Happy Birthday Dear Vinod

Say cheers to life and have a Happy Birthday!
We wish you the best of everything, Vinod!
With Lot of Love,
Ammamma - Tatayya Edmonton AB Canada

Pragathi Konda - 2012 WATS Diwali Celebrations

Diwali Parade at Prabhat's School - 2012

Diwali at Anu's Office, Blue Coat Systems - 2012

“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”

"Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful, that's what matters to me." Steve Jobs

SIX Things We Must Give to Others If We Want to Achieve Success: Chris Widener

A major part of the process of achieving success and living the kind of life that you dream of is to give. Many people think that to get what you want you have to take it. There is a universal truth though that the true path to get what you want is to give. When you give, you get. What you sow, you shall reap.  If this is true, then what is it we must give? I'll show you the way… 

1. Give Others Your Honesty.  

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To achieve success is to become wealthy not only in money, 
but in character. 

To be successful, truly successful, is to be able to attain your goals 
and keep your character at the same time!… 

 2. Give Others Your Respect.  

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Most of the time we give people respect based on what they have done 
or what they have accomplished. 

But I believe we should have a higher standard: 
We respect people not for what they have done or 
for who they are related to or for what they can do for us. 
Instead, we respect people for simply being. 

 3. Give Others Your Care. 

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Take the time to show people you care. 
Listen to them. Empathize with them. 
Love them. Now, 

I don't mean that you have to go around hugging everyone—
but we can take some time to step back from business and be human! 
And I have found that when we do so, our business succeeds as well! 

 4. Give Others Your Passion.  

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There is nothing this world needs more than passionate people. 
And people need passionate people. 

Living in this day and age can be tiring. 
The hustle and bustle of it all can wear 
you down and tire you out. 
Give your passion to others and fire them up. 

Don't just be humdrum—be excited. 
Give people all the energy you can muster up. 
And you will find that energy reciprocal. 
They will get energized and passionate. 

This in turn will fire you up more when you are already charged 
and get you going altogether when you don't feel like moving at all! 

5. Give Others Your Experience. 

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We all have areas that we excel in and they are usually areas 
that we have experience in. 

One of the things we can do to make our lives more meaningful 
and be of utmost help to others is to show them the way through 
the experiences we have.

Sometimes it will be what they should do: 
Shortcuts to take, people to meet etc. 

Sometimes it will be what they should not do: 
Shortcuts not to take and people to stay away from! 
Whatever it is, we can be of service to others by giving 
them our experience and ultimately it will make us all better! 

 6. Give Others Your Help.  

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All in all, what we want to do is to help others. 

Zig Ziglar says 
that if we will "help others get what they want, 
we will in turn get what we want." 

If we want to be successful, 
we should consider ourselves servants of other people. 
What can we do to help them and make them better? 

This is the true path to greatness and success, 
not only in business but in life!

Make Friends, Not Acquaintances

There is a difference between  being an acquaintance and being a friend.  An acquaintance is someone whose name you know,  who you see every now and then,  who you probably have something in common with and  who you feel comfortable around. It's a person that you can invite to your home  and share things with.  But they are people who you don't share your life with,  whose actions sometimes you don't understand  because you don't know enough about them.

On the other hand,
a friend is someone you love. 

Not that you are "in love" with them, 
but you care about them and you think about them 
when they are not there. 

The people you are reminded of 
when you see something they might like, 
and you know this because you know them so well. 

They are the people whose pictures you have and 
whose faces are in your head regardless.

Friends are the people you feel safe around because 
you know they care about you. 

They call just to see how you are doing, 
because a friend doesn't need an excuse. 

They tell you the truth, the first time, 
and you do the same. 

You know that if you have a problem,
they are there to listen.

Friends are the people who won't laugh at you or hurt you, 
and if they do hurt you they try hard to make it up to you. 

They are the people you love, 
regardless of whether you realize it.

They are the people who stop you from making mistakes and 
help you when you do. 

They hold your hand. 
They watch you live and you watch them live 
and you learn from them. 
Your life is not the same without them.

Keep Life-Long Friends...piece of essay by Arina Nikitina

Many of us realize that the relationship with our spouse or 
our beloved one requires constant work and effort, 
but we rarely think like that about friendship. 

We believe 
that the bond that we share with our friends will last forever. 
But the truth is that friendship is not so different from 
your love relationships. 

Many of the same rules still apply. 
You should trust a person. 
You should share the same interests. 
You should spend time together to keep your relationship strong. 
And you should not take your friends for granted!

Here are 12 friendship musts that will help you to do that: 

1. Let go of expectations. 

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In friendship,
just as in your relationship with your beloved, 
you should accept 100% responsibility for making it work. 

It is never 50/50, 
otherwise any genuine friendship quickly turns into 
a business arrangement, 
e.g.
“I will do something for you, 
but then you will have to do the same for me”.

Stop keeping tabs on who has given most in the friendship and do not expect that your efforts or nice gestures will be appreciated or repaid. 

You can only become true friends with someone you genuinely like, 
not with someone that you can benefit from. 

2. Invite your friends over for a dinner.

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 If your friends live nearby,
invite them for dinner every so often. 

It does not mean that you have to be a gourmet chef. 
There are plenty of delicious dishes that you can prepare in just an hour.

3. Get together for a weekend.  

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If your friends live far away, 
invite them to stay at your place for a few days. 

Plan this weekend in advance. 
Decide what you want to see or do together. 

Nothing brings people closer together than 
happy memories that they can later share. 

4. Give your friends personal presents.  

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Gift cards or money are great gifts 
that do not require a lot of imagination or effort, 
but they are just as easily forgotten. 

I honestly do not remember who gave me gift cards for my last birthday, 
but I will always treasure a painting that my friend drew especially for me. 

To me it is the most beautiful piece of artwork that I have ever seen, 
because she put a piece of her heart in it. 

If you can, make personal gifts for your friends! 
It really shows them how much they mean to you 
and where your priorities are. 

5. Renew your friendship through little surprises.  

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 We all love unexpected surprises, 
be it a “thank you” note, 
a chocolate bar, a funny joke in the email box or 
a surprise party that our friend has thrown for us. 

Remember it is the little things that count in the long run!

 6. Show sincere interest in your friend’s life.  

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Ask your friend about their life, 
family, work, accomplishments and challenges. 

Then listen. I mean really listen! 
Do not think of the next thing that you want to say. 
Do not give clever advice unless asked. 

Do not state triumphantly, “I told you so!” 
Very often our friends are not looking for an opinion or advice. 

They just need to vent their emotions, 
sort out their thoughts and have someone to listen to them. 

7. Know when to speak up and when to nod in agreement.

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 A huge blessing in having a good friend is in their ability to notice 
things that we might not be able to see and give us valuable advice. 

But it is also important to know when and how to be honest.  

 8. Do something together.  

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  To strengthen your bond with your friends, 
think of activities that two of you can do together. 

Exercising together with your friends is another great way 
to stay in touch and improve your health at the same time.

 9. Learn to keep private information private. 

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 Trust takes a long time to build and seconds to destroy. 
If your friend confides in you some private information, 
it should remain between you two and not be shared with anyone else.

 10. Inspire and encourage your friends.  

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 True friends inspire, motivate and support each other, 
rather than bring each other down. 

Sincerely celebrate your friend’s successes and accomplishments 
and ignore their failures and imperfections. 

After all this is what friendship is all about! 

11. Make an effort to stay in touch. 

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Frequent communication is vital to keep your friendship strong.

I have noticed that when I talk with my friends almost every day 
we still never seem to run out of topics to discuss. 

But the longer we do not see each other,
the more our conversations look like news updates, 
“I bought a new car… I signed up for a Spanish language course… 
I went to France last month…” 

The details and emotions that you felt just last week are no longer there. 

If you really want to maintain your friendship, 
make a constant effort to stay in touch. 

Send frequent emails. Call at least once a week. 
Chat on Facebook, MSN, Skype or Twitter.

Go out for lunch at least once a month. 
Do not forget your friends or their family members’ Birthdays. 

 12. Become your own best friend.

 
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Very often our own insecurities make us act needy or 
controlling around our friends. 

We might feel threatened if our friend starts spending 
more time with another person and less time with us. 

Therefore, 
before becoming friends with anyone else,
learn to spend time with yourself. 

Get to know yourself! 
Value and appreciate who you are! 
Do not be afraid to do something alone!

“The only way to have a friend is to be one.” 
- Ralph Waldo Emerson