HOW TO FACE SUCCESS AND FAILURE?

I love what Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos once said:

I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that,

but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying

I feel compelled with this thought of Failing and trying as we are at the threshold of new academic year after our exam results. I feel it’s the right time and high time we give it a thought as our children wait eagerly to face the outcome of their efforts.

April and May are the season of exams at school level and commencing of exams at the college and University levels. This year, having NEET at hand, TNSPC and other competitive exams approaching quickly, while Tenth, Twelfth and eleventh students awaiting their results in few weeks, all that we could hear is SUCCESS or FAILURE.

Every School and University, even every individual coaching centre has taken the glorious task of preparing our younger generation HOW TO OVERCOME THE STRESS OF EXAMS?

Is there anyone teaching our kids HOW TO FACE SUCCESS or FAILURE in life?

Our children are to be taught the consequences of SUCCESS and FAILURE.

Our children need to know that success is only momentary and if they really want to be successful, they need to be constantly dissatisfied with their success and move from GOOD to BETTER and then towards BEST.

Our children should realize that they can’t bask in the glory of the past.

If Success is so critical, imagine how much more we need to prepare our children for FAILURE. We need to make our children realize that SUCCESS and FAILURE are not opposites but two outcomes of the same process.

There is WISDOM in both and we need to prepare our children to Fail successfully.

I would like to quote the inspirational words of John C. Maxwell, the great inspirational author.

“FAIL EARLY, FAIL OFTEN, BUT ALWAYS FAIL FORWARD”

The only way to make failure useful is to learn from it.

Rise above any resistance you may meet at the course of your dream. Keep your eyes on your dreams. Life tests the big dreamers – the passionate revolutionaries.

Succeed; then move from Good to Best.

Let’s fail forward and learn wisdom out of it and reach our dreams.

May I take this opportunity to wish all of you a wonderful start in the upcoming academic year irrespective of the outcomes SUCCESS or FAILURE and grasp the available opportunities.

POSITIVE MIND - OPTIMISM

We are familiar with two types of people in our lives.

People who keep complaining about whatever they go through in their lives;

Whatever they eat; Whomever they meet with; Whoever they relate with;

Whatever the climate they go through; Whatever the outcome of their actions.

We see two typical behavior patterns in them: Blaming and Complaining.

They don’t take responsibility for their lives and actions but keep blaming the external factors and people and complaining about the same for their failures.

Unfortunately, they are the majority around us.

There is another kind of people who are comparatively less in numbers. They also go through the same experiences of the first category of people but the way they look at their experiences make them stand tall and different from the first category.

They see positive things even in negative situations. They spread soothing and comforting ambience around. Their smiles are contagious. Their words are transformative. They push people forward with their positivity. They never forget to wear a broad smile.

People are in need of them and that’s why they flock to them.

As I understand,the second category of people are not gifted but they just tell their mind

what to see, what to speak and what to do. These people are in control of their mind.

Whatever a mind can conceive and perceive, it can convince the body to achieve.

I would like to narrate an incident about a boy, a budding swimmer:

This budding swimmer wants to achieve great heights in swimming.

So he puts in real hard work to practice.

One fine day, he decided to swim across the 30 miles of English Channel

and set a record for himself.

He started swimming to achieve his goal. But when he reached 20 miles,

his limbs started aching, he begins to lose hope.

He thought to himself that he can never complete the 10 miles ahead of him.

His mind begin to develop negative thoughts. And finally he did the impossible:

The boy swam back 20 miles

because his mind believed it was easy

to cross 20 miles back than the 10 miles ahead.

The power of your mind defines your life.

These happy people seem to have a special quality that enables them to live a better llife than the average.  Can you guess what it is? It’s the quality of OPTIMISM.

The best news about Optimism is that it’s a learnable quality.

1.       Keep your mind on what you want (Don’t think about the obstacles) and keep looking for ways to get it.

Steven Covey in his book “The seven habits of highly effective people” says that we need to develop an attitude called “as though” attitude. If you want to achieve something in your career or personal life, you need to imagine yourself as though you are already living that achievement.

Paulo Coelho in his “Alchemist” says, “Whatever you desire with the whole heart and commitment, the whole world will conspire to get what you want”

2.       Secondly, develop the mindset of “Unconscious positive intention” to all that’s happening to us, as taught by the great NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) Masters of our times.

What does it mean?

Whatever happens, however negative can it be, try to see a positive thing in that situation.

I remember reading this funny poem long time ago, which would explain this concept clearly:

                                                                “A bird in the sky

                                                                Left a shit in my eye

                                                                I thanked my God

                                                                Cows don’t fly”

As I wrap my message, I quote the famous saying of Winston Churchill:

                “The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity

                The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty”

Let our lives be full of Joy and Optimism as our father and founder St. John Bosco wants it to be.

Be Positive!

Be progressive!

PLAY - A FORGOTTEN SKILL

No parking in front of TV

As I was interacting with the children from a renowned school in the city, I asked them a usual question “which is your most favourite period in a week?” To my surprise, any school, any children would give the same answer that P.T. classes are the best.

Have you ever wondered why? Because I know play is the magical moment in their lives.  

I love watching children play especially when they invent their own imaginative mystical and creative games. They're so excited, energetic and engaged as they build their muscles along with their imagination and confidence. And it's so much more enjoyable for children than parking them in front of the TV.

In my mission with the young children who are abandoned and are deprived of their childhood, I've watched always hundreds of children learn new skills of life and enjoy the pure act of physical play.

The Philosophy of Physique is A sound mind in a sound body. Does that phrase sound familiar?

Yes, of course. If the body is healthy, the mind is healthy too. No wonder the greatest Tamil Philosopher and altruist Vallalar makes his famous statement as follows:

clk;ig tsHj;Njd; capH tsHj;NjNd!

Which means by nurturing my body, I nurture my spirit.

Every aspect of human development is possible only through physical development. That’s the reason, Don Bosco in his pedagogy of teaching, emphasized Run, Jump and Play as essential part of his educational system.

Children will develop and learn about co-ordination, balance, spatial relationship, fine-motor skills and improve muscular strength, endurance, flexibility and body composition.

Through physical activity, children try new things, conquer their fears and build their confidence. It's been proven that when a child is physically active and successful in their movements, they show higher levels of self-esteem.

But today, we have a crisis and we are running out of time. Our schools and educational system run in deficit not financially but in unstructured play and outdoor activities.

Stats are revealing the painful reality that on average, children are spending 7.5 hours in front of media devices everyday. 

Children will not learn relational skills.

Children will not learn to solve problems.

Children will not know how to manage emotions.

Our children are playing less than any other generation.

It doesn't matter if they win or lose – it's about staying together and playing together.

Let’s make our children play and let’s preserve their identity. 

LET'S BE FREE

When I speak with teenagers and put this dangerous question “What is freedom to you?”, I’m shocked and sometimes filled with the fear of the future as they answer “To do whatever I want”. We see this attitude about Freedom is evolved into dangerous decisions even up to committing suicide through Blue Whales and MoMos. Freedom can be a very dangerous concept if not understood in its correct sense. It’s the prerogative and the duty of the educators today, i.e. to make this generation of Millenials (those who were born later than 80’s) understand the meaning of Freedom and the value behind it.

Freedom is a gift and also a responsibility. Let’s make our children realize and self aware that Freedom is the greatest gift that can be had in this life time and it can only be possible with the sense of responsibility.

Let’s be responsibly free and make this place a wonderful place for everyone.

FAREWELL....ADIEU....QUO VADIS?

Its not a good bye, but see you later

Every farewell is not an ending but a new beginning.

To end is to begin well.

To begin is to end well.

What if God has given you today, only the things that you thanked him for yesterday?

How empty our lives must be?

Gratitude is a forgotten habit in the fast paced universe. We take too many things for granted. Lets relive our GRATITUDE.

We have Pandora of personalities right before us. I’m sure you all agree with me that we have following personalities in each batch.

Mr. Bookworm                                                          Mr. Dancer

Mr. Crowdpuller                                            Mr. Singer

Mr. Studious                                                  Mr. Silent

Mr. Innocent                                                  Mr. Smiling face

Mr. Lazy                                                                     Mr. Game Dude or Mr. PUBG

Mr. Ever ready                                                          Mr. Comedian

Mr. Debater                                                   Mr. All rounder

To deal with such multi talented personalities in a single class room set up is an Himalayan task. Today is the day to express your gratitude to all the teachers from LKG to XII std. who formed you and moulded you and nurtured you into who you are today.

Don Bosco past pupils, locally or globally, have a unique culture of their own, a “culture of respect”. Just like so many batches who have gone ahead of you, you too have to do your part to preserve and protect the “culture of respect”.

Your gratitude should not only be extended to your higher secondary school teachers as they teach you right now, but to every person who had formed you in the journey of life here.

The driver who dropped you everyday in school…

The watchman who received you into school day after day ….

The lady who sweeps across the empty drives day in and day out…

The coach who comes everyday to make you best in what you are…

The one who opens the class room for you every morning…

The one cleans the class room after you leave it as a mess …

The one arranges the desks and chairs after you leave them like hell…

The one empties the trash everyday as you left them overflowing…

The one cleans the toilet to make you comfortable …

Those people who serve you at the canteen …

Those who take care of your health at the health station …

Teachers who held your hand and made you walk …

Teachers who made you eat and sleep and play and study when you were infant…

Teachers who made you feel like you are a champion…

Teachers who made you read write and speak and perform…

Teachers who touched your lives with theirs …

Teachers who inspired you with their wise words…

Teachers who motivated you with their mere presence…

Teachers who pushed you to the edges so that you learned to fly…

Teachers who pressurized you to make your inner self solid…   

Teachers who made you what you are today…

Every single person deserves to be thanked for.

Be part of this “culture of respect”

As I welcome all of you to this moment of gratitude, we wish all of you Fare well and we don’t say good bye because its never a bye but see you later.

Life goes on… Adieu.

READ TO LEAD

Let me start by asking you a simple question.

What is so special or rather unusual about the following statement?

Eg. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

What’s unusual about this statement?

You’re absolutely correct if you said “This is a Pangram”

What is a Pangram? It is a written text deliberately composed of words with all the alphabets.

Now here’s the challenge: Can you write five sentences without using the letter ‘E’ which is the most common letter in the English language.

In 1939, Ernest Vincent Wright, wrote a novel “Gaudsby: Champion of Youth” with 50,000 words not using the letter “E”.

By the way, Have you noticed anything spectacular about these words? 

When someone says Hurry, have you ever realised this word was coined or invented by William Shakespeare? Similarly, words like boredom, disgraceful, hostile, money’s worth, obscene, puke, perplex, on purpose, these words were also invented by William Shakespeare. Until his time, people were talking without these words, can you imagine?

Just to tickle your grey matter little more…

Do you know which is the most boring book in the world?

Yeah… I could hear some of my boys telling it is the book I teach everyday.

Perhaps the most uninteresting book ever written is The calculation of pi to two million places, in 800 pages.

Which is the most expensive book ever purchased?

The world's most expensive book ever purchased was bought by Bill Gates at auction for $30.8 million dollars.

The title of the book is Codex Leicester by Leonard da Vinci.

Which is the most expensive book in the world?

The most expensive book is The Task by Tomas Alexander Hartmann. It has a value by the author for 153 million euros. That's about 213 million U.S. dollars. And the kicker, it's only 13 pages long.

Isn’t it interesting to talk about books?

But a recent survey in 2012 tells that 54% of children said they preferred watching TV for reading.

It is really saddening to watch children fall prey to

-          TV which is just 89 years old

-          Internet which is just 32 years old

-          Facebook is still a minor celebrated its 11^th birthday Feb 4^th

Facebook is like a Fridge. Even if you know there’s nothing inside, you still open it every five minutes.

Yes, I find TV very educating, when someone switches on the TV, I go to my room shut myself and start reading a book, says Groucho Marx. TV is called an Idiot box not because it is an idiot but it makes us idiots. It doesn’t allow us to think, imagine, construct but only watch it with mouth wide open.

As I leave you, I leave this message with you:

The worst crime is to burn a book but still worst is not reading them.

Without Books, we have No History and No Future.

Have a wonderful day and happy Reading.

Thanks for all the books which I referred regarding the interesting facts. I owe everything to the books which I read through to get here.

An Obituary to dear Bro. Lobo

Bro. Lobo was a an honourable and highly respected member of the Chennai Province of the Salesian congregation. The effect of his loss are being felt already by those of us who had the honour and pleasure of working with him. His life was a splendid blending of nature and Grace. His life was a balance of profession and vocation.

                        “Though nothing can bring back

the hour of splendour in the grass,

                        Of glory in the flower,

                        We will grieve not;

                        Rather find strength in what remains behind”

As I Quote William Wordsworth, I request  everyone that we don’t grieve over his loss but

to find strength in his vision,

inspiration in his predilective love for the poor

role model in his simplicity

transparency in his outspokenness and

fidelity to his Master Jesus.

Bro. Lobo was always remembered for his vivacious and vibrant life. He was fun to have him around. His robust presence and witty remarks made him more and more earthy and down to us so that everyone was at their ease with him.

When Bro. Lobo took over as a economer of the undivided Chennai Salesian Province, he embarked on the most influential phase of his career in the congregation.

Even now as I write this obituary, I am sure Bro. Lobo is busy keeping the Angels at their work. He was never found idle and always cherished the greatest gift Don Bosco gave, work.

  Bro. Lobo was always generous towards others but on the contrary, uncompromisingly  strict with himself. Though he was growing old, he was still young at heart and was open to new ideas and innovations and was able to cope with the younger salesians. Above all, he was big hearted, big enough to embrace all those who deserve the love of Don Bosco and his Master Jesus Christ.

Don’t grieve for him, for now he is free. He is ollowing the path God has laid for him. He took his hand when I heard him call. He could not stay another day to laugh, to love, to work, to play. If his parting has left a void then fill it with remembered joy, freindship and companionship shared, a hearty moment with him. His life has been full, He savoured much friends in the salesian communities, good times in the congregation. Perhaps his time seemed all too brief, so don’t lengthen it now with undue grief.

Lets lift our hearts and Peace to his soul. God wanted him and He set him free.