Striving towards Excellence

-Karthik Gurumurthy

Where does this come from? It's from a seventeenth-century Samurai warrior. This was his four point key to successful living- and swordsmanship.

• No Fear

There should be nothing in this life that you are afraid of. if there is, you might need to do some work on overcoming that fear. Here I have to confess to a certain fear of rollercoasters. I avoid theme parks if I can. Few years back, I did go once considering the fact that I was in close connection with God that I uttered all the prayers and repented all the sins until I got out of that place. Whatever your fear, face it head on and defeat it.

• No surprise

Life seems to be full of them doesn't it? You're going along and bam! how did that happen? But if you look carefully, there were clues all along the way that it was going to happen. No surprise there then. Whatever your situation, it is going to change. No surprises there. So why does life to surprise us then? Because we are asleep half the time nestled in the comfort zone. Wake up and nothing can sneak up on you.

• No hesitation

Weigh up the odds and then just get on with it. If you hang back, the opportunity will have passed. If you spend too long thinking, you'll never make a move. Once we have looked at the options, we make a choice, a decision and then go for it. That's the secret. No hesitation means not waiting  around for other people to help out or make up our minds for us. No hesitation means if there is certain inevitability about a situation then just throw yourself in the head first and enjoy the ride. If there is nothing to be done then waiting doesn't help.

• No Doubt

Once you have made up your mind about something, don't go over it again and again. Stop thinking and enjoy-relax and let go. Stop worrying. Tomorrow will come along as certainly as it can. There is no doubt about life. Be sure of yourself. Once you have committed yourself to a set course, a path, a plan, then follow it through. Have no doubt was the right think to do and have no questions that you will succeed. Get on with it and trust your judgement completely.