To My Son

1) Read all you can, get all your degrees before 30.Have a plan of how you want to live. If you cant reach it by end of 20s your chance of reaching it at 30 or 40 are relatively difficult.Your life will be more complicated as you grow old and have family.Your time and money will not be yours anymore.But when you try to study before 30 you will get all support you can. Parents will help you with money, friends will have time to mentor you. You will not feel guilty when you pursue your dreams with total devotion as there are no other commitments to your time or money.

2) Whatever field you choose- Work to be the top player. And go there fast. Before you start building your family. Because only from top you will get a clearer direction. You can steer the world in the direction you like instead of you running behind the set directions.

3) Everything comes with practice, never give up. There is nothing called talent.Talent is just hours and hours of practice.

4) Love yourself. Respect yourself.If you don't love yourself then nobody else will. Your self-respect is your everything.There is never any success in life when self-respect is compromised. Do not let people misuse use you.Don't compromise your self-respect for friendships or love. People who really care for you will not disrespect or make you feel inferior.Walk away from such negative people.

5) Beware of the teenage- everybody makes their worst mistakes during these years that have profound impact all through their lives.As body transitions from childhood to adulthood hormones wreck havoc.Our feelings will be at peak- anger,happiness,love,excitement..all at its peak.Control it.It's plain science.CONTROL YOUR FEELINGS.They are not real.

6) You will get used to any and all adversities, even enjoy it. That's how our brain works. So discipline your self to eat right,read right,invest right, choose the right friends even if you don't like it in the beginning. You will be  rewarded immensely in the long run.

7) Start saving early and invest, Compound interest is the best friend.ALWAYS spend from your passive income.

8) Travel the world, you will learn its abundance. There is so much to learn,explore and enjoy.

9) Choose your life partner very carefully. This one decision will determine 95% of your happiness. Mine as well :-)

10) Never take life seriously, everything will pass so sit tight and enjoy the ride..

Determination builds Dreams to Reality

Maybe the Americans know this story already- but for the rest of us, a post on the determination that built the Brooklyn Bridge. I just could not ignore the strong inspirational shot this story gave me.Here it is-

In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before.
But Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built.

Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge.
The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.
"We told them so.""Crazy men and their crazy dreams.""It`s foolish to chase wild visions."
Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever. He just did not want to give up. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife.
He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again.
For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do.
Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal.
Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are.
Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.