“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” ~ Yoda
When I was a teenager in high school, I got into many fights with other boys on almost daily basis. Writing everything about these experiences will probably require many posts but one lesson I learned in that period was to avoid the fights I could not fight even when I was sure I would emerge as the winner. Some conflicts must be avoided completely.
One such conflict that must be …

For a few weeks, I’ve been struggling with the word “strategy.” I hear this word used, abused, misused and overused. There are all kinds of uses starting from “product strategy” and “strategic advisors” to “strategizing about a topic” and “strategic sourcing.” I certainly cannot put an end to this nonsense and will instead share my thoughts.
Perhaps as humans, we need to feel in control of the future. Maybe we need to feel smart or at least appear smart enough and able to pre-calculate for all kinds of eventualities. In aggregate …

 
I had to serve in a jury yesterday and was deeply moved by the experience. The process lasted one day but taught me much about our system of government, about the people who run the court system, about the process, and about myself and others. I want to share some of these thoughts in case you find them interesting.
Fulfillment of my civic responsibility made me appreciate the system far more than I expected. The dignity and respect with which the defendant, the attorneys, the judge and the jury were treated …

This early morning has brought with it another perspective on mistakes. Mistakes come in different forms. Some are small, some are catastrophic, some impact only ourselves, some impact others, some are made in a second, others are made over many years, some take a minute to correct, others require long-term commitment. Following are some of my ways of dealing with mistakes.
Listen and get the message. I make mistakes all the time. If you are like me, you do not always recognize your mistakes immediately. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes days, weeks, …

Chance – what a great word! Amazing things happen by chance. Sometimes we get caught up in our daily routines and forget that magic word that breaks the monotone movement of time. What may appear to be completely random and governed by chance often reveals itself to be completely predetermined and supernatural years later. Quite a number of events in my life have taught me this lesson. Nothing happens completely by chance. Of course the opposing view could be equally valid (everything always happens completely randomly) but I choose not …