I don't do this for a living to do things that are easy, I need to keep finding ways to challenge myself.
Ronda Rousey: I need to keep finding ways to challenge myself
I don't do this for a living to do things that are easy, I need to keep finding ways to challenge myself.
Frustrated or Disappointed - The Only Way Out?
Imagine if you are or have been in any of the following situations in life?
- You have had a bad day at office and your colleague or boss has just given you a negative feedback when you expected a positive one or in simple words back stabbed you with office politics.
- You just had a terrible fight with your spouse or boyfriend because he/she didn’t do what you had expected..
- You just broke up with your boyfriend.
- You are having a tough time managing your finances and you know that you will have a tough time paying rent the next month..
- You have failed in your goals because of somebody's else's faults ( It's always the other person fault right?)
Or basically you are right now in a situation where you can see no way out and perhaps it's not your fault at all but still you are in a deep deep hole…
So what will you do or have probably done in the past?
There are four options: Cry or burst in tears, share your frustration with your friend, throw a fit in front of your spouse or go to the bar and drink it out..
More often than not, I would myself opt for option 2, though occasionally I have opted for other options too.
I recently finished reading a book on Nadia Comaneci ( for people who don't know her, she is probably the greatest gymnast ever and the first person to score a perfect 10 in 1976 Olympics). She mentioned very beautifully that she had always been a quick learner throughout her life. Even at a young age, she would never cry and listen carefully to what her parents would want her to do in order for her to go to a zoo or get another treat rather than crying or bursting in a fit ( Oh how I wish every child could be like that;) )
The reason she has depicted very beautifully:
"It's very important to channel your frustration or anger in your performance instead of wasting in on less productive feelings. Friend, No one ever accomplishes your dreams for you, regardless of tears, fits or any other ways of manipulation. They can give us support, ideas, directions , but in the end, the reality is that you have to do it alone. You must figure out your own destination and the best route to get there because no one else knows the way."
This line got me thinking and as I reflected back upon my past, in whatever limited cases I was able to follow the above, I was able to accomplish my goals.
Gossiping, crying, bursting in fits, drinking alcohol are just temporary solutions to make you happy for a second and but if you have to really feel happy at the end of the day, it is very important to know that only you can make a difference to your current situation and no one else.
So if your boss did something wrong, go ahead and work on that dream business of yours on weekend or make a resume for another job instead of sitting in a bar. If your boyfriend broke up, go ahead and take the long awaited dream trip to your favorite country - you have every reason to pamper yourself. If you just had a fight with your spouse, go ahead and go the spa or golf club that you always wanted, as it is your spouse wouldn't want to talk to you for the next few hours. Give yourself a chance to calm yourself. Or maybe if you are in a deep hole, find a way to get out of it rather than getting stuck there and wishfully thinking about your prince charming.
Always remember, there is no better friend than yourself in times of need and you a have two choices in your life, either to cry like a baby or man up to face the situation like a true champion.
Uriah Hall on learning from defeat and gaining from loss
Uriah Hall is able to take seemingly negative situations and see a creative opportunity in them:
Chris Weidman on the psychology of doubt and faith
You always have doubts that crawl up into your mind...I think one of the biggest parts of having a winner's mindset is to be able to deal with those doubts. Erase them out of your mind.
Anderson Silva on imitating Muhammad Ali's fighting / boxing / dancing style
Anderson Silva on likening a fight to a dance:
"My style of fighting is very free. I like to fight happy and loose...I like to use Muhammad Ali as a reference. He fought as if he was dancing and that's what I try to do."
Ronda Rousey quote on leaving no option but victory
"The way that I like to fight is I like to paint myself into a corner and so the only way is for me to win."
- Ronda Rousey
Georges St-Pierre: When I want something I become completely obsessed
Georges St-Pierre on obsession and success:
When I want something in life I become completely obsessed to work hard until I obtain what I want. And I believe it's the same thing for everybody in life that have very high goals. They need to be completely obsessed to reach their goal...Same thing in every sport. I'm sure Wayne Gretzky was completely obsessed of working hard and becoming the best hockey player all time. I'm sure Michael Jordan, same thing. I'm sure Tiger Woods, all great guys in every discipline, every field of work is same thing.
Urijah Faber on staying grounded and humble
Urijah Faber notes that MMA teaches humility and that translates into being a grounded person:
"It's easy to stay grounded when you're in a sport that reminds you all the time that you're just a regular dude."
Matt Brown on overcoming heroin drug use
Back in the younger days when I was addicted to drugs and partying all the time, all I did was take that to the extreme. And now I take something positive and take it to the extreme.
Carlos Condit on motivation and pushing through anything
"I find motivation any time I need it...No matter how bad I'm hurting I can push through anything."
Rich Franklin's advice to young MMA fighters
Rich Franklin has a great quote about how fighters should have a bit of amnesia when it comes to their losses and wins. Sometimes you can get an inflated sense of self and comfortfrom a win that can make you rest on your laurels, and when you lose you can let that overwhelm you negatively. For Rich, a certain level of forgetfulness is key to success:
I always talk to young fighters about this that lose and stuff...You have to have like a bit of amnesia both on the winning side and the losing side of this thing...On the losing side you need to be able to forget a loss to be able to move on and to be successful in your next fight. But on the winning side you need to be able to forget a win so you don't get stuck in this pattern of like, "I'm unstoppable". So there has to be a level of amnesia for a fighter.
Conor McGregor motivational words for fighters
Conor McGregor on believing in yourself and showing up at the gym:
Keep believing in your ability, believe in your shot, believe in your move, and show up at the gym. It is a recipe for success that cannot be stopped.
I wish I had known this.....
As Jack looked back , he had regrets in life in many areas - Life, Career, Family…
It was the last day of his life and all he could say was " I wish I had known this long back"
His thoughts went back to the times when he graduated from the top MBA school and had one of the highest paying jobs in the world. He had always lived a life of prosperity, succeeding from one step to another to finally end up being the CEO of the company he started working for.
Still looking back, he was sad and unhappy. During his youth, he thought having the biggest mansion and car was ultimate sign of happiness.
All he wanted today was one more chance to pursue his dream life: to become a photographer and travel all around the world. One of his friends did advise him to take the risk and plunge into his passion, but he waived him off saying that he wanted job security and he will pursue his passion once he has enough money.
Later never came and year after year, he chased after money, wealth and fame. But he had no chance now and all he had was memories and his fear of failure which stopped him to do what he wanted? Does the story sound familiar to you?
How many times in our life, now when we look back and wish in our lives that we had the courage to take risks earlier. I was listening to a senior executive in Google who graduated from Stanford and his biggest advice to the graduates was to take risks early in their career and be open to new ideas/thoughts. How he wished, he could have taken risks and joined Google when it was 6 person company?
Don't we all have our goals and are bogged down by the norms of society and big corporate names when it comes to finding a job or sticking to the societal norms and then later in our life, we wish we could have been daring and open to new ideas. We wish we had this daring and bold attitude which will not succumb to people's expectations. But why don't we convert our wish to a truth…There is only one answer:
FEAR OF FAILURE.
Ok , so let's look at the times, when we were born, we always wanted to try new things. Remember your first fall as a kid when you tried to walk or bike, remember how we were carefree…Do we still embody that same spirit and as it has happened to us in our childhood, if we did, more often than not we will come out and succeeded. Why? Because when you take risks, you know that you will never regret in future.
What's the worst that can happen if you follow your passion: You will fail and still emerge out happy and strong in the end, knowing that you tried. In fact failure is the best thing that can happen to you because when you will fail, you will know that there cannot be any worse situation than you will be in. From there, the only way is up.
Here are a few examples:
“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have.
Remember if you will not try, we will end up being Jack in our lives. So what can you do now?
You are not living your last day, so remember this
"The future doesn't matter, the past is gone. There is only now. And Now is enough. It is more than enough. It is everything and that is why you run, you run and you run. And after that you run even more to reach your goals."
Every week I will share one inspiration nugget like this .If you like my page and want to join me on the journey of discovering our successes and failures, Don't hesitate to join me on the road to freedom....:)
The ART Of Following your Dreams
"If you will not try, you will go to your grave with your song still inside you." - Henry David Thoreau
I have just finished reading The Art of Non Conformity book by Chris Gullibeau. This book is not meant for orthodox people who are not willing to change in their lives. If you are one of them, then I think you just landed on a wrong page.
But if you are willing to try and change with me, then you are most welcome to read on.
Are you one of those that sits in cubicles for more than 50% of your day?
Are you one of those who does wishful dreaming of a perfect life doing what you have always wanted do?
Are you one of those who believe that life is tough but you can be tougher if you just had options?
Well if you are, then welcome to my world which has just been shattered to pieces by what I have read*. There are many people who are not famous but still live the life that they have always dreamt of. Not one, Not two, not hundred, there are thousands of people who are doing that. Here are few of them:
- Leo Babuata who is the founder of Zen Habits , a website/blog with 260,000 subscribers and has six kids. Here is the catch, before this, he worked in a low level administrative job in GUAM ( ever heard of this place?)
- Chris Gullibeau himself was a volunteer worker in South Africa and did his masters from University of Washington. After that he decided to work for himself rather than going for a cubicle job. His website is one of the most famous ones ( The Art of Non Conformity) and has been featured in CNN and other top news channels in a span of 4 years. Oh By the way, he has also travelled 192 countries in the world in less than 50,000$ budget. He is just 35!
- The Excel Dude from India who started his website in 2009 and now earns almost $150,000 per year.
I can go on and on about the examples, but that's not the point here…The point is about thinking what we are doing, is it the right path or the wrong one..
This book has got me thinking that should I go for a cubicle job or should I go for doing something that I want irrespective of what the society thinks? All these examples are of people like you and me , yet they have carved out a way by which they are following their dreams. So why can't we?
Everyone dies but not everyone lives. The question is where are we going ?
Just another person in cubicle or someone who followed their dreams….
*The book that I have mentioned is one of the brilliant books that I have read and I would highly recommend to anyone who wants to follow his passion but is afraid of the so called society norms and pressures.
Every Friday I will share one inspirational nugget like this. If you like my page and want to join me on the journey of discovering our successes and failures, Don't hesitate...Let's walk together on the Road To Freedom...
You can always subscribe this blog Feed or join me on Twitter or Facebook or contact me directly on apekshaha@gmail.com
I wish I had known this.....
Nick "The Tooth" on not taking things so seriously
Nick "The Tooth" Gullo speaks on not losing the fun of life by taking things too seriously:
My approach to life is always just don't take yourself so seriously, and don't take life so seriously. It's not that serious.
Old Story with a Good Lesson
A mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife open a package...
"What food might this contain?" The mouse wondered - he was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap.
Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!"
The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it."
The mouse turned to the goat and told him "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The goat sympathized, but said, "I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it. "
The mouse turned to the cow and said, "There is a mousetrap in the house! There is a mousetrap in the house!" The cow said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you, but it's no skin off my nose. But wish you well; be assured you are in my prayers "
So, the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap-- alone.
That very night a sound was heard throughout the house -- like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife.
The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever. Everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the goat. The farmer's wife did not get well; she died.
So many people came for her funeral, the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. The mouse looked upon it all from his crack in
the wall with great sadness.
So, the next time you hear someone is facing a problem and think it doesn't concern you, remember that when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. We are all involved in this journey called life. We must keep an eye out for one another and make an extra effort to encourage one another because directly or indirectly we might have to suffer!!!
If you have any questions, you can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com
The Monkey with the Wooden Apples
There once was a happy monkey wandering the jungle, eating delicious fruit when hungry, and resting when tired. One day he came upon a house, where he saw a bowl of the most beautiful apples. He took one in each hand and ran back into the forest.
He sniffed the apples and smelled nothing. He tried to eat them, but hurt his teeth. They were made of wood, but they were beautiful, and when the other monkeys saw them, he held onto them even tighter.
He admired his new possessions proudly as he wandered the jungle. They glistened red in the sun, and seemed perfect to him. He became so attached to them, that he didn't even notice his hunger at first.
A fruit tree reminded him, but he felt the apples in his hands. He couldn't bear to set them down to reach for the fruit. In fact, he couldn't relax, either, if he was to defend his apples. A proud, but less happy monkey continued to walk along the forest trails.
The apples became heavier, and the poor little monkey thought about leaving them behind. He was tired, hungry, and he couldn't climb trees or collect fruit with his hands full. What if he just let go?
Letting go of such valuable things seemed crazy, but what else could he do? He was so tired. Seeing the next fruit tree, and smelling it’s fruit was enough. He dropped the wooden apples and reached up for his meal. He was happy again.
Like that little monkey, we sometimes carry things that seem too valuable to let go. A man carries an image of himself as "productive" - carries it like a shiny wooden apple. But in reality, his busyness leaves him tired, and hungry for a better life.
Still, letting go seems crazy. Even his worries are sacred apples - they prove he's "doing everything he can." He holds onto them compulsively.
Remember, you can only decide what kind of life do you want to live?
If you have any questions, you can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com
If you have any questions, you can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com
7 Principles Of An Eagle – Dr. Myles Monroe
While following my regular daily reading ritual, I came across this beautiful post so thought will share it with everyone. Let me know what do you think?
Eagles were the symbol of almost all conquerors, be it Caesar or Hitler the reason is!! Read on.....Inspiration from the "7 Principles of an Eagle" : Author Dr. Myles Monroe:
PRINCIPLE 1
Eagles fly alone at high altitude and not with sparrows or other small birds. No other bird can got to the height of the eagle. Stay away from sparrows and ravens.
Eagles fly with Eagles.
PRINCIPLE 2
Eagles have strong vision. They have the ability to focus on something up to five kilometers away. When an eagle sites his prey, he narrows his focus on it and set out to get it. No matter the obstacles, the eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it.
Have a vision and remain focused no matter what the obstacle and you will succeed.
PRINCIPLE 3
Eagles do not eat dead things. They feed only on fresh prey. Vultures eat dead animals, but eagles will not.
Be careful with what you feed your eyes and ears with, especially in movies and on TV. Steer clear of outdated and old information. Always do your research well.
PRINCIPLE 4
Eagles love the storm. When clouds gather, the eagles get excited. The eagle uses the storm’s wind to lift it higher. Once it finds the wind of the storm, the eagles uses the raging storm to lift him above the clouds. This gives the eagle an opportunity to glide and rest its wings. In the meantime, all the other birds hide in the leaves and branches of the trees.
We can use the storms of life to rise to greater heights. Achievers relish challenges and use them profitably.
PRINCIPLE 5
The Eagle tests before it trusts. When a female eagle meets a male and they want to mate, she flies down to earth with the male pursuing her and she picks a twig. She flies back into the air with the male pursuing her.
Once she has reached a height high enough for her, she lets the twig fall to the ground and watches it as it falls. The male chases after the twig. The faster it falls, the faster he chases it. He has to catch it before it falls to the ground. He then brings it back to the female eagle.
The female eagle grabs the twig and flies to a higher altitude and then drops the twig for the male to chase. This goes on for hours, with the height increasing until the female eagle is assured that the male eagle has mastered the art of catching the twig which shows commitment. Then and only then, will she allow him to mate with her.
Whether in private life or in business, one should test commitment of people intended for partnership.
PRINCIPLE 6
When ready to lay eggs, the female and male eagle identify a place very high on a cliff where no predators can reach. The male flies to earth and picks thorns and lays them on the crevice of the cliff, then flies to earth again to collect twigs which he lays in the intended nest. He flies back to earth and picks thorns laying them on top of the twigs. He flies back to earth and picks soft grass to cover the thorns. When this first layering is complete the male eagle runs back to earth and picks more thorns, lays them on the nest; runs back to get grass it on top of the thorns, then plucks his feathers to complete the nest. The thorns on the outside of the nest protect it from possible intruders. Both male and female eagles participate in raising the eagle family. She lays the eggs and protects them; he builds the nest and hunts. During the time of training the young ones to fly, the mother eagle throws the eaglets out of the nest. Because they are scared, they jump into the nest again.
Next, she throws them out and then takes off the soft layers of the nest, leaving the thorns bare. When the scared eaglets again jump into the nest, they are pricked by thorns. Shrieking and bleeding they jump out again this time wondering why the mother and father who love them so much are torturing them. Next, mother eagle pushes them off the cliff into the air. As they shriek in fear, father eagle flies out and catches them up on his back before they fall and brings them back to the cliff. This goes on for some time until they start flapping their wings. They get excited at this newfound knowledge that they can fly.
The preparation of the nest teaches us to prepare for changes; the preparation for the family teaches us that active participation of both partners leads to success; the being pricked by the thorns tells us that sometimes being too comfortable where we are may result into our not experiencing life, not progressing and not learning at all. The thorns of life come to teach us that we need to grow, get out of the nest and live on. We may not know it but the seemingly comfortable and safe haven may have thorns.
The people who love us do not let us languish in sloth but push us hard to grow and prosper. Even in their seemingly bad actions they have good intentions for us.
PRINCIPLE 7
When an Eagle grows old, his feathers become weak and cannot take him as fast as he should. When he feels weak and about to die, he retires to a place far away in the rocks. While there, he plucks out every feather on his body until he is completely bare. He stays in this hiding place until he has grown new feathers, then he can come out.
We occasionally need to shed off old habits & items that burden us without adding to our lives.
If you have any questions, you can mail me at apekshaha@gmail.com
Enjoy The Coffee
Story of the Day
A group of friends visited their old university professor. Conversation soon turned to complaints about 'STRESS' & 'TENSION' in life.
Professor offered them coffee & returned from kitchen with coffee in different kinds of cups (glass cups, crystal cups, shining ones, some plain looking, some ordinary n some expensive ones.
When all of them had a cup in hand, the professor said:
When all of them had a cup in hand, the professor said:
"If you noticed, all the nice looking & expensive cups are taken up, leaving-behind the ordinary ones. Every one of you wanted the best CUPS, & that is the source of your STRESS & TENSION. What you really wanted was "coffee", not the "cup", but you still went for the best cup.
If life is coffee, then jobs, money, status & love etc. are the cups. They are just TOOLS to hold and contain life
Don't let the CUPS drive YOU.
Enjoy the COFFEE.
If you have any comments, feel free to reach me at apekshaha@gmail.com
Mark Munoz on leadership
UFC middleweight Mark Munoz on his viewpoint on being a leader. He takes a holistic approach in trying to lead others in every realm of life and do so via setting a great example as a human being:
The 99 Club Story
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Once upon a time, there lived a King who, despite his luxurious lifestyle, was neither happy nor content.
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I wish I had known this.....
If you have any questions, you can contact me at apekshaha@gmail.com
Is the Grass really green on the other side?
Have you often found yourself wondering how lucky other people are and how simple their lives have been?
I have more often than not found my mind wandering in this space and realized again and again that it's a futile and wishful thinking. Grass always looks greener on the other side and that is why we always think that the other person's life is more interesting than ours. What we don't know at times is that the other person might also be thinking the same about you..
I was watching Elon Musk story on TV today. From outside, his life appears to be the perfect life one can have. To all those who doesn't know who he is, he is the founder of Paypal, Tesla, Space X and SolarCity. A simple google search will show his net worth to be in excess of 6 billion $.Phew, sort of perfect life .Right?
This was my thought until I watched his documentary and realized one simple thing: Life on the other side is always not as rosy as we might think it to be. To put things in perspective, here are few pointers:
- While his first company was sold for 307 million$, there was a time when he had to invest all his savings in Tesla to ensure that it was not shut down. Remember, no one else wanted to invest in Tesla and everyone predicted it to be a doomsayer.
- He had a week worth of cash left for his other company SpaceX* and was on the verge of collapse.
- His personal life story has not been great either.
*For people who don't know about SpaceX, to give an idea it was started by Musk so that humans can travel to Mars and Moon easily and live on inter planetary colonies.
*Tesla is an electronic car company which was established in Silicon Valley to take on the likes of General Motors, Toyota etc.
Many times during his fascinating career, Musk had to take decisions that meant his entire earnings collapsing in front of his eyes, but still he put all in risking everything and even admitting that in 2008, he was closest to getting a nervous breakdown.
So as soon as the documentary finished, I was lost in my own thoughts. I kept wondering wow, what will I do if I was asked to put all my investments on what I believed in? I guess I am too much of a chicken to do something that he did because all along life, we have always been taught how to save for future and be risk free.
The two lessons that I learnt was that although things might look glamorous to us as an outsider, the truth might be far from it.
Also in order to become more successful, you really need to be gutsy and have the courage to go all in. Tough times comes in everyone's life but only those who persist on their road, ultimately go on to be the Famous people that we end up seeing on television. If you are ready to take the risk and dive 100%, then congratulations you might have a chance to appear on TV but if you are not, then be happy to live a life full of things that doesn't involve the turbulent times of the riches:).
If you have any questions, you can contact me directly on apekshaha@gmail.com.
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