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October 2008

Spokes of Success

I was going through my old notes and found something very valuable today. I had taken note of 8 Spokes of Success model that TD and Suparna shared couple of years back.

In my mind, success isn't just about making money. There are actually 8 elements that you want to make sure are at world-class levels before you call yourself a winner. Let me identify them:

#1: Inner Success. This includes a positive mindset, high-self respect, internal peace and a strong spiritual connection.

#2: Physical Success. Your health is your wealth. What's the point of getting to a great place in your career if you get sick doing it? Why be the richest person in the graveyard?

#3. Family Success. When your family life is happy, you will perform better at work. No one gets to the end of their lives and regrets making their family a top priority.

#4. Career Success. Actualizing your highest potential by reaching for your best in your career is incredibly important. Getting to greatness in your profession brings a feeling of satisfaction on a job well done.

#5. Economic Success. Money is important. Makes life easier and better. Money allows you to live in a nice home. Take beautiful vacations and provide well for those you love.

#6. Community Success. Human beings have a psychological need for connection and belonging. A rich network of mentors, interesting thinkers and valued friends just makes life better.

#7. Adventure Success. To be fulfilled, each of us needs mystery in our lives. Challenge is necessary for happiness. The human brain craves novelty. And we are creative beings so we need to be creating constantly if we hope to feel joy. Lots of adventure (ranging from meeting new people to visiting new places) is an essential element of success.

#8. Impact Success. Perhaps the deepest longing of the human heart is to live for something greater than itself. Each of us craves to be significant. To make a difference. To know that the world has somehow been better because we have walked the planet.

I invite you to focus on each of these 8 elements if you want to experience authentic success. Money alone does not define success. There are many rich people who are unhappy and therefore unsuccessful as human beings. By focusing on elevating all 8 of these areas to world-class levels, you will not only shine ever so brightly for all those around you - you will also find contentment that lasts. Thanks TD for sharing the nuggets.


Good character is..

-Karthik Gurumurthy

  • Practicing patience when those around are impatient and have least tolerance.
  • Showing love when those around are not lovable.
  • Staying faithful and loyal when those around do not have commitment.
  • Being Gentle when those around are harsh and cruel.
  • Having Joy when those around are discouraged and discontent.
  • Being good and doing the right thing when those around do evil.
  • Demonstrating Self-control when those around do not have none.

Let go of your past

-Karthik Gurumurthy


"Love not what you are, but what you may become." -Miguel De Cervantes

There is hope that I can always change for the better. I can become more self confident, more in charge of my life, healthier, happier -- you get the idea. And there is hope that I can change a situation -- like finding a new career or going after a new life-style.

If you're like me, making any big changes can be scary. We will have to COMMIT. And we may have to take a risk. Let me illustrate what I mean:

Consider a performer on a trapeze. She swings back and forth. And then she encounters another trapeze bar. It is swinging toward her and it is empty. Now she has a decision to make. She may continue to hang onto her present bar, or let go and grasp the new one. But she can't do both! She can't hang onto the old and grasp the new with her other hand. She has to decide which she wants.

If she chooses to let go of the past and grasp the future, she finds herself suspended for a moment in mid-air. Scary! It's too late to go back and she has not yet latched onto the other bar. She is vulnerable and at risk. But she has decided to take that risk in order to move forward.

Life is like that. Sometimes you have let go of something if you want to latch onto something else. Maybe you will need to let go of an old job in order to take a new one. Or you may have to let go of an old relationship before fitting a new one into your life. You have to let go of other priorities on your time or money before grasping that new opportunity.

And for a while you may feel suspended in mid-air. You've committed to something new and let go of the past, but you have not yet grasped what is ahead. You feel vulnerable and you may be frightened. But you
know that the only way you can reach the new "bar" is to let go of the old one.

But like Pumba (from "The Lion King") says, "Ya gotta put your behind in your past." Then you're ready for whatever comes next.


Getting out of comfort zones

-Karthik Gurumurthy

The things that drive you crazy are actually giant opportunities. The people who press your buttons are actually your greatest teachers. The things that make you angry are actually your greatest gifts. Bless them.

The people or circumstances that take you out of your power have extraordinary value: They reveal your limiting beliefs, fears and false assumptions. How much would you pay someone who promised they could pinpoint exactly what is holding you back from your greatest life? How much would it be worth to get intimate information on why you are not exactly at the place where you've always dreamed of being? Here's the message: The things that irritate and annoy and anger you are entry points into your evolution and elevation as a human being. They are signposts for what you need to work on and the fears you need to face. They are gifts of growth. You can blame the people who trigger you and make it all about them. Or you can do the courageous thing and look deeply into yourself to discover the reason for your negative reaction. The fears you don't own become your prison bars.

And as you begin to shed light on your personal weaknesses and take responsibility for them, you actually begin the process of shedding them. You become stronger. More powerful. More of who you were meant to be. Every time I hear from TD or Bijon, they always speak the truth and put me in an uncomfortable position. Instead of questioning their suggestions, I slowly figured out over a period of time that it is better for me to do the recommendations and everything falls in place.

So the next time you talk to your mentor and he says something that sets you off , walk over to them, give them a hug and thank them for the gift they just gave you. Because they did.


The anti-aging formula which works every single time

-Karthik Gurumurthy

There's a cure for aging no one talks about. It's called learning. In my mind, as long as you learn something new each day, stretch your personal frontiers and improve the way you think, you cannot grow old. Aging happens to people who lose their lust for getting better and making their lives bigger.

Last weekend, I had the joy of spending a couple of hours in conversation with Vinny Pappalardo, who has accomplished so much in his life. I couldn't help notice that his eyes actually sparkled as he spoke of his love of books and big ideas. I asked: “Mr. Pappalardo, when do you read?” His reply: “Karthik, when don't I read. I read when I get up in the morning, when I can during the day and every evening. Most of my weekends I'm reading a good book.” He then added with a smile: “If you eat three times a day you'll be fed. If you read three times a day you'll be wise.”

Too many people never pick up a book after they've finished school. Too many people spend more time watching tv than getting deep inside the mind's of the greatest people who have walked the planet. Too many people have closed their minds to new insights and powerful thoughts.

I challenge you- this day- to leave the safe harbor of the known and step into the unknown, the place where the highest possibilities of your life live. Learn something new. Read from a new book. Meet a new person or try a new type of food for lunch. We all go to World's best University called Earth. And a great life comes via great learning.


Nobel Prize award Chemistry-2008

-Karthik Gurumurthy

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this year is awarded to three scientists jointly:

  • Osamu Shimomura, a Japanese marine biologist who discovered the green fluorescent protein (GFP) while studying jellyfish in 1962.
  • Martin Chalfie, an American biologist who successfully expressed GFP in living organisms in 1994, pioneering its use in biological research.
  • Roger Y. Tsien, an American chemist who developed methods to modify GFP into different colors, greatly expanding its applications in studying various cellular processes.

Shimomura's education: He received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Nagoya University in Japan in 1960.

Chalfie's education: He obtained his Ph.D. in biology from Harvard University in 1969.

Tsien's education: He earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from Harvard University in 1972.

It's important to note that each of these individuals played a crucial role in the development of GFP as a revolutionary tool in biological research. Their combined efforts, spanning from discovery to application, were recognized by the Nobel committee.