Gerald D'Cunha

“Commitment leads to action; action brings your dreams closer.” – Marcia Wieder “I f wishes were horses, even beggars would ride them.” I used to, often, display this quote in my classroom. The message was loud and clear: “Don’t just ‘wish’ to succeed. ‘Dream.” A funnier version of this quote, which conveyed the same message, was, also, displayed, time to time: “Everybody wants to go to heaven; but, nobody wants to die.” W ishing is the pastime of the lazy lot… It’s daydreaming. Nothing changes unless you get up and do something about ‘the problem in hand’… And, that ‘getting up and doing something’ has a name. The name is ‘Commitment’. Just get up and do. Sign up! A friend of mine called me, the night before last. Her friend, a mother of 16-year-old son, wanted to meet me about her lack of self-confidence and English communication. I told my friend to get the lady call me the following morning. I got the call ...

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.” -      Robert Louis Stevenson A nupam, a dear friend of mine, is a young and energetic trainer in Soft Skills. It’s a delight to watch him involve his audience, mostly young ones. I know, from my own experience of over four decades, how difficult it is to keep them awake and alive. Unwittingly, we all – teachers, trainers, coaches, preachers and so on – devise our own methods of involving our audience, especially the young audience. There is no single method that suits all of us… We discover and settle for the one that suits us best… “Yes… No… May be?” Anupam throws the stone in the pond… And, instantly, you see the ripple effect… Invariably, it is ‘Yes Sir”! Your audience is made up of minds like your own. The attention span is short… Mind is fickle, it drifts. So, you need to keep tickling them, keep prompting them… “Hello… are you with m...

M any years ago, I used to display in my classroom a fresh inspirational quote every Monday morning. One of them was this: “WANT TO EAT AN ELEPHANT?” The quote was in big-bold letters. Below this quote ran a small line in very small letters… So small, that my students would curiously come closer to read it: “Eat one spoon at a time!” This quote had helped me convey to my students the importance of taking our ‘baby steps’ in life. The journey of thousand miles always started with one step at a time… The climb to the Mount Everest always began with one step at a time… Yes, if we learnt to eat one spoon at a time, we could finish eating an elephant, too! Whenever I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of the work before me, I remind myself with this quote: “Hey, want to eat an elephant? Eat one spoon at a time!” I learnt to eat the elephant called ‘English Speaking’ in the same way… by eating one spoon at a time… Slowly, steadily, consisten...

Pic.Sherry Haridas I t is, always, one step at a time, that takes us – all of us – through our respective thousand-mile journeys… The Mount Everest is conquered with one brave step, at a time… And, the mighty elephant is eaten, too, in the same manner – one spoon at a time! A mother of two girls - age 12 and 13 respectively – was talking on the phone, just now. The kids go to a convent school and come about as quite expressive and confident. Today, while talking to the mother, she asked me if I knew a tutor who could help the kids in English grammar. “Ma’am, the kids are very good in English; I don’t think, they need a tutor,” I said to the mother. “But, sir, they have been losing marks in grammar,” the woman told me, “So, some help might help.” I knew a very efficient English teacher, and, I did pass on her number to the concerned mother. H ow did I put my own grammar in place? These two kids, as I have told you, study in a convent sch...

  Pic.:Manoj Nair T here must’ve been a million small victories in my life… But, I didn’t bother to recognize them. Somehow, I spent so much of my time brooding over my handful of defeats, and, often, allowed myself to be paralyzed by their bitter memories… I was waiting and waiting to become self-confident, at one shot, overnight… That day never came! Much later, I realized, that self-confidence comes only when we appreciate our every little victory and take our defeats as experiences to learn from… I, also, learnt, that everyone’s journey began with one little step, at a time… I wasn’t an exception. GERALD D’CUNHA P.S.: In 1990, THE DAWN CLUB had published a small book by the title – ‘The Zest’. It had carried some eighteen short and medium-sized passages written by me. The book instantly became one of our very popular books; and, eventually, it was reprinted ...

“What I do not like, I always postpone. What I like... for it, I always find time." A middle-aged man offered me a lift, this morning, in his car. His wife was sitting next to him, and they were on their way to attend the morning Satsang , somewhere in Dadar. It was supposed to be from 8.30 to 10 every morning. For the last three years, I see this couple leaving their home by 7.30, without missing a single day. The man would proceed to his office at Fort after the Satsang and the wife would return home. “How do you manage it, sir?” I asked this man. “I don’t have to manage,” the man said. “It is ‘He’,” he pointed to the sky. Then, he added, “You too have left home for your work at 7.30, this morning. You do it every day, and for years on. How do you manage to do it?” For a while, I became silent. Yes, he was right. For the past so many years, I have been leaving home this early. “How do I manage to do it?” I asked myself. “What is my motivation?” “All that we need t...

S ome months ago, I had been to some one’s house. The 60-plus man, in my heart, was a gem of a person.That night, he had died of a massive heart attack. When we reached there, it was just the time… He was about to be taken away from the house… and, for ever. I saw the man’s wife, now a fresh widow, collapsed on the lifeless husband… and sobbing with a sorrow, which, by now, had lost all its tears… I could imagine how much she must have sobbed all nightlong… and the day that followed! With the lady, I too sobbed like a baby… The man was a good soul! Then, we heard, all of a sudden, someone crying hysterically… “Papa, I am sorry; please papa, I am sorry… Papa… Papa…” Some ladies were holding the daughter of the deceased soul… and it was the last glimpse she would have of her papa. She too looked all pale and dry… like her mother’s, the sorrow was just bereft of wetness… there was only a lingering pain, regret and, now, a killing guilt. While we were returning home, a lady told us th...

Some days ago, a lady called me. She wanted to do the Personal Growth programme which THE DAWN CLUB conducted. I regretted saying that we conducted that programme only in the summer holidays. However, I could help her with our inspirational books. "Please come over... I will give you something to read," I told her encouragingly. "But, will it help me?" the lady - who I was told, 23, and worked for a famous BPO - asked me. I had already spent about ten minutes with her on the phone. I had asked her as to what exactly had prompted her to think about doing this programme. I, always do that with any one who enquires with me about the programme... Many a times, they think of doing the programme because of of embarrassment they encounter somewhere, or it could be due to the negative feedback from their bosses at the workplace... or it could be a nagging feeling of inferiority that consumes their mind... I, always, go into that. And, I have found that it helps them imm...