Reinventing Yourself

 This is purely for fun, so the risk is all yours. If you wish to reinvent yourself, make sure

You are capable of invention.

You are capable of it a second time.

Look for inspiration in the guy who invented the light bulb. Also, the wheel.

Go to the place where the Wright Brothers flew their first plane- Kitty Hawk. I have been there. That alone is not sufficient, as you can see! But might help.

Read books about creative thinking, Six Hats et. al.

Stare at the sea, horizon, anything that is far away. It always helps.

Stop reading this, and start doing something. Might ultimately lead you to reinvention of something. Maybe even yourself.

Why Advice Can Go Wrong

 Not always. But many a time, advice is given without a lot of thought going into the special circumstances or background or capability of the person it is given to. I am, and have been guilty of this sometimes also.

My advice, therefore, to advisers is, before dishing it out, try and ask some questions to understand the person (let's call her/him the advisee), their motivations, circumstances and capabilities. What 's good advice for one person may not be great for another person. Of course, the flip side of it is that the advisee needs to check and see if the advice received is good for them or not. 

If you are not too sure about a course of action, or don't know enough about it, say so, rather than pretending to be an expert.

OK, that was the last piece of advice...at least for now.

How to be 61

 

This is a lesson for all who want to be 61 (I will be, soon)- or more. I may have a bit more to say next year.

1. Be a little more boring. I mean, look for excitement now and then, but not all the time.

2. Enjoy others' accomplishments, forget about yours. 

3. Play or converse with kids of any age. Related to point 1, because this is always exciting.

4. Eat and taste good food of different kinds. While the going is good. You may not have teeth for too long, so take a good bite.

5. Try out drinks too, if you are the kind who does. It's legal, and quite OK, if you don't drink from the bottle. My favourites have been Single Malts of various kinds, and brandy -VSOP if affordable. Hennessey and so on. Sometimes, wines or beer-craft, preferably. Rum is a standby when you run out of money.

6. Try Golf. Or Badminton, or Tennis. Even Table Tennis, if that's what you like. Keeps you social. Bridge is another favourite, though I haven't played it in ages. Avoid online games, unless impossible.

7. Travel if Corona's not around. Even a drive to nowhere, 50 kilometres away from any city, is refreshing. And if you can travel to meet family and friends, nothing like it. 

8. Read whatever you like. It can keep away boredom, particularly if you are retired. Browse in bookstores, rather than online. Gives you exercise too.

9. Make new friends, maybe online if not offline. It's invigorating. You can also join online communities. I am a part of a music group, and a PG Wodehouse Fan club. 

10. Give advice, without worrying about it being taken seriously. It won't, but you did your job, so.. 

Message from Convocation Chief Guest

 Graduating students of Brand NMIMS Bangalore got some sage advice from Mr. Ganesh Shenoy, chief guest recently. 

Be resilient, he said, it will stand you in good stead. 

Spend at least 3-5 years in a company, as it takes time to understand the industry, and to develop expertise in any field.

Focus on self-development, in addition to the company's initiatives through H.R., or line managers.

Get familiar with digitization of the workplace, flexi or hybrid modes of work, and technology in general. Analytics and automation will increase, and you have to get used to it.

Track new businesses that are spawned by crises such as the pandemic. 

Have a business orientation in addition to a functional one. Only when the business grows, will you.

A transformational mindset will help you grow, and your organization to grow.

Advice, 2018 Edition

I am back, with advice. No, you don't have to follow it..just read and forget. Because this is not mine, or original. Just a random collection..from sources that are too widespread to remember..

Live your life..(eh? What's THAT?)

Follow your passion- Sanju did, and see what happened?

Get in line for ration, or reservation- that seems workable!

Travel..Ok, you don't need this.

Marry at the right age  (I mean late-the later you marry, the less time you have to regret it)

Watch Rajnikant and Prabhas films..those  Superheroes are nothing compared to these guys..Kabali, da..

Read books..well, not all of them. Avoid best-sellers sold at airports, for example.

Ok, last one. Read my blog. The End.

Wilde Quotes

Wit and Oscar Wilde have a correlation of 1.0, that is, high correlation. Sample some of these-

Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.

I live in terror of not being misunderstood.

It's perfectly monstrous the way people go about nowadays saying things against one, behind one's back, that are absolutely true.

I must decline your invitation on account of an engagement I am just about to make.

I always pass on good advice- it's the only thing one can do with it.

Of course I have played outdoor games. I once played Dominoes in an open air cafe in Paris.

Work is the curse of the drinking classes.

Phokat ka (Free) Advice

Giving advice is not considered a vice, apparently, or it would not be so rampant- under assumptions of the moral code. But there are so many experts giving you so much of gratuitous advice, that it forces me to enter the agonising agony uncle space, and list out some great pieces of it. If you go to pieces after you read it, well, that's your problem.

On How to handle Summers
Drink lots of water.
Make a crown of onions and place it on your head.

On How to handle Pimples
Don't eat oily stuff

On How to Reduce Weight
1. Eat only carbs
2. Eat only proteins
3. Eat moderately 6 times a day
4. Gorge to your heart's content.
Take your pick.

On Investing
Think of the long term goals. (This must have been the reason the dinosaurs got wiped out.)

On Selecting a Mate to get married to
You should look for compatibility (ha, ha..can't resist that)

On Divorce
Get a good lawyer who knows how to get a fat alimony (if you are the wife)

On Coping with Loss
Eat lots of vada pav- it's the cheapest distraction you are going to get. Going away to Switzerlland is recommended for those who have a bank account there.

Favorite Media Words and Sage Advice

Journos suffer from the 'limited vocabulary syndrome'. There is always a 'crash' on the stock market, a 'logjam' in the political circles (and on the roads), a team is always 'knocked out', a rater always 'slashes' your status to junk, whether you are a debt fund or a country, a court always 'stays' a judgement from a lower court or some other busybody, stars always 'dazzle' even if their makeup is peeling off, there are always 'delicious treats' to be had in restaurants frequented by them (for free), and they are full of sage advice for all and sundry on everything sundry, like 'eat more vegetables and drink more water for good health' or 'use an orange peel to cleanse your face naturally'.

I would like to be their hero and one day, I will try to follow everything that they tell me to do, and also buy all the stuff they advertise on their pages. If I become a 'financial wreck' in the process, I hope they'll 'bail me out'.