Some new year resolutions-- helpful hints for life....

Prioritize Your Tasks – How to…??

Everyone knows the tasks that they have to complete or work on...but very rarely do they actually sit down and prioritize these tasks.

The great Charles Schwab once paid $25,000 to a consultant for what I am about to tell you. The story has been told many times - but just in case you haven't heard it...here it is:

One day a management consultant, Ivy Lee, called on Schwab of the Bethlehem Steel Company. Lee outlined briefly his firm's services, ending with the statement: "With our service, you'll know how to manage better."

The indignant Schwab said, "I'm not managing as well now as I know how. What we need around here is not more "knowing" but more doing, not knowledge but action; if you can give us something to pep us up to do the things we ALREADY KNOW we ought to do, I'll gladly listen to you and pay you anything you ask."

"Fine", said Lee. "I can give you something in twenty minutes that will step up your action and doing at least 50 percent".

"O.K.", said Schwab. "I have just about that much time before I must leave to catch a train. What's your idea?" Lee pulled a bland 3x5 note sheet out of his pocket, handed it to Schwab and said: "Write on this sheet the six most important tasks you have to do tomorrow".

That took about three minutes. "Now", said Lee, "number them in the order of their importance".

Five more minutes pass. "Now", said Lee, "put this sheet in you pocket and the first thing tomorrow morning look at item one and start working on it. Pull the sheet out of your pocket every 15 minutes and look at item one until it is finished. Then tackle item two in the same way, then item three.

Do this until quitting time. Don't be concerned if you only finished two or three, or even if you only finish one item.

You'll be working on the important ones. The others can wait. If you can't finish them all by this method, you couldn't with another method either, and without some system you'd probably not even decide which are most important".

"Spend the last five minutes of every working day making out a "must" list for the next day's tasks. After you've convinced yourself of the worth of this system have your men try it. Try it out as long as you wish and then send me a check for what YOU think it's worth".

The whole interview lasted about twenty-five minutes. In two weeks Schwab sent Lee a check for $25,000 - a thousand dollars a minute. He added a note saying the lesson was the most profitable from a money standpoint he had every learned.

Did it work?

In five years it turned the unknown Bethlehem Steel Company into the biggest independent steel producer in the world; made Schwab a hundred million dollar fortune, and the best-known steel man alive at that time.

Action Point:

Are you going to ignore something that a very clever man was prepared to pay $25,000 for in the 1930's?
(The equivalent would be a HUGE sum in today's money!)

Just do it!

Spend just 5 minutes every day applying this knowledge... and you will be surprised at how this, in conjunction with your higher target, will move you forward.

Try and do it .... hope fully in the coming new year 2007, you may find new Success in your life.

Wishing you all a very happy new year.

Pray for others...

Too good.... this story......

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agree that they had no other recourse but to pray to God. However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island.

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren.

After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife. The next day, there was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing.

Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food. The next day, like magic, a! ll of these were given to him. However, the second man still had nothing.

Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island. In the morning, he found a ship docked at his side of the island. The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered.

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"

"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything."

"You are mistaken!" the voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which I answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of my blessings."

"Tell me," the first man asked the voice, "what did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"

"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us.


"What you do for others is more important than what you do for yourself"

This was shared with me by a friend through email, I hope you will share with your friends

 

BOLD WINS!!!!

This news from NGC amusing me, which indicates size doesnt matter, here the bold cat make the bear run for life.... see the photo,  the cat chased the bear and the bear ran for life to the top of the tree and waiting for the cat to move out!!!! Amuzing isnt....  So this gives a lesson: IF WE ARE BOLD ENOUGH WE CAN TAKE ON MIGHTY TOO..... ( But think twice before you leap!!!)


News Courtesty:- NGC

NGC-
June 13, 2006—Perhaps not since the Cowardly Lion has an animal's appearance been so at odds with its attitude.
On June 4 a black bear wandered into a West Milford, New Jersey, back yard, was confronted by a 15-pound (7-kilogram) tabby cat … and fled up a neighbor's tree. Hissing at the base of the tree, Jack the clawless cat kept the bear at bay for about 15 minutes, then ran him up another tree after an attempted escape.
Finally, Jack's owner, Donna Dickey, called the cat inside, and the timorous trespasser disappeared back into the woods.
"He doesn't want anybody in his yard," Dickey said of Jack in an interview with the Newark Star Ledger.
Unlike cats, bears aren't typically territorial, roaming instead over vast areas that would be impossible to patrol for intruders. With a habitat that includes much of North America, black bears are seen fairly often in this region of New Jersey.
Full-grown black bears weigh between 200 and 600 pounds (90 and 270 kilograms) and measure as much as 6 feet (1.8 meters) long. Their diets can include fruits, honey, insects, acorns and animals as big as moose calves—a fact apparently lost on Jack.
—Ted Chamberlain

Village temple function

Elephant procession with traditional music

Clicked the -Tusker on the way

During my return journey from Sabarimala visit, I happened to attend a village Temple function.

These are some of the photos - Traditional festival at a small village near - Nimmara near Palghat, kerala. ( since these photos consumes higher bites I am not uploading all)

The serene village atmosphere, with buss of activities, charming women, enthusiastic children, dedicated volunteers, all working in co-ordinated way to make the village function a success. I enjoyed the village celebration. There was elephant procession, music followed by dinner to all the visitors.... It was a unique memorable experience....

Munnar trip

These are some of the photos taken by me during recent Munnar trip....

Munnar is located in South India... one can find tea estates in every place ..... when we go up, we can encouter with Nilgiri Stag... it looks like a deer but not afraid of humans, and is freely mingling with people... some times comes near to visitors and accepts the fooder...

The weather in Munnar is fine and once can find plenty of good hotels to stay..

But when u r returning back from Munnar, you may feel that nature was altered for human wants by destroying the rich evergreen forest for giving way for tea cultivation......

wow....

This is peculiar Kerala breakfast, Koyal Puttu, with Paripu, pappadam and Payam... After eating it gets bloatted up and fill your stomach for 4 hours...... good nutritious and tasty....

Idly, Idly.... Eat it and forget it, freedom from hunger for 2 to 3 hours...

Wow, this is Masala Doosa, with chatni and molakai podi with oil... delicious, tasty, tasty...

This is South Indian Meals- Banana Chips, Papadam, Parupu, Sambar, Aviyal, Payasam, Kootu, kari,Pachadi, pickles and Ghee....


This is Appam- famous in Kerala- Can take it as breakfast in the morning

Problem & solution

I dont know the authenticity of this news, but I got this from email, anyhow this is interesting, pls read.

The Vanilla Ice Cream that puzzled General motors!!!!

This is a real story that happened between the customer of General Motors and its Customer-Care Executive.

Pls read on.....
A complaint was received by the Pontiac Division of General Motors: 'This is the second time I have written to you, and I don't blame you for not answering me, because I sounded crazy, but it is a fact that we have a tradition in our family of Ice-Cream for dessert after dinner each night, but the kind of ice cream varies so, every night, after we've eaten, the whole family votes on which kind of ice cream we should have and I drive down to the store to get it. It's also a fact that I recently purchased a new Pontiac and since then my trips to the store have created a problem.....

You see, every time I buy a vanilla ice-cream, when I start back from the store my car won't start. If I get any other kind of ice cream, the car starts just fine. I want you to know I'm serious about this question, no matter how silly it sounds "What is there about a Pontiac that makes it not start when I get vanilla ice cream, and easy to start whenever I get any other kind?"

The Pontiac President was understandably skeptical about the letter, but sent an Engineer to check it out anyway.

The latter was surprised to be greeted by a successful, obviously well educated man in a fine neighborhood. He had arranged to meet the man just after dinner time, so the two hopped into the car and drove to the ice cream store.

It was vanilla ice cream that night and, sure enough, after they came back to the car, it wouldn't start. The Engineer returned for three more nights.
The first night, they got chocolate.
The car started.
The second night, he got strawberry.
The car started.
The third night he ordered vanilla.
The car failed to start.

Now the engineer, being a logical man, refused to believe that this man's car was allergic to vanilla ice cream.

He arranged, therefore, to continue his visits for as long as it took to solve the problem.

And toward this end he began to take notes: He jotted down all sorts of data: time of day, type of gas uses, time to drive back and forth etc. In a short time, he had a clue: the man took less time to buy vanilla than any other flavor.

Why?

The answer was in the layout of the store.
Vanilla, being the most popular flavor, was in a separate case at the front of the store for quick pickup. All the other flavors were kept in the back of the store at a different counter where it took considerably longer to check out the flavor.

Now, the question for the Engineer was why the car wouldn't start when it took less time. Eureka - Time was now the problem - not the vanilla ice cream!!!!

The engineer quickly came up with the answer: "vapor lock".

It was happening every night; but the extra time taken to get the other flavors allowed the engine to cool down sufficiently to start. When the man got vanilla, the engine was still too hot for the vapor lock to dissipate.

Even crazy looking problems are sometimes real and all problems seem to be simple only when we find the solution, with cool thinking.

Don't just say it is "IMPOSSIBLE" without putting a sincere effort....
Observe the word "IMPOSSIBLE" carefully... .
Looking closer you will see, "I'M POSSIBLE"...
What really matters is your attitude and your perception!!!

Thats great isnt.....