Make a difference

by Vishal on September 1, 2010

I recently came across this verse – short but very powerful.

“I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence;
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

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Gratitude

by Vishal on August 29, 2010

Do you know what the most powerful emotional state that people can have is? Yes, that is gratitude. When you are in the state of gratitude, you get to see things clearly and any obstacles become an opportunity for you.

I use a gratitude list to remind me of the many things that I can take for granted and this list is on my desk so that I am can see it on a day to day basis. What am I grateful for? The many things in my life…from owning a car, to having a warm bed or having a healthy body. These items may be big or small but these are things that make up our lives.

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Has anyone noticed….

by Vishal on August 19, 2010

Every 18 months for the last decade, the world has doubled the data it pushes to you.

What does this mean? Twice as much email, twice as many friend requests, twice as many sites to check (how many daily e-newsletters are you signed up for?), twice as many devices (who has an Iphone AND a Blackberry?).

When does your mind lose the ability to keep up? Then what happens? Is it already happening? What is our tipping point?

Are you doing anything about it?

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Character

by Vishal on August 18, 2010


This is a classic story and a great reminder to never underestimate an individual on first impression.

A lady in a faded gingham dress and her husband, dressed in a homespun threadbare suit, stepped off the train in Boston, and walked timidly without an appointment into the Harvard University President’s outer office.
The secretary could tell in a moment that such backwoods, country hicks had no business at Harvard and probably didn’t even deserve to be in Cambridge .

“We’d like to see the president,” the man said softly.

“He’ll be busy all day,” the secretary snapped.

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How bad could it get?

by Vishal on August 15, 2010

I have been MIA for the past few weeks as I was on vacation and during this time I took many cabs and shuttles. Each time I made it a point to sit at the front to chat with the driver. This particular driver peaked my interest; he was constantly smiling and laughing like he was on the top of the world.

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Toastmasters

July 14, 2010

I’m a member of Toastmasters which is a nonprofit organization with nearly 250,000 members in over 100 countries. If you would like a good overview of the program – check out the following video clip:

Toastmasters – Video

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Power of Leverage

July 7, 2010

At a Real Estate investment network meeting, we were presented with a great simple worksheet on Real Estate investing and the ROI on this investment.

Referring to the example provided, if an individual purchased a home at a price of $240,000 and made a 25% down payment on the property (typically 20% is required) then a mortgage of $180,000 would be required. If you took a mortgage at 35 year amortization rate and we took an interest rate of 6% (current variable rate is approximately 2.25%) and you held the property for 10 years, your ROI is approximately 15% per year with a cumulative return of 172.5% over 10 years.

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Chinese bamboo tree

July 4, 2010

At a recent Toastmasters meeting, a colleague shared with our group the story on the amazing Chinese bamboo tree.

The growth pattern of this tree is amazing. Plant a bamboo sprout in the ground, and for 4 or 5 years (sometimes much longer) nothing happens.

You water and fertilize, water and fertilize, water and fertilize—but you see no visible evidence that anything is happening. Nothing!

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Your Mortgage Rate

June 29, 2010

Great clip on deciding between variable mortgage rate vs. fixed mortgage rate. Don R. Campbell does the work to help explain why choosing between one over other can save you money and increase your cash flow.

BNN – Don R. Campbell

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Persistence

June 27, 2010

“you can’t have someone else do your push-ups for you”….anonymous

Hard work and persistence is seen as a vital reason to success and just as in sports, elite performance in any task is always the result of continuous practice.

As the Wimbledon tennis tournament takes place in England, take Roger Federer for example, yes he does have talent, but his success is attributed to his rigorous practice habits. He is regularly seen in Dubai during some of the hottest months training in intense conditions to strengthen his condition for any gruelling 5 set match that he may face. You will note that he was part of the longest singles final match in history where he won against Rafael Nadal in over 4 hours of playing time.

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