Maximise Potential

I am reading the book How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael Gelb. The following are the Seven Da Vincian principles Curiosita – An insatiably curious approach to life and unrelenting quest for continuous learning. Dimostrazione –A commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistakes. Sensazione – The continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience. Sfumato “going up in smoke”–A willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox and uncertainty. Arte/Scienza – The development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination. Corporalita – The cultivation of grace, ambidexterity, fitness and poise. Connessione – A recognition of and appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things and phenomena. Systems thinking. One main theme from the book is Leonardo da Vinci always carried a notebook with him at all times so that he could jot down ideas, impressions, and observ...

Weight loss is one of the most discussed topics all the time. I have lost 23 pounds in the last 8 months by doing a few things which I thought I will share. What I am suggesting here is surely not a quick fix solution. The results do take time but I think it is worth it. To be honest I didn’t really starve but I just changed the food I ate between meals.  Exercise daily or 5 times a week. There is nothing new in this but it works. I generally do 30 min on elliptical most of the time as it is low impact. I also started running and did a half marathon in Oct. Initially I could not run more than 5 min continuously but eventually I was able to do it. Though this is not my first half marathon it was still a tough one since I had to start practicing again.  Avoid certain foods. I completely stopped eating cakes, doughnuts, biscuits, bagels and any snacks between meals. Instead I turned to fruits as the snacks in between meals. I had pears, apples, bananas and Low fat yogurt....

Recently I have the read the following books which I consider outstanding Discover your Genius by Michael Gelb. He has analyzed the ten most revolutionary figures from history and drawn parallels with the relevance to us. I loved the chapter on Columbus. While most hugged the shoreline Columbus went into uncharted waters with wind against his back. The primary traits of Columbus were courage, optimism and vision. I found this book inspiring. Some of the others featured were Mahatma Gandhi, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein. His other book How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci was also a good read. One of his discoveries while reviewing all these successful people is they all had a journal where they articulated all their thoughts, plans and actions. Speed of Trust by Stephen.M.R.Covey – This was a great read. My takeaways where that when trust is low the speed is less but cost is more. When the trust is high the speed is high and cost is less. He also says we should first have sel...

Dream Big Dreams “Never let your memories be greater than your dreams.” —Doug Ivester “All successful men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose.” —Brian Tracy “All of our dreams can come true —if we have the courage to pursue them.” —Walt Disney “I have had dreams and I have had nightmares, but I have conquered my nightmares because of my dreams.” —Dr. Jonas Salk “To realize a dream, you must have a dream to realize.” —Mark Victor Hansen “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.” —Franklin Delano Roosevelt “Live out of your imagination, not your history.” —Stephen Covey “The man who has no imagination has no wings.” —Muhammad Ali “Nothing happens unless first a dream.” —Carl Sandburg “Successful people believe in the validity of their own dreams and goals, even if dreams are all they have to go on.” —Denis Wa...

I just noted down the following passage of a speech from former President Nixon. It was inspiring. "Only if you have been in the deepest valleys can we ever know how magnificent it is to be on top of the mountain. Never Give up. Take failures in your stride. Life tests the Big Dreamers always. Do not give up. Keep going. Always in the arena, sometimes wrong, sometimes right, greatness comes when you are really tested, when you take some knocks, when you take some sadness, disappointments. Always give your best, never get discouraged, never be petty, always remember others may hate you those who hate you don't win unless you hate them and then you destroy yourself"

Federer's achievement on Sunday of winning 7 Wimbledons and his 17th grandslam is a historic achievement and is not something that would be broken in the near future, This sport is so amazing when Pete Sampras completed his career most people thought that 14 grandslams would not be broken in his life time. In less than 10 years Federer has managed to achevie that. Federer won his first grandslam in 2003 and since then he has not looked back. Most people in the recent years have been saying Federer is on the wane. Well even if he is not at his best he always reaches the semis. He has reached 35 straight quarterfinals. Sampras in his prime sometimes has lost in the early round(Nadal lost in the second round in this years wimbledon) but Federer is a machine and is a hallmark for consistency. The best attributes that describe Federer 1. Passion - His love of the sport is amazing. He has achieved it all but still wants to win more. 2. Self Drive - He keeps pushing himself to explore n...

 At the outset let me tell you that I am a huge fan of Rahul Dravid. Irrespective of which team you support the world over people, commentators, former players and current players all admire this man.  The reason Rahul Dravid is so likable is his even-headedness. I think one of the best compliments Rahul got was in 2007 when he handled the bad press and public ire when the team was ousted in the first round of the World cup with immaculate temperament.  As Martin Luther King noted "The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”  Rahul Dravid after the defeat said "That’s the beauty of sport" and he was graceful in defeat. He even went to Tamim Iqbal and congratulated the young man for his innings which took the game away from India.  Sachin Tendulkar is a genius not everybody can emulate him but Rahul Dravid can be used as a Role model for his ...

I just read two books recently Never Give up by Donald Trump and Help Yourself by Dave Pelzer. Following are the major themes I learnt from the books.  Never Give up. No matter what happens in life never give in. Donald Trump was bankrupt and apparently is in the Guinness Book of World records for the biggest financial turnaround in the history of Business. He has mentioned that the single reason for his success is his self-belief and attitude of never giving up.  Clarity precedes mastery. Be absolutely clear on what you want out of life. Write down exactly what you want to be known as at the end of your life and then work towards it.  Be positive. It is very easy to fall into the negative trap but be positive. Obviously everyone will fall into the negative trap from time to time but immediately be aware of your negative state of mind and replace a negative thought with a positive one.  Be courageous. Courage is not the absence of fear but it is the tri...

I am writing this post after Spain beat Italy in Euro 2012. They are the first team to win three major international tournaments (Euro 2008, 2010 World Cup, and Euro 2012) in a row. They are also being talked about as one of the best of all time. It is always difficult to compare teams across eras. It has happened in cricket as well when Steve Waugh's Australian team was hailed as the greatest ever. What makes these teams click is interesting. The first step towards building winning teams is to have the right players on the field of play. If we analyze a lot of the top sports teams from history we notice that all of them have a great set of players who complement each other. We should also keep in mind that it is not always the team full of superstars that wins. The most important point in the selection of a team is to ensure different skill sets which are required for ultimate victory. Once we have the right players on the field it makes the job of winning a lot easier....