Don't Give Up

I did sign up with Team Asha (a voluntary non profit organization that helps to fund specific educational projects in India) in April 2008 to train myself to run my first marathon. I have never been an athlete but still wanted to run for a selfish reason to be fit. However, as luck would have been I got injured and was out of training almost the entire season till mid October.

I had two choices when I got injured :

1. Get over the injury and forget about any future runs
2. Continue a rehabilitation program by keeping the injured area immobile and get back to training and running

I chose the second option and I am really glad that I chose the second option. At times during my rehabilitation program, doing other exercises to keep myself fit for future runs were really a challenge and required lot of internal discpilne and self motivation. However, with the help of my Physical Therapist (David) I could keep myself focussed to return back and start running again

So here I was running the relay part of California International Marathon (CIM) from Folsom to Sacramento with my three fellow runners on a cold Dec 7th early morning. Balaji (works in Oracle) was the first to start and he ran close to 6 miles before passing on his ankle chip (think of this as stick used during normal relay runs) to Vijay (works in Cisco) who ran almost closed to 8 miles before passing on his ankle chip to me. I was the third runner in the relay and I had to run 8 miles before handing the ankle chip to the final runner.

All along while I was running on the road to Sacramanto, I was thinking of my desire and willingness to keep trying to comeback even after the injury that I faced during the start of the season. Running for those 8 miles was a bliss even while the temperature was closed to 40 degress. I didn't even realized when I ran those 8 miles before I see some of my team mates cheering for me at my finishing line. I handed my ankle chip to Grewalji, a aveteran of almost 60 marathons to complete the last leg of the 26.2 miles marathon track. Grewalji finsihed the final leg in style just flying at around 6 mins./mile pace. Our team timing was 5:08 hrs. to complete the course.

Looking back at my injury, I am happy to comeback after my injury while keeping my faith in my training and finally be able to run (though only 8 miles). You need to visit me to see my medal and hope this help inspires others to stay focussed on what you want to achieve.

My next target is to run in an official half marathon and that is 13.1 miles. I am trying to stay fit to achieve my next goal.

Recession Proofing

This time of the year when people should be happy about the upcoming vacation during the year end; people are fearful of losing their jobs. You get to find pink slips moving all around you and people losing their jobs in hundreds of thousands.

While I admit that we don't have any influence on these decisions that are primarily getting driven by macro and micro conditions, we stll can work on things that we can control. Here are some suggestions that come to my mind

1. You need to cut unnecessary cost or expense. This will directly contribute in saving toward's your organization's bottomline

2. Take a stock of your daily activities and find time to network. Build and expand on your relations. This will help when the time turns for good

3. Take some internal projects that benefits your company and complete it during your non busy time or even during off hours.

4. Meet your team and try to understand their individual struggle. A word of empathy will go a long way in the employee coming back to you even he gets his marching order in the first place.

I am sure the above will help avoid as much as possible any pink slip coming your way.

Cheers!!!

For some H1B holders, check is not in mail

When US Congress passed the economic stimulus package towards the end of last year giving rebates to most tax payers, it tried to ensure that the illegal immigrants don’t get any of the cash. But in doing so lawmakers inadvertently penalized thousands of H1 B holders whose spouses (on H4) may not have the social security number.

US immigration law does not permit the spouse (on H4 visa) of H1 B holders in US to get SSN. According to US Department of Homeland Security, there are now between 600,000 to 800,000 H1B visa holders in US. Exactly how many of them married to spouses ineligible to work in this country is unclear.

US Govt. collects all the taxes and fee that it collects from its citizen and hence the Govt should have given rebates to these H1B holders who are filing their taxes jointly with their spouses who do not have SSN. It should be a level playing field.

While it is true that no law has ever been written that doesn’t find someone falling through the cracks, the Govt. officials should come up with some way to help H1B holders married to spouses who by virtue of their ineligibility to work cannot have a social security number. One quick way of finding a solution is to issue a SSN for the sole purpose of getting the tax rebate as part of this economic stimulus package.

How to get rich

Most of our time progressively after we reach 10 years of age probably goes in thinking how to make more money. It is very apparent and there is no guilt to admit that every man or women want to make more money to leave a comfortable life with all the materialistic source of enjoyment at his or her beck and call. However, how many of us really get to see so much of money that helps us to forget the struggle of everyday life? How many of us want to become Ambanis or Buffet or Gates of the world. Potentially, all of us!!!

However, we know that everyone cannot become richer to be included in the Forbes list of super rich. But at the same time it is also true that with some discipline we will be able to amass a sizeable chunk, if not more. So what is that most of us need to do to get rich? It appears to me that there is only three ways of getting richer

1. Be an entrepreneur and have your own business
2. Invest in land
3. Invest in Shares and Stocks

Most of the super rich falls in first category except for the world’s richest man, Warren Buffet who falls in the third category. As availability of land is constant and the population will continue to rise it is a matter of just supply and demand that indicates that a good investment in land will reap a rich reward. However, it is equally true that you must have a good education to be successful in any of the three categories though there a plenty of examples in the first category that have made it to super rich grade without a good or any formal education. But statistically that figure is insignificant and most of us would do good to have a solid education under our belt.

Out of all the three categories I believe the best that an average person can do is to invest in business. It is not very complicated and only requires a knack of picking the right business that will grow over a period of time. You don’t need to invest as if there is no tomorrow. Invest small but regularly so that the time compounding will keep your nest egg growing without any effort from you. Pick up business that sells products used by the masses. Invest small amounts but start early to gain the effect of time compounding. Keep a long term horizon to ride the short term instability in the market. Buy low and keep it for ever. Don’t trade. Buy into business that will keep growing and in turn reward your pick and patience.

Just imagine a $100 investment in a good company done on a monthly basis for 25 years with only a conservative 8% compound rate of return will fetch you $88,361.25. You gained $58,261.25 or close to 200% on your investment of $30000 over a 25 years period. If you just bump your investment to $500 every month for 25 years and look at gaining the same conservative 8% return then your investment will fetch you a handsome $441,806.23. You gained $291,306.23 on an investment of $150,000. Time flies and your posterity will thank you to make them rich and who knows obnoxious richer.

Stock markets historically have been known to give 10-12% return if you just buy and hold for long term and by long term I mean more than 10 years. The investment of $100 or $500 with just 10% return over a 25 years period will give you $119,001.44 and $595,007.22 respectively. No where you can get this return unless you don’t fall in either the first or the second category listed above.

So start investing now and reap the benefits down the line. I will write the next column to achieve a Million Dollar wealth in your life time. Stay tuned.

Hypocrisy of Indian Health Minister

The Indian Health Minister Mr. Ramdoss has been over the last 6 months or so pushing hard on film actors for a complete ban on showing alcohol and tobacco consumption in Indian films. Apparently, Mr. Minister has reasoning that young people get affected by what is shown in the films. It appears that our Minister is way out of touch with ground realities. There is a common fallacy that showing such acts including violence in the film will have the youngsters follow them and finally succumb to the ill effects of such vice. However, if Mr. Ramdoss has a genuine desire for the well being of the younger generations then he must push for a legislation and enact laws that will make the consumption of alcohol and tobacco illegal.

Actors are professionals. They portray a character and may be just drinking colored water or soda etc to mimic the color of alcohol. They might just inhale some smoke in the mouth and exhale while playing the character. Why to point out to actors and restrict their ability to portray the characters. Most films reflect the state of affairs of the society. It is very unfair to ask the actors not to show such things when it is a fact that leaders goes to the alcohol and tobacco industries to get the funds to fight elections to get inside the hallowed walls of parliament or state assemblies every 5 years.

Why Mr. Ramdoss does not ask for alcohol and tobacco audits from political parties? Why he does not help to enact laws that will make it mandatory for the politicians to declare their alcohol and tobacco consumption / relationship with these industries under the oath? Why Mr. Minister does not enact law to ban the consumption of pan masala in Govt. offices? It’s a nightmare to see the effect of paan and paan masala when you take a flight of stares in most of the central and state govt. offices.

Asking the actors to stop showing any alcohol / tobacco consumption in the films while allowing the politicians to keep getting the donation from such industries at best can be termed as sheer Hypocrisy, Mr.Minsiter. If you have even an iota of being successful in curbing this menace then a few things that needs to be done are

1. bring extremely tough laws
2. punitive measures must be deterrent
3. raise the awareness at the kindergaden and primary school levels
4. schools to sensitize and educate students against ill effects
5. parents have to be role model for their kids
6. politicians have to be role models for the citizens
7. employer need to screen prospective employee against such use
8. All public places must be at once declared an alcohol and tobacco free zone
9. Police must get appropriate empowerment to prosecute who breaks the law

Think of countries like US where the politicians are getting together to enact laws that ban smoking even at homes. What the heck, think of China as to how the Govt. there are pushing to make it smoke free country because of the upcoming Olympics. It is only with a good measure of anti alcohol / tobacco/paan/paan-masala laws and very effective and sustained campaign to raise the awareness of ill effects of such products including the politicians and the political parties leading from the front will eventually have any impact on reducing or eliminating alcohol and tobacco consumption in India.

Till that time stop being hypocrite and allow the actors to portray the reality of the society through films.

The Challenge of Marathon

Yes, I mean the marathon run. In the last 7-10 years I have seen myself deteriorating physically and becoming a couch potato. I can't believe that I used to play so much sport just around 10 yrs. back. In the last 2-3 years I was trying hard to do something that pushes me physically. I want to get back the feeling of having endless energy that I used to have 10-12 years back.

It was Rohit who initiated me to team asha marathon program last year. I was just amazed to hear Rohit complete the marathon last year. Then I decided one night that enough is enough. I will keep on giving excuse to avoid physical exercise. What's the point of securing your financial future through 401(K), investments etc. if you can enjoy the spoils. Added to the excitment of getting some training to run to be physicaly fit, a noble cause of supporting literacy program amongst some unfortunate childrens in India literally seal the deal for me to get up and start running.

I have decided to run the marathon. I will try to run the San Francisco Half Marathon and then the Silicon Valley Full Marathon. I will try to take some notes about this experience to look back and see if I was able to push myself and change. Do follow my blog to keep current on my marathon experiences

In Time

You have an appointment at a a doctor’s office. You have an appointment for an interview. You have a train to catch. You have a flight that you can’t miss. Guess, what do you do first in all of these? You arrive in time for each one of them! What happens if you reach late for any of them? Simple, your appointment will stand cancelled, you will not get the job, and you will miss your train or flight.

Why then we don’t keep time if there is a personal party to which we all get invited occasionally. This is especially true for us Indians as a community. I have rarely seen people coming to a party at 6:30 PM when the host requested for a 6:30 PM start. Invariably, you will see the guest trickle in after an hour of the scheduled time. My question is - if we can keep our time for all other activities then why not for parties that we all get invited at some time or the other? Throughout my life I have seen consistent behavior of people to think it’s inappropriate to reach such events in time.

Think of it this way. In US, the school authorities invite the police and fire personnel to meet the kids in Kindergarten classes. It is done with a purpose, to learn to respect the law and law enforcing agencies at a very impressionable age. When these kids grow up no one need to tell them to obey the law of the land. It has been ingrained in their system. Keeping time is a similar trait that must be learnt irrespective of where you are going. If these lessons are not inculcated while you are young, you are sure to have a generation that do not understand the importance of managing time and become disoriented. The nation cannot prosper with such citizens.

I have seen this habit in mostly us, the Indians living in US. Without even blinking we add an hour or so to the start time of the party. Let’s think about this. Is that the correct example we are setting for our kids? Don’t we understand that such value systems will be detrimental when they grow up and enter their adult life?.

Each one of us can set the example. You don’t need to feel embarrassed if you reach in time, even if there is no one other than the host. If people show up in time then that creates a message for everyone that let’s be in time for next such similar event. This ultimately creates a movement that makes us keep time and be disciplined. Leading a change for anything is quite difficult. It needs some forward thinking and sticking to your values. Please take the first step forward and help others to change their mindset that says - since no one comes in time why should I keep the time? I am sure with everyone’s involvement we will remove this disease from our society and people will take pride in keeping times be it professional / personal appointments or an informal get together like a party. Our kids need such important value system like keeping time irrespective of the event from us as parents and we must set the right example for them.

Business Experience for President of USA

I was watching the democratic Presidential debate today on CNN. There was one question from Wolf, the host of the show from CNN that said since both the democratic candidates (Hillary Clinton and Barrack Obama) do not have experiences in managing business so how they think they will be successful in managing the Presidency of the United States of America.

I was just amazed at the rationale of the question. The President of the United States of America is the most powerful political position in today’s world. It is too presumptuous to think that a business experience is required to be successful in being the President.

The most powerful political position needs a vision, a vision that can unite all the people of this country to a common cause, a vision that can ignite people to give their best in achieving and sharing the vision. The President need not be answerable to the shareholders as it happens in a business but a President need to look after the interest of the common citizen and the entire Nation. A President need not necessarily think of making profit that is the hallmark of any business but a President needs to create the infrastructure that drives the entrepreneurial spirit of the country.

Back in India, President Abdul Kalam was not a businessman. However, his vision of “Developed India” by 2020 reverberated with most of its citizen. This vision created a ripple of positive energy that flowed throughout the country. That’s the hallmark of a leader and that should be the hallmark of the President of the most powerful country of the world.

Coconut

When I see my daughters growing in US I can’t sometime avoid pausing for a moment and think as to what values and customs they are imbibing. As an immigrant we have to sacrifice the whole nine yards in terms of Indian customs and rituals that you are so used to back in your own country.

It’s a valid statement that the new generation is always better than the previous generation. It’s because of this adaptability of mankind that the human race has survived till date. The new generation always finds ways and means to adapt to the ever changing social fabric.

It’s so true in case of Indian kids growing in US. While they want to learn the nuances of their adopted country they are keen to carry the traditions of Indian culture if explained with proper perspective. My elder daughter, Tanya argues that she need to go to school keeping her hair open. Since I have grown in an environment where girls go to school with their hair tie in breads and ponytails, I sometimes wonder if I am carrying the responsibility on my shoulder to keep the traditions alive. Why can’t I allow my daughter to go with her hair open? What’s so wrong in that? Why I am trying to become a policeman if certain custom and tradition does not make sense to my daughter especially in US? She must be allowed to grow and flower by providing her an environemnt that is seucre, logical, psoitive and entrepreneurial.

There are some more examples where I don’t endorse easily the way certain activities get performed by my daughters. What I fail to realize is that the rate of change in modern times are much faster than what we saw when we were small. We should not drag and impose our opinions on our kids rather we must allow them to appreciate the options by listing the pros and cons of each option. We need to make them informed rather than be judgmental.

Indian kids in US especially the ones that might have spend a few years in India are anyway doing great by adopting the change of moving to a new country and a new culture. They work hard to keep getting assimilated in the new culture while carrying some burden of maintaining Indian traditions and customs. We should always encourage them to continue adopting the good values from both India and US. This will make them better citizens and parents later in their life. Instead of being judgmental we must always encourage them to understand the pros and cons of choices in front of them.

If you really think for a moment then Indian kids in US are like coconut, brown from outside and white from inside. Hope our kids will assimilate the best of traditions and values from both the countries and become a global citizen to work towards peace and prosperity of mankind.

Rat Race

I was sick a couple of weeks back. I was having fever. It was probably the first time in US that I fell sick and was unable to attend to work. It was Thursday. I managed to work from home and take care of a few important things. Somehow, I managed to work on Friday too though from home.

I was quite sick on Saturday but recovered a bit on Sunday. I was feeling weak but may not be running any temperature. I was thinking there is still no way I can go to office. When I retired for the day on Sunday my body was again becoming hot and seems that the fever was returning.

The next day as usual I have to get up to ensure that I can wake up my daughter to go to school. I got her up and then I took my bath and got ready for work by 8:00 AM. Even for a moment I didn’t let my thoughts to instruct me to take rest as I was quite weak with a bout of flu. Moreover, as an immigrant to a foreign country we don’t have an extended family that would be all around you to buck you up and get you some rest. The work ahead also pushed me to get back to office..

I realized that in a foreign country, even if you are sick, the social and work environment pushes you to get back on your feet and keep working. That makes me further realize that I am officially in the rat race.