A great Presnt you can give yourself

What is the best gift you can give yourself that will last a lifetime? A great Present.

I am a fan of Dr. Spencer Johnson since I read his legendry books, Who Moved My Cheese and One Minute Manager long back. He is a great author who can express deep insights with simple, easy-to-read stories. Recently I found another of his books, The Present at Chennai Airport. This is an intereting story of a young boy who makes himself more successful and happier once he gifts himself The Present, i.e. learns to make the most of his present moments. Here are some pearls of wisdom from the book. This book is a MUST read for everyone.

• We all know that living in present can make us happier and more successful, and as child, we know how to do it, but we simply forget it when we grow up.
• Even in the most difficult situation, when we focus on what is right in the present moment, it makes us happier today, and it gives us the needed energy and confidence to deal with what is wrong.
• You can not change the past, but you can learn from it. When the same situation arises, you can act differently, and become happier, more effective, and successful today.
• No one can predict or control the future. However, the more clearly you imagine what you want to see happen, plan for it, and do something today to make it happen, the less anxious you are in the Present, and the more is known to you about your Future.

Years ago, Dale Carnegie also advocated living in day-tight compartments, as a way of spending maximum time and energy on your present moments.

Why do we need to read books?

We have to read so many books against our wishes in school days that many of us develop a dislike for books. No doubt we see this dislike coming out in comments such as the following:

• Do not be a bookworm
• This is just bookish knowledge
• Oh c'mon, let's be practical

This reveals a common belief that the books do not teach us anything of practical value, which is not true. Let me illustrate this with the following scenario:

Imagine you are in a new, unknown city, and your goal is to learn about it. You explore the city by going around, seeing places, and asking people for directions. You keep notes of what you discover, and use them when you have to go to that place again. Gradually, you start building your knowledge base about the city. Following this process, you get fully familiar with the city in a few years, and by this time, you realize that your notes about the city have grown into a really useful source of reference information. Now, imagine if you had a map and guide of the city available to you from the day one, would it not be a much faster exercise for you? Would you choose to refer to a map or go around the city on your own the hard way?

Our life is a much bigger area to explore than a city. For hundred of years, many wise people have spent their lifetime discovering truths through hard experience, and they have made this wisdom available to us through books. Why do we insist on ignoring this vast source of knowledge that can guide us like a map, and re-invent the wheel by learning everything from our own experience? Mankind has been able to make rapid progress only by each generation building over the knowledge of the previous generations. Without this continuous learning, we would not be in the Information Age today, but in Stone Age.

Okay, it is not always easy to extract meaningful knowledge of practical value from every book that we read. The most challenging part is that we get a feeling of boredom and sleepiness coming over us as we read a couple of chapters, and it is hard to maintain interest . Here is a simple RAR formula that I have found useful to get the most out of the book I read:

• READ - Read the book to get some new, interesting information
• APPLY - Use this information in real-life situaltions. See how you can apply it for your benefit.
• READ - Go back and read the same part again in the light of your experience. You will find a whole new meaning in the same words now.

What is Important in your life?

A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him.

When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full?

They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full.

They agreed it was.

The students laughed. The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life.

The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children ! - things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car.

The sand is everything else. The small stuff." "If you put the sand into the jar first, there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks.

The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you
will never have room for the things that are important to you.

"Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."