Valentine Day
8:14 AM Posted by Unknown
Everyone knows its Valentines Day, but there are few people i know with beautiful soul who doesn't need special day, because everyday is valentine there.
My Flash Mob - Parody
9:52 PM Posted by Unknown
Why so serious? Have Some fun.
Gone are the days what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Now what happens across the web stays on the web else where in some form or the other. Look at an old post of mine that i found while scrolling down the Facebook timeline. Since it already exist somewhere where i can't delete it, i thought i might as well re-make it. See if you LIKE it.
Visit: http://facebook.com/
Stuck In A Traffic Jam Of Life?
8:28 AM Posted by Unknown
While I was stuck at Jubelin Hills Check post. The most hoffifying unusual traffic jam you could see. For some reason i remembered poetry by Gabby i've watched in 2009. Gabrielle was diagnosed with Stage Four Cancer shortly before this video was filmed. She has valuable advice for us who are stuck in traffic of jam of life, to face our irrational fears.
You think you have a problem???? All the things you said you'd do but never did. “What are you waiting for?” “Why aren’t you being everything you can be right now? Please, take it from a girl who’s already half angel. Dooooo notttttt waitttttttt.”
Poets.. remember. This is the story that never ends. When one of us leaves, another walks through the door. The pages turn, the sun keeps rising. All you can do in the meanwhile.. is to speak for yourself. Raise your voice high, tell your story, join hands against the dark and sing our souls to the sky. Know the best in me comes from the best in you, that as you tell your story, you will be telling mine, and our lives will be linked together forever, and everyone who hears you will become a part of the change we make.
So when you hear that I have died..
just ….live.
RIP ~ Gabrielle Bouliane (1966-2010).
Sachin’s 100th Century.
10:46 PM Posted by Unknown
If you don’t have few minuites, please don’t feel obligated
to read this long post
Sachin’s 100th Century.
Me
and my dear-friend (& Co-founder at FlyingCocoon) Joshua Chris were having
coffee at regular venue (Beyond Coffee) We get a coffee time pretty much most
of the weekdays when he isn’t in Bangalore. He loves Cricket. So i knew today’s
discussion point was somewhat important and relevant to what we’ve been going
through as partners for quite sometime. He shared an article with me that was
written few days back on yourstory.in about Sachin’s 100th century miss
and Nation’s anticipation. (Josh usually says, we don’t always get what we
want. We get only what God gives directly proportional to what we are capable
of) i’ll probably write about this another day. In general I love Joshua’s
insight on things, i don’t remember a single day i wasn’t inspired by him over
three years+ of our friendship. (though i’ve many good friends I can count on
for advice) He’s ONE person i know who connects with me in different level, may
be its because He understands technology, business and has balanced spiritual
life too. I learn a lot from him.(I hope he’ll learn few things from me too)
Coming
back to the article i mentioned he shared with me, the author talks about three
main focus points
1. You never know what’s going to happen next minute – Sachin has reached 100′s so easily till last year and since last 8 months it’s been such a struggle repeating the same thing. There are phases in your startup journey when all is going great and then the landslide starts but that doesn’t mean the commitment is low or you are doing something wrong. It’s just that you need to continue and stay put and pass the phase. I am sure Sachin will get his 100th century soon if not today some other day, and I think that’s the level of confidence and self belief that needs to be there.
2. New Day is always a new day – In last so many occasions we have seen Sachin play well and cross 50 but when he comes the next day the landmark seems to elude him. In a startup a new day is a new day. You got to start afresh, forget the good and bad of the last day and focus on what’s on hand.
3. Focus – We have seen so many startups starting wonderfully well but losing focus mid way especially when the BIG THING is nearing. Much like Sachin going just 6 runs away from what could have been a great great innings, slight loss of focus can lead to a sudden downfall in the fortunes of a startup.
For a young entrepreneur
like me who is trying to make it work
with unrealized ambition and probably with lots
of bills to pay. Josh had a bit of his
own commentary on top of the article I shared above. He said Just like sachin No matter how successful we become,
life always shows up with a surprise and mystery. Its in a times like this our faith will be
tested. Emmy when you find you self in this spot remember your faith is on
trial, but you've got a good lawyer. A person who pleads your case in heaven. He continued talking but I stopped listening
and went in to my own thoughts. Suddenly all my
previous small and big achievements & failures started to mean nothing in
the face of whats ahead of me and whats possible, its just like Sachin’s
failure at his 100th century. Previously I’ve tried and tried more to
get things back to the perfect track but i found it an uphill to get my way,
the way I want it.
“I
wanted the gold, and I sought it;
I scrabbled and mucked like a slave.
Was it famine or scurvy—I fought it;
I hurled my youth into a grave…”
I scrabbled and mucked like a slave.
Was it famine or scurvy—I fought it;
I hurled my youth into a grave…”
“Yet
it isn’t the gold that I’m wanting
So much as just finding the gold.” -Robert Service,
So much as just finding the gold.” -Robert Service,
Before my graduation i had to
work for internship for three months. At the office i worked in people loved
me, i was the youngest and nerdy and geekiest chap around so they wanted me to
say longer (i too wanted to stay because I was learning a lot in that environment)
And i ended up working there for a year. Last week I was immersed in deep five
years old nostalgia while i stumbled at the recommendation letter i received
from the CEO when i resigned. In those days I had all the energy, regularly
over-night i used to crush in the office on my desk. I ate on computers, breath
computers dust, slept on keyboard. I massaged(scratched) myself with mouse. While working in that office, though i enjoyed
every moment of it I knew from my
college days that my brains are wired differently( to work for myself). That is
why back in good old days 2004-5 I
launched a website and optimized it to earn from Adsense Ads, While my
classmates wanted to work for so and so multi-national companies. I knew that i
knew i’m never gonna work for anyone. (Though in college days i used to say i
wanna work ONLY for Google, later i outgrow that and wanted to build company
and sell it to google. I still secretly lust on that front.) Between then and now sooooo many things
happen, i saw myself evolved through tough situations. So FlyingCocoon is one
of those things that a happened in between then and now (started early 2008 and
much didn’t happen in between Josh left to Bangalore and i was busy trying out
there things). I’m lucky! I have many people
i love and value like Josh beside me. For many
entrepreneurs finding a co-founder has been likened to getting married and like
a marriage it can be the best or the worst thing to happen to you. Now am runing
a (Lean)scrappy startup I’m pushing myself, despite all the limitations,
swearing i have to make this work, no matter what. I don’t know how many people
understand the intensity but Running a startup
without any funding is definitely a hard life. Even with funding, it is a lot
of work. I remember Conan O'Brien's quoted what Nietzsche
famously said ‘Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.’ But what he
failed to stress is that IT ALMOST KILLS YOU. You know, The stresses of running a
poorly performing company or the frustrations of not closing enough deal almost
kills you. I was absorbed so much, I stopped
caring about myself and things around me much. Few trusted friends came and told
me Emmy pls take care of yourself you
are underweight & you look like a shit. I still didn’t care much. Sometimes
dreams make us insane. And those who are around us who don’t know what’s going
on inside of us looks at as commenselseless-lunatic. That part has never bothered
me ever, because to some degree i’m iconoclast. What the society think doesn’t
bother me zilch while my dream is at stake.
I sipped my coffee, Josh also
sipped his coffee and continued talking i didn’t concentrate on what all he
said new he moved on to the second point what the guy wrote about sachin’s NEW
DAY, its is pretty much similar to what paul says But one thing
I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on
toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me. Emmy In God’s
kingdom Faith is your currency, Have faith in a new day. Its By faith gentile became a Jew. I hope you remember
Abraham’s story how he birthed a new nation. Because he believed God it was
counted unto him as righteousness. He was not right but he believed God is so
good. And guess what? God said if you believe me like that I'll go ahead and
i'll credit your account. And it was counted as righteous. Its like God saying I
know you are not perfect, but i'll take your faith as a currency. I'll bless
you. give you land and everything.
I know his
FAITH also told him he'll give him a son, funnily the case got on hold till his
wife passed child bearing age, now she was barren on top of that his body aged
too. When it was completely impossible in human terms, God gave them a son.
Emmy as
long as you can see you way clear God will do absolutely nothing. Its when absolutely
there is no way for you to get it, when all of you plans & plots are failed
and the budget is blown, the checks are over drawn. When you can see no way how
you can make it. No way to run your dream startup, no way to hire the kind of
talent you want. Its then God moves on your behalf and say I'm gonna bless you.
Like Abraham. When you reach to this stage you know whom to be thankful for. Credits
only goes to God not to anyone. Not even for yourself. Because you couldn't do
it.
While
we just have to trust God, often times we try to trace him. Trust is form of
worship. If you don’t want to worship him question your purpose why here on
earth you are here for.
Am
still listening while looking at the one of the paintings on the wall at
BeyondCoffee. I looked at my green tea cup I’ve realized i finished it without
realizing it. Both of us have finished our drinks the only thing left on the
table is French fries.
Josh
took hand full of French fries and continued about the article he was talking
about. He said the third point deals with really crucial issue. (Especially for
us) I believe there
is dime a dozen opportunities now than any previous generations ever lived on
this planet had. For the little guys to create wealth and be who they want to
be barriers to entry have been mostly removed especially for Tech companies;
the playing field has been quite levelled same way for a guy in Hyderabad and
for the guy in Silicon valley. This is something "very
liberating". As you are yet to be discovered, you haven't gotten your recognition. But at
the same time, you don't have expectations. You just have to Focus, and take Action while the
opportunities are still here. He looked me in the eye and said people
like you suffer because they think they can be everything(not one thing) they
want to be and when reality bitch slaps them. They’ll go out on full spree to
prove a point.
Truly speaking I’ve done all of that, trying to prove a point and all, knowing what i
know now,
"odds are highly stacked against start-ups” i’v nothing i
want to prove. I just let God, what He lets me to do. I’ve reconciled with the
fact that i can’t fight with that, even if i fight that. That is a losing
battle already from the beginning.
As
I mentioned earlier Me and Josh understand technology & business (local
business) that is what clicked between us and helped us to build this incredible
friendship over the years. We’ve been advising our friends on how to use the
social web to generate leads for their small business in a very casual way for
the last two year (very casually not for revenue). And For the past few months I’ve
been working on SocialCRM called “OppTube” and i never knew FlyingCocoon which
we started in 2008 will become serious and we’ll help more business to adopt
social Media to expand their reach.
The
plan is very simple for now. We do Social Media Consultation for local business
for free or for extremely nominal cost. Help them with execution. We nurture a
long term working relationship with them. At later stage when my SocialCRM gets
ready for beta testing they’ll be signed up. After their initial trial &
feedback period It will be priced rightly based on the value it provide. I’ll
talk about on that development on another post
As conclusion he said: It’s really scary to forsake everything and focus
on one thing. It’s ok, accept the fear: It is natural to be
frightened by unknown. Naturally you want to diversify. You might being a
situation making less money and working more because company you are working in decides suddenly
freeze salaries and increase working hours This has happened for several
friends in Indian IT companies. But
still focus is the only way-in only way-out
In a serious voice he
asked me: Em what’s the worst it could
happen to you? Quickly i said I’ll be completely bankrupt and start sleeping in
my car till I bounce back. He said think for a second Are you really afraid of
that. I mean really? After thinking for a second I replied: Actually not that
much. If you look at any successful Startup, many encountered situations where
most would throw in the towel, but they didn’t, they pushed through and
achieved their dreams.
Tweet
PS. I know my writing style is as terrible as it gets. Something tells me with practice i can write better in the future. This is written as a practice. When i become a better writer i’ll look back and laugh at this post the awful grammar and punctuation..
PS. I know my writing style is as terrible as it gets. Something tells me with practice i can write better in the future. This is written as a practice. When i become a better writer i’ll look back and laugh at this post the awful grammar and punctuation..
P.S.S On the flip
side i feel really happy, coz this is a testament of overcoming my two fears,
Fear of long post and showing off my insecurities as man. Sometimes opening up
ourselves to vulnerability helps us to reclaim our humanness and remind us we are not God.
Labels:
Breakthrough,
Butterfly Effect,
Change,
Development,
Dream,
God,
Hyderabad,
Prayer,
Social Media,
Startup
Social Network-ists
10:42 PM Posted by Unknown
Tweet
Duo Platforms & Quattro Users - Meetup.
My Wednesday lunch was scheduled at facebook’s cafeteria with 3 die hard tweepls. (PP, SK & JK am gonna abbreviate ‘em since i didn’t ask their permission) I reached a bit late for lunch, and am not going to bore you with my excuses. (Though PP tries to plaster me with allegation of i’m trying to preserve the culture of Hyderabad by being late as true hyderabadi. )
Lets move on to how yummm the chef was. (mind you, i didn’t say the food, of course the food was great.) He was a man of sweet smile, and he asked me if i wanted anything more on my plate? I said no and complimented that del.icio.us soup i had few minutes back. But the way he said it was so genuine and so hospitable. I guess some of the guys i know at Taj can take hospitality tuition from him. (Darn it, i didn’t ask him his name) .....Still trying to catch my breath... Me, JK & SK vs. PP we had few conversations round the table as we sang praises of Hyderabad. Poor PP couldn’t stand a chance at us. And (JK) had to leave by 1pm and replaced herself by (NJ) again after few conversations later, we also had to leave.
I was happy with our meet-up but i didn’t know the surprise that awaits me. After we went outside, i asked (NJ) to take us inside for last round of tour before we leave... This time i didn’t want to do the stereo type of comparing google with facebook. i simply wanted to see facebook for what it is and it’s uniqueness.
We went inside gain, if US of A calls their defence HQ The Pentagon then facebook should call it’s Hyderabad office The Rectangle. While we are walking inside the rectangle, at the corner something grabbed my attention. Wait a sec, i stopped (NJ) and asked her what are these books for? And she told me it’s one employee’s initiative to bring books and keep them on the ground at the corner and whoever wants to read will just take and read without asking anyone... if anyone wants to share a book with anyone they’ll just bring and drop it there...to paint you a picture how it looks like, (remember?, how road side book sellers put the books on the ground without shelf on the mattress kinda thing... Thats kind of it) That was really cool thing to do, though it seem simple. I’m known by all my friends for borrowing book, i’m notorious at it. So when i see this kind of book sharing (as in open shaing platform, i salivate) exactly how facebook is trying to make the world to share openly.....it gives me a goose bump.
One last thing, as person who is in love with start-ups.... i saw the rectangle office and coveted to some degree,( i wished for my start-up such an office). Facebook has that spirit, where they don’t invest in fancy separate office rooms, or even cubicles. All employees share open tables the same way as Facebook platform gives people the power to share and make the world more open and connected globally.
One last thing(The real last) The facebook app developers at wildfire had to be the happiest developers ever. What more do you want as an app developer when the platform you develop to uses your app for their own campaign and put your logo in their office. Am talking about Wildfire app powering Facebook Hyderabad’s office mural contest. Since one of my friend was contesting on that i’ve actively followed it.
So the highlights of the day: Seeing open-book-sharing on the floor & Seeing wildfire-apps-logo on the wall of Facebook office. I had a good time. Thanks everyone, especially(JK) .
Wish me these three for now.
10:11 PM Posted by Unknown
“When I dare to be powerful - to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid”~ Audre Lorde
My Colorful Evening: Zulu in Hyderabad
1:44 AM Posted by Unknown
The next few minute we are at our destination in Banajara hills, All of a sudden I sensed a change in it he air from usual scene I know. Any how we stepped in, as I sensed from outside I found the truth inside. Yes it’s a bit crazy, people faces are painted different color, the waiters are dancing while serving (especially one guys’ tribal dance move….. it killed me non-stop) Usually the chef wears hat. But, today every one is wearing paper made hats. I was like, “What happen to this place?”, “ What is happening?” As the same time my eyebrows don’t get singed from the fire juggling and fire spitting. What I heard when I made a call was Afro beat. Now if you wanted to order any thing raises your hands high and move ‘em swiftly with the beat. Then you are sure you won the waiter attention, may be other guests too.
Suddenly a young lady came and offered me colors menu to paint my face, before I was given my favorite Kebab’s menu. Strange huh? I was told the restaurant it celebrating ‘Hakuna Matata’ 1st Zulu Barbeque festival in Hyd…. Then again, I was like “here we come, African tribal’s in Hyderabad…” Bring it on. I chose tri-colors of my Ethiopia Green, Yellow and Red… I closed my eyes and lend her my face….i feel the brushes move on my fore head and cheeks…I also felt my feeling don’t tell me which color is currently is being applied on me, hmmmm.
Btw, This week end If you want to enjoy delicacies like the famous Lamb Marguez, Chicken Sosatie, sausages made out of soya beans laced with African Mustard and Gherkins and corn with Zulu sauce. The most relished Barbeques from Africa continent will surely create an excitement in Hyderabadis as the locale will get to taste for the first time such unique Barbeques. It happened @Barbeque Nation Restaurant. Banjara Hills Road No 1.
If you drop in there I’m sure it would make you smile, just for a change.
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