Quote Inspirational

Thoughts for Today is a special collection of articles that will make you think a little more about how you look at life.

Articles on this page:

• Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!
• Opportunity
• A Different Bank Account
• Identical twin escapes hanging in Malaysia after judge fails to tell brothers apart
• The Tao Of Forgiveness
• SAVING IS SIN, SPENDING IS VIRTUE
• Google's flub: Do we have a Web monoculture too?
• Young people abandoning email and TV
• The "Insta Grati" Virus Is a Killer!
• Wisdom from Lee Kuan Yew's Daughter

Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry, as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would be able to see him.

I saw him looking at his watch, and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor's appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health; he told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer's Disease.

As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, "And you still go every morning, even though she doesn't know who you are"?

He smiled as he patted my hand and said, ''She doesn't know me, but I still know who she is."

I had to hold back tears as he left. I had goose bumps on my arms and thought, 'That is the kind of love I want in my life'. True love is neither physical nor romantic. True love is acceptance of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.

The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have.

Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain!

Thomas Alva Edison

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

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A Different Bank Account

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.

As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.

"I love it", he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." "That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged .. it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. "It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.

Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I've stored away. Just for this time in my life. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!

Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.

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Identical twin escapes hanging in Malaysia after judge fails to tell brothers apart

Can this be true or is it all made up? I find it a little difficult to accept that just because the police can't tell them apart that the case is dropped. Another thing the report also said that they have identical DNA. Do identical twins have indentical DNAs? Like to hear your thoughts about this. Please leave you comments here.

Telegraph.co.uk By Thomas Bell, South East Asia Correspondent
Last Updated: 5:08PM GMT 08 Feb 2009
An identical twin has escaped execution in Malaysia after a judge ruled it was impossible to determine which brother was the drug trafficker.

The twins wept and embraced after judge Zaharah Ibrahim dismissed the case. "Although one of them must be called to enter a defence, I can't be calling the wrong twin to enter his defence. I also can't be sending the wrong person to the gallows," she told the court. According to the judge there was no doubt that either Sathis Raj or Sabarish Raj, both 27 years old, was guilty of trafficking 166 kilograms of cannabis and 1.7 kilograms of opium, but because they looked the same and had the same DNA it was impossible to determine which one.

"This is a very unique case," she said. The police arrested one of the twins when he parked his car outside a house in Kuala Lumpur and found bags of drugs in the car boot and inside the building. The second twin later arrived at the scene and was also arrested - but crucially only the first brother had house keys. "It is clear that the first twin who was caught was the only one who had access to the house. Therefore, it is impossible for him not to know what was inside the bags," said the judge.

Luckily for the first brother, the police were later unable to say which one they had arrested first. The case neatly created a version of the famous "prisoner's dilemma" in which each suspect can save himself by implicating the other, but only by mutual trust can they both walk free. Execution is mandatory for drug trafficking in Malaysia and over 200 people have been executed since the law was introduced in 1975.

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The Tao Of Forgiveness

One day, the sage gave the disciple an empty sack and a basket of potatoes. "Think of all the people who have done or said something against you in the recent past, especially those you cannot forgive. For each of them, inscribe the name on a potato and put it in the sack."

The disciple came up quite a few names, and soon his sack was heavy with potatoes. "Carry the sack with you wherever you go for a week," said the sage. "We'll talk after that." At first, the disciple thought nothing of it. Carrying the sack was not particularly difficult. But after a while, it became more of a burden. It sometimes got in the way, and it seemed to require more effort to carry as time went on, even though its weight remained the same. After a few days, the sack began to smell. The carved potatoes gave off a ripe odor. Not only were they increasingly inconvenient to carry around, they were also becoming rather unpleasant.

Finally, the week was over. The sage summoned the disciple. "Any thoughts about all this?" "Yes, Master," the disciple replied. "When we are unable to forgive others, we carry negative feelings with us everywhere, much like these potatoes. That negativity becomes a burden to us and, after a while, it festers." "Yes, that is exactly what happens when one holds a grudge. So, how can we lighten the load?" "We must strive to forgive."

"Forgiving someone is the equivalent of removing the corresponding potato from the sack. How many of your transgressors are you able to forgive?" "I've thought about it quite a bit, Master," the disciple said. "It required much effort, but I have decided to forgive all of them." "Very well, we can remove all the potatoes. Were there any more people who transgressed against you this last week?" The disciple thought for a while and admitted there were. Then he felt panic when he realized his empty sack was about to get filled up again.

"Master," he asked, "if we continue like this, wouldn't there always be potatoes in the sack week after week?" "Yes, as long as people speak or act against you in some way, you will always have potatoes." "But Master, we can never control what others do. So what good is the Tao in this case?" "We're not at the realm of the Tao yet. Everything we have talked about so far is the conventional approach to forgiveness. It is the same thing that many philosophies and most religions preach - we must constantly strive to forgive, for it is an important virtue. This is not the Tao because there is no striving in the Tao."

"Then what is the Tao, Master?" "You can figure it out. If the potatoes are negative feelings, then what is the sack?" "The sack is... that which allows me to hold on to the negativity. It is something within us that makes us dwell on feeling offended.... Ah, it is my inflated sense of self-importance." "And what will happen if you let go of it?" "Then... the things that people do or say against me no longer seem like such a major issue."

"In that case, you won't have any names to inscribe on potatoes. That means no more weight to carry around, and no more bad smells. The Tao of forgiveness is the conscious decision to not just to remove some potatoes... but to relinquish the entire sack."

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SAVING IS SIN, SPENDING IS VIRTUE

Japanese save a lot. They do not spend much. Also Japan exports far more than it imports. Has an annual trade surplus of over $100 billion. Yet Japanese economy is considered weak, even collapsing. Americans spend, save little. Also US import more than it exports. Has an annual trade deficit of over $400 billion. Yet, the American economy is considered strong and trusted to get stronger. But where from do Americans get money to spend? They borrow from Japan, China and even India... Virtually others save for the US to spend. Global savings are mostly invested in US, in dollars. India itself keeps its foreign currency assets of over $50 billion in US securities. China has sunk over $160 billion in US securities. Japan's stakes in US securities is in trillions.

Result: The US has taken over $5 trillion from the world. So, as the world saves for the US, Americans spend freely. Today, to keep the US consumption going, that is for the US economy to work, other countries have to remit $180 billion every quarter, which is $2 billion a day, to the US! Otherwise the US economy would go for a six. So will the global economy. The result will be no different if US consumers begin consuming less.

A Chinese economist asked a neat question. Who has invested more, US in China, or China in US? The US has invested in China less than half of what China has invested in US. The same is the case with India... We have invested in US over $50 billion. But the US has invested less than $20 billion in India ... Why the world is after US? The secret lies in the American spending, that they hardly save. In fact they use their credit cards to spend their future income. That the US spends is what makes it attractive to export to the US. So US imports more than what it exports year after year.

The world is dependent on US consumption for its growth. By its deepening culture of consumption, the US has habituated the world to feed on US consumption. But as the US needs money to finance its consumption, the world provides the money. It's like a shopkeeper providing the money to a customer so that the customer keeps buying from the shop. If the customer will not buy, the shop won't have business, unless the shopkeeper funds him. The US is like the lucky customer. And the world is like the helpless shopkeeper financier. Who is America's biggest shopkeeper financier? Japan of course. Yet it's Japan which is regarded as weak. Modern economists complain that Japanese do not spend, so they do not grow. To force the Japanese to spend, the Japanese government exerted it self, reduced the savings rates, even charged the savers. Even then the Japanese did not spend (habits don't change, even with taxes, do they?).

Their traditional postal savings alone is over $1.2 trillions, about three times the Indian GDP. Thus, savings, far from being the strength of Japan, has become its pain. Hence, what is the lesson? That is, a nation cannot grow unless the people spend, not save. Not just spend, but borrow and spend. Dr. Jagdish Bhagwati, the famous Indian-born economist in the US, told Manmohan Singh that Indians wastefully save. Ask them to spend, on imported cars and, seriously, even on cosmetics! This will put India on a growth curve.

"Saving is sin, and spending is virtue." Before you follow this neo economics, get some fools to save so that you can borrow from them and spend. This is what US has successfully done in last few decades.

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Google's flub: Do we have a Web monoculture too?

Google had a rough weekend and a human error caused the search giant to list the entire Web as malware for an hour or so. The screw-up is likely to raise questions about the risks of having a monoculture dependent on any one technology supplier. On Saturday, Google tagged the Web as malware and was rendered useless. After various reports, Google blamed the incident on human error.

Was the ruckus over Google's outage overblown? Possibly. But to many folks Google is the Window to the Internet. If folks can't Google people are simply lost. That fact alone probably qualifies Google as a Web monoculture although it may be a touch premature to make a definitive call. However, Google touches everything and frankly that's a bit worrisome. In security circles, monoculture is a key concept. Roughly speaking, whenever a technology - Windows for instance - is dominant it becomes a big target to attack. You attack the target and wreak a lot of havoc. Windows is a monoculture. If Windows is wrecked the damage is far and wide just because of market share.

Ryan Naraine in his Google coverage on Saturday foreshadowed the monoculture question. He said the Google incident "provides a harsh lesson on our total dependence on a single vendor/search provider." Is Google a monoculture? If Google isn't a Web monoculture today it soon will be. Google is becoming a search monopoly and it can extend that dominance into other areas. Just look at the reaction to its malware screwup. There was one hour when we couldn't use Google - and everyone noticed quickly. If Ask.com???or Live Search for that matter - had a similar malware tagging glitch the hubbub wouldn't have happened.

What's worrisome is that monocultures exist everywhere. The goal for every IT vendor is to become your monoculture. Windows is a monoculture. In enterprise software there's SAP and Oracle - that's a duopoly but depending on the company one of those two runs suppliers runs the business. Cisco is a networking monoculture. Pick an industry or technology and there's some form of lock-in. And the pressure for enterprises to become a monoculture is immense. How many times have you heard some CIO yapping about standardizing on one technology because it's allegedly more cost effective? When it comes to vendors they want one throat to choke. The downside: What you save in costs and complexity you lose in immunity.

Without any diversification companies are at risk. In this respect, all companies should diversify a little. Say Windows is attacked and effectively wiped out. The all - Windows shop is wiped out too. But if that company is 80 percent Windows, 15 percent open source and 5 percent Mac suddenly the prospects look better. If you take this argument to the Web the implications are clear. We should all diversify from our Google habit at least a little. Ditto if you're a small business totally reliant on Salesforce.com. In fact, any technology supplier - Web, SaaS, on - premise or otherwise - that represents more than 90 percent of your infrastructure portfolio needs some competition.

The monoculture issue is a lot like a pure - bred dog that has numerous health issues. Take golden retrievers or black labs. They are popular dogs. They are bred too much. And they have bad hips, arthritis and a host of other ailments. If you want a healthy dog you get a mutt. Your IT infrastructure should be a little bit of mutt too. Diversify your apps and providers whenever possible even if it's only to keep the big dogs honest. Perhaps the reaction to Google's bad weekend was overblown, but it's always a good time to ponder how monoculture affects your IT

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Young people abandoning email and TV

Two new studies conclude that young people are more into online games than social networks, and they also view the computer as more of an entertainment device than their television. Both findings should be welcome news for digital marketers eager to gain even more interest from brands targeting the coveted demographic.

A new report from The Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 78 percent of teens play online games, while 65 percent use social networking sites, MediaWeek reports. The line between gaming and social networking blurs for adults between the ages of 18 and 32, however. Half of that age group plays online games, while 67 percent of them are on social networking sites.

While almost a third of teens aren't using social networks, the popularity of email is in drastic decline. At least 73 percent of teens still use email - no small number - but that's down from the 89 percent who used email in 2005. They're flocking to social networks, text messaging, and instant messaging in lieu of email, Pew concluded. Deloitte's State of the Media Democracy survey found that three-quarters of "Millenials" between the ages of 14 and 25, find their PCs much more entertaining than the typically passive TV watching experience, MediaPost reports.

The firm surveyed Millenials in Brazil, Germany, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. and found that they're still the most active in gaming, music, and using the web for socializing. The firm concluded that 80 percent regularly search for and download music online, and 73 percent regularly use social networking sites, chat rooms, and message boards. Moreover, 59 percent use their mobile phone as an entertainment device, and overall they're spending at least one-third less time watching their TV than other generations.

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The "Insta Grati" Virus Is a Killer!

If I can do this, so can you! From the SBI Forums

Where does the Insta Grati killer come from? How does it grow? Is there a cure? It actually develops and grows as result of our own mindset and attitude, and in some ways it's a result of the society we live in. Why do I say it's a killer?

I've seen people's lives ruined as result of this virus, and I've seen businesses destroyed where it's present. It's something that, when left unattended, can run amock in the lives of humans. Interestingly, it's only present in humans - this Insta Grati virus. Ok, what the heck is this Insta Grati virus? Instant Gratification Wikipedia offers the following (my emphasis):

"Deferred gratification or delayed gratification (as an aspect of emotional intelligence) is the ability of a person to wait for things they want. This trait is arguably critical for life success. Those who lack this trait are said by some to need instant gratification and suffer from poor impulse control." Let's look at the first real example...

Imagine that Donald Trump wants to put up a new skyscraper. It's a given that he's a very wealthy man, and one would think that if he wants something now, he can get it - most of the time. Think of that planned skyscraper. Yes, Mr. Trump can get all the materials, and crew at the drop of a hat, but... The construction of the building will take an x amount of time, no matter how much he might jump up and down. I heard one of his buildings took 9 to 12 months to complete. Some may say he can throw more money at it - hire more people, equipment, etc., but that would cause costs to rise, and affect his ROI. Not something Mr. Trump would entertain too happily, I believe.

Now, let's consider if Mr. Trump didn't want to wait the 9 to 12 months, and he said, "Aw, to heck with this, I'm not prepared to wait that long - I'm going to the beach." Would he be where he is today? I've used Trump in the first example to illustrate that even for a man with his wealth, there are things that take time, and if there is no deferred gratification, nothing comes of it. Ok, we're not in the Trumpian world, so maybe that's not an ideal example.

Let's look at a second example, "closer to home", so to say...

Four years ago George (aged 56) started his own hydraulics business. In the first 2 years, he did everything himself: repair cylinders, make hydraulic hoses, remove pumps or cylinders at clients' sites, collect parts from suppliers - the whole kaboodle. Why? He started the business on a shoe string, and there was no venture capital backing - he had to build the business step by step. There were often times when, tired and aching, he would ask if it was worth it. But after a relaxing week-end, he would be re-charged, and raring to go.

Today, four years later...

George has 2 full time staff members, a part-time driver to collect parts, and he owns his own building, a sports car, and a luxury German motorcycle. But above all of this... George and his wife regularly take a break for a long week-end, and take a week's holiday 3 or 4 times a year - in a nutshell George is enjoying life! Was the little effort, when starting his business, worth it? You betcha! And what if he had wanted everything 4 years ago, instantly? I could cite a lot more examples, but I don't think it's necessary. Right?

Instant gratification doesn't work. Except maybe at the fast food outlet. The following from Ed Sim's blog: "In the broadband world we live in today, the Internet is about instant gratification." So it's different on the Internet, right? Think again. As Ken said: "Business-wise, it's more virulent on the Net because it FEELS like we should be able to build a successful Web site far faster than build a triplex-for-rent. But it's simply not the case." The phrase, "the Internet is about instant gratification," ... means instant misery when it comes to building our Internet business.

Remember Ken's words, "We're building a business, not a coffee table." Even when using the state-of-the-art Site Build It!, you will still need to follow a basic business process.

• Find your theme or topic (brainstorming).
• Choose a site design (L and F or HTML Editor).
• Create content (MYCPS!).
• Get links (MYLW!). etc., etc.

Takes time. And when the basics are done, and your business foundation is set... It still takes time to build your business. In the SBI! world, and the CTPM process, there is no place for instant gratification - in fact anywhere in the business world instant gratification does not work (unless you're the owner of a casino). So, how do you cure the killer virus?

Ask yourself this question: "Is the reward of what I'm aiming for worth the time and effort that I am now investing?" And when you ask yourself that question let your imagination wonder - think of the reward - visualize it. The alternative is to imagine discarding that reward for the short-term instant gratification of now. Your SBI! antidote...

• Follow the Action Guide (Video and printed copy).
• Brainstorm (PLEASE, don't rush this - if you're stuck come to the Forums and ask).
• Site Blueprint (Develop an effective site structure).
• Create original, unique content (Text, graphics, audio, and video - think what is applicable to your site).
• TNT HQ (I suggest printing a copy of the TNT HQ site map - there is a gold mine of knowledge here).
• SBI! Forums (What can I say...?).

If we look at the greatest teacher there is, we don't find any form of instant gratification. The teacher?

Think of a child. It takes 9 months for a child to be born. And when the child is premature, there are often problems, sometimes even fatal, unfortunately. Instant gratification doesn't work. Ken offers the pearl of advice: "The bottom line is... one DAY at a time. And within each DAY, one step at a time." Keep that constantly in your mind and before you know it - without even consciously trying you will have beaten the Insta Grati virus for good!

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Wisdom from Lee Kuan Yew's Daughter

My house is shabby, but it is comfortable There is no end to wanting - after the Ferrari and the Birkin bag, what next?

In 2007, in an end-of-year message to the staff of the National Neuroscience Institute, I wrote: 'Whilst boom time in the public sector is never as booming as in the private sector, let us not forget that boom time is eventually followed by slump time. Slump time in the public sector is always less painful compared to the private sector.' Slump time has arrived with a bang.

While I worry about the poorer Singaporeans who will be hit hard, perhaps this recession has come at an opportune time for many of us. It will give us an incentive to reconsider our priorities in life. Decades of the good life have made us soft. The wealthy especially, but also the middle class in Singapore , have had it so good for so long, what they once considered luxuries, they now think of as necessities. A mobile phone, for instance, is now a statement about who you are, not just a piece of equipment for communication. Hence many people buy the latest model though their existing mobile phones are still in perfect working order. A Mercedes-Benz is no longer adequate as a status symbol. For millionaires who wish to show the world they have taste, a Ferrari or a Porsche is deemed more appropriate.

The same attitude influences the choice of attire and accessories. I still find it hard to believe that there are people carrying handbags that cost more than thrice the monthly income of a bus driver, and many more times that of the foreign worker labouring in the hot sun, risking his life to construct luxury condominiums he will never have a chance to live in. The media encourages and amplifies this ostentatious consumption. Perhaps it is good to encourage people to spend more because this will prevent the recession from getting worse.

I am not an economist, but wasn't that the root cause of the current crisis - Americans spending more than they could afford to? I am not a particularly spiritual person. I don't believe in the supernatural and I don't think I have a soul that will survive my death. But as I view the crass materialism around me, I am reminded of what my mother once told me: 'Suffering and deprivation is good for the soul.' My family is not poor, but we have been brought up to be frugal. My parents and I live in the same house that my paternal grandparents and their children moved into after World War II in 1945. It is a big house by today's standards, but it is simple - in fact, almost to the point of being shabby. Those who see it for the first time are astonished that Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew's home is so humble. But it is a comfortable house, a home we have got used to. Though it does look shabby compared to the new mansions on our street, we are not bothered by the comparison.

Most of the world and much of Singapore will lament the economic downturn. We have been told to tighten our belts. There will undoubtedly be suffering, which we must try our best to ameliorate. But I personally think the hard times will hold a timely lesson for many Singaporeans, especially those born after 1970 who have never lived through difficult times. No matter how poor you are in Singapore , the authorities and social groups do try to ensure you have shelter and food. Nobody starves in Singapore . Many of those who are currently living in mansions and enjoying a luxurious lifestyle will probably still be able to do so, even if they might have to downgrade from wines costing $20,000 a bottle to $10,000 a bottle. They would hardly notice the difference. Being wealthy is not a sin. It cannot be in a capitalist market economy.

Enjoying the fruits of one's own labour is one's prerogative and I have no right to chastise those who choose to live luxuriously. But if one is blinded by materialism, there would be no end to wanting and hankering. After the Ferrari, what next? An Aston Martin? After the Hermes Birkin handbag, what can one upgrade to? Neither an Aston Martin nor an Hermes Birkin can make us truly happy or contented. They are like dust, a fog obscuring the true meaning of life, and can be blown away in the twinkling of an eye. When the end approaches and we look back on our lives, will we regret the latest mobile phone or luxury car that we did not acquire? Or would we prefer to die at peace with ourselves, knowing that we have lived lives filled with love, friendship and goodwill, that we have helped some of our fellow voyagers along the way and that we have tried our best to leave this world a slightly better place than how we found it?

We know which is the correct choice - and it is within our power to make that choice. In this new year, burdened as it is with the problems of the year that has just ended, let us again try to choose wisely. To a considerable degree, our happiness is within our own control, and we should not follow the herd blindly.

The writer is director of the National Neuroscience Institute.

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