Cordially Yours

People, not the affluent ones, but those who are in the middle income bracket, are terrified over losing their money. Unfortunately and perhaps due to Pavlovian conditioning, the often unacclaimed and regularly ignored middle income group people have been made to believe that they have no control over inflation . This may be because day in and day out, they feel the heat of the rising prices. Governments all over the world project a completely  different picture that is nothing but distortion of the real facts and figures and that too, their own versions meticulously bastardized by adding unrelated or semi-related inputs. Government authorities seem to believe in the concept of reverse psychology. That is the reason they push their narrative by repeatedly proclaiming from roof-tops that prices of commodities and services are under control. Regardless of whether governments speak the truth or try to hide their failures by repeated assertions, the fact is that soaring prices are...

In the minds of many people, the stock market is synonymous with volatility and rightly so. But it is this volatility that has made millions for several people. At the same time, it is an undeniable fact that there are innumerable victims who have suffered due to the wrong choices they have made in the market. Perhaps, the examples of these victims solidify the fear people have over stock market investments. In fact, the collapses this market has witnessed have been nothing less than devastating. Of course, without this volatility,  the investment in this market may become a boring proposition. One can make a lot of money in the stock market. But do you have to be a genius for this? Not at all. Simple common sense is enough. In addition, you need to have one of the most important qualities and that is you should have a lot of patience. Let us dive deep into this. Can there be pinpoint accuracy in predicting stock movements? Even geniuses cannot predict accurately how the stoc...

At the beginning of every year, many of us make resolutions. Whether we stick to those resolutions or abandon them is another question that we may deal with later. Jonathan Swift, who authored the famous "Gulliver's Travels," said in 1699 that he had made a few resolutions in the beginning of that year and the most important and sensible among them was "Not to set(t) up for observing all these Rules; for fear I should observe none." So, let us not worry about making resolutions, not to talk of sticking to them. But there is one very important thing about which we need not make any resolution because knowingly or unknowingly, it is a desire we always have in our minds. The desire is nothing but to live as long as possible. This post talks about what you should do to try to live longer so that you can enjoy the success you always want to taste and the success that may be round the corner. What is success? We should now know what success means because its definiti...

There is a notion among people that getting rich is not everyone's cup of tea. These folks may be working hard but may be leading an ordinary life. So, they think that it is difficult to amass wealth. They cite several reasons including that one has to be born with a silver spoon, has to have education from an Ivy League Educational Institution, or similar such things. Other excuses they cite are that prices of almost all commodities and services have sky-rocketed and that their incomes have not gone up in the same proportion. Do you think that their notion is right? The answer is a huge "No" because there are scores and scores of people who have not been born in rich families, nor have they done their studies in Ivy League schools but have joined the group of top-income earners. How is this possible? This post tries to delve into this topic. Do you have a clear goal in your life? The main reason why people fail to get rich is that they do not have clarity as far as the...

The number of people with huge ambitions may perhaps be less than those who think that they are leading a contented life. Even among ambitious folks, only those who make their plans and put those plans into action are likely to succeed . Others will have to remain where they are till the end of their life because they are just day-dreamers. If you belong to the group of those with huge goals and if you have set your goal, you can try the following thought experiment to fast-track your success journey. Unfortunately, this experiment is not very popular and that is why not many pursue it. But ancient relics seem to contain details of it. Never forget the fact that ancient relics, in general, do not talk about scandalous stories. So, you can afford to be bullish on the experiment. Let us dig a little deeper into it.  What does this experiment need? The point that this experiment is related to the mind and not one that is carried out in a laboratory is worth reiteration....

In the movie "Meet Joe Black," Joe, played by Brad Pitt, visits a hospital where he comes across an elderly and sickly woman. He interacts with her and "Obeah mon; I gonna die" are the first words the Jamaican woman utters on seeing him. To this, he replies "Obeah evil; I no evil."  You may wonder what the word "obeah" means. According to African spiritual traditions, the word indicates evil. Though great philosophers like Aristotle, Socrates, Thoreau, and Emerson have profoundly dealt with the concepts of "what is evil and what is good," the word "evil" comes with a lot of subjective interpretation. But we, despite our naivety, can easily say that in the present-day context, nothing can be more evil than anxiety attacks . Such attacks have become quite common and are intruding into our lives more powerfully than ever. The harshest consequences of these attacks is that they harm us both physically and mentally. In fact, they a...

Everyone including you may certainly have faced crisis situations in your lives. But being intrepid souls, all of us strive hard to navigate and come out of those treacherous and doozy situations. Of course, mastering the art of weathering these storms is a theoretically ideal situation as it is a highly daunting task. It is during such circumstances you receive different types of suggestions from various quarters. Unfortunately, not all those who intrusively provide you with suggestions are positive-minded. Some of the suggestions may sound pretty apocalyptic. The suggestions these naysayers shamelessly and euphemistically call 'advice,' may fill your imagination with gloomy images such as failure, losses, etc.  If you belong to the hoi polloi, you will become hostage to the menace of negativity and so, will start feeling as if you are sinking into the melancholy swamp. On the contrary, if you belong to the polar opposite side, if your credentials say that you are ...

Life is a cocktail of problems and happy situations. But though no one wants problems, everyone seems to have them. This is very much true and as real as the feeling of the earth you walk on. We all wrongly assume that rich people remain untethered to problems. But even if a person has amassed wealth and is lounging on such a comfortable cushion of money, you cannot assume that he or she has no problems. The person will certainly have issues that are typical of such rich people. From this, it is pretty evident that some people face incredibly acute problems, and the problems of a few others may not be that serious.  Regardless of whether they are serious or not when the solutions to the problems appear to be ever elusive, they strangle our peace of mind. Before we realize that the wolf is waiting at our door, our enthusiasm may start plummetting. Never forget the dense connection between whatever happens in our life and our attitude. So, the question is how you should tackle the...

Who does not want to lead a smooth life ? But when it comes to the question of adopting the right strategies for achieving this aim, no one seems to be willing. Or at least, not everyone is ready to embrace all the necessary steps. This means they may follow a few steps and leave the rest. The problem is that if you do not adopt all of them, you cannot avoid leading a stormy life. Though these steps vary according to circumstances, there is one indisputable step that may help you in achieving your aim of leading a smooth life. This step is called "Accountability." Of course, the topic of "Accountability" may not be "sexy" to discuss because no one likes to be accountable to others. But unfortunately, every one of us has to be accountable to someone or a few others in our lives. When you are young and studying, you are accountable to your parents, teachers, and all those who help you in your studies. Similarly, once you get married and have a family of your...

Impressing others -- This idea has always been in the minds of most people. The idea has even been pondered and attempted by those folks who proclaim from rooftops that they view the matters of life and such mundane ideas through a philosophical and saintly prism.  In fact, almost every one of us grew up hearing the phrase "impressing others" frequently. But unfortunately, the idea and the results of your action are highly subjective. This means that if you think that you have impressed a person, his or her view of you may be completely different or perhaps, quite contradictory to what you think. That is why it is often said that there are no definite ways to impress others. Let us try to dig a little deep into this.  The foremost thing you should bear in mind is that you need not have qualms or reservations about wanting to impress others with your knowledge, skills , and accomplishments. You are not committing any sin by attempting this. But alas, you may fai...

Experts emphatically advise, and rightly so, that there is no limit to learning . In fact, learning pervades every stage of our lives. As a child, we learned to crawl, stand, walk, and all such motor skills. As a kid, we learned to identify objects, read, and write. As adolescents, we learned how to make friends and connect with people. This learning process continues till the end of our life. But unfortunately, we get caught in the milieu of life and so, we forget the fact that we should be open-minded to learn life's lessons. In fact, if you are open-minded and willing to learn, you will get unimaginably valuable lessons from everywhere including unexpected sources.  Regardless of the field in which you operate, you should be ready to embrace ideas from completely unrelated fields as well. You can cross-pollinate such ideas and blend them appropriately with the concepts of your field. This strategy is popularly known as "cross-fertilization of ideas" and this will great...

What is high performance?  Though the meaning of the term " high performance " differs from person to person, Brendon's definition that "succeeding beyond standard norms consistently over the long-term" seems to nail the right meaning of the term. Experts categorically opine that if you want to achieve stupendous success, you have to be a consistently high performer, regardless of which profession you pursue and which field in which you operate. But whether it is possible to be a high performer on a consistent basis is the question. The answer is an emphatic "yes." But you have to develop a few habits and follow them meticulously in order to become a consistent high performer. We will now look into one of the most important habits. Make use of your "golden hours" judiciously. "Golden hours" are that segment of a day when a person's mind is fresh and she or he feels energetic, enthusiastic, and rejuvenated. If you use these hour...

Every one of us has spent years and years learning how to communicate but alas! we have learned only to speak or write. Does effective communication consist only of speaking and writing? The fact is that there is another very important element in communication and that is LISTENING. Have we learned how to listen effectively? Truly speaking, effective listening is one of the most essential habits that can help us succeed in all our endeavors. This 5-star habit can catapult you to the success stratosphere. Why and how? What is the purpose of effective listening? The simplest reply to this question is we can understand others or the things they speak about. We all know that there is a world of difference between hearing and listening. When we just hear, we do not imbibe or 'take in' the content in what we hear. On the other hand, when we listen intently , the content gets registered in our minds. This means we understand. The reality that can be uncomfortable to most of us is tha...

That every individual is unique is backed by loads of research findings. This being the case, a question arises as to whether you can emulate or reverse engineer the winning ways of successful performers. Before answering this question, experts make it very much clear that they are not making any dogmatic suggestions that you should embrace all the ways of these high performers.  On the contrary, you should use your cerebral faculties to choose only those habits or ways you think are suitable for you. In fact, these experts hasten to add that it is enough if you incorporate only the following three common habits into your life. Let us dig a little deeper into these. 1. Succumbing to the gravitational power of your bed even after the alarm of your bedside clock rings is dreadful and bubonic. Further, as soon as the alarm rings, your body begins secreting Cortisol, the wakefulness hormone. Waging a war against this hormone and trying to continue your sleep will make y...

"Nobody has a perfect life. Everybody has their own problems" is one of the oft-repeated quotes. But some people seem to know how to solve their problems more easily. You may wonder how they possess this ability while you keep on struggling to come out of the tough situations you are mired in. Experts on personal development suggest that you should ask a few basic questions to change your approach to handling such situations.   1.  What is the situation?   2.  I do not like the situation. I am ill at ease and feeling suffocated. So, what is the preferred situation that can lift me to a "tensionless state," as Victor Frankl puts it in his "Man's Search for Meaning." ?   3.  How can I create the preferred situation?   4.  How can I know that I have succeeded in creating the preferred situation? Unfortunately, there is a caveat. The answers to questions 3 and 4 are very difficult to get, though it is comparatively easier to get th...

That most of us are allowing others to control our life is a painful truth. You have to first acknowledge this in order to bring back the control in your hands . Why are others keen to control your life? Perhaps, they want to get some advantage out of it or they want to pull you down so that they can surpass, outfox or outsmart you. In this context,  should you continue to allow them to control your life?  The result will be disastrous for your personal growth. You cannot pursue your passion, not to talk of focusing on achieving your life goals, career growth,  or success in your business endeavors. So, you should take all possible steps for taking back control of your life. Once you succeed in your efforts, you can see a massive improvement in your life. Let us find out how you can get out of this damned rut of being controlled by others.  The fact is that it is your consciousness about your social image that forces you to succumb to the pressure of...

The question of whether it is possible to become wealthy in life without toiling much may interest everyone including you. The question may sound bananas as well because, since childhood, every one of us has been taught that we should work hard for several years to become wealthy. But according to some modern thinkers, whatever we have learned is nothing but a conservative perspective. The firm opinion of these modern thinkers is that it is possible to get rich without working hard, robbing a bank, stealing, hitting a jackpot, or winning a lottery.  One such modern thinker was Thomas C. Corley, who was just not an author but a financial consultant as well. His research involved a study of the lifestyle and habits of millionaires such as the way they lived, watched TV, their food habits, and so on. The study included self-made millionaires as well. In addition to interviewing millionaires, Corley interviewed those who earned just average incomes also. He found that the f...

That Bill Gates is a different person is an undeniable fact. He is at present the fourth richest person on this planet. Why is he successful? As an entrepreneur, what does he do differently to earn his success?  Those who have watched Gates from close quarters say that he loses patience if he comes across people who waste time. They also point out that he meticulously plans his day and that his schedule covers every single minute of his day. But is this the only habit that makes him successful ? The answer is a big 'No.' Of course, planning the day is important. But there is another habit of Gates that is responsible for his successful entrepreneurial journey.  The habit is: Bill Gates wants to work only with lazy people. Is he crazy? Does he really like to work with lazy folks? To everyone's surprise, the answer is a 'yes.'  Why?  To this question, his answer is: “I choose a lazy person to do a hard job. Because a lazy person will find an easy w...

Experts who have undertaken a thorough study of the ways of the most successful people point out that there is one secret that has catapulted these people to such an enviable level. If you know this secret and adopt it diligently, you can achieve success also. Let us find out more about this. It is not that the highly successful people have been achieving success after success in all their endeavors and that they have never tasted failures. In reality, they have committed mistakes and failed many a time as well. After all, they are also normal human beings. There is nothing extraordinary about them. Nor all of them are prodigies or geniuses. So, there may be several occasions during which they may have faltered. But they do not allow these setbacks to upset them or discourage them. Instead, they study their setbacks and find out the reasons that have caused them. They vow to themselves that they will never commit the same mistakes ever again. For example, an athlete who is training fo...

During the 1990s, I was an unhappy person. In fact, I was so unhappy that I used to wonder if my life had any meaning. I still remember how I would wake up in the middle of the night and spend the rest of the nights worrying - worrying about my future, worrying about my past and the mistakes I had committed, and worrying about my unfulfilled dreams. This had been going on until 1995. One fine day, I decided that enough was enough and I should put a stop to my worrying nature. If I did not do it, I would go insane, I thought. But I did not know how I should go about this. It was then I serendipitously discovered a formula that would help me lead a worry-free life .  It was not that I hit a jackpot and got troves of money that would solve all my financial woes. Neither did I get a magic wand that could drive out all the issues I was facing. But it was a chance meeting with one of my acquaintances that helped me make the discovery.  I was having a casual chat with this perso...