My Writing Journey

My writing journey started more than 30 years ago as I have always been fond of writing short articles on varied subjects.  The writing journey on blogs started in 2009 when I started writing in my friend Sathyamurthy's website.  Some of my early articles in that site were quite popular and to name a few Typewriter; Housewife the best Manager; Ocean Receding Day have each seen more than 5000 visits by readers of the blog.

In October 2010 I started my own blog TP Talks and it has been a wonderful journey of more than 7 years with lots of ups and downs.  There have been times when I have written frequently and there are also times like the last couple of years when I frequency has reduced drastically.  In 2012 I wrote 120 articles in the blog while I have written only 9 articles so far in this year.

My focus is now shifting into writing books and I am happy to see my first venture as a co-author get published.  The Background Material on UAE VAT has been published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India on 25th September 2017.  I am one of the co-author of this publication and it was a real proud moment.

The First Book in which I am the author was published in October 2017 from Singapore by Partridge Publishing House.  This is called Thought Provoking and it is a collection of 54 articles written by me over the last seven years in my blog.  This is the idea of my younger son Akshay and his wife Aishwarya.  They released this book on my behalf with a collection of 54 articles as I was born in 1963 and since the book is being published in 2017 they thought of this idea.

This book is available in Partridge Publishing, Singapore and is also available in Amazon Online store.

The book is available as e-book as well as hard copy in the Publisher's site as well as through Amazon.

I am now working on the next book which will be published very soon on Indirect Tax Laws in UAE.

Your continued support and encouragement will help me make substantial progress in this journey as "writing is a life-long journey". 

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
29th October 2017

SEDONA

I visited Sedona with my wife and our relatives in the USA in early July 2017.  Yes this article is overdue for 3 months and finally I found time today to pen this.

Sedona is a place surrounded by red rock mountains and is a very small town.  There are some unique aspects that really fascinated me about this small town in the US which is in Arizona State.

Wherever you go in the town you are surrounded by Red Rock Mountains which creates a unique and wonderful backdrop.

The major attraction lies 7 miles away from the town which is the Slide Rock State Park in which the oak creek flows nicely and creates slippery bed.  Walking along the slippery creek was real fun and a challenging experience.

The Sedona Trolley service which takes you around the downtown as well as the country side on the outskirts of the town is a great ride not to be missed. 

McDonalds in Sedona is the biggest surprise of all.  The logo is Yellow Arches on a Red background all over the world.  Only in Sedona because of the Red Rock backdrop, McDonald was forced to use Teal Green colour for the famour arches making the M.  The local authorities did not permit McDonald its usual colour scheme.

It was at first sight shocking when I was riding the Trolley and saw the McDonald outlet on the main road in Sedona.  It took me a while to understand that the colour scheme is completely different and unique.

The Red Rock backdrop and the beautiful background has attracted more than 70 productions to Sedona for shooting the films.  Many famous hollywood films have been shot in Sedona and it is still considered one of the great picturesque locations in the world for film shooting.



I would rate Sedona among the top 10 tourist attractions in the United States of America.

T.P.Anand
27th October 2017
Dubai, U.A.E.

MAD - MAKE A DIFFERENCE

MAD is not enraged and angry but MAD is Make a Difference.  First "Make a Difference" to yourself and slowly "make a difference" to others around you.  It is a long process but very fruitful and satisfying.

In our society we find very few people who are there to make a difference while the majority leads a routine, monotonous and lazy lives.  According to Robin Sharma 98% of the people in the society lead a routine, monotonous life.  It is only 2% of the people who constantly strive to "make a difference" and hence are MAD.

Great Leaders do not set out to "lead" but they set out to "make a difference".  They end up inspiring people and make a difference to their lives and thus create more leaders.  This applies to Corporate World and to our normal society where we live.

We have to first believe in ourselves and lift the spirit and self esteem.  This would help us to believe that we are made to make a difference.  There are very few people who are capable of reaching this pinnacle of thought process to "make a difference".  Are you there yet?  If not, get there quickly as we are a fast changing, technologically advancing, heavily populated planet with over 7 billion people.

Is it easy to become one MAD person?  No, it is not so easy.  It is difficult and it requires perseverance and within that perseverance lies the reverence that you will build.  The thought process and the mindset to take Action today is important to make a difference.

Books can make a difference, kids can make a difference, films can make a difference, blogs can make a difference, friends can make a difference, family can make a difference, society in which we live can make a difference, you can make a difference and I can make a difference.

In order to "make a difference" and be MAD we need to follow only three steps:

1. Manage your time and thoughts with a proper plan
2. Act on your plan and do not procrastinate or waste time
3. Discipline yourself and people around you to respect and follow the plan 

It all begins with the shift in approach to life from ME to WE.  We need to change things upside down literally like how when M is turned upside down Me is becoming We.  The selfless thinking will bring the requisite change and the MAD journey begins.

My journey on MAD started way back in 2006 and it has been a wonderful joy ride for the last 11 years.  It is completely filled with immense joy, pleasure, happiness, deep satisfaction and above all mental peace.

The greatest advantage of MAD is it automatically puts you on the "path of excellence", which is a MAD Race, where there is no finish line.

 Get on to the MAD Race and enjoy the life by making a difference to yourself and to others around you.

To make a difference to someone's life you need not be in power or in position of strength or rich.  You just have to care to be there.  It is a philosophy of life where you strongly feel, believe and live to GIVE.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
5th June 2017

THREE FOLD DIVISION OF FAITH

I was really fortunate and blessed to attend the four day lecture by Sunandaji on the Three fold division of faith which was based on the Chapter XVII of Bhagavat Gita.  She explained the verses of Chapter XVII very clearly with very good examples.  I am summarising the four day lecture for the benefit of those who could not attend the lectures.  The lecture was delivered on 12th to 15th April 2017 in Dubai.  I feel this is extremely important for every human being irrespective of the religious beliefs and faith.

The three "Gunas" or mental temperament or qualities that are found in every human being are Sattva, Rajas and Tamas.  Sattva is the highest quality where total calm and composure is maintained.  Rajas is a quality where decisions are made with desires in mind.  Tamas is the lowest quality where there is reckless behaviour.

Out of all the living beings only humans have the ability to analyse the cause and effect and choose actions.  The law of causation (cause and effect) is applied in every instance by humans and the individual nature and behaviour will determine whether we are Sattvik, Rajasik or Tamasik.  The greatest quality in human beings is the consistency and whether the person is having Sattvik or Rajasik or Tamasik qualities one will notice consistency.  It is believed that the Sattvik worship God; Rajasik worships Demi-Gods (Yaksas) whilst the Tamasik worship Demons (Rakshashaas).  The underlying principle is Shraddha which is consistency of purpose.

Every human is made up of the three Gunas/Qualities.  It is important to develop "Satvik" consistency.  Every aspect of life is subject to change.  Thoughts, looks, feelings all change.  Some people believe that food intake is important and if we eat Satvik food consistently then we can develop Satvik consistency in our behaviour.  Unfortunately food cannot affect the thoughts and food cannot control the subtle feelings and thinking.  Seed is important for producing the fruit but only if the soil is conducive.  Food will help in Satvik behaviour only if the person is willing to consistently follow the "Satvik" qualities.

Sativika will sacrifice without desiring the fruits or results.  Practice austerity as it is an intelligent use of energy.   We lose energy due to worries and anxieties.  It is important to conserve the energy and direct it properly.  We need to move out of self-centered approach and pursue goals in life in an unselfish manner.

Follow austerity in speech - speech without excitement, which is truthful, pleasant and beneficial and also the practice of sacred study.  Satvik quality will help to think clearly so that we do not act impulsively.  Don't be impulsively good, you need to be intellectually good.  Always act in the interests of others.  Be factual, truthful and use intellect with pleasant manner and let go ego.

Serenity of mind, gentleness, silence, self-restraint and very pure disposition are called austerity of mind.  Perfect mind will not oscillate or get disturbed.  The threefold austerity practiced by devout men with utmost Sraddha and desiring no fruit is declared Satvik.

Rajasik austerity is misplaced effort and needs to be corrected.  Austerity practiced with the object of gaining reverence, honour and worship is unstable and transitory.  Austerity practiced with foolish notion, torturing oneself or aiming to destroy another is declared Tamasika.

Gift given as obligatory to a recipient who does no service and in place and in time is Sattvika Gift.  A sattvika gift is a well thought out gift to the right person at the right time without any impulsive thinking.

We are all normal human beings and hence will keep getting thoughts and feelings which could lead to Tamasik behaviour and it is important to leave it.  Whenever we find Rajasik behaviour it is important to immediately correct it.  As long as we are able to identify and detect the Rajas and Tamas in our behaviour Sattva will take care of itself.

If you leave Tamas and correct the Rajas you would stay a Satvik.  Let our intake be of a high quality - Satvik.  The attitude will help to process the intake - sacrifice and austerity.  You gain a lot as you are productive and sensible in choosing the right inputs and processed it with proper attitude.

Your chase will end only when you find the truth.  You will not feel completeness in life unless you find the truth.  Steadfastness in sacrifice, austerity and gift is called Sat/Truth.  Without aiming at the fruit, various acts of sacrifice, austerity and gift are performed by seekers of liberation.  These are Sattvik.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
21st May 2017

THREE LAWS OF PERFORMANCE

I heard the motivational talk by my friend Shridhar Sampath recently when he mentioned about the Three Laws of Performance. Great results are achieved in this world by individuals and group of individuals operating as a team. When such great results are achieved we wonder how that was possible. It is just that the individual or group has performed well. How to then get the best performance at all times?

The Three Laws of Performance that was propounded by Steve Zaffron & Dave Logan through their book “The Three Laws of Performance — Rewriting the Future of Your Organisation and your Life”.


The three laws of performance are explained in the below video by Steve Zaffron:



I had the dream of becoming a Chartered Accountant when I was only 17 years old and a stranger that I met asked me to repeated say “I want to become and Chartered Accountant and I will become a Chartered Accountant”. He made me stand up and repeat this sentence several times by raising my hand and punching the fist in the air. When I read the three laws of performance this incident flashed across very strongly in my mind.

How true it is that “How people perform correlates to how situations occur to them” (1st Law). My dear sister got married to a Chartered Accountant, Mr.S.K.Raman, in 1980 and thus the desire and dream in me to become a Chartered Accountant grew firm. My brother-in-law encouraged me to pursue my dream. My teacher at School Mr.P.Anand who taught Commerce in my 11th Standard had planted the seed in my mind to become a Chartered Accountant. He took me aside at School after his class and told me “You have all the qualities to become a Chartered Accountant”. How a situation occurs arises in language (2nd Law). Finally the Stranger that I met in a Railway Station made me stand up and say “I want to become a Chartered Accountant and I will become a Chartered Accountant. Future based language transforms how situation occur to people (3rd Law). From intentionality default futures can shift to designed future.

I feel every business owner, business manager and leader can follow the three laws of performance and encourage other to give their best performance.

Great innovative ideas come from best performances and the world will progress and give prosperity to people only with best performances.

T.P.Anand

Dubai, U.A.E.

Written on 23rd June 2016 and published in Medium.Com

WISE VOICE

Do you hear your inner voice?  How often do you listen to your inner voice?  Is it wise to listen to others?  Is there a Wise Voice in us or around us anywhere?

Some of the questions that cropped up in the morning in my mind while I was listening to my own voice as usual when I drove the car.

WISE is an abbreviation which means Willingness to Imbibe and Share Experiences according to me.  To be Wise you need to be first MAD.  MAD according to me is Making A Difference.  Unless you get MAD you will not become WISE.

Voice is not heard when there is noise and hence you need to first keep calm in order to hear your own wise voice.  This is something I realised over time and ofcourse it took several years to realise this great insight that Voice is not Noise.  In fact I feel no noise is Wise.

In order to make my point I have also in my young days raised my voice.  I thought the higher your pitch and tone the better chances you have in winning the argument or feeling stronger.  Over the years I have realised that this is a myth.

On a rainy day when everyone prefers to stay indoors, I ventured out in the morning.  The first challenge was to get into the car as my car was in a small pool of water and I had to wade through the water by spoiling my shoes and trousers.  I did not hesitate even for a moment to go through that agony because it was short lived.

I am thankfully not in the Circle of Concern and happy to be in the Circle of Control.  I do not waste time sitting in front of the Television Set or chatting on whatsapp groups but spend my time usefully in the development of "Wise Voice".

After listening to my friend Shridhar Sampath for couple of hours on Leadership Skills I have chosen to be back at my desk to read and write as I like to stay within the 'circle of control'.

By following others and not listening to the inner voice "Wise Voice" we only end up as monkeys thrown in the cage for experiment.  Without knowing the reasons they do not eat the Bananas despite being their favourite and healthy food.  Watch the below short video on this experiment if you have not heard about this before:

On a rainy day like today in Dubai, your inner voice is bringing out the child in you and asking you to go out and play.  Bring the child in your out and enjoy life.  Listen to your inner voice and be wise.  There is so much fun being yourself and exploring your own hidden talents than watching others at play on Television or Movie Screens.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
25th March 2017

YOUNG ACHIEVERS

Everyone of us want to and aspire to achieve something big in life.  Many of us keep thinking about that big achievement but a few take the necessary steps and actions.

Nischal Narayanam is the youngest Chartered Accountant of India and is just 19 years old.  He has already completed his articleship in Deloitte and has qualified the Final Exams of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.  However, since he is not yet 21 he has to wait for couple of years to be enrolled as an Associate Member of the Institute.

It is amazing how a 19 year old is able to clear the CA Final with ease.  He is a young achiever who has written books on Mathematics at the age of 10.  See the below video:



Shravan and Sanjay are the youngest to become CEOs in India.  They founded "Go Dimensions" in 2012 as a 10 year and 12 year old boys.  Look at the youngest CEOs of India who study for 2 hours, play for 1 hour and do something creative.

These two brothers have developed an Application and became youngest CEOs in the technology world.  See the way they explain the various Apps that they have developed and it is really amazing how these two brothers have shaped themselves into Business Owners by enjoying what they do and doing what they enjoy.

A 9 year old boy from Spain has become the youngest wild life photographer and at 16 there is a youngster who can speak 23 languages and he has learnt all the 23 languages by himself.

These young achievers has been identified at the right age, they have been encouraged, mentored and guided in the right way by their teachers, parents and well wishers.

These youngsters are trend setters and are the real heros and leaders of tomorrow.

I am lost for words to describe these young achievers.  These are amazing achievements and at the same time very inspiring and thought provoking.  Every one is capable of doing amazing things to produce extraordinary results.  Every one is capable of being an achiever and everyone needs to have a dream.  It is very few who end up as being real achievers in life as the key to success is "taking action".  We get more than 50,000 thoughts per day and sometimes they say upto 70,000 thoughts in a day.  Many of them are repetitive and most of them are negative thoughts.  If we can filter and nurture those positive thoughts and translate them into action then every one of us can be an achiever.

These young achievers are self made entrepreneurs who are capable of giving a few lessons on entrepreneurship to the rest of the world.

Taking Action at the right time and not belated.  Procrastination is a disease and the only way to become an achiever is to feel the sense of urgency in everything that we do.  In the present day context when each day is passing so fast it is extremely important to take action with a sense of urgency on every aspect of life.  This is what I strongly feel and this is what I do in my day to day life.  What about you?

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
3rd March 2017

THINK LEAN

Our actions are driven by what we think.  We are what we think.  Think Lean does mean really and literally to think of a lean system which will eliminate and cut out all the unwanted waste or fat.  Be it an individual or Organisation or Government it is important to think lean.  Physical fitness is all about staying fit and lean by burning the excess fat.  If you think lean you will stay lean and your will really mean lean in your thinking on everything.

Lean Thinking is a process of thinking which is based on continuous improvement.  If you are thinking lean it means that you are on a path of excellence and on the way to becoming a competent individual.  The objective is to continuously add value to yourself, the people you serve and the society in which you are living.

How does one measure the "Value Add" is very simple - is the person who is receiving your product or service happy to pay the price.  If the customer is able to see the value in the product then he will willingly pay the price.

The buying decision is always made in a split second and the clinching moment when the customer decides is buy is when he mentally compares the "perceived value" with the price at which the product or service is being offered.  If the perceived value is more than the price then the buying decision is made.  If the perceived value is less than the price at which the product or service is offered then the decision is not to buy.

The pressures faced by business organisations are immense and contradicting.  A customer is always looking for something new, improved, better but at the same time not willing to pay more.  How can we deliver better results at reduced costs and still stay profitable.  How can the continuous improvement in products and services with reducing margins be still sustainable?  This is where "Lean" plays a role.

"Lean" according to the Lean Enterprise Institute means "creating more value with fewer resources".  A lean organisation understands customer value and focuses its key processes to continuously increase it.  The ultimate goal is to provide perfect value to the customer through a perfect value creation process that has zero wastage.

I was introduced to Lean Thinking and Lean Management by my friend Dr.Kievan Zokaei who was introduced by a common friend in 2013.  He was the Director at the Lean Enterprise Research Center in Cardiff University.  He is a visiting Professor at the University of Buckingham.  He is a world renowned trainer, author and Consultant of "Lean and Green".

Dr.Kievan is a specialist in Lean Thinking and has written several articles, books and technical papers.  Among his works the notable one, in my opinion, is the book on "Lean and Green".

Dr.Kievan has been advocating "Lean Thinking" by combining it with "Green Thinking".  According to him an organisation should combine the efforts of Lean with Green so that you not only add value to the customers but you also continuously add value to the Environment and Society simultaneously.



Think "Lean and Green", stay fit, add value, stay on the path of excellence, continuously improve and be happy.

T.P.Anand
Chennai, India
22nd February 2017

WAITING GAME

The waiting game is interesting and fruitful only when deployed under the right and the most appropriate circumstances.  I see people adopting the waiting game for everything and anything.  Is it smart to play the waiting game on every situation?  May be the bad habit of procrastination is being hidden under the waiting game.

As a business strategist I do advise my clients to play the waiting game but I am very selective in giving this piece of advise.  If you are not the market leader and you do not have deep pockets to make some bold and pathbreaking decisions, then the waiting game is the best option.  You can wait and watch how the market behaves and what the competition is doing before making your own moves.

The key is to swing into action at the right time and not continue to wait for too long.  

There was a butterfly in the cocoon who was struggling to come out.  A small boy was watching this and thought he should not wait any longer for the butterfly to emerge from the cocoon and hence he broke it.  The butterfly came out of the cocoon but remained crippled for the rest of its life.  The struggle within the cocoon is designed by nature for the butterfly to gain strength on his wings so that he would break the cocoon with his own wings by repeatedly trying and finally when he breaks the cocoon with his own efforts and emerges out he is fit and ready to fly the next minute.  The butterfly is meant to live by flying across different plants and not sit at one place.

I am reminded of the story of the Chinese Bamboo which i read some time back.  The Chinese Bamboo grows 80 feet in just six weeks, but do you when?  In the fifth year of planting the seed.  In the first two years there is nothing visible but still you need to water the plant and keep caring for it.  In the third and fourth year is shows little signs of growth and this is exactly where the patience is tested. 

Interestingly it is not the growth of 80 feet in six weeks.  It is the watering and nurturing of four years which finally yields the results in fifth year with 80 feet bamboo tree.  What is visible is the 80 feet growth in six weeks in the fifth year.

It is the faith and hardwork of the farmer which brings the results.  Our life is full of such waiting games and watch this motivational speech by Les Brown:

My friend Shridhar Sampath has been dreaming of launching a programme to Inspire, Challenge and Empower young minds.  His dream has been to inspire 1,000,000 people.  Yes that is one million people.  He has been nurturing this idea for the last six years and finally he has now launched the first of his Master Class which is scheduled for 28th January 2017.  The waiting game is now going to yield results and I wish him all the very best.

Shridhar, the waiting game is over and now it is time for your to rock.  All the very best for the first Masterclass and I am sure you will follow it up with many more at regular intervals all over the world.

T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
27th January 2017

SMARTNESS

Working smart, thinking smart, acting smart, talking smart, living smart is the only way forward in today's world.  Smartness is required in everyone, everything and in every action.  We live with smart devices, smart applications, smart administration, smart management, smart families, smart colleagues, smart society and smart government.  I am glad that the word is very clearly defined and used in the right sense when we refer to Smart Government.  Smart Government is the use of innovative policies, business models, and technology to address the financial, environmental, and service challenges facing public sector organizations. The concept of Smart Government relies on consolidated information systems and communication networks.

Smartness was always linked to clever thinking and clever thinking was always thought to be the result of intelligence.  With the intelligence and clever thinking being handed over to technology where is the value addition from the individual and how can the actions still qualify to be termed "smart"?

According to Mr.Narayana Murthy, Co-Founder of Infosys, honesty is better than smartness.  A famous quote that I like the most is "Be Smart, but never show it".

Intelligent people are sometimes not very smart and smart people need not necessarily be intelligent.  Smartness is linked to presence of mind and quick reflex.  Smartness is also sometimes related to the ability to seize an opportunity by being quick on the draw.  The mnemonic dictionary defines smartness as "intelligence as manifested in being quick and witty".

I distinctly remember a Partner of the firm where I worked telling the other Partner who happened to be my mentor "this guy has been well trained by you and has become a good chartered accountant but he is not street smart and I do not know how he will prosper in life".  This was a comment on me by a Senior Chartered Accountant about 25 years ago and I do not know if I have ever improved over the last 25 years.  Everything around me is Smart and every day I dealing with smartness wondering if I am Smart.

According to John Billings "Common sense is an instinct given to man and enough of it is genius. Smartness is measured by the level of common sense one has, not by how much educated or knowledgeable he is."

One good thing that has happened to me is that I have always used common sense and acted based on common sense approach in every tricky situation.  I do not know why it is so uncommon for people to use common sense.  I am fortunate that I am able to use common sense and find solutions repeatedly over the last several years.

Even when objectives are set, one is expected to set SMART objectives and here the word is not used in its literal sense but as a mnemonic " Stretching, Measurable, Agreed, Realistic, Time-bound".

Smartness is omnipresent and so overpowering that the basic traits have been clearly sidelined in favour of Smartness.  The basic traits, which were considered extremely essential couple of decades back, viz., Honesty, Commitment, Sincerity and Hardwork, is slowly getting pushed in the background in favour of being Smart.

In the quest for being smart I have seen people trying to outsmart others which actually breaches the line of honesty and sincerity.  On many occasions the tricky solution (named as Smartness) actually ends up being unfair to the other person.

With all the ambiguity and confusion around this concept of Smartness, I am not sure if one should really make efforts to develop the skill and ability to be smart.

It is extremely important that the smartness is restricted to only intelligence.  In my opinion the SMART people are "Self Motivated Affable Rational and Transparent".  No wonder the great genius Steve Jobs wanted to hire Smart people.

Be Smart, Stay Smart and Live Smart.

Regards,
T.P.Anand
Dubai, U.A.E.
20th January 2017