The Don't Quit

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As every one of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out;
Don't give up though the pace seems slow--
You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than,
It seems to a faint and faltering man,
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor's cup,
And he learned too late when the night slipped down,
How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out--
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far,
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Effective growth of brain

1. Learn what is the “It” in “Use It or Lose It”. A basic understanding will serve you well to appreciate your brain’s beauty as a living and constantly developing dense forest with billions of neurons and synapses.
2. Take care of your nutrition. Did you know that the brain only weighs 2% of body mass but consumes over 20% of the oxygen and nutrients we intake? As a general rule, you don’t need expensive ultra sophisticated nutritional supplements; just make sure you don’t stuff yourself with the “bad stuff”.
3. Remember that the brain is part of the body. Things that exercise your body can also help sharpen your brain: physical exercise enhances neurogenesis.
4. Practice positive, future oriented thoughts until they become your default mindset and you look forward to every new day in a constructive way. Stress and anxiety, no matter whether induced by external events or by your own thoughts, actually kills neurons and prevent the creation of new ones. You can think of chronic stress as the opposite of exercise: it prevents the creation of new neurons.
5. Thrive on Learning and Mental Challenges. The point of having a brain is precisely to learn and to adapt to challenging new environments. Once new neurons appear in your brain, where they stay in your brain and how long they survive depends on how you use them. “Use It or Lose It” does not mean “do crossword puzzle number 1,234,567″. It means, “Challenge your brain often with fundamentally new activities”.
6. We are (as far as we know) the only self-directed organisms in this planet. Aim high. Once you graduate from college, keep learning. The brain keeps developing, no matter your age, and it reflects what you do with it.
7. Explore, travel. Adapting to new locations forces you to pay more attention to your environment. Make new decisions, use your brain.
8. Don’t Outsource Your Brain. Not to media personalities, not to politicians, not to your smart neighbor… Make your own decisions, and mistakes. And learn from them. That way, you are training your brain, not your neighbor’s.
9. Develop and maintain stimulating friendships. We are “social animals”, and need social interaction. Which, by the way, is why ‘Baby Einstein’ has been shown not to be the panacea for children development?
10. Laugh. Often. Especially to cognitively complex humor, full of twists and surprises

Attitude of gratitude

1. Grateful people don’t expect that life is going to give them everything they deserve. They realize that good things do not always happen to good people, and they have given up the notion that life “owes them” anything more than it can offer.
2. They do not have preconditions to their happiness. They do not think “If this happens” only then “I will be happy.” They understand happiness is not coming from the outside, but from within. They focus more on their adjustment to what happens rather than try to change what can not be changed
3. People who are grateful have realized that you can not have the rainbow without the rain. Furthermore, they know that you don’t have honey without the bee, and you can’t have the rose without the thorns. They see rainy days as a normal part of life rather than an aberration, and learn from the rain rather than just wait for it to go away. They admire the beauty of the rose even though it has its thorny side, and savor the sweet taste of honey even though the bee can sting. Realizing you can not have one without the other, they are grateful for both.
4. Grateful people have hope. No matter what happens, hope is not lost. They realize the future is uncertain, and while they plan for it, they do not try to micromanage outcomes that are beyond their sphere of influence. They take comfort in the fact that once the sun sets, it rises the next day.
5. Those who are steeped in bitterness and grudges have no space in their heart to be grateful. Forgiving your spouse for not being as understanding as you would have been, forgiving your children for making choices that would not have been your own, and giving up the grudge of a slight or injustice from a friend, are all parts of the gratitude equation. Forgive others for not acting or being like you had hoped. As Buddha said, “Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”
6. People who are grateful know that a grateful attitude takes work. Gratefulness does not always come naturally, especially in the most challenging times. In such times, grateful people work on keeping a good perspective. They might read affirmations, seek support form others, get help for their sadness or anxiety. Some will seek counseling and do not shy away from the effort it takes.
7. Grateful people have healthy thinking habits. They go by the motto, “Think Straight – Feel Great!” They can separate their perceptions from the facts and separate rational from victim-like irrational ways of thinking.
8. Grateful people are flexible in their thinking. People who think flexibly are at an advantage in life, as flexibility is the key to growth and wisdom. They don’t cling stubbornly with ways of thinking that do not work, and do not need to see a shift in attitude as meaning a personal defeat and referendum of how wrong they used to be. They realize they can choose their perceptions and have a right to change their minds. With this mentality, the doors that close yield others that  now become open.
9. People who love to learn tend to be grateful. Each setback or unforeseen life event offers us lessons, and grateful people focus more on the lessons they can get out of each situation rather than the disappointments. After all, life is a great teacher and teaches us things that no one ever could. Even mistakes and failures are seen as learning opportunities.
10. Grateful people define their self worth by their determination and their dreams, not their regrets and disappointments. A grateful mindset has no room for excessive self-recrimination and low self esteem. People who are stuck in past regrets and see themselves as losers in life or as having failed badly in even certain areas of their lives will not be able to be truly grateful. Positive self esteem sets the foundation for gratefulness. So if you are down on yourself, this is a time to get a mental health tune up!

Is India ready for e-commerce?

E- Commerce is the process of buying or selling products on the internet. The process of buying and selling products through the internet has become quite popular these days. E-commerce also involves activities like developing products, marketing them and also delivering them to the consumers. However, it was only in 1979 that Michael Aldrin invented online shopping. During the late 1980s and 1990s, the big companies and business houses entered the market of online shopping.

It was during the 1995-2000 that the world experienced a dot com bubble after which the face of e-commerce transformed completely. E-commerce is an amazing way of buying and selling products. E-commerce is also definitely a more comfortable way of shopping. Which is the better idea- if you have to go out to different shops and spend hours on buying things that you want? Or the idea of being able to shop for things that you need from within the comforts of your home and at prices lesser than what you would usually pay?

India is the second fastest growing economy in the world. In the last few years, Indian has developed radically. There has not only been economical development but the country has also become technologically advanced. In India, the year 1990 marked the year of science and technological advancement in the country. In the last two decades, the country has come a long way. Computer and internet have become available in almost every home. This has created a market for e-commerce in India. Also the consumers have become quite smart and are looking for ways which prove they can make profitable purchase. India is not only ready for e-commerce; e-commerce has already become quite popular in India too.

There are many reasons which make India a suitable market for e-commerce. Here are some of the reasons:

1.The mindset of consumer has changed: The consumers have become quite technological friendly these days. Earlier, consumers in India preferred going out and shopping in the markets. However, e-commerce does not only provide one with comfort but also gives them a chance to avail on various kinds of offers which helps the consumer to save money. Thus, consumers have now started developing a penchant for e-commerce rather than shopping in the markets.

2.Internet friendly users: In India, people have become quite internet friendly these days. The numbers of users have grown phenomenally over the years. According to a survey, there were only 7 million internet users in India in 2001. The number had grown to 100 million in 2010. Since people are becoming quite internet friendly these days, e-commerce is becoming a comfortable option for the people. It is believed that around 75 million household are ready for e-commerce in this nation.

3.Entry of big names in the Indian e-commerce market: Many big names have entered the market of e-commerce in India. Thus, the consumers get the best of the options while sitting at home only. These big names are investing in the e-commerce market from a long term perspective rather than small term. Thus, the e-commerce market is to grow even more bigger and better in times to come.

4.The success of the some of the sectors in the e-commerce market: Some of the sectors like travelling and retail have already proved to be quite successful in the field of e-commerce. These sectors have already made a lot of profit through the e-commerce market. The success of these sectors has incited other sectors to enter the market of e-commerce and this is precisely the reason why the e-commerce market has expanded so quickly in India.


Above mentioned are some of the reasons which make India a suitable market for e-commerce. However, there is still a slight bit of reluctance in the Indian Consumers regarding online shopping and e-commerce. Eventually this hesitation and reluctance will go with better services and offers and this is precisely the reason for believing that the market for e-commerce will only grow in India in times to come. According to a survey, it is believed that the number of e-commerce consumers will grow to 460 million individuals by 2024-2025.

Flipkart, Superbazaar.com, olx. Com, snapdeal are some of the e-commerce of online shopping websites that have already made it big in the Indian e-commerce market. With bigger and better online shopping sites like Amazon to enter the Indian e-commerce market in the near future, it would be right to say that the future of e-commerce is quite bright in India.

Think like Entrepreneur

“When the manager helps his employees
       think in terms of the big picture
           and understand the domino
              effect of every action they take,
                 he put the seed of an entrepreneurial mindset in them
                    which creates a winning and motivated  team
                        and a successful organization as a consequence”

The origin of the word “Entrepreneur” is from the French word entreprendre. French for "to undertake". It should be noticed that the word accentuate on an attempt to act, and not on the end product of that action.
Every manager of an organization should think like an entrepreneur and act like a leader by making every employee feel like a business partner as it will motivate them to do their best. It will not only bestow upon them a sense of ownership in the organization, but will make them feel as an indispensible part of the organization and you will have the most valuable asset of your organization performing their level best for the benefit of the organization.

Encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset goes beyond profits and benefits. It’s a motivating attitude instilled in others by you, the manager. A manager with an entrepreneurial mind set is a great strategist and a master at getting others excited about helping him grow the business. He should make each and every member of his team an entrepreneur who activates his intuitions and sees the entire task as a whole responsibility, who can understand the entirety of the task assigned, the oneness of it and the integrated unity of it as opposed to merely their own assigned parts to perform.

In today’s competitive and swiftly changing work environment, employees should know far more about the tasks and projects than just how to do their specific jobs. So the manager must help his team members in understanding the entire task or project and its completion process, so that they could gain a clearer perspective of how the organization operates, learn what the competition is doing and develop the ability to take intelligent risks and to be creative at the same time. By doing so, the manager helps his employees feel a sense of ownership and pride in their work and a sense of commitment to the organization and its goals.
Some more useful ways by which a manager could instill an entrepreneurial mind set in his team could be:

•To Experiment – The manager should challenge his team members to push a project forward, without analyzing it himself. And protect his team from those who may question this approach.
•By Broadcasting Results – He should share the results of this experimental project with other leaders in his company and encourage them to support the project. This will also popularize this method in the organization and other leaders and managers will also start following the pioneer.

•By Managing it closely - The manager should also observe the process throughout to ensure that the costs never exceed the organization's acceptable budget, so the team can clearly see the upside of acting fast.

When the manager helps his employees think in terms of the big picture and understand the domino effect of every action they take, he put the seed of an entrepreneurial mindset in them which creates a winning and motivated team and a successful organization as a consequence.

Entrepreneurial mind set can help the employees of, virtually, any field or profession. The currently available products and services in the area of expertise of the organization, despite of doing well, always have possibility of improvement to serve the customers better.

A true leader only can instill the entrepreneurial mind set in his team. There are some key characteristic of a true leader like he is driven to succeed, a self-starter and go-getter, i.e., he is so motivated to achieve his goals that he takes initiatives rather than waiting for someone to issue instructions. He always sees opportunities where others can see problems. He bears responsibility for his own actions, instead of playing the blame-game. He thrives on change and welcomes it.

When an organization survives and thrives, it’s generally because the managers and leaders of that organization know how to change with changing scenario. And sometimes they even keep ahead of the changes around them. That’s certainly so when they allow or even encourage innovative thinking among their employees. That means that managers need to help their employees feel motivated for developing out-of-the-box thinking.

strategy for success

Late Earl Nightingale, also known as the ‘Dean of Personal Development’, believed that there exist two types of people: RIVER PEOPLE and GOAL PEOPLE. Both experience achievement and success in life, but in different ways.

Goal people are individuals who believe in timetable approach. They write down their objectives and focus on attaining them one by one whereas River people don't follow such a structured route to success. They don’t have a concrete plan with measurable goals, but are still successful because they are so passionate about their area of interest that they only rest once they have achieved their much awaited destination.

By laying out a roadmap of future achievements in front of them, goal people provide a clear set of stimuli to their creative minds to work upon and their subconscious minds brew only those ideas and insights that will compliment their set roadmap of achievements.
River people, on the other hand, are happiest and most fulfilled individuals, who like to wade in a rich "river" of interest; a subject or profession about which they are very passionate. This helps them in recognizing breakthrough opportunities that are generally invisible from the mental radar of the more narrowly focused goal people.
From the standpoint of knowledge, river people are explorers. They continually seek out for learning opportunities and new experiences, unlike goal people for whom learning things apart from their stated objective is like a deviation from their path.

And from the standpoint of creativity, river people are more likely to benefit from serendipity, because they tend to be more open to new ideas, points of view and insights than single-minded, focused goal people.
In our day-to-day life, we encounter people who show the traits of both personalities. For instance, a creative person in a timetable job! In his full-time job, he is expected to be goal oriented. He has specific personal and departmental objectives for which he is responsible.
At the same time he gets excited about being a creative writer and wants to learn new skills and collect new information about innovation and technology for writing and nurturing his growing Web site! So at different scenario, people embody characteristics of both the personalities.

Likewise, most of us embody traits of both the personalities in different situations. To strategize success on personal and professional level, it is important for us to distinguish between our tasks and related personality, i.e., when do we need to strategize and when should we just ‘go with the wind’!
The important point is to recognize and nurture both aspects of our personality as there is so much more to explore and know that we ought to make time in our lives for both our goal and river personas. After all, both bring richness and fullness to our lives.

Thus, the basic strategy for success is not to strategize it, but to be on the lookout for new experiences and learning opportunities on a daily basis. You never know when they're going to appear -- the key is to recognize them when they do!

The Green Revolution - Facts and Fallacies

Green Revolution refers to a series of research, development, and technology transfer initiatives, occurring between the 1940s and the late 1970s that increased agriculture production around the world beginning most markedly in the late 1960s. But in India, The Green Revolution refers to the increase in food production and in production of non-food items that has significantly and steadily taken place in India since 1966. Dr. Norman Borlaug, who is hailed as the Father of the Green Revolution first introduced genetically modified high-yielding wheat to India in 1963. But the honor of being the Father of Green Revolution in India goes to Dr. M.S.Swaminathan. He is a member of the Parliament, and also heads a foundation called M.S.S.R.F (M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation) in Chennai, India.
The other name written with golden ink in the history of Green Revolution of India is of Dr. M.P. Singh. He was very instrumental in introducing High Yielding Seeds [HYS] to agricultural world of the country. The use of HYS provided the success platform for the Green Revolution in India.
Therefore, the introduction of high-yielding varieties of seeds and the increased use of fertilizers and irrigation resulted in increase in production which was much needed to make India a self-sufficient country in food grains, and thus improved agriculture in India. All these steps collectively are termed as Green Revolution.
Green Revolution not only resulted in good production but the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers reduced the negative effects on the soil and the land such as land degradation. The Green Revolution led to sizable increases in returns to land, and hence raised farmers’ incomes. Moreover, with greater income to spend, new needs for farm inputs, and milling and marketing services, farm families led a general increase in demand for goods and services. This stimulated the rural non-farm economy, which in turn grew and generated significant new income and employment of its own.
This was a general know how of Green Revolution, but of we speak technically, the Green Revolution was much more than just growing crops and using pesticides.

So, what exactly was the Green Revolution in India?
There were three basic elements in the method of the Green Revolution in India. They were:
1)Continued expansion of farming areas;
The area of land under cultivation was being increased right from 1947. But this was not enough as the demand was rising in much faster pace than supply, but still the expansion of cultivable land continued. So, the Green Revolution continued with this quantitative expansion of farmlands. However, this is NOT the most striking feature of the Revolution.
2)Double-cropping existing farmland;
This was a primary feature of the Green Revolution. Instead of one crop season per year, the decision was made to have two crop seasons per year. The one-season-per-year practice was based on the fact that there is only natural monsoon per year. This was correct. So, there had to be two "monsoons" per year. One would be the natural monsoon and the other an artificial 'monsoon.' which was to be created with the help of huge irrigation facilities. Dams were built to arrest large volumes of natural monsoon water which were earlier being wasted. Simple irrigation techniques were also adopted.
3) Using seeds with improved genetics.
This was the scientific aspect of the Green Revolution. The Indian Council for Agricultural Research (which was established by the British in 1929 but was not known to have done any significant research) was re-organized in 1965 and then again in 1973. It developed new strains of high yield value (HYV) seeds, mainly wheat and rice but also millet and corn. The most noteworthy HYV seed was the K68 variety for wheat. The credit for developing this strain goes to Dr. M.P. Singh who is also regarded as the hero of India's Green revolution.
As expected, the Green Revolution also contributed in creating plenty of jobs not only for agricultural workers but also industrial workers by the creation of lateral facilities such as factories and hydro-electric power stations as explained above. This gave better nutrition to the people by raising incomes and reducing prices, which permitted people to consume more calories and a more diversified diet.

But a revolution of this magnitude was bound to create some problems of its own. Even today, India's agricultural output sometimes falls short of demand. The Green Revolution, howsoever impressive, has thus NOT succeeded in making India totally and permanently self-sufficient in food. In 1979 and 1987, India faced severe drought conditions due to poor monsoon; this rose questions about the whether the Green Revolution was really a long-term achievement.

Also India has failed to extend the concept of high-yield value seeds to all crops or all regions. In terms of crops, it remains largely confined to food grains only, not to all kinds of agricultural produce. In regional terms, only Punjab and Haryana states showed the best results of the Green Revolution. The eastern plains of the River Ganges in West Bengal state also showed reasonably good results. But results were less impressive in other parts of India.
But we cannot deny that Green Revolution did have its positive effect on the overall agricultural production. Some of them could be:
•India is not self sufficient but is one amongst the countries with the highest agricultural production.
•It is also a food grain exporter.
•Green Revolution taught the concept and techniques of cash crops, and also adamantly pointed towards production of fruits and flowers.
•Production of Unit farmland increased by 30%, as compared to the production of 1947.
•Green Revolution provided scope for Industrial boost because together with HYS fertilizers, farmers also needed more water, more fertilizer, more pesticides, fungicides and certain other chemicals.
•With the irrigation purpose, more dams were constructed, which prompted construction of hydro electric power production and resulted in industrial growth.
Nothing like the Bengal Famine has happened in India again, but it is disturbing to see that even today, there are places like Kalahandi (in India's eastern state of Orissa) where famine-like conditions have been existing for many years and where some starvation deaths have also been reported. Of course, this is due to reasons other than availability of food in India, but the very fact that some people are still starving in India, whatever the reason may be, brings into question whether the Green Revolution has failed in its overall social objectives though it has been a resounding success in terms of agricultural production. Therefore, ‘The Green Revolution’ cannot be considered to be a 100 percent success.

miles to go before i sleep

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village, though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.
He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there's some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.
The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

-Robert Frost

नर हो न निराश करो मन को

नर हो न निराश करो मन को
कुछ काम करो कुछ काम करो
जग में रहके निज नाम करो
यह जन्म हुआ किस अर्थ अहो
समझो जिसमें यह व्यर्थ न हो
कुछ तो उपयुक्त करो तन को
नर हो न निराश करो मन को ।

संभलो कि सुयोग न जाए चला
कब व्यर्थ हुआ सदुपाय भला
समझो जग को न निरा सपना
पथ आप प्रशस्त करो अपना
अखिलेश्वर है अवलम्बन को
नर हो न निराश करो मन को ।

जब प्राप्त तुम्हें सब तत्त्व यहाँ
फिर जा सकता वह सत्त्व कहाँ
तुम स्वत्त्व सुधा रस पान करो
उठके अमरत्व विधान करो
दवरूप रहो भव कानन को
नर हो न निराश करो मन को ।

निज गौरव का नित ज्ञान रहे
हम भी कुछ हैं यह ध्यान रहे
सब जाय अभी पर मान रहे
मरणोत्तर गुंजित गान रहे
कुछ हो न तजो निज साधन को
नर हो न निराश करो मन को ।
- मैथिलीशरण गुप्त

Where the mind is without fear

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high
Where knowledge is free
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
By narrow domestic walls
Where words come out from the depth of truth
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit
Where the mind is led forward by thee
Into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake

- Rabindranath Tagore