Then it would be very tough for an owner to give up stake in his company.

But in the long run (& to an extent) …..it is necessary.

My thoughts…

Due to cultural conditioning, we are hardwired to look outside for validation. Our definitions of success and failure are what society wants it to be. And it is pretty hard not to compare yourself with others. External comparison is convenient. It is easier to have benchmarks which are not within our control than those which may be within us. And reason for this is that introspection is tough. It is tough to take a call about what exactly is your personal definition of success; which race are you running; whom are you running against?

And worst part is that it is possible that you are good at something that society considers to be good. But it may not necessarily be good for you. It may not be in synch with your values, beliefs and general purpose of existence. What then happens is that you blindly follow this path of hollow success and end up realizing that though you did climb the ladder successfully, it was the wrong wall (!)

Another danger of social definition of success is that if you measure your success relative to how everyone else is doing you will probably end up far below your potential.

So you need to remember that…

Your life is your own. You have to choose your own race. You have to choose your opponents. Even if it means that you are your only opponent. Atleast you would be running the race on your own terms. It is better to fail at one’s own race than win at someone else’s.

Some questions to help you ponder over this thought –

• With whom are you competing against?
• Where has this race taken you?
• Are you happy with where you have reached?
• Was the answer to above question dependent on what others think of you?
• Are you running the best race for you?
• Or are you running someone else’s race better than they are?

And your life should not end with saying – I have finished first at their race.

It should rather end with – I have finished my race. (Position is redundant).

Objectivism is a philosophy grounded in rationality. Fundamentally, it says that man is better off if he is grounded in what is real, what exists, as opposed to his sense of what ought to be. To break it down even further, it says that:

• There are things in this world that are constant.
• There are characteristics of human nature that are constant.
• The best way to live is with respect for these constants, whether or not they seem fair and just. It is only then can man, and in turn, society, reach his highest potential.

Now, let’s look at what the philosophy specifically says. There are four tenents of objectivism:

Objective Reality

Wishing won’t make it so

Facts are facts, independent of man’s feelings, hopes, wishes, or fears.

Reason

You can’t eat your cake and have it too

Reason is man’s only means of perceiving reality, his only source of knowledge, his only guide to action.

Self-interest

Man is an end in himself

Man must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own happiness is the highest moral-purpose of his life.

Capitalism

Give me liberty or give me death

The ideal political-economic system is laissez-faire capitalism. It is a system where men deal with one another as traders by free, voluntary exchange to mutual benefit. There should be a complete separation of state and economics. The government only exists as a policeman that protects man’s rights.

Still following? I know objectivism can be a brainful. So let’s look at some examples of objectivism in real life.

Reality

Your girlfriend/boyfriend breaks up with you. Even if you wish it weren’t so, the fact would still remain. Your wishes, hopes won’t change the fact that he/she has broken up with you.

Reason

If you jump from an 85 storey building onto hard concrete, what’ll happen? The laws of physics dictate that you’ll be dead. But, if you believe in Spiderman, another answer could be that he’ll protect you. The laws of physics are proven, the existence of Spiderman isn’t. So objectivism recommends not jumping. Act on logic, not your faith in superheroes.

Self-interest

You are a fresh mechanical engineering graduate. You have the choice of joining Ferrarri as their next hotshot engineer. You also have the choice of working on UNICEF’s child vaccination awareness program. You really want the Ferrarri job, but your parents want you to join UNICEF. Which one should you choose? If you’re an objectivist, you’ll just do what you want.

Capitalism

Let’s say you are indeed hired by Ferrarri. Should the government dictate what your salary should be, or should you and Ferrarri be free to negotiate it? Per objectivism, it should be latter. Governments should allow free, voluntary trade between individuals and institutions.

Does it make a little bit more sense?

Now, of course, the big question is – how good is objectivism as a philosophy. More importantly, is it my philosophy of choice? Well, that’s for another day, maybe. For now, I would like the readers to form their own opinions on objectivism. To help them with this process, I pose the following questions:

• What does objectivism mean for religion?
• Is the progress that we have made as a society (assuming we have) a function of altruism or self-interest of individuals?
• What happened to countries that are/were not capitalistic?
• Can man really think rationally?
• What is self-interest?

Answers to these questions are necessary to debate the pros and cons of objectivism and conclude if it should be the philosophy of choice for our society. So, start thinking!

Source : Fosslien (Awesome stuff Elizabeth!)

1.  Like 2009 (when I traveled around 28,000 Kilometers), 2011 saw me traveling for around 25,900 kilometers (Yes. I keep a kilometer by kilometer account of my travels). I traveled to around 13 cities which included a few never-before-visited ones like Amritsar,Bikaner, Ranthambore, Barmer & Wagah (Attari).

Wagah & Amritsar

2. In June, I once again became unemployed & unbalanced as I decided to pursue higher studies.
3. After spending close to 3 years in dry deserts of Thar, a move to Mumbai with its random downpours was quite an experience.
4. After many years I experienced 0 degrees Celsius (in Amritsar). I also experienced temperatures above 50 degrees! (Read about the experience here).
5. Started another strangely named blog for my financial rants – Essential Associate Aktiengesellschaft….. And closed it for some personal reasons
6. Received a prize from talented travel blogger, Shivya of Shooting Star fame in celebration of her 200^th post.
7. I struggled throughout 2011 to revive my reading habit. Currently I have around 5-6 books which are waiting for me to lay my hands on them.
8. For me, Rockstar’s Nadaan Parindey is song of the year.

As far as 2012 is concerned, I have decided not to keep any specific resolutions. I just hope that Mayan prophecy (of doomsday on 21-12) is proven wrong and we get to see another 22-12.

Happy New Year.

A lizard in my house got hold of a huge insect. Looking at size of the insect, it was difficult to understand how the liz would swallow it. But it seems liz’s body is governed by unearthly elasticity parameters.

Stationed near a window, liz was enjoying the insect. This window had glass blinds tilted at an angle which did not allow anything to pass through them. But there existed a crevice near top right corner of the window, which allowed objects no broader than a liz to pass through it.

Out of nowhere, liz got this divine enlightenment that I was a threat to her life and decided to run away from me. She decided to take the small-crevice-highway to get out of my view. But problem was that it was still holding the monstrous insect in her mouth and was not able to enter the crack. Either she would have to give up the insect (pleasures of life) and stay alive or stay with the insect and face my wrath!

Assuming I was a threat to her life, liz had to decide whether to stay in the party [have insect(ful) delicacy] or run for her life without any tasty baggages.

What liz did further is irrelevant. But it did teach me a lesson.

Sometimes, you might be having the time of your life. But external uncontrollable elements may force you to give up everything and be decisive about your actions.

It is like saying that you should be ready to leave a party when you don’t want to.

What are your views?

Time is everything.

After Inception, it is the first sci-fi that has managed to give me some philosophical kicks. Movie is full of acid dripping painful truths. I share a few –

Lesson #1: Time is the real currency.

Lesson #2: If you waste time, time will waste you.

Lesson #3: Since we are not immortals, everyday is a gift for you. Treat and live it like it is the last day of your life.

Lesson #4: Everyone is after your time. After all it is what they all survive/feed on. You just need to love yourself and protect your loved ones from those who are out there trying to steal time.

Lesson #5: You can find allies and comrades in strangest of places. So be on the lookout.

Lesson #6: Most people live their lives without knowing what they want. Don’t be one of them.

Lesson #7: You should be ready to take the jump (risk). And as they say, ships are safest at harbors but that is not what they were built for.

After showering you all with life lessons from someone like Justin Timberlake , here is what I got as a bonus of watching the movie.

Watched the movie from a seat next to the gorgeous lady who drove a F1 car – Gul Panag!

Lucky Me :-)

Dark Side of Strength : Weakness

If you like what you see, click here and Like the pic.

Are we bloody barbarians?

How can you treat a woman like that?

Why should a woman be punished for her husband’s mistakes? And that too in a manner like that!

Where exactly are we heading?