Things I would like to change in my life

Last week, a friend of one of my close friend passed away tragically in an accident. Her name was Rohini. Although, we never met with each other, I came to know a lot of things about her through my friend. She was the only child of her parents, their only hope in their post retirement lives. Rohini was on her way back to home while a drunken car driver rammed his car into her two wheeler. Rohini wore a helmet while riding, but the impact was so strong that her brain got badly damaged.

I was working in office that day while I came to know about that bad news. Her condition worsened as the day progressed. Though we never met each other, I was continuously praying for her life and giving hope to my friend. I was getting update after each hour, but finally Rohini lost the battle with life.

This incident made a lot of impact on my life, in particular my way of thinking about life. The faces of her parents flashed in front of my eyes. What about their life post their daughter’s demise? Would they ever have imagined such situation? How will they face their future? Let’s pray for her soul to rest in peace and to give her parents enough strength to embrace the future.

The incident reminded me of a speech given by “Ric Elias”, who survived from a plane crash a couple of years ago. The followings are some of the lessons he learnt from that incident. I am trying to elaborate on his lessons and relate it with the lessons I learnt from Rohini’s demise.

Everything can change within an instance:

We do take everything in our life for granted. Let it be our dear ones, our relationships, and our approach towards the life. We live our life as if we are going to exist on this planet forever. But all can change within an instance. I am not being pessimistic over here; rather I am trying to be realistic. So what can we do? Should we worry about our future and prepare for our death? No. Of course not. But we can change our outlook towards life. We can learn to live in the present and enjoy the taste of it. We can learn to avoid procrastination and try to do the things which we are supposed to do as early as possible. If we want to do something we like, but are not able to do so far, then try it now. Let it be a silly thing, don’t worry about others perspective. Just enjoy being in that moment

Eliminate negative energy from our life

Get rid of negative emotions from our life. A negative emotion can be anger, stress, ego, greed or anything which creates negative influence on our life. When I look back, I really regret about the time wasted by me because of these negative emotions. Getting rid of such emotions will help us to live a perfect life. Just imagine our life without any fight, disagreements, stress. Sounds great! After that incidence, I do not try to be right, rather I choose to be happy.

Be the best person in whatever role you are playing

Be the best person in whatever role you are playing in. Our role can change according to the age or situation. It can be anything like son/daughter, father/mother, mentor friend, etc. Try to be the best person in that role. We should be proud of whatever we did/achieved when we look back at the twilight of our life. The most important thing I want to do in my life is to be the best son for my parents and be the best father for my son. Above all. Above all !!.

I challenge the reader of this article to imagine if the same situation happens with you. Please don’t, but just imagine and just think about the things you would like to change before it. Time to take a step back and introspect.

About Love

Since my adulthood, i am quite confused about the definition of Love. Some say it is mysterious, magical, joyous, and immeasurable while other say that it’s something intended to display solidarity and well being towards another person.

Here i am talking about the love expressed in a relationship. Whenever i think about it, it reminds me about one story. A story told by the chief guest of Annual Gathering function held during my graduation days. The followings are the excerpts from it:

Once upon a time a well known hunter went on a tour to Africa. The African jungles are well known for the rich heritage for all kinds of wild animals. The hunter was particularly looking for a deer to kill. Deer was the only animal he could not kill until that time. The reason was deer are very quick and alert and hence are difficult to hunt.

One fine day, the hunter went to a jungle nearby Nairobi, Kenya. He went on to meet the local tribe men who, the hunter thought would help him to find a deer. After discussions with them, he found one guide who was well versed about the Jungle and the preferable location for hunting. Accordingly, the hunter went for hunt that night along with the guide.

They decided to build a shelter next to the nearest water reservoir. After building the shelter, they started to wait for a deer to arrive. The hunter saw on the other side of the reservoir. He could see the local tribal group was gathered in front of their huts. They had set the campfire and were dancing on the beats of drums. Some of them were singing.

In between, the mid night arrived. The hunter was very cautious. He sensed that a deer was approaching the water. The hunter removed his gun, set the target and was waiting for the right moment to shoot. After few moments, the deer came closer. The hunter put a finger on the trigger. Just before he could shoot, the guide deflected the barrel of the gun. The bullet from the gun pierced through the air making a loud noise. The deer got alert and ran away from the reservoir.

The hunter became irritated and asked the guide for his strange behaviour. The guide apologized and said to hunter “Sir, please do not kill that deer. You can kill any other animal from this jungle”. Hunter felt strange but did not ask any reason. They waited for the whole night, but could not find any other deer to kill. The hunter went back to his residence, a bit frustrated with the fact that he missed an opportunity to kill the deer.

The next night, again the hunter along with that guide came back to the reservoir. As usual the local tribe’s men were beating the drums and were dancing on its beats. The hunter could hear that music. Past mid night, a deer came to the reservoir. The guide sensed that it was the same deer he saved a night before. The hunter set his target and was about to shoot. Again the guide deflected the gun barrel and bullet was fired making a loud noise. Again the deer sensed danger and disappeared in the jungle. The hunter became very angry and asked the guide about his strange behaviour. The guide gave the same reply as the previous day. “Sir, please do not kill that deer. You can kill any other animal from this jungle”.

The next night, same thing happened, the hunter missed his target and the deer got disappeared in Jungle. The hunter had enough of it and got very upset with his guide. He shouted at guide and said that why the hell he was doing it. The guide as usual apologized to hunter and told the motive behind it.

He said, Sir last month another hunter like you came to this jungle for hunting. That time, the hunter killed one of the female deer. He took the deer’s head off to showcase his bravery and went back. The local tribe’s men ate the flesh of the deer and removed its skin. They used the skin for making the drum so that they can enjoy the drum beats.

The deer which is coming on this reservoir is the companion of that dead deer. But still he can feel the presence of his sweet heart through the drum beats. He can realize her presence through the sound of those drum beats, the drum which is made up of her skin. The hunter became speechless.

According to me, love is an eternal feeling, the connection of two souls. It doesn’t matter whether the person you love is with you or not. The only thing you expect is the well being of your partner. It is an emotion expressed towards a person we like, that he/she is being cared. There are no conditions, there are no boundaries. It is a divine feeling where everything looks so pure, bright and serene. There is no need of any words to express that feeling.

PLM and Cloud Computing

There is a lot of buzz around cloud computing today. If you don’t know much about cloud computing, the simplest description is to think about a bank of remote computers whose resources you can harness on an as-needed basis.

This trend of Cloud is increasing around all industry sectors and PLM is not an exception. Dassault recently announced about availability of V6 Platform on AWS (Amazon Web Services). Aras announced about availability of Aras Innovator on Amazon. Autodesk also aims for cloud with multiple projects like AutoCAD WS.
Dassault Systèmes announced a cloud-based partnership with Amazon.com’s Web Services arm that will enable clients to use its 3D design and manufacturing software remotely over the cloud. PLM and 3D software is traditionally memory-intensive, but by partnering with Amazon Web Services, DS will be able to offer clients a preconfigured environment to remotely run 3D and PLM software without having to buy expensive hardware.
Dassault Systèmes is leveraging multiple AWS services to power Version 6 platform, providing the following resources:
High performance and highly available compute resources: Dassault Systèmes is utilizing the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) to provide discrete compute environments for each customer.
Geographic reach: Dassault Systèmes leverages the AWS global footprint to provide the best experience for their customers, regardless of their physical location. By leveraging AWS’ Regions, Dassault Systèmes can ensure that data required to stay within a geographic boundary remains so.
Storage of easy-to-access design content: Using Amazon Elastic Block Store (Amazon EBS) and Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3), Dassault Systèmes can store volumes of design data without having to support an extensive array of legacy platforms. The combination of Amazon EBS and Amazon S3 allows customers to have immediate access to large storage volumes, coupled with the resiliency native to Amazon S3 for back-up purposes.

DS also announced its new 3DStore online (http://swym.3ds.com/#3DStore). The 3DStore will premier several cloud-based 3D and PLM business services:
1. 3DSWYM, DS’ new social innovation solution
2. n!fuze – for SolidWorks customers- and n!volve -for CATIA Version 6 customers- both taking advantage of award winning ENOVIA Version 6 technology
3. Access to 3DS products including 3DVIA and Draftsight
4. Access to experiences and applications from partners and customers.

Challenges in PLM implementation on Cloud: The following picture is taken from this blog: Amazon S3 – more than 449 Billion Objects.
These are the number of objects stored on Amazon S3 infrastructure. Looks Impressive. It can manage upto 2,90,000+ requests per second.
But what if the information from a typical PLM/Manufacturing company is put on Cloud?
The following information is taken from this blog:http://plmtwine.com/2011/07/25/cloud-plm-and-amazon-s3-scale/

Let’s talk about Boeing 747-400. If you exclude fasteners, Boeing 747-400 has about 3 million parts. For the whole history, Boeing delivered 694 of Boeing 747-400 jets. Now, let’s make calculations. There are only 650million S3 objects for each manufactured Boeing 747-400. Now imagine that 100 companies like Boeing have adopted cloud. Think about the amount of data. The cloud should include all part and manufacturing info, documents, drawings, revisions, etc. Is it really possible to map all this information on Amazon or any other cloud infrastructure? Not sure.
Now, just imagine that the cloud system goes down because of some apparent reasons. And also imagine the business impact on hundreds of companies who are accessing the cloud. Sounds scary. (Rather Amazon Web Services went down for few hours on 21st April 2011)

Security of Data :There is a lot of discussion by PLM vendors regarding cloud computing and the possibilities for SaaS (Software as a Service) via the cloud. And there has been almost immediate, response from users regarding concerns of security and privacy. The typical reaction is like, “PLM data is my company’s secret material – I would never store intellectual property on the cloud.” Or even if I use cloud computing, what is the guarantee that my data is secured against all interferences.
Bottom line: There is no doubt about ability of Cloud computing to satisfy the requirement of all enterprise sectors because of the way in which cloud technology is evolving. Also the cloud providers like Google, AWS, etc are very serious as well as optimistic about the cloud future. The companies are also very keen about adopting this trend, because of its cost effectiveness, easy scalability and virtualization . But the companies are also very skeptical about how cloud will map the complex data from PLM (Like, parts, specifications, drawings, revisions, etc) on its infrastructure. Second thing they are concerned about are the extent of security, reliability the cloud will provide, especially in a multitenant application.

It will be too early to come to any conclusion regarding the future of cloud computing in PLM industry. Probably the things will get much clearer over next couple of years, as the cloud technology matures.

Just my views.

Meditation Mantra

A lot of people around me have distinct views about what the meditation is. There are quite a few myths as well. I am practicing the meditation since last five years (Though not on a regular basis). I would like to get into further details so that it will answer most of the doubts about it. There are few people around who are willing to practice the art of meditation but don’t know how to begin.

Meditation is a period of time set aside every day to quiet the mind. It is a way to slow down, chill out and get in touch with inner side of our self. Initially in meditation, the thoughts are slowed down and after conscious practice, eventually thoughts stops completely.

According to studies, meditation can increase immunity, defuse negative emotions, lowers blood pressure and reduces the effects of stress. More important, it’s free and has no side effects. But with so much information around books, internet and other sources, people are still not sure how to begin.

I have already read a lot about this subject in the past and was confused also. There are hundreds of ways of doing mediation. But I chose one of the simplest and effective ways to do it and it has created wonders for me. That is breathing meditation.

How to meditate?

Sit comfortably on a hard chair, with your spine a few inches away from the back of the chair. Close your eyes. Focus your attention on your breathing. Let your belly expand on the inhalation and contract on exhalation, allowing the breath deeper into your lungs. You can also count One while inhaling and Two while exhaling out and so on. This conscious counting of the breaths (i.e. One while inhale and Two while exhale) will help you to restrict the thoughts entering your mind.

Initially, the thoughts will keep on entering your mind and will try to distract you. But gently come back to your conscious counting as mentioned. As you keep on practicing, the thoughts will eventually slow down and your mind will reach to the state of absolute thoughtlessness (Samadhi). Anytime your mind begins to wander, and it will, so don’t be hard on yourself. Slowly, focus your attention back on breathing.

When to Meditate?

The best time to meditate is as soon as you wake up. Bypass the tea and head straight for your meditation. Once you get a cup of tea and start reading the news, you know, you are absorbed in other things. Meditation as a first thing in morning has maximum health benefits.

What much time to meditate?

According to research, we need to meditate at 10 minutes a day to begin reaping the benefits. So the only requirement is finding that time from our so called multi tasking culture.

Benefits of Meditation

It Lowers oxygen consumption
It decreases respiratory rate.
Increases blood flow and slows heart rate.
Increases tolerance in heart patients.
Leads to better level of relaxation.
Decreases muscle tension.
Builds self confidence.
Enhances Immune system
Increases serotonin production in body which influences mood and behaviour.
Good for people with high BP as it brings the blood pressure to normal.

Bottom Line

Just the action of focussing on your breath for 10 minutes a day is enough. Most people over complicate the process of meditation. They think that they should get up at 5 AM in morning and do it for hour or so. Second thing, its not a religious practice. It’s a scientific technique and already proven as a beneficial thing to apply in our daily life.

Another thing, meditation is not a corrective measure to apply after a health problem has started (Of course, it helps in better recovery, but by that time, the damage has already been occurred). Rather it’s a preventive measure, which helps in our overall well being. So you can start practising it from today onwards itself.

Autobiography of Lee Iacocca

Just finished with reading of the book titled as “IACOCCA: An Autobiography”. The book is a bit thicker in size which I don’t like much but once started reading, I finished this book within no time.

For those who don’t know much about Lee Iacocca, this is the brief. The son of Italian immigrants, who went onto become President of Ford Motors and Chrysler respectively. A visionary leader, Marketing icon, media person who received celebrity status in America during 1980s.

An engineer by education, Iacocca started his career as Management Trainee at Ford. After few months of working at manufacturing section, he chose a more happening field of Sales and Marketing. At the age of 36 he went onto become General Manager of biggest division of Ford Motors.

Lee is popularly known as the father of Mustang, a sensational Car model launched in 1964. This model created history in American Automobile sector. Within the first 2 years Mustang generated net profits of $ 1.1 billion.

The success of Mustang, coupled with his great management, selling, interpersonal and decision making skills made him President of Ford Motors in 1970, a business empire of 4,32,000 employees.

During his presidency over the period of next 8 years, Ford was making the average profits of around $ 2 billions per year, the largest margins in its history. His growing influence in Ford and indifferences with Henry Ford II, (who was Chairman of Ford) made the matters worse for Iacocca. After working for 32 years (out which 8 years as President) he was fired.

The insulted and devastated Iacocca then joined Chrysler as President. But the Chrysler was already plagued with bad management, poor quality of cars, declined sales, which led it to almost bankruptcy. As a president, Lee had to take a lot of tough decisions like restructuring of board of directors, shutdown of non-profitable plants and firing of a huge manpower. But in doing so he had the vision and confidence to bring the Chrysler on the right track.

He implemented a lot of other cost cutting initiatives, like he opted to reduce his annual compensation from $ 1 million to $ 1 per year. Other employees then voluntarily came ahead and made their contribution. Lee brought out the concept of “Equality of Sacrifice” at Chrysler.

The OPEC oil crisis in 1980 made the matters worse for him and other than bailout, the only option he had left was asking for Government help. After a lot of struggle and convincing, US govt sanctioned a loan guarantee of $ 1.5 billions. The guarantee was given for the period of next 7 years at the annual interest rate of more than 20%.

After that, Lee concentrated all of his efforts on work and brought the concept of K- Car, which introduced 2 Car models, Aries and Reliant. These models made history in sales and Chrysler came out of the situation of bailout to profit making company within 3 years and paid the entire outstanding loan to US congress.

This is an incredible story. A straight from the gut talking, aggressive sales and Marketing guy became an American legend. His growing influences in America made him a celebrity and people were insisting him to run for Presidency of United states.

I liked this book very much. Personally I took a lot of lessons. This book can prove to be the bible for those who are inclined towards management and wants to climb that ladder very fast.

Through this book, Lee openly criticised working style of Henry Ford II. He openly talked about stringent emission regulations in America, tax policy, Japanese Car challenges and even insisted about the mandatory use of safety belts as precautionary measure to reluctant US citizens. He also expressed his views on bringing back the American glory, importance of work life balance for individuals, etc.

One thing I didn’t liked as a reader is Lee’s open criticism towards Henry Ford II and he also revealed personal side of Henry. But, apart from this, the book is a true masterpiece. One thing is for sure, this book is going to be a part of favourites section of my bookshelf.

The difference between Ego and Self Respect

Ego is about how we mask ourselves from reality, whereas Self Respect is about how we feel about ourselves. Let me further explore into it.

Ego (Ahamkara) is something which keeps an individual under wrong influences. It makes the person to live in his own limited space. He becomes happy when ego is satisfied and devastates when ego gets shattered. Self respect (Swabhimaan) on the other hand, is something beyond respect and disrespect. Whether satisfied or not, it drives an individual to explore himself further and do good Karma.

An egoistic person creates an imaginary world around him. Most of which includes showcasing their existence. He is always concerned about his own interests. During the tough time, he tries to safeguard himself in multiple ways even though he is responsible. He tries to play a blame game and drags others into it. He throws the responsibility on others, to satisfy the desire for authority and tries all crazy things to prove his worth.

A person with self respect tries to discover his own existence on the earth and works to give justice to it. When everything goes well, he feels accomplished in whatever he does; He feels contentment and shares the joy with others. He never expects any appreciation. If something goes wrong, he is the first person to realize it and will feel guilt. After that he accepts the situation and tries to improve upon it.

Extending these thoughts to corporate life, an egoistic person creates a false image about himself. He will try to showcase falsehood, is reluctant in helping others and is always hesitant to take help from others. A person with Self respect is always confident about his doing and there is no existence of guilt in his actions. He will not care about his status in case he needs any help from others and offers everything if they need help.

One needs to understand the difference between self respect and ego and decide our actions accordingly. Otherwise the acquired wisdom will become merely an exhibition.

Google+: New marketing sensation??

A couple of weeks back Google launched its new social networking service Google+. And within this short period of time, it has already become a sensation, especially among techies. People are endlessly talking and sharing their views on this topic.

This made me to go into some details of this new buzz word.

The Google + starts with Circles. It’s a bit confusing term, but a Circle is the list of people an individual wants to share information with. This information can be anything like sharing locations, status, photos, videos and many more. You can make multiple circles like this and name it. The cool thing is that none of your friends who are added to circles will know which circle they are a part of.

Google + has an “asymmetric sharing model”. This means you can share one way with the people but it’s not mandatory for them to share with you. If you both share, then it shows in your stream. There are three modes in which you can share the information. Public, Extended and Limited. Public is public on your profile and in the stream of everyone who circles you. Extended includes friends of people in your circles. Limited is people selected from certain circles. Twitter is an example of this model. Facebook is an example of symmetric sharing model, where two people mutually confirm them as friends and then only can share the stuff.

There is a main difference between Groups and Circles. In groups, everybody knows who is in the group. For circles it’s exactly opposite.

Advantages of Google+ includes it puts privacy first, manages sharing with selective lists, you can version your profile by circles. Disadvantages include it’s a bit confusing, problems can arise when circles collide and there is little social discovery.

It will be too early to discuss about success or failure of this new service, but for sure, it has taken the web by storm and people are talking something other than Apple.