Ravi Pratap Singh

2012 ~ In Six Words

Recently I caught up with the eighth book in the "Six-Word Memoirs" series - "Things Don't Have To Be Complicated: Illustrated Six-Word Memoirs by Students Making Sense of the World".

It was simply BRILLIANT!!!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the "Six-Word Memoirs" phenomenon, it is a project founded by Smith Magazine that asks readers to tell their life story in just six words. The concept was inspired by the legend that Ernest Hemingway was once challenged to write a novel in six words. He came up with a heart-wrenching “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”

Containing illustrated six-word memoirs of students from grade school to graduate school, the latest book offers an insightful glimpse into the hearts and minds of young Americans. They tell tales that are innocent ("This school is oh so cool."), romantic ("Spending my day thinking about you."), funny (“Wasn’t born a redhead - fixed that.”), painful (“Said he loved me, he lied.”), profound ("One day it will all end.") and moving (“I’m a Muslim, not a terrorist.”).

Taking a cue from the book, I thought I'd give a shot at encompassing my journey in 2012... in six words each. Here goes:

"T'was one helluva roller coaster ride."

"Conquered more challenges than ever before."

"Steve Jobs' biography kept me inspired."

"Team C2 made me proud... again."

"Travelled less. Read more. Continued blogging."

"Enjoyed playing cricket with my son."

'"Thankful for the people around me."

And finally...

"I'M RARING TO TAKE ON 2013."

So what was your story in 2012? Can you say it in six words??? Go for it... :)

 

Visual Goal Setting

I am a visual person. Which basically means that I am most comfortable when concepts, ideas, knowledge, information and data are presented to me (or, by me) visually.

To give you an example, when I get an idea for a new blog post, the first thing I do is to actually select/purchase a suitable image for the post. And ONLY THEN do I write my first word!

Not surprising, therefore, that even the goals I've been setting for myself over the years have always been put together in some kind of a visual format (charts, diagrams, scrapbooks, vision boards, powerpoint presentations, etc).

I will write another post some day on the virtues of "Visual Goal Setting". Today I'd like to introduce you to a Visual Goal Management Software that I accidentally chanced upon last night - Goalscape.

I downloaded a trial version of the tool to play around with, and must confess, that I am completely hooked. The features are cool; the benefits are immense; and the price is attractive. What more could one ask for?

So all you people out there who would like to set and chase down your goals "visually"... do give Goalscape a try. You could be as impressed as I am.

Freedom To Fail !!!

It is that time of the year when corporates queue up at colleges to recruit (or rather, shortlist and book!) students for their organisations. And placement activities at campuses are at their zenith.

As is the norm, the smart students are spoilt for choice as far as job offers are concerned. In a not-so-cruel twist of fate, it is the students who are finally left with the arduous task of deciding which organisation they should join. The fact that these offers are from some of the biggest Indian and multi-national companies only adds more layers of confusion to the already perplexed young minds.

Last week i had the opportunity to address students of two of the premiere colleges in the city. My mission too was to attract the VERY BEST brains to join my organisation, C2 Workshop. On the face of it, C2 didn't stand a chance against the giants we had to compete against. But we offered something to the students that most organisations did not... or maybe, were even scared to offer... the FREEDOM TO FAIL!!!

C2 has consciously built a culture where team members are encouraged to think, experiment, ideate, and innovate. And risk-taking forms the very essence of these activities. As we all know, fear is one emotion an explorer does not pack in his bags when he starts on his journey to unchartered territory. So how can we ever discover anything new if our minds are hounded by demons of failure?

Going by the response we received from the two colleges, i am delighted to see that the students too believe in our philosophy... that the FREEDOM TO FAIL is infact, the greatest freedom a creative mind can ever ask for. After all, failure is the mother of invention!

On seeing Thomas Edison fail repeatedly in his quest for inventing the first long-lasting electric light bulb, one of his colleagues asked Edison if he felt like a failure. "Not at all. Now i definitely know more than a thousand ways how NOT to make a light bulb.", Edison replied. A few days later, Thomas Edison brought light into our lives... forever!

Simple Ideas from Big Thinkers for 2010

Best selling author, entrepreneur, and agent of change, Seth Godin, recently launched his eBook What Matters Now.

"Now, more than ever, we need to shake things up. Now, more than ever, we need a different way of thinking, a useful way to focus and the energy to turn the game around.", writes Seth Godin in his blog. So in What Matters Now, he has got over 70 big thinkers to share an idea each for all of us to think about (and do) in the new year.

Featuring names like Tom Peters, Elizabeth Gilbert, Guy Kawasaki, and Kevin Kelly, the eBook is embellished with pearls of wisdom. Some of my favourites are:

"Forget about working on your weaknesses - Focus on supporting your strengths. The beautiful thing about being on a team is that, believe or not, lots of people love doing the things you hate. And hate doing the things you love. So quit diligently developing your weaknesses. Instead, partner with someone very UNlike you, share the work and share the wealth and everyone's happy." - Marti Barletta on STRENGTHS.

"Stop waiting around for bosses and companies to get better and complaining about how you are treated. Build the skills - and use them - that will permit you to create the environment in which you want to live." - Jeffrey Pfeffer on POWER.

"Never tell a lie. Credibility is everything for an evangelist. Tell the truth - even if it hurts. Actually, especially if it hurts." - Guy Kawasaki on EVANGELISM.

"A winning business understands that to gain a customer it must first be willing to lose a customer. Costco wins customers by losing customers. Its membership model shuns consumers not willing to pay the yearly membership fee. Its broad but shallow merchandise mix turns off consumers wanting more choices. Costco makes deliberate sacrifices because its customers will also make the deliberate sacrifices in exchange for lower prices." - John Moore on SACRIFICE.

"The 21st Century challenge for education is to integrate learning into the growing richness of digital life where students are active and engaged every day. The Internet is where they already enjoy autonomy, where they see themselves as doers. As students realize that the tools for living are the same for learning, they will naturally expand the range of things they can do." - Dale Dougherty on .eDO

"Don't worry too much about getting things done. Make things happen." - Gina Trapani on PRODUCTIVITY.

"Get hungry - hyena hungry. Get fired up. Find your backbone, and your wings. Flap 'em. It's the only way you'll be able to fly." - J.C. Hutchins on GUMPTION.

Thought-provoking, motivating, and inspiring, this eBook could be an invaluable guide for your year ahead. Download the free copy here and have a wonderful 2010!