Increased Commercialization decreased Value

Colorful, attractive, sexy, intriguing... Perfect! The news paper ads, all the hoardings, TV commercials, marketing SMSs, Telecalls, many more! We wake up to commercialization. The very news paper boasting of tonnes of offers, the word SALE and DISCOUNT everywhere! Models, celebrities showing their skin, sporting clothes. Business intelligence going into every aspect of the road, newspaper, mall, store. How carefully chosen words, pictures, even colors put in specific places playing with human psychology, I see it as a harassment to spend, terrorize to purchase and greed to own!

 I am not surprised to hear "hoarding industry" like Film industry, banking and finance industry etc., Hoarding, by itself is a market! Technically, indian Hoarding industry is the fastest growing in Advertising and PR, and has grown to 900 million dollars this fiscal year! There are ambitions companies hitting the IPO by only doing Hoardings! So many products, offers, discounts, deals, choices, opinions, reviews, etc., makes me wonder sometimes that everyone in the world is selling something. Probably every one thought why join the Navy when you can be a pirate! and they just got into selling!

   All over the city, all I can see are happy people, celebrities, smiling and laughing asking us to buy what they have bought. Looks like we have everything that money can buy, including the government! And yet, they want us to buy so many things. No wonder our future generations will be more materialistic and less moralistic. I fear, soon many of us would not know value of things, but only be aware of randomly owning our wants. They say, everything has an end. I am sure, greed has no end. And I can clearly see how we have taken this very human nature to our advantage and misfortune of our very own kind!

    Be sure of what you buy, not because you loose money, not because you dont need it, but because you loose giving a moral value to your next generation. Its not just you have to live, you also have to lead. We all have to be responsible in making the world a better place to live in after we are long gone. We cant see through time as if its a plain glass. But time is more of a reflection of the mirror. When we see close, we see more. Also, have the courage to say No to people who call for your time. Time is the most precious thing, spend it carefully. Its never going to come back. We all should buy more of life from time and not momentary material of joy. 

Resignation Letter

In my 8 plus years of career, I have seen many resignation letters. Many colleagues have come and many more have gone. What has always been interesting to me is the way they exit. Most curious part is their resignation letter. I love reading those letters. Please take me in a good sense here, I relate some of those letters to how I would be writing when I would resign from my job.

       I dont know why, but in a very curiosity way, resignation letters have fascinated me. Some highlight their pain, some feel very sad about leaving and they express it in writing. Few are so excited about it that they even make way for others to follow them by offering a referal in their new organization. Many a times I come across some emotional jibberish people write. For example " I loved every bit of the time I spent with my team, every one helped me so much, I miss you I miss this, I miss that etc.,etc.," I have not seen many say "I learnt from experience or how they loved supporting their customers or enjoyed working etc.," Some even take revenge on their boss by writing sarcastic lines "My boss was the best that ever happend to me in the team" keeping in mind its his/her resignation letter. If his boss was all that good, he probably would not have quit the company.

     Of all these letters, one day I came across a special one. It was from an employee who had worked for 31 years. This person has worked in one single company for 31 years. What would one write of that experience? "I am retirning" or "Vacation" or settle in a oldhome etc., But this one read something like this "After 31 years with xyz (company name changed), I have decided to resign to pursue a new opportunity.  My last day of employment with xyz is Friday, September 28th.

It went on to read "From the day I started in August of 1981, I have been rewarded with incredible work assignments, exposure to some of the company’s greatest leaders and associates, as well as numerous personal friendships.  The most gratifying aspect of my career has been the opportunity to work with all of you. When all is said and done, it is YOU that have supported, educated and mentored me through my journeys.  I am so grateful for my career here."

I have not found this type of a letter. Someone looking for a new opportunity even after 31 years of working, doing the same job and yet this person has energy and the will, wit, courage to work some more! This is rare, this is special. 

I have now thought how my resignation letter would be. But more than that, the learning from the resignation letter of this colleague of mine is that we never should cease to work. There is nothing whats called retirement. Work till your breath lasts. We should work our time to see our end. Thats the royal way, thats the only way....Even if its working in your own garden, we should never stop, never think we've done it all, seen it all. (and I am not saying we should work for 1 company or work under someone forever, no i am not saying that)

And when I caught up with her I joked "Are you going fishing or on world tour?" and she replied " I am going to fish for some more work so that I could tour knowledge some more"

How to live for Ever?

This probably only a few will ask themselves. And many may not understand what I am trying to say. You dont need to try to understand. And if you do understand, then swing along my friend. We both share the same boat.
Was working thinking of all the pending action items left for the day. Time was running out and yet I had to complete so much of work. Wait a minute, work never gets completed. Its an ocean, a plethora of action items and everyday I walk into work there is a bigger pile than of what it was I had left the few hours before. Amidst all this I kept wondering - does work or life get any easier once we know we've reached our destination?
Our lungs grow thick of carbon monoxide and all the dust, eyes get bleary from all the lights, darkness and sun.... as we pickup fragments of memories out of a timeless chisel, we often keep working our way, pouring lifeblood out into works of stone which gets consumed by corrupt government in the form of taxes and as we see our legs start to shake, hands start to lose its power. yet the world wants to consume out of you. we see our parents pass, our friends grow old. We still move to live out of past days, seldom we see the present. Back breaks, bones creak, children torment you with begging mouths just like those birds in the next. And every night we go to bed, so tired and beaten, ambushed by fate. All we know one day, that an inevitable is going to happen, and that day would be our last. Along with Death, life too is inevitable and all that can save us from even fate or a disaster is Hard work. And to work hard, create something, live life forever through your creation, by virtue of the value that you can create is what is called "being successful"..and we will live forever! Simple isnt it? ;)
As I said, not everyone will understand what I meant, and not everyone will believe this. But I know a very few, will sync to what message I have to say...And those few I call them "Entrepreneurs" and they are driven by "Antarprerana" means self motivation...