Finally a real author in the family

Seems like we finally have an author in the family. And its not me. Its Freia who has started writing for NYU Local.

NYU Local describes itself as
"We are NYU’s blog. Student-run and independently funded, our goal is to deliver all the discussion-worthy happenings in the school and city we call home. The site is conversational, the setup straightforward, and the information useful. Read our daily blend of original reporting and insightful commentary to learn about what’s happening at your university, in your neighborhood, and around the country. We’ll help you feel pretty damn connected to a school with no campus.

In the past five years, our alumni have moved onto prestigious jobs at publications including New York 1, New York Magazine, Buzzfeed, MSNBC, Time, Newsweek, and the New York Times. So check us out!"

And I'll let you check out Freia's writings at :
http://nyulocal.com/author/freia-lobo/

Be Nice

A few weeks ago I received an e-mail from a close friend's father. It was a 1 line mail, "I would like to meet you". He lives in Delhi. I'm currently based in the US and live in Mumbai.

Last week I was on a work trip to Mumbai. I had planned to visit my friends Dad in Delhi over the weekend. And I made the trip last Sunday. I flew into Delhi in the morning, met him for a few hours and then headed back to the airport. As it turned out my flight back was delayed and U spent more time at the airport than the rest of the trip, but that's an entirely different story.

What was interesting was that no one seemed to believe that I was going to Delhi to meet a friends Dad. Everyone was convinced that I had some other work or meeting or agenda in Delhi. Anil, my friends brother put it in an interesting way, "How can anyone fly to another city to meet a friends dad based on a 1 line email. I wouldn't do it."

I thought about it and reached the exact opposite conclusion. Why wouldn't someone spend a day to fulfill a wish of someone who they;re close to, especially when the real cost is almost nothing. I guess its how you look at it.

In my view, being nice to whoever you can, whenever you can is always a great idea. Life has a way of coming a full circle. I've found that on many occasions the people we've been super nice to may not only not reciprocate, but sometimes be super nasty and try and harm us. And this leads several people to stop being nice or at the very least be selective about their niceness.

The way I look at it is that whilst this may be true, there are several occasions when strangers do nice things for us or amazing things just happen. I have no idea how, but its happened to me multiple times. So I'm going to continue being nice. Brings a smile to many people. Including me.

Modi at Madison Square Garden, New York

Earlier today, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed over 18,000 mainly India-Americans who hung on to every word of Mr. Modi.

This is one speech I strongly recommend you listen to. For Modi fans its inspiring. And for his detractors, its informative and educative.

Its a rare occasion when India appears on the world arena in a positive light. And this was one of those. Significant articles appeared in the 3 most read news media. The Wall Stret Journal, the New York Times and the BBC. 

http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2014/09/28/live-blog-indias-narendra-modi-speaks-at-madison-square-garden/

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/29/nyregion/at-madison-square-garden-chants-cheers-and-roars-for-modi.html?_r=0

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-29403546

Time - Use it or better still Procrastinate

I have a major problem writing this weekly blog. I come up with a zillion reasons for doing it later. I would love to think its because I'm extremely busy and have no time or am doing something way more important. Unfortunately that's mostly not true.

Its almost like postponing writing this blog becomes a goal and am able to come up with reasons to justify the same. Most or possibly all of them untrue. I decided to check if its a problem I have and if there's a solution.

The good news is that it seems like I have a problem, but so does almost everyone. The problem called "Procrastination".  Its definition
"Procrastination is the practice of carrying out less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones, or doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable ones, and thus putting off impending tasks to a later time, sometimes to the "last minute" before the deadline."

The bad news is that if you want to succeed, you've got to find a solution, at least partial for this huge problem called "Procrastination".

I set about doing research on the subject aka "Googling". I found that this was very interesting. I was doing what I enjoyed doing, checking out random you tubes and it counted as work. Well almost.

I found an interesting take on time, our perception of time and how patient kids, and adults who were willing to fore-go immediate rewards for a larger gain in some future time, were much better off. In that event, and more important in Life.   

Philip Zimbardo: The psychology of time

The most entertaining and appropriate rendition of procrastination can be found in this musical.

Procrastinate - The Musical

And if you like to be motivationally inspired, aka lectured on how "You Can Do It", check out Robin Sharma's talk.

How I Beat Procrastination : Robin Sharma

And finally for those who only want a quick fix in 3 minutes check out this quick but possibly unrealistic 3 step solution.

3 Powerful Techniques To Beat Procrastination : Arina Nikitina

Try something new for 30 days

I recently saw a TED Talk by Matt Cutts, "Try something new for 30 days".

And I decided to try it out. So here's my list of things I'm going to do in the next 3 months.

October 2014 : No TV
Yes, you read that right, No television.

November 2014 : No Meat
Yes, you read that right to, I'll be a vegetarian for a whole month.

December 2014 : No coffee and sodas
This will probably be the toughest, as I practically live on coffee.

I'll have an update for you'll in January. And if this works, I'll probably try out 12 new items in 2015.

Ukuu CRM

I always knew that WordPress was one of the most popular blogging platforms. Recently when Nate of Arete Imagine told me that WordPress had around 50% market share amongst CMS's.

I immediately jumped to the conclusion that of the billions of websites, many of them single pagers, this was not significant. Till he showed me the stats. He wasn't talking about the universe of websites. He was referring to the top million.

http://trends.builtwith.com/cms

And so when he started talking about a gap in the CRM space within WordPress, he had my attention. At the end of a discussion that lasted under an hour in July, Ukuu Logic was conceived. A month later a company was formed. And in under 2 months a product is being built which we hope to launch in January 2015.

Most people don't know what a CRM is. Or why its critical in a business. So should you be running a business or plan to start one, now's a great time to find out more. And hopefully by Jan 2015, you'll start using Ukuu CRM along with Wordpress.


To know more about Ukuu check out:

http://ukuulogic.com/

To learn more about WordPress check out :
https://wordpress.org/

Don't know much

One thing I always knew is that I don't know much. Imagine my surprise when I found that there were books and a site that addressed that exact problem. Not knowing much.

Kenneth Davis is the author and creator of the "Don't Know Much About". Davis, has been dubbed “The King of Knowing” by Amazon.com

To quote Mr. Davis,

"
For years, I’ve been writing books that try to make learning fun. I ask questions, bust myths, connect the past to the present and shed light on overlooked stories from History, Geography, Mythology and the Bible, among other subjects. Have a look around my site. And join the journey- LEARN SOMETHING NEW EVERY DAY.
"

I've gone through some parts of the "Don't Know" series. And whilst I learnt a little, I also realized that there's much more that I don't know than I first thought.

There's one area where Mr. Davis is doing a very interesting service. His Free Classroom Skype's.

"
Dear Teachers,

Throughout American History, wars have provided the backdrop of some of the greatest crises faced by American presidents. In the spring of 2014, Kenneth C. Davis can Skype® into your classroom to discuss some of these moments in a program called Presidents, Conflict & Crisis.

Among the significant topics he will discuss:
•150 years ago Abraham Lincoln faced the possibility of losing the presidency as the Civil War entered a critical and costly period with some of the war’s most deadly fighting at such battles as Cold Harbor, Atlanta and the Siege of Petersburg. At the time Lincoln feared he would not be reelected or even nominated by the Republicans.

•100 years ago, Woodrow Wilson had to confront the possibility of America getting involved in Europe’s “Great War,” later known as World War I.

•70 years ago, World War II entered a crucial phase as the United States and its Allies prepared for the D-Day invasion (June 6, 1944) and Franklin D. Roosevelt had to decide if he should run for an unprecedented fourth term.

•50 years ago, Lyndon B. Johnson was attempting to pass a landmark civil rights law even as he deepened America’s involvement with Vietnam, especially after the Gulf of Tonkin incident in the summer of 1964. Johnson was also facing re-election, having become president after John F. Kennedy’s assassination in November 1963.

•10 years ago, George W. Bush took the U.S. deeper into its war in Iraq even though he had declared major combat operations over a year earlier. As a violent insurgency spread in such cities as Fallujah, Baghdad and Najaf, the Iraq invasion became a costly fiasco..

How did these presidents respond to these crises and what lessons can history teach us today about going to war?

KENNETH C. DAVIS will offer a LIMITED number of free SKYPE® sessions to middle school and high school Social Studies classes, based on his availability. These sessions will be scheduled from APRIL 22 THROUGH MAY 2014.

Each classroom session will last about 30 to 45 minutes and include time for students to ask questions.
"

This is a great way to get students to appreciate history in a fun way. These books are a wonderful resource, especially if you have kids going to Middle School.

There's also a song that captures the "Don't Know Much" concept. Sam Cooke's "What a wonderful world". Have a listen.