INSPIRATIONAL VIDEOS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tjYoKCBYag

An inspirational video about successful people who dealt with failure early in their life, like all people. However, unlike most people, they persevered and never gave up. And this made all the difference.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z5OookwOoY

An inspirational scene from the movie "Rocky", starring Sylvester Stallone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQlzz6jGCfI&feature=related

An inspirational scene from the movie "Pursuit of Happyness", starring Will Smith.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WO4tIrjBDkk

Al Pacino's inspirational speech from the movie "Any Given Sunday".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHyXdyRXMsg

A very inspiring and hard-hitting commercial of Adidas. Unlike most commercials, this one actually contains a meaningful message.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkCFeNeqyHk

A very inspirational poem, titled "Don't Quit". A must see for everyone!


Disclaimer: All videos are the property of their respective owners. I do not own any of the above videos.

INSPIRATIONAL QUOTES

"It is best not to swap horses while crossing the river"- Abraham Lincoln

"Dreams are not those that you get while sleeping, but those that don't let you sleep."

"You don't win silver, you lose gold."

"However long the night, the dawn will break." - Kenyan Proverb

"Only when the last tree has been cut, the last fish has died, and the last river has been polluted will man realize that he cannot eat money." - Cree Indian Proverb

"If you don't stand for something, then you stand for nothing." - Malcolm X

"It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees." - Che Guevara

"I'd rather be hated for what i am than be loved for what i'm not." - Kurt Cobain

"A man is a success if he wakes up in the morning and goes to bed at night, and in between does whatever he wants to." - Bob Dylan

"The time that you enjoy wasting isn't truly wasted." - John Lennon

"The will to win is important, but the will to prepare is vital."

"You miss 100% of the shots that you don't take." - Wayne Gretzky

"Wherever you go, there you are."

"In life, we often find ourselves at crossroads where there are two paths to choose from, one being difficult and the other easy. And the only reward of choosing the easier path is that it was easy."

"Behind every winning ribbon that a runner breaks, complete with the clicking of hundreds of cameras and the applause of thousands of people, there are long hours of hard and often lonely work that go unnoticed."

"When you run out of reasons to live, live for nothing."

"Sometimes the only way to hold on to something is to let it go."

"The future belongs to those who prepare for it today." - Malcolm X

"He who makes a beast of himself relieves himself of the pain of being a man." - Hunter S. Thompson

"The more things change, the more they remain the same."

"Fear of failure must never be a reason not to try something." - Frederick Smith

"It is never too late to be the person that you could have become."

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion.Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare.Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing." - Muhammad Ali

"If a man isn't willing to take some risks for his opinions, then either his opinions are no good or he is no good." - Ezra Pound

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." - Eleanor Roosevelt

"Courage is the discovery that you may not win, and trying when you know you can lose." - Tom Krause

"Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it."

"When you feel like giving up, remember why you held on for so long in the first place."

"The heart has its own reasons, of which reason knows nothing." - Blaise Pascal

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." - Henry David Thoreau

"I firmly believe that any man's finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle - victorious." - Vince Lombardi

"It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up." - Vince Lombardi

The people we love.....and the people we should love

I say a lot of things. Unfortunately, most of them don't make much sense. But hey, at least I try! And so today I will once again try to say something to all of you. And once again, I don't ask or expect you to agree with me. All I ask of you is to ponder over what I say. So without any further delay, here goes......

We all have some people in our lives whom we love. These usually tend to be the people that we are most concerned about, the people who are always on our mind. It is certainly good to have these people in our lives for without them life would seem purposeless. But often we are so lost in the thoughts of these people that we forget about the people without whom not only would life seem purposeless, but in fact become purposeless - these are the people who love us, unconditionally. These are the people who deserve our love and attention the most, but unfortunately get it the least. At this point, let me clarify that often the people who love us are also the people we love - I'm not saying that these two categories of people are mutually exclusive. But will you not agree that there are always some people in our lives whose love and concern for us is not reciprocated by us, at least not to the extent that it ought to be. For instance, our parents. If there is somebody in this world who will never leave our side, even when the best of our friends do, it is our parents. If there is somebody who will love you till the end of time, it is your parents. And despite being aware of this, we hardly ever express our love for them. To make matters worse, at times we pretend that we do not love them. We prefer to rather devote our love and affection towards the people whom we love. This is because we fear losing their love (read attention) if we don't constantly shower them with our attention. And all along, seldom, if ever, do we think about those who will love us all the same whether we care about them or not. In my opinion, this is human stupidity at its best. I am not advocating that we should break all ties with the people whom we love and stop caring about them. That would again amount to stupidity. All that I am saying is that we should not refrain from expressing our love for the people who love us. So if what I just said made any sense to you, then after reading this blog, please go and give your parents (and all other beautiful people in your life who love you unconditionally) a big hug and tell them how much you love them. It won't make any difference to you, but it will mean the world to them. And the next time you talk to your parents, just take a second aside to tell them how much you love them. Trust me, you can never say it enough!

On a personal note, I would like to dedicate this article to my parents - Mama and Papa, Thank You for everything that you have done for me. I love you more than words can describe. So Mama and Papa, if you are reading this, let me tell you that the smile on your faces means the world to me. So keep smiling, and once again Thank You.........for everything.

In retrospect

Mistakes. We all make them. Every now and then we make a wrong decision, say or do something inappropriate, only to realize our stupidity in retrospect. This is often followed by the same old familiar feeling of, "I should have known", "I should have seen it coming" and the likes. But seldom do we wonder that more often than not, we do "know", we do "see it coming". We often falter not because we could not anticipate or predict our failure but because we choose to turn a blind eye to our prediction. To our correct prediction. For instance, more often than not we fare badly in our exams not because we did not know that the exams will be difficult but because we choose to remain "blissfully" ignorant of the truth (while remaining aware of it all the same), and try to convince ourselves that we can fare well despite putting in much effort. This points out a major trait which is almost exclusive to humans : our ability to lie to ourselves. To quote Robert Heinlein, "Man is not a rational animal, he is a rationalising animal." Rather than see the logic, we try to create our own logic. Unfortunately for mankind, logic is not something that can be "created", it can only be perceived.

We see this happening all around us, all the time. We do things despite being aware of their potentially destructive consequences. This, however, is not strange. What actually is strange is the fact that we do these things while ignoring the possibility of their destructive consequences. In other words, we choose to remain ignorant despite being aware. Our awareness, rather than suppressing our ignorance, fuels it. This is perhaps what sets us apart from other species - our ability to "create" logic, and in effect, our ability to self-destruct.

Don't believe me? Allow me to explain.

We, as a species, are well aware that global warming will sooner or later lead to our extinction. Yet we do not take the threat seriously. Tree felling is one of the major causes of global warming, therefore, rationally speaking, we should take all possible measures to restrict it to the greatest extent possible. Recent statistics, however, have a different story to tell. Tree felling has only increased in the recent years, despite the efforts to curb it. And with due honesty, these "efforts" to stop tree felling have been nothing but an eyewash. And we are doing all  this despite being more than aware of the eventually fatal consequences of our actions. This brings the point home. We are a species that accepts not the truth, but what serves our purpose, even though it may be a lie. A self-destructive lie.

This example is just a drop in the vast ocean of lies in which mankind swims everyday, without realizing that one day it will inevitably drown in these very waters. Strange as it may sound, but true all the same. To quote Arthur Koestler, "If one looks with a cold eye at the mess man has made of history, it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that he has been afflicted by some built-in mental disorder which drives him towards self-destruction." In my opinion, these words could not have been more true.

At this point, allow me to specify that i do not intend to say that we are all, as individuals, driven towards self-destruction. All that I wish to say is that we have a natural tendency to self-destruct. A lot of us are intelligent (and strong) enough to suppress these natural leanings of ours and make more productive use of our time. For others, it's just a countdown to extinction. Maybe one day we will realize the harm that we have caused to ourselves. Maybe one day we will realize that ignorance is not the most intelligent option. Maybe one day we really will realize the stupidity of our thought process, but of course, it will all be in retrospect.

Just to let you know....

Before all else, let me preface this article by letting you know that i am weird. Really weird. Also allow me to tell you that whatever i say (or try to say) in this article shouldn't be taken too seriously. Why? Because weird people aren't supposed to be taken seriously! This article is just a random collection of thoughts that often cross my mind but are rarely (if ever) pondered over. In fact, most of you won't even be able to relate to what i'm saying, but for those of you who can, just to let you know.......

It's a beautiful life. Trust me, it really is. I know there are times when life seems to be anything but beautiful, but hey, every rose has its thorn. It's up to you decide if you want to smell the rose or get scarred by the thorn. Now you would be thinking that who am I to tell you about life. Am i really so wise that i can tell others about ways to better their lives? Or is it that i lead a perfect life and want to help others lead the same? Well, the answer to both these questions is a two letter word that begins with N and ends with O. And you don't need to be wise at all to guess the word. I'm not a Mr. Wiseguy and i definitely do not lead a perfect life. It's just that i see sad faces all around and just wish that those people could look at life more optimistically (Not that i care if they don't....i just wish they did). And that's why i always try to emphasize that life indeed is beautiful. I agree that something in our lives is always messed up, but at the same time, there's something in our lives that always brings a smile on our faces. Don't believe me? Just think about it and you'll more than agree with me. Again i say, you don't necessarily have to agree with me....but something tells me you will. Why? I don't know, i'm too weird to care about that!

Life is a mixed bag of emotions. Sometimes things don't work our way. For instance, sometimes we don't do well in exams, fail to meet the deadlines, mistreat our loved ones and so on. To cut a long story short, sometimes life just doesn't work according to plan. But we need to realize that life is not meant to work according to plan. Let me clarify at this point that i, in no way, mean to say that we should stop planning for our future. All i'm saying is that we should not give up when those plans don't materialize. As the saying goes, "Hope for the best but expect the worst." It is the latter part of the saying that people tend to overlook, and that's what causes the problem. Always. It is important to be hopeful but it is intelligent to be realistic.

Most of us just give up when we fail to accomplish what we had set our minds on. But the truth is that doing anything good takes time. We need to change our perception of failure. As Thomas Edison said, " I have not failed a thousand times. I have discovered a thousand ways that can lead to failure." Or on a more contemporary note, I say, "I have not written a terrible blog. I have just discovered a way to write a terrible blog." Jokes apart, we need to realize that our failure today does not imply that tomorrow will be the same. We all have the potential to reach the sky and touch the stars. All we have to do is believe. We may have lost the battle today. But one day we will win. And when we do, the world will know. Today might not have been our day. But hey, tomorrow beckons!

Cheers!

The Beast Within

"He who makes a beast of himself relieves himself the pain of being a man."

-Hunter S. Thompson

The above quotation by the noted American journalist always makes me put my thinking caps on, not because of its complexity but because of the sheer possibility of its truthfulness. Is it indeed true that making a "beast" of ourselves can relieve us of our mortal fears and therefore elevate us to a higher level, a better life? Well, if you ask me, then my reply will depend, of all things, on my mood. While in a normal(read happy) mood, i will probably dismiss this quotation as being violent without a purpose,and rightly so, after all, making a beast of oneself is not the only, and certainly not the best way to relieve oneself of the everyday pains that we go through. More often than not, taking a calm and intelligent approach to our problems does the trick, even when the problems seem overwhelming at first sight. There seems to be no logic in reducing oneself to a beast to overcome our problems when there is a far simpler(and sensible) solution at disposal. Why then do i still believe,consciously or subconsciously, in the validity of the above statement? What then makes this statement so relevant a solution to our problems, at least in my opinion?

This question is best answered by my subconscious self. We all have a subconscious self, which we rarely,if ever, reveal to anyone because we ourselves are not fully aware of it. This,however, does not mean that our subconscious self never comes to surface. Although rarely, but it does surface -  when we are in a state of mind that makes us lose some control of our conscious self, such as when we are very angry, sad, excited, or ahem...drunk. Just think about it and you'll know what i'm talking about. Is it not true that when extremely angry or sad, you say things that you would have never ever said when you were in a normal mood. This is our subconscious mind at work - making us say or do things that we consciously would have never done or said.This is our subconscious mind at work - revealing our true nature to the world, revealing our true nature to ourselves.

When i am in a mood that makes my subconscious mind control my actions, it is then that Hunter S. Thompson's words begin to make perfect sense to me, so much so that even when i am "normal" back again, they still retain their importance. And this is what brings me back to the point of discussion - Is it true that making a beast of ourselves is a possible solution to our daily struggles? I say yes.

We often spend much of our day worrying about petty issues that do not deserve our attention, at least not to the extent that we bestow upon them. What's worse is that we waste our valuable time and energy every time we ponder over such issues. And whenever we try to clear our mind of such issues, more often than not, we fail.Terribly. And it is at times like these that the above mentioned words of Hunter S. Thompson should be treated like Bible. If for once, we could liberate our minds of all our routine troubles and dare to think freely, we would actually set ourselves free. By the word "beast", Thompson does not mean making an unthinking anti-social hate-preaching animal of oneself. He simply tells us to rise up above our mortal inhibitions and think freely,live freely. The (common) man is forced to face problems from all directions, be it social, personal, or financial. And he continues to do so until the point where he changes his view of life, until he realises that life is meant to be lived freely. And when he does so, he becomes truly free.He becomes a "beast", aware of his problems but unafraid all the same. This does not mean that he will no longer face his routine problems, all it means is that now he will not be burdened by them for he now knows how to rise above them. This is the true essence of Hunter Thompson's words. This is the true essence of life. 

Reality check, we all at times feel overburdened by our the complexities of our lives. And it is then that we should realise that the only way to ever fight them is to rise above them. And when we do, we will truly feel liberated. Believe me, we will.