St. John Bosco, the Father of the Youth

Happy Feast of Harvest !

My indebtedness

I am indebted to all those who directly and or indirectly help me grow as a human being, and a professional. On my Birthday, I dedicate this Poem in Tamil to my Gurus, loved ones, friend(s), and collaborators.

"It’s not the mountains we conquer but ourselves." Sir Edmund Hillary.

My craving for versatile prowess... M.Sc Vis.Com. Degree...done

Competition

"Most of the time, your competition defines you, sometimes demands from you; at other times diminishes your true potential when you outsmart the competition effortlessly."

                                                      - CHRIS M JAYACHANDRAN

Once Vs Always

"Once we do an endeavor of perfection, others may think of us; if we repeat, others may talk about us: if we persist in doing that endeavor, others will trail us"

                                      - CHRIS M JAYACHANDRAN 

Engulfing Love Vs. Empathy

"In any relationship, all transcending Empathy with even negligible Love is far better than Engulfing Love with no Empathy".
                           - CHRIS M JAYACHANDRAN  

Embrace Life, this New Year 2018

Let's just not make Merry but a Meaning, this Christmas

Growth and Glory

 "All growth and glory are there just outside one's comfort-zones"

                                     -  Chris M Jayachandran 

Tap out Vs Knock out

"Be not the person that taps out but be the one that knocks out; in all noble social, psychological, and spiritual combats."

                                                                  - Chris M Jayachandran

Hurdles.. or Avenues for Growth??

In my limited experience as a Coach of Professional and Personal Success for individuals, young men and women; I have always upheld this thought: Hurdles are avenues for growth and excellence.

Authentic Creativity, Divergent thinking, and Communication Skills are some of the soft-assets ‘wannables’ are expected to sport. However, if someone possesses the first two of the soft-assets listed above; he / she seldom gets the right springboard due the lack of the third soft-asset – Communication Skills.

Youngsters across the different age-group always take solace by pacifying themselves thinking that they have had their formal school education not from a convent or in a posh school.

Should one settle down for mediocrity in his / her life by banking on these self-doubting thoughts? I would say never!

Having pursued my Primary and Secondary Education in Tamil (Vernacular Language) Medium; not only have I won several awards for Tamil Debates / Oratory / Poem / Creative writing; but also in English Public Speaking / Creative and Scientific Writing, and Extempore.

These are something that I could achieve in competitions / events.

•     Silver Medalist in Regional-Level Research Paper Presentation
•     Second Place in National-Level Extempore,
•     Thirukkural Selvan Award by World Thirukkural Consortium,
•     District-level Second Place in Oratory,
•     Many prizes in Poem and Creative Writing at the School / College / Catholic Vicariate levels; and Publication in several Youth / Spiritual Magazines.
•     National-level Best Research Paper Award
•     Have published several research papers in International Journals and have so far made more than 20 presentations in colleges / universities across South India in the capacities of Research Scholar / Resource Person, Invited Speaker on various domains

Now what I consider to be the pinnacle:

I am glad to have my brief article / contribution published by the World’s top-rated Business Management Magazine – a subsidiary of Harvard University. Harvard Business Review Magazine gets translated in more than 11 languages. 

Excerpt from March 2016 Publication: 

Don’t you agree that anyone can transmute the hurdles into avenues of growth and excellence??

Opportunity, do we really see it?

“It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than                                                     to have an opportunity and not be prepared.”

                                                                               - Whitney M. Young, Jr.

Yesterday, I spoke to a veteran in Automobile Industry, in Detroit, Michigan. Initially a few seconds pitch, if the person is interested, then the conversation is scaled up to few mins. Very rarely one might receive an opportunity to engage a person / people on the Phone, for close to 20 mins, when the other person might have budgeted only a few mins max, during what is technically called as "Elevator Pitch".

In whatever professional role I have been discharging, I have never (yes never) missed an opportunity to foresee the futuristic opportunities, despite insurmountable obstacles. Only with that approach, I envisioned to earn my Masters degree in Computer Tech / Applications with only a sum of Rs.50 INR left in my hand (much less than $1 )during 2000-2001 Academic Year. Similarly, my Black Belt Six Sigma Programme with absolutely no idea of how I would bear close to Rs.50,000 in fees. I guess my journey must be an interesting read for all others. But such incidents are reserved to be shared later.

Guess what?? I do not believe in being accepted by others as a Great-Guy; but I believe in leading a life that is in accordance with  my God-given potentials.




Source: Social Media, unknown original editor's efforts are being appreciated for this image-extract


Cutting to the chase, go get ready, and grab all opportunities. Oops, I almost forgot to tell you that all opportunities will be disguised in the form of challenges, controversies, adversities. I will prove so, in my upcoming blog posts. Happy Reading!!!

Growing older Vs. Growing wiser

Have I grown older or Have I grown wiser? I just don't know; I am still in dilemma. Some of the devastating experiences or plainly putting across - harassment / ridiculing by others that I had to endure were merely caused by lack of growth in me - Growth that makes one sharply strike back / give a deadly-sting  to people who let their cruelty and self-glorifying attitude unfold. For some spiritual reasons I have been curbing my impulse to treat such people in a manner they deserve. Had I been patient letting the 'Karma' play its role? Nope!

Those who know me would endorse that I am resilient as well. In the mid 30s now, did I actually grow wiser to be patient while getting along with people and occurrences , the answer again, had been 'Nope'; at least until 2nd Week of June 2015.

I happened to attend a Prayer Meeting during the 2nd week of June 2015(honestly, had been given the liberty, I surely would have given it a miss; as my way of Worshiping is debatable. I guess it is the 'Serving Hands' that are needed among the most deserving and needy people than the 'Praying Lips'). There was one good thing I learned during that Prayer Meeting - How to be patient and how long should one be patient?

Since that Prayer Meeting, I could comfortably be patient in almost all situations. You may as well,  learn to  grow wiser and by being patient from the following visual.

Taking sides, without taking time to know the ‘significant facts’?

Taking sides, without taking time to know the ‘significant facts’? At times, one is so driven by ulterior motives, and similar consideration for oneself in the future; that he / she takes sides with the group whose members are exclusively from one's own caste, religion, language, and ethnic background. Mark Twain has a message:

Image Courtesy: http://mayojobi.com/

Will I resurrect and ascend?

I am dead (or more appropriately, did I actually get crucified?) Will I resurrect and ascend?

I do not know the answer, excepting to dwell back and recall the verses in the Scriptures that I have intently read while I was a kid.

Have you ever wanted to go the extra mile in being ‘extraordinary’ to any ‘ordinary’ or rather people who are pretentious and do not deserve your time / energy / attention? My advice to you, never even think about it. Just cut them loose and go on your path.

 If only I had been such a person for the past 10 years or so, I guess I might have been a different person (definitely not filthy and only money hooked-up guy).

Enjoying certain degree of Social / Intellectual status, I know I cannot blog with abstract ideas and that I need to be very precise embracing actuals (preferably with empirical data). This time, I just want to share my deepest feelings, with others who are out there, giving my thoughts a dime.

  

Do not aim to be Godly towards certain people / structure, because they may be having all perennial problems rotten for several decades / centuries. Just be a normal guy, do your duty well and just walk off.

Especially with certain people, they might be the most venomous creatures who will strike you, after sucking every bit of what they can drain out from you, engulfed with self-centeredness.

Past several months have been a great discerning period for me, helping me realize what mostly people are made up of. However, I am unshaken with what makes me who I am.

All I now want to do is to offset my lack of multi-faceted growth that resulted of ‘opportunity cost’ effect.

I know I will end up meeting the same people in my walk of life again. But, I will not be as Godly / naïve or ignorant as I used to be. After all, ‘a mistake is only a mistake if I repeat it’.

I will be very careful as to which sort of people / situations that would demand me to bet my life, reputation, and aspirations henceforth.

I know I am dead (or more appropriately, did I actually get crucified?) Will I resurrect and ascend?

I will reverberate my thoughts continuing on this blog, on resurrecting and ascending (Why won’t I J ?)

THE MAN WHO MOVED A MOUNTAIN...

https://milaap.org/campaigns/mountain-man

Gullible Gestures… Great Returns…

Should I?.. Is this something to be shared at all?... Why not (as at least a few hundred read your posts)? These were some of the questions that kept lingering since 25^th January (just a couple days ago). But I rescinded the idea to web my thoughts initially. You might well ask me “No quandary now, to pen your thoughts?”  Honestly neither I am Ms. Rhonda Byrne, nor what I am about to share is ‘The Secret’.

On 25^th January in the forenoon, I stepped inside ‘Selvam’ Departmental Stores at Poonamallee. (Oh, please do not ask me why I ended up there!), wanting to chip in a selected merchandise. Surf Excel Top Load was one among them.

Up I went there, at the specific spot and I had to keep looking up. Because, all the 1kg packs (for a one-person- use, buying more than 1kg does not go fit with ‘Lean Management Principles’ that I terribly failed making my Mom understand (while being a phenomenal success with others) were kept on top of each of others. To get one pack and conquer in my shopping-mission, either I had to scale up to 6.5 meters height or seek support.

I did ask for support by looking at the young women at the counter. But I made sure that I did not issue an imperative statement rather, to politely ask. I made sure that I should let my request be common instead of pointing out one particular person. One person, volunteered quickly. I guess I was polite in asking her as though it would be a favor done to me. I said thank you and gave her ample of room to get the job done.

She swiftly drew a four-legged Stool made of plastic / nylon fibers (I wish it was of nylon fiber) and scaled up the heights to get me one box. While she did all what she had to do, I was very ‘watchfully’ observing her ascent to the height from the Stool and her descent. Had Ajay (my only nephew who is about to get into a UG course – for him ‘His uncle is a Hero’; naive boy to think of me so) been there, he must have immediately reached to a conclusion that I was about to formulate a theory and suggest her precautionary info-bits.

As I was a complete stranger and that person there being a female, I wanted to go mild. I looked at her with compassion and said to her with my hands pointing out the locations on the four-legged Stool, “The next time, you use this Stool, please make sure that you keep your legs here, and here. In this way you distribute your body weight equally on the legs which then later distributed over a larger surface area on the ground. This will make sure that the Stool does not break and you do not fall due to imbalance”.

After slowly moving around both my hands around areas in vulnerable points of the Stool (not only on that Stool, but practically on any Stool), not thinking about laying my hands on areas where she had kept her feet a few seconds ago, I did want to make sure that she does not fall. I knew I wanted her to be safe, and nothing else.

You must have seen her face, emanating different kinds of energy altogether. She said a ‘profuse-thank you’. I never wanted to make her feel that I felt something special about her (had there been a comparatively older lady, I could have been more compassionate), I nodded my head acknowledging her in a gentle way, by whispering ‘No Problem’.

After all these, I could find a vibrant young woman who was married, observing all what I had done and watching me carefully. I moved to the next counter where I wanted to get two packs of my Mom’s favorite ‘pain palm’ so that I could give them when I would meet her next.  When I said that particular brand pain-balm, the young lady at this counter was not sure. As I have several habits (my Dad and my God Father - Rev.Fr. Maria Lawrence SDB are the two guys responsible for such habits) that are way beyond explanation let alone justifying them; I first glanced through the availability of what I wanted so that I could pin it down exactly. I helped that young lady to locate them.

The lady at this counter looked at me differently.( 1 Kg box of Surf Excel, Maggie Pasta packs – 2, Maggie Oats 3 – Maggie Chicken 2 packs (newly introduced and I wanted to try whether it is any good.) Well, the topping that my Surf Excel box had was very tall as I wanted to get those without putting them in a basket. ) I thought like, ‘oh lady… this is not something I do not know already. I know I do not have room to accommodate nor could I just get those two packs of pain balm by stretching out either of my hands’.

I told her after she took it from the shelf, ‘yeah thanks, please keep them here, I will swing back to get those two, after leaving one of the tallest ‘merchandise’ burger held in my hand, at the billing counter.  I could see that the vibrant young married lady had to buy some cosmetics and hence was there after some moments I reached this particular counter.

What happened next made me think very nobly of this vibrant young married lady, with so much of appreciation for me in her eyes. As I walked with my ‘merchandise’ burger towards the billing counter almost 15 feet farther away, she collected the two packs of pain balm and literally followed me. When I turned around to get back to the counter to pick my pain balm packs, I was surprised to find her at my back extending those two packs ‘Your two packs of pain balm’.

Now, I had say to a ‘profuse thank you‘. I meant it. If there was anything / anyone great here: I would say that the vibrant young married lady is great and her gullible gesture of helping me is great ( I do not know whether I actually deserve that help).

Here are the key takeaways:

Though married women tend to become very reserved with the opposite sex unless there are too old to be her grand-father(s), this person could consider me ‘fit’ / deserving her help.

Why? Maybe she too thought of what Ajay and my guys (my Dad, Mom, and my elder sisters) think about of me! Well my guys could be wrong!

Let me cut to the chase and present you the conclusion:

Gullible Gestures, the one I had for the young woman at the sales counter was very straight and not crooked, in any way; and the one I had from that fine young married lady was of appreciation /consideration and or of kindness.

We all get back what we give to others. I felt like sharing this is one incident. There are countless others where I was blessed enough to receive consideration / kindness from others, early in my life. And, now I make sure that give back to many without expecting anything in return, at least in equal proportion of my receipt earlier.

Guess what? If you know the manager / owner of this particular Departmental store (these guys have a chain of departmental stores), you could possibly, watch this entire episode recorded in the surveillance cameras installed at several places inside the departmental store.

If there is even a bit of room to show such gullible gesture to any other fellow creature, just go on…

I will boomerang back to you, later…

Best,

Chris

Happy ‘Deepavali’!

"Darkness is dispelled eternally by Light
 Greatness is harnessed evidently by Insight
 Slavery in society is a form of Injustice
 Bravery to deform bondages is the norm of Prudence
 Inquisitiveness brings in Prowess
 Industriousness bestows in Success"

 May this ‘Deepavali’, the festival of Light, bless you all with Insight,
 Prudence, Prowess, and Success limitlessly.

 Happy ‘Deepavali’