Gerald D'Cunha

"At the heart of mastery lives consistency.” Robin Sharma W e get to hear a lot about the compounding effect of our investments. Obviously, the reference is to our financial investments. “Start early with whatever little investment... Stay consistent... Stay long invested... and, over the years, you will be surprised to see how hugely your wealth grows.” To me, that wisdom on financial literacy did not come either early or late in life. Rather, as I did not choose to invest financially, I did not amass any financial wealth in my life. However, unwittingly, I started making my small investments — daily, consistently, over long years — in my random writings. And, the same Law of Compounding applied here, too... my wealth of written work compounded into a great treasure... Today, when I am coming out with ten books from my years of blogging, all that I have to do is — to draw from this ‘rich well’... As a young migrant into this city of dreams, when I was barely 20-plus —...

  He, who does not understand your silence, will, probably, not understand your words.” Elbert Hubard   W hen two of us keep shouting at each other, the winner is, always, the one who shouts the louder. By this logic, we are warned not to engage in a shouting match... unless we aspire to be shouting champions... You see, none of us is a gentle angel here... We all shout at one another... That’s our default defence-mechanism... And this: we show more patience, restraint, tolerance, empathy and gentleness when we communicate with ‘outsiders’; and, we, generally, show impatience and lack of sensitivity when we communicate with ‘our own’... Yes, I am no exception. It’s said, when we are intimately close, we don’t even need to whisper... Our silence speaks. And, when angry, we are emotionally so distanced, that we need to shout, yell, scream... Rumi says: “Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right doing, there is a field I’ll meet you there. When the soul lie...

  “State calls its own violence - Law; but, that of the individual - Crime.” Max Stirner   My friends and relatives may hold different viewpoints from those of mine on social, political, religious, cultural issues. My spouse and son may hold opposing views… My students, my colleagues, my neighbours – it’s the same everywhere… which means, I cannot expect you to think – and view the world – exactly as I do… In a democractic society, each one of us has this privilege of harbouring and expressing his/her respective viewpoints; and, that puts equal responsibility on each one of us to be patient with each other – to accommodate, tolerate and respect each one’s rights… I think, it is one of the hardest lessons each individual has to learn and practice… Just be patient with others, be more tolerant and accommodating. It’s okay if others – however near and dear they are – do not agree with my viewpoints… Let them feel free to express and assert. It doesn’t make me any wea...

  “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...

  “Try to be a rainbow in someone’s cloud.” Maya Angelou   S ome days ago, I was telling a group of underprivileged children how our random acts of kindness had ripple effect… “Kindness, always, spreads… It is contagious,” I explained to them in Hindi. Then, I encouraged them to share one or two acts of kindness either they had done towards others, or others had done towards them. Many stood up to share… Our random acts of kindness, invariably, are not only done by us randomly, but also done by us towards random people. Often, they are done towards people who do not even deserve our kindness. I know, it is difficult to accommodate that view: “Why should we be kind to someone who doesn’t deserve our kindness?” “A part of kindness consists in loving people more than they deserve,” says Joseph Joubert. Mother Teresa famously said, “If you judge people, you have no time to love them.” Well, we aren’t talking, here, about the ‘big acts’ of kindness – the Mother Teresa’s...

  “About the only thing that comes to us without effort is old age.” Gloria Pitzer   M y friend, Hitesh Rupani, runs a music school by the name ‘Gurukul Music School’. This school teaches little kids, young ones and adults to master various musical instruments, particularly guitar. It, also, teaches Western classical music… And, the school has been there for years. For Hitesh, through all these long years of experience in the field of teaching music, one thing constant – when it comes to students - has been this: they want it to happen fast. Means, achieve the mastery faster, even faster! So, when young   aspirants see it not happening faster, they lose patience, and along with it, they lose their interest, too… Music is over... They try the next thing on the menu – sports, dance, acting, gym or any item from the menu. Unfortunately, nothing from the menu comes effortlessly… Everything calls for long patience, dedication and commitment. They realize, tha...

  “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...

  “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...