

Now, imagine that you were standing in the field. What would you have Done if you were the girl? If you had to advise her, what would you Have told her?

Careful analysis would produce three possibilities:

1. The girl should refuse to take a pebble.

2. The girl should show that there were two black pebbles in the bag And expose the money-lender as a cheat.

3. The girl should pick a black pebble and sacrifice herself in order To save her father from his debt and imprisonment

Take a moment to ponder over the story. The above story is used with  The hope that it will make us appreciate the difference between lateral And logical thinking.

The girl's dilemma cannot be solved with Traditional logical thinking. Think of the consequences if she chooses  The above logical answers.

What would you recommend to the Girl to do?

Well, here is what she did ....

The girl put her hand into the moneybag and drew out a pebble. Without
Looking at it, she fumbled and let it fall onto the pebble-strewn path
Where it immediately became lost among all the other pebbles.

"Oh, how clumsy of me," she said. "But never mind, if you look into the
Bag for the one that is left, you will be able to tell which pebble I
Picked."

Since the remaining pebble is black, it must be assumed that she had
Picked the white one. And since the money-lender dared not admit his
Dishonesty, the girl changed what seemed an impossible situation into
An extremely advantageous one.

MORAL OF THE STORY:

Most complex problems do have a solution. It is only that we don't Attempt to think.

No problem! Just tell yourself, "There I grow again!"

Don't worry if you have problems! Which is easy to say until you are in the midst of a really big one, I know. But the only people I am aware of who don't have troubles are gathered in little neighbourhoods. Most communities have at least one. We call them cemeteries.

If you're breathing, you have difficulties. It's the way of life. And believe it or not, most of your problems may actually be good for you! Let me explain.

Maybe you have seen the Great Barrier Reef, stretching some 1,800 miles from New Guinea to Australia. Tour guides regularly take visitors to view the reef. On one tour, the guide was asked an interesting question. "I notice that the lagoon side of the reef looks pale and lifeless, while the ocean side is vibrant and colourful," a traveller observed. "Why is this?"

The guide gave an interesting answer: "The coral around the lagoon side is in still water, with no challenge for its survival. It dies early. The coral on the ocean side is constantly being tested by wind, waves, storms - surges of power. It has to fight for survival every day of its life. As it is challenged and tested it changes and adapts. It grows healthy. It grows strong. And it reproduces." Then he added this telling note: "That's the way it is with every living organism."

That's how it is with people. Challenged and tested, we come alive! Like coral pounded by the sea, we grow. Physical demands can cause us to grow stronger. Mental and emotional stress can produce tough- mindedness and resiliency. Spiritual testing can produce strength of character and faithfulness.

So, you have problems - no problem! Just tell yourself, "There I grow again!"