astute perceptions

Do everything you hate because it will be healthy Say "fuck off" a lot Get fired at least twice Travel light and travel without a plan Believe in your personal projects (sometimes... many times... fuck the client) Drink beer and sake in the morning! Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.

Wishful thinking: Let's genetically modify travel. Let's take away the genes for fatigue, motion-sickness and homesickness. Let's add genes for time-stretchness (when you just don't want the travel to end) and resource-non-endness (so you never run out of money). Also a radar-gene for meeting only interesting people who have real stories to tell, not people who think they do. There will be additional genes for equipment - clothes that never soil or get wet, fuel that never runs out, stomach that never runs or gets fat despite a lot of gastronomical abuse, levers that handle any amount of alcohol, an ear-and-mouthpiece that communicate in every language/accent/dialect in the world.

Most rappers sing about how miserable they are despite their riches. Most people like them for the misery, as well as their own aspirations for the riches.

Life is a fruit. Your loved ones, your friends, are seeds. Practical details - living, work, love - are the pulp. Juice is the essence of the fruit, the experience. The lessons in life. The truth. What remains, the make-believe - books, films, ads - is pulp fiction.

Behavior Manipulation. That's today's advertising. It's not all bad. But most of it is. Bad ideas emerge from bad intentions. Or greed. Bad communication emerges from bad vision. Bad ads emerge from the lack of something better to say. Good advertising is about love. About liking a product and saying something good about it. About suggestions, rather than persuasion. About the power of thought rather than influence of media. About informing and participating, rather than beating competition. Good communication is about good nature. And good people. About a world of good. That only exists within a few. A few good men.

10. To sun-bathe - to get a tan 9. To concept 8. Because it's so nice :) 7. Because indoors is exciting only in the night 6. Because it makes them feel active ( bloody reptiles ! ) 5. Because it gives them a chance to wear summer-dresses, shorts and slippers - reason to look sexy 4. Because it takes away headaches 3.They feel good, sun makes them happy 2. Because it's science - sunlight in your eyes makes the happiness hormones come out 1. You can kick off your shoes.

Here are a few quotes from the famous book 'How to win friends and influence people' by Dale Carnegie. “Benjamin Franklin, tactless in his youth, became so diplomatic, so adroit at handling people, that he was made American Ambassador to France. The secret of his success? ‘I will speak ill of no man,’ he said, ‘…and speak all the good I know of everybody.’” “Criticisms are like homing pigeons. They always return home.” “Abe Lincoln once remarked that ‘most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.’” “‘Don’t complain about the snow on your neighbour’s roof,’ said Confucius, ‘when your own doorstep is unclean.’” “‘A great man shows his greatness,’ said Carlyle, ‘by the way he treats little men.’” “Lincoln once began a letter saying: ‘Everybody likes a compliment.’ William James said: ‘The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.’” “If some people are so hungry for a feeling of importance that they actually go insane t...

At times like this, when streaming's bored the shit out of me, when skype only pings people yapping, when books are boring, and sleep elusive, would I rather be lonely or stitched to another ? They're both doorways to death, my friend doorways to misery - one cold, one fiery, they're both thieves, of your sanity, and unsuspectingly brutal cuts under your skin, rubbed with salt and frozen, numb, intoxicated, bitter, dark. They make us drunk without drinking, act without thinking, sunk without sinking, hope without hoping, headbang without rocking, live life without stopping. And we, hopeful, hopeless, fresh-faced, clueless fools, swing for want from one to another, imagining our happiness in dreams far from real. Life is a sewage of mazes, my friend, there's no happiness. only illusion.

The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make heaven of Hell, and a hell of Heaven. - John Milton

Know why I like travel? Because you meet people with an open mind. Who are willing to connect to people beyond their own kind. Who are curious and excited. Who find regular life boring because it's easy to get used to living in silos and get impressed by pretension. To fall prey to being 'liked'. Travel liberates you. One, you know you will meet different people. Two, there is no fear in being hated by people you might never meet again. People who call others weird and the very ones who are so afraid of being weird. I find weird interesting, because there are always interesting stories to find and important insights to be gained. I can talk to them for hours. As for the former, I get bored faster than phosphorous burns in air. Bore me to death with all the hullabaloo about your parties and your clothes and your interesting life. Fascinating !

Everyone carries their personal hell with them. And each hell is different. Some are bigger, and often spill over more often than others. They are called 'difficult' by their peers. Some like to discuss the aforementioned 'spilling' and the 'spiller' and feel 'righteous'. But isn't that part of their own hell? Some like to stay quite and stay busy till they get so stiff, that nothing can spill over. This illusion and lack of flexibility and humor is their hell. Some like to mask theirs by humor, bravado, emotional and materialistic dependencies. Being popular brings us it's own kind of hell. The craziest part? We all think everything other than our own hell, is hellish. Because our own is just part of life. While the others should probably do things better. My hell ain't no bigger, ain't no smaller. No more or less important. And no more or less hurtful than yours. Same for everybody. A little compassion for others' hell would mak...

There's always a line when design stops being just decoration and starts becoming a concept.

While being out in the professional world - studying or working - one gradually learns to be a stoic. A consequence of letting your ideas out for everyone to judge. A defense mechanism towards handling criticism and growth better. A shift from purely creative pursuits to gathering professional acumen. Or simply an outcome of a busy life. But the best ideas still come from the most basic emotions. Love. Excitement. Joy. Humor. Vanity. Pride. Warmth. No one can work stifled from inside. A good ad professional will never let his human side harden. That is the only fuel for his best ideas.

Heavily edited, but it's there.  http://www.deccanchronicle.com/tabloid/teens/use-twitter-your-advantage-418

My love affair with Twitter started in 2008. Now many many followers and ten thousand plus tweets later, I can’t even begin to explain what Twitter is capable of. Imagine standing in a room full of thousands of interesting people. Then imagine that everyone can hear everything everyone else is saying clearly and effectively. Imagine being able to choose who you want to listen to, who is just plain faffing, and who just said what you were about to say. Imagine finding resonance with hundreds of people on topics that you always thought were outlandish or specific only to you. Imagine getting up to an email saying, “His Holiness The Dalai Lama is now following you.” A lot has been said about Twitter that is subjective. So I’ll keep this factual and simple. I started Twitter because I had moved to Gurgaon and didn’t have any friends and we started meeting up quite a bit. Restaurants on Twitter would offer discounts if we met up at their places. We would be abreast of...

God or no god. The powerful thing about religion is that it gives a common man immense resilience and hope. The power to not give up or break down. The power to steer his mind free of negative influences and cultivate good habits. Believe in good. And that is nothing short of a miracle. A day trip to Brindavan taught me that today. Also saw a man strategize a new way to sell god.  

Recklessness is a manifestation of your inner voice - before the brain reasons you out of it. It always stands strong for exactly what you want. Because the first instinct is sacred. It's is as true and pure as god's voice itself. It is this why sometimes recklessness is the weapon of choice. To act before fear takes over. To refute apprehensions and hesitations before you lose your nerve. To radiate confidence you do not feel, or avoid that trap all together. But recklessness works only as the start. If you don't follow it up with gumption, logic and a lot of faith in your inner voice, it's as empty as recklessness alone. We've all been there. Recklessness when followed up with gumption, logic and a lot of faith in your inner voice, can move mountains. And that is a truth not many last to discover. Because they give up recklessness way before they discover it in maturity. Brain will help you reason. Brain cannot make you happy. Only following your instinct...

Cynicism is not a result of bad experiences in the past. Cynicism is the fear of them happening again in the future. If you've learnt your lessons, and become stronger in the process, cynicism is not much use, is it? Cynicism is like rust for hope. It takes away possibilities and gives you defeat before you are defeated. It alienates company and erodes morale. But the most dangerous part about cynicism is, it makes you believe that you'll be happier being cautious. There couldn't be a bigger lie. When you're cautious, you're bound, restrained. You follow your brain more than your heart. And you still think being cautious will make you happy. Right? Wrong. Happiness is only a function of the heart, of freedom. Nothing more, nothing less.

Writers have often had to go a long way to prove their worth. And charge good money for it. What's great writing unless put in a great layout with cool design? Right? Wrong. The problem is, the quality of writing is not as visible as good design. As a result, clients often fail to see why they should pay premium for something they don't feel is important. More often than not, they won't see the value in saying something clearer, crisper, sharper, more flavorful and ultimately more effective. More than saying in words and content, good writing is about controlling the flow of reading. The mood, the imagery, the feeling evoked, the cleverness perceived. The joy in reading when you don't want to stop. So get clients who will pay you for being able to say something as effectively in 100 words as in 1000. Who will appreciate saying well whatever it is that needs to be said. For saying no without saying so. For implying what can never be said. And for knowing when not t...