Amit on South China Morning Post

I was recently interview by South China Morning Post (SCMP) for their weekly MBA extension.
Uploaded the copy below -

I read this somewhere!! Very powerful! My version of it


If I could offer you only one tip for the future –



LOVE YOURSELF !!
Enjoy the power and the beauty of your youth, but no matter how many times people will tell you to do that, you will not!!
And you will not understand the power and the beauty of your youth till they get faded.
But when you see your pictures 20 years later, you will realize how fabulous you looked and the unlimited possibilities you held.

You are not as tall or as short as you think you are!! Nor are you as fat or thin as you think.
You are fairer then you think you ever need to be, and you are as tanned as you can get

Don’t worry about the future, or rather worry about it but realizing that worrying is as effective as solving an algebra equation by chewing gum

Real troubles of your life are the ones which have never even crossed your mind

Do one thing in your life everyday which scares you. After a while, there will be nothing which you will fear. You will simply become fearless!!

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts and don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours. Because when hearts break tears shed and Because a tear is 1% water and 99% feelings

Don’t waste ur time on jealousy! Sometime you are ahead, sometime u r behind. the race is long and it will end only with you!!

Remember compliments you receive and forget the insults.
Keep all the love letters you received, throw away all your bank statements

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do in life!! The most interesting people in the world were the ones, who didn’t know what to do when they were 22. Or as a matter of fact, the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 40 !

Be Kind to your needs – you will miss them when they are gone!!

Maybe you will marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you will have children, maybe you wont!! Maybe you will divorce at 40 or maybe you will do Salsa at your 75th weddding anniversary Whatever u do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself too much

Your choices are your half chances!

Never read beauty magazines! They will only make u feel ugly!

Enjoy your body !!! Love it now , enjoy it the way u want !! bcoz u don’t know for how long u can run a mile or backpack Cambodia or climb Mt. Kilmanjaro
Don’t be afraid of what other people think of ur body!! it’s the greatest asset u ll ever have!!!

DANCE !! even if u don’t have anywhere to do it Or a reason to do it. You never need one !

Get to know your parents !!! you never know when they will be gone for good !

Be nice to your siblings – eventually they might be your link to your past and are most likely the people who might stick with you in your future.

Remember friends come and go, but only a few special ones stay forever

TRAVEL !! Work hard to fill gaps in geography and being! Widen your perspectives and travel is the only way to do it.

Live in New York City once but leave before it makes you hard. Live in California once, but leave it before it makes you soft.

Accept the truths of life : Prices will always rise. Politicians will always cheat and you will get old. And the older you get, you will think about the days when you were young, when the prices were better, the politicians were honest and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders. !!

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Your fund or your spouse – they can ever run out but your elders will always be there to support you if not in physical world, in an emotional world.

Experiment in your life!! don’t crib at 40 for things u could have done at 20

Read directions !! even if you don’t follow

Be careful about whose advice you take, but be patient with all those who offer it. Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from your life!!

but again I say love your life, love yourself . If you can't love yourself , who will!!

John Lennon Quotes

There are times when you are looking for direction. At those times, you seek an influence. I have always been inspired by John Lennon. His music, his thoughts, his values and his beliefs.

Some of his favorite quotes - ( a tribute to Lennon )

1. A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.

2. All we are saying is give peace a chance.

3. As usual, there is a great woman behind every idiot.

4. Everybody loves you when you're six foot in the ground. ( this is one of my favs )

5. God is a concept by which we measure our pain. ( another one )

6. I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky. I believe that what people call God is something in all of us. I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right. It's just that the translations have gone wrong.

7. I don't believe in killing whatever the reason!

8. If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.  ( this one is also awesome )

9. Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.  - ( this is my all time favorite )

10. Part of me suspects that I'm a loser, and the other part of me thinks I'm God Almighty.

11. Possession isn't nine-tenths of the law. It's nine-tenths of the problem.

12. Reality leaves a lot to the imagination.

13. You don't need anybody to tell you who you are or what you are. You are what you are!

14. We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it.

15. You either get tired fighting for peace, or you die. ( and he died fighting for peace )

Everytime, I am down, I read these quotes out aloud. and I tell myself how lucky I am. We need to love life more, much more than what we all do.