Hilarious Quotes from the Collection of Murphy's Law!!

 Quotes Courtesy: The Complete Murphy's Law, by Arthur Bloch

§  Airplane Law: When the plane you are on is late, the plane you want to transfer to is on time.

 §  No books are lost by lending, except those you particularly wanted to keep.

 §  The Banana Principle: If you buy bananas before they are ripe, there won’t be any left by the time they are ripe. If you buy them ripe, they rot before they are eaten.

 §  Baruch’s Rule for Determinig Old age: Old Age is always fifteen years older than I am.

 §  Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment.

 §  Buttered bread tends to fall with the buttered side down.

 §  The farther away from the entrance that you have to park, the closer the space vacated by the car that pulls away as you walk up to the door.

 §  Rule of Medicine: Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died.

 §  When things are going well, someone will inevitably experiment detrimentally.

 §  Cafeteria Law: The item you had your eye on from the minute you walked in will be taken by the person in front of you.

 §  Law of Menu Language: The number of adjectives and verbs that are added to the description of a menu item is in inverse proportion to the quality of the resulting dish.

 §  If you tell the boss you were late for work because you had a flat tire, the next morning you will have a flat tire.

 §  If you explain so clearly that nobody can misunderstand, somebody will.

 §  The sum of the intelligence on the planet is a constant; the population is growing.

 §  Conference Principle: The speaker with the most monotonous voice speaks after the big meal.

 §  If you have the time, you won’t have the money. If you have the money, you won’t have the time.

 §  The bus that left the stop just before you got there is your bus

 §  Whenever you need to stop at a light to put on makeup, every light will be green.

 §  There are three ways to get something done: do it yourself, hire someone, or forbid your kids to do it.

 §  Basic Law of Medicine: Pills to be taken in twos always come out of the bottle in threes.

 §  First Law of Debate: Never argue with a fool. People might not know the difference.

 §  Dieter’s Law: Food that the best has the highest number of calories.

 §  Diners Dilemmas: A clean tie attracts the soup of the day.

 §  Everybody is somebody else’s weirdo.

 §  Law of Economic Dispersion: The one you want is never the one on sale. If you like it, they don’t have it in your size. You never want the one you can afford.

 §  Double-Door Law: In approaching a double door, you will always go to the one door that is locked, pull when you should have pushed, and push when the sign says pull.

 §  Nothing is as good as it seemed beforehand.

 §  That which we call sin in others is experiment for us.

 §  Don’t try to change lines. The other line – the one you were in originally – will then move faster.

LOVELY QUOTES ABOUT ENTREPRENEURSHIP!!

Of all the questions we leave unanswered, the one that comes back to haunt us the most is :"What if…"

What if I'd married my college sweetheart?

What if I had the good sense not to?

What if I had been born in this job market?

What if...

What if I'd planned a little less?

What if I'd lived a little more?

What if I'd chucked it all and started my own company?

'What ifs' are never idle fantasy. These are our hopes, dreams and desires. 

Logic and reason are the naphthalene balls we use to pack them away into a sandook called 'Someday'. But when that day comes we are too old, too poor, too tired or too lazy.

The thing with entrepreneurship is you can't afford to have a big ego. You want to stay in business, you do every bit of business that comes along. You want to keep the dream afloat, you don't care what the neighbours and relatives have to say about who wears the pants in your house.

Entrepreneurship is about dozens of small leaps of faith. Taken every day. Often, you have to take a contrarian stand. You can't say why but this feels right. And you have to have it your way. The very act of becoming an entrepreneur is contrarian to ‘middle class values’; study hard, get a good job, be happy with secure income and steady salary.

Entrepreneurs are seekers. And they are always open to change. There are different kinds of pressures operating at each stage- you evolve, and learn to cope with them.

And if you chase something long enough, sooner or later you will get lucky. If you are really lucky then you will do it in 5 years, if you are moderately lucky then you will do it in 10 years, if you are terribly unlucky you will do it in 15 years.” 

“But if we had missed this bus, I would have continued working at what I was doing and maybe I would have succeeded at something else 5-6 years hence. The point is to try long enough and hard enough. I think persistence is a quality that you have to have, to be a successful entrepreneur.” 

If you love your work, and it gives your life meaning, then you will have fun through the difficult times. You will find it in your heart tokeep going. You will never lose hope.

You see, there is no such thing as a failed entrepreneur. You are a failed entrepreneur only when you quit. Until then, you are simply not successful… yet.

Your reality is what you make of it. If you see life with an 'all is wonderful in this world' pair of lenses, that's how it is. This is against conventional wisdom. The middle class ethic of being careful and completely realistic about the big, bad world around you.

You make a plan, even a roadmap. But there could be a vehicle coming at you at full speed from right around the bend. It’s all about facing these bends with courage.

An entrepreneur is a person who has a mind of his own. And that is clear not just from the act of starting an enterprise, but also through decisions taken through the course of her or his life.

Entrepreneurship is an itch. The only ointment which soothes it is work. Lots and lots of it! And it must be interesting, intensive and audacious.

“Like Indira Gandhi used to say, when I am down, and I am pushed against the wall, my best comes out and I don't give up. The fighter in me, the animal in me comes out and says, ‘I will do it and show them’.

HIRING MILLENNIALS - Issues to be tackled!!

               Few decades ago, researchers with a bend towards anthropology observed hard the budding human force and claimed to have found a major shift happening on the psychological front. The studies gradually led to the conceiving of the next generation stereotype, labelled as the Millennials/Generation Y/Echo Boomers. The researchers also threw in a bunch of traits to identify them – Tech-savvy, Creative, Individualistic, information hungry, communicative, and geared to multi-task.

The Corporate HR’s Perspective: 

We may be getting older with each year but our workforce clearly isn’t. The workforce of any organisation is witnessing a rapid demographical change with the Millennials eyeing corporate jobs for their sustenance. Before long, this ‘Y’ influx will start questioning the status quo and change the rules of the HR game. For instance, growing up with inherent technological platforms to communicate and express oneself (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) has made the Millennials self-expressive, a major shift from the old Indian psychology of thinking more than twice before sharing anything. This self-expressive nature has also led to a more open-minded culture with wide idea-sharing and strong receptivity. Collaborative teamwork also scores highly with the Echo Boomers; this can be discerned from the architectural structures of companies as open offices replace private cabins. The soaring levels of Ys’ cognition and creativity have influenced the C-Suite of every company to conclude that revamping the workforce with Millennials is the new edge to thrive through the cut-throat competition. On the other hand, these same laudable qualities also pose quite a few challenges to the Human Resources as they struggle in attracting, engaging, and developing the Gen Next.

1) RECRUITING THE RIGHT MIX: Most of the Millennials think they are entrepreneurial. While only a few hit the bull’s eye and take off successfully, the majority enters the corporate world. Here is where the HR managers face the initial test. The recruiters are thrown by the impressive levels of confidence and spirit that the Gen Next display. This gradually directs them to select a handful of Yers for entry-level positions. Then, 5-6 months go by and we find that these rookies have already hopped on to the next job and from there to the next. By the end of 2-3 years, we notice that almost all of them own start-ups. Therefore, it is absolutely critical for the HR folks to drill the Millennials during the HR interviews to unearth whether the candidates are entering the workforce to gather funds and rehearse before staging their own commercial play.

2) BLIND TO HIERARCHY: Another common myth - They are irreverential and pay no heed to authority possessed by the higher echelons in an organisation. The statement may look negative but it is not if we see it from a different perspective. The Millennials are on the lookout for an egalitarian atmosphere where everybody is given importance. They respect people based not on years of seniority or authoritative titles but on the levels of intellect. This trait of the Millennials will fire up issues in a company that has lengthy organisation structures as the Yers are currently at entry level positions and vertical structures will put them right at the bottom. Therefore, if a company is considering recruiting Millennials, it is better for the HR managers to move on to flatter charts.

3) ATTENDANCE TRACKING: This probably looks like a trivial issue but it sure irritates the Yers. They love flexi-hours and hate the ‘Out of Sight, Out of Mind’ paradox. They feel it is not necessary to step into the office as long as their performance is lofty and the deadlines are met. Tailing such a generation to be present in flesh on a daily basis is not such a good idea. Realizing this, Philips and Marico are among a few companies that have stopped tracking attendance as a part of their workplace innovation.

4) MERIT/SENIORITY PAY: When HR managers dole out salaries and compensation, it is common in India to dispense a specific seniority pay. But, the millennials do not agree with this HR policy. They vote in favour of, ‘Pay for performance’. They find merit pays highly motivating while cashing the seniority the status is unacceptable to them. Thus, designing a compensation policy accommodative of merit pays to a certain extent add to the HR to-do list. 

5) ENGAGING TO CURTAIL ATTRITION: About 91 percent of this age group are likely to leave their job in less than three years, according to the "Multiple Generations @ Work" survey by the Future Workplace. Talking to the Economic Times, Rajeswari Murali, Practice leader (talent & performance) said, "For organisations that have an overall attrition rate of 12 per cent to 15 per cent, the Gen Y attrition is often as high as 25 per cent to 40 per cent.”. Maybe that is how the high-flying HR term ‘Employee Engagement’ was introduced. The ancient HR schools of thought claimed that high business performance would result in Employee Engagement. But, the whole paradigm has turned upside down. The belief today is that engaged employees herald good results. Behold the HR policies and work environments of a few top-notch companies to understand the distinct trend. Eg: Google, HubSpot etc.

6) OTHER ISSUES: Stringent dress codes, dysfunctional feedback mechanisms, vague developmental plans, poor employer branding and failing on the brand promise are other issues that have to be tackled by any HR department in order to retain the Millennials.

CONCLUSION: 

             ‘Money can’t give you Happiness’ – The new-found philosophical mantra of the Gen Next. Not everything is merely means to an end for them. The Millennials love being a part of something greater that steers development and spearheads innovation. Triple Bottomline Reporting and paid time-offs for community volunteering also interest them. In a way, the Indian Gen Next can be said to possess traits that are similar to the typical constructs of the western world. Hence, emulating the HR practices of the western companies could help the Indian counterparts to arrtact, engage, and retain the Millennials.

A SILKY SOLUTION TO RECHARGE YOUR HAIR – A WANDERLUST TESTIMONY!!

Wanderlust has always been an integral part of self. The hankering was so deep and strong in me that people around me decided I was born nomadic. The inclination remains insatiate regardless of how many trips I make. And here are a few incredible moments from my voyages when I felt my hair needed a recharge to feel fresh and proactive for challenging situations. But, I did also find a great silky solution to retain the Shine of my Mane throughout my trips, be it past/present/future – SUNSILK (http://www.sunsilk.in/)

To validate my claim on Sunsilk, here is a personal testimony on how the Shampoo has helped me to keep my hair recharged throughout my wanderlust.

GLOBE-TROTTING:

Climbing the Great Wall of China:

                When we were taken to China as a part of our MBA study package, our tour agent promised a day visit to the Great Wall of China. And that was exactly where we were on October 23, 2012 – JUYONG PASS OF THE GREAT WALL. Our tour guide informed us that interested students could climb the wall as long as we stuck to the itinerary and were back within 2 hours. Out of the 90, nearly 60 started walking along the never-ending lines that stretched before us. But, the crowd started thinning after a kilometre and before long; I was the only girl among a troop of 6 making our way towards an end that never did exist. We fought our way through the chilly wind that blew flat on our faces and made each step even more painful. When we scaled the 40^th kilometre, the air had also thinned just like the crowd and we were holding onto our breaths. Our spent energy levels signalled the end of the climb and we marked the moment by getting ourselves an Achievement certificate for climbing 40kms of the Great Wall. Feeling elated, we gobbled down water to ready ourselves for the walk back to the base. As we retraced our journey backward, the brutish wind attacked our backs with its icy tentacles. The roundabout trip with the wind as our cruel companion made my teeth chatter, but it could not vandalize my recharged hair.  There is a statement that says, ‘A girl checks her lipstick even if she stands on the Mt Everest’, but I never did fuss over my hair.   

Bungee-Jumping in Macau:

                At 10.20pm on October 27, in Macau – ‘The Las Vegas of Asia’, I was getting ready to perform the penultimate feat to wrap up my final day of the 7-day trip to China. I was standing on the 61^st floor of the AJ Hackett Macau Tower – Home to Asia’s highest free fall which is a staggering 233m drop. The moment I heard they had night bungy, I had decided. I WAS JUMPING and missing it for nix naught nothing in the world. Buckled up in clinky and clangy chains, I stood at the edge of the jump-zone and let my cheeks take in the pinching cold of the salty breeze. The panoramic view of the lit up city left me agape and glancing down made my jaw drop. Before I could contemplate on the acrophobia building inside, my guide gave me THE nudge. What comes next is a feel I can never capture in words. The speed of my fall was nearly 200km/h and I could feel my hair flapping upward, pulling hard at my roots, though in a ponytail. Then, the flurry disappeared as sudden as it had come and I was handing upside down, my mortality hinged to a single bloody rope. Drinking in every last moment of being air-borne, I glided down slowly to the drop-zone. When I landed to shouts and cheers, the first thing that struck my mind after coming to senses was: ‘OMG, am I on camera? Is my hair all messed up?’ But, I needn't have fret because my hair felt smooth and in place notwithstanding the jump in a tempestuous climate.

               
Standing on the tip of the Tallest among Wonders:

          I hate lifts and this lift in particular was giving me claustrophobia. When eventually it stopped, I sprang out and stopped short. I was standing witness to the supercalifragilisticexpialidocious spread of scenery that numbed my senses. I just stood there doting as the seconds turned into minutes and minutes into hours. The savage wind threatened to rock me off my feet but I couldn't move. When my sissy ultimately succeeded in pulling me back to the elevator, the wind had neither rocked me off nor tousled my hair. My time at the EIFFEL TOWER had just been perfectly romantic, though short of the Prince Charming.

Gondola Ride in the Gusty Weather:

                           
          In Venice, we traversed the turquoise waters near the Piazza San Marco in their traditional ride: The Gondola. I had a splendid time as the gondolier took us under the Bridge of Sighs, through the routes that boasted of the Casanova’s castle and stilted houses. Even the roughness of the incessant wind could not perturb my spirits nor my hair.

Embracing 2012 with a Lankan touch:

I, along with my three besties rolled out the red carpet for 2012 to embark on at a Rooftop party in a hotel in Colombo (Sri Lanka). We rocked it out for the whole night and gave a tumultuous welcome to 2012. We grooved and moved on the dance floor shaking off both our mane and worries.

Who doesn’t love beaches? The fine sand shores with the soft waves lapping them always mesmerize and put our souls at peace. And I never miss a chance to run to a beach whenever I can. Though my home-town is devoid of a beach, I have visited umpteen numbers such as the Marina, Juhu, Kanyakumari, Lido (Venice), Macau beach, Siloso in Sentosa (Singapore), Lankan beaches etc. The balmy essence of the beaches give me a carefree outlook and I just run along the shores, banishing all my anxieties about the future and the arduous after-task of untangling my matted hair. Especially seeing that my Bring-it-on attitude took care of the future and my recharged hair stood the salty breeze.

A day @ Disneyland, Hong Kong

Daring Devil:
         Anything adventurous and daring tantalizes me. The free spirit in me rejoices as I go camping or trekking or skiing (in Manali) or am suspended air-borne even for the briefest of moments. I also draw the same kind of excitement from the daunting land rides everywhere. Hanging upside down in the ranger, experiencing that tingliness when the Colombus reaches its tip, feeling the force of air as the Roller-coaster speeds up like a Veyron – Those moments are unbeatable!! Once I alight those rides, even my unruffled hair makes me look the way I feel: Placid amidst Puffs!!

                

Thus, blessed with hair that can stay recharged and fresh under pressure has helped to keep exploring my nomadicity. Still, every mortal creation needs an elixir to make it immortal. I knew I had to charge up my hair for all my forthcoming expeditions around the world. I started hoping my Fairy Godmother would effortlessly flick her wand and materialize a secret potion that would instantly recharge my hair.   

THE SILKY SOLUTION!!

And my fairy did show a way to fix and redeem my hair - Sunsilk!! The products of SUNSILK promise a solution for every kind of pressing hair issues: Dryness, Hairfall, Shiny and luscious hair, Long Hair... Deciding to take up deep conditioning along with the new SUNSILK'S NEW NATURAL RECHARGE RANGE is an answer to all those who are on the same page with me. This new range has been tested to makes hair look two times thicker and up to five times stronger, allowing girls to feel confident and fired-up with their worry-free hair. Imagine the self-confidence that could exude from you when you take a bungee jump or a walk along the seashore or ride a racy roller coaster with an energetic and robust charm for your hair. Now, feeling freshly confident, I can stay cool during my jaunts, be it the Mount Everest or the Mariana Trench!!

To find out more about how Sunsilk helps you to recharge your hair, please go to http://www.sunsilk.in/

This post has been written for a competition hosted by Indiblogger. 

BOOK REVIEW: TATA LOG, By Harish Bhat

                

TATA LOG is a stellar book written by Harish Bhat, the CEO and MD of Tata Global Beverages Ltd. A master storyteller cum business manager, Mr. Bhat has perfectly mastered both his identities in concocting a book about the India’s largest conglomerate. The book retraces the eventful journey of Tata Groups and puts in plain sight the subtlety that is often missed. As the author unfurls the multi-layered Tata Way of doing business, the underlying values come up. Keeping these values as cornerstones, Mr. Bhat talks about how the company remains a source of trust and inspiration for both its employees and customers. Being one among the Tata Log (People) himself, his personal pride in working for one of the oldest industrial families of India is resonated throughout the book and adds an emotional tinge to it.

What the book talks about??

          About the Company: Having charted a cosmic and proud growth through numerous decades, Tata has never been one to walk alone on the paths of glory. It has always been intent on engendering a progress that brings together and elevates its employees, the community and the nation as a whole. Taking eight anecdotes from the corridors of the 150 year old Tata Group, the author has excellently brewed them together to draft the ‘TATA LOG’, thereby underpinning the claimed existence of the famous Tata Way. Tata Way is the unique style with which the 90 odd businesses of the group are managed successfully with values and standards maintained on a pedestal.

Employee Pride: As we read through, we can observe stark evidences of pride and contentment that the employees get by being a Tata person. Inclusion of quotes and testimonies from numerous employees working at different levels in various businesses of the group also throw light on the delightful Tata life. The Leadership front of the group is beautifully portrayed in every narrative and it is absolutely clear that social innovations are welcomed in the C-Suite with equal zeal. The stories of the Okhai and SCIP support the proposition even more. On the other hand, the author’s recounting of the inception of Tanishq amidst challenges outlines the empowerment and leeway provided to employees.

        TATA VALUES: To quote JRD Tata - 'I have often come to the conclusion that if we were like other groups, we would be twice as big as we are today. What we have sacrificed is a 100 per cent growth, but we wouldn't want it any other way.' These words are a standing proof for how ethicality and values win over profits on any given day in a Tata-owned corporate. The author elaborates on this value part and goes on to explain the four magical P’s of Tata: PIONEERING, PURPOSIVE, PRINCIPLED, and NOT PERFECT.

         Pioneering is a quality that comes naturally to the Tata generation. They have always been at the helm of affairs aiming for upliftment and empowerment. Such is this contagious spirit, that the TATA managers can be seen spearheading every kind of innovations and materialising new ideas all around. “History may say we failed, or History may even say that it succeeded; All we know is that we thought of it and we did it. We produced India’s first car” – Ratan Tata. It is the company that made the first Indian car; that effected the first-ever acquisition of an iconic global brand by an Indian company; that built India’s first supercomputer ‘EKA’; whose steel business was the only company outside Japan to win the Deming Prize in 2009. The author’s tone is deeply motivated as he narrates his own experiences under the herculean effort of corporatizing the Indian Jewellery market and conceiving Tanishq in the process.

Purposive: That which has a purpose finds a perennial place for itself. With such a purpose in hand, Tata embraced longevity and has become a timeless institution as termed by the author. The fundamental purpose was Jamshetji Tata’s dream of an industrialized and prosperous India. Purposiveness still remains a sturdy hallmark of the Tata Group in modern times. This is marked by an unwavering approach of putting the nation and the community at the heart of its activities. In every story, there is an essence of purpose.

Principled: The author believes that companies earn a right to call themselves PRINCIPLED when they act in accordance with morality, and show a clear recognition of right and wrong in everything that they do. By the simple yardstick, the Tata Group has done well. Some of these facets of a principled character are illustrated through the story of Tata Finance.

Not Perfect: Mr. Bhat has made sure in strongly communicating the 4^th P of his employer: NOT PERFECT. He says there is an expectation from the world that the Tata Group is perfect and infallible. But, the author stresses on the fact that the group does make errors and loses its way at times. In the story of Tata Indica, there were early errors of product quality that were nearly fatal to the project. Similarly, in the story of Tanishq, there were once again early but extended errors in reading the consumer and the market, which led to prolonged losses. What the author does emphasize is that the group is a learning organization and strives continuously to set right the deviations and glitches that it tackles on the way.

CONCLUSION: In short, Tata Log is a book that encapsulates the integral spirit of the Tata Way in an enchanting manner with great examples. Though one would feel missing the stories of the terrorist attack on Taj or the TCS success or the Tata Airlines issue, it does bring down the impact the book has on its reader. By the time the reader reaches the last page of Tata Log, there is sure to be a kindling of desire inside the reader’s mind to experience life as a Tata Log (People). As such, the book in itself is a great tool for employer branding and the stories depict the fulfilling life on all fronts that the company promises to its employees. The book further is a manual of how the brand promise can be successfully delivered through various fronts like leadership, Work-Life, Job Challenges and Employee Engagement.

A SILKY SOLUTION TO RECHARGE YOUR HAIR – A PROFESSIONAL TESTIMONY

Facing Hair loss? Dry and Brittle with Split ends? Lost the lustre your hair once boasted of? Difficulty in untangling your matted hair after a great day out? Months before, I was under the same strain. The impact of having damaged frizzy hair was so acute that it started affecting my normal routine as well as my exceptional days. But, I do have a great silky solution to retain the Shine of our Mane – SUNSILK (http://www.sunsilk.in/)

To validate my statement, here is a personal testimony on how Sunsilk renewed my confidence by recharging my hair. For starters, I hail from a rural upbringing and I’m presently pursuing my MBA in Coimbatore, a Tier II city. Lemme give you my life in a nutshell with tags: Passionate Writer and Blogger, Avid Reader, Globe-Trotter, Dog Lover, Recluse, Good scholar, Hosteller, full-time MBA, Case Discussions, Brainstorming, Social Activities, and Field Assignments.

Now, among these tags, I would like to pinpoint a tag where I feel my hair needs a recharge to feel fresh and proactive for challenging situations: Field Assignments!!

MBA Field Assignments:

Market Research, In-Depth Interviews, Brand Audits, CSR Activity Compilation, Planting Trees, and so many more. Those were the days I thoroughly enjoyed roaming around the corporate and retail streets of Coimbatore, for every single activity demanded frequent meetings. We were required to meet and interview various mangers and retailers in order to complete our assignments.

Oppnakara Street, Coimbatore

For instance, take Market Research. Our team was given the task of targeting numerous small-time textile retailers in the unorganized markets of Coimbatore and compile a research paper about the same. To reach these retailers, we had to traverse the jostling streets of Oppanakara Street that was invariably busy and dusty with commuters and vehicles. By the time we had managed to scavenge an inch of space to park our scooty, the dusty air had cast a web on my hair and butchered my looks. I was expected to ooze out professionalism with my demeanour as an MBA graduate but here I was, looking like a wimpy kid with flyaway hair. BTW, the interview turned out to be a disaster because none of the retailers would talk to us for we looked like a bunch of neophytes. I was particularly worse with my messed up hair and I had to rudely keep smoothing my hair every time I spoke to a shop guy. OMG, the embarrassment made me wish that I had that glossy hair with which I could brave the dust and wind through every assignment.

Phew!! Everytime an MBA graduate gets a field assignment; her hair is doomed to taste the cruel oxides, dust flakes and the sweat. And we get around 3-4 assignments for every trimester. At least, the former assignment was confined to the unorganized retail market. To add to it, we also had to do nearly a dozen interviews with the high-end professionals of well-known corporates in Coimbatore like Pricol and Roots. Once, we were trying to secure an appointment with the Company Secretary of Craftsmen Electronics. The person kept pushing it for weeks and suddenly, one afternoon, he informed he was free for 30 minutes from 1pm while it was already 12.40pm. Desperate for the interview, we frisked off in my friend’s scooty to make it in time. When we entered the cabin, my efforts to make that first best impression again went for a six. Time and over, turning up for interviews with my hair tangled up became more frequent and the lustre went missing giving it a dull and rough look.

After a series of failed efforts to look professional, I realized my windblown hair always let me down. Also, the weariness of incessant wandering under the sun started showing its traces on my hair. My hereditary glossiness had disappeared and my hair was brittle with split ends. Slowly, hairfall gained momentum and I was losing thickness. I moved into that phase when our hair sends a warning along with a pleading to somehow bring back its healthy days and retain it that way.

                But, I seem to have finally found a way to fix and redeem my hair. The products of Sunsilk have a solution for every kind of pressing hair issues: Dryness, Hairfall, Shiny and luscious hair, Long Hair... Deciding to take up deep conditioning along with Sunsilk is an answer to my woes and of all those who are on the same page with me. I can see signs of my shine returning and my hair has become a lot stronger + softer minus the split ends. While it is still a work in progress, I can seriously vouch for the fact that Sunsilk did work wonders on my hair. Imagine the self-confidence that could exude from you when you walk into an interview with a recharged charm for your hair.  And that is how recharging my hair pulled me out from shambles and refreshed me up for a lot more interviews that are still in the pipeline. Bring it all On!!! Self-Management is an important learning in an MBA and Sunsilk helped me along the way to perfection.

To find out more about the products of Sunsilk and their features, please go to

http://www.sunsilk.in/

Addict #04: The CANDY CRUSHERS

           The most modern form of all addictions and the sweetest of them all. And it looks like the app is aiming to create an addiction epidemic with its candies that sit tantalizingly, waiting to be crushed. All around my circles, I have started observing an increase in people, who have formed this habit of waking up every morning and immediately open the app to complete a level or two. Facebook is finally eyeing a worthy competitor. Note it, not only the millennials, the baby boomers seem to have caught the saga fever too.

     While surfing, I came across a very interesting piece of blog that points out a few lessons for life from Candy Crush - http://akuainkausiapa.blogspot.in/2013/11/8-life-lessons-taught-by-candy-crush.html

                

Addict #03: THE EMOTIONAL EATERS

                   Ever heard of eating your feelings? Yup, few people use food to escape emotional chagrin. They depend on it so much that their first impulse is to open the refrigerator whenever an emotional imbalance strikes. When scientists from Montreal Hospital delved into this strange habit, they claimed that intake of a rich food actually causes chemical reactions in the brain similar to illicit drugs and soon, this tends to become an addiction. Slowly, you start eating when you are angry, bored, depressed, stressed, busy, not busy enough, watching a movie, hanging out with friends and so on.

                Gradually, eating whenever you experience a change in emotions leads to a continuous vicious cycle of high-fat diet intake. This is exactly where obesity happens leading to so many other psychological and physiological issues. I have mentioned a site below which throw light on 'Emotional Eating' and ways to control it.

Click here to know more about Emotional Eating

Eat to Live; Don't Live to Eat!!

Addict #02: The Knuckle Crushers

A common habit and an unhealthy one too. Few of us tend to break our knuckles whenever we get high on a few emotions, the most common one being Boredom. Sitting through an Economics class, if we are bored, we crack our knuckles; Watching a movie, if it drags, we do it; Waking up from a long sleep, we crush them as we stretch; Writing an exam paper, we do it when we a minute’s rest to resume writing. We can name so many other situations like this. Though we may enjoy the sensation, grating your bones over one another is not such a good idea.

While we crack our knuckles at times when our joints feel rigid and stiff, doing it during times of boredom is not advisable. The more frequent you start doing it, the more the knuckle joints start rubbing against each other. This leads to weakness in the joints and you fingers lose firmness. Soon, if you open your palms and hold them still, you can notice your fingers shaking for no particular reason.

Tips to Overcome: For the first few days, it is necessary that we remain conscious to note how many times we actually pop our knuckles in a day. Then, try replacing it with other relaxing habits like fanning out your fingers.

INTRODUCING: ThE bOoK oF AdDiCtS!!

             So, what kind of addict are you?? Addictions creep in when you crave for that first-time satisfaction that you derived from a person/object/habit. The craving is so strong that it makes you desperate and shuts down your nerve functionality if you do not get it at the right time. But, take a look at this video to understand the true nature of an addiction.

                While we are aware about the most common kind of addictions, I am trying to compile a queer profile of addictions that go unnoticed and unexplored.

Addict #01: The Smasher

                     Noted these folks? They are those who find peace in wreckage. When their temper reaches a boiling point, they take it out on the first artefact they can lay their hands on. Mostly, they prey on mobiles, cuz that's always in reach. Mobiles, mugs, bottles, boxes, spectacles, watches ets.. The sound of shattering gives them some kinda satisfaction and lets them cool down I guess. More the costlier, more the satisfaction!!
Tips to Overcome: As this addiction is a result of serious anger management issues, you gotta deal with it first. Try carrying around cheap pens with you which you can throw instead of your precious artefacts. Also, drink a glass of water once you feel your temper rising up - Helps a lot. And get a silicon case immediately for your mobile that covers both the screen and the back panel. 

USING SOCIAL MOBILE APPS TO INSPIRE THE INDIAN YOUTH TO VOTE IN ELECTIONS 2014!!

A contest of this kind is the need of the hour and a bunch of thanx to WeChat + Indi blogger for bringing up this topic for the bloggers to write about. Because, while we write for this contest, we as a blogging community will also realise our responsibility as a citizen on the day of elections. Plus, Indi blogger caters to an ever-growing blogging community that has the power of reaching many eyes and that is reason enough to at least take a shot at it with a hope to knock away the apathy that is largely inherent. The general Elections in 2009 had a pathetic average turnout of around 60% of the voter base of nearly 700 million. So, voters’ attitudinal change also adds to the never-ending list of the things that has to change in India.

    So, Social Mobile Apps and the Indian youth – Can we bring both together to make a difference in the General Elections 2014? Indeed, we can. Let’s get some underpinning evidences for the statement first.

     According to IDC, the Indian smartphone market grew by 229 percent year-on-year to 12.8 million smartphones in third quarter of 2013 compared to 3.8 million units in Q3 of 2012. As of now, Smartphone user data base is around 55 million units. A Nielson survey in Feb 2013 claims that at least half of these users are under the age of 25. So, doing a rough calculation with all these figures, I vouch for the fact that attempting to reach out to the Indian youth through social mobile apps would indeed give us some brighter numbers for the voter turnout.

     With the smartphone market resurging the savvy youth with attractive offers, m-commerce is fast becoming a business concept that will forever change the rules of commercial gameplay. Using the same concept, I believe the Indian youth can somehow be inspired and mobilized to vote in the forthcoming election. I have tried to put up a few ideas on how the youth could be motivated through social mobile apps.

    1)VOTER IDS: Before we discuss umpteen numbers of ideas from various bloggers, please be aware that most of the youth do not even possess a voter id. Unless and until this realisation gap is bridged, every other effort will be futile. So, the best thing is to first create a Facebook page that summarises in a few lines the need and how to take a voter id. Then, market and circulate the page link through messaging apps like WeChat, Whatsapp, Viber, Line etc..

    2)ANIMATED MESSAGES: Instagram is yet another way to connect to the youth. Sharing a pictorial that carries a message to vote may also get across. Not only Instagram, even the messaging apps can help here. For Eg, Viber wished its users a Happy Diwali by sending a picture message on November 3. Same way, sending a picture message about a week before the Election Day could serve as a reminder to the youth of their responsibility to vote.

    3)NEW EMOTICONS: As we text and ping our friends, the messaging apps give us a handful of emoticons that makes expressing our moods and emotions easier as well as comfortable. Creating a few more such as an electronic polling machine or a hand voting or the Lok Sabha architecture seems to be a viable option to me. This could help the sincere voters strike an animated plea to the youth through the texting platform and drive them to vote with these innovative stickers. Visuals have always been the strongest communicators.

Viber Sticker Images

WeChat Sticker Images

    4)POP UP ADS: Though pop up messages irritate users and are considered to be old school by now, they still prove to be useful. The pop ups could suggest the youth to ‘click here to check out the tweets of the presidential candidates’ or ‘Check out why you should vote in the 2014 Elections’.

   5)PINNED NEWSTAMP: When it is Xmas or New Year, the GUI of the social apps change, giving us a more pleasant experience to feel the advent of a brand new year or the thrill of getting gifts on a Xmas. The same applies here too. When US had its presidential elections, Facebook helped generate awareness by putting up a newstamp near its status box that said, ‘Today is Election day!’ Such an endeavour has a probability of evoking awareness in India too. 

    6)STATUS AWARENESS: Apart from the voter id issue, another grassroots level problem is that the Indian youth do not even have a basic idea about politics or the histories of the powerful netas or the political parties. It has always been a grey area for them. Though I am short of any kinda bright ideas to resolve this concern other than links to related webpages, an innovative proposition is still needed.

   7)POLLING BOOTH IDENTIFICATION BY GOOGLE MAPS: Google has recently signed up with the Election Commission. The scheme is that the EC will feed the location details of every polling booth into the Google maps database. Over the next six months, Google will offer EC its resources, including its search engine, to enable voters to check their enrolment status online and locate their polling station, complete with directions using Google Maps. Google has conceived this plan as a part of its CSR budget and sources inform that the plan may take off by the second week of January. This is a juicy chance for the social apps to provide that same link when the youth log in for texting their friends. Encourage them also to share the same link with their friends.

So, these are few of the ideas which I felt to be practical as they could be easily built in by tweaking up the codings by the techies. I could not boil up any more fresh technical ideas as I am not much a tech-savvy person. So, as the internet giants(Facebook, Twitter, Google) step in to back up the EC in moving the urban masses in India to turn up for the 2014 polls, it is also high time for the social mobile apps to support the same cause in every way possible.

BE THE CHANGE THAT YOU WANT TO SEE AROUND YOU,

kAy..!!