Who says you have to travel out of where you are to make it?

Time and again, it has been observed that people move from small towns to big cities to fulfill their dreams, with nothing more than their talent in hand. These places often promise them of providing essential elements that convert their dream into reality, and ultimately lead a better life.

But do not think for a minute that these dreams are as small as their respective towns are said to be. Realizing that they need better resources and a sustainable environment to make sure that they can share their dreams with the world, these entrepreneurs believe in one simple theory- everything is possible; if you have the will to accomplish it!

Here’s a list of some of these small town entrepreneurs who made it big it in their home town and now doing the same across India.

1. The Himachali FinTech Disruptor

Hailing from a small town Nahan in Himachal Pradesh, Manavjeet Singh has proved that no boundaries can stop you if you aspire to dream big and turn it into reality. Currently operational in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad with over 27,000 applications generated so far, Rubique, the FinTech disruptor has processed loans worth over 310 crore and more than 8,000 credit card setups since inception. It is now looking forward to win over more financial institutions in the country, keeping the key element of ‘convenience' as its core.

With a dream to own a “Contessa”, Manavjeet Singh landed in Mumbai from a town where the total human population is just 28,899. The passion to make it big has made him work with some of the best brands like CITI, HDFC Bank, Reliance Capital and Yes Bank.

‘Think big, dream big’ is the mantra that I believe in. Ever since my journey started from Himachal Pradesh, I always wanted to make it big. And after working for almost 25 years in the corporate field, I realized that to disrupt the market practices and implement new ideas, you need a blank canvas on which you could draw a picture suited to the needs of the consumer. And that’s how my entrepreneurial journey started,” said Manavjeet Singh, CEO and Founder of Rubique.

2. Brewing Startup in Siliguri

If you are born in Siliguri, a town in the Darjeeling district, then it’s very likely that you are doing something related to tea. Kaushal Dugar, a serial entrepreneur came back to his hometown to tap this opportunity, and today he is turning the small young green leaf into a delicious drink.

“I came back to Siliguri and decided to work for my older brother who runs a tea export business. Working there showed me the other side to the business, from what I had seen with my father – I saw the infrastructure that was being used to take the tea from gardens to the consumer and was surprised at how dated it was. And in these challenges, I saw a great opportunity for a change, said Dugar.

Today the startup is backed by JAFCO Asia, Accel Partners, Keystone Group LP and Dragoneer Investment Group. Apart from this they have so far shipped over 35 million cups’ worth of tea to customers in over 94 different countries.

3. From UP To UPTU via AI

“The world is full of distractions, hence, set the right goal, plan the road-map, concentrate and work hard towards it. No one can stop you just because you are from small town. Just throw yourself in the direction of your dreams, work hard, work hard and work hard! Believe me, it works” said Atul Rai, founderStaqu, an AI (Artificial Intelligence) startup working in image understanding domain, bypassing the need of human inference to describe images.

Rai, who belongs to a small village in Azamgarh, U.P., has managed to associate with companies like Paytm, Yepme, Roposo, Tradeindia etc. within 6 months of launching Staqu. Apart from Fashion eCom, Staqu is also working with some of the top OEMs in India including Karbonn, which recently launched Fashion Eye, based on Staqu’s AI and other brands like Panasonic, Lava, and Micromax.

4. Expanding Bihar’s Reputation

Pranjal Prashar realized the ‘Make it or Break it’ power of social media, long before it became the buzzword. Since he loves to solve problems, he focused on tackling the ‘Break It power’ of social media. He sought not only to harness but also to profitably leverage this uncontrolled and unabashed power of social media. He did so by finding a solution for positive online reputation management of the players in the hospitality industry. And thus his idea of REPUP took shape.

Despite being from a working middle-class family in Bihar, Prashar’s dream did not hesitate to take a fly. Today he is looking to bring 500 hotels onboard RepUp.

“We introduced our first product “Piquor” in 2013, a brand advocacy platform for hospitality businesses. Based on our data and inputs from clients, we decided to build something which can give a holistic picture of online reputation and help the clients improve the customer experience. Businesses were already getting serious about online reviews and comments. Restaurants were running out of business because of blogs and social posts. The solution was needed and there was a white space so we decided to jump in” said Prashar.

 

Do you own your possessions or do they own you?

Do you own your possessions or do they own you? Everyone likes to have nice things. A good car, a comfortable home, the latest model of whatever electronic device is top of your must-have list. All the things that blur the line between need and want tend to be a way of telling the rest of the world, “Hey! Look how successful I am!” There’s nothing wrong with liking, and having, lovely possessions, but when those possessions are the driving force behind who and what you are, it may be time to take an honest look at your priorities. He who has the most toys wins How do you measure success? For many people, it’s about material objects. It’s about having the finances to buy without concern. The truth is that as much as having things may be fun, the possessing of dream items doesn’t always bring the happiness we imagine. Even if what we have does make us happy, it’s a sobering thought that everything we accumulate in this life will one day be left behind. We can’t take anything with us, and ultimately he who has the most toys, still dies. When was the last time you saw a gravestone with a list of the individual’s possessions on it? Where is your treasure? The Bible tells us that our heart longs to be where our treasure is. If your heart is constantly focused on what you have and getting more of the same, it’s a pretty good indication that you are owned by the things you possess. Greed is a destructive emotion and will never be satisfied – if anything it is fed by the acquisition of material goods and the desire for more just grows with each new thing. Sadly, you may even find that the things you thought would make you happy, just make you more dissatisfied, and leave you looking for the next thing to add to your list of personal effects. Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Worth more than gold The Bible warns us not to waste our lives in pursuit of things that will only bring a hollow and fleeting happiness. Things you can hold can also be taken from you. Only one thing can hold centre stage in your life; if the things you own fill that position there isn’t room for anything else to be your primary focus. You can either serve your need to acquire more material goods, or you can choose to find a treasure that is richer and more valuable than anything you can buy from a store, and which will last beyond this life.

Why doing nothing is okay

I sat in bed and found myself staring out my window. I caught myself feeling guilty that I was just sitting there doing nothing. But then this thought occurred to me: Maybe sometimes doing nothing is okay.

Our culture today is so fast-paced. We always have to be doing something. I think we can sometimes find validation for who we are by what we do.

Think about it for a minute. Even when we go on leave from work or break from studying, we want to plan every minute of our break-away. Have you ever come back from holiday more exhausted than when you left? That’s because we are obsessed with doing things and being busy.

I know I’m going to sound old saying this, but remember the good old days? Before cell phones and hundreds of TV channels? Do you remember how your grandparents used to sit on the porch and just be? Sometimes being alone with your thoughts is a good thing, and not something to avoid at any cost.

Sometimes our brains need to shut off

We are extraordinary beings, with our brains working at 100km per minute. But sometimes, our brains need a break too. Just to be still, with no stimulation, nothing to process, nothing to solve – just to be. Taking some time out to just do nothing could be like a power nap for your brain!

Silence is golden

We live in such a loud world. Whether its traffic, our phones ringing, the TV blaring or music playing in our ears, there is rarely any moments of quiet. When last did you hear the birds singing, or listen for the sounds of nature? There’s so much constant noise around us that I think it’s made us think that’s normal.

Peace and quiet is an underrated life-saver! Why not take a few minutes this week and just do nothing. Be alone with your thoughts, listen to nature around you, stare out a window. I think you’ll find it more refreshing and rejuvenating than you thought possible

LET'S ACT A MOVIE TOGETHER

If the world was a movie,  would you feature in it? What role will you play? Will you just be an extra in the movie or a key actor in the movie?

Well,  good news is the world is actually a movie. And guess what the more interesting news is, the world is any movie you want it to be.

When we say characterization in a movie, that is something the character does.

Shakespeare says that the whole world is a stage. Everyone is acting a movie but folks will always have to decide what roles they want to play.

The people who are really successful in life today are people who have recognized that the world is a movie and they have chosen the character they want to play.

Musicians are characters. Politicians are characters. It's all play acting.

Once you realize this fact,  you're set on your way to undauntable success.
Whatever you have chosen to be if this world was a movie, take it seriously.

Choose the character you want to be and start to build the persona of that character and the world will pay you for it.
It's only a matter of time before companies start requiring that skill.

You're like an empty slate.  So you can choose whatever you want to be.  That, my friend, is characterization.

You are still young and that's when it's even more beautiful.
Remember when we were younger, and we'd watch movies and then try acting exactly what the actor did in that movie. I remember when my elder brother tried becoming superman, he'd tie a 'cape'  round his neck and then jump down  from the top bunk of the bed. Yeah,  he lost some teeth in his adventures. But who knows, if he continued, maybe he would have learnt how to humanly defy the laws of gravity and eventually fly.  Okay,  that's taking it a bit far, but you get my point, right?

Soon, we all grew up and started going to school. School took away that daydreaming, they thought you were wasting your time, you were actually finding a character.

Choose that character and learn to play the character. If the character you choose is one that people are willing to pay to watch the movie, then the character you choose will be one that people will be willing to pay.

This is not a joke, rather it is one that will teach you how to enjoy living.

In real life movies, an actor playing a character, leaves who he is in real life and switches and gets into character.
One can play a character so good  that you can play  it well and people will  build an industry  around  it.

People will pay  lots of money to listen to Basket mouth, a character, not  to Bright Okpocha.

The question is what character will  you become?

You have got to build that character. There  has to be a character in  the real world that is a model of the character you want to become.
If you are not getting the name, it could  mean you are not reading enough.

Choose that  character, even if its not real, build yourself to that level and people will pay to hear you speak.

If you are actually acting a movie, they will bring you a script. Pick a model in real life,  that will provide the script for the character you've chosen to become. By picking a model, it will help your footing  before you  select your own path.

You can even  create a character that does not have an earthly equivalent. Build that character and in a matter of time, the world will pay that character.

There is something interesting about  human nature.  Human  nature is like flour,  it can take any shape.  It all depends on what you decide you want to shape it into. It doesn't matter what you see, you can become it.

See the characterization of that future and build yourself to dominate it.
Build yourself  in a way, that it didn't matter you say, you will sound very knowledgeable.

You've got to choose that character you want to become in this movie called life.

Let's consider the movie called Prison Break.  One of the main actors in the movie,  Michael Scofield,  had some cool features. He had Low latent Inhibition. His brain didn't have the ability to block out things and focus on just one thing per time,  so he could bring lots of stufs into focus at once. Learning and developing oneself to be like a Michael Schofield can enhance such abilities of the person and eventually develop oneself to being a good investigative journalist or crime analyst or even better, a National consultant who will be able to advice on many national issues concurrently.

Leave the hard way,  you do not have to suffer to succeed.

Stop buying nonsense philosophy.

Sit in your own house and turn yourself into a product. The moment you walk into the market,  people will buy.

Transform yourself into a money attracting magnet.  Have a paradigm shift in your thinking.

Eventually, success is not by who you know but by what you know. 

Learn how to fix your mindset.

Finally,  make that decision and choose that character and begin to build it now, Choose your character in this movie

Creativity : Inspiration vs Revelation

Creativity: Inspiration vs Revelation
June and July for me is one of the most crazy seasons. We have an amazing young peoples’ conference at the church I am part of and I have the great honour of being able to work on the creative elements that make it an event that is as fun as it is impactful.

But coming up with ideas for creative elements – live moments on stage – is not always easy… When I was growing up, I wanted to direct the opener for the Olympics. There is something about the wonder of things unfolding before your very eyes that completely changes the atmosphere and establishes the tone for everything to come. When things happen live in the moment, people are drawn in and there is a potential to unite people that is unlike anything else in this world.

I might be “nerding” out a bit, but the challenge as a creative person is to catch you audience off-guard. The element of surprise – of something fresh and different – forces people to reset their expectations… And they have to do that while you are intentionally communicating with them through all their senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and intellect.

Before you think this is starting to sound a lot like strategic propaganda, I want to let you know that it is not about manipulation, but rather revelation.

In looking for inspiration as to what to put on this year, I looked in many areas… From YouTube clips, awards shows, world tours; to art installations, Pinterest, Instagram, architecture; to movies and documentaries. But as much as looking at what other people have done is great, I have realised that fresh perspective will always trump cool ideas. In other words: getting a revelation will always make you more creative than finding inspiration.

Everything in your life benefits from you being creative. Creativity is simply a highly stylised form of problem solving. Whether it be in making a birthday card, planning the perfect date, producing a television show, reassessing your priorities, addressing your colleagues, or planning your travel time – the more restrictions you face, the more you need to think out of the box. There is no such thing as art without restriction. Whether it’s the frame of the picture, the time and rhythm of a song, the size of the page or the battery life on your laptop – there will always be some restriction that will help you focus and be original.

You may feel like you’re stuck. Like you have lost your “spark” or inspiration for what you do and face every day. Whether it is writer’s block, or having enough energy to start the day, I have found there is one question that has helped me be creative in life: simply asking “Why?”.

If you get a revelation of “why”, you are able to nail down the reason to create. So for this conference – why do we put on crazy fun items? To engage young people and help them come out of their shells. Why do I write blogs? To communicate what I have learnt in life, so that I can articulate my journey for myself and (hopefully) help others. The only way that you will overcome the limitations of life is by looking for the reason “why” in a whole lot of reasons “why not”.

Inspiration might get you excited about life. But revelation will result in tangible change for you and those around you. If you are looking for revelation, can I encourage you to address the biggest “why” in your life? Why are you on earth? Do you have a revelation of your purpose? You cannot move past this question without looking at the reason for your existence. We are creations ourselves. I have found that purpose through knowing God intimately. Having a revelation of His intention for me – which boils down to love – has set me up to be creative in every other area of my life.

Source: David Webster

Work/Life balance is bullshit.

There is no question being asked more often than how I manage my work/life balance. Every time someone asks me that question I struggle with a straight answer.
For me the concept of work/life balance is bullshit. The fact that we call it work/life balance automatically implies that one of the two is negative and we need to balance it with the other.
It usually implies that you have work on the evil side, and life on the other. It makes it look like these two things are competing for your attention and well being.
But work and life are not separate. They are the same, there is only one thing, it’s called LIFE. Work is part of my life, it’s not competing against it.
Family is important, friends are important. But work is a huge part of who I am as a person. I believe work is one of the most important things in ones life.
I believe that work is the reason why I get up in the morning. It’s what I love to do with most of my days.
Now some might say I’m speaking from a privileged place because I can decide what I want to work on every day. And maybe yes, that might be true to some extend, but it wasn’t true a couple years ago.
I strongly believe that every person can make a living doing something they love. And often enough, it’s more of a mindset to become happy with your work. Often it’s not the work that sucks, but how we see it.
I remember, many years ago I asked a “Waste Collector” on the street what happened that he has to work in this job? (notice how my question was with negative assumptions in the first place)
With a smile on his face he replied. “I’ve been working as a Garbage Guy for more than 20 years now, I love this job and would never trade it for anything else.”
Completely shocked I asked him why. “You know, I can be outside every day and I have the honor to clean up the city. It’s like a computer game every day, street after street, faster than the other garbage guys.”
I loved his answer, and from that day on I stopped assuming that every waste collector in the city must hate their job. It gave me a different perspective on what work can mean.

Because ultimately, it’s only “work” if you don’t like it. If you love doing what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. And yes, you still need balance, because you need balance with everything yo do. For the same reason you can’t just eat only Nutella everyday. (trust me, I tried it)
But what you don’t need is life/work balance, because if you do, you might need to make some drastic changes with either one of them.
And this either means changing your job (yes you can) or simply looking at your job from a different perspective. Maybe you don’t like your job because society tells you it’s cool to hate what you do from Monday to Friday.
I mean, just look at how much society celebrates Fridays and hates Mondays, but shouldn’t it be the other way around?
Imagine we would all love what we do so much, we would be all sad every Friday because it would take us away from something we love doing.
And I’m not saying there is something wrong with taking a break from any activity, but just the way we as society “hate” Mondays is what’s so surprising to me.
If I could decide, on Mondays we should all celebrate because the world is awake again. We can work, get some shit done and do what we love.
How do you feel about work/life balance? Let me know on Twitter please.
I love Mondays.
Tobias
Thanks for hitting the 💚 if you enjoyed this article. This will tell me to write more of it!

Author : Tobias van Schneider

Source: Medium Daily

When You Can Walk on Water, Take the Boat 2

CHAPTER 2

It’s my habit to wake up very early in the morning. I’m one of those ridiculous fellows who finds it almost impossible to sleep late. Whether I to go to bed at eight o’clock in the evening or two in the morning, I still get up by five or six. This morning being no exception, I was up and ready to go by six-thirty. I said good-bye to my family and drove the short distance to the office. A breathtaking morning it was, indeed. The rays of the sun streaming through the windows of the car warmed my very being and made me want to sing for joy. Actually, ‘sing’ is not the word to describe the sounds I make in the attempt, but in the car no one hears and there’s the feeling of safety in that private cubicle. Except on those rare occasions when a driver pulls up at a stop light, looks at me quizzically and drives away, I’m not even conscious of the quality of my singing. I pulled into the parking lot half expecting to see the red car of the night before. Of course, it wasn’t there. “What a strange man,” I thought. “I feel as if I know him or have seen him someplace before. Perhaps it was at a conference or a convention.” It wasn’t long, however, before I was caught up in the day’s activities. Things were not going too well for my business. We had designed and built a portable device that was of use to printers and photographers. It was an excellent machine, capable of recycling the valuable chemicals from their waste processing solutions. Although we’d received a large number of compliments about it, sales weren’t increasing as fast as we had expected and, as everyone knows, compliments don’t pay the bills. I had built an excellent management team and we were expanding our horizons. But still, at times I felt so alone in what I was doing. The sound of the ringing phone woke me from my reverie. It was our plant manager calling to inform me that an entire production line had to be shut down immediately. “Do whatever you can. I’ll be over shortly,” was all I could say. Another phone call. The voice of my secretary first answered the type of calls I would receive all day. “It’s Mr. James Aba,” she said. “Do you want me to tell him you’ll call him later?” “No, I’ll take it,” I replied. She switched the call to my line and for the next five minutes I explained to Mr. Aba the reason a past due bill remained unpaid. Phone calls for the purpose of collecting past due payments coupled with the company’s financial situation were enough to drive me to distraction. We had recently applied for a substantial loan from a local bank only to have the banker laugh at us. Whenever I feel like becoming depressed, there is a game I play with. It always seems to work. I stop doing everything and say to myself, “Now, Jason, since you like to do everything well, take the next ten or fifteen minutes and become as depressed as possible. Wallow in your misery. Think of how terrible things are and how the entire world is against you. Note how everyone you know goes out of his way to make your life unpleasant. Think of how very unfortunate you are. Now, as soon as the second hand on your watch reaches twelve, start.” When the second hand reaches twelve I try to become as miserable as possible. Within a few minutes I’m laughing so hard at the absurd nature of my thoughts that the depression vanishes. Somehow or other, I was able to make it through to lunch time. We were able to get the production line back on stream and Mr. Aba agreed to wait for another week. I don’t normally eat lunch. In fact, I could go without breakfast and lunch without ever feeling uncomfortable. Today was no exception. I had a strong urge, however, to leave the office and go for an invigorating walk. It would be refreshing, I thought, to get out of the office for a while. I’d gone quite a few blocks when I decided to return by an alternate route which would take me past a quaint little restaurant. So demanding was my morning that I’d taken a longer walk than usual. As I approached a corner, I had the persistent feeling that there was an appointment I may have forgotten. I’ve been known to forget appointments before so, instead of returning to the office, I figured I’d use the pay phone in the restaurant, call my office and check whether or not there was an appointment. I quickly walked up to the restaurant, opened the door and entered, looking for a phone. Although the restaurant bustled with lunch customers, I located one on the other side of the room, went over and dialed my office. I asked whether I had an afternoon appointment and was assured that I didn’t. I breathed a sigh of relief, but could not shake the strange, nagging feeling that I had to meet someone. Since I was already in the restaurant, I decided to have a quick lunch. I approached the hostess who looked at me, smiled sweetly and said, “Mr. H., please follow me.” As I followed her across the dining room, I thought how flattering it was that she recognized me. It’s a small northeastern town I live in. It’s an even smaller town that I work in. Almost everybody knows one another. She led me to a table over by the far corner near a window. I thanked her and even before I was properly seated, she said, “Your other party will be here soon.” “My other party?” I asked. I was surprised since no one, not even myself, knew I would be stopping at this restaurant. Noticing my surprise, she looked around and said, “Oh, here he is now. Enjoy your lunch.” Up to my table strode Charles. Ignoring my questioning gaze, he seated himself, smiled and said, “Fine day it is.” “Fine day it is, indeed! But what are you doing here?” I asked not rudely, but rather out of surprise. “Hope you don’t mind my joining you.” “Of course not. But I certainly didn’t think I was going to see you again so soon.” I was becoming somewhat confused. First the incident in the parking lot, then the strange urge to walk past the restaurant, followed by my decision to have lunch and, finally, meeting Charles again. “Did you make reservations or plan to be here for lunch today?” “Yes, I made the reservations for both of us.” “How did you know I’d be here? Even I didn’t know.” “Just had a feeling. You have these feelings at times, don’t you? The phone rings and you know who’s calling. You think of someone you haven’t heard from in years and you receive a letter from that person. Just had a hunch that you’d be here and I took the chance.” “I was thinking about you. I wondered whether I was ever going to see the bearded man whose car broke down in our parking lot. By the way, is everything fixed now? Does it run OK?” “Runs better than ever.” His eyes seemed even more piercing than in our previous encounter. They seemed to probe the very depths of my mind, leaving me to feel that I could hide nothing from him. “Didn’t think you’d make it this time either,” he continued, as if speaking to himself. “Pardon me?” “Oh, nothing. I talk to myself sometimes.” “Well, since you’re here, I’ll say it’s good to see you, again. Let’s have a quick bite because I’ve got to be back at the office shortly.” “One of your problems, Jason, is that you hurry too much. Yesterday in the parking lot, you were in a rush. Today at lunch, you’re in a hurry again. Take some time to enjoy life. Everyone has the same measure of time, you know. Twenty-four hours a day. It’s what you do with your time that’s important.” I really didn’t think I needed to be preached to today, but I wanted to be as polite as possible. “It’s easy for you to say,” I replied. “I have responsibilities, you know. A business to run — things to do. Sometimes the burden of it all gets to me.” “Only if you let it. And everyone has responsibilities. Do you know that the word responsibility could mean ‘ability to respond’? Do you have a business to run or do you have a business that runs you?” For someone I was meeting for only the second time, he certainly had a lot of opinions about me. A good philosophical discussion, however, always brightens my day and besides, there was some truth in what he had said. “You seem to have things nice and easy,” I quipped. “Where do you work and what do you do, anyway?” A strange look came over those dark eyes. “Actually I’m a trouble shooter,” he said, “a jack-of-all-trades, if you will. What you’d probably call a consultant for my company, if you know what I mean.” “And your company?” “It’s called G & M Enterprises, Inc. It’s not the car company. I’m sure you’ve never heard of it.” “Can’t say that I have. Is it a large corporation?” “To a certain extent — very diverse — in many countries. World headquarters in the Big City with branch offices throughout the country.” “What do they make or do?” “Somewhat of a service company, more or less.” Sensing his reluctance to offer more information and not wanting to be rude I asked, “Are you on vacation now?” “No. Actually, I’m on assignment. I’ll be in this area for a little while.” “Do you live around here?” “Not really. Just passing through. After completion of my current assignment, I’ll be on the road again.” “Well, I hope they give you a better car,” I said with a laugh, remembering his problems of the evening before. He smiled, and changed the conversation back to my work. “So things aren’t going too well with your business?” he asked. “We’ve been struggling for a long time, a real long time, Charles. There are times when we think we see light at the end of the tunnel, but more often than not it’s a freight train. It’s tough.” I was surprised to find myself speaking this way to a stranger. I normally don’t share my problems with those who aren’t close to me, but somehow this time seemed different. “Why struggle? A seasoned swimmer does not struggle against the water. He flows with it, using it as a means of reaching his goal. Don’t struggle, just follow the flow. Let the river of life carry you.” The restaurant was mostly empty now. In between our conversation we’d managed to finish our brief lunch. Only two tables across from us were occupied. I glanced at my watch. It was time to go. But my strange friend wasn’t ready to leave. He gave me the impression that he wanted to tell me something. Again, I had that sense of foreboding — not quite foreboding, but almost like I was getting involved in things for which I wasn’t ready nor prepared. I paid the bill and he offered to pay his share, but I refused. He thanked me and got up. “Do you have a business card?” I asked. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a card and handed it to me. “Thank you. I must say good-bye now and get back to that crazy job I have,” I said. “Be grateful that you have a job to go to,” he replied. We walked to the door and went outside. I hoped he wasn’t setting me up for something. I’m somewhat of a pushover when I like someone and I was beginning to take a liking to this stranger. As we said good-bye I told him I hoped we’d meet again soon. He nodded and said, “Who knows? It really is a small world.” He turned, waved and left. I walked back toward my office. All during lunch I felt an aura of kindness and, strangely enough, power around Charles. Now back in the sunlight, the apparent mystery seemed to vanish. The afternoon passed smoothly without as many difficulties as the morning. Several times I glanced through the window into the parking lot where I’d first seen Charles. Perhaps, we’d meet again. There was going to be a little dinner party at my house this evening. Just a few friends and neighbors getting together to enjoy each other’s company. It was beginning to get dark. Possibly a storm was on the way, I thought. You never can tell with the weather these days. I decided to leave early to reach home before the rain came. I was about to pull into my driveway when all the driveway lights went out. I thought, perhaps, the impending storm had something to do with it. Then the storm broke. Such fury of wind and rain I’ve rarely seen. The rain was a sheet of white water alternating with the reflection of brilliant flashes of lightning. The blasts of thunder reminded me of the legends of the gods on Mount Olympus hurling thunderbolts at their enemies. I could hardly see I drove up the driveway and, since the electricity was out, I couldn’t open the garage door either. After parking the car, I rushed into the house, getting drenched in the few seconds it took me to do so. All was dark inside except for the areas lit by the few candles Mary had found. Our dinner guests arrived and we made the best of a poor situation. We ate by candlelight and marveled at the many faces of nature. “It seems really strange to me, Jason,” one of the guests remarked. “What seems strange?” I asked. “The fury and nature of this storm. I just telephoned a neighbor down the street and he said that it didn’t rain there.” “Didn’t rain there? A few blocks away? How can that be?” “And all their lights are on,” he continued. It was strange to see a storm that occurred in only a few square blocks. For no apparent reason I thought of Charles. Immediately there was a blinding flash of lightning and all our lights came back on. We discussed the storm for a little while longer. Personally, I seemed to connect it with something having to do with Charles. Yet, that made no sense...

To be continued

PRACTISE, Then Practice some more

I love the story about the young talking drum player who ran up to chief talking drummer of the village, talking drum in hand, breathlessly panting, Quick! How do I get to play at the Villagesquare?
The experienced talking drummer eyed him and his talking drum and responded, Practice, boy, practice.
What is your Villagesquare? Where are you headed? How are you practicing to get there? What habits are you forming?
Perhaps you see someone doing something different-something stimulating and adult. Maybe you watch it on television or in a movie, and you see it done at a party or at the office. You like what you see, and you want to do it, too. Or perhaps you want to fit into the group because everybodys doing it. So you emulate and initiate, and the seemingly harmless act of playing copycat or doing copy copy grows, thought upon thought, act upon act, until it is conditioned into a steel cable that either strengthens or shackles your life.
Everyone learns the same way: by observation, imitation, and repetition. Harmful habits, such as self-criticism, smoking, excessive drinking, overeating, laziness, depression, tardiness, and insensitivity, are learned and developed into character traits through relentless, self-disciplined practice.
In the same way, helpful and successful habits of high self-esteem, substance avoidance and control, proper nutrition, dedication, enthusiasm, reliability, and empathy for others are also learned, internalized, and retained through relentless practice. The positive approach to a problem is much more likely to succeed than the negative one. It is far easier to start doing something new than to stop doing something that has become a long standing routine.
Man is a product of influence. You cannot stop a bird from hovering over your head, but you can definitely stop it from making a nest on your head. So watch who you copy and practice their habit. Is it negative or positive?
For example, suppose you are a heavy smoker and you finally decide the slogan is right: A Pack a Day Takes Ten Years Away! So you try the following program:
Commit yourself to clean lungs and a healthier heart.
Enroll in a reputable smoking cessation clinic or program.
Put sugarless mints or gum where the cigarettes used to be, in the car, in your desk drawer, in a pocket, and so on.
Become aware of your new habit of reaching for, unwrapping, and putting a mint or piece of gum in your mouth.
Write down and often repeat new scripts about yourself, such as: I am in control of my habits and my healthI am fit for lifemy lungs are clean and strongI breathe in only fresh airmy stamina and endurance are increasingthe nutritional meals I eat taste even better now.
Listen to positive audiotape affirmations specifically designed to develop a smoke-free attitude.
Congregate in smoke-free areas of buildings and transportation vehicles.
Enjoy the feelings, sights, and sounds of your new found state of health.
Surround yourself with nonsmokers.
Enjoy your heightened sense of smell, taste, health, and appearance.
YOU DONT STOP A BAD HABIT, YOU REPLACE IT WITH A NEW GOOD ONE.
By practicing the ten steps outlined above, you will be applying the basic principle: it is difficult to do two things at the same time. Instead of continuing your old habit of smoking, you will be replacing it with a new habit. As you get involved in new actions and attitudes, they replace the old ones. With all these new activities you have going on, you wont have time for your old bad habits. People often talk about going law-style to break a habit. I prefer going freestyle and replacing the old habit with a new good one.
Anyone who has ever achieved anything can give credit to practice. And we all practice every day in one way or another. The trouble is, most of us spend our time practicing our bad habits rather than our good ones

When You Can Walk on Water, Take The Boat 1

When You Can Walk on Water,  Take the Boat 1

My office was at the end of the building, overlooking the car park. The lot was empty save for my little car which appeared to be waiting so patiently. Always it seemed to be waiting for me, never complaining, always nearby. “Time to leave,” I thought. “I’m already late.” If there’s one consolation, it was that there wouldn’t be any traffic at this hour.

Glancing through the window as I reached for my briefcase, I noticed a red car a few spaces removed from mine. The hood was raised and it seemed as if someone was trying to fix something. It wasn’t unusual for cars to limp into our parking lot with some problem or other. I descended the stairs to the main door, set the night alarm and walked out of the building.

The red car was still there with its hood pried open.
With the idea of seeing whether I could be of help, I cautiously approached. Through the window in the dim light, I saw a bearded face smiling back at me. “What took you so long? I thought you might have changed your mind,” he said. The nerve of the guy, I thought. A total stranger, and he wanted to know what took me so long.
Ingratitude really bothers me. It struck me as somewhat strange, however, that he seemed to have been expecting me. A totally improbable assumption I felt, as I quickly shrugged off the thought.

Peering under the hood I shouted, “Try the motor once more.” He did, and it immediately sprang to life and continued running with a beautiful purr as if nothing ever had been the matter with it. The bearded one got out of his car, walked up to me, thrust out his hand and said, “Hi! It’s good to see you again for the first time. My name is Charles.”

“Hello, Mr. Charles it’s nice to meet you,” I stammered, shaking his outstretched hand. “My name is Jason.”

“Yes, I know,” he said. This took me by surprise. I had never seen the man before. He wore brown pants and a starched black shirt and appeared to be somewhere in his mid-fifties. He wasn’t tall. His hair was black and neatly combed. The beard which was as black as his hair was full and trimmed, but his eyes were his most noticeable feature. Even in the dim light of the street lamp, one could see those piercing orbs and know they had lived a legend. Such determination in those eyes, and yet, such kindness as well. Although I noticed all these things in a split second, I kept staring at him all the while.

He smiled. “Beautiful weather we’re having,” he said.

I nodded indifferently. I couldn’t have cared less about the weather at that moment. “How do you know my name?” I quickly snapped.

“Oh, I guessed. You looked like that was your name” He said it matter-of-factly, but there was something in his voice that seemed to suggest that he really knew my name. Maybe this was one of those set-ups I’d heard so much about recently. Perhaps he was intent on doing me harm — stealing or something. I had the overwhelming urge to leave that spot and remove myself from his presence as fast as possible, but those eyes held me there.

“I see that you’re alarmed — concerned about your safety,” he said, seeming to pull the very thoughts out of my head. “No need to fear. Thanks for helping me with the car. I thought no one would come at this hour, but there you were! People these days are so afraid of everything, of each other, of the dark, yes, even of themselves.
My gratitude to you, Jason.”
I figured that he had to be lying since I hardly did anything to help him start his car. It just appeared to me that the motor started the second I told him to try it again.
“Anyway,” I said, “I didn’t do anything, but you’re welcome nevertheless.”

“Perhaps we’ll meet again soon,” he said as I moved toward my car.

“Perhaps,” I muttered, thinking how unlikely that would be. He waved as I stepped into my car and drove out of the parking lot.

By now it was very dark, and my wife and children would be wondering where I was or whether I was stranded on the road. It was the normal, short drive, no more than 15 minutes or so before I pulled up to the mailbox at the bottom of our driveway. As is my custom everyday, I collected the mail and started driving up to the garage. The driveway is long and curving and the thought occurred to me to make arrangements for snow removal for the winter. It was far from winter and, yet, my tired mind was already getting prepared.

I wondered about Charles but brushed the thought away, having felt I’d done my good deed for the day and probably would never see him again. There were more important things to do now, like dinner, walking the dog and finally taking out the garbage. Dinner and then walking the dog would be pleasant. “Raj,” my Rottweiler, was a spirited, friendly animal, and a little run with him would do both of us some good.

As I walked into the house, mail in one hand and briefcase in the other, my son, John, was waiting for me.
Only three years old, he had no concept of time and so was not too surprised to see me at that late hour.
Laying aside the mail and briefcase, I picked up John and proceeded into the kitchen. My wife, Mary, and daughter, Marci, greeted me warmly. The aroma of slowly simmering chicken stew made me realize how hungry I was.

“What kept you so late today, Jason?” Mary asked as we sat down to dinner.

“Oh, nothing much. Just helped a fellow get his car started.” Dinner over, I took care of the remaining chores, helped put the children to bed and discussed some of the day’s activities with Mary. Finally, we watched a short TV show and then I read for a little while. I love to read, but there never seems to be enough time. Generally I’m reading at least five books at different stages, going from one to the other until I complete them all. It’s certainly not the best way to read books, but this way, I do manage to get through them.

We decided to go to bed, and only then did I feel the fatigue of the day. Reflecting on my strange meeting with Charles, I fell asleep.

The Little Man Who Lives In My Head

“It finally clicked. I have bad self esteem when it comes to men.” — Journal Entry, October 27, 2015
I have a little man who lives in my head. He’s been there practically as far back as I can remember. He’s a consistent male gaze, approving, disapproving, judging, and watching my every move to see if I met his standards. His form is fluid, constantly shifting and changes from week to week. Currently, he’s here with me and has taken the shape of one of my ex-boyfriends. Or rather, ex-lover. We were never “official,” even though we were monogamous and went out with each other for close to half a year. Welcome to modern dating.
He’s watching me write this article. He’s judging each word I use to form my sentences and scoffs every time I make a typo. He sees the thoughts that skirt across my head, scrutinizing and picking apart each one. Now you may be thinking, how can anyone live like this? This would turn anyone into an anxious, dysfunctional wreck. Well by broad definition, I’m fairly sane and normal. I’m a 26 year old writer slash fine artist and animator. I love making people laugh and pulling socially awkward wallflowers onto the dance floor. By all social accounts, I’m confident and I’ve always gone to the beat of my own drum.
But I’ve had this complex tucked away in the back of my head like a dirty little secret. In all my fantasies where I’m accomplishing something, I have a “male voyeur” in my imagination. Usually it takes the form of an ex-boyfriend, current boyfriend, or a guy I’m attracted to. So whenever I’m accepting my Emmy or Oscar for Best Screenplay in my mind, there he is applauding in awe, or in the case of an ex-boyfriend, regretting all his life’s choices.
This imaginary male watching me becomes the cornerstone of validating my own victory. Which in theory, is absolutely ludicrous. I don’t write for anyone but myself. In fact, when I’m truly dropping into a story, it’s one of the few, rare moments where the little man vanishes. However in my subconscious mind, the presence of this approving male figure makes the moment all worth it. But in reality, moments involving reward or recognition would be just as sweet if it were just my family and a few close friends there to watch. So why is he always there?

Recently, I discussed this with my mother and she admitted that she’s lived with same complex her entire life, even now. This woman is a natural leader, started her own business, and she’s probably the most talented person I know. If someone like her has a little man in her head, there must be others, powerful people I would least suspect, who suffer from it too. Living with the little man in my head has become a total paradox for my feminist beliefs. It’s only recently where I’ve really begun to acknowledge it and ask, why? When and how did this all start? Nowadays, the little man almost always takes the form of an existing person that I have a romantic interest in. However, flashback to my childhood, this wasn’t always the case.
Picture a 3-year-old Eurasian girl hypnotized, inches away from the screen watching the Disney classic, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Speaking as a total animation nerd, this film is an undeniable work of genius. The animals, aside from their adorable, big-eyed stares, had realistic movements and mannerisms of the creatures they were based on. Snow White herself was drawn with such mesmerizing 3-dimensionality (based on a technique called rotoscoping), that it almost seemed like you could reach out and touch her. Walt Disney set the bar pretty damn high in terms of the first feature-length animated film, successfully blurring the lines between extreme fantasy and reality.

Unfortunately if you’re going to create something that’s essentially eye candy for the senses, it’s very hard for a young, impressionable mind to make realistic distinctions. A particular snapshot comes to mind of Snow White singing at the wishing well. The Prince climbs ove

Learning The Value of Listening

There isn't really any need to living life if one does not do so to be successful. But really, success isn't something to be owned or possessed. Remember, success has very little to do with money though there is nothing wrong in being a rich success.
Success is not in how you look but there isnt anything wrong in looking good. Actually, you should look good.
So, what exactly is success, we need to have a paradigm shift in our mindset and way of thinking.

Let us consider this story of this fascinating couple.

There was this writer and motivational speaker. He always loved having people over to his house and telling them anecdotes in a bid to impress them. He always wanted his visitors to think he and his wife were an amazing couple. But the visitors never for once did.

Then one day, something amazing happened. He had just returned from a speaking trip. And as usual, he had a couple over. Due to the intensity of his trip, he was so tired that he could not share any anecdote or stories.
So, he decided to listen to the couple. He sat quietly and listened to the other people talk for a change. 

As he listened, something amazing happened. He learnt that the couple had achieved way more than he had, and also, that they were more educated than he was. Hence, there really wasn't any need to try to impress this couple.

He and his wife, Jane listened for a stretch of three hours, and he made only quiet comments such as, "Really?" or "Wow, that's interesting" or "Tell me more, give me an example."

They finally got up to leave, and as they went out the door and down the driveway, he ran to his bedroom window to try to hear what they were saying about their evening. He was still somewhat insecure and didn't understand the difference between trying to impress and simply paying value to others. He wanted to hear what they had to say. After all, they might be talking about him.

He strained to listen, and as they opened their car doors, he could hear the husband tell his wife, "Weren't they the most fascinating couple you've ever met? What great communicators! Just delightful, marvelous people."

He looked at his wife, and she looked back at him. He said, "But we didn't say anything except to ask questions."

And Jane, his wife said, "That's right. They went away feeling that we value them because we gave them our full attention all evening long."

We all need to learn the same lesson he learnt that evening. He didn't go all out to impress. He didn't share any anecdotes or stories he felt they might like. He just paid attention and listened to them talk about themselves. Nonetheless, the guests went away saying,   "Greatest people we've ever talked to."

After that night, he went back to doing more listening than talking.

Listening to people does a lot of good for you and the person you're listening to. You get to learn new things, and the person would feel you attach value to the person. The truth is that most people want you to hang on to their every word. And there is no better way to let them know that you are sincerely interested in them and that you care about them.

One more thing, listen to understand, dont listen to reply!!!

PERMISSION TO BE UNREASONABLE

I don’t know when to trust myself and how to know if I’m being unreasonable,” she wrote to me. “On being ‘unreasonable,’” I replied, “who cares?”
I remember when I was in a relationship that wasn’t making me happy several years back. It just always felt like something was missing, and no matter how I tried to broach the conversation, I was met with a response that felt like I was being told, “this is just the way relationships are.” I shouldn’t be upset, because he was a good guy. He didn’t hit me. He didn’t cheat on me.
For crying out loud, what more could I possibly want?
Well… a lot actually.
I craved depth of connection, someone who was willing to dive deep into our hearts, souls, hopes, and fears. Who wasn’t afraid of my passion and intensity, someone who wouldn’t make me feel like “too much.” I craved passion and spark and overwhelming love. Someone who made me feel things in my heart I’d never felt before. I craved real presence, someone who would really show up for me and us and our life together. Someone who let me know I was adored, who would care for me and keep me safe, emotionally and physically.
For a long while, I allowed others to make me feel wrong for what I desired. I let myself believe what I wanted was only possible in movies and books, because they “weren’t real.” I tried to convince myself that I was just being ridiculous and asking for things that didn’t exist. I tried to settle in and accept that what I had was “good enough.” I practiced insane levels of gratitude and presence… but it just never took. I could never settle in fully. I could never feel true happiness.
Finally, one day, I got pissed off.
I remember during another one of our spats, finally saying, “I don’t care if it’s not possible in this life, I would rather end up a spinster cat lady than to settle for less than I desire and deserve. I would rather end up alone. And I don’t need to be in a relationship just to be in one.”
Needless to say, we didn’t last.
I can tell you absolute certainty that the only way I was able to find and attract my amazing man, a true partner who meets me on all levels, has everything to do with me being totally “unreasonable” when it came to love. It has everything to do with the fact that I refused to settle in the ways many others choose to. In life, love, friendships, my work. I refused to settle for less than I desire and deserve.
Sometimes that made me feel like I was being a selfish jerk, because honestly, I wasn’t used to taking a stand for what I wanted. I was used to others telling me how things should be, and trying to bend and fold and fit myself to what they wanted to make them happy. Mostly, that made other people frustrated, because they didn’t understand, or because I triggered them around where they had chosen to settle for something or someone that’s less than they desired and deserved.
When it comes to what we “deserve,” that word can be triggering in and of itself. It comes with a sense of entitlement that can stir up a lot of our “who do I think I am to…” fear and self-doubt.
First, I don’t care who you are or what your story is, you deserve nothing less than what your heart and soul desire. You deserve love and joy and passion. You deserve to be fulfilled in every area of your life. To be nurtured and cared for and deeply supported. No one is more or less deserving than anyone else.
Second, no one has the right to tell you that you’re being unreasonable. While a lot of people are doing things to improve their lives — saving money, working out, eating healthy, and maybe even doing some spiritual or personal development and growth work — very few people have the tenacity to really, truly do the work and go after what they desire and deserve. Especially when it’s unclear if what they want is even possible. These people love to cut your dreams and desires down into more “manageable pieces,” because they don’t want to face the fact that they’re settling in their own life, and it’s easier to bring easier to bring you down than to rise up themselves.
The ones who choose to do the work… the ones who refuse to accept the “standard” or “expected” or “good enough” in any aspect of their life… the ones who refuse to ignore the tiny whispers of their soul, crying out for more or better or deeper or truer… they end up with nothing short of extraordinary. In life. In partnership. In work and finances. In living life to the fullest.
My life isn’t perfect. My man and I are far from graceful inside our love. My business has a lot of room to grow and align. I have so much to learn. So many more mistakes and missteps to make. But am I happier and more in love and more fulfilled than I’ve ever been. Than I’ve ever known others around me to be. And no matter what, I will continue to be outrageously unreasonable and unwavering in what I demand from this life and the people who share it with me.
Because we deserve it.
And the last thing any of us want to do is leave this life with regret or wonder that if we had just trusted ourselves a little more, ignored the naysayers, and followed our hearts… Could life have been unbelievably magical and fulfilling?

Source: Stephenie Zamora
Merging the worlds of personal development, branding, and online marketing to help people build passion-based lives and businesses: www.stepheniezamora.com

Assumption Can Short Change Us

She is always at the church premises by 6am wearing some faded
jeans, an old T shirt and some slippers. She always comes to clean the
chapel and arrange the seats. For six years she has never missed a
single Sunday coming to clean the place. On this faithful day a young
man walked into the chapel while she was still cleaning. He went and
sat down watching as the lady cleaned. He was impressed that a lady
who looked quite good even in the old cloths and a scarf over her hair
could be so dedicated to her work in church. He thought within himself
that this was an unfortunate lady who probably had not gotten anyone
to take care of her schooling and now she would probably be an
orange seller or some petty trader struggling to make ends meet. He
watched and within his heart he felt he now knew what God wanted
him to do. When he had felt a compulsion to come very early to church
he had not understood but now he thought he did. He went back to his
car and took out two 50 cedis notes and when the lady finished her
work and was about to leave he called her and commended her for her
service and gave her the notes. She respectfully declined the gift but
he insisted pressing it into her hands. He asked if she lived close by or
if he could go drop her so she would not be late. She thanked him and
told him that her car was nearby, but he did not comprehend or even
try to understand what she had just said. He walked her out
determined to find out all he could about this lady that God wanted him
to help change her level. They walked out of the chapel with him telling
her where he worked and how God had asked him to come early to
church that day and how he believed God is directing him to help make
a big difference in her life. He was so busy talking he had not realized
they had walked directly to a car parked under some trees in the
parking lot. The car made his one year old Benz look like a worn out
wheel barrow. The lady opened the driver’s door stepped in and
handed over her card to the man and said, “I believe God sent you
here for a purpose, but I do not think it was to change my level, May
be it was to change yours.” I am tempted to say it took a forklift to
shut the young man's mouth and move him from the place he was
glued to as the lady drove off. God had a purpose for bringing him to
church that morning and that purpose was to teach him humility which
he learnt well because now two people always clean the chapel when
everyone fails to show up. Many times we think so highly of ourselves
that where God sends us to learn we go trying to teach. We may be
men created in the image of God but at one time ants shall be the
professors seeking to impart knowledge to us only if we are humble
enough to learn.
Stay blessed, be humble, trust and obey. Good morning.

PUSH YOUR COW OFF THE CLIFF!

Once upon a time in a faraway land, there lived a Chinese wise man and his disciple. One day in their travels, they saw a hut in the distance. As they approached they realised that it was occupied in spite of its extremely poor appearance.

In that desolate place where there were no crops and no trees,
a man lived with his wife, three young children and a thin, tired cow. Since they were hungry and thirsty, the wise man and his disciple stopped for a few hours and were well received. At one point, the wise man asked:

“This is a very poor place, far away from anything. How do you survive?”

“You see that cow? That’s what keeps us going,” said the head
of the family. “She gives us milk, some of it we drink and some we make into cheese. When there is extra, we go into the city and exchange the milk and cheese for other types of food.
That’s how we survive.”

The wise man thanked them for their hospitality and left. When he reached the first bend in the road, he said to his disciple:
“Go back, get the cow, take her to the cliff in front of us, and push her off.”

The disciple could not believe what he was hearing. “I cannot do that, master! How can you be so ungrateful? The
cow is all they have. If I throw it off the cliff, they’ll have no way to survive. Without the cow, they’ll all die!” The wise man, an elderly Chinese man, took a deep breath and repeated the order: “Go ahead. Push the cow off the cliff.”
Though outraged at what he was being asked to do, the student was resigned to obey his master.

He returned to the hut and quietly led the animal to the edge
of the cliff and pushed. The cow fell down the cliff and died.
As the years passed by, remorse for what he had done never left the disciple. One spring day, the guilt became too much to bear and he left the wise man and returned to that little shack. He wanted to find out what had happened to that family, to help them out, apologize, or somehow make amends.

Upon rounding a turn in the road, he could not believe what his eyes were showing him. In place of the poor shack there was a beautiful house with trees all around, a swimming pool, several cars in the garage, a satellite dish, and on and on. Three
good-looking teenagers and their parents were celebrating their first million dollars. The heart of the disciple froze. What could have happened to the family? Without a doubt, they must have been starving to death and forced to sell their land and leave. At that moment, the student thought they must all be begging on the street corners of some city. He approached the house and asked a man that was passing by about the whereabouts of the family that had lived there several years before. “You’re looking at them" said the man, pointing to the people gathered around the barbecue. Unable to believe what he was hearing, the disciple walked through the gate and took a few steps closer to the pool where he recognised the man from several years before, only now he was strong and confident, the woman was happy, and the children were now nice-looking teenagers. He was dumbfounded, and went over to the man and asked: “What happened? I was here with my teacher a few years ago and this was a miserable place. There was nothing. What did you do to improve your lives in such a short time?”

The man looked at the disciple, and replied with a smile:
“We had a cow that kept us alive. She was all we had. But one
day she fell down the cliff and died. To survive, we had to start doing other things, develop skills we didn’t even know we had.
And so, because we were forced to come up with new ways of
doing things, we are now much better off than before.”

Sometimes our dependency on something small and limited is the biggest obstacle to our growth. Perhaps the best thing that could happen to you is to push your “cow” off the cliff. Once you free yourself of the thought “it’s little
but it’s certain,” or of that idea “I am not doing great but there are people who are much worse than me” — then your life will really change.

May you have the wisdom to recognise your "COW" this new year, and the COURAGE to push her off the CLIFF.

Have an awesome 2016!

#copied