Thursday, 1 September 2011

Investment : do it different!


ME
I invested in things : my black guitar, white laptop, purple hoodie, my sneakers. I treasured people : my family, my 3 best friends, and my dog polo. well, somethings broke, some got stolen, some just perished with time and as far as the people are concerned, I left some and some left me. too much emotional investment. Too much monetary investment. All crashed, I broke. Well, you certainly know by now that I’m not a very good investor. So why the blog then? I guess I just want you’ll to learn from my mistakes.

WHAT MY LEADERS SAY.
“Where your treasure is, there your heart is. So set your heart on the things above, not on the things  below…”
A parallel thought process begins. My treasures like my guitar, my sneakers, my friends, my laptop…am I really not supposed to set my heart on them ? Why not? Well not anymore because I’m broke. That’s sad, plainly sad. So what am I supposed to invest in? wait, First things first. Money is not even on the list of investments. Seriously. Because money is temporary. I need to be smart enough to invest in something that will stay forever. Guaranteed. But when I say don’t be materialistic, that doesn’t mean you give up all of your possessions and end all your relationships and live like a hermit. But be wise enough to not set your heart totally on these things because they can leave you miserably hurt as they perish.
“…invest in your relationship with your Creator, your Provider. Because that’s going to stay forever.He's going to stay forever. Invest in good words, good virtues. Do good things, do the right thing. That will stay forever. And you have nothing to lose.”

WHAT JESUS DID.
He lived a simple life, loved everyone equally, served everyone equally, did not invest in a single thing I invested in. Wise, that he is. So we need His wisdom for investment. He invested in his relationship with His Creator. He invested in doing what is GOOD and RIGHT. He invested in LOVING PEOPLE. He invested in the ETERNAL TRUTH. He knew his life here on earth was temporary and so were His earthly possessions. He chose to set his heart on the things above. Eternity that never fades away.

INGREDIENTS.
Faith in God.
Wisdom.

DO’S
DON’TS
Set your priorities right.
Be materialistic
Check your investment status.
Be the 'monk who sold his ferarri' either.
Invest in eternity.




IMAGINE
You have grand life with a cushy job, a girlfriend, a salary of 500,000 per month, all the pleasures that money could possibly buy. But then one day, you get hit by truck. You die. You wake up, you see a white light and you walk into the light. And presto! You are facing god. He looks upon you with his divine and ever so peaceful smile and asks, “what have you gained in this life son?” you think not for a second before answering him with the long list of all of your worldly possessions and conquests. He listens to you patiently until you are done and then says, “All these years you chased the wind my son. Have you really gained from all this ?” at this you realize that all that you collected in your lifetime with the enormous amount of money, all those seemingly priceless possessions aren’t really worth anything here. It is then that you really begin to think what your life was all about. But then it’s too late.

P.S. invest in the right places. DO IT DIFFERENT.

Wednesday, 31 August 2011

Leadership : do it different !

ME
“…and hereby we would like you all to acknowledge 'z' as the new worship leader of the church. May our Lord bless you and use you for His mighty works.” And I go like WHOA!!! Seriously? Like me? Are you sure? I mean I’ve always had a thing for music and I like worshiping, but a leader? I guess that’s too much! I’m not meant to be a leader you know….I’m the kind that likes serving…not leading. But God chose me anyway. He’s the smartest guy you know! You have to believe him when he does things like these too.
Leader. The first thing that crosses my mind when I say this word out loud is - someone who controls people, situations, basically everything. Someone like Hitler or Gandhi. Someone who has a clear view on things, someone who is responsible and is a control freak, someone who wears better clothes than people working for him. I could go on and on….but here comes the twist, I’m supposed to be a serving leader like Jesus was, unlike the ordinary!!. I need to be an adhesive that goes into the crevices and keeps things stuck together.

WHAT MY LEADERS SAY
Pastor says, “True leader is the one who stands at the bottom and gives a strong base of support to the huge structure being built” you stay at the bottom and make sure everyone stays at the top. That’s how you become a serving leader. So when you are appointed to be a leader, remember the prefix 'serving', cause it makes all the difference.i have been privilaged to have spent three years with 'serving leaders',and let me assure you that they're most respected, adored and loved for what they are !  You can be an excellent serving leader too, at your school, at your workplace, at church,  at your company, wherever you are.

WHAT JESUS DID
Jesus: he’s a star!!! He asked if he could wash his disciple’s feet. I mean WOW!who does that? He said, “if you want to be great, learn to be the servant of all.” well, i know that it's easier said than done...cause in today's competitive world you gotta be the best and all...but hey, try being different from the best..and you'll see the difference.Jesus was the Son of God..the King..He could have been like a dictator and all..but He chose humility and LOVE above everything...and that made all the difference.  

INGREDIENTS –
Love
Humility
Patience
Adhesive qualities

DO’S
DON’TS
1.       Love people
2.       Be humble
3.       Love people
4.       Work hard
5.       Love people
6.       Set an example
7.       Love people
8.       Pick up their trash if needed
9.       Love people
10.   Be the support
11.   Love people
12.   Be polite
 LOVE PEOPLE AND SERVE THEM


  
1.       Be proud
2.       Under or overestimate people
3.       Boss around
4.       Be overwhelmed by the response you’ll get.




IMAGINE
You are the boss at some firm. You are at a meeting and there is a coffee break. People finish their coffee, let their Styrofoam cups be on the table and the next session is about to begin. You get up and start collecting the cups and throw them in the bin. It takes like a minute or so for this to register into people’s minds and just another minute to appreciate what you did. they'll remember you forever for this little thing. And will respect you for what you are and listen to everything that you say,  and love you. 
This is just an imaginary episode to begin with...Go on..be patient and be great !
P.s. DO IT DIFFERENT !