In trepidation .

Here where I stand

After having won many archery competitions, the town champion sought out the Zen master.
“I am the best of all,” he said. “I did not learn religion, I did not look for help from the monks, and I have been considered the best archer in the whole region. I heard that some time ago you were the best archer in the area, so I ask you: did you have to become a monk to learn to shoot arrows?“No,” answered the Zen master.

But the champion was not satisfied: he took out an arrow, placed it in his bow, fired, and hit a cherry at a considerable distance. He smiled, as if to say: “You could have saved your time and just dedicated yourself to technique.” And he said:
“I doubt if you can do the same.”Without demonstrating the least concern, the master took his bow and began to walk towards a nearby mountain.

On the way there was an abyss that could only be crossed by an old rotting rope bridge that was almost falling down: with the utmost calm, the Zen master went to the middle of the bridge, took his bow, placed an arrow, aimed at a tree on the other side of the gulch, and hit the target.“Now it’s your turn,” he said gently to the young man as he walked back to safe ground.

In trepidation, looking at the abyss below him, the young man went to the indicated spot and fired an arrow, but it landed very far from the target.
“That’s what one gets from discipline and practicing meditation,” concluded the master when the young man re-appeared at his side. “You can be very skilled with the instrument you have chosen to earn a living, but it’s all useless if you can’t manage to master the mind that uses the instrument.”

Found on Paulo Coelho's blog

Contemplating the desert

Three people who were passing in a small caravan saw a man contemplating the sunset in the Sahara desert from the top of a mountain.

“It must be a shepherd who has lost a sheep and is trying to find it,” said the first.

“No, I don’t think he is looking for something, especially not at sunset – that confuses your vision. I think he is waiting for a friend.”

“I bet he’s a holy man looking for enlightenment,” commented the third.

They began to discuss what the man was doing, and got so involved in the discussion that they nearly ended up fighting with one another. Finally, to find out who was right, they decided to climb the mountain and ask the man.

“Are you looking for your sheep?” asked the first.
“No, I don’t have a flock.”

“Then you must be waiting for someone,” claimed the second.

“I am a lonely man who lives in the desert,” was the answer.

“Since you live in the desert, and in solitude, then we have to believe that you are a holy man in search of God, and you are meditating!” asserted the third man, content with this conclusion.

“Does everything on Earth need to have an explanation?

So let me explain: I am here just looking at the sunset: isn’t that enough to lend a meaning to our lives?”

Found On Paulo Coelho's blog

They always know what's best for us

Preventing rheumatism

The centipede decided to ask the wise man of the forest, a monkey, what was the best remedy for the pain in his legs.
“That’s rheumatism”, said the monkey. “You’ve got too many legs. You ought to be like me; with just two, rheumatism hardly ever appears”.
“And what do I do to have just two legs?”
“Don’t bother me with details”, answered the monkey. “A wise man just gives the best advice; it’s up to you to solve the problem”.

Can I help?

As soon as he opened the church, the priest saw a woman come in, sit down on the front pew, and put her head between her hands. Two hours later, he noticed that the woman was still there in the same position.
Worried, he decided to approach her:
“Can I do anything to help?” he asked.,
“No, thanks”, she answered. “I was just getting all the help I need when you interrupted me”.
Jesuit Anthony Mello comments: “in a monastery no-one wrote Don’t talk on the notice-board. What was written was: Talk only if you can make the silence better.”

I know what’s right

A peasant was returning home when he saw a donkey in the field.
“I’m not a donkey”, said the animal. “I saw the Messiah being born. I have lived for two thousand years, and am still alive to give this testimony.”
Frightened, the peasant ran to the church to tell the parish priest. “Impossible!”, he said. The peasant took him by the hands and led him to where the donkey was. The animal repeated everything he had said before.
I repeat: animals cannot talk” said the priest.
But you just heard it talk!” insisted the peasant.
How stupid can you be! You’d rather believe a donkey than a priest! “

This will work for us too

A fable of the Lebanese writer Mikail Naaimé is a good illustration of the danger of following the methods of others, no matter how noble they may seem to be:
“We need to free ourselves from being slaves to men”, said an ox to his companions. “For years we have listened to human beings saying that the door to freedom is stained with the blood of martyrs. Let’s discover that door and knock it down with the strength of our horns”.
For days and nights they walked down the road until they saw a door all stained with blood.
“Here is the door to freedom”, they said. “We know that our brothers were sacrificed on this spot”.
One by one the oxen went through the door. And it was only inside, when it was too late, that they realized that it was the door to the slaughterhouse.

Deciding the fate of others

Malba Tahan tells the story of a man who came across an angel in the desert and gave him water. “I am the angel of death and have come to find you”, said the angel. “But since you have been good, I will lend you the Book of Destiny for five minutes; you can change whatever you want”.
The angel handed him the book. Leafing through the pages, the man read the lives of his neighbors. He was discontented: “Those people don’t deserve such good things”, he thought. Pen in hand, he began to make each of their lives worse.
Finally he reached the page of his own destiny. He saw his tragic ending, but just as he was about to change it, the book vanished. Five minutes had passed.
And right there and then the angel took the man’s soul.

Found On Paulo Coelho's blog

Inspirational Quotes

"Some men see things as they are and ask why. Others dream things that never were and ask why not.” George Bernard Shaw

"To achieve greatness, start where you are, use what you have, do what you can." Arthur Ashe

"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." Ralph Waldo Emerson

"If we did all the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.

" Thomas Edison“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.” William Arthur Ward

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." Lao-Tsu

"Strong, deeply rooted desire is the starting point of all achievement." Napoleon Hill

"The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind." William James

“A man with no imagination has no wings.” Muhammad Ali

“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Eleanor Roosevelt

“What a man thinks of himself, that is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate.” Henry David Thoreau

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” Peter F. Drucker

"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, but a habit."  Aristotle

"It is our choices...that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."  J. K. Rowling

“When it is dark enough, you can see the stars” Ralph Waldo Emerson

“When you follow the dream in you heart, you’re energised, inspired, and motivated.” Dr. John F. Demartini

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall”. Confucius

“Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” Henry Van Dyke

Pay it forward Its your turn Now !

Read this Story and Understand the Concept :

"Yesterday night at midnight I went to pharmacy in urgency. As I was buying, a lady came for medicines. I saw she did not have adequate money to pay. She also looked poor. I offered to pay the remaining five hundred rupees. But She rejected saying that she wasnt a beggar. I told her that I was not helping her but supporting her and she can pay for someone else in future. She was grateful to me and cried as she thought she wont be capable of paying medicine bill. I give her YTN card to remind her that she has to do a kind deed ahead."

The Concept

A lot has been written about the big bad and mean world of today. Much ink has been used to describe how indifferent we have become to people around us. I, however, choose to see a different side. We all know that a small act of kindness can go a long way in transforming someone’s life. I will show you people actually living by it.
Visit  www.yourturnnow.in
A selfless initiative by a 33-year-old Rushabh Turakhia is changing the way people live. It encourages us to be kind, compassionate and help those who need us. Next time someone thanks you, do not end it by simply saying welcome. Instead, hand over a Your Turn Now (YTN) card and insist that they pass on the benignity.
Here’s how it works:

• Request a FREE stack of YTN cards and carry them with you everywhere.
• They are the size of a credit card, and will hence fit in perfectly in your wallet/purse.
• When you help out somebody, don’t forget to pass them a card, and explain to them that it is now their turn to be kind and help someone else out.

These cards are free of charge and will be couriered to you, whichever part of the world you may be in, in a maximum of 10 days.


You can visit their Facebook group HERE, to read stories uploaded by users sharing their YTN experiences.
Visit www.yourturnnow.in or send an e-mail to rushabh@yourturnnow.in to get free YTN cards.
Spread the good word, and the kindness, people. I know you want to do it
P.S: It would also be nice if you leave me a comment on my blog when place your order. That way, I’ll know you’re out to do your bit to heal the world and make it a better place.
Thank you Manali Shah for Letting me Know ..

101 Online Self Improvement Resources

Here are 101 online self improvement resources, organized into 5 general categories.

It’s a rather long list, so if you don’t have much time I’d recommend bookmarking it with del.icio.us and coming back later. Feel free to add your own favourites in the comments.

Self Improvement Resources

These resources specialize in helping you make the most of your time.

• Lifehacker
• 43 Folders
• Lifehack.org
• Web Worker Daily
• Dumb Little Man
• Zen Habits
• LifeDev
• Productivity501
• Black Belt Productivity
• LifeClever
• Slacker Manager
• Instigator Blog
• The Optimized Life
• Cranking Widgets Blog
• Ian’s Messy Desk

Personal Development

Sites in this category cover all topics traditionally related to personal growth and development.

• Steve Pavlina
• Ririan Project
• Scott H Young
• steve-olson.com
• Wise Bread Personal Finance Forum
• Intelligent Self Improvement at PickTheBrain.com
  
• Life Optimizer
• The Positivity Blog
• Change Your thoughts
• Today is That Day
• Life Coaches Blog
• BrianKim.net
• The Happiness Project
• Shards of Consciousness
• Cultivate Greatness
• Genius Types
• Evolving Times
• Craig Harper – Motivational Speaker
• Chief Happiness Officer
• Meditations on Meaning

Mentally Stimulating

These sites, focused mainly on art and science, never fail to make me think.

• kottke.org
• Margin Evolution
• Freakonomics Blog
• Language Log
• Cognitive Daily
• Cosmic Variance
• Scientific American
• Nature.com
• Boing Boing
• Violent Acres
• PostSecret
• Dilbert Blog
• McSweeney’s
• BibliOdyssey
• MetaFilter
• Grow-A-Brain
• Indexed
• Dyske
• Think Exist
• Brainy Quote
• Mind Hacks
• Half Sigma
• The Assimilated Negro
• Neatorama

Business, Blogging, and Financial Success

Although many of these are targeted at my fellow bloggers and webmasters, some are relevant to everyone. They all aim to help you become a financial success.

• The Motley Fool
• Fast Company
• SEO Book
• Pronet Advertising
• Get Rich Slowly
• The Simple Dollar
• I Will Teach You to be Rich
• Brazen Careerist
• The Digerati Life
• Slow Leadership
• ProBlogger
• John Chow dot Com
• Gaping Void
• Copyblogger
• SEOmoz
• Graywolf’s SEO Blog
• Daily Blog Tips
• Alister Cameron – Blogologist
• Chris Garret
• Smashing Magazine
• Entrepreneur’s Journey
• Quick Sprout
• Shoemoney
• Tropical SEO
• Duct Tape Marketing
• Net Business Blog
• eMoms at Home
• Jakob Nielsen on Web Usability
• Seth Godin

Educational References and Reading

These sites contain massive amounts of information and are my favourite destinations (other than Google) for serious research or casual reading.

• Bartleby
• Project Gutenberg
• How Stuff Works
• Google Book Search
• The Internet Classics Archive
• The Online Books Page
• The Online Poetry Archive
• Classic Short Stories
• Online Education Resources
• LibriVox (free audio books)
• Audio Books For Free
• Wikipedia
• Ludwig von Mises Institue
• eHow

Via [ Pick the Brain ]

Rubik’s Cube art

Rubik’s Cube + art = Rubik’s Cubism, a form of art that creates portraits of pop culture icons using the classic noggin-scratching puzzle. The Huffington Post collected some of coolest Rubik’s Cubism creations that make solving the colourful cube look easy.

Full collection at Huffington Post.

Not Interesting… not at all .

Hi friends after a long time I am back but not with a Bang .I don't think any one really missed me ,because I am not a Unmissable writer or a A-List blogger.From last 1 and half month nothing really Interesting happened in my life nothing exciting at all ,that's one side of coin and the other side it was quite magical what one month can do to you .

Things looks as you see them or as they are ? which one is truth is always confusing to me.

My best Friend got married and He didn't Invited me !

other side ….

did I need a Invitation to go to my best friends marriage.

It depends , I can live with that . on other side I am writing all this silly things in a blog which no one reads and cares or do you ?

Life seems completely Idiotic at times and Unbelievably wonderful some times .I hate People at Individual level and love them in Masses.see I am trying my level best to make my reader confused and make this post sound as boring as I can and I think I am highly Successful.

What I really wanted was a vent for my random thoughts . Nothing really matters in life ,no matter how serious or silly you may take a situation it never matters all that matters is thought and action.

he got married and that's a action and I should be happy that's the thought ,if I replace this happy with other words like didn't invited me and all crappy words , you invite unwanted things in life.so think the right thought and do the right action nothing interesting at all in life will start to seem Wonderful.

To this day.

I recall an old Sufi story of a good man who was granted one wish by
God. The man said he would like to go about doing good without knowing
about it. God granted his wish. And then God decided that it was such a
good idea, he would grant that wish to all human beings.

 And so it has been to this day.
 --Robert Fulghum
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Fulghum>