Sunday, April 28, 2013

Day167: Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy - Dale Carnegie

Sun/Mon; 29 April 2013; 8:20am
Electronic City, Bangalore

Sunday was quite a busy day with me engaged in shopping and completing stuffs related to my Transfer to the city of Joy. The next 3 days are going to be equally engaging when I need to balance between office work and Transfer related stuffs. I may give writing a miss for next few days. Will see you soon.

Until then.. Good Bye and take a very Good Care of yourselves.

Keep Winning!!

Narendra Gupta
8:25pm 

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Day166: When you look at your life, the greatest happinesses are family happinesses. ~Joyce Brothers

Saturday, 27 April 2013; 11:45pm
Electronic City, Bangalore

This is possibly my last weekend in Bangalore for now. I would be moving to Kolkata next week onwards and for the good. Family is happy and so am I. Albert Einstein has rightly said "Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life." Past 11 years (since 2003) when I left home for higher studies (Engineering), I have been away from family. I now feel strong urge to spend time with my Mom, Dad, my Baby and Wifey (#Family Calling). That is the sole reason for my movement to Kolkata. Excited and Happy!

Today I published my fourth Poem I had written as a teenager. This poem is based on Mothers. You may read it by clicking here माँ . In the evening I went for a walk and gave a pair of clothes to a local tailor for stitching my formal Pants and Shirt. In fact after many many years, I have gone for a tailors stitching for a change. Tomorrow I will be engage in winding up stuffs here in Bangalore. 

That's it for today. Will catch you all tomorrow with updates for the day. Untill then..

Good Bye and Good Night.

Always Keep Winning.

Narendra Gupta 
28-Apr-13; 12:05am


My Classics: Poem 4: माँ

Saturday, 27 April 2013; 3:25pm
Electronic City, Bangalore

My Classics: Poem Corner


"No language can express the power, and beauty, and heroism, and majesty of a mother's love.  It shrinks not where man cowers, and grows stronger where man faints, and over wastes of worldly fortunes sends the radiance of its quenchless fidelity like a star"
                                                                                                                       -Edwin Hubbell Chapin

" 'Maa', 'Mata', 'Mom', 'Mommy', 'Amma', 'Ammi', 'Mother' they call her with different names, and each time they are calling the GODDESS"   
                                                                                                             -Narendra Gupta                  
                  
Hello All you beautiful, kind, generous, loved and respected People in the world around! How are you doing today? Hope you are in the best of your healths, leading a life of purpose, hope you are encouraging lives all around and most importantly, hope you are taking good care of your Parents. Soon I will be posting articles under a new label 'Parents' which will be focused on inspiring (my)self and each one of you to serve our real GOD, yes our Parents. 

Mother's Day, which recognizes mothers, motherhood and maternal bonds is approaching (12-May-13). 
For me each day is a mother's day. No love, no care can equal, exceed or even come closer to a Mother's love and care. While surfing on net, I came across this interesting fact: A human body can bear up to 45 Del (units) of pain but at the time of giving birth, a woman feels up to 57 Del of pain which is equal to 20 bones getting fractured at a time. I closely realized this when my wife was describing the pain she went through while delivering our daughter. I was completely moved and had a goose-bump sensation thinking of the degree of pain a mother has to bear. I wonder how (some) people discard parents in their old-age.

Today, I am here to share my fourth Poem in the series of eight poems I had written as a teenager (March,1999).  I dedicate this poem to my Mother and all the Mothers on earth.

The poem goes like this:

माँ किस चीज का नाम है
शायद साक्षात् भगवान् है 
यह तो सबसे बढ़कर इंसान है 
इसके बिना तो दुनिया सुनसान है।।

Hope you would like it. Here it goes... straight from the pages of my First Journal....
      

माँ 

 

 




Hope you liked my poem on Mothers. If you are teenager reading me, respect your mothers and listen to what they say, if you are into your 20s, 30s, and beyond and if you are lucky enough to have your Parents alive, take care of them to the best you can. Life is short, every one has to go, time gone will not return back. I remember of the saying, 'We take for granted the people who love us the most until we lose them'. Adore, respect and love your Mom, your Dad until its too late. 

Right next week, I will be back (in poems corner) with my fifth poem (that) I had written on my Ambitions, some 14 years back. The poem is titled 'छू लेंगे आस्मां हम'. Hope to see you then. As usual, I would be available on my Daily Gratitude pages every single day.  

Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all
                                                                                                                      -Oliver Wendell Holmes

Until then
Keep Winning. 

Narendra Gupta 
4:05pm



Thursday, April 25, 2013

Day165:“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars.” —Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Thu/Fri, 25/26 April 2013; 1:05am
Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata

What a phenomenal day it had been. A day so special and definitely more than one reason to remember it for long.Today is the last day of my stay at Wipro Guesthouse here in Kolkata. Tomorrow I am traveling to Bangalore. 

I started the day with workouts after a gap of 5 days doing cardios exclusively (M70-S2: M1W4D11). This was followed by munching boiled eggs and tasty chicken sandwiches with tea making up for my Protein and high GI carb requirement after the workouts. At office I asked my Team on the areas they face issues so that I can assist them in those areas from the remote location tomorrow onwards pro-actively and in a better way. I LWTed (going forwards I will use this terminology for my pro-active actions, LWT stands for Lead Without Title) to get a system (to work) arranged for me in Bangalore location. I contacted the Manager there and he was friendly and supportive enough to get this done for me. Another highlight of the day was I received my company laptop for the first time which straight away means increased responsibility and still higher levels of commitment.  

In the evening I shared my insights on work motivation and why its so important to improve at each stage of Life, why its so important to keep burning in our hearts the fire of progress. Late in the night I had a good conversation with family members over phone followed by prolonged chat with roomie. 

Calling it a day. Need to get up early for my travel. Wishing you the very Best for tomorrow.

Good Night..

Narendra Gupta 


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Day164: Flaming enthusiasm, backed up by horse sense and persistence, is the quality that most frequently makes for success. – Dale Carnegie

Wednesday, 24 January 2013; 10:05pm
Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata

Before I start writing how I spent my day today, I pray for good health of the 5 year old who had to see the worst and most cruel side of life. Hope she is doing well and recovers real fast.

Another beautiful day of life passing by and I am here once again to express my sincerest of Thank You to the almighty for keeping me alive. I just didn't breathe, I lived my day inspiring lives all around. This morning I saw an Employee dressed in a weird manner. I called on him and after asking his name and Project, requested him to dress properly. He was a fresher and it is very important for his development to understand the importance of such things at this stage. Dressing is an important part of your personality and you just can't ignore it.

In the evening and to my pleasant surprise I received call from my Customer Manager, Mr. Joseph Varghese who happens to be from Andaman and Nicobar island. He was very friendly in spite of being such a high level manager. He called me to express Thank You for our work in the previous project. Such a down to earth and friendly person. He guided me to join ToastMasters institute to sharpen my Public Speaking and Leadership skills to fit into the shoes of my next role. 

I encouraged Sushil, a promising fresher not to neglect smaller tasks, suggested him to write his action items so that he doesn't forget important and even not-so-important tasks.Small actions repeated over a period of time make big things. We just cannot afford to ignore even smaller tasks. I also encouraged him to share knowledge to others.

Well! people have started recognizing me in the campus here. Cafeteria staff come to receive feedback from me, Guest house staff pay me respect by listening to me and when I speak they stand as mark of respect. Juniors in team flock to me seeking guidance on various aspects. 

Loving the adventure called life....

Narendra Gupta 
11:33pm 

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Day163: “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.” ― Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

Tuesday, 23 April 2013; 10:30pm
Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata

Today's spoon of motivation based on my learning from people I meet in daily life!

While I dedicated my full day in search of my new accommodation in the City of Joy, I met so many interesting people in the process. Samir is a broker by choice, he is into this business for last 15 years and believes such businesses are done on trust. He is soft spoken and down to earth. Nirmal, husband and a father, invests his full day receiving calls, roaming through out the city. He did show me some 4-5 flats which I didn't like due to some reason or the other. He was honest in his effort and I did small bit from my side by giving him a 'meal' treat. The third broker I met was Sajal who showed me the only flat before I left for office and paused my quest for home search for a while. The best thing was that I just started my day by calling Samir in the morning, and then through Samir I met Nirmal and through Nirmal I met Sajal. So if I take flat shown by them, each of them will have some share of the brokerage money, they work on trust, absolute trus. Interesting. Isn't it?


Evening I started my quest by meeting Dharmendar, whose contact I got through Sulekha.com. I saw one flat in Salt Lake area here which I didn't like. Thereafter I met Manoj (acquaintance of Dharmendra) and through Manoj, I met Nihar, another Oriya guy and through Nihar, I met the young barber cum broker Appu. Appu, who is hardly 17-18, says his main business is brokerage and this barber's shop is a side business. He showed me some 4-5 flats of which  I liked the last one finally and would confirm it by tomorrow possibly. Well! I mentored young Appu a bit after watching him making loud comments at every girl walking in the street. He is a good guy slightly misguided though.

What a day it had been. lot of walking. completely tired and exhausted. Calling it a day.

Good Night Friends and Well Wishers and Dear Readers !!

Hope you are enjoying the journey through life.

Narendra Gupta 
11:05pm

Monday, April 22, 2013

Day162: A man who dares to waste one hour of life has not discovered the value of life. - Charles Darwin

Monday, 22 April 2013; 9:43pm
Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata

It was a slow start to the week. I felt sluggish and a bit dull, skipped the Gym and rested this evening. Good news about the day was that I got my transfer confirmed to Kolkata location for which I had been trying for sometime now. My next task would be to look for some suitable accommodation.

I feel distracted, and at less peace of mind with self for the last 2 days. I introspected on what may be the reason and thought too much of FB and TV might be the reason. This brings me to put forth one important fact here. 

Some of the big time wasters in our daily life and which even puts negative impact on our growth are:

1. Television: Too much of TV is not good for health, puts stress on your eyes and above all, lots of time is wasted without realizing. If you really love watching TV, I recommend 1 hour per day should be the threshold.

2. Facebook: Facebook is another big time waster. It distracts your focus badly. I have been a victim of this. I recommend using FB only for staying in contact with your friends and using it wisely.

3. Newspapers: Newspapers take away lot of our time if we are in habit of reading it. I hardly feel that there is anything so important in it. It's good to know about whats happening in the world around however it is certainly not a mandatory thing. We must put a check on the time we give to newspaper reading rather I would recommend reading books with some good message and learning (like self help books or some books of your interest). I personally won't recommend reading novels without any message.

4. Mobile Phones: We spend lot of time on phones without much realizing. Certainly we can control on this. Most of the time we talk things which are not important at all. Its good to spend some time (30 min/day max) but its definitely a bad idea to spend more 30 min to phones.

5. Chatting, Gossiping, Surfing (Internet) on useless stuffs.

Time is the most precious asset we have and must utilize it wisely. Time gone new returns. We cannot afford to let go time in worthless stuffs. Time is more precious than money and all gold and diamonds on earth. The earlier we understand the better it is. 

Wishing you all the Best in utilizing your time most appropriately..

Narendra Gupta
10:15pm

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Day161: What doesn' t kill us makes us stronger - Friedrich Nietzsche

Sunday, 21 April 2013; 10:05pm
Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata

Kolkata is at its best weather wise in last one month. Sunny, breezy and it rained heavily in the evening to make it more pleasant and cool. Loving Kolkata, it's helpful people, it's peacefulness, its cleanliness and now the weather is lovable too.

This beautiful day of my life which is going to become a history, and which will never repeat again, gifted me with some good experiences and learning. In the evening when security personnel asked to display my ID card, I became angry for a moment. I asked his identity first. The tone of my voice was commanding and a bit arrogant too. Later, when he went away, I realized that he was only doing his duty, in fact he was doing it well. It has to do with security. They work and vow for employee's security and deserve respect. I introspected and thought that my EGO was the deterrent to my right behavior. False ego, in fact, all ego is false, does no good to your development as a human being. It limits you to live in your own world of false pride. 

Another reason to remember 21st-April-2013 will be: I purchased my new NOKIA 206 handset. It is a simple set which meets all my requirement. Preferred a keypad set, since my previous 8 months old Karbon KT61's touch pad is working no more and hence the immediate requirement. I called family (with my new phone :)) and encouraged them to be happy and live better lives, helping and lifting up people morally. 

Looking for another exciting opportunity at work this coming week....Wishing you all...ALL THE BEST

Narendra Gupta 
10:55am




Saturday, April 20, 2013

Day160: A man's most innate need is his need to be significant, to find purpose and meaning to life. - Author Patrick Morley

Sat/Sun; 20/21 Feb 2013; 12:20am
Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata

As per the news reports, the little angel is doing better. I pray for her speedy recovery. May GOD heal her wounds quickly and she get well soon.

I started this morning with writing my article on recent barbaric rape committed on a five-year-old angel. I advocated death penalty for any crime against women and children. Later I went out to look for some room in case I get transferred to Kolkata location though it is not confirmed yet. In the evening I published my third poem I wrote as a teenager some 14 years ago.

My struggles, My passion, my journey through life continues....

Narendra Gupta
12:31am

My Classics: Poem 3: मेरे स्कूल के वो दिन!

My Classics: Poem Corner 

 

I pray for speedy recovery of the little child who is fighting for her life at a hospital in Delhi. They say prayers have power and on this forum, may I urge each one of you to pray for the angel. She must live. She must go to school. She must enjoy her childhood and do something worthwhile in her life. Yes, she must see the good side of LIFE. It was certainly not a 'good morning' to start my day today. The barbaric act and the atrocities the child had gone through was disturbing me. You may read my feelings and my demand to the makers of law here I vision of such an India..

Today, I present to you my third poem in the series of eight poems I had written as a teenager. I wrote this poem just after my 10th Board Exam (March, 1999). School days are the most cherished days in one's (academic) life. Leaving the school where I studied for eight long years was painful indeed. In fact, last week I shared my second poem  जीवन क्या है? that I had written on a sad note. The then (im-matured) Narendra had defined life on the basis of those eight years. Well! moving on, here is my feel good poem on the days I spent in my school. I dedicate this poem to all my school friends, teachers, and overall my school, Bokaro Ispat Vidyalaya, Sector 6A.

Ladies and Gentlemen, here is my third poem, first time on a public forum, straight from the pages of my first journal:

मेरे स्कूल के वो दिन! 

 


Yes! I can see some of you chuckling reading my last page..All those childhood, innocent stuff :)

 पर जीवन के सपनो को सच करने के लिए
पापा-मम्मी के दुखों को बस करने के लिए
दर्द सहना होगा यह जुदाई का
एक सफल वयक्तित्व बनने के लिये ||


The teenager Narendra concluded his poems with the above lines, and rightly so. Each stage of life has its own importance. You need to enjoy it and keep moving forward.

Right next week, same day, (any time :P) comes my fourth poem, I had written on my Mother and all the mothers on Earth, titled ' माँ '. Stay tuned!!

Narendra Gupta
20-Apr-2013; 10:00pm 

Dear GOD, please save the little angel, give her the strength, give here life. 


Friday, April 19, 2013

I vision of an India where Rape would be synonymous with Death penalty. You Rape and you face Death.

Saturday, 20 April 2013; 7:15am
Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata 

Please, STOP the horror!

I am utterly shocked and devastated to learn about the shameful rape committed on the five-year-old girl child in Delhi. Tears came rolling down my cheek, became numb and voiceless for a moment when I read through the atrocities this angel went through. The monster held her captive for four days, raped her, mutilated her genitals, even inserted foreign objects inside her body, slit her throat and left her soaked in her own blood. How can someone be so barbaric, so brute, so wild, so inhuman? How?? Who said the age of demons and devils are gone? I have an 8 month old daughter and I wonder what kind of world I would present to her, where people can even think of such crimes in the wildest of their dreams? Today, my soul is hurt, and hurt badly.... once again!

While committing such ghastly crime didn't he (the Culprit) think even for a moment that he has also come into existence from the same gender and that he has a sister and a wife who also belongs to the same gender. Nirbhaya case is being repeated again, and again.... and again. We seem to learn no lessons, there is absolute no change after the December 16 horror, and if at all there is, it is for the worst. 

The coward, impotent, incompetent Police can just slap the weak for protesting instead of performing their duties honestly and in the true spirit, for which they took oath. They can just bribe the poor to shut their mouth up and get away with their responsibility. Yes, for them the cost of the pride and dignity for a little child from a poor family is 2000 rupees! They can beat up the mother for protesting against the rape and murder of her 6 year old daughter (referring to the Aligarh incidence). They can just receive hefty bribe from the offenders and save them. The callousness and arrogance of the men in 'khaki' does not seem to reduce even by a margin.

As rightly pointed out by Usha Uthup on Times Now yesterday, we say girls dress provocatively, they invite sex perverts, I ask you, what was the fault of this five year old innocent, who is hardly aware of the difference of the genders??

I, Narendra vision of an India where there is absolute zero tolerance for any crime against women and children. I vision of an India where there is Death Penalty for Rapists. Even life sentence is not appropriate because people do not fear life, people fear death. Its been four months since Nirbahya's murder (yes, murder!) but her murderers are still breathing on the tax payer's (we, the common people's) money, they do not have right to (breathe)!. They must die. This is sending wrong signals to all the pedophiles out there in society. There is out-and-out zero fear of law. Indian Judicial system is discouraging. I opine and strongly advocate that after cutting genitals of such perverts they should be left in public, for them to give justice.

I just read (on TOI) the culprit is nabbed and happens to be from Bihar. I also read through the comments of people from different parts of India and world. My dear friends, I am a Bihari and let me tell you that such an utterly sick mentality is not place, region, religion, race, society, culture, country specific. Let me urge each one of you whether you are a Marathi, Gujrati, Tamil,....rise above your limited thinking patterns. I am sad and shocked because some human being has done this. I am sad that such people exist in society, I am sad because a little soul has been severely damaged, I am sad to think.. what would be going in the minds of the parents of the little angel, I am sad because such incidences put a bad name to humanity as a whole.

This little child is now struggling for her life and let me urge each one of you to pray for the speedy recovery of the angel who has just entered into this world. She must go to school, enjoy her childhood, go to college, do something worthwhile in her life, get married, have children and live a happy life. Yes, she must see the beautiful world I vision. 

Dear Almighty, Please, Please, Please Save the Child.

Certainly not a 'Good Morning' for me. On an utterly sad note...

Narendra Gupta 
9:15am


Day159: “As an animal lover, I don’t like zoos. I feel the only creatures that should be caged behind bars are politicians, lobbyists, and lawyers. And rapists, but I’ve already listed that three times.” ― Jarod Kintz

Friday, 19 Feb 2013; 11:40pm
Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata 

I am deeply saddened about what happened to the five year old in Delhi. I declare it (19-Feb) a Black Friday. I pray for the speedy recovery of the innocent child. Please save her GOD. Please.

Silence.................

Narendra Gupta
11:42pm

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Day158: One can never consent to creep when one feels the impulse to soar. 
- Helen Keller

Thursday, 18-Apr-2013; 10:33pm
Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata

Accomplishment of the day was my first step towards expanding the SAP Team over here in Kolkata Development Centre. In this regard, I sent my first mail to my Managers seeking approval of the same and providing the list of resources who would be attending the Training. I received good appreciation on this initiative of mine. Well, this is just on mail and I have to make great efforts to make it reality and a successful one. I have a vision of creating new business opportunities for my organization and these are my baby steps towards achieving that dream. Definitely there is a long way to go from here. 

I quote from the book, the Leader who had no title, some beautiful lines, Robin Sir has offered on why we should love and adore our work:

"Work offers you a daily platform to discover the leader within. It's a chance, everyday to reclaim more of the potential you've buried and to and to awaken the dormant relationship between the current you and your absolute best. It's an opportunity to express more of your latent creativity and a whole lot more of your precious humanity. And presenting more of the genius and brilliance you truly are to those around you so that, in your own special way, you help more people, is pretty much the purpose of life. And that's why I suggest that doing world class work is also the central purpose of life."

Moving on, I went to Gym today (M70: S2 - M1W3D9) and did exercises for shoulders after 20 minutes of Cardios. The exercises included shoulder press, side lateral raise, front raise, upright rowing, and short grip pull up. The Gym instructors here at KDC are helpful and eager to guide you with the right postures in various exercises. I am thankful to Subho and Chandan for their assistance in the past 2 weeks. 

Earlier in the day at office, I encouraged Dipanjana to learn from the KT sessions across various teams and just not wait for the invite mails. I inspired Samrat and Sushil to add value to their works. I offered it is so important to give your best shot to your work, even your small work is counting and adding to finally gain revenue for Wipro.

That is all for today. Will connect with you all tomorrow.

Good Night. Subh Ratri.

Narendra Gupta
12:32am (took a long IPL break in-between)


Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Day157: Small daily improvments over time lead to stunning results. - Robin Sharma

Wednesday, 17 April 2013; 11:20pm
Sector V, Salt Lake, kolkata

It was a wonderful day to be alive. I have had some wonderful experience at professional and personal level. At work, for the first time ever, I set up a bridge call with onsite leads on my own, though had been part of it in the past. I took initiative which may bring more business to my company with the current Customer. I provided extensive KT sessions to my Team which they found very useful. If things are in place and we are able to automate these scripts, it would be a great success for my team. 

Moving on, I did exercise for Triceps body part at Gym after 20 minutes of warm-up on the cross-trainer today (M1W3D8). I feel so tired to write any more. Calling it a day for now.

Narendra Gupta
11:45pm

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Day156: “One thing you can't hide - is when you're crippled inside.” - John Lennon

Tue/Wed, 16/17 April 2013; 11:58pm
Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata

What a nail biting thrillers these IPL matches have been this season. Bangalore pulled up a cliffhanger against Delhi Daredevils a couple of minutes ago after the match went into a superover. Goodness!

I took some good initiatives in work today and got support from my entire team on that. For the first time I set up a bridge call on my own including the leads from different location. Not only this I received a call from my onsite coordinator seeking my confidence. You know what........I feel good on these accomplishments though small ones :)

I went to the Gym for the second consecutive day (M70 - Season2: M1W3D7) and did exercises for Back. Yesterday (M70 -Season2: M1W3D6) was dedicated to my favorite... Cardios.

Sometimes you feel bad on small issues (just like a child). I felt the same today. I sent friend's request (on FB) to a person and suggested another common friend. The common friend's request was accepted and mine not yet. Let me be honest here, I really felt bad. You know what....... I expect a lot from myself. I think that people would feel lucky and honored to befriend me. I really feel that I am someone special and have more in me than thousands of others. Sadly, that is not the case. I am nothing more than ordinary in others eyes.  Childish...huh!. :)

Getting too emotional Narendra! Stop being foolish :)

That is all for today. Will see you all tomorrow. 

My struggles, my losses, my victories, well! my fight to attain excellence continues....

Narendra Gupta
12:50am






Monday, April 15, 2013

Day155: “A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life.” ― Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life: What on Earth am I Here for?

Mon/Tue, 15/16 April 2013; 11:55pm
Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata

Today is the first day of Bengali New Year. I once again wish all my Bengali friends a very Happy New Year..'Subho Nabo Borsho'. I wish everyone be more happier, successful and most importantly healthier this coming year, I wish the world to be more peaceful, harmonious and beautiful place to live than ever. Well, today I encouraged Ashis, Soumyajeet, both pursuing their MS program at Wipro, to stay motivated and perform better at work and stop complaining about location constraints (office is small in Kolkata, Bangalore has this, that....and so on) and various other things. I told them that each place has its own importance and instead of complaining about the limitations of the place, try to explore the positives and how you can improve in your work because wherever you go, what matters is the work you do and nothing else. In the evening I met Dikku, a BPO employee whom I befriended while having dinner a couple of days ago. I guided Dikku on how he can plan for the job change he is looking for in next few months. I motivated him saying I really want you to do extra-ordinary in your life. Dikku  felt happy, energized and motivated and that is exactly what I want to see on every single individual's face who crosses my life.

Wishing you the Very Best for living a phenomenal life.

Narendra Gupta
12:13am

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Day154: “Like farmers we need to learn that we cannot sow and reap the same day.” ~ Anonymous

Sunday, 14 April 2013; 9:35pm
Sector V, Salt Lake, Kolkata

It was quite a peaceful Sunday. I spent major part of the day in writing my second book review. you may read it here: Book Review: The Go-Getter. I shared my insights on how to improve at work with Arindam, receptionist at Wipro guest house in Kolkata. I encouraged Diku, a BPO employee to pursue his dreams and never give up, progress further in his career.

That's all for today. I will be resuming my workouts (M70 (Season 2)) tomorrow onwards. Wishing you all a Happy Week ahead. Also on the eve of Bengali New Year, I wish all my Bengali friends...

Subho Nabo Borhso!!

Narendra Gupta
9:40pm




Book Review: The Go-Getter: A story that tells you how to be one.



Book Review #2 by Narendra Gupta

The Go-Getter: A story that tells you how to be one.


 
“Count that day lost whose low descending sun
  Finds prices shot to glory and business done for fun”


Peter B. Kyne



Author: Peter Bernard Kyne 

A little about the author: 

The legendary, Peter Bernard Kyne (1880-1957) was an American War Veteran, a Novelist, an intellectually productive short-story writer and a Businessman at heart  who wrote between 1904 and 1940. Some of his books include: The Three Godfathers, Cappy Ricks series, The Valleys of the Giant, The long Chance, The enchanted hill, Comrades of the storm, Captain Scraggs, and The Go-Getter, to name a few. Many of his works were adapted into screenplays, in fact he is credited with 110 films between 1914 and 1952.  (Courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_B._Kyne; http://www.online-literature.com/peter-kyne/)

Brief Background and Why I read this Book:  

I was randomly looking for some books (on Flipkart) to feed my new found interest (Yes, can say hobby) of (some worthwhile) reading. I came across this book  ‘The Go-Getter: A story that tells you how to be one’. This was definitely a catch word for me. I didn’t think twice and clicked on the ‘buy now’ button. When I ordered this book for INR 170/- bucks, was expecting a somewhat thick book (with at least 150-200 pages). Well! When I received the order, it happened to be just  a 62 page, kind of pocket book. Initially, I thought could have easily downloaded the story (on internet) and read. However, when I flipped through the pages of this thin bible for sales persons, it turned out to be an incredibly inspiring story of a disabled war Veteran, Bill Peck. 

The Go-Getter was first published in the year 1921 by William Randolph Hearst. The book turned out to be one of the international bestsellers. Online-literature.com quotes it as ‘Bible for Salesmen, Entrepreneurs and Employers around the world’. 

Book Review:

The Go-Getter is an awe-inspiring story of William E. Peck, a war veteran who is disabled in his right leg with left forearm amputated halfway to the elbow. Irrespective of all his disabilities he has a rock solid will power, mountain like focus and a self belief of paramount degree. Before I say anything further let me introduce to the four characters of the story.

  1. Mr Alden P Ricks (also Known as Cappy Ricks), Founder and Chairman of Ricks Inc 
  2. Mr. Skinner, President and General Manager of Ricks Logging and Lumbering Compan
  3. Captain Matt Peasley, President and Manager of Blue Star Navigation Company 
  4. William E. Peck, the Hero of the story, a disabled war Veteran

The plot begins with Cappy Ricks in conversation with Mr. Skinner, President and General Manager of Ricks Logging and Lumbering Company and Matt Peasley, Rick’s son-in-law, owner and president of another of Rick’s corporate entity. They are in discussion over their sinking business in one of their firms in Sanghai and desperately looking for someone who revitalizes their business in a place 6000 miles away from the expert advice. It was a herculean responsibility and Cappy Ricks decides to send only a Go-Getter for the Sanghai challenge. 

When Skinner shows his apprehension over assigning the Sanghai assignment to a young blood and on few of his other management indecisiveness, Cappy thrashes him with the following words:(Para2, P15)

“it’s a constant source of amazement to me why I refrain from firing you. You are a dodo!. The killjoys like you have straddled the neck of industry and throttled it with absurd theories that a man’s back must be bent like an ox-bow and his locks snowy white before he can be entrusted with responsibility and a living wage, have caused all of our wars and strikes. This is a young man’s world, Skinner and don’t you ever forget it. The Go-Getters of this word are under thirty years of age”

I have emphasized on Cappy’s words ‘This is a young man’s world’. I wonder why does India need a 78 year old Prime Minister, most of the ministry officials are much older than required and in a stage of life when they are suffering from their old age problems. How much good they would do to the nation upliftment ?? India certainly needs the like of young and dynamic leaders. Let the old ones retire and leave peaceful life, certainly they are there to mentor the younger blood when required. My personal opinion, huh. What do you say?

Back to the story……and then enters the hero of the story, William E Peck. He approaches Cappy Ricks for any job above stenographer in Ricks Lumber and Logging Company. When Cappy asks if he feels low about his physical condition, Peck replies in the following words (Powerful and motivational for those who complain about so many things in spite of having all the body organs intact) (Para 4, P 21)

Oh, I got off easy, Mr. Ricks. I have my head left –and my right arm. I can think and I can write, and even if one of my wheels is flat I can hike longer and faster after an order than most. Got a job for me, Mr. Ricks?”

After  being shown red signal by Skinner and Matt, When Cappy asks why do you come to me? (General Interview Qus: Why should we hire you?). I quote Peck’s reply, an inspiring one. (Para 2, Page 22)

“ Because, I want you to go over their (Skinner and Matt’s) heads and give me a job. I don’t care a hoot what it is, provided I can do it. If I can do it, I will do it better than it was ever done before, and if I can’t do that I will quit to save you the embarrassment of firing me. I’m not an object of charity, but I am scarcely the man I used to be and I’m four years behind the procession (spent in war prior to which Peck was working with another Lumber Company) and have to catch up. I have the best of references ----“ 

Some one has rightly said “A winner is a winner well before he becomes a Winner”. Willam Peck had his business card for the new job ready well before he joined the firm.  In his first assignment, William Peck does extremely well, winning new business deals for the company. Happy with his performance as a the prospective Manager for the Sanghai task, Cappy tests him with a test he calls ‘the thirty-third degree of blue vase’.  

And then starts one of the toughest assessments for the management personnel in the classic era. Peck is assigned with the task of getting a (peculiar) blue vase from a certain market place. Cappy mentions he needs to gift it to a lady of acquaintance and that getting that particular vase is of paramount importance. Cappy is to board the train at 8 pm and that he should have the vase by then. This enterprising veteran then promptly asks for the description of the blue vase to get clarity on his task. Quoting his words :

“ What sort of blue it is, how tall is it and what is, approximately, its greatest diameter? Does it set on a base, or does it not? Is it a solid blue, or is it figured?”

Lesson for me and all of you reading me here. Before stating on a task, we must have clarity and every possible detail of the (desired) end product. William Peck had a window of 5 hours to do this seemingly easy (Not so, indeed!)  but uncertain task. The intensive search for that blue vase began. He hunted for that elusive vase in the proximity and even far from the market place and finally after hours of tiresome search he could trace the blue vase in a huge plate glass window far away from the area told to him. The hunt for that elusive vase did not end here, in fact what happened so far was just a taste of the complexity of the job. Peck discovered that the shop in which the vase was present was closed and that it was owned by some ‘B. Cohen’. The thrill began here. He found from the phone directory that there were 19 ‘B. Cohens’ in the city. The owner of the shop was suppose to be one of them, so he called each one of the B.Cohens'. Let me quote from the book to reflect the degree of desperation, William Peck displayed  to accomplish the task.

In despair he changed a dollar into five cent pieces, sought a telephone booth and commenced calling up all the B. Cohens in Sanfrancisco. Of the nineteen, four did not answer, three were temporarily  disconnected. Six replied in yiddish, Five were not the B.Cohen he sought, and one wore he ws Irish and that his name was spelled Cohan and pronounced with an accent on both syllables”

After calling all the B.Cohens in town, he discovers the name plate on the shop reading ‘B.Cohn’  instead of ‘B.Cohen’ and doubted if it was some kind of illusion. He then called the 8 ‘B.Cohns’ in town and then the 3 ‘Simons’ followed by Herman Joost to finally trace Mr. B. Cohn, the owner of the shop containing that blue vase. This is followed by many more obstacles like arranging $2000 for the small vase, when he does not receive any support from the people who could do that. Not only this he was discouraged by Skinner and Matt Peasley to leave the petty task (of finding the blue vase). ‘I’m going to stick to the job until I deliver the goods’ was Peck’s simple reply. Finally he went on to bring a platinum ring with diamond and sapphires to provide as a security. Finally after getting that elusive blue vase, he arranged for a flight with his pilot friend to ensure that it reaches Cappy Ricks. This enterprising Veteran finally delivered the blue vase and passed that damnably cruel job and the supreme test of a go getter,  to get selected for the Sanghai challenge. 

The story ends on a lighter note when Cappy asks Bill Peck to play Golf forgetting about his amputated left arm. On being asked if he had ever tried playing Golf, Bill replies “No Sir, but it shall be done!”.

Type of People who will like this Book:  

Working Professionals, Students who wish to do extra-ordinary in their lives will like this book for sure. I personally recommend reading this book to each one of you, two hour is all that you need. 

What I didn’t like to some extent: 

When I read this book for the first time I was bowled over by the tough literature of the early 20th century, had to consult dictionary multiple times. Though Initially I struggled with few words used mostly in the classic era, I thoroughly enjoyed reading it second time, the antique words and vocabulary were good to learn.To be honest, there was nothing that I didn’t like in this short story book carrying a bigger message.

Narendra’s Rating for The Go-Getter: A story that tells you how to be one:   

For its strong message through an inspiring story, I give it a 9 on 10 (9/10). 

Some of the catchwords of the Book: 

‘Cappy Ricks, had more troubles than a hen with ducklings’, ‘Have you got a misery in your back’, ‘Stow your sarcasm, young feller’, ‘every infernal young whelp’, ‘Great Wampus Cats!’, ‘ahem!..harumph-h-h!’, ‘ there is no use weeping over spilled milk’, ‘he soliloquized aloud’, ‘when the moment is propitious’, ‘not a peep out of you (Hinglish: juban se ek sabd nahi nikalna)’, ‘you unimaginative dunderhead! You jibbering jackdaw’, ‘Bill Peck was one of the doggondest finest soldiers you ever saw, he carries an objective’, ‘Mr. Skinner smiles his swordfish smile’, ‘holy pink toed prophet’,  ‘By the twelve ragged apostles!’, ‘skunk spruce’, ‘pernicious habit of defering’,  ‘If he (Peck) fails to do so,  au revoir’, Peck states to Cappy ‘ I have no false pride’, ‘as irritable as a clucking hen’,

My Final words: I want to be a Go-Getter in Life. I am well on the way, even big things start with small and consistent actions. I am sure each one of you reading me want to be one in your lives. I recommend reading this and similar books. This would certainly bring positive vibe and action into your deeds given that you are open to it and importantly ready for it. 

I really want each one of you to be a go-getter in your personal and professional lives. Lets make our workplace, our organization, our nation and eventually our planet a better place to live in by giving our best


All the Best!!. 

Narendra Gupta
14 Apr 2013; 5:35pm

 


 

 
 
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