Slow down, pay attention, enhance your life
First and foremost, I would like to thank all of you incredible people for the kind words you send me in response to my messages. Although I write to share and feed my soul, your genuine and thoughtful responses warm my heart. My distribution continues to grow…and thanks to Facebook, Hotmail, and LinkedIN…..I have added so many more people to my e-mail contact list over the last few months. That, in and of itself, is unbelievably inspiring to me. Connecting with people is just awesome. Weather its constant contact with close friends, a once in a while e-mail or call to catch up, looking at pictures of friends and their families on Facebook, checking up on their careers on LinkedIN…..or reconnecting with old friends. It’s all such good food for the soul…….and ultimately lies among the things I cherish most about my life. So, thank you to those of you who are in my life…..and those of who have re-entered my life.
Well, another ‘jolt” of inspiration has rushed into my small mind this morning, and I thought I would take a few moments out of my day….and share. The combination of writing and sharing has literally changed my life over the last few years. When my brain starts to overload with ideas, somehow writing them down releases an energy flow that fuels me for days….even weeks. My inspiration this morning actually came for two sources, both of which I will share below. One was an e-mail that I received from one of my colleges in Chennai, India. The other was a video I viewed from walkthetalk.com, entitled 212* (the extra degree).
As most of you are aware, I currently work with in the global outsourcing space. I am sort of still in the mortgage banking space, but rather than leading a sales team (which I miss greatly), I am responsible for US sales for an outsourcing firm based in India. I work with a very qualified team of associates in Chennai on a daily basis. Over the course of the last 8/9 months, I have built some excellent relationships over there. For me, relationship building lies at the core of who I am……so having an opportunity to build them in another country has been very rewarding. These people I have come to know have a variety of incredible qualities. They are kind, patient, intelligent, respectful, eager, calm, accommodating, ever-present, and extremely reliable. Traits we all aspire to gain and retain throughout our lives. I have been quite impressed with my colleagues in India, and have daily interaction with a select few of these special individuals. This morning, I received an e-mail from my friend and colleague Srikanth. Srikanth is what we refer to as our “transition manager”. Basically, he is responsible for learning the outlined process from our clients, and transitioning that process from the US to our India processing center. He does a fantastic job, and he and I have a phenomenal working relationship.
The e-mail he sent this morning was entitled “Interesting Facts about India”. As soon as I received the e-mail, I knew it was going to be special…..so I took the time to carefully read all the interesting and unique facts about this country. I was shocked that I only actually knew about 10% of what I read. What an incredible country and what incredible people. I can’t wait to see my children this weekend and share this educational document. They are still a bit young to comprehend all of it, but they will get the picture…..and the message. To pay attention to as much as you can, and to continually learn and feed your brain. So many of us in the US have no idea what the Indian culture is all about. I can tell you that it’s certainly not about what you witnessed in the movie, Slumdog Millionaire. Although that movie was fantastic, and had great emotional appeal, it’s not a true and realistic representation of mother India. India is also not a country full of people that answer customer service calls and call themselves John Wayne. I realize that many of us get on these customer service calls, and get frustrated when we get someone on the phone that we can’t really understand. When this happens to you, please keep in mind, that these individuals come from a different culture, and that they are just trying to do their jobs….like you and me. India is a vibrant country with great history, thriving economy, fantastic scenery, and billions of people. Literally, there are over a billion people in India (more than double the US and second only to China). This country typically flies under the radar and their people are so peaceful, that you hardly ever hear about them in the US national news.
After I read this, I started thinking about all of the things that I have just not paid attention to over the course of my life. I guess I was just never willing to invest the time, and didn’t really have the desire to learn about other cultures. My only focus was on things right in front of me. Maybe, many of you feel the same way. But life is different for me now, and I assume it may be different for many of you as well. I try to not to miss things anymore…..and I try and stay alert and live in the NOW. This is the main component of my message today. We really should slow down……take a deep breath……pay attention….and take the time to learn something new about people (and other things) outside your own personal comfort zone. Open your hearts…..open your minds……and your lives will be enriched. Just like mine was this morning. All it takes is just one extra step.
This leads me into my other source of inspiration this morning. I receive an e-mail everyday from walkthetalk.com. This morning’s e-mail came with a video entitled;
212* (the extra degree)
I have attached the video link below, and I would encourage each of you to take a few minutes and watch. It’s only 3 minutes long, but packs a very powerful punch. The basic premise is that water heats up to 211* degrees, but doesn’t boil until 212* degrees. Boiling water turns to steam…..and with steam….you can power a locomotive!!! This one small degree makes all the difference. To tie back into the message here, taking one extra step each day to enhance our lives in everything we do…….could be the difference between success and failure…..the different between knowing and not knowing (about India for example). One of the poignant quotes in the video…
“To get what we have never had, we must do what we have never done”.
This is what my life has become about over the last few years my friends, and I am hopeful that each of you can draw something from my message today.
As a matter of fact, the title of the e-mail from walkthetalk.com this morning was
“The Message That is Motivating Millions”. WOW…..How cool is that?
The bottom line here is to embrace life. ALL life, not just the one right in front of you. Yes, I realize that times are tough for many of you….they certainly are for me. But it’s through these tough times, when we find the true “nuggets” that help us become better people. I look at like this. We are being tested. In order to do well on any test, we must study. We must investigate. We must take ourselves out of our daily patterns and open our minds up to the things around us. We must take those extra few minutes to learn about new things…..cultures…..people……and continue to fuel our brain cells. We must constantly invest in both our intellectual and emotional capabilities if our goal is to grow in mind and spirit. All of this takes hard work and strong faith.
So, here’s the question……
What will you do different today to enhance your life? Will you take the time to learn something new? Will you take one extra step to get your water to a boil?
Enjoy the video.
Your friend always…….Tony
http://www.212movie.com/
Well, another ‘jolt” of inspiration has rushed into my small mind this morning, and I thought I would take a few moments out of my day….and share. The combination of writing and sharing has literally changed my life over the last few years. When my brain starts to overload with ideas, somehow writing them down releases an energy flow that fuels me for days….even weeks. My inspiration this morning actually came for two sources, both of which I will share below. One was an e-mail that I received from one of my colleges in Chennai, India. The other was a video I viewed from walkthetalk.com, entitled 212* (the extra degree).
As most of you are aware, I currently work with in the global outsourcing space. I am sort of still in the mortgage banking space, but rather than leading a sales team (which I miss greatly), I am responsible for US sales for an outsourcing firm based in India. I work with a very qualified team of associates in Chennai on a daily basis. Over the course of the last 8/9 months, I have built some excellent relationships over there. For me, relationship building lies at the core of who I am……so having an opportunity to build them in another country has been very rewarding. These people I have come to know have a variety of incredible qualities. They are kind, patient, intelligent, respectful, eager, calm, accommodating, ever-present, and extremely reliable. Traits we all aspire to gain and retain throughout our lives. I have been quite impressed with my colleagues in India, and have daily interaction with a select few of these special individuals. This morning, I received an e-mail from my friend and colleague Srikanth. Srikanth is what we refer to as our “transition manager”. Basically, he is responsible for learning the outlined process from our clients, and transitioning that process from the US to our India processing center. He does a fantastic job, and he and I have a phenomenal working relationship.
The e-mail he sent this morning was entitled “Interesting Facts about India”. As soon as I received the e-mail, I knew it was going to be special…..so I took the time to carefully read all the interesting and unique facts about this country. I was shocked that I only actually knew about 10% of what I read. What an incredible country and what incredible people. I can’t wait to see my children this weekend and share this educational document. They are still a bit young to comprehend all of it, but they will get the picture…..and the message. To pay attention to as much as you can, and to continually learn and feed your brain. So many of us in the US have no idea what the Indian culture is all about. I can tell you that it’s certainly not about what you witnessed in the movie, Slumdog Millionaire. Although that movie was fantastic, and had great emotional appeal, it’s not a true and realistic representation of mother India. India is also not a country full of people that answer customer service calls and call themselves John Wayne. I realize that many of us get on these customer service calls, and get frustrated when we get someone on the phone that we can’t really understand. When this happens to you, please keep in mind, that these individuals come from a different culture, and that they are just trying to do their jobs….like you and me. India is a vibrant country with great history, thriving economy, fantastic scenery, and billions of people. Literally, there are over a billion people in India (more than double the US and second only to China). This country typically flies under the radar and their people are so peaceful, that you hardly ever hear about them in the US national news.
After I read this, I started thinking about all of the things that I have just not paid attention to over the course of my life. I guess I was just never willing to invest the time, and didn’t really have the desire to learn about other cultures. My only focus was on things right in front of me. Maybe, many of you feel the same way. But life is different for me now, and I assume it may be different for many of you as well. I try to not to miss things anymore…..and I try and stay alert and live in the NOW. This is the main component of my message today. We really should slow down……take a deep breath……pay attention….and take the time to learn something new about people (and other things) outside your own personal comfort zone. Open your hearts…..open your minds……and your lives will be enriched. Just like mine was this morning. All it takes is just one extra step.
This leads me into my other source of inspiration this morning. I receive an e-mail everyday from walkthetalk.com. This morning’s e-mail came with a video entitled;
212* (the extra degree)
I have attached the video link below, and I would encourage each of you to take a few minutes and watch. It’s only 3 minutes long, but packs a very powerful punch. The basic premise is that water heats up to 211* degrees, but doesn’t boil until 212* degrees. Boiling water turns to steam…..and with steam….you can power a locomotive!!! This one small degree makes all the difference. To tie back into the message here, taking one extra step each day to enhance our lives in everything we do…….could be the difference between success and failure…..the different between knowing and not knowing (about India for example). One of the poignant quotes in the video…
“To get what we have never had, we must do what we have never done”.
This is what my life has become about over the last few years my friends, and I am hopeful that each of you can draw something from my message today.
As a matter of fact, the title of the e-mail from walkthetalk.com this morning was
“The Message That is Motivating Millions”. WOW…..How cool is that?
The bottom line here is to embrace life. ALL life, not just the one right in front of you. Yes, I realize that times are tough for many of you….they certainly are for me. But it’s through these tough times, when we find the true “nuggets” that help us become better people. I look at like this. We are being tested. In order to do well on any test, we must study. We must investigate. We must take ourselves out of our daily patterns and open our minds up to the things around us. We must take those extra few minutes to learn about new things…..cultures…..people……and continue to fuel our brain cells. We must constantly invest in both our intellectual and emotional capabilities if our goal is to grow in mind and spirit. All of this takes hard work and strong faith.
So, here’s the question……
What will you do different today to enhance your life? Will you take the time to learn something new? Will you take one extra step to get your water to a boil?
Enjoy the video.
Your friend always…….Tony
http://www.212movie.com/
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