Gerald D'Cunha

“Sometimes, the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up.” Brené Brown   O ur summer programme (spread over two months) is on... When I was growing up, the summers were a complete break from studies... I remember spending the entire summer vacation at my maternal grandparents’ place... Oh, that glorious village life -- ponds, running streams, fields, orchards of mangoes, cashews, jackfruits... no books, no studies, no exams... yes, no getting up, dressing up and showing up, no matter how you felt each morning. We returned from our grandparents’ place only late in the evening before our school reopened... Now, the summer vacations are no more meant to ‘break free’ from the routine studies and exams... For each kid, be it in the villages or be it in the cities, summer vacations are meant to do extra studies – with preparation for some entrance exams, or tuitions, or a dozen other classes – dance, sports, singing, computer or soft skills etc. I am guil...

  “It’s so simple really: If you say you’re going to do something, do it. It you start something, finish it.” Epictetus   R ome was not built in one day. Well, nothing is… Yes, in life, every thing takes time… Everything wants us to wait… But, then, just wait without doing any efforts? That’s what I want to write in this Post… Don’t just wait waiting for the heavens to manifest everything for you. No Sir… Heavens support you only if you start something – however small it is – but, keep doing it, with more and more and more dedication and passion… “Success is all about consistency around the fundamentals,” stresses Robin Sharma W hen I came across the phrase ‘bulldog determination” in Napoleon Hill’s books, I remember falling in love with it, instantly… That bulldog grip is too powerful… That little dog doesn’t give up, once he gets his grip on it… And, we? Yes, we give up easily… when there is the slightest challenge before us… You and I – we all have t...

  “Surely, of all the wonders of the world, the horizon is the greatest.” Freya Stark M y dear friend, Jayaprakash, and his wife, Shital, are both Chartered Accountants. Their son, Vedant pursues Chartered Accountancy and daughter, Shrushti, pursues Law. All of them are voracious readers, music lovers, while Shital and Shrushti are Bharat Natyam dancers. But, what I admire the most about these four is their insane love for travel… Every summer, this family explores one more part of the globe - often, a remote one, and often, a buzzing one. (On foreign lands, they rent a car and drive for days). On realizing how richly this family has been valuing travel around the world, I only end up consoling myself with Harun Yahya’s words: “I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on earth; then, I ask myself the same question.” Well, that’s my way of justifying my limitations, and, yes, concealing my envy of those who travel the way my...

  “From the pine tree, learn of the pine tree; from the bamboo, learn of the bamboo.” A Zen proverb     I see the entire Cricket-loving world around me going hysterical over Team India’s performance in the ongoing World Cup – and, particularly on watching the terrific display of bat by Virat Kohli   and mesmerizing spell of bowling by Mohammed Shami   in the Semi Finals… “Why not?” Yes, why not the world around me and I celebrate what is worth celebrating? Why not heap praise on those who deserve it? So, I, too, am still not done with this hysteria… The Kohli’s bat and Shami’s bowl still keep me awake… Yes, Sir, they do. But, in the midst of all this hysteria, my thoughts go to one quiet and composed man, who is the head coach of these Gladiators of a team – Rahul Dravid… The deep seas are always quiet, you see. Rahul Dravid – ‘The Wall’ – has been always so… And, I have always loved and admired him for that… A s a teacher of young college-ki...

  “Don’t fill life with struggles - fill it with joy. A flower always struggles to survive; but, it never forgets to bloom with joy.” Debashis Mirdha   O ne late evening, while commuting in an autorickshaw, I struck a conversation with the auto-driver… He looked quite old, but very courteous and enthusiastic. On my prodding, he started narrating his story: He had come from his village in UP when he was barely a boy… The odd jobs he had done… How hard it was to find a place to live… The responsibility to fend people back in his village – his parents, grandparents and younger siblings… How, eventually, he started running others’ autorickshaws, till the time he could manage to buy one of his own (through a bank loan) … How, after his marriage, his wife and two children lived in their village, while he continued to work here… His son, after completing his graduation, was working in Noida and daughter was married and settled in a nearby town in UP… Now, the man owned a sm...

  “There are two great days in a person’s life: the day we are born, and the day we discover why.” Willian Barclay   O ne of the nicest feelings in life – I suppose, in everyone’s life – is when we receive wishes on our birthdays… Most of us wait for them… I do. Yes, I do. And, I need not describe as to how it feels when our near and dear ones forget to wish us on our birthdays! All of us have been on both sides of this seesaw, and know how do those moments feel like! The topic for today’s blog has come from one such familiar moment “G ood morning Guru.” It was Shripad from Coimbatore, “Aaj kya hai?” “Arre baap re! Sorry Raja… So sorry… ‘Happy Birthday' to you,” I wished Shripad. This has been a tradition for more than 15 years, ever since Shripad and his family went back from Mumbai to settle down in Chennai. Presently, they have moved to Coimbatore. Shripad, the only child of his parents, was born with certain physical and mental disabilities. He was b...

  “Your present circumstances don’t determine where you can go; they merely determine where you start.” Nido Qubein   T wo young boys have just joined me for class 12. Both have two things in common: 1. They have been referred to me by two of my well-wishers and friends. 2. Both boys come from under-privileged families. After more than 45 years of teaching the same thing, over and over and over again – many ask me this question: “Don’t you feel tired and bored?” I do, sometimes… Sometimes, tired… sometimes, bored… and, sometimes, even, impatient, frustrated and angry. So, why do I still continue teaching? That’s because, I only wanted to be a teacher, and I still want to be a teacher… I do not see myself as anything else. Even in my writings, I still see myself as a teacher… Therefore, despite my occasional fatigue, boredom, temper and frustration, I consider, that teaching is the medium through which, I am destined to make the maximum difference… I deal ...

  “In my stories, you will meet with underdogs and fighters. You will experience hunger and desire.” Avijeet Das I just concluded, two days ago, a well-designed programme for the degree students of a Mumbai suburban-college. These young kids hailed from ordinary families. Most of them lacked self-confidence and communication skills. There is a great sense of satisfaction and joy when you reach out to this section of the students… They realize the value of this programme and, invariably, approach it with earnestness. Our training team at MINDFLEX consisted of five trainers. I handled the one which is close to my heart – ‘Self-confidence and Communication Skills’. During this programme, I tell many inspiring stories. I keep two of them towards the end… ‘Poorna’ and ‘The Cheetah’. Both these stories leave a tremendous impact on the young minds. I have shared these stories several times in my Blogs before. Nevertheless, I wish to share ‘The Cheeta’ today, once again…  ...