The day's Toast ;)

Life - It's BIGGER, BUSIER and

a LOT MORE...

Still... I'm lovin it ;)

It sure does, The bigger it gets, the faster we move, the faster

we move, the busier it gets... As I type these words, am reminded

of the term "rat race". I do know that the term has got nothing to

do with the context am posting about. Yet, I wonder why???

Hmmm, it is probably because of the unbreakable cycle that gets

created in both the cases.

That's the only relation that I could think of, at this hour.

Human brain is a lot more than just complicated. It's by far the best

machine mankind has ever seen. Wonder how it would be, if one

could tap the entire potential of it...

I guess I've moved miles away from what i actually wanted to post :P

w.r.t the busy schedule...

I happen to have become very busy, tangled up with lots of work.

In a way, my situation could be the perfect example of the term

"Complex Simplicities"

I've been working on paper presentations...

Apart from these, I've also got my self cramped with a business plan.

The business plan was the first one to be started, and it's been in construction

for a good while, and it sure is turning out to be a good one... :)

The paper presentations are actually the latest of the sprouts and they seem

to be eating my time to their fullest.

I'm making sure that, I'm giving no less than a 100% . While am actually

striving for a bit more than just 100%.

Well, 24 hours a day, seems to be a fire in disguise.

It all depends on the way it's handled.

As the "T.D" quote goes...

Am not just playing with fire but have dipped the matches in gasoline...

I hardly get time to sleep. I try to catch up with sleep while traveling

to and fro college by my college bus. And if anything interesting pops up,

the little nap is far off my track ;)

But when it comes to lectures at college, a few do more than just their job.

finally... a little nap ;) :P

With competitions fast approaching, I hope to emerge with flying colours.

Adieu pals >>>

The day's Toast ;)

What do I say about my day...

A lot of things have been happening.

I've got a national mock CAT exam tomorrow. Yet here

I'm blogging about the day...

Well... let me start from the beginning, I woke up by 8.00 after

a long nights video conference on the paper presentation that am

supposed to make, in a few days.

Mom woke me up, with a work at hand and I was left with no choice

but, to go by the laws of the roof and finish it.. lol..

well not exactly, no such rules.. But, I managed to finish it.

Clocked kept ticking, and it was evening...

Dad came home, with Dates and walnut cake and

lots more :P

Now that's what I call, a good evening snack...

Soon, I got busy... eating :D

Evening, after snack was packed with phone calls and discussions

over projects and presentations and similar stuff...

Though I haven't posted much, you could pretty much

assume how eventful my day would have been.

With lots of laughter and joy, I close this days post, saying--

Well, that's the way through which sailed my eventful day ;)

!!! Lighter side !!! laugh your heart out !!! # 5

Maid: What do you want, sir?

Visitor: I want to see your master.

Maid: What’s your business, please?

Visitor: There is a bill...

Maid: Ah! He left yesterday for his village...

Visitor: Which I have to pay him...

Maid: And he returned this morning. :)

________________________________________________________

A foreign tourist hired a guide to take him around Delhi and Agra. At the

Red Fort at Delhi, he admired the architecture and asked how many years it

took to build.

Twenty years, replied the guide.

You Indians are a lazy lot. The tourist said. .In my country, this could have

been built in five..

At Agra he admired the Taj’s beauty and asked how many years it took to

build.

Only ten years, said the guide.

The tourist retorted: .You Indians are slow! We can construct such buildings

in two-and-a-half..

In this fashion the tourist claimed that every building he admired could have

been built in his country in quarter the time. Finally, when they reached the

Qutab Minar and the tourist asked what it was, the guide replied: .I don’t

know. It wasn’t there yesterday evening... ; )

Courtesy : Internet

The Seed ... " As you sow, So you reap "

"Whatever You Give To Life, Life Gives You Back"

I recieved the below passage as a forward to my mail. I liked it.

It occurred to me that I should blog it and so did I.

Hope you'll like it too...!!!

A successful business man was growing old and
knew it was time to choose a successor to take over the business.
Instead of choosing one of his Directors or his children,
he decided to do something different. He called all the young
executives in his company together.

He said, "It is time for me to step down and choose the next CEO.
I have decided to choose one of you. "The young executives were
Shocked, but the boss continued. "I am going to give each one
of you a SEED today - one very special SEED. I want you to plant
the seed, water it, and come back here one year from today with
what you have grown from the seed I have given you. I will then
judge the plants that you bring, and the one I choose will be
the next CEO."

One man, named Jim, was there that day and he, like the others,
received a seed. He went home and excitedly, told his wife the
story. She helped him get a pot, soil and compost and he planted
the seed. Everyday, he would water it and watch to see if it had
grown. After about three weeks, some of the other executives began
to talk about their seeds and the plants that were beginning to grow.

Jim kept checking his seed, but nothing ever grew.
Three weeks, four weeks, five weeks went by, still nothing.
By now, others were talking about their plants, but Jim didn't have
a plant and he felt like a failure.
Six months went by -- still nothing in Jim's pot. He just knew he
had killed his seed. Everyone else had trees and tall plants, but
he had nothing. Jim didn't say anything to his colleagues, however.
He just kept watering and fertilizing the soil - He so wanted the
seed to grow.

A year finally went by and all the young executives of the company
brought their plants to the CEO for inspection.
Jim told his wife that he wasn't going to take an empty pot.
But she asked him to be honest about what happened. Jim felt sick
to his stomach, it was going to be the most embarrassing moment
of his life, but he knew his wife was right. He took his empty pot
to the board room. When Jim arrived, he was amazed at the variety
of plants grown by the other executives. They were beautiful --
in all shapes and sizes. Jim put his empty pot on the floor and
many of his colleagues laughed, a few felt sorry for him!

When the CEO arrived, he surveyed the room and greeted his young
executives.

Jim just tried to hide in the back. "My, what great plants, trees,
and flowers you have grown," said the CEO. "Today one of you will
be appointed the next CEO!"

All of a sudden, the CEO spotted Jim at the back of the room with
his empty pot. He ordered the Financial Director to bring him to
the front. Jim was terrified. He thought, "The CEO knows I'm a
failure! Maybe he will have me fired!"

When Jim got to the front, the CEO asked him what had happened
to his seed - Jim told him the story.

The CEO asked everyone to sit down except Jim. He looked at Jim,
and then announced to the young executives, "Behold your next
Chief Executive Officer!

His name is Jim!" Jim couldn't believe it. Jim couldn't even grow
his seed.

"How could he be the new CEO?" the others said.

Then the CEO said, "One year ago today, I gave everyone in this
room a seed. I told you to take the seed, plant it, water it,
and bring it back to me today. But I gave you all boiled seeds;
they were dead - it was not possible for them to grow.

All of you, except Jim, have brought me trees and plants and
flowers. When you found that the seed would not grow, you
substituted another seed for the one I gave you. Jim was the
only one with the courage and honesty to bring me a pot with
my seed in it. Therefore, he is the one who will be the new
Chief Executive Officer!"

* If you plant honesty, you will reap trust

* If you plant goodness, you will reap friends

* If you plant humility, you will reap greatness

* If you plant perseverance, you will reap contentment

* If you plant consideration, you will reap perspective

* If you plant hard work, you will reap success

* If you plant forgiveness, you will reap reconciliation


So, be careful what you plant now;
It will determine what you will reap later...

The day's Toast ;)

Not every day turns to greet you and come by your way...

Sometimes, they do come with their share of disappointments.

Life gets plain when its all the same for one to call it, yet another day.

Today's share is one that I may not be able to bare. Not knowing what's in

store, I set forth hopping for a better day.

Well that was only about the evening, the morning was good.

I do have a reason to post things this way... It's just to close things on a happy

note, hopping to carry that happiness through to the next post >>>

Well, there seems to be an idea surge in my B.P team.

Things seem to be heading the right way in that place...

And that's the way it's been... My, emotionally commixed day ...

The day's Toast ;)

The day turned out to be great...

Way better than what I had expected from it... :)

Plans for presenting a new paper had started off in a good way. >>>

Frankly speaking, I hardly have any energy left in me, to blog.

With the lids painting my vision black, I head to my bed to get

back something I really lack... A good nights rest... Sleep ;)

The day's Toast ;)

It has been a very constructive and productive day...

I must say, it has been a long one too.. a very long one...

I still don't know, where exactly i stand, and how long i must go on before i get to sooth my nerves in on my spongy bouncy customized bed ...

I've just started to work on a Paper with a friend of mine, and now that I'am into it, I've decided to give it my 100% and if possible more...

[ Well, the bounds can always be pushed to get more ;) ] .

We have just short listed a few topics through a long deliberative passage of time boggling words.

Thought I'll post my day's toast before i happen to fall asleep while working.

The day's Toast ;)

I read something interesting >>>

Something that I've practiced and forgotten with time...

At least, that's the way i suppose it to be.

Over a period of time, I've let that art in me to deteriorate...

I realize how much I've lost by letting that skill drain off my brain...

Quite confusing right...

I use the word "art" and "skill" to refer to the same thing.

Well, it is a profuse mix of both.

The article was on presentation skills.

It was more along the lines of "Executive and Slightly-Knowledgeable BS"

This one provided me with techniques that seem very realistic, and are considerably

effective.

I'll make sure that i use these techniques, and more importantly, remember these

all my life

For these have actually helped me showcase things better than the best.

Its quite weird ...

Two other quotes that i liked a lot also came to my mind while blogging...

Just felt like adding them to my day's toast.

# I have been having a dream, and though i realize its a dream, i still can't break from it .

# One cannot gain something without presenting something of equal value.

These quotes are from animes.

Both these quotes present a piece of info, which if well read could present us with the

path of success...

Like I'd always say, the most valuable pieces of info can always be found in the most unlikely places. ;)

And, that's the way it is... hope you enjoy this toast ;)

Business Model under construction >>>

The stage is set..

And am getting geared up for the Business plan competition that's coming up..

Its true, its raining ideas with thoughts, thundering wonders, and self scrutiny

flaming blunders to ensure that nothing falls stuttering out of the model...

I'am on a roll to win the

trophy, believing in my dreams and trusting on the available ability and resources that it is entitled to my team ...

We are working hard, smart and serious to make sure that, with every step we inch closer to the best possible Business Model.

Trophy and winning are not our only concern.

What we are aiming at is a B.M thats going to be very feasible and realistic.

To believe that "impossible" can always be stroked short to be made "possible" is good and thats something that I'd always stand

for.

But to do that, there arises a need for the right medium to be put

to use at the right time in the best possible way by the right person.

Only if the above is done, any goal can be considered feasible and realistic.

Our objective is to exactly this... ;)

Though am cramped up with work from all sides, am gonna run the extra mile

to keep posting...

Recession Cartoon # 2

(Picture)

courtesy : Internet

It's a hard climb, after the perfect storm ;)

There is a long way to go, just to pick up the lost shoe and then a longer way, to grab a new one.

It sure turns out to be a long trot,

right through this dusky drought ...

Fuel your fire !!! Inspirations in the day's cup !!! # 6

Try It a Different Way

Bobby Moresco grew up in New York's Hell's Kitchen, a tough working-class neighborhood on Manhattan's West Side. But Hell's Kitchen lies right next door to Broadway, and the bright lights attracted Bobby from the time he was a teen. Being stagestruck was hardly what a street kid could admit to his buddies. Fearing their ridicule, he told no one, not even his girlfriend, when he started taking acting lessons at age 17. If you were a kid from the neighborhood, you became a cop, construction worker, longshoreman or criminal. Not an actor.

Moresco struggled to make that long walk a few blocks east. He studied acting, turned out for all the cattle calls -- and during the decade of the 1970s made a total of $2,000. "I wasn't a good actor, but I had a driving need to do something different with my life," he says.

He moved to Hollywood, where he drove a cab and worked as a bartender. "My father said, 'Stop this craziness and get a job; you have a wife and daughter.' " But Moresco kept working at his chosen craft.

Then in 1983 his younger brother Thomas was murdered in a mob-linked killing. Moresco moved back to his old neighborhood and started writing as a way to explore the pain and the patrimony of Hell's Kitchen. Half-Deserted Streets, based on his brother's killing, opened at a small Off-Broadway theater in 1988. A Hollywood producer saw it and asked him to work on a screenplay.

His reputation grew, and he got enough assignments to move back to Hollywood. By 2003, he was again out of work and out of cash when he got a call from Paul Haggis, a director who had befriended him. Haggis wanted help writing a film about the country after September 11. The two worked on the script, but every studio in town turned it down. They kept pitching it. Studio execs, however, thought no one wanted to see a stark, honest vision of race and fear and lives in collision in modern America.

Moresco believed so strongly in the script that he borrowed money, sold his house. He and Haggis kept pushing. At last the writers found an independent film producer who would take a chance, but the upfront money was so meager, Moresco deferred his salary.

Crash slipped into the theaters in May 2005, and quietly became both a smash hit and a critical success. It was nominated for six Academy Awards and won three -- Best Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Writing (Original Screenplay) by Paul Haggis and the kid from Hell's Kitchen.

At age 54, Bobby Moresco became an overnight success. "If you have something you want to do in life, don't think about the problems," he says, "think about the ways to get it done."

Courtesy : Internet

Fuel your fire !!! Inspirations in the day's cup !!! # 5

"Forget It -- Do Something Practical"

The 16-year-old schoolgirl dreamed of a profession studying wildlife in Africa, but the school's career counselor was "horrified" at this impractical idea. She thought taking pictures of people's pets would "make a nice little career."

But Jane's mother said, "If you really want something, you work hard enough, you take advantage of opportunities, you never give up and you will find a way."

Never giving up meant traveling to the other side of the earth. It meant enduring physical hardship in the mountains of Tanzania. And it meant surviving a raid in which rebels captured people who worked with her and held them for ransom. All survived, and so did Jane Goodall's dream.

Her research documented the complex social behavior of chimpanzees -- animals that greet one another with a kiss or a hug, and make and use tools. Dr. Jane Goodall became known worldwide, and she changed the way we think about these remarkable creatures, all by doing the impractical.

Courtesy : Internet

Another page ..New people brighten my day ;)

I had a bright start. Woke up early in the moring, despite hitting the bed very late, the previous night.

The day seemed to be pretty normal, like any other day at college.

The topic of discussion, apart from the regular ones was >>> "Final Year's IV "<<< :) :) :)

The plans were at the desk's best, and the schedules were prepared...

So much, so far, in so little time, had we paced our progress that, we were just left waiting for a nod from HOD...

The evening, was the most interesting part of the day, i met a person who seemed to be very friendly, cordial and all its likes >>>

A then Mech engg, a person who has moved up through the ranks, and seems to be capable of making it even further...

Well, this probably could be considered as the magic of a lucky tooth... ( not mine :P)

Glad to have given a nod to accompany my sis >>>

1st Sunday of this academic year..

Today ... wah, wat a day...

It was a day filled with mixed realities..

After a gap of two weeks (4 classes), i finally managed to attend my CAT prep class...

Its true, reality does bite, especially when one is put to test... It took no less

than a minute to know, where i stood and how much i had to pace up

so as to stay in contention... There was enough laughter for the day for

me to keep my cool >> thanks to ma buddies >> ;)

On my way back home, i met up with my parents, how were on their purchasing

spree.

We decided to treat our senses with some delicious delights .

We hit Creamy Inn...

Ice creams, cakes, grated nuts, flakes and shakes...

It was a delicious evening..

Well, i couldn't afford to spend time taking snaps of the other orders,

while having mine on my table... actually speaking, i took these photos only after tasting this my order of mine.. :P

We reached home. I realised that my sms bonus had expired and, started off to a shop

near by, to ease off with a booster pack... but my mobile service provider wasn't kinda

kind enough to have all his networks in perfect condition... The network server had

crashed and the dealers weren't in a position to provide any bonus upgrades.

I came back smsing, without the upgrade ;) only to be confronted by a delicious gathering.

LOL, i was actually talking about my dinner...

The night sky showered a bit, to plays its part for the day...

It indeed was a long, eventful day, which will get into this book as a memorable one... :)

!!! Lighter side !!! laugh your heart out !!! # 4

A good add by Evian ....

Keep smiling .. :)

Making the perfect sketch... Mastering the art of managing

I came across an article and found it to be fairly informative.

Thought of sharing my views along with that article in todays post .

Comments invited...

How to Be an Effective CEO

First-time entrepreneurs are usually also first-time CEOs. When you look at your first business card that says CEO, don't forget that it is not necessarily telling the truth. You earn the title of CEO through your actions and your results. You still have your training wheels on.

Fortunately, there is probably more advice available on how to be an effective CEO than on almost any other subject. This chapter gives you a quick guide, but do invest the time to read the classics, particularly:

· "The Effective Executive," by Peter Drucker,

· "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," by Stephen Covey.

These are timeless classics. Their authors do not attempt to create any modern theory or expound on any particular business or market trend. The books work because they are based on observation. The authors observed effective people to find out what they did right.

The Effective Executive

Peter Drucker's "Effective Executive" was written in 1966. It is a slim tome and easy to read, even if the language is a bit dated. Drucker focuses on how to allocate time, because you can get more of almost any resource except time. His advice to find time for uninterrupted work is particularly relevant to today's multi-tasking world. He is also very clear about the need to allocate enough time for people. If you need an hour with someone, don't think you are being efficient by rushing through the meeting in 15 minutes.

CEOs allocate resources. The first resource they need to allocate is their own time.

One popular book today is "Now, Discover Your Strengths," by Marcus Buckingham. Drucker was a big proponent of accentuating a person's strengths rather than managing their weaknesses.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People," first published in 1989, is a self-help book written by Stephen R. Covey. It has sold over 15 million copies. Covey observes the following habits in effective people:

Habit 1: Be proactive.
Change starts from within. Most people react to external forces. To lead effectively, you have to overcome that natural tendency.

Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind.
You cannot lead unless you know where you want to get to.

Habit 3: Put first things first.
This is similar to what Drucker recommends. You need to have a very clear view of what is important, so that you know what to spend time on. Note that this often means leaving your comfort zone by acting on tasks that you don't naturally like or feel competent in performing.

Habit 4: Think win/win.
Seek agreement and relationships that are mutually beneficial. In cases in which a win/win deal cannot be achieved, accept that agreeing on "no deal" may be the best alternative. In developing an organizational culture, be sure to reward win/win behavior among employees, and avoid inadvertently rewarding win/lose behavior.

Habit 5: Seek first to understand, then to be understood.
First seek to understand the other person, and only then try to be understood. Stephen Covey presents this habit as the most important principle of inter-personal relations. Effective listening is not simply echoing what the other person has said through the lens of your own experience. Rather, it is putting yourself in the mindset of the other person, listening empathetically for both feeling and meaning.

Habit 6: Synergize.
Through trustful communication, find ways to leverage individual differences to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Through mutual trust and understanding, people can often solve conflicts and find better solutions than would have been obtained through either person's own solution.

Habit 7: Sharpen the saw.
Take time out from production to build production capacity through personal renewal of the physical, mental, social/emotional, and spiritual dimensions. Maintain a balance among these dimensions.

Three Things a CEO Has to Do Well

This is all you need to do as a CEO:

1. Set direction and milestones (resisting the tempting distraction of juicy diversification). The ability to clearly say, "No, we are not doing that," is very important.

2. Allocate resources (both financial and human, starting with your time).

3. Hire and fire the top team (we have devoted a separate chapter to hiring an A-Team because this is much harder to say than do).

Making the Transition from Entrepreneur to CEO

Your average entrepreneur would probably say, "Yeah, right!" if told that they have to do only three things. The reality of a startup is that you usually have to do a bit of everything. You have to be product manager, if not the actual coder and designer. You become the chief marketing officer, chief financial officer, chief of just about anything that needs to get done.

This, of course, is unsustainable. You have to work out a transition plan that allows you to hire people to take over all the jobs that you currently do except the three CEO jobs.

Here are five tips for managing that transition:

1. Record how much time you spend on these tasks. Understand the process. You cannot hire for, outsource, or automate a task unless you understand it yourself. Look at this "chief of everything" phase as your chance to learn.

2. Recognize the reality that you are not an expert in these tasks. So K.I.S.S.

3. Understand the difference between "core" and "context" in your business. Core is what you have to do really well and do in-house. Everything else you can and should outsource.

4. Hire, outsource, and automate in proportion to the growth of your business. If you can manage five clients with everything else you are doing, and your two-year plan calls for 20 clients, hire someone who knows how to win and manage 20 clients (not someone who managed 1,000 clients at their last job). When you finally get the resources, there is a huge temptation to over-engineer.

5. Pay particular attention to hiring someone to do the one job that you love and could continue doing very competently (whether that is coding, design, marketing, sales, or finance). Holding on to this one job, your comfort zone, is hugely tempting. But it is a huge mistake that will prevent you from becoming an effective CEO.

(Info,data,pics) Courtesy : Internet

!!! Lighter side !!! laugh your heart out !!! # 3

Courtesy : Internet

Well... I stumbled on to this picture while surfing the internet... It caught my attention for more than one reason.

This is just a post and is not intended to offend any group or organisation and sorts...

Yet another "recession cartoon" ;)

comments invited ...

Fuel your fire !!! Inspirations in the day's cup !!! # 4

One life to live....Make the best of it ....

If You're Not Dead, You Can Get Better

Randy Kraus was paralyzed. His left side was useless. But his right hand was good enough to lift the barrel of a .38 to his temple.

Once, he'd been a police officer in Fresno, California, and owned a private-eye agency. Once, he'd been strong and able. Now, he felt he was nothing.

His trouble started with Parkinson's disease, but it didn't end there. In July 2002, the 60-year-old Kraus went into the hospital for an operation that implanted electrodes in his brain to control the shaking. But during the operation, he had a stroke. He was paralyzed. The cop, the tough guy, the man who loved golf, "could think, but couldn't move."

Transferred to a rehab hospital, Kraus wanted the therapists to give it to him straight. "You may never walk again," they told him. "Maybe you won't even be able to talk."

Once home, he found he couldn't lift a fork or take a drink by himself. Physical therapy was so painful and slow. What did he have to live for?

So now Kraus held the gun against his head. Feeling the cold metal on his skin, he began to consider not his pain, but the pain he would cause his wife, daughters and grandchildren. He didn't pull the trigger.

And his exercise physiologist, Andrew Garud, didn't pull any punches with him. You are where you are, he told him. The pace would be slow; the pain would be real. "But as long as you are alive, you have the ability to get better."

After three months of working with Garud, Kraus wanted to see if he could stand.

He could. Then he took three steps, sat down and cried like a baby.

One step, as they say, led to another. Next he managed a short walk along the edge of a boxing ring in the health club where they worked out. It was the hardest fight of Kraus's life.

People at the gym cheered him on. Garud kept saying he could do more. Now, Kraus can brush his teeth and shave himself, get around the house with a walker. Little triumphs only the paralyzed can fully understand.

Courtesy : Internet

No matter what turns out to be a hurdle in your life, if there is one person on earth who could bring it down to dust, brighten your day than ever before, it is YOU...

Believe in your self, live your life to your fullest and strive hard with a smile to become better than your best ...

Fuel your fire !!! Inspirations in the day's cup !!! # 3

"There's Gotta Be a Better Way"

!!!Picture perfect !!!

Joy Mangano was 33 and divorced, had three kids under age 7, and was barely keeping up payments on her small two-bedroom home by working extra weekend hours as a waitress.

"There were times when I would lie in bed and think, I don't know how I'm going to pay that bill," Mangano says.

But she had a knack for seeing the obvious. She knew firsthand how hard it was to mop the floor. "I was tired of bending down, putting my hands in dirty water, wringing out a mop," Mangano says. "So, I said, 'There's gotta be a better way.' "

How about a "self-wringing" mop? She designed a distinctive tool you could twist in two directions at once, and still keep your hands clean and dry. She set out to sell it, first a few at flea markets.

Then Mangano met with the media. But would couch potatoes buy a mop? The experts on shopping TV were less than certain. They gave it a try, and it failed. Mangano was sure it would sell if they'd let her do the on-camera demonstration. "Brave little me. I said, 'Get me on that stage, and I will sell this mop because it's a great item.' "

So QVC took a chance on her. "I got onstage and the phones went crazy. We sold every mop in minutes."

Today she's president of Ingenious Designs, a multimillion-dollar company, and one of the stars of HSN, the Home Shopping Network. Talking about her household inventions is "as natural for me as it is for a parent to talk about their child," Mangano says.

Today one of her favorite products is Huggable Hangers. The thin, space-saving implements are the most successful gadget ever sold on HSN, with 100 million hanging out there in closets across the country. Of course, you couldn't possibly sell hangers on TV.

Courtesy : Internet

Fuel your fire !!! Inspirations in the day's cup !!! # 2

Dumb Kids Can't Jump

"Too dumb. You'll never graduate from high school," his elementary school teacher told seven-year-old Adam Zimmerman. Sure enough, he "failed" and was held back a grade.

Being left behind by friends made him feel like "trash." But his teacher's cutting comment changed his life. It transformed a kid with dyslexia into a person driven to succeed.

"Just because one person says something, don't take their word," his mother told him. "Go out and prove them wrong. It's not about the disability; it's what you do about it."

Zimmerman did graduate from high school, and at 5'7" he excelled in two sports he was considered too small for: basketball and volleyball. He was MVP and All Conference in both.

That still wasn't enough to earn him a big-time college scholarship. So he went to a Division II school and worked on his game. And though a coach told him he'd never be a Division I basketball player, in his sophomore year he transferred to Marshall University in West Virginia, a Division I school. And he practiced and practiced. The following year he made the team as a walk-on player.

This May, the dumb kid who was too short graduated with a degree in sports management and marketing.

When he thinks back to that grade school teacher, he says, "I thank her for saying that. It's unbelievable how a person's words can stick in the back of your mind and push you to be more than what they say you can be."

courtesy : Internet

No matter what people say, we are what we are and we have the power and ability in us to become what we believe ourselves to be. Its not about what we are and what we have but about,

what we really want, and how far are we willing to go for it...

It is this simple difference that makes every individual unique...

So, never loose hope, never give up...

For, you are unique... A special Gift...celebrate it the best way ;)