Self Help & Misc. Instresting Stuff.

[DSM]

Luck is a dividend of sweat. The more you sweat, the luckier you get. Ray Kroc


Why some people have all the Luck ? - Professor Richard Wiseman, University of Hertfordshire.


Why do some people get all the luck, while others never get the breaks they deserve? Ten years ago, I set out to examine luck. I wanted to know why some people are always in the right place at the right time, while others consistently experience ill fortune. I placed advertisements in national newspapers asking for people who felt consistently lucky or unlucky to contact me.

Hundreds of ordinary men and women volunteered for my research and over the years, I have interviewed them, monitored their lives and had them take part in experiments. I carried out a simple experiment to discover whether this was due to differences in their ability to spot such opportunities. I gave both lucky and unlucky people a newspaper, and asked them to look through it and tell me how many photographs were inside. I had placed a message halfway through the newspaper saying : "Tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $50."

This message took up half of the page and was written in type that was more than two inches high. It was staring everyone straight in the face, but the people who considered themselves unlucky focused on counting the photographs, missed this message and a chance to earn $50, while the lucky people were more aware (beyond the task at hand) and tended to spot the message. Unlucky people are generally less aware than lucky people, and this adversely impacted their ability to notice the unexpected.

‘Unlucky’ people miss opportunities because they are too focused on looking for something else when an opportunity presents itself, and so they miss it, If they go to parties with an intent on finding their perfect partner, they miss the good opportunities to make new friends. They look through newspapers determined to find specific job advertisements and miss other jobs they could have had, and were better.

Lucky people are relaxed and more open. They live in the present, with attention focused on what is at hand. Therefore they see what is there rather than just what they are looking for. Research has revealed that lucky people generate good fortune via four principles. i.e They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, they make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, they create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and they adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.

Be more open and aware and have a Lucky day...

 

[DSM]

Sadly one of the best Presidents the US has had in a long time will complete his term... It would have been impossible to think of a racially divided society as US would have elected a black man to the Oval office.... Moreso, with a middle name of Hussein. But Obama did it... His policy achievements could have been historical, except for the fact that the Republicans thwarted every effort of Obama to legislate common programs in the interest of America... Respect....

 

[DSM]

In response to a request by Sadiq.....

http://www.traderji.com/general-tra...552-nifty-trading-lounge-393.html#post1171105

Thanks Sadiq for your kind words... The credit (if any) for writing goes to destiny that I got the advantage to study in an English school since childhood... and the language came with the benefit of being able to choose reading from among thousand of ideas and hundreds of topics from subjects that were of interest to me, written by the best of minds in their field...

Secondly, I love reading. Where else can we open a page and connect into the thoughts and beliefs of the 1% of the brilliant minds? Reading also helps one to keep abreast of current topics over diverse streams be it politics, economics, business, finance, technology, society, evolving trends, spirituality, psychology etc.... My average reading is approx 3-4 hours daily on the net and books, of which I have a collection....

I think it is important to understand the world we live in. And just like a building needs a strong foundation, so too, our beliefs need to be based on deeper values. So all my reading is tied to a philosophy, which helps to filter out the irrelevant and inane, and helps to focus on things that matter and to the deeper truths of life and the world around us.

You too will have certain passion. So focus knowing more about the subjects that interest you. And believe me, you will never get bored. Say for e.g you like sports, specifically cricket. Try to read online about the subject. Read quotes from the great cricketers. Save and collect the quotes you like. These are the ones that resonate with you, your beliefs and thinking. Some will be insightful. Some may be contradictory. Think about which one you agree with, and this will help you discover more about yourself....your beliefs as well as prejudices. What a great way to discover one's own self!

Writing is nothing but the ability to express one's thought. Language is one part of it, the other is ideas. So if you have a few ideas, you can structure your thoughts around them and write. The more your write each day, the better you will get over time... Does not matter if it is even a small paragraph.... One good way to start would be to write back a small article or idea that you have read and liked. Do this every day... Keep aside some time for writing and make it a habit….

Suggest join sites just as Quora. You can follow authors, or ideas of interest to you. Twitter and Facebook too will help you to connect with people you look upto and admire. Fan of Fareed Zakeria or Subramaniam Swamy? Does not matter, you can follow them both on social media and get to know their thoughts. Question everything and don't believe anyone blindly. Also, make use of online thesaurus - if you don't have an exact word when expressing yourself, it will give you many similar words you can choose from.

Good luck.

 

[sadiq]

but if me is DSM then my reply to sadiq would be ..

.. we need to move along with the subject favorite to us to keep ourselves engaged and spend more time,means getting practiced for a longer times thus helping us to improve our writing skills ..

In response to a request by Sadiq.....

http://www.traderji.com/general-tra...552-nifty-trading-lounge-393.html#post1171105

Thanks Sadiq for your kind words... The credit (if any) for writing goes to destiny that I got the advantage to study in an English school since childhood... and the language came with the benefit of being able to choose reading from among thousand of ideas and hundreds of topics from subjects that were of interest to me, written by the best of minds in their field...

Secondly, I love reading. Where else can we open a page and connect into the thoughts and beliefs of the 1% of the brilliant minds? Reading also helps one to keep abreast of current topics over diverse streams be it politics, economics, business, finance, technology, society, evolving trends, spirituality, psychology etc.... My average reading is approx 3-4 hours daily on the net and books, of which I have a collection....

I think it is important to understand the world we live in. And just like a building needs a strong foundation, so too, our beliefs need to be based on deeper values. So all my reading is tied to a philosophy, which helps to filter out the irrelevant and inane, and helps to focus on things that matter and to the deeper truths of life and the world around us.

You too will have certain passion. So focus knowing more about the subjects that interest you. And believe me, you will never get bored. Say for e.g you like sports, specifically cricket. Try to read online about the subject. Read quotes from the great cricketers. Save and collect the quotes you like. These are the ones that resonate with you, your beliefs and thinking. Some will be insightful. Some may be contradictory. Think about which one you agree with, and this will help you discover more about yourself....your beliefs as well as prejudices. What a great way to discover one's own self!

Writing is nothing but the ability to express one's thought. Language is one part of it, the other is ideas. So if you have a few ideas, you can structure your thoughts around them and write. The more your write each day, the better you will get over time... Does not matter if it is even a small paragraph.... One good way to start would be to write back a small article or idea that you have read and liked. Do this every day... Keep aside some time for writing and make it a habit….

Suggest join sites just as Quora. You can follow authors, or ideas of interest to you. Twitter and Facebook too will help you to connect with people you look upto and admire. Fan of Fareed Zakeria or Subramaniam Swamy? Does not matter, you can follow them both on social media and get to know their thoughts. Question everything and don't believe anyone blindly. Also, make use of online thesaurus - if you don't have an exact word when expressing yourself, it will give you many similar words you can choose from.

Good luck.

 

[vijayanscbe]

but if me is DSM then my reply to sadiq would be ..

.. we need to move along with the subject favorite to us to keep ourselves engaged and spend more time,means getting practiced for a longer times thus helping us to improve our writing skills ..

I too admired DSM, ST writing skill. And worried like you :lol:

I had seen many skilled persons in different fields,
All of them have one similarity,
"They happily spend Time, Energy and Money on their favorite fields,
They can smile even if their any/many attempts goes flop ".

 

[DSM]

Understanding self - Osho

Self is that which you are born with. Ego is that which you become - Osho

Alexander the great, was trying to reach a picture on the wall. The picture was not hanging rightly so he wanted to fix it, but he couldn’t reach it because Alexander was a small man, just five five. His bodyguard was almost seven feet, he immediately reached it and fixed the frame. But Alexander was hurt, very much hurt.

The bodyguard said, ”Sir, whenever you want to do such a thing just tell me. I am a bigger man than you.” Alexander said, ”Bigger? No! Taller – but bigger? No!”

And whenever Alexander the great, who had conquered the world, would see others taller than him – and he had to see because many soldiers were taller than him – he would feel very much offended. You can have the whole world, but a beggar can be taller than you and then the whole world is lost, you are nothing. You may become the emperor, but a beggar can sing better than you. You cannot possess all and everything. Whatsoever you possess will not give you contentment. The mind, the ego, will always feel unfulfilled.

***

What is ego? When a child is born, he is born without any knowledge, any consciousness of his own self. And the first thing he becomes aware of is not himself; the first thing he becomes aware of is the other. It is natural, because the eyes open outwards, the hands touch others, the ears listen to others, the tongue tastes food and the nose smells the outside. All these senses open outwards. He opens his eyes, sees others. 'Other' means the thou. He becomes aware of the mother first. Then, by and by, he becomes aware of his own body. That too is the other, that too belongs to the world. He is hungry and he feels the body; his need is satisfied, he forgets the body. This is how a child grows. First he becomes aware of you, of others and then by and by he becomes aware of himself.

This awareness is a reflected awareness. He is not aware of who he is. He is simply aware of the mother and what she thinks about him. If she smiles, if she appreciates the child, if she says, "You are beautiful," if she hugs and kisses him, the child feels good about himself. Now an ego is born. Through appreciation, love, care, he feels he is good, he feels he is valuable, he feels he has some significance.

A center is born. But this center is a reflected center. It is not his real being. He does not know who he is; he simply knows what others think about him. And this is the ego: the reflection, what others think. If nobody thinks that he is of any use, nobody appreciates him, nobody smiles, then too an ego is born: an ill ego; sad, rejected, like a wound; feeling inferior, worthless. This too is the ego. This too is a reflection.

First the mother - and mother means the world in the beginning. Then others will join the mother, and the world goes on growing. And the more the world grows, the more complex the ego becomes, because many others' opinions are reflected.

The ego is an accumulated phenomenon, a by-product of living with others. If a child lives totally alone, he will never come to grow an ego. But that is not going to help. He will remain like an animal. That doesn't mean that he will come to know the real self, no.

The real can be known only through the false, so the ego is a must. One has to pass through it. It is a discipline. The real can be known only through the illusion. You cannot know the truth directly. First you have to know that which is not true. First you have to encounter the untrue. Through that encounter you become capable of knowing the truth. If you know the false as the false, truth will dawn upon you.

Ego is a need; it is a social need, it is a social by-product. The society means all that is around you - not you, but all that is around you. All, minus you, is the society. And everybody reflects. You will go to school and the teacher will reflect who you are. You will be in friendship with other children and they will reflect who you are. By and by, everybody is adding to your ego, and everybody is trying to modify it in such a way that you don't become a problem to the society. They are not concerned with you. They are concerned with the society. Society is concerned with itself, and that's how it should be.

Society is not concerned that you should become a self-knower. It is concerned that you should become an efficient part in the mechanism of the society. You should fit into the pattern. So they are trying to give you an ego that fits with the society. They teach you morality. Morality means giving you an ego which will fit with the society. If you are immoral, you will always be a misfit somewhere or other. That's why we put criminals in the prisons - not that they have done something wrong, not that by putting them in the prisons we are going to improve them, no. They simply don't fit. They are troublemakers. They have certain types of egos of which the society doesn't approve. If the society approves, everything is good.

One man kills somebody - he is a murderer. And the same man in wartime kills thousands - he becomes a great hero. The society is not bothered by a murder, but the murder should be commited for the society - then it is okay. The society doesn't bother about morality. Morality means only that you should fit with the society. If the society is at war, then the morality changes. If the society is at peace, then there is a different morality.

Morality is a social politics. It is diplomacy. And each child has to be brought up in such a way that he fits into the society, that's all. Because society is interested in efficient members. Society is not interested that you should attain to self-knowledge.

The society creates an ego because the ego can be controlled and manipulated. The self can never be controlled or manipulated. Nobody has ever heard of the society controlling a self - not possible. And the child needs a center; the child is completely unaware of his own center. The society gives him a center and the child is by and by convinced that this is his center, the ego that society gives.

A child comes back to his home - if he has come first in his class, the whole family is happy. You hug and kiss him, and you take the child on your shoulders and dance and you say, "What a beautiful child! You are a pride to us." You are giving him an ego, a subtle ego. And if the child comes home dejected, unsuccessful, a failure - he couldn't pass, or he has just been on the back bench - then nobody appreciates him and the child feels rejected. He will try harder next time, because the center feels shaken.

Ego is always shaken, always in search of food, that somebody should appreciate it. That's why you continuously ask for attention. You get the idea of who you are from others. It is not a direct experience. It is from others that you get the idea of who you are. They shape your center. This center is false, because you carry your real center. That is nobody's business. Nobody shapes it.

So you have two centers. One center you come with, which is given by existence itself. That is the self. And the other center, which is created by the society, is the ego. It is a false thing - and it is a very great trick. Through the ego the society is controlling you. You have to behave in a certain way, because only then does the society appreciate you. You have to walk in a certain way; you have to laugh in a certain way; you have to follow certain manners, a morality, a code. Only then will the society appreciate you, and if it doesn't, you ego will be shaken. And when the ego is shaken, you don't know where you are, who you are.

The others have given you the idea. That idea is the ego. Try to understand it as deeply as possible, because this has to be thrown. And unless you throw it you will never be able to attain to the self.

 

[DSM]

Sharing a personal story, as I came across this post....

Had a good friend, known him for about 15 years, slowly parted ways due to his inflexible 'religious beliefs' Respected him as a decent person, but our friendship got strained, and we would meet less often. He left his job, and started working full time for religious organization. Slowly, that group drew his wife, mother and children too. Then one fine day, about 7-8 years after he joined the group, he called me and told me he wanted to speak to me. I was uncomfortable meeting him however, decided to do so for old times sake.... He now had doubts about the group. Got to know that my friend had donated to the group about 34 lacs of his family savings... I was shocked when I heard this.... He told me that money was being collected from people in name of religious activities... There was no proper account of what was happening.... I just told him that in my mind it was clear that this was business, as God had nothing to do with money. And if money was being collected, I had my doubts about the nature of the organization and its activities... Cut the long story short, my friend has left the organization. He has lost his money... The religious group still active even today and continues to collect money from people.... My views are pretty clear : True religion is about humility and serving humanity - irrespective of caste, color or religion. And if 'religion' makes a person to look down on fellow human beings or regard him other than his brother, it is time to reflect upon on what one follows.....


This pic is an apt reminder, of how religion can become an instrument that is used to leading the gullible masses to do its bidding....

 

[DSM]

Desire and the anger due to unfulfilled desires is born out of Rajo-guna and is all consuming and is the biggest foe - Gita 3:37 (From the Holy Bhagwad Gita. Edited excerpt)


http://www.gitananda.org/desire/desire-lust-and-passion.html


(Was reading some philosophical magazines in the evening, when I came across this passage from the Holy Bhagwad Gita. Made me to think about it, since as traders we deal all the time with greed and fear everyday.... The sentence 'Unfulfilled desires causes anger and forces us to commit sin', 'But desires channeled in the proper direction can become our best friend.' In the trading context is apt, when we replace the word 'sin' with 'being reckless' 'indisciplined' 'taking vengeful trades, causing loss' etc. While being disciplined, can make us winners. Just posting here, as this is something I would like to come back and read again....)


Arjuna asked Lord Krishna a pertinent question that arises in our mind all the time: "Why does one commit sin, even if one does not wish to? Why are people helplessly carried away towards sin?

Lord Krishna explains here that the root cause behind all sin is desire, lust and passion. Unfulfilled desires cause anger and force us to commit sin. The end result of all our desires is sorrow, misery and disquietude. If the desires are partly fulfilled, then we desire more and grow greedy. Our biggest enemy is desire, and its appetite is vast. But desires channeled in the proper direction can become our best friend.

One should strive to find how deep rooted and widespread his or her desires are. If not controlled or reined properly, they can consume us. Desires attack only when we are not vigilant and initially make us unconscious by overpowering our intellect. Time and again man gets humiliated because of his being victim to lust and greed.

Happens from time immemorial, and the story continues and plays out even today... and everyday.

 

[Rish]

Desire and the anger due to unfulfilled desires is born out of Rajo-guna and is all consuming and is the biggest foe - Gita 3:37 (From the Holy Bhagwad Gita. Edited excerpt)


http://www.gitananda.org/desire/desire-lust-and-passion.html


(Was reading some philosophical magazines in the evening, when I came across this passage from the Holy Bhagwad Gita. Made me to think about it, since as traders we deal all the time with greed and fear everyday.... The sentence 'Unfulfilled desires causes anger and forces us to commit sin', 'But desires channeled in the proper direction can become our best friend.' In the trading context is apt, when we replace the word 'sin' with 'being reckless' 'indisciplined' 'taking vengeful trades, causing loss' etc. While being disciplined, can make us winners. Just posting here, as this is something I would like to come back and read again....)


Arjuna asked Lord Krishna a pertinent question that arises in our mind all the time: "Why does one commit sin, even if one does not wish to? Why are people helplessly carried away towards sin?

Lord Krishna explains here that the root cause behind all sin is desire, lust and passion. Unfulfilled desires cause anger and force us to commit sin. The end result of all our desires is sorrow, misery and disquietude. If the desires are partly fulfilled, then we desire more and grow greedy. Our biggest enemy is desire, and its appetite is vast. But desires channeled in the proper direction can become our best friend.

One should strive to find how deep rooted and widespread his or her desires are. If not controlled or reined properly, they can consume us. Desires attack only when we are not vigilant and initially make us unconscious by overpowering our intellect. Time and again man gets humiliated because of his being victim to lust and greed.

Happens from time immemorial, and the story continues and plays out even today... and everyday.

:thumb::thumb::thumb:

 

[DSM]

Weekend... Puzzle time....


(Request those who know or have worked out the answer to the puzzle, wait till tomorrow morning 10AM to give others a chance to solve it. Thanks)



1. A shop sells chocolates @ Rs 1 each. You can exchange 3 wrappers for 1 chocolates. If you have Rs 15.... How many chocolates can you have in all?

***

2. What mathematical symbol can be put between 2 and 9, to get a number bigger than 2 and smaller than 9?

***

3. Two fathers took their sons fishing. Each man and son caught one fish, but when they returned to camp there were only 3 fish. How could this be? (None of the fish were eaten or lost or thrown)

***

4. You are near the water fountain with two jugs with no other markings. One has 3 liter and the other 5 liter capacity. However, you want exactly 4 liters of water. How can you do this using the only two jugs with you?

***

5. Below is a a sequence of numbers, according to a sequence :

1 11 21 1211 111221.

The Question: What is the next term in this sequence?