Buddha Stone Statue in China
How often can people do/experience all of the above? There are people who have changed the world (e.g., Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, etc.) who didn’t make a lot of money and we won’t ever know if they were truly happy, healthy or content. There are people who changed the world and made a lot of money (e.g., Oprah, Steve Jobs, Madonna, Lady Ga Ga, Michael Dell, Bill Gates, etc.) but we don’t know how happy or content they are or were. Oprah has been the most open about her struggles with personal satisfaction and her weight…the businessmen, not so much.
Do we have to deal with having one or two out of three? I think I can count on one hand the people who appeared to have all three but if you dig a little further… Check out a recent post on TechCrunch called 10 Things Entrepreneurs Don’t Learn in College. All very true, the second being “How To Be Betrayed,” which happens all of the time in business (and politics) whether you are a man, woman, or a duck. I clicked over to the authors (James Altucher) post on how to be lucky and it made me wonder if he had kids because he advises getting up at 4 or 5 a.m. every day and to bed by 9:30 pm with exercising and eating right in between. Maybe I’ll figure out how to do that when I’m 50 and the kids are gone. I guess that’s why some are more monetary successful than others…early bird gets the worm!
The saying “you can have it all, but just not all at the same time” must be true. So it seems the thing we have the most control over is how we feel: happy, sad, content, angry, etc. We can try to change the world but there’s no telling what numerous things will be thrown in our path. We can try to make tons of money, but a lot of shit happens (e.g., kids, health issues, the economy, marriage, divorce, love, hate, indifference, parents) trying to do that. But we will usually find ways to make enough to get by or we become comfortable with a lot of debt.
I was reminded during my recent trip to China that Buddha, who was born and originally spread his philosophy in India before his teachings were embraced by the Chinese, taught that at the root of all suffering was desire (for a person, place, thing, success, money, etc.). As I understand it, he said that if you gave up the desire for earthly things or status that would be the only way you could eventually achieve enlightenment. He certainly changed the world and was arguably content/enlightened but was not rich by American standards.
I guess it depends on what age you are, your genetic disposition, and what cards life has dealt you as to whether you believe you can achieve all three at the same time for a substantial length of time…
Author: Aruni |
Filed under: bill gates,
entrepreneurship,
mother,
steve jobs |
Tags: bill gates,
gandhi,
james altucher,
lady ga ga,
madonna,
martin luther king,
michael dell,
mother teresa,
oprah,
steve jobs,
techcrunch |
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Here are some links to some interesting reads relating to entrepreneurship, people, parenting, and even Oprah! I’m mulling over a couple of other blog posts in my head but until then check these out:
The Fine Art of Catching Liars – an interesting read on Time.com about research done by a psychologist on how to determine if someone is lying. Might be useful for those of you who have older kids. My kids haven’t started lying yet as far as I can tell. My son just told me that he told some people at last week’s Easter Egg hunt that he ate some candy in one of the eggs when he didn’t. I asked him why and he said he didn’t know but he seemed to think it was funny. I’m honestly not even sure why he confessed that to me randomly. I told him well that could be lying unless he was joking around with the other kids. I think I’ll have an easier time detecting if my son is lying than my daughter. I can already tell she will be pretty good at spinning a believable story and hide her true feelings.
Venture Capital Down 50%. It’s Not Just The Recession Folks – an article on TechCrunch analyzing how the decrease in venture investing is different this time around than in the post bubble bursting era of 2001-2002. They say that clean-tech investing is down because so much more time and research is needed. Health care investment is holding or not falling as fast.
Susan Boyle – The Biggest YouTube Sensation Ever? – an article on Mashable that links to the most viewed YouTube video of all time. It’s of Susan Boyle singing on Britain’s Got Talent. She shocked the world with her voice given her age and appearance. A true “you can’t judge a book by its cover” story. What an amazing voice. She’s 48 years old, never been married, and his been taking care of her mother for quite some time. Even Simon Cowel (American Idol judge) was blown away. Go HERE to see the video.
Capsula Music – My brother-in-law sent this to me. It’s an album of funky, psytrance music that is supposed to work in the background of your mind while you go to sleep. I’ve listened to it while working on my computer but haven’t tried it yet before going to sleep.
How To Nail An Interview – for those of you looking for a job. This was linked to in a post by one of my favorite bloggers, Seth Godin. It lists 22 tips on how to do well in an interview.
Ashton Kutcher and Evan Williams (Twitter Founder) talk on Oprah – a post on Mashable about how last week Oprah joined twitter. She interviewed Ashton who became twitter’s first user to gain 1,000,000 followers! He was competing with CNN and he won. Yes, I followed Ashton and Oprah!
Enjoy the videos and articles. There is so much going on in the world and probably these links are some of the more trivial pieces of what is truly happening but that’s what I see and what people are sending me.
Author: Aruni |
Filed under: FYI,
Just For Fun |
Tags: how to catch a liar,
interview tips,
oprah,
susan boyle,
twitter |
Comments Off on Interesting Reads Around The Web
I don’t really like making New Year’s resolutions. However, I’m making an exception this year because I figure I’ll try something new. Maybe I’ll even make quarterly resolutions! This is the first year I’ve had a blog which means I can now write them down and let my readers hold me accountable. So here it goes.
Business Goals
Raise funds for Babble Soft. I will finish the business plan, refine the pitch, and set up meetings with angel investors.
Establish additional nanny partnerships and other corporate partnerships that lead to increased revenue and revenue opportunities. I have to make hundreds of calls, send hundreds of emails, set up meetings, and close deals.
Identify and become a member of at least 2 organizations that will help build my network to reach our customers. If you have any suggestions on what organizations to join I would love to hear them!
Convince some great companies to advertise with us. If I can demonstrate a significant increase in users (SEO please work!) of our applications, I believe those advertisers who want to reach new parents and caregivers that are breastfeeding, bottle feeding, changing diapers, taking medicine, pumping, and trying to get some priceless, precious sleep would be *extremely* interested. Plus with our planned new applications that audience widens and deepens.
Find great people to help make it happen! Must find great people. Must find great people! Key team additions needed are 1) Experienced Senior Product Manager with strong technical skills to manage products from design to implementation to market and 2) Experienced Internet Partnership, Social Media & Ad Sales Manager (does such a person even exist?). Must find great people!
Personal Goals
Lose 5 pounds. I will eat less and exercise more.
Take Yoga classes. I will locate, sign up, and attend classes. Anyone have any recommendations for instructors in the Austin, Texas area?
Laugh more. I will find more funny and fun people to hang out with. 🙂
Be less concerned with what other people think. This will probably be the hardest one for me to accomplish and the hardest to measure. Worrying about what people think of me, my decisions, my company, my appearance, my parenting, my words, etc. sometimes unduly stresses me out and takes up way too much energy that should be devoted elsewhere. I’m not alone in this issue. I’ve seen many bloggers write about it but more women than men which may be a result of our society or more likely Oprah. I will work to drastically reduce the negative self talk in my head. I think Yoga will help me with this goal.
My Personal Goals are mostly in my control. I decide what to eat. I decide when/how to exercise, etc. I decide when to pick up the phone and sign up for a Yoga class.
Achieving the Business Goals, on the other hand, are less in my control. I can do everything right but if the angel investors don’t understand or care for the market or market need I’m addressing then funding sources might not be available. If the stock market crashes and everyone quits investing then, c’est la vie. If the funding doesn’t come through then I won’t be able to hire great people, etc., etc. I believe I have the most control over establishing additional partnerships and joining organizations but that’s what I believe right now on January 1, 2008. As the Internet has proven, things change at the speed of each new thought!
What are your goals? Feel free to leave a comment here and/or leave a link back to your blog to where you posted your 2008 thoughts.
If you’d like to see if I meet my goals (or even heckle me – I don’t mind as long as its funny and helps me with my Laugh More goal 🙂 ) subscribe to this blog’s feed and share your wonderful thoughts with me.
Happy New Year Blogosphere!
Author: Aruni |
Filed under: babble soft,
baby sleep,
blogging,
breastfeeding,
entrepreneur,
entrepreneurship,
Just For Fun,
random stuff |
Tags: 2008 goals,
business goals,
business plans,
entrepreneurship,
losing weight,
nanny agencies,
new year's resolutions,
oprah,
personal goals,
search enging optimization,
seo,
target customers,
target market,
yoga |
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