What cool stuffs can be learned in 5 minutes?

The difference between ignorance and knowledge is maximum 5 minutes. 

1. Develop a habit to know about the current affairs.You can learn quickly about any of the following  things within five minutes

Eg- Do you know about the reason, why Chinese stock market crashed? Or,

Do you know why Housing.com has shown the exit door to its co-founder Rahul Yadav. Or,

You know why Uber offered free ride to those who wanted to go the place where a protest was organised. Or,

Do you know about the Ghost cities in China.

Know about any of these quickly to have more insight about what's happening in and around you.

2. Learn to make paper boats from YouTube, hope you must have forgot to make it.

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If you have liked this, I hope you would like to check other stuffs at my blog Life is Beautiful

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What Gaurav Munjal, founder of Flatchat taught me?

Disclaimer- It's going to be long post....the lessons I learnt will be explained at the end.

What Gaurav Munjal, founder of Flatchat taught me?

I have read various stories related to strangers. Mine is a bit different and really unique...It is about a stranger who touched my life without we meeting in person. 

How? 

May be due to Destiny..Karma or Luck (what ever name you like).

Actually, it happened last year during the summers. It all started when I read an article on YourStory by Gaurav Munjal. In the article, he has mentioned that one must read Harry Potter. He further wrote that if someone is 23+ age then he need to just request for the book in the comment section and Gaurav will buy and gift it to that person.

Snapshot of Gaurav Munjal's Article

I never pay heed to these advices. But that day, without any expectation, I read the article and then went to the comment section to provide my mailing address. (PS- Prior to reading that article, I had no intention to read Harry Potter)

The chapter closed for me. But not for him.

I clearly remember, I was winding up for the day in office that evening when the office boy came with 3 envelopes. Rakshabandhan was just after a  few days and I expected to get Rakhis from my sisters. But, I was curious to find that on one of the envelops the sender's address was not there. Out of curiosity, I opened that envelop first to find that it contained a book of Harry potter.

This book was gifted to me by Gaurav Munjal

But, I forgot  about the Gaurav Munjal's promise. I was so happy to get the book as I am a book lover but I was just getting anxious to know who has sent this to me.

Well is it my little sister...no..she can't ...then might be that cousin who stays in Bangalore. But, she has told that she has already sent Rakhi to my native.

Just couldn't hold the temptation to know who couriered this to me. Suddenly went to find the office boy but he had left for his home.

I was getting more and more curious and I suddenly opened the book to find out the personal message from Gaurav Munjal. I felt so good for his sweet gesture that can't describe it in words. This was a surprise gift for me.

Personal message from Gaurav Munjal

Through this episode, he taught me very important lessons without meeting in person. I am sharing the lessons learnt for all of you:

• Do good things for others for no reason- It can cost you few bucks but you never know, you may inspire a soul or lift the spirit of someone who is feeling a bit low.
• The world is small- It is important to give the credit due to someone in style. I was moved by Mr. Gaurav but my personal thank you note to him never satisfied me and I knew that someday I will surprise him in style. The world is small, last month I joined quora and this month our paths crossed again and I followed him. I am excited to write about the experience which is almost an year old.
• Inspire- In your lives, if you start doing things which inspire others..then you can consider yourself successful. Money, Power, Fame, Respect.. thy all shall pass but the good you do will remain there forever.
• Better Late than Never- I have been feeling that I should have appreciated his good deeds quite earlier. But, better late than never.
• Appreciate small things- Many small joys go unnoticed or we forget to appreciate them. So, make a resolution not to miss an opportunity to appreciate the good deeds of others.
• Startup Enthusiast-  The startups are dynamic places to learn. Its not required that you join one to learn from them. You can follow their founders and employees on social network and you can read articles of Yourstory to stay updated about Startups. You can learn plenty of things from the success as well as failures of startups. They inspire me and I believe that they will inspire you as well.

Facebook Message exchange with Gaurav Munjal after getting the gift

BY- Rohan Sinha

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Life is Beautiful: My advice to a Software Engineer looking for his first Job

Photo Credit- http://data.crazyengineers.com/

It’s absolutely OK not to get a job in college as many colleges don’t have good placement facility. This doesn’t mean that those software engineers cannot excel in life. I want to share with you all that Campus Placement is a buzz word only in India and that too from last 10-15 years. In fact, Colleges like Harvard and Cambridge also do not arrange or assure campus placement. Students have to find job on their own. Colleges are there to provide a platform to the students to be strong enough that they can find jobs on their own.

Although, I should not be allowed to write about it as when, I was about to chose a college then Placement opportunity was a major criterion. Now, I can only say that, it was a bit immature. Why I am saying all this is because of what I have seen over years.

Many of my classmates who were not placed during campus selection have got jobs in higher paying companies through competitive exams. Some of them started their career from relatively unknown companies and have switched to jobs with better package and are earning more than most of those who got placed in campus.

There are more than a dozen people I know from my family or friend circle who have carved an opportunity on their own after not getting placed in campus. Believe me, the struggle they did with patience paid off and they are doing exceedingly well in life. Their career is much better than most of those who were placed in campus.

Please follow the following steps to find your first job. If you have anything else to add then please reply in the comment section.

1.    Update your Resume, Cover Letter and profile on Job Portals like Naukri, Monster, etc.

2.    Polish your profile on LinkedIn. Connect with people who are working in companies you want to work for. Also, add your professors, your friends and your family members working in Software companies. This will let you leverage the connections of all the people you know.

3.    Network with people in software companies on Quora and learn from valuable discussions. Read Question & Answers on Quora to learn about any topic.

4.    Learn Java/ Dot Net/ PHP/ Python/ DBMS. Enroll in a course from a reputed Institute.

5.    Build a project and add technologies used on your Profiles on Job Portals and LinkedIn. Also, give prominence to the project in your resume.

6.    Move to an IT Hub like Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, etc and register on local consultancies so that they can notify you whenever any there is an opening. Few consultancies in Bangalore are Adecco India, Career Net, IKYA Human Capital, Randsand India, Team Lease, Zyoin, etc.

7.    Give online Tests on indiabix, gpl4you, freshersworld, etc regarding the aptitude and reasoning.

8.    Prepare for Interview and Group Discussion by giving Mock Interview\GD. Also, read about the interview experience of other people as we can learn from others and prepare ourselves in a better way.

9.    Interact with People on LinkedIn and Quora to get your doubts clarified.

10.  Target startups/ emerging companies rather than running behind big names.

11. However, must attend Career Fair and Off- Campus drives conducted by several companies.

12. Keep applying for jobs on LinkedIn and Job Portals. Also, pay heed to the job openings as informed by the local consultancies.

13. You can consider an option of working as an intern for a startup on one of their live project. It will help you in your career.

14. Take Tests like E-Litmus/ AMCAT. These tests provide score and companies call candidates for job interview based on these scores.

Some things you must keep in mind:

1.    Improve your Immunity and take care of your physical, mental and emotional well being. Stay positive and trust me this struggle will make you very strong and hence will prepare you to handle difficult situation. It is actually a blessing in disguise.

2.    You have a strong family support. So, you need not bother about anything except getting passionate about software engineering.

3.    You will feel proud on yourself for getting a job on your own. Struggle of 1-2 years is nothing in our career spanning over close to 40 years. Feel relaxed and focus on becoming better and better with time.

4.    Focus on the learning opportunity not on the salary. It is better to get 10K per month for a role of JAVA Developer than getting 15K at a tech support or BPO job. Try to get into software development because, if you developed an interest in that then you are going to dictate terms in future.

5.    Never regret for past but work in the present to create a wonderful future. Don't forget that your life is beautiful.

6.    Acquire Flow. Flow is a state when you are so involved in an activity that you don’t get much distracted and you enjoy the process very much.  

7.    Enjoy the journey and count your blessings. There may be 10 reasons to be upset but there are 1000 reasons to be happy.

8.    Stay hungry Stay Foolish. Develop a passion for software development and jobs will run behind you.

9.    Like Rancho has told in 3 Idiots, “ Kamayab nahi kabil bano, Kamyabi Jhak maar ke aayegi” ( Be Talented and success will follow you)

Happy Job Hunting!!

BY- Rohan Sinha

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Learn from Hobby : 6 things I learnt while on my Writing Spree

Photo Credit- Robin Sharma

Rome was not built in a day.

If I can't fly then I will run, If I can’t run then I will walk, if I can’t walk then I will crawl, but I will always move forward.

The pace of my writing has been slow compared to what I have thought of while challenging myself. When I challenged myself some 15-17 days ago, I thought that I can sail through writing 111 posts in 30 days. But, guys, it is really an uphill task. Even my sister politely told me that even 50 posts in 30 days is a big thing. I am still miles away from the finish line. But, I want to share with you that the challenge has really helped me to be on the writing spree and I am sharing my experience and learning while pursuing my hobby of writing.

1.    Passion- While you chase a target, don’t forget that it is the journey which is as beautiful as the destination. We must enjoy the process and if it is not enjoyable then we are not on the right track. Blogging is a passion as it helps me express myself. I am able to pursue things which fascinate me and then I write about them. I am enjoying the process.

2. Keep Learning- Whatever we are doing in Life; whether as a professional or an amateur, it is essential to keep learning new things about the trade. It helps us to get better with time if we make a conscious effort to keep continuing learning. Also Learn the Lessons fromthe Monk who sold his Ferrari

3.   Avoid Distractions- Life is a Journey and distractions are those fearful things which put a brake on our pace.  Distractions are difficult to avoid all together, but we can easily manage our response to them. While pursuing my challenge, I get distracted by thoughts like how to get more audience to my blog, whether I am able to connect with anyone or not, whether my efforts are worth it, is my writing very ordinary, and so on. But, when I remind myself of my purpose, I overcome those distractions.

4.    Time Management- I feel that I am putting more time than necessary. I have to be more disciplined with respect to time. Sometimes, due to over enthusiasm, we don’t realize that we have to optimize the time available with us, effort we are putting and the quality of the work at hand. Just by being more conscious about time, we can do get more satisfaction. These days, I am really not concerned about eating, sleeping or talking to anyone because I am hungry to write more and more. 

I am in flow and the process is really amazing. I need to go now to clean the mess that I have created over these weeks which are a byproduct of my writing spree. My beards have grown up a lot and I have not shaved for 2 weeks. I have piles of cloths that are waiting for getting washed for long as literally my entire wardrobe in now in the cloth bin. Whatever, it may be but this is a amazing feeling and I am experiencing in after long time. I don’t want this flow to die and hence I am planning to be much disciplined to enjoy this Flow forever.

5.    Don’t get overwhelmed- I want to share that while chasing a target like I have set, it sometimes feels overwhelming and chances are that we can quit the challenge in the middle. But, by being a bit careful, we can use such tall challenges to do great wonders. I want to explain it by citing an example; my writing challenge is like chasing the score of 450 runs against Australia in a 50 over Match. I have two options.

Either, I can play aggressively from the first over or I try to make a strong foundation, save my wickets early in my inning and score at a decent rate to scale up after getting closer to the target in the last 15 over to seal the game. In the first case either I will definitely win or I may lost by huge margin like get all out on 180 in 30 over, and fail to play 50 over of my quota. But, in the second case, chances are that I may win or go very close to the target.

I feel that while chasing an uphill challenge like what I set for myself for writing 111 blog posts in 30 days, the second approach is better. Because, it’s all about staying focus and write as many beautiful posts in 30 days. I don’t want to burnout and quit the challenge altogether. I want to go close to the target, as close as possible while enjoying my writing spree. After all, it is first of all about my passion. 

It is not a compulsion but a joy and I want to continue it like that forever. I feel successful in the challenge irrespective of the outcome because it helped me overcome my inhibition to write and I am enjoying what I am doing. You can let me know what you feel about my approach @ Discussion Forum.

6.   Deal with apathy/ negative feedbacks or immediate attention- I am able to write regularly for more than last 2 weeks just because I learned to deal with these three things- Apathy, Negative Feedback & Immediate attention.  Let me candidly explain all these things. Apathy is lack of enthusiasm of my readers, who were coming initially. I have got a couple of negative feedback regarding my style of writing from close friends. It was found to be plain as someone felt I should add some spice in my writing. 

But, again, I am unable to learn how to do it without compromising with my intent to write passionately with my heart rather that sensitizing anything to impress my audiences. I am here to express not to impress. While, I was dealing with a feeling that probably I was unable to connect with my audiences, my two answers on Quora, which were well received helped me to regain my confidence. Many people started visiting this blog all of a sudden and I was feeling very uncomfortable to receive so much attention. It is a very good learning experience for me. Also see my answers on quora which were a morale boosters- What’s wrong with Flipkart ( 145+ up votes and approx. 5000 views) & How does it feels to not quality in IIT JEE ( 55+ up votes and approx 3800 views)

I want my readers to just get the motivation to start doing something they truly want without getting affected by anything. If they are not good enough in something they want to do then by starting doing those things more often they will evolve their skills and eventually become very good in what they want to do. I am feeling proud that I am able to fulfill my passion while reminding others that Life is Beautiful.

By- Rohan Sinha

(This is the 31st blog post in his challenge to create 111 blog posts in 30 days, now 12 days are left for this challenge to get over)

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Encouragement from The Monk's Office

Image from Wikipedia

I have published my blog post regarding the learning from the book, The Monk who sold his Ferrari.

Although, I knew that I was not violating any copyright of the author. Still, as I used excerpts and examples from his book. Hence, to be sure that I am not offending them, I have written to Mr. Robin Sharma to get my blogpost reviewed from his office. I am delighted to receive the prompt and encouraging response from his office.

You can find below the email exchanged between me and the office of Mr. Robin Sharma. I have withheld the email ids and other contact details for privacy.

Dear Mr. Robin Sharma,

You are a living legend and an inspiration for many including me. I follow your writings extensively. I have read most of your books. I follow you on Social media pages and I'm also a subscribed member of your email list.

Like you have always inspired us to follow our dream, I have started writing seriously. I love writing but couldn't write much due to my hectic day work as an Engineer.

Now, I have started blogging with a lot of dedication and have created a page on my blog regarding the lessons I learnt from your book, The Monk who sold his Ferrari.

I request you to review the blog page http://rohansinha03.blogspot.in/2015/06/learning-from-monk-who-sold-his-ferrari.html. I have used examples and excerpts from the book. Kindly intimate if you have any objection to it. I will immediately delete or modify the post as per suggestion from you.

Love to get a response from the extraordinary man

Your Admirer,

Rohan Sinha

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Hello Rohan,

Thank you for your email and kind words. Robin appreciates the time you have taken to contact him and our organization. He wishes you great success and we look forward to your continued support.

Please feel free to visit http://www.robinsharma.com where you can take advantage of the following resources we offer free at your disposal: 

• subscribe to receive Robin’s monthly newsletter and receive Robin Sharma’s Little Black Book for Stunning Success for free http://www.robinsharma.com/littleblackbook.htm

• listen to Robin’s podcasts http://www.robinsharma.com/resources

• read Robin’s weekly and past blogs and articles http://www.robinsharma.com/blog/ 

• view upcoming speaking events and international tours http://www.robinsharma.com/events

You may also follow Robin on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/_robin_sharma Or keep up with his updates on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/theofficialrobinsharmapage

Best wishes,

Kelsey

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Learning from the Monk who sold his Ferrari

Photo via  www.besttop5.com

The Monk who sold his Ferrari is a wonderful book written by a great author, Mr. Robin Sharma. I have read this book several times and every time I feel delighted and inspired by doing so. So, I have tried to summarize the content of the book for motivating others to read this book.

It is a fable about a trial lawyer who was obsessed with his work and more precisely with his life.  He had all the worldly possessions one could dream of, yet he was unsatisfied because something was missing from his life .He sold all his possessions like his holiday home, Ferrari car, etc and decided to go to India on his personal odyssey due to a self-imposed exile.  He   was determined to find out  who he really was and what his life was all about before it was too late.

He decided to connect with India’s vast pool of ancient wisdom on living a more rewarding, fulfilling and enlightened life. He totally transformed his personality from a over worked tired man to an enthusiastic, radiant and enlightened human being by following the advice of the sages living in Himalayas in India.

In India he met several sages and from them he got 7 timeless virtues of enlightened living. (Under bold heading)

1.    Master your mind

Ø  Good gardener guards their garden like proud soldiers yet we put a lot of waste (like worries, fretting about past, self created fear) in our mind (garden).

Ø  We might not be able to control the weather, traffic or the mood of all those around us but we most certainly can control our attitude towards these events.

Ø  Stop being the prisoner of the past rather become the architect of your future.

Ø  Wake up early if possible.

Ø  Secret of happiness: It is to find out what we love and then directing all our energy towards doing it.

Ø  Saying that you don’t have time to improve your thoughts is like saying you don’t have time to stop for fuel because you are too busy driving.

2.   Follow your purpose

i)    Make clearly defined priorities and goals for every aspect of life.

ii)   Five steps in Goal setting

Ø  Form a clear mental picture of the outcome of your goal.

Ø  Then create positive pressure by informing your friends & family about your goals. This works because we don’t want to look like failures.

Ø  To breathe life in a goal a timeline must be attached to it.

Ø  The goal that is not committed to paper is no goal at all.

Ø  Passion-This is the word we must keep in our mind as we follow our mission.

3.    Practice kaizen

i)     Kaizen means constant and never ending improvement.

ii)    The only limits on our life are those we set ourselves.

iii)   Ten rituals of radiant living

Ø  Solitude- It involves nothing more than ensuring that our daily schedule includes a mandatory period of peace.

Ø  Physicality-Do some form of physical activity, take deep breathe at least 2 min daily as to breathe properly is to live properly

Ø  Live nourishment- Eat live, fresh food on daily basis, have salad, fruits, and vegetables in your diet.

Ø  Abundant knowledge- Expand your knowledge base as its good for our self as well as all around us.

Ø  Personal reflection- Retire in a silent corner of your home and think about all you have done  like meeting colleagues, client, got struck in a traffic jam, etc  and the thought which came at that time, think whether they were positive or not and  accordingly do what’s necessary. How can I ever improve myself and my life if I haven’t even taken the time to figure out what I need to improve?

Ø  Early Awakening- Sleeping is nothing more than a habit. We can change it according to our need. Ten minutes before sleeping and 10 minutes after waking up influence sub conscious mind so in those period think positive things.

Ø  Music- Listen soft music to relax.

Ø  Spoken words.- Words have power so recite what you want to feel, for example, when you need to feel motivated you might chant aloud that I am inspired energized and disciplined.

Ø  Congruent character- Our character must be congruent or aliened with principles of  compassion, humility, patience, honesty, courage

Ø  Simplicity-Focus on your priorities, unless your needs are reduced you will never feel fulfilled. Most people fail due to fear of failure, Never underestimate the power of simplicity.

4.    Power of self control & discipline

Ø  By practicing self government there will be no hurdle too high, no challenge too tough, and no crisis too hot for you to cool down.

Ø  Willpower inspires us to do what is right in any moment.

Ø  Words have power, by filling our mind with words of hope we became hopeful and so on

Ø  Start off small.

5.    Stopwatch (value your time)

Ø  Time mastery allows us more time to do things that are truly meaningful for us.

Ø  To be even more effective, took one hour on a quiet Sunday morning to organize your entire week.

Ø  Have the discipline to focus around your priorities.

Ø  Learn from the errors others have made.

Ø  Don’t let others steal your time. Be ruthless with your time. Learn to say no to small (less important) things so that you can say yes to big (important) ones.

6.    Selflessly serve others

Ø  Cultivate richer relationship.

Ø  Compassion and daily act of kindness makes life far richer.

Ø  Sincere words of praise to those who expect the least. Gesture of warmth offered to friends in need.

Ø  The small token of affection to your family members for no reason at all.

7.    Embrace the present

Ø  Living in the moment

Ø  Enjoy the special moments that everyday offers.

Ø  Enjoy the path of personal enlightenment; the journey is just as good as the end.

Disclaimer: - I have intimated the office of Mr. Robin Sharma regarding this post where I have summarized my learning from his book. They were very kind and have responded promptly with a positive response which can be read here

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