New Year Greetings !

EYES ON THE SHORE
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Florence Chadwick learned the importance of keeping a goal in mind onJuly 4, 1952. She waded into the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Islandand began swimming toward the California coast 26 miles away. The daywas cold and her attendants drove off sharks throughout the journey.Florence had already swum the English Channel twice and, if she couldfinish today, she would be the first woman to have swum both. Butafter fifteen hours in the water, for the first and only time in herlong-distance swimming career, she gave up and climbed into theescort boat. Others had urged her on, but in the fog they could nottell her how near she was to the coast. She later learned that shewas less than half a mile from shore.When asked by a reporter why she gave up, Florence replied: "It wasthe fog. If I could have seen land, I could have finished. But whenyou can't see your goal, you lose all sense of progress and you beginto give up."On a warm, sunny day two months later Florence Chadwick swam theCatalina Channel, handily beating the men's record. Only when shekept her eyes on the shore did she eventually arrive there.Keeping that goal constantly in sight will get you where you want togo.

DAILY SURVIVAL KIT FOR 2009 !!

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Toothpick, Rubber band, Band aid, Pencil,Eraser, Chewing gum, Mint, Candy kiss, Tea bagWhy?1. Toothpick: to remind you to pick out the good qualities in others2. Rubber band: to remind you to be flexible. Things might not alwayswork out the way you want, but it will work out.3. Band aid: to remind you to heal hurt feelings, yours and someone else's4. Pencil: to remind you to record how lucky you are every day5. Eraser: to remind you that everyone makes mistakes, and it's OK6. Chewing gum: to remind you to stick with it and you can accomplishanything7. Mint: to remind you that you are worth a mint!8. Candy kiss: to remind you that everyone needs a kiss or hug every day9. Tea bag: to remind you to relax and reflect on all you *have* got.Here's wishing you all & your families a wonderful, healthy and enriching 2009 !!

Courtesy - This new year wish was sent to me by my friend Justin

Congratulations Raman Parthasarathy PMP

Hi Aby,

I passed PMP last week. Thank you very much for your valuable session. (April 25-27 2008).
&
I am also going through your blog, very interesting.


Regards
Raman.

Season's Greetings

Congratulations Antony PMP !

Dear Aby,
This is to inform you that I have passed the PMP examination yesterday (16th Dec 08). I took the ‘PM Distilled’ course at Cochin, in August 08. Your way of teaching, exam tips, course material and the sample questions all are really good and helped me a lot.

Regards,
Antony
ARS Software
Trivandrum
Kerala

Pictures from the Agile project management using scrum workshop at Oracle, Hyderabad

If Better Is Possible by John Buchanen

" If better is Possible" by John Buchanen - The winning strategies from the coach of Australia's most successful cricket team.

This is a great book, for anyone who is leading a team. A good read for every project manager. Through this book, John Buchanen shares his experiences in building a world class team and has lots for any team leader. After a long time, I am reading a book which is this interesting.

Fish for life !

This simple and effective book, is a very practical guide to convert the workplace into a more vibrant and enjoyable place. Let me try to recollect the basics of this book.

1) Work places can have lot of ‘toxic energy dumps’. Meaning negative energy (gossip, back biting, frowning, complaining, blaming etc….).

2) Choose your attitude. There is always a choice about the way you do your work, even if there is not a choice about the work itself. Do not allow the surroundings to determine your attitude at the work place (can be your days as well). You choose your attitude. Choose the attitude of positivity. Every day morning, tell yourself that “I am going to enjoy this day by doing the best I can”.

3) Play. Play your work. Make it fun filled, and enjoy it to the core.

4) Make their day. Include others into the play. While making your day memorable, help others to make their days also memorable.

5) Be present. Focus on the ‘NOW’. Always live in the present, and look for opportunities to play and make their days memorable.

Authors : Stephen C Lundin, Harry Paul and John Christensen