Paying it forward

It's Christmas, a festival that means many different things to different people. Although I personally do not celebrate Christmas, I love getting into the festive spirit. More than the food, the decorations, the presents...what always gets me about the season is how easily people give.

This video beautifully portrays the feeling I am talking about :)

So the next time someone does something nice for you, don't worry about paying it back.....just pay it forward ....to a total stranger...and it will ALWAYS come back to you. I say that with so much conviction, because I have had it happen to me :)

Merry Christmas everyone and hope you have a brilliant New Years.

Note: Inspired by this video I just saw on TED, I am going to be on a month-long generosity experiment. The task is to say "yes"for 30 days to every request for help. Be it the dodgy guy on the street that doesn't really need the money to buy a bus ticket... or the neighbour next door that wants to share a cup of tea....I am going to say YES.

I promise to report back to you in 30 days time with the results.

If Plant's could talk

I am sure this is exactly what they will say. I am sure my little potted plant that is lying neglected in my room will be saying it for sure....

Haha, found here

Being Compassionate to yourself

From a very young age, I was brought up with the notion that if stuff went wrong (sometimes terribly wrong)- looking backward, particularly towards a time of difficulty and pain is both a failure of will and a waste of time. This idea stemmed largely from the sentiment "What's done is done" and that lamenting over a situation we cannot change is a waste of time and energy. 


That was until I watched this fabulous TED talk on Arati's blog. 





I love how Kathyrn Shulz says "The point isn't to live without any regrets, the point is to not hate ourselves for having them… We need to learn to love the flawed, imperfect things that we create, and to forgive ourselves for creating them. Regret doesn't remind us that we did badly — it reminds us that we know we can do better.”


Ah. Being compassionate to ourselves. One of the hardest things to achieve. 

Being Productive

I recently blogged about shortening the distance between I am going to start working and I am working. Its a hard task to do and with the ample distractions we often surround ourselves with, switching off to concentrate on any given task can seem like a mammoth effort.

Or so I thought....

Until I saw this cute video.



Next time you come across a distraction, trap it quickly!!

Hero of my own story

I have never been the kind of girl that has ever dreamed of getting a tattoo, despite an increasing number of my friends having one. That was until I saw this....

It reads " I am the hero of this story, I don't need to be saved" .

How Incredibly powerful. If I ever did get one...this would be it!

Camping

I am planning on going camping for New years and have just been on the hunt for some camping gear. Lo and behold, I stumble upon this:

Ho totally awesome are these tents??Hat tip to Fieldcandy for making them. Need to hide my credit card just so that I do not splurge and get one!!

Anonymous Extraordinaries

Apologies for the hiatus between the last post and this one. Moving homes, thunder storms, destroyed internet connections, flash mobs and organising a poetry slam has what has kept me away from writing and hopefully inspiring the few readers that I have.

Today's post is inspired this extra ordinary video I saw on TED.Natalie Warne is an 18 year old who helped begin and run a national movement to recognise and do something about children being forced to become soldiers in Africa.  Her conviction, courage and dedication to the cause is something we could all learn a thing or two from

The talk is absolutely inspiring...but what really caught my attention was Natalie's term "anonymous extraordinaries". It is a term she uses to refer to the many people that try and do extra-ordinary things around us.....these extraordinaries are not necessarily featured on TED or on Oprah, but they still pursue an extraordinary cause with dedication and perseverance. 

Here is to being an anonymous extraordinary every single day. 

The Expert Manifesto

Go Now. Live your dream. And don't ever forget, you are here for the adventure, not the pay check.

Found via The Expert Enough Manifesto | Expert Enough.

Don’t punish everyone for one person’s mistake

Don't punish everyone for one person's mistake from Derek Sivers on Vimeo.


Fantastic talk by Derek Sivers - something all small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs must learn.

In search of Incredible

I am not sure what it is, but the universe seems to be sending me a STRONG message recently - "Don't settle for ordinary". I opened my email this morning only to find this cartoon

I open up my '3 am' notebook ( a notebook i right random ideas/words of inspiration that float into my head in the middle of the night) - only to be greeted by this:

And finally to top it all, a friend of mine sends me this image of a silly cartoon I used to watch as a child

Hahah! Looks like its time to seize the opportunities that seem to be pilling up on my plate and start making a difference in the world!

Hope you have an extra-ordinary day!!

Does Geography determine Income?

I read this fascinating paper by John Gallup, Jeffrey Sachs and Andrew Mellinger in the International Regional Science Review that spoke about the concept of "GDP density". GDP density was basically calculated by multiplying GDP per capita by the number of people per square kilometre. 

Essentially it is a measure of the total amount of economic activity that takes place at different spots on our globe. The results they found were graphically represented in the form of the map below:

Not surprisingly, it looks a whole lot like those satellite pictures of the earth at night

What I found most interesting is the fact that economic activity is clearly is much more intense near oceans, or, if inland, along navigable rivers where transportation by ship is feasible. Temperate climates with adequate rainfall also seem to be extremely important, perhaps for productivity of agriculture. 


So I guess the next most logical question is does policy actually have an impact on GDP?? And are cities located closer to rivers/oceans pre-disposed to doing better (and consequently being more entrepreneurial) than those located inland??


Would love to hear your thoughts.

Super-You!

I just came across this amazing video created by Holstee and I just had to share it. Although the video is about cyclists in NYC celebrating their lives by living this manifesto, I think the lessons from the video apply to each and everyone of us. The video encourages us to take charge of our lives and become our own super-hero's. A concept I hold very very dear to me. 


I recently read this article by Nilofer Merchant where she too talks about how obsessed our society is with finding "The One'. The idea of living in the footsteps of a leader is drilled in to our heads through history-books, through religion, through sports teams and corporate cultures. We as a society love to idealise. 


And Whilst there is nothing wrong with looking outside for inspiration, very few people rarely walk to the beat of their own drum. Nilofer in her article, rightly gives the example of Steve Jobs and why he was such a charismatic person. She says "He(Steve Jobs) didn’t study other people; he followed his own passions. He didn’t seek meaning by trying to emulate someone else’s life, or even emulating the winning business practices of his day – as I’ve written before, he created a clarity of purpose for himself.  The same principle can apply to all of us.

Certainly, we need inspiration to show us examples of clear purpose. But I wonder what happens in a world where we each figure out why we do what we do and we can live and work from that place. We might refocus on our own work and the community with which we get that work done. We might learn todefine success in our own terms."

Here's hoping we all start dancing to our own tunes rather than what everyone else thinks we should be dancing too. 

Shortening the distance between “I’m going to start working” and “I’m working.”

Last month, I set myself a 30 day challenge to write every day on this blog. The idea stemmed from the thought that 30-days was enough time to build a habit, so if I stuck by writing a post everyday, I would make a life-long habit out of it.


If you were an ardent follower, you will know that 'work' got the better of me and I did not write a post every single day. What I did do though was score the internet for material to write about and bookmarked it away.


Today was no different, I was about to blog about something when  I saw an interesting tweet….that led me to a clever article about Occupy Wall Street,  one thing led to another and soon I was lost deep down a rabbit hole. Wait a minute, what was I really planning to do again?

The truth is that there is REAL work that we need to do, and then there is all the fuss that we do as a part of starting this 'real' work. This happens a lot in sports. If you ever go to yoga class,  watch how much hair-fixing and water drinking happens at the exact moment the instructor calls out a challenging pose.

It feels minor, but think about all the wasted motion ( the fidgeting, drinking water, lying down, tying my hair)  I was doing for the 45 minutes of stretching– energy spent, speed reduced, extra steps taken for absolutely no reason other than that I’d built up a bad habit.

This isn’t just about not getting distracted by social media and your inbox (though those are particularly dangerous because they pretend to be work).  It’s about shortening the distance between “I’m going to start working” and “I’m working.”

We have a strategic plan...

It's been a while since I last posted. My apologies. Work has been insanely busy, with too many projects needing to be finished at the same time. 

For those of you who do not know, I work at a start-up at the Australian National University. My lovely, eccentric, crazy team of 5 make up ANU Edge - the universities 'knowledge services' arm. What that really means is we convert 'soft' (things like developing a new methodology to do roadmapping, identifying leadership etc) research into a service that we then provide to NGO's, SME's and Government. 

The group like most start-ups,  started off with a strategic plan, a budget etc...but what we have come to learn in the past few months is that  - our strategic plan is stagnant and our work dynamic. Whilst our strategic plan aimed to project what things would be like in 5 years time, what we have realised in the 6 months that we have been functioning, is that we seem to be miles ahead than what we projected. Whilst this is never a bad thing, we've realised that our strategic plan desperately needed an upgrade.

Thats when I saw this poster and thought how apt it was for us.

Coming to think of it, I think it apt for every small business out there.

Steve Jobs on Creativity

Creativity is just connecting things. When you ask creative people how they did something, they feel a little guilty because they didn’t really do it, they just saw something. It seemed obvious to them after a while. That’s because they were able to connect experiences they’ve had and synthesize new things.

The reason they were able to do that was that they’ve had more experiences or they have thought more about their experiences than other people. Unfortunately, that’s too rare a commodity. A lot of people in our industry haven’t had very diverse experiences. So they don’t have enough dots to connect, and they end up with very linear solutions without a broad perspective on the problem. The broader one’s understanding of the human experience, the better design we will have.” – Steve Jobs, Wired, February, 1995

(via this fantastic Brain Pickings post)

Mind Without fear

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been broken upinto fragments by narrow domestic walls;

Where words come out from the depth of truth;

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;

Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action---

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

                                                                     - Rabindranath Tagore

Todays post is inspired by this poem. The poem was written by Rabindranath Tagore a famous Indian poet that won the nobel prize for his poetry. Although this poem was written in the early 1930's, it never ceases to inspire me. As individuals passionate about entrepreneurship and innovation we strive to stay on a constant creative ebb. The truth is with every ebb there is a trough and for some of us, when we reach those troughs we tend to get stuck, frustrated and judge ourselves to hard on not being able to reach the next creative ebb. 

The thing is, this frustration blinds us to the real cause of these troughs - dead habit. The habit could be procrastination, could be not following up on a task, could be giving up to easily, could be getting distracted by the small things and not focussing on the big picture. It could be a million different things but it is only when we choose to let habit take over and let reason take a back seat - that we slip into these troughs.

So lets take cue from the poem, lets not let our habits hold us back, let us strive towards perfection, let us strive towards being free, creative, inspiring individuals.

Create to learn a bit more about yourself

You may not be a Picasso or Mozart but you don’t have to be. Just create to create. Create to remind yourself you’re still alive. Make stuff to inspire others to make something too. Create to learn a bit more about yourself.”

Thank you Frederick Terral, the creative visionary behind design studio Right Brain Terrain for being todays inspiration.

Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results

I recently heard a colleague complain about a friend who was suffering from the "Red Queen Effect". Puzzled and curious I asked him what exactly this red queen effect was??!!

He explained that the “Red Queen Effect” refers to the Lewis Carroll (1872) story “Alice Through the Looking Glass” where the Red Queen runs hard but never gets anywhere because the surrounding landscape is also moving. In fact in Tim Burton's version of Alice in wonderland, the Red Queen tells Alice, “Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do to keep in the same place”.


I wonder how many of us are behaving like the red queen in our daily lives? How many of us complain about our relationships, yet don't do anything to change the outcome? How many complain about our jobs, but never act differently? How many crib about current problems, but refuse to find solutions?


Time for a change?! I definitely think so...

Draw using your eyes!

Just came across the EyeWriter project. It is an ongoing collaborative research effort to empower people, who are suffering from ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ), with creative technologies. It is a low-cost eye-tracking apparatus & custom software that allows graffiti writers and artists with paralysis resulting from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to draw using only their eyes.


Now that's innovative!

The value of work

Made me think...

ipad brush

Here’s a Kickstarter project that made me look: The team behind Sensu is trying to bring a true painting experience to your iPad.

They developed Sensu out of their desire to have an authentic brush to use with our favorite drawing and painting apps on iPhone and iPad. And smart: When closed the Sensu brush reveals a useful rubber stylus tip.

Cool idea, no?

Socialgift: What a brilliant idea!?!

Birthday = Presents.

 Presents = confusion + money+ more confusion.

If you totally identify with the above equation well, have no fear because social gift is here:

SocialGift - Giving together from Mango Studios on Vimeo.

Social Gift is a fantastic idea and takes the headache out of social-group-gift-giving!

SocialGift.com allows friends and family to chip in on bigger, better and more meaningful gifts. It’s perfect for Birthday gifts, weddings, bar mitzvahs, graduations, and any special event you can think of where you want to bring together a group of people.

Two flavours at once!

Have you ever been in the situation where you're standing dumb struck at an ice cream shop and looking at all the yummy gelati staring at you - unsure which flavour to pick? You look in you're wallet and you've only got enough money for one flavour....choices, choices!! 

Well, fear no more food scientists have taken a technique commonly used in chewing gum to create a flavor-release ice cream—in this case vanilla with a burst of cherry.

The two-flavor, or “flavor release,” ice cream is an experimental product being tested by researchers at the University of Missouri.

Using a process known as “micro-encapsulation,” Elizabeth Fenner, a food science graduate student, and Ingolf Gruen, associate professor and chair of food sciences, developed the ice cream that starts as one flavor and—after immediately breaking down inside the mouth—releases a second flavour.

How awesome is that??

Pregnant men??

In what seems to have been a 'breakthrough' innovation, a recent participant at the Tokyo game show has created for the first time ever, a vest for men that stimulates pregnancy.

So the person who tries this will see the belly grow ( the one in the vest of course) and even feel the "baby" kick. Don't believe me?? Watch their promotional video. 

Made me smile. 

Nokia Phones for free

In a recent study I read, Apple is one of the biggest companies in the world in terms of market capitalisation...that is bigger than inning companies, bigger than oil companies...bigger than even god-damn coco cola thats everywhere. I was amazed and not-so amazed at the same time.

I mean look around you, 99% of the people own iPhones, iPads, iPods or MacBooks...its insane. turn back a few years ago and most people looked upon their products as unfriendly and 'too complicated'. 

Whilst this growth is all well and good for Apple, ever wondered whatever in the world happened to Nokia??

Well, we all know that Nokia is getting really desperate for clients and publicity. So what they done? They are giving Nokia phones for free...

That's right, Nokia installed some kind of vending machine on a building in Glasgow that works like some kind of game. If you complete all the steps of the game, the machine will give you a prize... Now, here is the cool thing, the prize can be an ordinary thing like a candy bar, or just something awesome like a Nokia N8!

Desperate or Innovative?? Would love to hear you're thoughts

Dear Great Teachers,

I am who I am today because I have had wonderful teachers along the way. They have pushed me to my limits and constantly challenged me to be a better version of myself and for that I will always be in debt to them...

I am sure you too have you're fair share of stories about teachers that believed in you and saw something in you, that you couldn't see yourself. Well if you do,  jump on to  ThanksForTeaching.Us NOW.  ThanksForTeaching.Us is a 30 day campaign to share thanks for the unforgettable teachers that shaped our lives

So stop putting it off and take a minute to say thanks by recognizing one (or a bunch) of your favorite teachers and what they inspired you to do. I just added mine.

And if you don't have a story to share, go on the site nevertheless and smile at all the wonderful stories that are up there!! 

Music from a Dry Cleaner

I came across this video this morning and it amazed me. I was amazed...at not only how decent the music sounded from 'instruments' that could be fashioned out of stuff lying around in a dry cleaning joint but at this guy's attitude.. I bet in Diego Stocco‘s mind there is no such thing as 'noise'.

He found inspiration wherever he went and used it ensure his work was unique, entertaining and fun... Now that's something we could all learn to inculcate. 

When you hit you're wall!

I am a morning person, I do not have an alarm and instead keep my blinds open - so I can wake up with the sun. I normally wake up well rested and ready to embrace every challenge the day throws at me.........

That was until last week, for some reason that I could not seem to pin-point, i was grumpy, angry and highly irritable. If ever anyone at work criticised me for something small (I was in the process of re-vamping and redesigning the existing website..so something small would be -"Rohini, that should have been Current projects not Current Projects), I was quick to snap and say something absolutely 'unnecessary' back at them. This only further resulted in me beating myself up...and getting more anxious. So much for achieving my goals of countinously learning...

Two days into this downward spiral, I tried telling myself it was a phase and I would get over it soon...but it did not change...

No amount of yoga and deep breathing helped. I seemed to have reached a wall 

Luckily the weekend was here. I decided to switch of from EVERYTHING. Listen to some good music and watch something that inspired me to be better...and boy did that help. 

So If you ever hit a wall and need some motivation, here are some videos that could help

True Innovation!

People seem to think Innovation is limited to the R&D labs tucked away at the back of huge companies where scientists are locked away in seclusion working on the 'next best thing'

And we couldn't be more wrong. Innovation happens everywhere. It happens with the street busker trying new ways to get you're money

It could be using science and art to make an add that takes people's breath away and also get's their attention 

Or it could be something as simple as using an empty unused plastic bottle to make a light bulb

Remember: You are not here for the pay check, you are here for the Adventure. and hopefully you're up for it!! 

Ear iphone cases

The Ear iPhone CasesWhat a great idea! Hahaha! I want one too :)

The Daily Prophet - A reality?!

Just came across this awesome video on Youtube. Could the fictional world of Harry Potter become a reality? Could each of us be holding a copy of the magical daily newspaper where words and pictures come to life in the reader’s hands, in the not so distant future?

Well its a possibility - apparently,  A Cambridge-based company is months away from launching the world’s first flexible electronic screen. I have also heard that German electronics giant Siemens unveiled a working prototype at the Plastics Electronics trade fair in Frankfurt.


Very Exciting!

Need funding for a great new idea?

Have a bright idea that could make you the next Mark zuckerberg? Not sure where you're going to get the money from? Waiting to build you're capital in a job you don't like? 

Sound familiar? Fear no more - Kickstarter is here.

For those of you who haven't heard of Kickstarter already - Kickstarter is the largest funding platform for creative projects in the world. Every week, tens of thousands of amazing people pledge millions of dollars to projects from the worlds of music, film, art, technology, design, food, publishing and other creative fields

Example of a hilarious yet creative project one kickstarter

This is not about investment or lending. Project creators keep 100% ownership and control over their work. Instead, they offer products and experiences that are unique to each project.

On Kickstarter, a project must reach its funding goal before time runs out or no money changes hands. Why? It protects everyone involved. Creators aren’t expected to develop their project without necessary funds, and it allows anyone to test concepts without risk.

Projects are big and small, serious and whimsical, traditional and experimental. They’re inspiring, entertaining and unbelievably diverse. So what are you waiting for...give you're great big idea the kick start it needs