Bhagavad Gita

Bhagavad Gita (The Song of God) often referred to as the Gita is a 700-verse Sanskrit scripture that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata (chapters 23–40 of Bhishma Parva).

The Gita is set in a narrative framework of a dialogue between Pandava prince Arjuna and his guide and charioteer Krishna. At the start of the Dharma Yudhha (righteous war) between Pandavas and Kauravas, Arjuna is filled with moral dilemma and despair about the violence and death the war will cause. He wonders if he should renounce and seeks Krishna's counsel, whose answers and discourse constitute the Bhagavad Gita. Krishna counsels Arjuna to "fulfill his Kshatriya (warrior) duty to uphold the Dharma" through "selfless action".The Krishna–Arjuna dialogue cover a broad range of spiritual topics, touching upon ethical dilemmas and philosophical issues that go far beyond the war Arjuna faces.

I am the taste in water

The light in the sun and the moon

The syllable om in the Vedic mantras

I am the sound in the air

He who performs his duty

With no concern for results

Is the true man of yoga

not he who refrains from action

He who can see inaction

in the midst of action, and action

in the midst of inaction,  is wise

and can act in the spirit of yoga

With no desire for success

no anxiety about failure

indifferent to results, he burns up

his action in the fire of wisdom

Persistence in knowing the self

And the awareness of the goal of knowing

All this is called true knowledge

What differs from it is called ignorance

Closing his eyes, his vision

Focused between the eyebrows

Making the in-breath and out-breath

Equal as they pass through his nostrils

Content with whatever happens

Unattached to pleasure or pain

Success or failure, he acts

And is never bound by his action.

He who is pure, impartial

Skilled, unworried, calm

Selfless in all understandings

That man is the one I love best!!

ref:
    Wiki - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhagavad_Gita 

    Books:

        Bhagavad-Gita As It Is by Swami Prabhupada

        Bhagavad Gita: A New Translation by Stephen Mitchell

        భగవద్గీత(Bhagavad Gita) Telugu Books list - https://jeevitham-prayanam.blogspot.com/2010/06/t.html

    Misc:
        BhagavadGita(భగవద్గీత) - https://jeevitham-prayanam.blogspot.com/2015/02/blog-post.html

Napoleon Hill's 10 Principles of Personal Achievement ..

Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve

Lesson 1: Definiteness of Purpose - Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement. Without a purpose and a plan, people drift aimlessly through life.

Lesson 2: Mastermind Alliance - Success does not come without the cooperation of others.

Lesson 3: Going the Extra Mile - It's never crowded along the extra mile. Do more than is required. If you want to succeed at any job, make yourself invaluable. Go the extra mile; make them never be able to imagine what life without you there would be like.

Lesson 4: Personal Initiative - Personal initiative is the power that inspires the completion of that which one begins.

Lesson 5: Positive Mental Attitude - Success attracts more success while failure attracts more failure.

Lesson 6: Enthusiasm - Enthusiasm is faith in action. It is the intense emotion known as burning desire. It comes from within, although it radiates outwardly in the expression of one’s voice and countenance.

Lesson 7: Self-Discipline - If you do not control your thoughts, you cannot control your needs.

Lesson 8: Accurate Thinking - The power of thought is the most dangerous or the most beneficial power available to man, depending on how it is used.

Lesson 9: Teamwork - Unity is strength when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved. The best teamwork comes from men who are working independently toward one goal in unison.

Lesson 10: Creative Vision - Vision is developed by the free and fearless use of one’s imagination. It is not a miraculous quality with which one is gifted or is not gifted at birth. Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others. 

ref: http://www.success.com/article/napoleon-hills-17-principles-of-personal-achievement

Life Quotes ..

The only thing that matters in life is your own opinion about yourself;  Nobody can destroy your dignity because it is not dependent on anybody’s opinion. Respect your uniqueness and drop comparison; Relax into your being.

Discover yourself otherwise you have to depend on other people’s opinions who don’t know themselves.

Don´t be unnecessarily burdened by the past. Go on closing the chapters that you have read as there is no need to go back again and again.

Don’t be angry at life. It is not life that is frustrating you, it is you who are not listening to life.

Accept yourself as you are and that is the most difficult thing in the world because it goes against your training, education, your culture.

It’s not a question of learning much. On the contrary, it’s a question of unlearning much.

Life is a mirror, it reflects your face. Be friendly, and all of life will reflect friendliness. If you love yourself, you love others. If you hate yourself, you hate others. In relationship with others, it is only you mirrored.

This world is imperfect and that’s why it is growing; if it was perfect it would have been dead. Growth is possible only if there is imperfection.

Don’t be bothered by perfection. Replace the word ‘Perfection’ by ‘Totality. Totality will give you a different dimension.

Take life easily, lovingly, playfully, non-seriously. Seriousness is a disease, the greatest disease of the soul and playfulness the greatest health.

A comfortable and convenient life is not a real life; the more comfortable, the less alive. The most comfortable life is in the grave.

The word devil is very beautiful, if you read it backwards it becomes lived. That which is lived becomes divine and that which is not lived becomes the devil.

When you really laugh for those few moments you are in a deep meditative state, Thinking stops. It is impossible to laugh and think together.

If you love yourself, you will be surprised; others will love you. Nobody loves a person who does not love himself.

NOW is the only reality. All else is either memory or imagination.

Die each moment so that you are renewed each moment.

Life begins where fear ends; Don’t analyze, celebrate it ..

Books for Students ..

Books for Students:

    1. How to Win Friends & Influence People(Dale Carnegie)

    2. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People(Stephen R. Covey)

    3. The Power of Positive Thinking(Norman Vincent Peale)

    4. The Magic of Thinking Big(David Schwartz)

    5. Developing the Leader Within You(John C. Maxwell)

    6. The Greatest Salesman in the World(Og Mandino)

    7. Think and Grow Rich(Napoleon Hill)

    8. Who Moved My Cheese(Spencer Johnson)

    9. Built to Last(Jim Collins)

    10. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference(Malcolm Gladwell)

7 fearless ways successful people think ..

ref: https://ziglarvault.com/7-fearless-ways-successful-people-think

Avoid giving other people the power to make you feel inferior .. Successful people think with strong minds. They prepare themselves mentally every day so they are prepared to face the challenges in their lives that may arise.

1. Move On: Fearless people, successful people, are not afraid to move on in life. They do not “waste time feeling sorry for themselves,” because they know it is not productive to their end goal. “They have learned to take responsibility for their actions and outcomes, Stop dwelling on the past and bounce back from mistakes faster. This allows them to be more successful in life because they do not waste time being upset about things they cannot change. Instead, they use that time to productively work on conquering new goals.

2. Keep Their Power: “Mentally strong people avoid giving others the power to make them feel inferior or bad.” Rather than allowing the thoughts of the many different people they come across affect their way of thinking, successful people realize that everybody has different opinions and that not everybody’s opinions matter or should be taken personally.

3. Accept Change: “Mentally strong people embrace change and they welcome challenge.” In order to change yourself, you have to challenge yourself. If you are not challenging yourself, you are going to stay in the same spot for the rest of your life or ultimately begin to slip backwards.

4. Take Calculated Risks: “A mentally strong person is willing to take calculated risks.” Successful people think that risks sometimes bring out the best results in life. They aren’t careless, but rather “weigh the risks and benefits thoroughly, and will fully assess the potential downsides and even the worst-case scenarios before they take action.”

5. Applaud Others’ Successes: Jealousy and resentment are both emotions that can be incredibly prohibiting to one’s success. “It takes strength of character to feel genuine joy and excitement for other people’s success. Mentally strong people have this ability.” You only get what you work for in life.

6. Remain Resilient: “Every failure is a chance to improve.” Successful people fail, too. The difference is that they get back up and keep fighting. No successful person is where they are today because they just slipped through life as casually as an afternoon breeze in the autumn.

7. Earn Their Wins: Successful people think in terms of earning potential. They do not “feel the world owes them anything. In order to be successful, it is vital that you think with a strong mind and work for your successes. Successful people think, and think correctly, that if they work hard enough they will eventually earn the wins they want in life. The world may not owe them anything, but the world is much more likely to give them things if they work hard for them.

Things You wish you knew when You were in 20s ..

ref:

1. http://www.success.com/blog/21-things-i-wish-i-knew-when-i-was-21
2. http://success.com/article/52-ways-to-get-out-of-your-comfort-zone
3. http://www.success.com/article/7-parts-of-your-life-that-suffer-when-you-fail-to-change

1. Enjoy the Life's journey - Success is a journey, not a destination. It's the journey that teaches you a lot about your destination. We all have goals and aspirations. You’re probably working toward something right now. Learn to love the journey and appreciate all the little failures and wins.

2. Learn to love change - The only constant thing in life is CHANGE. It will happen, and you can’t avoid it. It won’t always be easy, but change happens for a reason. Learn to be friends with it.

3. Learn to love mistakes - Always remember to learn from your mistakes and keep growing. Do not take yourself too serious. and don’t doubt yourself so much. One day you’ll be able look back on your “oops” moments and laugh at them. They are inevitable.

4. Say yes often - Sometimes stepping outside of your comfort zone and trying something new can be terrifying. But learn to say yes more. It’ll help you to open up, try new things and bring you new world of opportunities.

5. Focus - Don’t try to be a jack-of-all-trades. Focus on being really good at just a few things. Hard work is wasted when it’s channelized in too many directions.

6. Stop worrying about what others think - Letting the opinions of your peers influence your decisions is one of the worst things you can do. You’ll realize later just how foolish it was. The only thing that is important is what you think and feel about yourself.

7. You don’t have much to lose as you think - Oftentimes, fear of loss is what prevents us from pursuing our dreams. When you’re right out of college, you don’t have much to lose. Why not start doing things that you always wanted?

8. Meet as many new people as you can - It may not always be clear to you, but the people you meet can help you. Treat everyone like you’d like to be treated and be willing to make new friends. The world is smaller than you think. You’ll be amazed at who is connected to whom.

9. Leverage what you’ve got - Don't ever complain in life. Stevie Wonder can’t see, but he has an exceptional ear for music. He exploited that talent and his passion for music. Today he has 25 Grammy awards to show for it. Learn to work with what you’ve got instead of complaining about your situation.

10. Take big risks - Go after what you want. Jump out of an airplane. Start a business. You won’t always succeed, but you won’t always fail, either. Learn-UnLearn-ReLearn ..

Career Planning Adhoc Tips ..

1. Mantra to stay current and get ahead - Learn, Unlearn and Relearn 
2. Focus on Career goals(you do not have a way know what is your destination (or) measure success without SMART goals)
3. Being in your comfort zone will never take you in a nonlinear path; so move out of your comfort zone and make a difference. Plan & Execute ..
4. Do not explain to the people what you are planning to do; It's sheer waste of time; Just do it as everybody is interested in results not plans.
5. Stretch yourself and build new skills as you go along; Continuous learning is the key for great future.
6. Have someone(a devil's advocate) who can make you accountable and ask questions all the time - 
1. What, When, How & Why ???
2. What is your personal goal in next 10 years ?
3. What is your professional goal in next 10 years ?
4. What is your financial goal in next 10 years ?
5. Why did you take that decision 5 years back ?  Any specific reason ?
6. What you should have done better if given a chance to go back to the past ? Any constructive learnings ?
7. What did you do wrong ?
8. What you will do if you loose job tomorrow ? Do you have any other money generating ideas/business ?
9. What is the worst that can happen to you financially and what's the action plan when that happens ?
10. What will you do if you are bankrupted tomorrow ?
11. How is your life balance-sheet looking like ? success vs failures? energetic vs dull ? exciting vs monotonous ?
12. How is your financial balance-sheet looking like ? assets vs liabilities ?
13. Are you ready for drastic changes in life-style if something unexpected happens soon enough ?
7. Learn something out of your comfort zone (example: a techie learning sales/marketing which helps in influencing people)
8. Choose your priorities carefully; Deep vs broad knowledge
9. Focus on skills you need to differentiate yourself from others
10. Think of jobs that are interesting to you where you can make a difference ..
11. How can you add more value and maximize impact with whatever the resources you possess ?
12. Get biggest and ugliest job and get the job done and show the difference ..
13. Take temporary/short_time jobs out of your Comfort Zone and check how you are able to add value
14. Volunteer more work in your comfort-zone to create a brand for yourself
15. Talk to your manager about your aspirations and see where you can improve on and ask for help to prepare for future – positive collaborative work ; Make him an advocate for your work in your future endeavors.
16. Prepare for your next interview; Preparation is the key. You got to know your strengths and weakness and emphasize/focus on your strengths.
17. Step back and see what's your brand excluding your professional job; Find out the core work you did during specific job execution; Look at the big picture not specific area of work. example: You built a  whole new team in the project which when you generalize is equivalent to running a start-up company.
18. Get to know all your stakeholders and spend sometime with them and create bridges.
19. Find the people who can challenge you to stretch yourself which means coming out of your comfort zone and try something new that you are magically connected to. This personal should be a devil’s advocate and kill you with his questions which means Explore more of yourself meaning growth.
20. How to grow in your career -
1. Perform in your current job and there is no replacement for this ..
2. Have a Mentor (or) group of mentors
3. Your technical mentor
4. Your marketing/sales mentor
5. Your career mentor
6. Join Professional networks
7. Join  volunteer networks
8. Keep in touch with people & build relationships and maintain them ..
9. Professional networks & Personal networks
10. If you want to make a change in career (or) shift job -
1. Build right support system around you; It’s essential
2. Get a person who can make you accountable
3. Get a person who can ask all the difficult questions (like How you differentiate you from other ? what value you can add ?)
4. Is it your comfort zone ? (or) out of comfort zone ?
5. Is it helping in your broader skills of your future role/goal
6. You are never 100% ready but wherever there are more learning opportunities then go for it
21. Be ready for stretching more and steep learning curve and stressful times but that’s how we learn new stuff .. challenging ourselves.