At What Cost?

Che Diavolo???

We were reminded at work that any gambling we may engage in between teams and people as the Football World Cup approaches, must be approved by the Compliance Officer. It made me smirk as I recalled how we would go to the bookies every lunch and put money on various combinations of results. A combination of likely and a few unlikely results happening would win you a reasonable amount of money. But, sometimes large accumulations would fall through by one result failing. The taste of disappointment in this after it happened a few times in a row would make you want to win the small amount of money you’ve staked, back. How to do this? Well, one way is to take an event that’s extremely likely and almost imminent, and put lots of money on it. 9 times out of 10 it will pull through; the Dominican Republic don’t come back to beat Brazil from being 2-0 down with 5 minutes to go – not very low likelihood, and if you stake enough, you will get something reasonable back. Since the odds are very high, your winnings wouldn’t be great, but at least we’d make back what we lost earlier; or so, as ‘youngsters’ we thought we would. We needed to recover £25. Italy, who had the most water tight defence in the world, had not conceded a single goal in the 2002 Japan and South Korea World Cup of 2002, all the way to the semi-final of the tournament, and were playing again South Korea. There were 15 minutes left, and Italy were, in their usual fashion, winning 1-0. It seemed sure as anything that they would not concede. Me and my friend went to the counter, put down £200, which would win us back the £25 we had earlier lost. I don’t particularly like explaining what happened next. Yes, the Koreans went up full steam, in came a cross, and somehow their striker rose above Paolo Maldini, one of the best defenders in the history of football, and scored! We lost the money, and were pretty disappointed to say the least. Never had our eyes opened wider in disbelief. We then decided we would never stake more than £1 on a particular sequence. Within a few days we won what we had lost. We evaluated how we felt about the sport, and about this gambling. We had initial started to put money on the football because we had quite a genuine interest in it, and thought it would be fun to make some predictions, it would add some excitement. When watching the Italy game however, we didn’t care about how amazing Paolo Maldini’s last ditch tackle was, or Park’s goal was. All we cared about was our money! We didn’t care about the process, we cared about the result.

If we analyse further, the £200 investment yielded nothing. The few £’s investment yielded over £200. Life is like this. Sometimes so much is invested into big things. These seem like the most important.

The Chopper

The sound of the chopper as it gets closer becomes clearer and clearer to everyone; there is anticipation to see who comes in. Eventually, and a elderly but polished looking figure enters with a lady. They are escorted by three people to their table and offered towels to refresh themselves from the journey. They're then served several rounds of refreshments and starters, followed by over a dozen gourmet delicacies along with the finest spirits. A weary, pale figure, knowing he is safe, relaxes in the comforts of the shelter he has taken; it is clear in his eyes. Thousands and thousands of Hong Kong dollars is simply no issue for the momentary peace afforded. What was the real cost of this enjoyment?

The young banker enjoys his night out with the lads, with scores of beautiful women from all over Asia surrounding them. Their toned bodies, tailored for enjoyment; they seem like they can forget whatever else they did during the day and just enjoy. Then as the planes depart for the weekend holiday, anticipation is in the air once again. The excitement of getting away boils. What is the real cost of this enjoyment?

Meanwhile, back in the dojo, the students line up, bow multiple times to pay their respects to the dojo, to the sensei, and to each other. There is a brotherly spirit, and the cost is minimal. Repetition of technique, again and again and again. Improvisation of the same technique, in different situations with different people brings a deeper satisfaction to one. What is the cost of this feeling?

Small everyday deeds

What does a set of martial arts classes for a year cost in comparison with a few holidays? What do they return? What is the longevity of the return? Now am not saying stop going on holiday! They're also fun and such rejevenation is important sometimes. But on the whole we certainly overinvest mentally, emotionally, and financially in things that have a very futile return, and underinvest in those things that have deeper, long lasting returns. If we live consciously of this, then in our work and outside dealings we will feel a greater deal of satisfaction, which will make us simultaneously happy and sober.  

As for the gentleman in the Michelin 3 star restaurant arriving by helicopter, what was the cost? From his eyes, it looked like a life-long stress in a business or something. Maybe it wasn’t, maybe it was a few lucky breaks, or an inheritance, who knows? Whatever the cause, you could see he was able to release his stress or anxiety in the restaurant not being around people except his lady. For the bankers, they have to work all hours, in a cut-throat environment, all day to sustain their routine and lifestyle. For the martial arts students however, it is daily increments of effort, of discipline which remove them mentally from all the things of this world, teach them to respect and to be humble, and to be determined. It costs a fraction of the price of the things mentioned above in many respects. What purchasable things do you need to practise martial arts? For Bruce Lee, it was hardly anything. For Tony Jaa, it was hardly anything. The important things in life, which can make us happier in a deeper way centre around good values and principles, and good values and principles do not cost anything. They’re free. Simple-heartedness is a rare virtue in many places, but is most endearing. Warren Buffet is simple hearted, and I don’t think he’d trade that mindset for any amount of money; he doesn’t need to.

A balanced life is very important, and we should absolutely make sure we are doing what we and our families need, but also the education that it’s not the £200 stakes that take all our resources that make us rich, it is the small things, the little things, but infused with goodness, which make us truly rich in life.

Galadriel: Why the Halfling?

Gandalf: I do not know. Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay, small acts of kindness and love.

 

 

They Want to be Told What to Do!

We often think we are able to guide ourselves sufficiently well, though many experiences in a huge range of fields show there's much to be said about being instructed, being told what to do. Whilst we need a balance between own judgement and instruction, in a world that is moving toward doing what you want, how you want it, we need to reassess how helpful instruction can be.
 

“They want to be told what to do!”

 

"They want to be told what to do!", said His Holiness Rtadvaja Maharaj to me, after I explained to him the lack of discipline with children these days. When showing some of the kids in our martial arts class a set of core exercises, I personally found it frustrating to deal with when I didn't see anywhere near level of discipline we had when we were kids neither in terms of perseverance nor behaviour. Rtadvaja Maharaj had extensive experience dealing with children in the US, in raising them with cultural values, spiritual values, respect and self sufficiency. He explained to me how he facilitated their taking taekwondo and judo lessons and how house rules and etiquette were pivotal to everything in their development. He explained how many of them come to him now as adults and thank him for such discipline at the time. After this conversation I kept in mind what he had instructed, that the kids, they actually want to be told what to do! This seemed totally against what I thought. Every time I told them what to do, it seemed they didn’t have the perseverance to follow it, or somehow preferred to do their own thing, their own incorrect adaptation. This had led me to change tact. I thought, ok it’s a new generation of kids, their lifestyles are different, maybe I need to be more accommodating. So over time I had either gone on one extreme or another; being either too lenient, or too strict. This was because no one had, with real conviction, confirmed what style works in that context and what doesn’t. So with Maharaj’s advice, I adjusted the style to put discipline and house rules back in the centre. Instead of saying "Hey, you just missed 5 repetitions, go to the side of the room and do double the number!" but rather "Do 20 additional repetitions as it's a house rule we all must follow so we improve our discipline." A somewhat small change in the context of a crazy room of kids who are falling over each other, but one that would prove effective over time. After a few months, I thought I'd try a different technique. I had been trying to work on some explosiveness, which wasn’t so strong. If you imagine sitting on the floor with your knees and shins flat on the ground with your feet tucked behind, and your back straight, from this position, the technique involved getting up onto both feet in a single motion. It's not only a test of explosive power but also the mental orientation. Your mind must be convinced, or trust the fact that you will thrust up in one motion. So as we were all about to cool down I said. what I'll do next I want you guys to do it. I demonstrated the thrust technique and stood up on both feet in one motion to a set of faces which had the expression "Oh, that looks cool, but I don't think I can do it." I explained that more than half of the challenge is mental for you, as you have sufficient physical capacity to do it, put your minds to it imagining what you'll do, and your body will follow, trust me. The kids got to their start positions, and within a few seconds, to my surprise, almost all of the ten or so children were able to do it. Although not showing my surprise, I was overwhelmed at how they trusted the instruction, and most of them we're able to get up, some of them with some real explosiveness! What a pleasure to see. They went to their parents and friends after class and also to their surprise, showed what they could do. Parents and children were happy and this created a kind of buzz, a kind of energy, I had not experienced there before. I believe instruction, discipline, and direction that Maharaj spoke of, had eventually led to this trust, and that trust had led to results that were otherwise impossible.

 

Unconstructive Creativity

I was invited to speak at a conference consisting of the banking community this week. One gentleman reflected, that bankers should respect and appreciate the openness of the Asian regulators in having open dialogue with the community they are regulating. It was a sensible point I thought. I expected most to agree with this, however, another gentleman, shared a contrary opinion. He said that when the banking community has been left to it’s own accord, it has resulted in overly complex, tedious, and mis-focussed dialogues, where 90% of the time has been spent discussing 10% of the issues. He said that we can become too creative, which has proven to lead to further complications. I was astonished to hear this from people who have the image that they think they know everything and are God’s gifts to everyone else. He rounded off by saying, sometimes we need to be told in black and white, what to use, and what to do. Remembering Rtadvaja Maharaj’s guidance on the kids wanting to be told what to do and the results that followed from this, it drew a clear parallel. When trying to get a huge, global community who are super high tempo, to reduce systemic risk, and increase transparency, how is it possible to achieve this without having certain common standards being set? In the beginning of regulatory change nobody wants to be told what to do, but after being given time and space it is realised that there is a need to set the standard in certain areas. From a legal standpoint, if there is not a consistent set of rules across jurisdictions, there may be market arbitrage. From a technical standpoint if there are not standards in place, things simply won't operate. From a process perspective if there are not consistent standards, there may not be transferability. We need to be told what to do, otherwise we can become what I’d call “unconstructively creative.”

 

Does this mean anything for us from a personal and also leadership perspective? Social media has effectively set an even playing field in one sense, for everyone irrespective of age, social status, geography etc. Justin Bieber has a Twitter account, and so do I, so do some of my cousins in India who live in rural villages, so do my uncles who are pushing 60. It’s changed certain aspects of the way we live, the way we share, the way we interact. The temptation is therefore there to view everyone as equal. The previous generations in their time never had these technologies, they used to interact in person face to face, most the time. In light of this new way, if we throw away values of respecting elders who have more experience, benevolence, and a desire to help the future generations, this may represent some of this 'unconstructive creativity'. If we don’t understand the principle of taking guidance, and we become more self-centred, and do not come to this realisation on our own accords, there will come a point where in the depth of our existence, we will hunger to be told what to do.

Respect & Relationship

Once upon a time, the great royal guru Drona was about to storm out after prince Duryodhana insulted him in front of the entire royal assembly. “A teacher who is not respected by the student, has no future there!” Without respect, there is no sustenance. If having differences leads to disrespect, slowly things will crumble, be it in an organisation or in a relationship. The dynamic of respect is worth understanding if we want to make our working and personal relationships deeper and have longevity. There are some principles which must be upheld for this to work.

 

 Hierarchy of Respect

Respect must be mutual. It is not possible for one person to respect the other for a prolonged period of time without feeling some level of resentment or anger, unless of course the person has mastered tolerance. If like most of us, they have a tolerance threshold, this will not last. If one was to be very calculating, one may think there are three possibilities with respect to respect. You may respect the other person more than they respect you. The other person may respect you more than you respect them. Or, you may have equal respect for each other. But in reality it isn't so simple is it? The balance changes, often by day. It is very important to understand that respect does not mean, you just believe that person is greater than you. There are many different levels of respect, almost like a hierarchy. At the most basic level, it means you acknowledge the person. Once I was in a situation where a person walked into a room and talked about another person in the room and referred to him as a third person “Is he coming?” Without acknowledging his name, in a rash tone, he referenced this person. So acknowledging a person, personally, is a basic level of respect. The next level is to appreciate the person’s good qualities. I appreciate Cristiano Ronaldo’s football abilities for example, therefore I have a certain level of respect for him that is beyond just recognizing his existence. Thirdly it means we adjust what we are doing for that person i.e. we will make time in our schedule for that person, or to do work they may want us to do. Fourthly, it means we are sensitive to that persons feelings – we don’t behave in a rash way unnecessarily out of our own mood swings carelessly. This shows deeper respect. When we think about our behaviour before acting, this can be deeper a sign of respect. We can recognize a person, value their greatness, and even adapt our lives to do what they want, but we may not be sensitive to their feelings at a deep level. For most of us, this is our relationship with our bosses at work. We do what they say, we certainly recognize they are our boss, but, we may not really care how they feel. With our partners at home, or our parents for example, the last principle is also likely to hold. This is because it becomes more personal. Respect means personal. Lack of complete respect means impersonal.  

Lamborghini Mentality

I walked into the reception of the building in my exercise gear, some of which quite frankly isn’t so new! I wanted to pay for my monthly rent. I approach the lady and said “Good morning”. She replied with, “Can I see your card please?” I hustled into my pocket and showed her my access card. “Good Morning Sir, please take a seat, how may I help you?” Suddenly I’d become Sir! Was it the first time? Absolutely not. Many times air stewards have addressed me and then realised I had a higher tier seat and then changed their way of interaction completely on its head. The former Chief Executive of IBM was once not allowed into his own building as he forgot his pass until he proved who he was. One friend said to me recently, “Why do we have to do something so impressive in order to be respected?” It made me think of what warrants respect in our world. A chicken in the hand is worth two in the bush as the old saying goes. What we have immediately is worth more than what we can ‘potentially’ have. So many people I know missed out on dormant potential. On the other hand so many people I know went on to exceed what one may imagine was their potential in life. When it comes to respect, what is respected, and what is respectable? Once again, there is a hierarchy. If I turn up at Niagra Falls and expect to be respected because I think I own it, I would be laughed at if anyone found out this is what I was thinking. I recall in London on a Saturday night, people would drive Lamborghini’s near Leicester Square and almost everybody could hear the engine, and would look to see who owns it. It commands a certain level of respect. However, we are not the car. It is almost a statement to say “I am as cool as my car”. But you aren’t the car. My point not being, don’t have a desire to have a Lamborghini, but that our belongings are not us, nor can they ever be part of us. Our body however, is more closely linked with us. We see many people showboating their bodies. It is the same tendency as the Lamborghini mentality. Look at me. After a certain amount of experience in life, a careful thinker will move up this hierarchy. Indeed many people who spend their life trying to own things and extend belongings, end up realising they should take care of their closest belonging; their body! One friend who is also from London who moved to China many years back and was a Karate practitioner who went all over the world to fight, explained how he now does yoga. After mastering the body, it’s flexibility, focus, and literally holding very tough positions for hours in the mornings, he explained to me that he realised that it’s also not about the body. That we are beyond the body. At this stage we can be at peace, we understand we cannot own things, we understand we are also not the body. We understand that our constitutional position is something different to meeting needs and commanding respect. This is where real dynamism and freedom kick in. It is where we can genuinely offer respect to others for things beyond what they supposedly own. The more we see the things around us all day in this context, the more we will be able to have an untainted view of the world.

“Full knowledge means that the jīva-ātmā, the living entity, must know both his position and the Supreme's position. That is full knowledge.” Srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagawatam 4.20.7 purport

 

&

Prada (Want) vs 7/11 (Need)

No more Queuing Up
It was a bright summer morning as the queue formed outside our apartment for the morning shuttle bus to get into Central. Although only a 30 minute journey, the queue is typically half of that duration. As the bus engine turns on, a neatly dressed lady runs to the queue in a frantic hurry and through a rude shrug, asks the less well clad lady standing at the front of the queue to be on her way. They swapped positions and it was clear that they lady now in the queue had made her maid wait in the queue so it would save her some time in doing whatever else she was doing. To my surprise, cooking, taking care of kids, cleaning, and now even waiting in queues can now be looked after by the maid. Finishing off putting her make up on, she got on the bus and quickly applied her nail polish. Chanel, Gucci and Prada were amongst the brands in her attire as they are with many who live the good life in and around my area. Thinking not too much of the situation except the fact maids can also be made to queue up for you, I went on with my day.

7/11 to the Rescue

After a few days of strong heat, it is normal for bursts of heavy rain to follow. This time there wasn't a very long queue for the bus, and the same lady who I had seen replace her maid sat next to me. We looked at the rain pour down, and as we arrived at the stop, from which there is a 30 odd meter non-sheltered walk, the lady realised she hadn't taken her umbrella. After some rummaging through the handbag she was sure she hadn't taken it. The Gucci, Prada and Chanel pieces were ever-present, even in the rain, but the umbrella wasn't. I was on the way to boxing, and the total value of my clothing and everything in my bag was probably somewhere close to the value of this ladies make-up. Although the way this lady put herself across was as though she was extremely self-sufficient, she looked toward the umbrella I was holding. I had bought the umbrella from 7/11 for no more than £3. She looked at me in quite a look of desperation, asked if she could walk under my umbrella with me to the station for those 30 meters. I said sure that's ok. I had such little, she had so much. Yet I had one of the few things that was needed in this situation. It is important to caveat that in and of itself, I don't believe it's a negative thing to have many brands or even having a maid queue for you for the bus, however the context and understanding of wants vs needs, is important. His Holiness Bhakti Rasamrita Swami, mentioned on his recent trip to the UK that we should at no cost 'outsource our consciousness.' This perfectly summed up what this situation made me more aware of, and it's implications in the way we live and the way we work, are big.



Remember the Umbrella

In prioritising what we have on our to do lists, a practise I've got used to doing lately is setting the must haves verses the optionals. The danger is, as life gets busy, that things which bring us immediate gains are prioritised over long term tasks. Relationships will bring us long term success, not administrative tasks, so seeing these as musts is important. Administrative tasks will keep us out of trouble yes and they also must be done, but we often forget the 'umbrella-like' tasks which we don't need on the way to the bus stop, but we will find we need once we get off. To view this principle of relationships even more holistically, we should never use relationships for personal materialistic gains. Because if this is our motive, we will be not find a deep level of satisfaction since purely materially driven pursuits are tinged with fear and worry. Fear of the competition outdoing you, fear of cost or depletion of resources, fear of not achieving what you wanted to get. We should not forget that people are people, not just a means to an end. If we view the relationship in this way, we will tend to deal with integrity and not with exploitation, and people will tend to have a genuine appreciation for this because they will likely have dealt mainly with other more superficial motivations.


Do it Anyway

Within the first two years of starting working, I once asked one of my mentors who is a very successful Partner in London, what if we keep doing the right thing and helping others but they don't reciprocate in this way back, and exploit your helping them. He said, keep helping them and keep helping people. I said that it's not really worth it though. He said, it doesn't matter, it's the right thing to do. Of course, the Partner was exceptional at what he did but where he got a chance he would always help people. This has long stayed with me and I can say with all confidence it works, even when you help seemingly extremely ungrateful people. There is an inherent power locked within doing the right thing. When we see needs and wants within such personal context of doing what's right, with the proper treatment of people, which doesn't mean just being nice all the time, but also the appropriate disciplining where required, then we will feel more fulfilled and break a satisfying balance in life and work. To conclude this peice, the poem called "Anyway" by Mother Teresa is a wonderful offering.

People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered;
Forgive them anyway.
If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives;
Be kind anyway.
If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies;
Succeed anyway.
If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you;
Be honest and frank anyway.
What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight;
Build anyway.
If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous;
Be happy anyway.
The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow;
Do good anyway.
Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough;
Give the world the best you’ve got anyway.
You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and God;
It was never between you and them anyway.

Letting The Jones' Go

It is said that Ali would not be Ali if it weren't for Frasier, and Foreman. The intensity of competition in the tennis at the moment is without doubt the highest it's ever been. You have the world's greatest in Federer, and two elite challengers in Nadal and Djokovic all almost rotating at the top during one half decade. There is no doubt that competition may bring out the best in people in some dimensions. When you are forced to dig deep to pull out your best performance as opposed to no pressure, there
is something about this environment which takes us to another level. How should we understand this dynamic in our work lives, and indeed our personal lives. Too often people view things in silo's expecting that competitiveness in one field stays in that field and doesn't boil over into others. The reality often is, that competitiveness is an attitude, that does boil over, and does affect other parts of our lives in ways that may be constructive, and if not handled in the right way, counter-constructive.

 

The 1.30am

I took part in a race the weekend just gone, and there were many many learnings, which am most grateful for. When we finished the race, the interviewer asked our team what the greatest challenges. One of our team said it was the three staircases per floor, which meant our body was constantly turning, and it made it difficult to gather a rhythm of some sort. Whilst I certainly agreed, my difficulties were different. I had worked until 1.30am on an occasion that week, and was not even recovered from a flu which I'd sustained for a week as a result of overwork and change of weather. This meant that a training process which was recommended to be 4-5 weeks was shortened drastically to 5 days, in which I needed to squeeze in a break also, meaning effectively two sessions as I'd need to taper off before the event. I had skipped my Muay Thai for two weeks due to being too tired from work, something that hadn't happened before, and had 5 days to train with a cold for what was known to be a intense tace. I finished work, and got into my gear, and starting from the base floor, went up all the flights in my apartment, 38. I was tired, it was hard, and the intensity concentrated on a very particular part of the thigh. After a two day break, I repeated the same thing twice, and felt ok. I guess I was kind of ready but conscious that the floors in the ICC were almost twice as high as those in a residential building. But once the technique is known, then with perseverance and grit, it would be ok. I ended the training with 400 skips on the jump rope, and felt satisfied that it should be enough, and at least the best I could do in the time I had. So then I tapered off till the event. I had two races; the relay race, and then the individual race. After a good team effort for the relay, albeit with some confusion, and a good finish time, I went back home to recover, shower up, and return for the individual race, which I knew would be the real challenge. I was far more relaxed, and even ended up doing some boxing before the race to loosen up as some guys from the MMA centre were there promoting.

Neck & Neck

When the race fired off, I got off to a quick start, but knew the theoretical importance of keeping a steady pace, and not going too quick at the beginning as it was after all, 100 floors, not 38. My attitude was quite fixed; pretent no-one else is there, and it's just you running up. Ignore the noise. I got to the stairs first as I like a sprint. People then began to over-take. Many rugby players took part and they charged up, three steps at a time. I continued at two, and probably saw half the pack go ahead of me. It was fine, I wasn't bothered. It stayed this way until roughly the 20th floor. I then heard a group of people huffing and puffing. I then tip toed my way past about 10 people who obviously had gone too fast for themselves, run out of steam and slowed to two steps, or one step. Some of the rugby guys included. I had got into a good rhythm by 30-35 floors, and then came a point when we had to stop climbing, and run around the entire building to the opposite side's staircase. The running really helped break up the pressure which had been felt on the thigh. I noticed, if I walked, it used the same part, but if I ran it used another part. So I ran. I didn't stop for any drinks as I didn't want to break the flow. After a good stretch until 60th floor, I caught up with an Australian guy and a German guy who were very athletic and setting a very good pace. We went up 18 floors neck and neck, keeping the pressure on each other. Then came the next break of stairs where we had to get off and run to the next set. The other guys stopped for a quick drink and that was the last I saw of them. There was one more guy in my batch within reachable distance. He was taller than me and had done well so far. On 85th floor I saw  him 2 sets of stairs ahead. I didn't mind his being there, he was clearly in great shape, looked well trained, and I just respected his being there. Suddenly, I got quite close to him, and he realised we were neck and neck. So he sped up, and then so did I, then he sped up again! In this way, we kept pushing each other. Then I thought, I will just set the pace I am capable of setting, and running at. I will simply go up to my best. In this way, I ignored his existence in a competitive sense. He began to tire, and by 97th floor, I didn't see him. With the final three floors, I continued at three steps a time, and completed. At the end of the race, I waited for the guys I'd seen on the way up, and thanked them for keeping the pressure on as they did. It was a nice experience.

Rise & Shine

That was a race, it's meant to be competitive. Life is not a race, nor is it a competition. The very next day, as I got into the lift of the Cheung Kong Centre, the Bloomberg weather was playing. "The Sun is trying to break through the clouds, and it just about coming through," they said. No, I thought. The Sun doens't try to break through anything, the Sun just shines. The clouds cover the bit of the Sun that we can see, and sometimes we see it and sometimes we don't, but the Sun doesn't 'try' to do anything, that's just what we see. It was so interesting that just because we 'try' to do things, we think other things have the same dynamic; they don't. We are all individual, we all have our unique
abilities. The Sun is the Sun, it just shines, it doesn't compete. In this way, it made me reflect that this is a nice attitude to have. it doesn't matter what pace the others go at, you just have to be satisfied that you are putting in a concerted effort in doing what you want to do. Ignore the noise. In this way, we will be able to respect others, we will be clear that life is not a competition, and we will be happy.

"There are many competitors in ordinary business affairs. A karmi (materialistic person) must be envious because he wishes to enjoy material pleasures to their fullest extent. Consequently there is always competition between these people." Srila Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagawatam

Only this one!

Asia is the kind of place where there is sometimes opportunity after opportunity. I sat down at a new client this week, and reviewed with my boss all the things on my radar. He said, “This week, only this one Prash, only this one!” He was very clear in his mind. You could see how much he had also been prioritising it. He said, the rest will take care of itself. I went away and internalised what he said, and with all other commitments being cancelled, began to absorb myself on the one priority. After a few days, vehemently positive feedback emerged on how much the situation was beginning to improve, and quickly. I almost put myself under undue pressure to do as much as I could to focus on what he asked me to focus on. I could have got away with less. Slowly, time emerged, and due to such a positive beginning, it was expected of me that I would check in on the other opportunities. 

When I came back home this evening, as a result of the intense first week, the flat was, shall we say, not as organised as it usually is, and should be. I had come back from the Temple, and was in a somewhat peaceful frame of mind. As I had set out on the way home, I was mentally preparing myself for the various bits of housework that needed to be done. For me housework keeps you conscious, it keeps you aware. I don’t regard it a burden, I regard it as something that keeps me in check in many ways. Opening the door to the apartment, I knew what I would find, and had a vague idea how I would go about approaching each bit. However, for some reason, even though expecting it, it overwhelmed me. Sometimes even though prepared for a situation, we are still overwhelmed when it happens. What mentality serves us well at that point?

 

As my mind went into overdrive, I thought, what do I do first? Putting the clothes into the washing machine? Sweeping? Putting clothes into the cupboard? The washing up? The bathroom? All were in an equally bad state. I thought, No, I will first see to the alter where I keep various devotional paraphernalia, I will try to serve the Lord. This is the main goal of life. Then I will do everything else. With this focus, I lit an incense stick, and dimmed the lights to create a devotional atmosphere. Immediately after doing this, there was no confusion, dilemma, etc over what to do next. It all fell into place like clockwork, and most interestingly, it was enjoyable, it was satisfying.

 

It is said in the great ancient Indian text, the spotless Purana, the Srimad Bhagawatam, that “One who knows Krishna (God), knows everything else.” It was so revealing comparing these two situations. Did the author mean that if you understand Krishna then you will be able to sit a micro-physics paper and get everything right? Or did the author mean that once you know the real priority in life, then everything else becomes understood relative to this? I would say likely the latter. The power of focus and prioritisation is relevant at every stage of our life. If we understand the universal principle of prioritisation, we will be very effective from the kitchen sink, to the boardroom.  

 

 

Goals: All & Nothing

Singapore tops the tables in so many categories; it has the lowest crime; there were 80 days in which not a single robbery was recorded. It is home to the healthiest people in the world. It is the easiest place to do business. It is one of the least corrupt countries in the world, and has the best education system in the world. It has the lowest drug abuse in the world. Everything has consequences. Short and medium term progress is symptomatic of structure and process. The coverage of Africa in the media, and interest in its political and economic situation from China is significant as a result. The Chinese put in place structure and process in Africa and continue to make significant returns from it. What structure and process don’t bring is happiness. Happiness is the sustaining factor. For something to last, there must be happiness. If you sense people aren’t happy working for you, they’ll likely leave soon, unless the external circumstances don’t permit them to do so. Singapore, according to a Gallup survey, also has the least happy people in the world, even beating Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. Despite of all the process and structure, there’s not happiness. Why?

Goals, goals & goals

If you are taught that to become number one is the all in all, then your happiness may likely become tied to this. Some people make it to number one, and indeed they may be happy. But there is only one person who is number one; what happens to the rest? Maybe they’re the ones who answered the Gallup survey. I came across a very fitting quote from a friend who was reading Hermann Hesse, “The trouble with goals is that one becomes obsessed with the goals. When you are seeking, it means there is something to find. But the real freedom is the realisation that there are no goals. There is only the now.” The way I would understand this, or want it to apply is that whilst we should absolutely have goals, these should always stay in perspective. Perspective doesn’t mean that once every now and again we donate a few goods to people who need them, or make some food for poor people. Yes, that may help us keep perspective. But perspective means to constantly be conscious of the now and be content with the now. It is an important distinction to draw, if we are continually meditating on our goals as the all in all, then we inevitably will become attached. The Bhagawad Gita says “While contemplating the objects of the senses, a person develops attachment for them, and from such attachment lust develops, and from lust anger arises.” This should answer the question asked in the last section regarding happiness, as if one is focused on these goals of being number one to an extent that it becomes an obsession, according to the Bhagawad Gita, this doesn’t sit well with being happy.

So what?

I’ve been taught by many people to ask “So what?” If people are proposing a problem, or pitching a big solution, the key question is “So what?” Many seniors around me have always taught me this. They’re thinking of the bottom line. If you do x and y, then so what? Ok, so you propose x, so what? Is there something wrong with this kind of mentality? I make it a point when teaching martial arts to the under 18’s that one should be on time. It is critical that you are mentally prepared before getting up to spar or to perform a drill. Without the mental preparation, failure may be a result of something you could have avoided. Which is not ideal, and may cause regret. So as a standard, I like to be well on time. This means am sometimes in a real rush to get to the centre. This week is the end of the first week of a month called Kartik, a sacred month in the Hindu calendar. Instead of drawing up many steep targets and extra austerities I would perform, I said I will just take things slower, try to build more perspective in what I do. In the spirit of slowing down, as I left the flat to go to the centre, I left well ahead of time, so that I could ease myself of mental pressure of being there on time, rushing for buses etc. It was ok in the bus, but as soon as I came off the bus, I felt an uncontrolled urge to hurry up, to run. Why? Because we’re conditioned to doing this. We are so outcome oriented, we fail to acknowledge and appreciate the process enough. Not always being in “So what?” mode, is a liberating place to be. People around you will feel that also. People who work for you will feel that. This kind of mentality, combined with a serious drive to focus and get things done to a very high standard, for the sake of doing it, not for the desire of what you get as a result; is a clear winner in avoiding having all the process and structure in the world, but no happiness.

Being Real: Avoiding the High Horse

They both do the same thing!
 
I recall my first business trip to Geneva. The Swiss have of course always been known for their excellence in class, quality and elegance. I felt like I could smell that in the air, it’s been their culture for years and it was an experience being around that so closely. After spending a week working in some of the nicest offices even to date that I’ve been in, that realisation around the Swiss and quality was re-affirmed. The Asset Manager had a Michelin 2 star menu in their executive suites which they kindly treated us to before we left. It was a pleasant trip and a nice goodbye and we headed back to Geneva airport at the end of the week. I was with the Managing Partner of division and I’d been into my career for a few years. Our flight was delayed by 3 hours so we had a while to wait. The Partner told me he was fine just sitting and finishing some work. I said fine, I will walk around. As I walked around seeing the various watch shops, converting and comparing the duty free prices, my mind became full of such thoughts. After an hour I kind of had enough, and went back to Richard. I asked quite innocently, Richard there’s so many watches to choose from here, which one do you have? I was expecting that he would show me a nice Tag or Rolex given his role etc. He looked up and smiled. He pulled his sleeve and said, I’ve had this for the last 15 years. It was a rubber Casio. Such a simple model, almost like something I had when I was 8 years old! As he smiled, I am smiled in slight shock. I said, Really? Wow. He said, they both tell the time! I’ve met Partners with incredibly nice, very expensive watches, and now one of the Partners for whom I have a lot of respect given his character and way of doing things in the right way, had a cheaper, simpler watch. Both Partners behave in a respectful way, and their mannerisms are similar. Do I think having a cheap watch as opposed to a expensive watch is a huge indicator of personality? Not really. But it’s an indicator of a principle and statement “It’s ok to have certain part or parts of you or your life that are normal, or average. There’s no need to be on a high horse all the time.” He was successful, he was real, and wasn’t afraid of being judged.

 

We like to think we’re sophisticated

I was recently invited to the personal residence of the British Consul to Hong Kong for an evening reception. The reception was after the Offshore Remnimbi Exchange Forum hosted in Hong Kong to discuss large currency swap agreements in place between the UK and China. Amongst the guests were Lawyers, Bankers, and Policy Makers involved and affected by these flows. As we discussed, the topic of the effect of the weather came up, and how more sunshine seemed to make people feel happier and have a more positive outlook on everything. We jovially shared that the conclusion was that we like to think we’re so sophisticated and balanced in our outlooks, but actually throw in some sunshine and everything is ok! Whilst a jovial example, it also shows the acknowledgement that people may do so many things to legitimise their thinking, their conclusions, their outlook, etc, but actually it often boils down to a very simple thing; how you ‘feel.’ We often see it in the office. When people are happy about going on holiday etc, they may overlook things. And on the contrary, if they’re in a soppy mood about personal things in life, it may affect their level of engagement. Don’t underestimate the potential for this dynamic to affect senior people, and in fact anyone; it can, and often does.

 

Objective used to support Subjective

When on the high horse, we like to think we’re sophisticated, objective, etc. That’s part of the definition of the high horse position. If someone in a great position of authority makes big decisions driven by sentiment and subjectivity, their position would be questioned. Often driven by fear of losing position, people may want to make a decision driven by a subjective or improper desire. And to do that, they use a set of objective actions so it seems to be robust. In this way, we may use the objective to justify the subjective or achieve the subjective. For example, I want to do something, I have one type of motive, and I will substantiate this using many undefeatable arguments which I have immense experience in forming over the years. This dynamic is very common, not only in the workplace. People want to make money on selling blueberries. So they advertise the health benefits on mass, perhaps even exaggerate them. It is a dynamic we must be aware of as it affects us first hand. We may be affected by others subjective plans through their objective decisions. If we’re analytical, we can zoom up and see the subjective which is actually really driving the objective. This is why it’s useful to know reporting lines of people you work with. This enables us to understand priorities, and what others are charged for doing, and therefore how they will likely engage with us also. Being conscious of this dynamic will help us prioritise our efforts intelligently. Whilst it’s obviously a very important tool, and one of the first things we think about before engaging deeply with people, it’s also important that this doesn’t receive our undivided attention as these things are never more important than the higher goals we should really be focussed on achieving.

In conclusion, if we stay simple, not be afraid to express ourselves as we are, then we will be less prone to this confusion of the objective and subjective motives and actions since these will all align with a real view. This is something I really appreciate in Muay Thai and the martial arts. When we train, it’s real. You put on the gloves, guards, get in the ring and get on with it. There’s no hidden agenda, there’s no faking it, everything is out in the open. As the things we deal with become more complex, the intentions, motives, and also actions become more complex, and therefore whilst it’s not impossible, we need to do more to maintain a balanced and real outlook through being intelligent about what and who we’re dealing with, without losing our being ‘real’.

Perspectives: No Right or Wrong?

Everybody has their own perspective. People express themselves through what they wear. They post their opinions and feelings on Facebook and Twitter, etc. They debate views in conversations with each other. The newspapers even have sections called ‘Opinion’. So much of life is about interactions based on opinions and perspectives. How often do people really get their head around how to deal with opinions and perspectives especially as the social networking age really sets in? We’ve all heard that listening is important, but ultimately we need to decide, and act, not just debate opinions. This is the fundamental basis of political systems also. In the workplace, this plays an interesting role, and it can empower us if we are aware of the role of opinions, and perspectives of different people.

 

As I opened my eyes from a dozy, half-baked sleep as the plane took off, I found the air hostess had given a packet of peanuts and a drink, which happened to be a bottle of water if you weren’t awake to choose what you preferred. With my eyes barely opening, I took the packet of peanuts, and with the little energy I had in that dozy state, went to tear it open. It was a little stubborn and wouldn’t tear easily. So I look at the packet closer, saw the dotted line, and the small tear that had been made by the manufacturers, and with ease I tore it open. I had tried from various positions, from the other side to tear, to grab both sides and open from the middle, but with little effect. I recalled as a child opening boxes which had been bound with a kind of plastic tape that was industrial and extremely hard wearing. This tape is taken around the box, and then glued to create the link/seal. I would sometimes spend long trying to open it, and the meshed tape would simply not be torn. Once discovering the method, which was to find the part it was glued, and pull it apart in opposite directions so as to separate from the main bond, it was really very simple. In either case, so many experiments, speculation on what might work what won’t work, were ultimately useless until a proper method, of which there may be more than one i.e. using scissors or finding the correct opening. Often in Asia I’ve found myself lost in a range of circumstances from not being able to find a building to not knowing how to get a piece of thought leadership put into the right marketing format at work, to finding out how to use the scanner. Not surprisingly, the most effective method was to ask someone who had done it before.

 At all levels, such identification of the proper and effective method, works. It is not that every perspective is valid. The modern day concept that there’s no right or wrong answer, is wrong.  Tearing the industrial tape with your bare hands by brute force, is simply ineffective because it is designed to bare many kilos of force without ripping, and therefore there is a proper method for breaking it. Therefore it’s important to be able to identify what is effective and what isn’t. Listening to perspectives and opinions from all spheres, is however  important on many levels; one builds an understanding of peoples thought processes, their experiences, and their lives, one may be able to learn something from them whatever it may be, it could be something indirect, and listening also conveys a sense of respect and appreciation for others. But we should know that there is a hierarchy of how effective particular perspectives and opinions are; this is called judgement and we use it in all our decisions including which queue to go for in the supermarket; some things are known, some things are unknown, but we endeavour to make an effective choice or judgment call.  The less unknowns there are, the better. If you want to be successful in a business where you’re working for someone, you stand far more chance if you inquire, find out the strategy, and build on it, or help work towards it. If you’re an entrepreneur, you need to inquire and understand the demand first hand, not through speculation, but through objective observance and inquiry of habits, trends, tendencies, etc. When one is simple minded, then they can humbly and openly ask how something works, with a clean slate and really absorb what’s being taught. If the mind is clouded with many competing demands, then we may hear what has been said, but we may not have listened, or absorbed it. In conclusion, the miracles really start to happen when we sincerely try to find the right way of doing something, with an open approach that is respectful to others, and at the same time willing to go out of our way to go down the right route. This attitude will naturally give us more confidence in what we do, and the reason for that is that we are all wired up with consciences, and whether we know it or not, those consciences thrive on doing the right things rather than the wrong things.

Importance of the Next Generation

Importance of the Next Generation

When Lord Rama was sent to gurukul, his teacher was Vasishta Muni, a renowned and very wise sage, said to his students, please do not take on my bad qualities, and please accept any good qualities I may have. This was his humility, and that too, fitting for a great sage, and in the context of great students. Srila Prabhupada, a great teacher of the essence of the ancient Vedic principles particularly in the West, had a disciple who was a particularly talented artist. One day he was speaking to this disciple, and he said, “I can write, but you cannot write. You can paint, but I cannot paint. Let’s work together in Krishna’s service.” Whilst these examples are fundamentally spiritual in their objectives, when principles are extracted from such perfect scenarios, when even a small effort is made to apply them in the situations and contexts we are in today, the results can be astounding. As part of arranging a nicer situation, one should take stock of where they lack; even if it may not be ability, but simply time, and engage others according to their inclinations. This requires introspection, awareness, and an interest in others. Only then can one successful expand something.  The Vedic system has always placed emphasis on the training of the future generations. We see in both the Ramayana and Mahabharata, the great King’s, Queen’s, families, would take keen interest in the next generations upbringing. This is very important. A few weeks back, we held an event, and rather than inviting another senior speaker to say some words, we decided to have the youth speak. With some training, they were able to engage their energy positively to great effect. The result was simple; inspiration for the current generation, and promise for the next.
 

Unless we aim high, values may not be necessary

If someone sets low targets, then they don’t need discipline; they don’t need to abstain from certain things, they can be lax, and still come through. If we are striving for high goals, in whatever field; then we will need discipline; we will need regulation; we will need continual inspiration and encouragement from those better than us. When people strive high, and do things in the right way, they will need certain values. As one of the students pointed out to me today, the only place you can find success before work, is in the dictionary. In order to work, we need to be regulated. In order to repeat success many times, if we want to deeply understand the principle, we will need humility. UFC legend, and welterweight champion, Georges St-Pierre is a great example of humility and success. He openly posted a video of him trying to do a one-armed pull up. He said, I cannot do this, I do not have the power, but if someone can, then please show me and with your help, maybe I can learn. Earlier this weekend, I was fortunate enough to spend some time with the Chief Executive of Hong Kong Rugby Union to discuss a few things. In addition to that role, he is one of the head coaches for the Hong Kong Youth Team, and often has the likes of Martin Johnson alongside to train with them to impart his knowledge and experience. He shared that, we try to make them better people through rugby, and that he firmly believes they do become better people. He said when they lose, they should learn to lose with humility, and congratulate the winning team humbly. When they win, they should be humble and tone down any celebrations, and console the other team. His words were those of deep experience, not only of the greatness of such values, but also of the dangers of not having such values. In extreme scenarios and situations, with positive advice, comes implicit warning in not heeding the advise. So goals should be set high; even if we may not achieve them, the transformation that will happen to us in the process, will yield values that we would never imagine could be cultivated if we had set the bar lower.

Digestability: Keys to the Future

The Smoothie

The temperature begun to go up this weekend in Hong Kong, and the shorts and t-shirts were back out again. I walked back with two bags full of fruits; mangoes, papayas, grapes, red plums, blueberries, and a pineapple. I took a twenty minute walk back in the Sun, and carrying the bags I was sweating before even a third of the way home. I got back and used a big portion of the fruits to make a smoothie. I was quite thirsty and consumed about six plums, two large bunches of grapes, and two small portions of blueberries in one drink; perhaps around two glasses worth. It went down so well, I felt like another. So I had two mangoes and a small papaya in the next round. Before I knew it, there wasn’t much fruit left; I’d consumed everything except the pineapple within thirty minutes at most! I recalled how much it all seemed in the bags, however within a few moments, I had consumed them. This time last year, when I wasn’t so accustomed to making smoothies, I recalled how I’d chop up large plates of fruits, and perhaps eat half of what I’d made, and be quite full up. It made perfect sense though; drinking smoothies makes the digestion process extremely efficient. You do all the peeling and chopping at one, all the chewing is done at one go by the machine, and all you do is drink it. That do, whilst the machine “smoothes” the fruit; it becomes perfectly compressed into less space than before and also removes the wastage; two big bags simply become a few glasses of fluid. What I’d certainly struggle to digest in a conventional way by eating the fruits; was made into a very invigourating and thirst quenching experience through changing the way the same substance was taken; the grapes are the same grapes, but just crushed.

 

When I was a boy…

When I was a boy, we used to work with floppy discs, which would each store 1.4MB of data. Such a concept would seem incomprehensible today, what to imagine in future. It previously took travellers thirty years to go from one side of America to the other; now it takes just a few hours. As time goes on, much of what a generation has to pass to the next may become incomprehensible; not only in terms of technological developments, but also in terms of ways of living. How countries are ruled, how families are structured, how wars are conducted; all of these have changed drastically. The way business is done different to the way it was done before. We must always be conscious of how things are changing, continually, and how the next generation has it’s ways. There are many ways we can give to the next generation and empower them; and there are also many ways we can keep from them and try to hold on to so called authority and legitimacy and not equipping them with what we may have. We can give them the raw fruits, which will take time to digest; using our own terms our own ways of working, etc; or we can be fluid, like the smoothie. We can genuinely try our best to give them as much substance as possible. To do this can be extremely dangerous; we must do it in a way that we never compromise our values. We must assess the moral and ethical maturity of the individuals we seek to empower otherwise, there will be a very quick spiral downwards for where there is power and a lack of responsibility; there will certainly be quick destruction.

 

Hey PJ, check this out!

Learning requires an open mind that is not limited by self-imposed limits. As part of the Muay Thai training, skipping is one of the traditional warm up exercises. I had tried to skip when I was in junior school, but once I realised I wasn’t so good, I decided to leave it to the girls who were expert at it. But now, it was different, I really wanted to learn to skip, so slowly I began, and gradually got faster, and the technique got better, and then set time limits, or count limits. It took time. One day, I was in the pool and a few kids were playing around in the water splashing each other etc. They stopped by and said Hi etc. I made friends with one of the kids, whose name happened to be PJ; my initials. We spoke for some time, and then went on our ways. A few days ago, I saw him as I was walking into the gym down the stairs, and from the bottom of the stairs in an excited tone, he said “Hey PJ! Check this out!” He had what’s called a ‘diabolo,’ a toy consisting of two bars, with strings attached to each other, and a spindle, which he would throw into the air, and then catch again with the strings. It would have to land specifically on the strings in order to get into groove and start spinning side to side again. He managed to throw it a good eight meters high and catch it. I was quite impressed, congratulated him and asked, where did you learn to do that? He said, oh at school. I asked when, and he replied on Monday. It was Wednesday. In three days he had learnt it so well. I then thought; a child like him, they don’t place barriers on what is possible. There is a gulf of difference between someone who is striving in the corporate field, having the responsibility of their family on their shoulders; job security to worry about, and so many other constraints; compared to the mindset of PJ when he was tossing the spindle into the air 8 meters high and catching it again. A truly open minded person does not see barriers; they are not phased by differences in culture, norms, technologies; they only have one thing in mind; the need to progress, and facilitate others to progress.

Simplicity

Keep It Simple, Stupid

Keep it Simple, Stupid. My A Level Computer Science teacher would say this repeatedly when we were learning how to write program code. Writing code in small chunks, writing up explanation of what the code did as each chunk was written, and ensuring that each independent component was functional before combining multiple functions was the bread and butter of this coding. From writing small routines, to a couple of connected ones, to more, which would interface to modules written by others, would lead to functionality we wouldn’t have imagined was possible on our own. But what happened when things went wrong? It was almost as though there was an exponential relationship between not ‘keeping it simple,’ and bug resolution time. You realize that not keeping it simple, really was stupid when you’re up all night trying to fix something that could have easily been avoided. The more senior people I meet, the more I hear things along the lines of “I’m a simple kinda guy.” They avoid getting too complicated in discussions, and usually try to follow logic in their thinking. Sometimes I feel that the more senior you look, the simpler the people’s mindsets need to be. Henry Ford was once taken to court for an issue with his company. The judges asked him about various aspects of his business. Each time they'd ask a question regarding a particular field, he would simply refer them to the head of that area. They asked him about their marketing, he would say, speak to my marketing director, etc. Henry Ford believed in not necessarily knowing everything himself, it is simply not possible. But he believed in being methodical, simple, and recruiting people he trusted. He was a simple kinda guy. What does simplicity mean in our corporate context? How do we be simple people?
 

100k…kilometers, not $’s

A senior Partner recently ran 100 kilometers in a challenge in Hong Kong. As you can imagine, he is extremely athletic, and regularly keeping fit. Another Partner did the Iron Man challenge in Australia, China and various other APAC locations, which is an extremely demanding task in terms of endurance and personal resilience he was explaining. We once went on a social outing with these Partners and others on a boat. There was something distinct about them that made them in a sense very simple. They were just peacefully watching the scenery, and just looking at them one perhaps wouldn’t associate their corporate lifestyle with them. They seemed to be aligned; their minds and bodies were harmoniously aligned. They had clarity of thought. They had confidence and they were comfortable being where they were; the outdoors was something they loved. There were also other senior people on the boat, who perhaps weren’t as much into fitness routines etc, and they looked like they were escaping. Their psychology seemed different. If we break it down, there are two lives we live; one at work, and one outside work. When we are overwhelmed in a variety of ways by work, naturally we want to escape. There is a phenomenon of ‘over-ordering’ food. I’ve often done this. You feel so hungry that you begin to order many things. Once about half way through, you begin to wonder whether you can complete it all. As you approach the three-quarter mark, you think you don’t want to have this again for a long time, and barely able to finish it. So when we don’t have enough of the outdoors, we are so hungry for it. When we get it, we are almost bewildered, we can’t get enough of it. And naturally, when it comes to returning to our work lives, we don’t want to return. If you a small does, then return to the work place, then take another small dose, and then return again, in good balance, there will not be this great degree of sentiment involved in returning back. Indeed, the mindset will become more balanced, unified, centered. These Partners whose minds and bodies are in tune, typically benefit from a greater degree of objectivity, unaffectedness from the turbulences of the work place and life, and are ultimately also less stressed individuals also.

Working to Live, or Living to Work?

The ancient Indian scriptures explain some very relevant topics in this regard. According to these scriptures, people have different natural, or inherent tendencies. Indeed tendencies can be changes, refined, or forsaken through lack of cultivation, but there is a natural sense of preference towards certain mindsets and activities that is inherent. This is also the driver of ‘personalities’ to a large extent. Certain people are outspoken, others quieter. Certain people prefer interacting with many others, some people prefer less. Certain people are very attached to ‘things’ and certain people are perhaps less so.  In a recent mixed martial arts documentary, one trainer was explaining that certain commercial fighters have a lot of luxuries now, and he mentioned, sometimes they do not feel like leaving these luxuries in order to get up to train very hard, who would want to do that? he asked. In the scriptures it explains how there was one class of people called the Ksatriyas, or the warrior class, who would be administrators and enforcers of law and order in the kingdom. It explains how such individuals would be under the guidance of the wise and knowledgeable people who did not have any vested interests, or involvement with politics. Under their guidance, the Ksatriyas would live a noble life enforcing order. In order to do this, the Kings and Ksatriyas had quite extensive facilities such as very vast ‘thinking chambers.’ They would be served with the finest foods, and have lavish facilities. We may be beginning to picture what this was like for such a Warrior. However, their mentality, was one centered around duty, and doing what was right. The facilities they had, were all their to facilitate them to feel satisfied, and to perform their duty; and wasn’t supposed to be for more than that. At the end of the Mahabharata, the ancient Indian epic, Vidura requests Dhristrastra to leave the Palace as his reign is finished and the heirs were ready. However he was reluctant to. He wanted to continue to use the facilities, even though they weren’t needed to serve him to do his duty. Today, the mentality is the other way around, people tend to do what they believe is their duty in working, so that they can enjoy lavish facilities. When one has a focus on working in order to enjoy, of course the mind will be filled with anxiety if this self-gain is not achieved. Physical exercise, the outdoors, such a regular routine involving these things, can help one remove themselves from a mentality of work for self-enjoyment, and instill a deeper sense of duty, discipline, and ultimately sacrifice for others. Once these mindsets kick in, our ‘awareness’ will increase of the dynamics at play all around us because we will become far-less subjected or victimized by these dynamics through this increased awareness of them. Many of the universal ingredients to success including confidence in doing the right thing, clarity of thought, and a positive outlook will then become possible for us.