Change your life. Why is everybody talking about it?

It’s the rage these days. People are moving from kick boxing to yoga, fast cars to slower, non-motorized bikes, moving to smaller towns, learning something they had never even heard of 10 years back, quitting their jobs to follow their passions, and… reading about changing their lives! There are books about how to change your life, there are talks, there are articles, and there are even many, many blogs. Now, here’s the surprise! Many of these are very widely read; No, I cannot quantify ‘widely read’ except to say there were at least a few of this category on every “Must read” list. This made me wonder, was it always this way, or is this a fad that just sounds like the right thing because everybody is talking about it, that may or may not catch on, like no-carb diets (ok, maybe I am saying this because there is no way I can stay off loads of carbs)?

Disclaimer: I am specifically talking here about books that give advice, not books that just happen to inspire, like biographies maybe.

I'll admit it. I have never considered buying a book to change my life. Maybe that’s why my life hasn’t changed enough to put me on the “Craziest people of all time- You won’t believe what they did!” list (What, that’s not a real list? Well, it should be, don’t you think?).

I was in a conference/networking meet a few weeks back, and some of the non-technical talks were along the lines of changing your life to become more successful. They were engaging, fascinating, but they all sounded like an astrological forecast… “Be grateful today that you are at least as lucky as unlucky”. Ok, none of them said anything that random, but it was all stuff that seemed so obvious, and wasn’t an eye-opener. Now, they were all leaders in their field, deemed extremely successful and they were nice enough to share their secrets about what they thought helped them achieve success. I have left many of those talks thinking ‘Wow, that was impressive’, but never thinking ‘Wow, now that can change my life!’ Maybe because success is subjective; it means different things to different people. People who know me have told me that my ideas on 'success' are very naive and pretty far from widely accepted ones. So, you might just have to find your own secrets. Their secrets might inspire you, but you might need to discover them yourself(Now, that sounds about as random as the astrology forecast :D)

So, if you are like me and cannot imagine reading a book or taking a workshop to change your life, then what drives you? How about getting inspired by a mom who just cannot stop learning new things, a friend who quit a great job to stay in a city that he loved, where he bikes to work and learns Kalaripayattu, an acquaintance who is pursuing a full-time dancing profession because that is what makes her happiest, the sweet old neighbor who walks the dog twice a day and never fails to wave and stop to say hello, or a five-minute casual chat with the same presenter whose brilliant talk impressed but did not inspire me before. I am hoping old-school tricks like getting inspired by the everyday heroes in your life, who do not even know it, is still an option.
What do you guys think inspires you the most? Books, talks/presentations, or chance meetings with awesome people?

Bon Voyage!

I wonder what it is about vacations that is just.. magical! :) It probably started when we were kids. From the first day of school in May (was it June?), we were already looking to the first day off. And, it was always blissful day-dreaming for a week leading to it. I even loved the half-day Saturdays we had, I would never miss one. Back then, all we wanted to do was sleep through the holiday (Wait, that hasn't changed! :)). Of course, my dad usually had a plan for us, after he decided to wake up, that is. As we grew up and had to plan trips for ourselves, we realized what a great job he did of planning perfect vacations.
It starts weeks before. Talk to people to see who's on board, make reservations, figure out how many people were willing to drive, places to see, oh will it rain that weekend... Plus, the seasons! Is it snowing up in the mountains, is it good hiking weather, is it time for fall colors? A vacation might last a few days or ,if you are lucky, a few weeks. But, I think a great vacation is one that keeps you happy beyond those few days; when you have as much fun planning it as you have on the vacation, and make enough memories to keep you smiling till the next one. Happy planning and bon voyage! :)