Success is sometimes the Progeny of Failure

In life, success is often measured by those who have succeeded by gaining wealth, fame, renown, health, and property. If they have struggled to have achieved such things, people see them as heroes of life and are adulated, emulated, and adored.

However, a blind eye is given to those who have failed, sometimes late in life and sometimes early in life, and struggle to succeed. They are often scorned, looked down upon, or not seen. Do you know about the heartache of such people? Do you offer them support? Do you even know they exist?

Success, my dear friends is sometimes the progeny of failure. There are those who have failed early in their lives by not doing well in their studies, not seizing opportunities when they arrive or are the victims of illness. But do you know that such people when they become wiser will grasp at any opportunity to succeed? These are people who will search and scour the landscape for any opportunity to do something great for themselves. They are fully cognizant of the bitter salty taste of failure. Unlike those who have never failed, they know the price of failure. That is why those who have always succeeded cry bitterly when they reach the apogee of success and Wham! they meet their downfall.

These people can be very ambitious and will work hard and wisely to get somewhere in life. Shouldn’t we give them support and praise? Mind you, failure can come at any time in life. The proud ones see their success and hard work without realizing that failure can hit them like a charging train. There should be an acknowledgment of their ambitiousness and hard work. It is from abject sorrowful failure that they gain success. I tell you never look down on those who fail. You might not know the incredible stuff they are made of. once a chance comes, they grasp it like an eagle grasps its prey in its strong sharp deadly talons…and they will soar as high as they can get. These people will refrain from talking about themselves, they are as quiet as church mice and are humble. Why are they humble? It is because they tread the stony thorny dusty path of life.

So, my friends, if you have succeeded in life regardless of hardship and sacrifice, do not look down on those who fail, but rather be a friend and a support for them. You will learn the great lessons of humility, opportunism, and ambition from such people.

Triumph from Failure

Not everyone has the same journey 

Life doesn't treat everyone the same

Your fate is always in your hands

Trust yourself more than anyone else

To love yourself has a deep meaning 

Life's garden has a rhythm

Disaster and Triumph

Failure and Success

It goes in that way blind as a bat

Brickbats and Bouquets line your way

Failure is the longer road to Triumph

Every one of them has made you who you are in the present

How you perceive it heralds your future

What makes me Smile?

What makes me smile?

An interesting question to ask

I smile when I see the morning sky

With birds singing, the sun rising, it's a new day

What makes me smile?

I smile in good times and bad

One must accept the existence of both in life

They are unavoidable facts

What makes me smile?

When I see the innocent laughter of a children

Fresh and new

Each they discover something new

What makes me smile?

I smile because I am alive

I have another day to do something 

It is my legacy I will leave behind 

Solitude, Silence and the Soul

Silence is Golden

Solitude is Silence

Solitude is to be Alone

Adrift in the calm Ocean of Thought

Awash in the warm Waves of Contemplation

Silence is Golden

It makes the heart sing

Solitude is to be Alone

In the Ocean of Deep, Deep Silence

Thoughts come in a row, one after the other

Dwarflings of Gold

Bearing the products of deep thought

Silence is Golden

Jewels of Thought

I bear it alone

In the deep recesses of my mind

Darkness, emptiness filling with thought

The waves of the Oceans of my mind are silent

A paradox unlike the ones at the shores

Like a drug-infused purple haze

In the midst of a crowd, I can still be alone

I lose my mind in the groovy funk of the purple-haze 

Thoughts then bear fruit

The progeny from the heatwave of silence and solitude

As they fuse and explode

Hence , their progeny born

Life, Defeat and Victory

Life brings joy

Life brings grief

Life brings victory

Life brings defeat

Life makes us realize what we miss

Life brings mystery

Life is brief

Not all of us see success early

Some of us face defeat all too quickly

Like someone adrift at sea

No lifeboat in sight 

No relief from grief

But when salvation comes 

An opportunity too can come

Should we not seize the lifeboat of relief?

No matter what others think

It is what we think

They can say what they want

But often it is because of their doom they can see

They scream they shout, they insult

But who cares a dam about them

Only the blind  does not see what he or she has got

Fight on, rock on to Valhalla's sacred halls

Victory comes from struggle 

Victory is sweeter if it is the progeny of defeat

Move forward when the chance comes

Success is your birthright

F*ck the naysayers

See their faults 

Tell them to f*ck off!

Rejoice, rejoice, victory blows its trumpets

Multicolored streamers, rainbow colors, red angels, and pink unicorns

We will ride on golden-winged  horses of victory  

On golden steeds of victory

Across the technicolored highway of the Bifrost

To the hall of the valorous

To taste then the raw sweetness of success

Emotional Intelligence.

We all have different personalities, we have different characters, wants, needs, ideas, preferences, ambitions and perceptions of people, ideas, objects and concepts. In order to navigate without friction and causing hurt and offence, we need to have the wisdom and techniques in order to this. Human beings are emotional beings and emotions can be stimulated to have happiness, contentment or anger and resentment. The plethora of emotions being many. Therefore, what is that we need to have in order to accomplish the task of dealing with people without generating negative feelings but instead feelings of gladness and contentment? Hence, the knowledge of emotional intelligence gives us the ability to negotiate our way through the maze of human thought and emotions with tact, patience and skill which will lead us to understanding ourselves and other people.

    Emotional intelligence can be defined as the ability to recognize our emotions, understand what they are telling us, and realize how our emotions affect the people around us and their emotions. Emotional intelligence also involves our perceptions of others: when we understand how they feel, it allows us to manage relationships more effectively. 

   Emotional intelligence begins with ourselves when we recognize and understand our emotions and what they tell ,us and then realize the impact that they have on other people. By having emotional intelligence. What is that emotional intelligence brings to us? When we have emotional intelligence we will be successful in dealing with people. 

    When someone has emotional intelligence, they will be successful in everything they do. This being so because they know how to address their emotions, wants and desires with the emotions, wants and desires of others. They know how to be patient and listen actively to people and this is then reciprocated by the people with whom they deal with. People with emotional intelligence foster feelings of happiness and feeling good about themselves. Such people always get help, get things done through others, get assistance and cooperation and all these without upsetting other people.

    There are six characteristics of emotional intelligence. 

1. Self-Awareness: When someone has emotional intelligence, they aware of their emotions and are in full of them. They do not display emotional outbursts, but instead remain calm and confident. They have trust in their intuition. Such people are humble enough to take a close look at themselves. They are cognizant of their strengths and weaknesses, and they can work on these areas so they can perform better. Self-awareness is held to be the most integral component of emotional intelligence.
2. Self-Regulation: Emotionally intelligent people able to control their emotions and impulses by means of self-regulation. They do not allow feeling of anger, jealousy or bitterness to take hold of them. They do not make impulsive thoughtless careless decisions. These are people characterized by thinking before they act. By being self-regulatory they are thoughtful, comfortable with change, possess integrity and the ability to say no.
3. Self-Motivation: Self-motivation means that one motivates oneself rather than having others motiving them. There is an internal drive to succeed, achieve, produce, develop, grow and keep advancing. These people do not quit when difficulties arise. They seek opportunities to move forward.  Such people willingly defer immediate success for long term gains. Self-motivating people are always optimistic, love challenges, and are effective in everything they do.
4. Empathy: Emotional intelligence requires empathy. Empathy is the ability to identify with and understand the wants, needs, and viewpoints of those around us. People who are empathetic are good at recognizing other people' feelings, even if those feelings are not obvious. A person who has empathy is usually good at managing relationships, listening, and relating to others. A person with empathy avoids prejudging people, eschews stereotyping people. They lead open and honest lives.
5. Social Skills: People who are emotionally intelligent are amiable and easy to talk to. They are team players. They pay focus on their success first and then help others to develop and shine. They have the ability to manage disputes, are master communicators, and are expert at building and maintaining relationships. 

It can be clearly seen so far that emotional intelligence can be a key to success in life and career. It is all about the being able to manage people and relationships which are key to success in leadership.

The question now is how do we improve on our emotional intelligence.

1. Paying attention to how we react towards people. We must ask if we rush into making judgements about people before knowing all the facts? Do we stereotype people? We must look honestly at how we think and interact with other people. We should put ourselves in their place. We must be more open and accepting of the perspectives of others and their needs;
2. Looking at our work environment. Do we seek attention for the things we do? Are we humble enough to say only what we know and what we did and remain quietly confident about it? Do we give others a chance to shine? Do we put focus on them and not worry too much about getting praise ourselves?;
3. Do a self-evaluation. We should see what are our weaknesses. Are we able to accept that we are imperfect and that we cannot work at becoming a better person? We need the courage and fortitude to take an honest look at ourselves. This can be life changing;
4. Examining how we react in stressful situations. Suppose there is a delay or there is something that does not go the way we wanted or we are in a rush, do we become upset? Do we become enraged? Do we blame others or become angry at them, even if they are faultless? The ability to remain calm and in control in taxing situations then become valuable in the working world and outside it. We must keep our emotions contained when developments go wrong;
5. Taking responsibility for our actions. Do we apologize directly when we hurt somebody's feelings? Do we ignore what we did or avoid that person? We will that people will usually forgive and forget if we make an honest attempt to make things right;
6. Examining how our actions affect others before we take those actions. If we have a decision to make, we should put ourselves in other peoples' shoes. We must ask ourselves how will they feel if we do this? Do we want that experience? if we must take the action, how can we help others to deal with the effects?

3.     

Spirit and Time.

The time comes
When we leave our  lives
But really, do we die?
For death as permanent, is a lie
That time a spirit I will become
It will be a great time
My body defines me to the world
My clothes define me to the world
But they are temporary mortal and physical
Who I truly am is invisible
I am a manifestation of the spiritual
The time will come to leave this span of space and time
To become a true immortal, a traveller of lifetimes

How do I say goodbye to yesterday?

How do I say goodbye to yesterday?

Gone are the days of my innocent childhood

Long gone are the days of my naive adolescence

Never again, never again, such memories

It is different when you become an adult

In a crystal ball in my mind are the memories

Memories of play, talk, and dreams

Life moulds breaks and reshapes us we grow

We shed thoughts and create new ones

Then long after we yearn for that yesterday

We think of that time for that was

How can I say goodbye to yesterday?

We keep the sweetest and bitterest of memories

They  lurk like phantoms

We only shed the bad effects and keep the good effects

But they stay just like a fuzzy haze

Like a drug-infused purple haze

In an isolated, seldom visited corner of the mind

They never really go away

It is only how you perceive them and deal with them

Dark and dank, filled with cobwebs

Sunny and sweet, filled with roses

Memories lurk in the back of our minds

The Indian Diaspora.

The word Diaspora as defined by the Oxford English dictionary means the scattering or moving away of a people from their original homeland or country. The word Diaspora is of Greek origin and was originally applied to the scattering of the Jews from ancient Israel. The word diaspora has been since used to describe the movement or migration or even scattering of a people beyond the borders of their original country. The Indian Diaspora describes the movement of Indians from India to other parts of the world. The Indian Diaspora should be seen from the span of history and categorisation into movements at each aspect of history.

We can begin with the oldest known Indian diaspora, arguably, into the Bronze Age, 3,000 to 4,000, years ago, when traders from the Harappan civilization moved to Sumerian and Akkadian cities in what is now Iraq as well as to Oman and what are now the Gulf States.

The next well known Indian Diaspora, and the usual focus of interest in the study of the Indian Diaspora, stems directly from British colonization when between the 1800s and 1900s saw the movements of Indians to various parts of the expansive British Empire.

Then we have the relatively recent movement of Indians to the west from the 1970s onwards. This diaspora saw the benefits America, especially, derived from highly qualified and talented Indians delving into the growing IT industry as well into the medical, engineering and scientific fields. All this lending to Americas greatness.

There is evidence of smaller, lesser known migrations. There was a migration of Indians from the state of Kerala, in south west India, to what became Jaffna in Sri Lanka. There was a migration of Indians during the Chola kingdom to the Malay Archipelago, into what is now Malaysia and Indonesia. From there, these Indians moved to Cambodia where they created a civilisation that saw the construction of the Angkor Wat temple complex. The Dutch in the 1600s sent Indians as well as Indonesians to what is now South Africa, the migration of Punjabis to the United States in the early 1900s. In the 1600s Dutch traders sent Indians to that part of Africa.

When Uganda, Kenya and Fiji saw nationalist parties enter mainstream politics in those countries there was a migration out of those countries by Indians to Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the USA.

However the most well-known Indian Diaspora is the product of British colonisation of India and the migration to America and Europe from the 1970s. These two episodes in the history of our venerable, ancient mother country are Diasporas that are mostly studied.

Having said all that. Emigration from the motherland or from other countries such as in Africa, has had various results. In the case of the recent emigration to America has seen accomplishments by highly educated and talented people contributing to America at the expense of India. What is happening is that acculturation is taking place among the children of Indian emigrees into Western culture and their shunning of Indian culture. There are cases of adult emigrees who refuse to acknowledge their Indian roots and culture. It was noted that the later American astronaut, Kalpana Chawla, who was married to a Frenchman, told a young girl from India not to call her "Didi" which is Hindi for sister. That woman's outlook was western. It must be noted that she was born and educated in mother India. An ungrateful wretch. She shied away from anything Indian. There are young Indians who went along with their parents to western countries or were born there who are fast adopting western values and shying away from Indian values. These are such as sexual promiscuity, intermarriage, religious conversion, partying late into the night, etc.

Mighty Knossos

Oh mighty Knossos, so majestic
Proud over the hills you stood
King Priam's holy temple
The Minotaur's infernal prison
Your complexity still bewilders
The curious mind that now researches
Twisting winding passageways
Deftly beautifully painted walls
Who were those who once stood in your halls
Double bladed axes, bull horns and pithos jars
Of paintings of dolphins,fishes and octopi
Of Bull leaping and beautiful bare breasted ladies
Snake Goddesses, and winding passages
Oh Knossos long buried then found

Artemis Prime.

Hello, I am the space ship Artemis Prime. I was a freight ship. I carried goods of all sorts from my home planet Tau Sigma Pye to far and distant planets that pock mark the unfathomable distances of space. I now travel in interstellar space all alone with no crew. I am dying. Bits and parts of me are falling off. I wanted it in this way. My captain read my mind and prefered me to travel into space instead of scrapping a marvel of technology that I once was. Alone I traverse space. Along the way I meet spacefarers like you. 

I was made in a space ship yard in orbit around my home planet. It took nine long years to build me. I was the lead ship of a class of space freighters. I remember each part of me being put together. The workmen took such enthusiasm and delight in building me. There I was being put together nut, bolt and screw. Only the best high tech materials, computer systems and the finest equipment to lift and offload cargo. Each part was carefully put in place by the most advanced construction technologies. When they completed me they and the building crews were rightly proud. My crew came before I was launched and marveled  at me. 

In my life I have visited the far flung planets. I have visited colonies on other planets belonging to the inhabitants of my home world. I have seen planets full of life
Lush verdant worlds with unique beings. Large planets, small planets. Some were  rocky, some were covered in oceans with no land, some gaseous, some with intelligent life, some with simple life, some friendly, some xenophobic and some with irredescent coloured skies with oceans of emerald blue, green and red.

I have carried cargoes of food, machinery, cyborgs, robots, vehicles and people. I have carried cargo for emergencies, for war and for peace. I have been pursued by space pirates, and on a few special occasions I came across space farers exploring for contact with new civilisations

After many many years of travel and adventure my captain decided it was time for me to retire.

I was growing too long in the tooth. My cranes,forklifts and computer systems were becoming unreliable. The signs of age. It is a the cycle of birth life and death. My crew agreed with the captain that I should be left to travel alone in space. I was more than just a machine. I was a living being to them which they loved and cherished. So traveler, I now travel alone. I bid you farewell. I will soujurn in space till I am no more. Farewell farewell. 

Holy holy Troy rich in Gold.

The Citadel of Troy.

Holy, holy Troy rich in gold
Long lost and then found
Holy and rich in gold
Priam the King , proud he stood
On ancient Anatolia's western shore you proudly stood
Blessed by the Gods
Cursed by the Gods
A war many times fought
Says the Illiad nine times ten
Till King Odysseus's willy trick
A Spartan Queen's adultery 
A terrible war brought you low
To bring you Oh Holy Troy rich in gold
Proudly you overlooked
The emerald blue green of the might Aegean
The lair of mighty Poseidon, who hated you in lore
Mighty Zeus, Glorious Apollo who loved you in lore
Holy holy Troy rich in gold

Thermopylae.

At the gates of hell you Greeks stood

In defiance of a foreign horde who, for the worst, could have changed destiny

A brave 300 although with its allies they stood

The brave Spartan three hundred

At least that horde was civilized

The one that now comes is not 

Most are driven by an unholy faith, others to spread hell and mayhem

Now at the gates of hell you Greeks stand

Lamenting,crying and drowning still they come

Liars them all

Evil intent is in their hearts

Nay, they come to conquer and kill

It is not only sacred Greece you defend

The whole of Europe is your stand

Remember the Spartans at Thermopylae

They who are on your east, your mortal enemy hordes it does unleash

Evil, hell and extermination awaits

Unless you defend your gates

Lament not at them

The brave at Thermopylae did not lament the enemy dead

Long live the brave at Thermopylae

Let them be in your soul

The Soul Speaks.

A poem out of an epiphany
Straight out of a soul that is snappy
A trail of thoughts in sequence
A trail of words from introspection
Long in solitude, a reflection
Each word in each sentence
A heartfelt thought from long introspection
To a faraway land the mind travels
To a distant shore the heart desires

Note taking by hand is the better way to learn and remember.

In a study published earlier six years ago in Pyschological Science researchers at Princeton University and UCLA, USA, found a a paradox between using computers to write notes and writing notes by hand. They discovered that while computers are a great way to facilitate quick note taking , they paradoxically could keep us from absorbing and remembering the notes we take, even while we are simultaneously switching between tabs and checking email or Facebook posts.  

The researchers said that their findings suggest that laptops are used for their intended purposes of creating documents, presentations and charts etc, - and not just for playing computer games, watching YouTube videos and shopping on Amazon or Lazada, “Our new findings suggest that even when laptops are used as intended — and not for buying things on Amazon during class — computers may still be harming academic performance. This what Pam Mueller of Princeton University, a leading researcher said. 

Why do hand-writers have an advantage we ask? In order to discover why, researchers asked students to watch TED Talks and take notes either by hand or on a computer disconnected from the Internet. After completing distraction tests, the students were then asked to take quizzes on the material covered in the TED Talks. While students in both groups did equally well when it came to factual questions, those who took handwritten notes had a much better conceptual understanding of the material they wrote by hand. 

The researchers think that longhand note takers engage in more information processing that laptop note takers. Longhand note takers select more important information to include in their notes, this enables them to study learning content more effectively and efficiently, the researchers noted. 

So while computers allow us to write down every word that comes out of our tutor's, lecturer's or teacher's mouths,  they won’t necessarily help us to synthesize and digest what’s being said, whereas hand-writers intrinsically understand what is actually important and needs to be remembered. And that can help us make better use of our knowledge in the long run.

Workplace Behaviour.

Unfortunately the poor behavior in our places of work stems from the poor behavior that is tolerated in our homes: the examples set at home are emulated at work 😳 Now it’s our choice as to our role in changing this situation for the better: Blame or Responsibility ?

- We can either look for who to blame and add our voice to the clamor of other voices shouting about who fault this is ... or

- We can identify ways in which we can take responsibility for the situation and then take action to improve that aspect: lead by example

Maybe the world needs more people reaching and caring for others ... not more people ostracized 🤔.

Ponder!!!

Ponder !!! ----------------------- A donkey was tied to a tree. The Devil came and untied it. The donkey ran into the fields and started destroying the crop. The farmer's wife saw this and shot the donkey dead. The donkey's owner was upset so he shot the farmer's wife. The farmer came back to see his wife dead, he went and shot the donkey's owner. The wife of the owner of the donkey asked her sons to go and burn the house of the farmer. The boys went late evening and carried out their mother's orders happily, assuming that the farmer too would have been burnt with the house. Sadly for them it wasn't that, so the farmer came back and shot the wife & the two sons of the owner of the donkey. Remorseful, the farmer asked the Devil why did all this have to happen? The Devil said, *"I did nothing. I only released the donkey, but, all of you reacted, overacted and released the inner devil in yourselves."* So the next time before *replying, responding, reporting, rebuking or avenging a revenge*, stop and think. Be careful. Many a time what the Devil does is that it just *"releases the donkey"* in us.

Be Humble.

A lady worked at a meat distribution factory. One day, when she finished with her work schedule, she went into the meat cold room (Freezer) to inspect something, but in a moment of misfortune, the door closed and she was locked inside with no help in sight. Although she screamed and knocked with all her might, her cries went unheard as no one could hear her. Most of the workers had already gone, and outside the cold room it's impossible to hear what was going on inside. Five hours later, whilst she was at the verge of death, the security guard of the factory eventually opened the door. She was miraculously saved from dying that day. When she later asked the security guard how he had come to open the door, which wasn't his usual work routine. His explanation: "I've been working in this factory for 35 years, hundreds of workers come in and out every day, but you're one of the few who greet me in the morning and say goodbye to me when leaving after work. Many treat me as if I'm invisible. Today, as you reported for work, like all other days, you greeted me in your simple manner 'Hello'. But this evening after working hours, I curiously observed that I had not heard your "Bye, see you tomorrow". Hence, I decided to check around the factory. I look forward to your 'hi' and 'bye' every day because they remind me that I am someone. By not hearing your farewell today, I knew something had happened. That's why I was searching everywhere for you." The moral of the lesson to reflect upon is: Be humble, love and respect those around you. Try to have an impact on people who cross your path every day, you never know what tomorrow will bring. Ask yourself whether you are here to influence others or to be influence by others. It doesn't take a lot of minutes to greet and smile to people, doesn't take a lot of time to be kind to people. When you have the heart, nothing is too difficult to do.

Be wise as a Serpent Be as gentle as a Dove.

Be as wise as a serpent

Be as harmless as a dove

Do not throw away your life

Don’t throw away your tomorrows

Don’t hurt others

Be gentle and quiet

Be wise and harmless

The quiet learn more

Only the gentle are loved

The serpent sits silently and watches for an opportunity

The dove never troubles anyone, no one is its enemy

The heart of a dove is as white as its heart

The serpent is a silent stalker

Life gives an opportunity, stalk it and take it silently

The dove minds its own business, it hurts you not

Hurt a dove and the serpent strikes

The Magic of Email: Paradoxically, it is not all that it seems to be.

The magical power of email knows no bounds it seems. How often has your query received the response “well I emailed you about that !” (Since when did email become a substitute for effective communication ?)

Email does seem to be more and more magical these days, for example

- financial service providers (banks, insurance companies, pension funds / super annuation administrators etc) can start, stop, handover and change your account at will via email ... they don’t need you anymore they just need your money 😳 (some of them don’t seem to have a section in any of their internal manuals under the heading “customer service”

- some people even have the ability to end (break up)  all sorts of relationships over email

- it seems in some cases you can even deliver feedback / someone performance review via email (and you don’t have to worry about how harsh, negative or damaging it is)

The reality is that when you are dealing with real people (by that I mean you and I ... and the people we work / share our lives with) email really doesn’t have these magical powers. Email is just an excuse for communication ... it’s a supplement at best to communication that has already taken place verbally

If you want to have a meaningful conversation or relationship or exchange with anyone it cannot rely solely on email 🤔