Nuwan Online - Nuwan Weerasinghe’s Web Log

I had to go through some secondary school stuff like Geometry, Algebra, English Essays, English Grammer and Comprehension over the last three weeks as part of a selection examination for graduate studies. So every evening i go home take a one hour break and plunge into my laptop and start reading the GMAT (ebook) till midnight. I could manage the english, but the maths was funny. Also learning how to write GMAT style essays was some new experince.

So that the selection exam was done on this sunday, i now have to wait and see (and pray) that i have done enough to get selected for the interviewing. From what i learned, around 850 candidates sat with me for the written exam and i guess only half of that would be selected for the inteviews. From the interviews they will select the last 150 or so who can join the 2010-11 graduate program.

Its soooo competitive….

It does not show any sign of recovery. All what i hear daily is that US is loosing almost half a million jobs per month and no one is in a position to predict where their unemployment rates gonna end up at. Its a similar story around the developed world. Europe, Japan, Aussie included. Developing countries who depend on the export markets of these rich nations are struggling due to lack of buying power from those countries.

So if and when this is over how would the world look like. I’m convinced about one thing. This recession will further sqeeze the middle class. Those who were in the lower middle income levels would end up in poverty, and they are the majority. Those who are already below the poverty line would be completely broke.

Our Society will look more like an hour glass where the middle is thin and the two ends are large. The two ends represent the Wealthy and the poor. The thin middle is obviously the middle class. So predictable our middle class will be much more thinnner by the time we recover from this global recession.

Its taking action decisively and positively which can push you into the wealthy class or you end up with many regrets.

What is this action? Like Jack Canfield mentions in his famous book ‘The Power of Focus’,

‘If you keep on doing what you have always done - You’ll keep on getting what you’ve always got.'’

So if you are already in the middle class, and if you continue to do what you are already doing….you know what you will get right?

So! change your actions, act decisively and most importantly dream big, i mean really big. Learn new skills, work double hard and keep focus on your dream. Do what is required to go to the next level. Work every day to attain that dream of yours even if it takes baby steps. We all have a right to be rich and wealthy and life has so much more to offer. Its a beautiful life! 

DREAM IS NOT WHAT YOU SEE IN SLEEP……DREAM IS WHICH DOES NOT LET YOU SLEEP!…… GET GOING!

I can still remember the ‘controversy’ created by imac in late 90s when it appeared without a floppy drive. Now it was a Huge thing in deed. But imac did have something else… A USB connectivity.

Almost a decade later there are more pc users who have never used a floppy drive.

The lesson is, ‘Its not always what your customer wants and your customer is not ALWAYS correct!’ Sometimes you have to be bold and you need lot of guts to defy the norms. I think that is what all about being a Visionary in your industry.

Steve Jobs was certainly that. Apple did ‘Think different’

Read this article for amusement

Yesterday i happen to bump into this (successmagazine.com) site accidentally and immediately i added it to my favourites. Sometimes when all what you want is pure inspiration, successmagazine.com could be a potential destination for you too.

In this article which was found on this page ‘1-on1: Creating a Full Life’ just read the answer given to the question

‘I’d like to make a difference with my life and create a lasting, positive impact on the world, but I am not famous. Can ordinary people create a legacy?’ just read the reply below given by Amanda Gore

‘ Golly, yes. Being a parent who makes their child feel loved, secure, safe and confident would be at the top of my list. Being a friend who is there no matter what or a partner who accepts your spouse for who the spouse really is and still loves him or her. Smiling at someone who feels alone, helping a frightened child or someone in need. All of these create a legacy every day. We confuse being famous with being worthy and making a contribution. There is a big difference. When you give someone an opportunity to be independent, confident and exposed to new ideas, you don’t just have an impact; you help someone transform their life. You never know what believing in someone or being kind will do for them. You may never realize the true influence your love and support has on another. But if you are steadfast in your faith in them, miracles can happen. No one is ordinary. We all can be extraordinary. We just have to tap into our divine nature and shine it on others. That’s the most profound legacy you can leave. ‘

How diferent everything could possibly be if we stop judging or profiling people we associate with and accept them for who they are. We never see the true beauty of someone since we are too busy judging them rather than accepting them. How much do we try to change someone into something which he or she never is? If we can just accept and fall in love with the individual for who he or she is………. If we can just say ‘I love you for who you are’ instead of ’I love you for who i want you to be’ or ‘I love you for whom i think you will be’………

We’ll only be left with frustration and despair as long as we deny this simple truth. Just learn to accept he or she for what he or she really is! We just cannot defy the rules of nature!

Yesterday I bought a new TV Stand for my TV as i did not have a particular place to keep it. It was a quick drive to Arpico Battaramulla to buy it. I brought it in my car only to realise that i needed someone to support me to carry it to my living room in the upstair apartment.It was simply way too heavy (Guess its around 70Kg) and was broad for me and i did’nt have a proper grip to hold it. There was no one around to support me and only my landlord (Who i guess is well into his 70s) was downstairs.

So i made my mind to do it ON MY OWN.

There are about sixteen steps up the stair case and i did finally manage to take the large TV stand to my living room only after spending 45 minutes climbing 16 steps. After climbing each step with the TV stand i had to rest for atleast 2-3 minutes to catch my breath . Finally when i made it, i was just soaked in sweat, bu nevertheless i felt a sense of pride.

For a moment it looked virtually impossible to carry it up the stairs. (Too heavy, too broad and i had to be carefull with the glass doors and the stairs were narrow) I guess i realised one thing here. Sometimes sheer determination can overcome any physical limitations you think which exist.Its just mind controlling your body. Once you make up your mind to do something its 80% done.

The Promise

If you wait for me then I’ll come for you
Although I’ve traveled far
I always hold a place for you in my heart
If you think of me
If you miss me once in awhile
Then I’ll return to you
I’ll return and fill that space in your heart
Remembering
Your touch
Your kiss
Your warm embrace
I’ll find my way back to you
If you’ll be waiting
If you dream of me like I dream of you
In a place that’s warm and dark
In a place where I can feel the beating of your heart

Remembering
Your touch
Your kiss
Your warm embrace
I’ll find my way back to you
If you’ll be waiting
I’ve longed for you and I have desired
To see your face your smile
To be with you wherever you are

Remembering
Your touch
Your kiss
Your warm embrace
I’ll find my way back to you
If you’ll be waiting
I’ve longed for you and I have desired
To see your face, your smile
To be with you wherever you are

Remembering
Your touch
Your kiss
Your warm embrace
I’ll find my way back to you
Please say you’ll be waiting

Together again
It would feel so good to be
In your arms
Where all my journeys end
If you can make a promise
If it’s one that you can keep, I vow to come for you
If you wait for me and say you’ll hold
A place for me in your heart.

— Tracy Chapman

I thought its a big miss not to write anything about him after all what has happened since the last week of June. There is no question about his talent. Just naturally gifted. When you watch some of his performances during the jacksons 5 era you will know that he was gifted. But this blog post is not about that.

There are so many who follows him all over the world like mad. Millions of them. I have seen Prabhu Deva a south indian dancer who i thought tried to imitate Michael a lot.  Also recently here in Sri Lanka we have Dushyanth. No doubt these guys are talented artists. May be they are inspired by what Michael did.

But….

If they are TRULY INSPIRED by him, then what they should try to do is what Michael did best. That is to be inventive. I doubt Michael imitated anyone. He invented so many things during his career and thats why Michael stands tall among the crowd. The dance performances, stage shows, clothing and all of those are inventions. He did for the first time…..

So try to emulate that success by being inventive and not by being immitattive if you really love MJ!!!!!

He was just once in a life time………. Tribute to you MJ!

I saw this book first when i went to Odel this February just before emabarking on a trip to Down south. What stuck me was that it’s the Biography of Jack Welch, the legendary GE CEO. I do have a facination for books and Biographies in particular.

Was so bored over the last couple of weekends that i finally decided to buy the book and got it about two weeks back from Odel. (Luckily it was the last copy left on the shelf).

It is indeed an interesting read. So i keep reading about 10 pages every day before sleep (So you dream CEO stuff all night long!!!!!!!) At this pace, it will take another couple of weeks for me to finish. Good if someone think of making a movie out of it. He deserves it i guess!!

Also got to know that Jack was payed over 7 million USD for this book. The highest ever for a Biography. More info is here.

This was in my wish list for a long time and finally had the opportunity to watch it over the last weekend. This was also a movie which was one of the favourites of someone who was very dear to me. As expected it was an epic. My all time best romance movie still remains to be ‘The Bridges of Madison County’ by Clint Eastwood and this comes pretty close. Also i loved ‘Message in a bottle’.

Incidentally both Madison County and The Notebook are stories read from a book. Therefore they somewhat takes a similar pattern.

I loved the surroundings and the scenories very much and found that it was mainly filmed in locations in South Carolina. It was the complete love story but with a happy ending in comparison to madison County and Message in a bottle. (Think i liked that…….)

I just loved the way the arrows lead Allie to the room where she wanted to paint from. That embrace in the heavy rain at the waterfront would be in my memory for sometime i guess. It was just soooo perfectly romantic. Could’nt have been better!

This was the special quote for me from all the lovely dialogs in th movie….

Noah: I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who’s ever lived: I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough.

On a side note, the main stars of the movie Allie and Noah (Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling) started a relationship (I mean a real one ) soon after the movie but……