Dream on

Every time that I look in the mirror
All these lines in my face gettin' clearer
The past is gone
It went by like dusk to dawn
Isn't that the way
Everybody's got their dues in life to pay
Yeah, I know nobody knows
Where it comes and where it goes
I know it's everybody's sin
You got to lose to know how to win
Half my life's in books' written pages
Live and learn from fools and from sages
You know it's true
All the things
Come back to you
Sing with me
Sing for the year
Sing for the laughter and sing for the tear
Sing it with me
If it's just for today
Maybe tomorrow, the good Lord will take you away
Dream on.

Sometimes - from NatGeo HD ad

Sometimes we need to leave, in order to arrive.
Sometimes we must go up, to know we belong on the ground.
Sometimes we bow, to know why we should stand.
Sometimes you have to be apart to know you belong (together).
Sometimes we need to see something small, to know what is great.
Sometimes to know what is right, we need to see what is wrong.
Because sometimes, you have to see, to believe.

Posterity save

He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher... or, as his wife would have it, an idiot - Douglas Adams.

Ego corrupts the mind.

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life - Muhammad Ali.

As in the case of wines that improve with age, the oldest friendships ought to be the most delightful - Cicero.

Happiness is not something you postpone for the future, it is something you design for the present.

Price is what you pay. Value is what you get - Warren Buffett.

You're never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you're never as bad as they say when you lose - Lou Holtz.

Faith is taking the first step even when you can't see the whole staircase - Martin Luther King.

All achievement, all earned riches, have their beginning in an idea - Napoleon Hill.

People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant - Helen Keller.

Absolute power does not corrupt absolutely, absolute power attracts the corruptible - Frank Herbert.

Most of us have far more courage than we ever dreamed possible - Dale Carnegie.

If you can't you must, and if you must you can - Tony Robbins.

I never forget a face, but in your case I'll be glad to make an exception - Groucho Marx.

Doubt is the origin of wisdom. - Rene Descartes

The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made. - Groucho Marx

Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. - Soren Kirkegaard

The positive thing about a skeptic is that he thinks everything's possible. - Thomas Mann

Anger

The emotional heart is so weak, all the damned anger melts away at one look of a truly loved one's face. How could anyone be angry forever? Jealousy is the real culprit giving rise to the heart burns of an unsatisfactory and an incomplete life. Beyond the hardened lessons of mistakes from the past, foolish desire still craves for the reckless endangerment of wanting to attain that which is unattainable. Wounds are healed by time leaving behind scars to remember the lesson. But those very scars are automatically ignored as repetition drives expectation and blinds the obvious.

As it stands

“I’d always believed that a life of quality, enjoyment, and wisdom were my human birthright and would be automatically bestowed upon me as time passed. I never suspected that I would have to learn how to live - that there were specific disciplines and ways of seeing the world I had to master before I could awaken to a simple, happy, uncomplicated life.” -Dan Millman

Hors d'oeuvre

To See a World in a Grain of sand and a Heaven in a Wild Flower, Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand and Eternity in an hour. - William Blake

Complete within itself, my favorite poem as of now. How I wish I could put such beautiful thoughts into words! Stunned into silence.

Nurturing unrealistic expectations

Satisfaction is better than success because it is measured by oneself while success is measured by others.

It is impossible to steer a parked car. Its not the bridge which is without purpose, its the river needing a destination. The problem with being like salt is that no one realizes the worth until and unless there is a lack or abundance. The averaged amount used only serves the purpose of being ignored. Its the same being a celebrity. Every action is under intense observation. The cost of being noticed all the time is that mistakes remain unforgiven.

The double-slit experiment, proved that certain particles under observation behaved differently when observed than when they weren't. Its the conclusive proof of thoughts influencing reality, something which our ancestors knew only too well and passed on in the form of "positive thinking." Its not that they were in the know, its just that they truly believed.

Chanakya's chant

The book is based on historic facts and consists of two tales interwoven to show how old wisdom is still relevant in the new world. It appears that the author, Ashwin Sanghi, attempted to explain theory followed by practicals. Although, the relevance and linkages between the two distinct stories is not fairly obvious.

The quotations in the book are nothing new and seem to be forcefully used. The story somehow reminds of an old bollywood movie called Aandhi, which was known to be loosely based on politics and life of Indira Gandhi with more than a few twists in the tale for sole the purpose of claiming uniqueness.

Mentioned below are a few quotes from the book worth remembering and are saved for posterity.

Intro: The journey 'IS' the destination.

Prologue, viii: Any clod can have facts, having an opinion is an art.

Page 3: Three may keep a secret if two of them are dead. It never pays to let others perceive ones true feelings.

Page 20

Four stages of our struggle(in context of the Indian independence struggle from the british rule). - first they ignore you - second they laugh - third they fight and - fourth you win. - MKG

Strength does not come from physical capacity, it comes from an indomitable will. - MKG

Page 49

Character is what you are, reputation is what others think you are.

Page 103

The freedom of speech also carries with it the freedom not to listen.

Page 105

There's no point in winning an argument and losing the case.

Page 106

When a man steals your wife, there's no better revenge and punishment, than to let him keep her.

Page 107

The only certainty in life is death.

Page 109

The thing with politics is, friends come and go, enemies accumulate.

Page 148

Personal experience: Never provide a solution before creating an insurmountable problem. Nobody will value it and you will not understand why your foresight and help was never recognized and rewarded.

Page 266

Its often easy to get forgiveness rather than getting permission.

Page 278

Wise men think all they say, fools say all they think.

Page 322

Strangely, women instantly depreciate in value the moment they are acquired.

Page 325

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
The ends justify the means.

Page 326

You can only stab some one in the back if you are standing behind them!

Page 329

Every snowflake in an avalanche pleads not guilty! So which snowflake should be punished for the destruction caused by the avalanche?

Page 333

(Words are frequently very powerful as they can control the emotional reactions of the listener and subsequently effect the outcomes of actions.) [Hence] the power of propaganda should never be discounted. (For ex, office gossip can create perceptions which influence the decisions of a manager.)

Its okay to sacrifice strategic key pieces provided you win and get what you want.

Wars are not won by dying, they are won by killing the enemy.

Page 343

When two elephants fight, the grass(on the ground) will suffer(by getting trampled).

Page 391

Worry is like a rocking chair, it keeps you moving but gets you no where!

Happy? New? Year!

Life, filled with regret.
@1.1.12
Literally lost my mind. Literally.
@2.1.12
Coming to terms with it.
@3.1.12
Blood boiling and stomach curdling. Eyes wide open, but no mystery left.
@4.1.12
Trying to push it all in the background. Acceptance is hard to come by. Why? Why is it difficult to accept?
@5.1.12
Now is calm, was necessary after the latest burst of stupidity. Mom and Dad should not have been involved in health. Am a bad ass ugly duckling in an otherwise illustrious clan.
@6.1.12

Experience is a teacher, whom no mortal can kill or avoid.

Never provide a solution before creating an insurmountable problem. Nobody will value it and you will not understand why your foresight and help was never recognized or appreciated. Infact, your work is taken for granted and ever more is expected..