TALENT

This post comes at a the most opportune time when we are witness to one of the most talented personalities of world sports, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar’s extraordinary career graph and phenomenal achievements culminating in his scoring his 50^th  century recently. He epitomizes the crux of today’s post TALENT where he has demonstrated that True Ability Lets Efforts Naturally Triumph.

What is remarkable about his phenomenal success is the fact that he has no real family pedigree or background to boast of. He has carved his own niche by sheer hard work, consistency and self belief. Even more amazing is the fact that he started young but more remarkably seems to be at his peak when most cricketers his age have retired or are on the cusp of retiring. The message for all his fans and for those who hope to emulate him is simple; identify ones real talent, work on improving the raw talent and honing it to a level of expertise and have the self belief to let your natural abilities guide you to the peak of success. 

Each of us is actually blessed with some strength that doubles up as a talent when the energies are directed towards positive goals. Some have natural flair for number crunching and mathematics, others for the fine  arts like writing, painting, dramatics, still others the gift of listening and empathizing and they make wonderful counselors and friends and the list is endless. The difficulty is in recognizing it because most times our modesty prevents us from acknowledging it or our ego blinds us from accepting that we have no flair. The world is also full of talented people who never realized their potential simply because they were not prepared to hone their ability by hard work and persistence. It is vital that we take the effort to fine tune our abilities and master it and even then work on raising the bar. Hard work becomes harder when the going is tough, we hit a personal bad patch and if our confidence is lost and the critics are training their guns on us. That is when self belief will help us regain our confidence restore our pride and allow our abilities to flower and bear fruit.

In day to day life too we can leverage our TALENT in innovative ways be it merely doing our regular work in an extraordinary way or using our gifts to bring good cheer to others or by being simply useful and proactive in crisis situations. That is when we realize that our True Ability Lets Efforts Naturally Triumph.

Action Points:

1. Identify a role model for your self. Now enumerate the talents that the person possessed that you believe was instrumental in them achieving success. Do you know of incidents from the person’s life where he /she overcame many odds to achieve their success? What are the two qualities they posses that you believe would be very useful for you to cultivate?
2. Identify your strengths on the following parameters

• Communication skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Academic skills
• Human Relations skills
• Creative ability
• Capacity to work

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Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.

You are also invited to visit our DAILY inspirational and motivational blog http://www.actspot.wordpress.com/

HOPE

When things go wrong, quite often we panic, we get frustrated and we despair. The negative emotions add to our anxieties and worries and make it hard for us to see things in the correct perspective. The net result is that we end up being very cautious, very suspicious and find it hard to savor the good moments in life. However instead of getting flustered if we can redirect those emotions by some positive thoughts and energy we will be blessed with HOPE and we will be Holding On to Positive Expectations.

Many times we see an event as something dreadful and irreversible and then we find it hard to focus on the anything positive about the whole situation. Assume a close family member is diagnosed with cancer, our immediate reaction is to visualize the worst scenario where the cancer has spread and the days of the individual are numbered. On the other hand if calmed down and accepted the reality with equanimity, we would examine the matter logically, factually and optimistically looking out for signs of HOPE to which we can cling on to. Yes hope can be generated by taking a cool, calm and unhurried view of events as they unfold, even if they are fraught with colossal bad news. The secret lies in remaining calm and unruffled but being alert to the evolving happenings.

To understand what it means to be calm and unruffled and yet be alert, observe a duck paddling in the water. They glide gracefully on the surface but below the water their fins are furiously paddling. Take a leaf out of the ducks style and adapt it to our own life and presto we have got the hang of the basics of generating hope. When calm we can think more clearly, be more proactive and hang on optimistically. By merely being calm we will reduce our anxiety and possibly think clearly but it still won’t be enough to trigger hope. To trigger hope in us we need to anticipate possible favorable outcomes, discount bad news with some signs of positivity and squeeze out the tiniest ray of hope that may exist in the circumstance.

Sometimes the key to HOPE lies in associating with people who are stronger mentally, naturally optimistic by nature and those who can stand by you in any crisis. Finding such friends is a blessing and you can find them when you seek them out. Sometimes they may seem to be people who are carefree and happy go lucky; others may portray an air of invincibility and arrogance, and there could be others who seem timid and aloof but they have one thing in common; a strong heart and a calm head. It is best if we can emulate their silent trait when in a crisis or else hold on them when in deep trouble and you will miraculously experience HOPE when all seems lost and suddenly you will be Holding On to Positive Expectations.

Action Points:

1. Look back at a crisis situation you faced and recollect the pessimistic thoughts that went through your mind. Now look at how the crisis finally ended; did u panic in vain? Were you calm enough to tackle the crisis with fortitude and HOPE? What was the learning point from that episode?
2. Assume you are traveling abroad and you have been mugged and lost your passport and purse and all valuables. You wake up in a hospital with the cops questioning you. What will be the next 5 moves you will make? Whom will you call first? What will your message be ?

 Power Act - from http://www.actspot.com/  is focused on -

Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.

You are also invited to visit our DAILY inspirational and motivational blog http://www.actspot.wordpress.com

MUSIC

Music must have always existed since the time of creation. The melodious chirping of the birds heralding the new dawn and the mating calls of the birds have always awakened romanticism in human beings and brought about a harmonious peace and tranquility to everyday living. We find music in the lashing of the waves on the sea shore, in the pecking of a wood pecker, the pitter patter of rain drops and the creaking of the bamboos in the wind. The MUSIC is felt because the Melody Uplifts Stimulates Inspires and Captivates us.

Over time, man has developed the musical notes and ever since music is an integral part of human existence. Perhaps our ability to appreciate music could be a key differentiator between our world and the animal kingdom. What is noteworthy is that like the seven colors of the rainbow there are seven notes in music irrespective of the style of music or its genre. The ambit covered by those seven notes is humongous and so divine that it has spanned generations, has opened up innumerable styles, brought into focus an array of musical instruments and has even us hope in every situation through Music Therapy. While the vast majority of us would be slightly tone deaf and musically challenged if asked to keep time or sing, all of us have that music inside of us which makes us sway and enjoy the melodies that we favor. Yet, we need to be aware that there is a vast repertoire of music which we have never been fortunate to hear nor enjoy.

Each of us may have our favorite styles of music, our personal choice of singers and songs, we may be partial to certain musicians and musical instruments and we may find it hard to appreciate other genres of music, more because of our perceived bias rather because of a first hand dislike. It therefore is important for us to attempt to listen to as many styles as possible. This takes time and effort but the end result will be well worth it. There is as much ecstasy in Western Classical music as in Indian classical music, in the rock and roll of old and the country music be it of the west or of the east or orient. There is divinity in the chamber music, the choral music, the sufi music, the qwallis, the gospel music and bhajjans that pay obeisance to the divine powers. There is mischief and brazenness in the lavanis, the mujras, the cabarets songs and the raunchy ballads of seafarers. This is juxtaposed by the heart rendering gazals and pathos filled love ballads. There is an alien rhapsody in the music of heavy metal, rap music, trance music and the current rage of remixes.

Every possible human emotion is captured by MUSIC and this should spur us to attempt to enjoy as many flavors as possible. Almost all of us are simply taken in by the deluge of Hindi film music and the regional film music apart from the Western album releases. Music in any form liberates the soul and clears the mind touches a chord in the most hardened person and softens the aches and pains of everyday life. The MUSIC is felt because the Melody Uplifts Stimulates Inspires and Captivates us.

Action Points:

1. Check out the local newspaper and identify the various music performances that you must make an attempt to attend. Currently in my home town of Pune, there is the 4 day Sawai Gandharva Classical Musical concerts featuring world renowned Indian classical musicians and singers. There is also the 3 day Western Band concert featuring 50 bands this week. In the coming week there are two different Christmas carols programs and every week end the Poona Music Society features a Classical performance often of international artistes performing Western Music. Make it a point to attend those styles of music that you really haven’t been exposed to so as to give it your undivided attention and perhaps you may discover a treasure trove. 
2. Make an attempt to get to know performing artistes from close quarters to understand their life style, motivation and above all the effort and practice that goes into each performance. You can also attempt to be part of a choir and may suddenly discover your own latent musical talents. If you can beg/ borrow/ buy a variety of music from friends and make it a point to try and appreciate it. If possible take the help of a knowledgeable person to get a better understanding of the nuances of the music.

Power Act - from http://www.actspot.com/  is focused on -

Powering your Spirit to ACT Now.

You are also invited to visit our DAILY inspirational and motivational blog

http://www.actspot.wordpress.com/