Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev broke my conditioning

My mother couldn’t help laughing

Not one…but Many!

When does someone become your favourite? For me it is when I connect with something they said or did or when they change the way I look at my life. In that sense for me it is not just one personality. There are many including the famous and not so famous. So when I am asked to write about my favourite famous personality,obviouslyitisnotjust one. Also, since there is a limit of word count, I cannot write about all of them. So here I attempt to put forward a list of famous personalities who made significant influence on my life and changed the course of my life by reading, listening and reflectinguponwhattheysaid.

TM Thirumalai Ponnambalam

David Shwartz,The Author of Magic of Thinking Big. Through him I learned to look at myself differently as what I see in myself is what othersseeinme.

Dale Carnegie helped me to influence people and make friends. AlthoughIdidlosemanyfriendswhile'tryingtoinfluence'them,Ialso learned that small act of kindness even if it helps only one person has a ripple effect. And that even the most wanted criminal believes that heisright.

Robin Sharma inspired me to Join the 5AM club, lead without title andenjoyeverymomentoflife.

RohndaBrynrethroughherbooktaughtmetoASKwiththefeelingof gratitudeforwhatIalreadyhave.

Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev broke my conditioning and guided me to believeonlyinthosethingsthatistruetomyself.

Echart Tolle helps me to be in the Now, and to be aware that my perceptionsoflifeexperienceisnotbarredbymypastpainorEGO.

The list is endless. And looking forward to many more personalities who are yet to touch my life and get added to my favourite famous personalitieslist.

When it comes to my favourite personalities, many names start flashing in my mind great humans as Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa to list a few … these personalities are known for theirservicetohumankindthroughouttheglobe.

So, when I had to jot down few words about any such person, I remembered those who helped positively to shape my childhood and have a great influence in my life. To begin with, one of them was my grandmother - She lost her husband before delivering her first-born. So at an early age had the burden of being a single mother and the sole earner for their livelihood. My Mother - A humble lady with big aspirations and dreams and would go through lengthstoachievethem,whichhelpedmetobethe person who I am today , My father-in-law – A person who would not let anything in the world drag him down. A person Full of life and ambitions. My first boss – Who spotted that raw talent in me, nurtured andhelpedmegrowinmycareer.

However,Ifinallyhadtosettleforwritingaboutthis one personality who left her homeland at a young age for service of humankind to become a better human being and serve her Lord. Sr. Irene Crasta (A nun belonging to the Carmelite Sisters of Ajmer) mymaternalgrandaunt.

Born in 1916 in a village near Mangalore and she was the only sister to 7 seven brothers! This was indeed a difficult decision for the family to make as she was most loved being the only daughter and the youngest.However,destinyhadmadeitschoiceand she spent most of her life in North of India dedicating her life to the service of human kind. Latershecompletedhermedicalstudiesanddidher Masters in Gynecology. Though she was away in the Northern part of India, she was in constant touch with her closed ones through the only form of communication, which then was ‘letter writing’ . My mother developed the great bond with her aunt since her childhood, which made her visit our house whenevershecamedowntoourhometown. TM Ovin Crasta

I had opportunity to visit her once in Ajmer, which had become her home where she lived for more than 40 years. I was left astound, when I saw the gratitude and love people had towards my grand aunt. People from different caste, creed and religions, met and greeted her with respect wherever she travelled with us. I was amazed how one person hailing from different part of the country, became their own through her service. Therefore, it didn’t surprise me at all, when she refused to come back to hometown (Mangalore) in her final days as she always considered people of Ajmer as her own. She passed away in 2013 at the ageof97andwasveryactiveuntilherlastmoments onEarth.

I have learnt great lessons just watching her, she had enormous compassion towards people, never discriminated among them and considered her service to humankind as service to God for whom she offered her entire life. She showed me that, “Throughyourservice,youwillberespected” .Sheis indeed a role model who has made a positive imprint on my life. I certainly hope and try I can imbibe and reflect her virtues through my actions anddeeds.

TM Norman Dass

“How To Live Life….. Look at Mr. OJHA”

Youmightbescratchingyourheadwonderinghow come you never heard this personality’s name earlier. It is because he is just one common family man. He works for Bharat Petroleum in Mumbai. I came across this personality in the year 2003 in a sports club named YMCA in Mumbai. He was getting defeated by his colleagues in table tennis in his company very easily. And his ambition was to becomeachampioninhiscompany’stournament. Mr. Ojha was 40 years old and I was 18. He took membership in our club. I remember defeating him intabletenniswaslikeacakewalkforme. As time passed, we became very good friends. He kept practising with me daily. As years passed, he improvedhisplayingskills,movementsandstamina and started defeating me. Finally, that day came what he had dreamt of, he became the table tennis championinhiscompany. It wasn’t only about his sportsman spirit, but he was jackofall:

2. ADadeverykidwillwishfor:

Irememberassoonashisdaughtersstartedholding pencil, he gave them paint brush and drawing brushes to explore their talent in painting. Whether it was sports / dancing / studies, he made sure his daughtersenjoyeverythingbutwithdiscipline.

3. Anobedientson:

He had lost his mom at an early age and then later after getting married, he kept his father with him and started taking care of him. He used to take so much care of his father’s diet too. Like juices / dry fruits at right time, so that he gets nutrients for his bodyinhis80’s.

4. Jollyyoungman:

Whether it is his company’s party or his friend’s wedding, his break dance is there to entertain the audience. Does push-ups in his 50’s and maintains healthylifestyle.

5. Humility:

Greeting the security people every day. Giving them tiponfestivals.Respectingeveryoneisinhisnature.

Thatisallaboutthepersonalityofafamilyman.

Ifyouaskme,howlifemustbelived?

Myanswerwillbe,lookatMR.OJHA!!

1. Arespectedhusband:

He is someone who takes care of his wife and leaves nostoneunturnedexpressinghisloveforher.

Reflection

TM Abdul Rahim

“Sincerity is not to say everything you think,buttomeaneverythingyousay” I.livra

One of the most sincere human beings I have ever met in my life is Dr. Babu Ramachandran, one of the very people I admiremostinmylife.

It’s a blessing that the person I admire also happens to be the founder President and a great member of our club, WMC ToastmastersClub.

There are many characteristics of Dr. Babu I admire and adore. I would like to enumeratefewinthiswrite-up:

…..thy name is Dr Babu Ramachandran. Every word the man utters and every word the man writes, he means it. This is a rare quality that I have seen in very few people. Sincerity in speech and action actually opens up people’s heart towards you. Dr Babu always means what he says and says whathemeans.

Sincerity

Not Just a Doctor…….!

Motivation

…..I have seen very few leaders who’re as motivating as Dr. Babu. Even when the chips are down, he never fails to pat on your back and encourage you.It is very easy to be negative and demotivate but not so easy to motivateespeciallywhenyouhaveyourbackstothewall.Atrulymotivatingleaderwholeadsbyexample.

Affection

…..when he writes “with love” Dr Babu. It is not for the sake of writing. We all know he truly means every alphabet of those two words. He breathes life into those words. His love and affection towards fellow human beings is truly admirable and worth emulating. It is this love, affection and compassion that moves Dr Babu forthe:

Social service

…..that he is rendering to fellow human beings. He is a doctor but whose domain is not confined to the four wallsofhishospital.Hehasgrownbeyond,waybeyondthosewallstoservethepoor,thedestituteandhavenots in the various fields in Bahrain. His numerous humanitarian activities serving the humanity have earned innumerable laurels over the years. Einstein said “only a life lived in the service of others is worth living” . That’sthelifeofDr.Babu. These are few reasons why I consider Dr. Babu Ramachadran as my most favourite personality. I sincerely wishandpraythathecontinueshisgreatserviceforyearsanddecadestocome.

Toastmasters Tips

10 WAYS HOW EFFECTIVE BODY LANGUAGE CAN HELP YOU SPEAK BETTER

1. Move just before your next key point, and stay there while you discuss it. If you have three key points, for instance, take up three positions in your performance space. The size of your stage will determine how far you should (or can) move. Your audience will find it easier to retain each of your talkingpointsifyougivethemsomehelpinvisualterms.

2. If you're discussing a chronology, move from their left to their right. Let's say you're discussing the history of the company. During "The Early Years" you're positioned to your audience's left. "The Middle Years" finds you centre stage; and on "The 21st Century" you've moved to the right. People in the West read left to right, and you can help your audience follow your chronology if you move in this direction.

3. Stand with your feet at shoulder width, and gesture but don't walk or wander. Standing steadfast means you appear steadfast, and so does your message. You, and whatever you represent, canthereforebecountedonbecausebotharerocksolid.Speakerswhowanderhaveallthedefinition ofanamoeba,andthey'rejustasdifficulttostayfocusedon.

4. Approach the screen or questioners. If you need an excuse to move (and you do), here are a couple of good ones. Going up to a screen is more dynamic than using a laser pointer. And anything thatbringsyouclosertothepeopleyou'retryingtoinfluenceisagoodidea.

5. Pro and con. Here's another way to move that's naturally tied to your content. If you're discussing both sides of a question ("Should we go ahead with the acquisition?"), stand on one side of the stage while you discuss the "Pro. " Then move to the other side while you're talking about the "Con. " If your conclusion lies on the Con side, stay where you are to finish up; if you're Pro, go back to where you gavethatpartoftheargumenttodeliveryourconclusion.

6. Breathe. Yes: it's movement. Specifically, it's purposeful movement when you breathe diaphragmatically. Belly breathing gives you a fuller, more resonant sound, and allows you to project to the back of the room. Boa constrictors take away the ability of their victims to breathe. It's an effective way to take the life out of a speaker. Watch this video about the benefits of this powerful technique.

7.Createvisualvariety. Audiences naturally have a hard time paying attention. They have to remain passive. Speeches are monologues rather than dialogues. And too much information is delivered verbally rather than visually. In addition to your slides, your flip charts, and the marching band you parade down the aisle (as one of my clients wanted to do!) you yourself must create visual variety throughyourbodylanguage.Makeitrealandassubtleasitneedstobe.Butthinkaboutit,anddoit.

10 WAYS HOW EFFECTIVE BODY LANGUAGE CAN HELP YOU SPEAK BETTER

8.Smile.Smiling,inadditiontobeingapleasantelementofaspeechorpresentation,servesaserious purpose. It fosters audience engagement. Whoever you are or whatever type of speaking you do, chances are you don't smile enough. Speaking in public can be nerve-wracking. Just don't let your audienceseethatitis.

9.Thewayyoucarryyourself.Good posture, a strong stance, and fluid, measured movement create theimpressionofcompetenceandconfidence.Whenyougiveaspeechyouarenaturallyaleader,and audiences need to recognize you as such. Think of it this way: "How you stand affects your standing withyourlisteners. "

10. Stand and move if you're speaking virtually. If you deliver webinars, speak in phone conferences,ordoanykindofpersuadingremotely,youshouldstandandincorporatemovementinto your discourse. You need to do so for two reasons: a) your body language is an essential part of how you express yourself, and b) audiences will hear your physical engagement in your voice. It's the same reasonyoushouldkeepasmallmirrornexttoyourphoneandsmilebeforeyousay"Hello. "