Dear Left Brainer....

Dear Left brainer,


It’s never helpful, when asked for your input to list three or 10 or 20 things that need to be fixed without mentioning a single thing that is great. Really. 


I say this with humility, and mind you this isn’t a strength of mine – and I’m working on it (forever, I expect).   I empathize with the sentiment: you just want it (whatever “it” is) to be great, so let’s talk about why it’s not great yet and fix it.

The thing is, to make something great more often than not you need to amplify the things that are already really, really good.

Error correction alone does not get you to greatness.


Love,
Rohini

Change

“Change is not a bolt of lightning that arrives with a zap. It is a bridge built brick by brick, every day, with sweat and humility and slips. It is hard work, and slow work, but it can be thrilling to watch it take shape.”
- Sarah Hepola

Some monday morning inspiration, for all you folks out there desperate to make a lasting change in the world. The path is long, slow and arduous at times - but keep at it and remember you are here not for a paycheck, but for a life time of crazy adventures :)

Nervousness

I attended an Indian theatre workshop yesterday. It was a fun exercise and I met some rather interesting people. One meeting in particular stands out - the one with Angilique.

Angilique is a beautiful, demure french girl who was a ball of nerves when asked to perform a scene we were working on. I vividly remember sitting next to her, watching her fingers fidget over the script as she tried to memorise the lines.  She turned to me and said "Gosh, I am so nervous". My default response was to try and explain why there was no reason to be nervous. Everything was going to be fine. I tried to diffuse her anxiety with a few silly jokes. 

But now, when I think back to the situation, I cannot help but feel I  did her a great disservice.

Because anything worth doing, any creative endeavour, any new experience will come with a healthy dose of uncertainty. Trying to paint a picture that turns unknown into known is not only unrealistic, but also frames uncertainty as a bad thing. And action in the face of uncertainty as something to be avoided.

As Kierkgaard said "Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom" - it is a signpost of possibility.

If I could relive that moment again, I wish I had said -  I understand you're a nervous, so am I, but that's okay. It's really just your mind and your body saying that what you're about to do is something that really matters, that can be really cool and it's something that's a new experience for you. That's an amazing thing, because that's where the great stuff in life happens. In this place where we feel a little nervous, where we're doing something we've never done before.

I  guess its a lesson we all need to learn - that eliminating uncertainity is not a  pre-condition to action. Rather, nervous energy is a sign that you're about to do something that matters. 

What do you think??

Failure

You once described the inventor’s life as “one of failure.” How so?

I made 5,127 prototypes of my vacuum before I got it right. There were 5,126 failures. But I learned from each one. That’s how I came up with a solution. So I don’t mind failure. I’ve always thought that schoolchildren should be marked by the number of failures they’ve had. The child who tries strange things and experiences lots of failures to get there is probably more creative.

Not all failures lead to solutions, though. How do you fail constructively?

We’re taught to do things the right way. But if you want to discover something that other people haven’t, you need to do things the wrong way. Initiate a failure by doing something that’s very silly, unthinkable, naughty, dangerous. Watching why that fails can take you on a completely different path. It’s exciting, actually. To me, solving problems is a bit like a drug. You’re on it, and you can’t get off. I spent seven years on our washing machine [which has two drums, instead of one].

Sir James Dyson on invention and failure. 

Just like the Stars...

Just incase you aren't feeling up to facing the many challenges life throws at you....

Just incase you feel down..and your not sure if you can stand up again...

Just incase you are happy and feel like celebrating the magnificence that the universe is...

Just incase you just feel like celebrating...

Just in case you need a reason to smile...

Take 3 and a half minutes to watch this video and realise the world's most astounding fact ...



Happy Friday Everyone!

To Do lists...

I have always thought of myself as a bit of a juggler that likes to do a million different things at the same time. For instance, I am currently juggling 2 part-time jobs and also working to set up my own little venture, whilst also practicing yoga and zumba daily. It doesn't sound like much...but let me tell you this much - it has been a challenge.


Every once in a while, I tend to have a massive winge about how much there is to do...and about how I never have any "me" time anymore. 


That was until I discovered Thomas Edison's list of things to do. 

Among Edison’s “things doing and to be done,” while he wasn’t busy inventing and scandalizing cinema, were:

• Cotton picker 
• New standard phonograph
• Hand turning phonograph
• Deaf apparatus
• Electrical piano
• New expansion pyromagnetic dynamo
• Artificial silk
• Phonographic clock
• Marine telegraphy
• Chalk battery
• Ink for blind

What is on your to do list?? 

Judged or Ignored?

So I went to an interview last afternoon, and as exciting as it was, it was also really scary. Here were a group of people judging me (and my entire life/set of experiences )based on a 15 minute presentation. I walked away feeling like I hadn't done justice to conveying my potential...and consequently was a little bit sad.

But that was exactly when I read this amazing post by Seth Godin:

(being judged and Ignored) Those are pretty much the only two choices.

Being judged is uncomfortable. Snap judgments, prejudices, misinformation... all of these, combined with not enough time (how could there be) to truly know you, means that you will inevitably be misjudged, underestimated (or overestimated) and unfairly rejected.

The alternative, of course, is much safer. To be ignored.

Up to you.

I choose judged over ignored any day...and I really hope you do too!