Day184: Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could; some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Monday, 29 July 2013; 11:35 pm
Kestopur, Kolkata, WB

It was quite an engaging day to start the week. I enjoyed attending the Wipro Meets at a v-con room here in Kolkata. The session was being live tele-casted from Bangalore. Every quarter top management of Wipro meets to discuss the results in the quarter-end and listen to employee's concern. TK Kurien, Wipro Technologies' CEO told, PERFORMANCE and only PERFORMANCE will be the supreme criteria for a better compensation hike. He was answering to a query by one of the employee who was not happy about his salary, even after 9 years of experience in Wipro.

Feeling too tired to write any more. Will connect tomorrow.

Till then. Good Night. Love.

Narendra Gupta
11:40pm

Day183: I'm starting to judge success by the time I have for myself, the time I spend with family and friends. My priorities aren't amending; they're shifting. - Brendan Fraser

Sunday, 28 July 2013; 11:00pm
Kestopur, Kolkata, WB

Hello!! Hope each one of you had a great weekend. For me it was another beautiful day spent with family and friends. Today, Rabindra bhaia's friend Madan Bhaia, who is a Doctor visited our home here on lunch along with his family. They have two lovely angels, 6 years and one year old respectively. Wifey had prepared 'pulav, dal-fry, kachodi, kheer, aloo-parwal dum, paneer-pyaja, some sweets along with chutney in the lunch. Well! will have to admit this time, it tasted awesome. After a soul-satisfying meal, Madan Bhaia took us on a drive in his vintage car, Maruti 800. It was indeed a pleasure to be with family and friends.

I am tired and feeling too sleepy. Will take your leave for the day. Will see you tomorrow.

Good Night.!

With Love,

Narendra Gupta

11:40pm

Day182: “If you feel stronger and good when the weather is sunny, and weaker and bad when the weather is cloudy, then it means your willpower is not powerful yet!” ― Mehmet Murat ildan

Saturday, 27 July 2013; 11:15pm
Kestopur, Kolkata, WB

Hard work, dedication and will power make a successful person.

                                                                    Milkha Singh, Legendary Indian Athlete.

'Bhaag Milkha Bhaag'  is an inspirational movie by Rakyesh Omprakash Mehra portraying the heroics of the Flying Sikh, Milkha Singh. Farhan Akhtar as Milkha Singh has done a splendid job in this epic sports entertainer. The movie is a treat to watch and worth investing your time. The lessons learned was 'How acute will power, supreme determination, extreme hard work can bring maximum success one can imagine of ?`

Well!, I was engrossed in watching the movie yesterday till late in the night and that's the reason was not on my Blog. Will now update my activities for yesterday and today as well. It was a cool and rainy Friday yesterday. I helped Nisha, one of my distant relatives to appear for an interview in Wipro. I mentored and motivated her to do well. Along with her, I wished another candidate at the (interview) venue, 'all the very best' for the interview. Nisha, 22, is struggling hard to get a job. After death of her Father years ago, due to financial constraints she works as a Trainee in SAIL Administrative department and assists in the education of her two younger siblings. At the same time she is pursuing her Cost Accountant Course. She wants to make it big in her life. She is trying to shift to Kolkata so that she can work and do tuition for her accounting degree. All the Best little sister. May God bless you and May you achieve all that you want in your life. 

At work in the first half, I took care of Time Management working consciously to complete my task

but lost way and became lenient wasting time in my favorite pastime of gossiping. Later in the evening, my laptop developed some login issues after I downloaded a media player to run a multi-media file. I appreciate efforts of Sujoy from IMG who ultimately fixed the issue to my satisfaction. Later, I wished Nabanita, one of my Managers in Project, a very Safe and Successful journey. She is flying to US tomorrow morning. She is a down to earth person and works impressively. 

Sushil, a talented junior in the project dropped me near home. Many Thanks to the little hero. 

About today, I felt lazy, got up late (at 9 am) and spent quality time with family. Later in the evening I saw-off Nisha till the Bus-stand. She was returning to Bokaro after her interview yesterday.

It's 12:45am. Rani and my doll have already slept. I need to finish reading one of my Books, pending for completion for ages. Signing off for the day. 

Good Night. Sweet Dreams. Lots and Lots of Love.

Narendra Gupta 

12:46pm

Day181: Once you have mastered time, you will understand how true it is that most people overestimate what they can accomplish in a year – and underestimate what they can achieve in a decade! - Anthony Robbins

Thursday, 25 July 2013; 9:50pm
Kestopur, Kolkata, WB.

Another beautiful day of life has passed leaving many beautiful memories. At work I received appreciation from my top management for my leading abilities. I began the day at work attending training session on Time Management by Mr. Raha. He is quite an interesting man working as a Project Manager in one of the accounts here in KDC (Kolkata Developmpent Centre). I am miserable at managing time (actually, self) even at this stage of life. Many a times, I make a mess between the urgent, important, and less important tasks, ending up on missing some of the high priority ones. Once again procrastination has crept in. Well! this training, which I was attending for the second time, was a good one to brush up the time management points. I learnt on how to plan and prioritize tasks, avoid distractions, and what are the best ways of working, although I must say that sometimes we may have to change the plan depending on the circumstance, but that happens once in a while. Let me share some points here for you. 

Key learning on Time Management

Planning and Prioritizing Tasks

1. Get priorities clear and keep them in mind.

2. Plan the day - and stick to the plan (with exception)

3. Set Realistic deadlines.

4. Look ahead to possible problems.

Dealing with People

1. Deal decisively with interruptions. - Know how to say 'no'

2.Act Assertively

3.Limit phone time

4. See others as source of support.

Ways of Working

1.Do the difficult things first 

2.Cut the Clutter (Crap)

3. Complete one task before going on to the next 

4.Concentrate on the limited number of tasks

4.Build in thinking time 

5. Be conscious of time

Hope you liked the points and are going to implement in your personal lives.

Good Night. Sweet Dreams. Lots and Lots of Love and Warm Wishes to all of you.

Narendra Gupta 

10:32pm

Day180: No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself or to get all the credit for doing it. - Andrew Carnegie

Wednesday, 24 July 2013; 10:20pm
Kestopur, Kolkata, WB

I feel exhausted after day's work. Don't feel like writing much today. Will share some golden words from Robin Sir's 'The Leader who had no Title' which I was reading today.

"In this materialistic world, we chase titles, fast cars, and big bank accounts in a search for greatness when, in truth, all that we really want we already have. The excellence and happiness we crave is inside of us. We are looking for it all in the wrong places: in position, in social status, and in things like net worth. But before you know it, each one of us will be dust. And the street sweeper gets buried next to the CEO. And titles, prestige, and university degrees don't matter much at the end. All that truly counts is whether you grew into all you could have been and whether you showed leadership by using your potential to positively contribute to the lives of other human beings. And it all begins within. So your absolute best can shine."

At work, I received appreciation from Management for my initiative to train the Kolkata team on SAP modules. MJ (My Manager, Mr. Mrutyunjay Biswal, everyone call hims by this name) asked to make the session more interactive and help build a strong team. This is going to be a challenging task, however I am equally excited about this training. This is the first of its kind for such a big team as far as I as a Trainer is concerned. In the evening I mentored Aviroop, the talented junior who was seeking advice on studying abroad.  In the evening I raised request for my team of 11 members for IT assets movement on a business requirement. Also, I voluntarily assisted the medical segment team in their data fulfillment and issue resolution.

In personal life, it was another milestone day for my baby (and for Me and Wifey) when she started standing on her own with little support for the first time ever.My sweet little darling is learning to walk now. Love you Beta..

With this I call it a day. Good Night and Sweet Dreams.

Narendra Gupta

11:15pm

Day179: To believe in Heroics makes Heroes. - Benjamin Disraeli.

Tuesday, 23 July 2013; 10:30pm
Kestopur, Kolkata, WB

Today I start by quoting lines from the book The Leader who had no title by Mr. Robin Sharma which I found so fascinating and real, wanted to share with you all. Here I go..

"Be Awesomely nice. Being nice isn't being weak. Please don't confuse kindness with weakness. Leaders without title brilliantly balance being compassionate with being courageous. Being friendly with being firm. Being sincere with being strong. Yes, they definitely put people and relationships first. But no one is saying they don't demand the highest performance, the largest commitment, and the most spectacular results. They manage to be tender and tough at the same time. That's a rare balance point to get right . But with the dedication and Practice, you will get there."

These lines are an eye opener for the people who think that nicer people are always the weaker ones and they cannot be good leaders. Well! not really.

After spending some quality time with my kid and Wifey, I left for office at 8:30am. At office I attended the 3 hour training on "How to say no and yet maintain customer service". It was a nice and helpful session where I learnt the nuances of saying NO politely and in the best possible way. I met two freshers who had just finished their PRP and DRP training after joining. They took my contact details and requested to look for any opening in the organization. Later, they mailed their Resume and I replied affirmatively, telling will do best to help them. Their innocence and energy was something extremely good to see and feel. At office, I wished one of my co-worker, Ruchi, a very Happy Birthday. She distributed ice-cream to each one of us. In afternoon, seeing the low volume of work, I read my most favorite book ever in order to keep my target of finishing it this week. It has been pending for several months (possibly more than 8 months).  Am loving this book more than anything. Yes, issued 2 new books from Library 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad' by Mr. Robert Kiyoski. and the other one called 'A gift to my Children' by Jim Rogers, added to my library. 

My journey of struggles, of Giving, of Losing, of Winning, of Compassion, of Passion, of dedication, of defeats, of successes, of chasing my dreams continues. Life is wonderful, and I am passionately enjoying it. Hope you too are enjoying in full flow.

Good Night. Many Hugs and Sweet Memories. with Love,

Narendra Gupta

11:04pm

Day178: If you are really serious about winning in business, become a walking, talking, living, breathing hub radiating positive energy, excellence, and kindness to every person you are fortunate enough to help. - Robin Sharma

Monday, 22 July 2013; 9:15pm
Kestopur, Kolkata, WB

My heartiest greetings to each one of you reading me today. Hope you had a wonderful Monday to start a very new, a very fresh, and a very colorful week ahead. To those who felt rusty, lazy and the weekend hang-over, come on guys, you had enough of rest, now its time, its opportunity to give your absolute best.

Daily Gratitude is the section where I write about how I spent my day, key learning and how did I make positive difference in the lives of people living around, there by making my life worth while. Well! Today I started my day at 5:30am, read (The Robin Sharma book) for 30 minutes followed by (spending) some quality time with Sanskriti, my darling daughter and Wifey before I left for office. 

At work, I helped my juniors file IT returns, they were doing it for the first time. I lifted the confidence of my juniors by mentoring them properly and started to prepare the documents for the Training I will be providing the Testing team next month. It is going to be a big challenge and I must deliver my best  here. 

I stop right here and shift to reading, reading the best book in my life so far..

Good Night. Will Connect with you tomorrow.

Narendra Gupta 

10:08pm

Day177: “It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives. It's what we do consistently.” ― Anthony Robbins

Sun/Mon, 21/22 July 2013; 11:10pm
Kestopur, Kolkata, WB

Today I think about the 'importance of consistency'. I have been quite inconsistent on several fronts in (my) life, be it my academic performance, job performance, workouts (Going to Gym), and so on. Somehow I feel, I have paid heavy price (in Personal life and Professional life so far) due to lack of  consistency in doing things. When it comes to Blogging, I have been inconsistent here as well. 

Ever since I relocated to Kolkata 3 months ago, I didn't write consistently. Several factors like health issues, time with family, work commitments are there but the important one is the habit of procrastination. I had been waiting to write an article on my 2 months in Calcutta, my illness, experiences, learning, and the new people I met throughout this period. Days, Weeks and even a Month has passed but this article never happen. Well!, this is not the first time. Several times in life I have thought of a certain thing and have been putting off till tomorrow. This tomorrow becomes months and in some cases years gradually and sometimes doesn't materialize.  In short, PROCRASTINATION has again crept in.

I have lots of habits to improve upon, will take one at a time. Today, I PLEDGE TO IMPROVE UPON THE HABIT OF BEING CONSISTENT positively. I start by making a public commitment of writing on a daily basis from today onwards. I will give at-least 10 minutes to writing everyday. Yes, today I resume BLOGGING once again.

What you can take away from my Blog? Learning for the day:

As mentioned earlier, my blog is the story of an ordinary person who is striving to become extra-ordinary. This blog is all about his struggles, his ups and downs in life and how he scripts success. I will urge each one of you reading me today to be CONSISTENT in doing good things, be it reading, writing, exercising, doing noble activities and so on. Even if a work looks huge but done on a daily and more consistent basis make it happen quite easily. 

Here is what Jim Rohn has to say on the impotance of consistency:

“Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying basic fundamentals."

Wishing you all a very Happy and Useful Week ahead. My dear friends, remember each day and each moment of life is utterly important and precious. Please do not waste it in doing meaningless acts. Always have 'constancy of purpose' and keep working towards achieving your goals. God Bless you all. Will be right here tomorrow.

Take Care. Good Night!!

Narendra Gupta.

22 July 2013; 12:10am

Day 176: Boria Majumdar visits Wipro Kolkata: says "The moment you think, I have achieved fair enough, AND now I can REST, that moment itself 'YOU ARE FINISHED'..."

Saturday, 20th July 2013; 1:30pm
Kestopur, Kolkata, WB

"The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism"   - Norman Vincent Peale

My critiques inspire me. It is they who inspire me to go the extra mile. I am quite an ordinary person with some extra-ordinary dreams. I was and am more of a diligent than a genius. No one, absolutely no one in this world can take away my grit and guts. I have unrelenting faith in myself and a rock solid determination. I will never give in, never, never, never give in. I would love to have more number of critiques than people who do false praises. To all my Critiques, thank you for being there.

Well! today, I am here to share about an interesting event (at least it is for me!). This Wednesday, as part of the 'Grow Familiar' initiative by Strategic Marketing division of Wipro Technologies, the famous and internationally acclaimed sports Journalist and Writer Boria Majumdar visited Wipro Kolkata. As part of similar initiative, Chetan Bhagat and Milind Soman had graced Wipro facility at Pune and Chennai campuses earlier. This time it was in Kolkata and I could not afford to miss this opportunity (of a face to face interaction with a celebrity). I was well before time sitting on chair with my toes touching the ground and heals almost vertical, back straight and my chest slightly bent forward. I was so curious to meet this person, whom I used to watch and listen on various TV shows. 

Boria Majumdar at Wipro

Boria was given the topic 'How Growth and Advancement of Technology has helped sports?' to put forward his views. He described the topic taking Cricket as reference. He started with the example of BCCI, the national governing body for Cricket in India, becoming the richest cricketing council in the world just in a period of 20 years. This all happened when BCCI gained private TV telecast rights. It was a significant milestone and people could get away with the poor quality of telecast by Doordarshan. You might remember the era when camera pointed to the onside boundary when it was a four or a six on the off-side, even the pathetic quality of TV commentary. This brought multi-million deals with private TV broadcasters and with this, the story of humongous profit began. This was supplemented with innovation and creativity at each level in the digital media. BCCI did a lot of business not to tell about the IPL and all this was possible with the apt use of growing technology.

Boria displayed comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of  the game. He can even tell you on which ball of a particular game, Sachin scored a century, who was the bowler, how did he get out in game X and so on. He also mentioned on his upcoming book "Autobiography of Sachin Tendulkar". He shared how Sachin showed utmost determination in practicing during morning and evening hours, how he used to travel in the local crowded bus and how he used to wear the same Jersey in the evening practice session  which he wore during morning practice after a wash, sometimes it even used to be wet pockets. This legendary Cricket went on to sign the first multi-million dollar deal for the country. Lots of things to come in the book to be published by the end of year.

One thing which strike to my mind is his unrelenting commitment and supreme passion. On a question 'What it takes to become a BORIA MAJUMDAR?' he said "if you want to achieve something extra-ordinary in life you must marry with your passion, you should eat, sleep and live with it." On a lighter note he said "you should love it (your passion) more than your wife." Later he said, you must keep innovating and updating your skill-set at each point in life because the moment you think "I have achieved enough, I can REST now, that moment itself you are finished". He gave example of the Little Master who even at 40 is touring South Africa ahead of the India trip this November to get used to the local conditions and prepare well in the given circumstances.

Boria shared "Do your best in a given task (and situation) and that is all you can do, feel Good, feel Confident. You cannot make everyone happy. Just and Just believe in yourself."

I was amazed to see the simplicity, in-depth knowledge, to-the point content of his presentation, and all his motivating words for the younger brigade. I was so engaged in watching him speak and listening to him that didn't ask him a single question in the Q & A session. Thank You Boria for visiting Wipro and for MOTIVATING us. Thank You.

Narendra Gupta
2:20pm

My Classics: Poem 8: Someday I Dream, Someday I Dream...

My Classics: Poem Corner

Hello!! You beautiful, generous, sweet, kind-hearted, and big-hearted people on earth. Hope you are doing great and leading a life of purpose. Hope you are valuing your loved ones and relations more than all those materialistic things. Hope that you are Living and Loving Life. 

I took a long break from my blog ever since I moved to Kolkata. A lot has happened in the past two months, will share my experiences shortly. Living with family and loved ones is really, really very special and pleasing, although its very challenging to find time for reading and writing, my two personal interests I have developed in recent times. I have always believed life is full of adventures, you never know what challenge lies the very next moment. Will share the adventures I went through in my next blog. 

Today, I present to you my eighth and the last poem I had written in my early years. Interestingly this was my maiden english poem. One request, please don't go on grammar, there may be some mistakes here and there ( बस भावनाओं को समझो!). So, Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls, here is my eighth poem on my dreams straight from the pages of my first journal.

Someday I dream, Someday I dream...

 

 

 Life is the most beautiful thing, God and our Parents have provided us with. Come on, Lets LIVE!

Will come very soon with my next blog. Until then..

Take a very good Care of yourselves, YOU ARE SO SPECIAL!

 

Narendra Gupta 

Monday; 08th July 2013; 12:25am.