Adam Osborne

Adam Osborne

Adam Osborne - born in Bangkok Thailand - in 1939 was the first man - to have invented the portable computer.  He is an American but died at the age of 69 in India.  A pretty unique man if you asked me - and smarter than anyone that I’ve read about - this man is a member of Memsa.  Now if I was a technical recruiter having lots of Technical Recruiter Jobs I would hope I find someone like Adam Osborne - because someone like him only comes once in a lifetime.  I wished I was as smart as some people that I so admire - ok - maybe not as smart - but just 10%?

The first ever computer invented by Osborne was 12Kg - and costing less than $2000 USD - in 1981 - so you can imagine - that a lot of rich people would have wanted it then.  In 1981 - I think I haven’t even learned how to use a computer yet - let alone can afford to own one.  His portable computer were shipped out at 10,000 unit per month.  Osborne had the foresight to build computers not for those who is into it for a hobby but for the serious minded - who will use it for our daily lives.  And even though Osborne 1 didn’t make Osborne millions - he didn’t despair for he started writing books about computers - easy to read manuals.   Although, all the above didn’t make him rich - he was nevertheless admired for trying - which also taught me - something about running a business. The Osborne effect after reading it - made me realized that some stuff that I was doing wasn’t right.

From homeless drug abuser to millionaire entrepreneur

From homeless drug abuser to millionaire entrepreneur



When Bob Williamson left home at 17, he lived on the streets and did time for heroin
possession.
But he pulled himself together, got a job, and eventually began his own business as a
manufacturer of art supplies.
In 1993, Williamson started a company to develop software for cafeterias. Today Horizon
Software International supplies more than 15,000 schools, colleges, and universities and
has sales of $26 million.
Meal payments are made online, and parents can monitor what their kids eat at school.
Horizon, based in Atlanta, also sells to hospitals, retirement communities, big
corporations, and, soon, US military bases around the globe — ‘wherever’, he says, ‘large
numbers of people need to be fed’.
My childhood was tough. My father was in the Air Force. We moved around a lot.
When I graduated from high school, I got all hung up in drugs and all that nonsense. I
slept on the side of the road; I stayed in missions; I didn’t have anything to eat. I fought
a lot. I was in jail lots and lots of times.
had been told all my life that I was worthless and would never amount to anything. I
hitchhiked from New Orleans to Atlanta. I had only one change of clothes, and I didn’t
know anybody.
My first job was cleaning mortar off of bricks with a hatchet for $15 a day. Not long after
that, I had a head-on collision and very nearly was killed. While I was in the hospital I
read the Bible and became a Christian. After that I met my wife. We’ve been married 37
years.
I went to work for a paint company called Glidden. I had the worst job in the
company: I was in charge of the label room, a caged-in area in the basement. But I was
promoted eight times in two years to the point where I was managing special projects.
I knew a lot of the chemists and taught myself about the chemistry of paint.
In my spare time, I was a wildlife artist. There wasn’t a good airbrush paint on the
market. Everybody was using automotive lacquers. I spent about two years developing
one for myself.
I’d go to an art show and take my entire inventory. People lined up out of the door.
Within about six months, I had distributors and customers all over the country.
I started Wildlife Artist Supply in 1977. I went from my basement to my garage to a
little building. Then I went to a 50,000-square-foot warehouse. And I didn’t just sell
paint.
We had a thick catalog, 6,000 or 7,000 items for artists, primarily mail order. It was
everything you could imagine: brushes, compressors, clay. I started a magazine to teach
people how to do wildlife art. We also founded the World Taxidermy Championships.
In 1988, I made a deal to take the company public. We were going to develop my
business into a company like L.L. Bean.
My customers were hard-core sportsmen. We were selling wildlife art supplies, so we
could have just as easily sold them hunting and fishing stuff.
The next day, my controller turned in his notice. And then a whole bunch of other
people quit. I discovered that all of our financial records had been destroyed, and we
were $1 million in debt and $278,000 overdrawn at the bank, and my inventory was
decimated. It was like a nightmare.
I spent two years trying to make him pay. To this day, there’s never been anybody but a
Williamson reconciling our bank accounts
There are only so many artists in the world. I wanted to get into something that didn’t
have any limits. My sons were very gifted in computer technology, and they wanted to
start a software company. I had a couple of programmers who worked for me.
We had written all this software. The best was our warehouse and distribution package. I
had been using it for years in my own stuff. We decided to try selling it. I thought it
would be like the paint: I’d just go out there and introduce myself, distributors would pick
it up, and I’d be home free.
Well, I had a rude awakening. When those big boys are in there, they just stomp you. I
realized I had to have a niche.
A rep who worked for me also sold systems to school lunchrooms. I went with him on
one of his calls and found out that in the schools there wasn’t a system like ours, and
there was a tremendous need for it. So I modified my warehouse and distribution system
so it would work in cafeterias.
The market was too small to attract those big guys, but it was big enough for me. There
are 14,000 districts, 97,000 schools. It was a really big opportunity. It seemed unlimited.
Everybody’s got to eat.
I hired salespeople, but they couldn’t sell anything. I told my wife, “I might just do it
myself.” I had always detested sales and salespeople. But I found out that’s what I’m
really good at.
I went in and told food-service directors how they could save money. They were doing
everything manually, and I showed them all the things that our software could do. Within
two weeks I had my first order.
Then I went to another one, and I went to another one, and pretty soon I had all of
Georgia. So I became our chief salesperson. You wouldn’t believe how I could sell. I could
sell firewood in hell.
It wasn’t like I was real flush with cash. Pretty much all my career I was
undercapitalized. I borrowed on my home equity and loaded up my credit cards.
We started with three or four people, in 1993, and each year we would either double or
triple in size. Now we have 173 employees and sales of $26 million.
We ended up developing an A-to-Z software system for managing school food
services: warehousing and tracking inventory and sales. For a long time I didn’t have any
competition. I started looking at other markets.
We developed software for colleges and universities and then hospitals and senior living
communities. Whoever feeds a lot of people, that’s who we go to. We have more than
15,000 installations.
In 2005, we got a $10 million deal with the U.S. military. I worked five years on that
deal. Our technology will be in every dining facility worldwide for the Army, Navy, Air
Force, and Marine Corps. Every land base, ship, submarine, and remote battlefield.
It’s my goal to get junk food out of the schools. Oranges instead of Snickers bars. We’ve
developed technology so kids can buy healthful items from vending machines on their
prepaid accounts.
And we have software so parents can go online and view what their kids ate that day. I
want to help kids make the right nutritional choices. We’ve got all this technology and all
these schools, and we ought to be able to have an impact.

http://www.indianstudentsnetwork.com...Williamson.pdf

A Love Story of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and Sudha Murthy

A Love Story of Infosys founder Narayana Murthy and
Sudha Murthy



It was in Pune that I met Narayan Murty through my friend Prasanna who is now the
Wipro chief, who was also training in Telco (TataMotors). Most of the books that Prasanna
lent me had Murty’s name on them which meant that I had a preconceived image of the
man. Contrary to expectation, Murty was shy, bespectacled and an introvert. When he
invited us for dinner, I was a bit taken aback as I thought the young man was making a
very fast move. I refused since I was the only girl in the group. But Murty was relentless
and we all decided to meet for dinner the next day at 7.30p.m. at
Green Fields hotel on the Main Road, Pune.
The next day I went there at 7 o’ clock since I had to go to the tailor near the hotel. And
what do I see? Mr. Murty waiting in front of the hotel and it was only seven. Till today,
Murty maintains that I had mentioned (consciously! ) that I would be going to the tailor
at 7 so that I could meet him…And I maintain that I did not say any such thing
consciously or unconsciously because I did not think of Murty as anything other than a
friend at that stage. We have agreed to disagree on this matter.
Soon, we became friends. Our conversations were filled with Murty’s experiences abroad
and the books that he has read. My friends insisted that Murty as trying to impress me
because he was interested in me. I kept denying it till one fine day, after dinner Murty
said, I want to tell you something. I knew this as it. It was coming. He said, I am 5′4″
tall. I come from a lower middle class family. I can never become rich in my life and I can
never give you any riches. You are beautiful, bright, and intelligent and you can get
anyone you want. But will you marry me? I asked Murty to give me some time for an
answer. My father didn’t want me to marry a wannabe politician, (a communist at that)
who didn’t have a steady job and wanted to build an orphanage…
When I went to Hubli I told my parents about Murty and his proposal. My mother was
positive since Murty was also from Karnataka, seemed intelligent and comes from a good
family. But my father asked: What’s his job, his salary, his qualifications etc? Murty was
working as a research assistant and was earning less than me. He was willing to go dutch
with me on our outings. My parents agreed to meet Murty in Pune on a particular day at
10 a. m sharp. Murty did not turn up. How can I trust a man to take care
of my daughter if he cannot keep an appointment, asked my father.
At 12noon Murty turned up in a bright red shirt! He had gone on work to Bombay, was
stuck in a traffic jam on the ghats, so he hired a taxi (though it was very expensive for
him) to meet his would-be father-in-law. Father was unimpressed. My father asked him
what he wanted to become in life.
Murty said he wanted to become a politician in the communist party and wanted to open
an orphanage. My father gave his verdict. NO. I don’t want my daughter to marry
somebody who wants to become a communist and then open an orphanage when he
himself didn’t have money to support his family.
Ironically, today, I have opened many orphanages something, which
Murty wanted to do 25 years ago. By this time I realized I had developed a liking towards
Murty which could only be termed as love. I wanted to marry Murty because he is an
honest man. He proposed to me highlighting the negatives in his life. I promised my
father that I will not marry Murty without his blessings though at the same time, I cannot
marry anybody else. My father said he would agree if Murty promised to take up a steady
job. But Murty refused saying he will not do things in life because somebody wanted him
to. So, I was caught between the two most important people in my life.
The stalemate continued for three years during which our courtship took us to every
restaurant and cinema hall in Pune. In those days, Murty was always broke. Moreover, he
didn’t earn much to manage. Ironically today, he manages Infosys Technologies Ltd., one
of the world’s most reputed companies. He always owed me money. We used to go for
dinner and he would say, I don’t have money with me, you pay my share and I will return
it to you later. For three years I maintained a book on Murty’s debt to me. No,
he never returned the money and I finally tore it up after my wedding.
The amount was a little over Rs 4000. During this interim period Murty quit his job as
research assistant and started his own software business. Now, I had to pay his salary
too! Towards the late 70s computers were entering India in a big way. During the fag end
of 1977 Murty decided to take up a job as General Manager at Patni Computers in
Bombay. But before he joined the company
he wanted to marry me since he was to go on training to the US after joining. My father
gave in as he was happy Murty had a decent job, now.
WE WERE MARRIED IN MURTY’S HOUSE IN BANGALORE ON FEBRUARY 10, 1978 WITH
ONLY OUR TWO FAMILIES PRESENT. I GOT MY FIRST SILK SARI. THE WEDDING
EXPENSES CAME TO ONLY RS 800 (US $17) WITH MURTY AND I POOLING IN RS.400
EACH.
I went to the US with Murty after marriage. Murty encouraged me to see America on my
own because I loved travelling. I toured America for three months on backpack and had
interesting experiences which will remain fresh in my mind forever. Like the time when
the New York police took me into custody because they thought I was an Italian,
trafficking drugs in Harlem. Or the time when I spent the night at the bottom of the
Grand Canyon with an old couple. Murty panicked because he couldn’t get a response
from my hotel room even at midnight. He thought I was either killed or kidnapped.
IN 1981 MURTY WANTED TO START INFOSYS. HE HAD A VISION AND ZERO
CAPITAL…initially I was very apprehensive about Murty getting into business. We did not
have any business background. Moreover we were living a comfortable life in Bombay
with a regular pay check and I didn’t want to rock the boat. But Murty was passionate
about creating good quality software. I decided to support him. Typical of Murty, he just
had a dream and no money. So I gave him Rs 10,000 which I had saved for a rainy day,
without his knowledge and told him, this is all I have. Take it. I give you three years
sabbatical leave. I will take care of the financial needs of our house. You go and chase
your dreams without any worry. But you have only three years!
Murty and his six colleagues started Infosys in 1981, with normous
interest and hard work. In 1982 I left Telco and moved to Pune with Murty. We bought a
small house on loan which also became the Infosys office. I was a clerk-cum-cook- cum-programmer. I also took up a job as Senior Systems Analyst with Walchand group of
Industries to support the house.
In 1983 Infosys got their first client, MICO, in Bangalore. Murty moved to Bangalore and
stayed with his mother while I went to Hubli to deliver my second child, Rohan. Ten days
after my son was b! orn, Murty left for the US on project work. I saw him only after a
year, as I was unable to join Murty in the US because my son had infantile eczema, an
allergy to vaccinations. So for more than a year I did not step outside our home for fear
of my son contracting an infection. It was only after Rohan got all his
vaccinations that I came to Bangalore where we rented a small house in Jayanagar and
rented another house as Infosys headquarters. My father presented Murty a scooter to
commute. I once again became a cook, programmer, clerk, secretary, office assistant et
al. Nandan Nilekani (MD of Infosys) and his wife Rohini stayed with us. While Rohini
babysat my son, I wrote programs for Infosys. There was no car, no phone, and just two
kids and a bunch of us working hard, juggling our lives and having fun while Infosys was
taking shape. It was not only me but also the wives of other partners too who gave their
unstinted support. We all knew that our men were trying to build something good.
It was like a big joint family,taking care and looking out for one
another. I still remember Sudha Gopalakrishna looking after my daughter Akshata with
all care and love while Kumari Shibulal cooked for all of us. Murty made it very clear that
it would either be me or him working at Infosys. Never the two of us together… I was
involved with Infosys initially.
Nandan Nilekani suggested I should be on the Board but Murty said he
did not want a husband and wife team at Infosys. I was shocked since I had the relevant
experience and technical qualifications. He said, Sudha if you want to work with Infosys, I
will withdraw, happily. I was pained to know that I will not be involved in the company
my husband was building and that I would have to give up a job that I am qualified to do
and love doing.
It took me a couple of days to grasp the reason behind Murty’s request. I realized that to
make Infosys a success one had to give one’s 100 percent. One had to be focussed on it
alone with no other distractions. If the two of us had to give 100 percent to Infosys then
what would happen to our home and our children? One of us had to take care of our
home while the other took care of Infosys.
I opted to be a homemaker, after all Infosys was Murty’s dream. It was a big sacrificebut
it was one that had to be made. Even today, Murty says, Sudha, I stepped on your career
to make mine. You are responsible for my success.
Great, isn’t it? …. That’s the Power of Love.


http://www.indianstudentsnetwork.com...ana_Murthy.pdf

Kalpana Saroj - India's real Slumdog billionaire and more

You could call her India's real life slumdog billionaire. Kalpana Saroj, a Dalit woman who broke social shackles and left her ramshackle

home in the poorest part of her village 26 years ago to begin life afresh, today heads a Rs 3,000 crore business enterprise.

On Monday, state Forests Minister Babbanrao Pachpute inaugurated the new plant of her company Kamani Tubes in Wada, around 75 km from Mumbai.

For the 48-year-old Saroj, it was a dream come true. Standing outside the factory premises with her husband Shubhkaran, pilot son Amar, 24, and daughter Seema, 22, she smiled radiantly -- and remembered her painful past.

"Born in a poor Dalit family, I was married off forcibly at the age of 12 to a man more than 10 years older to me," Saroj told IANS. "A year later, I came back to my parents' home. The following year, I tried to join the police force like my father, but I was rejected."

Her attempts to rebuild her broken life were thwarted by other residents of her village, Roparkheda in Maharashtra's Akola district. They accused her of "overstepping social norms and boundaries". She bore the insults for 10 years before leaving the rural slum in which her family stayed to come to Mumbai.

Saroj moved into Ghatkopar here, met a man and married him, but he died in 1989, leaving her to fend for their two minor children.

Undeterred, she began managing her husband's small steel almirah manufacturing unit, launched a construction company and with the realty sector booming, made profits. She ploughed this money into small steel and sugar units.

Her biggest challenge came in March 2006 when her firm, Kalpana Saroj and Associates, took over the ailing Kamani Tubes and turned it around to a profitable enterprise.

A brand leader in non-ferrous tubes, the company was started by Mumbai's well-known industrialist Ramji Kamani, a close associate of the country's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, who visited the Kurla factory twice.

However, a family discord affected the firm adversely. By 1975, it was on a downslide and was declared "sick" after the owners abandoned it.

Later, a court allowed the workers' union to run the company.

The experiment failed. By 1997, the company had run into debts of over Rs.1.6 billion (Rs.160 crore).

Almost a decade later, in March 2006, as per a court directive, Kalpana Saroj and Associates were given charge of the company, its 560 employees and the total debt burden.

Saroj took up the challenge.

According to Kamani Tubes Managing Director M.K. Gore, in an effort to boost employees' morale, she cleared in one go Rs 85 crore in salary arrears totted up over 17 years.

"I was born, grew up and lived in poverty for the first two decades of my life. I know what a worker undergoes when salaries are not paid on time - the bills, the creditors, the fees and other expenses. So it was very important for me to gain my workers' confidence," Saroj said.

Gradually, production resumed and touched 3,000 tonnes of non-ferrous tubes and pipes.

Owing to disputes over the ownership of the 1.8 acre property in Kurla, Saroj withdrew from a long court battle and began scouting for another location outside Mumbai.

"With an investment of around Rs.3 billion, we decided to shift the plant to Wada. We are the first in the country to install two giant-sized Pilger machines of Germany, costing Rs.1 billion," Gore said.

Her next targets are taking up the Kamani production to 10,000 tonnes, diversifying to manufacturing 100 different alloys, and catering to defence and communications requirements.

"Since my son is not interested in managing my business, I may even launch a private airline for him," she laughed.

FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE

• Love starts with a smile, grows with a kiss, and ends with a tear.
• Don't cry over anyone who won't cry over you.
• Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget.
• You can only go as far as you push.
• Actions speak louder than words.
• The hardest thing to do is watch the one you love, love somebody else.
• Don't let the past hold you back; you're missing the good stuff.
• Life's short. If you don't look around once in a while, you might miss it.
• A best friend is like a four leaf clover: hard to find and lucky to have.
• If you think that the world means nothing, think again. You might mean the world to someone else. 
• When it hurts to look back, and you're scared to look ahead, you can look beside you and your best friend will be there
• True friendship never ends.
• Friends are forever.
• Good friends are like stars....You don't always see them, but you know they are always there.
• Don't frown. You never know who is falling in love with your smile.
• What do you do when the only person who can make you stop crying is the person who made you cry?
• NOBODY IS PERFECT UNTIL YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH THEM. (Isn't that the truth?)
• Everything is okay in the end. If it's not okay, then it's not the end.

Most people walk in and out of you life. But only True friends leave footprints in your heart.

Send this on to everyone special in your life, even the people who really make you mad sometimes. Whether we realize it or not, everyone we know is very special to us.
When we look back on our younger years, we will  remember the people who went to school with us, the people who made us laugh, the people who hung out with us when nobody else would, and the  people who made our lives much better simply by being a part of it.
There may be somebody who is thinking about you RIGHT NOW and wishing that you were around. That's the wonderful thing about friendship-you always feel loved and cared about.
The most important thing to remember is... Always appreciate the friends that you have.
A fight may come and go very easily, but a friendship could last forever. 
For every second spent in anger, a minute of happiness is wasted.  So send this to your friends and let them know that you care.

THE BRICK

 

About ten years ago, a young and very successful executive named Josh was traveling down a Chicago neighborhood street. He was going a bit too fast in his sleek, black, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE, which was only two months old.
He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no child darted out, but a brick sailed out and - WHUMP! - it smashed Into the Jag's shiny black side door! SCREECH..!!!! Brakes slammed! Gears ground into reverse, and tires madly spun the Jaguar back to the spot from where the brick had been thrown. Josh jumped out of the car, grabbed the kid and pushed him up against a parked car. He shouted at the kid, "What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?!" Building up a head of steam, he went on. "That's my new Jag, that brick you threw is gonna cost you a lot of money. Why did you throw it?"
"Please, mister, please. . . I'm sorry! I didn't know what else to do!" Pleaded the youngster. "I threw the brick because no one else would stop!" Tears were dripping down the boy's chin as he pointed around the parked car. "It's my brother, mister," he said. "He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can't lift him up." Sobbing, the boy asked the executive, "Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He's hurt and he's too heavy for me."
Moved beyond words, the young executive tried desperately to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. Straining, he lifted the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his handkerchief and wiped the scrapes and cuts, checking to see that everything was going to be OK. He then watched the younger brother push him down the sidewalk toward their home.
It was a long walk back to the sleek, black, shining, 12 cylinder Jaguar XKE -a long and slow walk. Josh never did fix the side door of his Jaguar. He kept the dent to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at him to get his attention. . . Some bricks are softer than others. Feel for the bricks of life coming at to you. For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has positive answers.

Value

 Value

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"
Hands started going up.
He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the dollar bill up.
He then asked, "Who still wants it?"
Still the hands were up in the air.
"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.
He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went into the air.
"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.  
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.

We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. You are special - Don't ever forget it!

You don't actually have to take the quiz. Just read straight through, and you'll get the point, an awesome one. .....
Take this quiz:
1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.
2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.
3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest.
4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.
5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor actress.
6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.
How did you do?

The point is, none of us remember the headliners of yesterday. These are
no second-rate achievers. They are the best in their fields.
But the applause dies. Awards tarnish. Achievements are forgotten.
Accolades and certificates are buried with their owners.

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.
3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.
4. Think of a few people who have made you feel, appreciated and special.
5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.
6. Name half a dozen heroes whose stories have inspired you. Easier?

The lesson: The people who make a difference in your life are not
the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.
Pass this on to those people who have made a difference in your life.
 

Always be careful...

Always be careful...

By Valerie

 

Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her "Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door." The lady then said that the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The police said, "We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door." He told her that they think the serial killer has a baby's cry recorded, and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby. He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside of their doors, when they're home alone at night.  This should probably be taken seriously because the Crying Baby theory was mentioned on America's Most Wanted this past Saturday when they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana.

BUTTERFLY

Inspiring thoughts : We forget that forgiveness is greater than revenge. People make mistakes.

We are allowed to make mistakes. But the actions we take while in a rage will haunt us forever.

Pause and ponder. Think before you act. Be patient. Forgive & forget. Love one and all.

If you judge people, you have no time to love them. -- Mother Teresa

Unconditional Love - motivating story A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco. "Mom and Dad, I'm coming home, but I've a favor to ask. I have a friend I'd like to bring home with me." "Sure," they replied, "we'd love to meet him." "There's something you should know the son continued, "he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mind and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us." Friends are a very rare jewel, indeed. They make you smile and encourage you to succeed They lend an ear, they share a word of praise, and they always want to open their hearts to us.

DETERMINATON In 1883, a creative engineer named John Roebling was inspired by an idea to build a spectacular bridge connecting New York with the Long Island. However bridge building experts throughout the world thought that this was an impossible feat and told Roebling to forget the idea. It just could not be done. It was not practical. It had never been done before. Roebling could not ignore the vision he had in his mind of this bridge. He thought about it all the time and he knew deep in his heart that it could be done. He just had to share the dream with someone else. After much discussion and persuasion he managed to convince his son Washington, an up and coming engineer, that the bridge in fact could be built. Working together for the first time, the father and son developed concepts of how it could be accomplished and how the obstacles could be overcome. With great excitement and inspiration, and the headiness of a wild challenge before them, they hired their crew and began to build their dream bridge. The project started well, but when it was only a few months underway a tragic accident on the site took the life of John Roebling. Washington was injured and left with a certain amount of brain damage, which resulted in him not being able to walk or talk or even move.   "We told them so." "Crazy men and their crazy dreams." "It`s foolish to chase wild visions." Everyone had a negative comment to make and felt that the project should be scrapped since the Roeblings were the only ones who knew how the bridge could be built. In spite of his handicap Washington was never discouraged and still had a burning desire to complete the bridge and his mind was still as sharp as ever. He tried to inspire and pass on his enthusiasm to some of his friends, but they were too daunted by the task. As he lay on his bed in his hospital room, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, a gentle breeze blew the flimsy white curtains apart and he was able to see the sky and the tops of the trees outside for just a moment. It seemed that there was a message for him not to give up. Suddenly an idea hit him. All he could do was move one finger and he decided to make the best use of it. By moving this, he slowly developed a code of communication with his wife. He touched his wife's arm with that finger, indicating to her that he wanted her to call the engineers again. Then he used the same method of tapping her arm to tell the engineers what to do. It seemed foolish but the project was under way again. For 13 years Washington tapped out his instructions with his finger on his wife's arm, until the bridge was finally completed. Today the spectacular Brooklyn Bridge stands in all its glory as a tribute to the triumph of one man's indomitable spirit and his determination not to be defeated by circumstances. It is also a tribute to the engineers and their team work, and to their faith in a man who was considered mad by half the world. It stands too as a tangible monument to the love and devotion of his wife who for 13 long years patiently decoded the messages of her husband and told the engineers what to do. Perhaps this is one of the best examples of a never-say-die attitude that overcomes a terrible physical handicap and achieves an impossible goal. Often when we face obstacles in our day-to-day life, our hurdles seem very small in comparison to what many others have to face. The Brooklyn Bridge shows us that dreams that seem impossible can be realised with determination and persistence, no matter what the odds are. Even the most distant dream can be realized with determination and persistence.

The Window" (Author unknown) Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man  was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour a day to drain the fluids from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back. The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and   families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military  service, where they had been on vacation. And every afternoon when the  man in the bed next to the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed would live for those one-hour periods where  his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and  color of the outside world. The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake, the man had said. Ducks and swans played on the water while  children sailed their model boats. Lovers walked arm in arm amid flowers of every color of the rainbow. Grand old trees graced the landscape, and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite  detail, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine the picturesque scene. One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by.  Although the other man could not hear the band, he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive  words. Unexpectedly, an alien thought entered his head: Why should hehave all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see  anything? It didn't seem fair. As the thought fermented, the man felt  ashamed at first. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights, his envy eroded into resentment and soon turned him sour. He   began to brood and found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that  window - and that thought now controlled his life. Late one night, as he lay staring at the ceiling, the man by the window  began to cough. He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man   watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the window groped for the button to call for help. Listening from across the room, he never moved, never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running. In less than five minutes, the coughing and choking  stopped, along with the sound of breathing. Now, there was only silence--deathly silence. The following morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window, she was saddened and called the hospital attendant to take it away--no  words, no fuss. As soon as it seemed appropriate, the man asked if he  could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone. Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his   first look. Finally, he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out the window beside the bed. It faced a blank wall. Moral of the story: The pursuit of happiness is a matter of choice...it is a positive attitude we consciously choose to express. It is not a gift that gets delivered to our doorstep each morning, nor does it come through the window. And I am certain that our circumstances are just a small part of what makes us joyful. If we wait for them to get just right, we will never find lasting joy. The pursuit of happiness is an inward journey. Our minds are like   programs, awaiting the code that will determine behaviors; like bank vaults awaiting our deposits. If we regularly deposit positive, encouraging, and uplifting thoughts, if we continue to bite our lips  just before we begin to grumble and complain, if we shoot down that seemingly harmless negative thought as it germinates, we will find that there is much to rejoice about.

"The tiny hand of 21-week-old fetus emerges from the mother's uterus to grasp the finger of a doctor as if thanking the doctor for the gift of life." AMAZING STORY AND THE PICTURE OF THE MIRACLE

GENEROSITY Mahatma Gandhi went from city to city, village to village collecting funds for the Charkha Sangh. During one of his tours he addressed a meeting in Orissa. After his speech a poor old woman got up. She was bent with age, her hair was grey and her clothes were in tatters. The volunteers tried to stop her, but she fought her way to the place where Gandhiji was sitting. "I must see him," she insisted and going up to Gandhiji touched his feet. Then from the folds of her sari she brought out a copper coin and placed it at his feet. Gandhiji picked up the copper coin and put it away carefully. The Charkha Sangh funds were under the charge of Jamnalal Bajaj. He asked Gandhiji for the coin but Gandhiji refused. "I keep cheques worth thousands of rupees for the Charkha Sangh," Jamnalal Bajaj said laughingly "yet you won't trust me with a copper coin." "This copper coin is worth much more than those thousands," Gandhiji said. "If a man has several lakhs and he gives away a thousand or two, it doesn't mean much. But this coin was perhaps all that the poor woman possessed. She gave me all she had. That was very generous of her. What a great sacrifice she made. That is why I value this copper coin more than a crore of rupees." For more INSPIRING STORIES FROM GANDHIJI'S LIFE http://www.mkgandhi-sarvodaya.org/story.htm

Touching life story..... A young man was getting ready to graduate college. For      many months he had admired a beautiful sports car in a dealer's      showroom, and knowing his father could well afford it, he told him that was all he wanted.      As Graduation Day approached, the young man awaited      signs that his father had purchased the car. Finally, on the morning  of his graduation his father called him into his private   study. His father told him how proud he was to have such a fine son, and  told him how much he loved him. He handed his son a beautiful   wrapped gift box.      Curious, but somewhat disappointed the young man      opened the box and found a lovely, leather-bound Bible. Angrily, he raised his voice at his father and said, "With all your money you give  me  a Bible?" and stormed out of the house, leaving the holy book.      Many years passed and the young man was very successful in business.      He had a beautiful home and wonderful family, but realized his      father was very old, and thought perhaps he should go to him. He had   not seen him since that graduation day. Before he could make      arrangements, he received a telegram telling him his father had      passed away, and willed all of his possessions to his son. He needed   to come home immediately and take care things. When he arrived at  his father's house, sudden sadness and regret filled his heart.      He began to search his father's important papers and      saw the still new Bible, just as he had left it years ago. With tears,  he opened the Bible and began to turn the pages. As he read those   words, a car key dropped from an envelope taped behind the Bible. It  had a tag with the dealer's name, the same dealer who had the sports  car he had desired. On the tag was the date of his graduation,      and the words...PAID IN FULL.      How many times do we miss God's blessings because they are not      packaged as we expected?   Life Still Has A Meaning If there is a future there is time for mending- Time to see your troubles coming to an ending. Life is never hopeless however great your sorrow- If you're looking forward to a new tomorrow. If there is time for wishing then there is time for hoping- When through doubt and darkness you are blindly groping. Though the heart be heavy and hurt you may be feeling- If there is time for praying there is time for healing. So if through your window there is a new day breaking- Thank God for the promise, though mind and soul be aching, If with harvest over there is grain enough for gleaning- There is a new tomorrow and life still has meaning.           ~ Author unknown~