Steve Jobs, the CEO who got fired from his first job.

Talk of computers the first thing that strikes anyone today is 'Apple'. Know the success story of the brain behind this massive player.  

Inspiring excerpts from the commencement speech by Steve Jobs, at Standord University on June 12, 2005.
Truth be told, I never graduated from college, and this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today, I want to tell you three stories from my life.
Best decisions I ever made
The first story is about connecting the dots. I ped out of Reed College after the first six months. Why? Well, it started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption.
She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, but my biological mother found out later that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would go to college.
This was the start in my life. And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. So I decided to out. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms. I returned coke bottles for the five cent deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the seven miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on.
Let me give you one example: I decided to take a calligraphy class at Reed College and learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations. None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. If I had never ped out, I would have never ped in on that calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.
Love and Loss
My second story is about love and loss. Woz (Steve Wozniak) and I started Apple in my parents' garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown into a two billion dollar company with over 4,000 employees. We'd just released our finest creation the Macintosh a year earlier, and then I got fired.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down. I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me: I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit and I decided to start over.
The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, and I retuned to Apple. I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple.
I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.
If today were the last day of life
My third story is about death. When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: 'If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right.' It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I've looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: 'If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?' And whenever the answer has been 'No' for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I will be dead soon is the most important tool I have ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors told me this was incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for 'prepare to die.' I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, and was told that it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and, thankfully, I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept: No one wants to die. Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalogue created by a fellow named Stewart Brand and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: 'Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.' It was their farewell message.
And I've always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

The Right Sort Of Company

Written on June 21st, 2011 by Deepak Shenoy

"Good Morning, Sehgal sa'ab". It wasn't a reference to Mr. Sehgal's car. "Sa'ab" was short for Sahib, the equivalent of "boss" or "sir". In any case, Mr. Sehgal had a Honda.
"Hello, Sudhir. Good to see you after all this time. Don't tell me you have a tax problem", said Sehgal, in a worried tone, wondering why a chartered accountant was always the guinea pig during tax return time.
"Not really, Mr. Sehgal. This is Rakesh Mannan. We want to start a company together. Tell us how. We're going to make software for solar cars, and make loads of money. "
Good luck with that, thought Sehgal. Great ideas, and very little operational knowledge — however, crazier ideas have succeeded and you can't let an opportunity go. So he started.
"So you have many choices — a partnership, an LLP or a private limited. A partnership is the least cumbersome, but you do have the issue that each of you as a partner has full liability".
"What does that mean?", asked Rakesh.
"Rakesh, if your partnership takes a loan or your company gets sued in court, each of you is, individually, liable for everything. That means your personal assets are on the line in case the partnership needs to pay and doesn't have the money; and if Sudhir doesn't pay, you will need to  pay the full amount, regardless of your share in the partnership."
"But he won't do such a thing", said Rakesh.
"That's not the point. Tomorrow you might add more stakeholders — will you have the same opinion? Will that person take on full liability of everyone? Partnerships are great for small businesses, but if you plan to do much more, you need to consider a Limited Liability option."
"Ah, I see. No partnership, then. What are the options?"
"You can create an LLP or a Limited Company. These take a little more time, but I can turn it around in two weeks. The two concepts are similar, in that your liability is only to the extent of your investment in the company, and if the company is sued, you aren't personally liable. A Limited company is better than an LLP if you wish you get, for instance, foreign investment or venture capital, and eventually list as a Public company on exchanges."
"Limited Company it is. So what do we do? We have this great business plan, we know we need just five lakhs to start the business and I'll put in 3, while Rakesh puts in two", said Sudhir.
"That's good. So you'll create a private limited company — you tell me a name, tell me what you plan to do and I'll work to register it. The company will have to issue shares. For five lakhs, at Rs. 10 per share, there will be 50,000 shares, and you, Sudhir, will get 30,000 shares, and Rakesh gets 20,000, in proportion with your investment."
Sudhir thought this was nice, but was it right  to restrict stakes based on money invested?
"But the five lakhs is really the seed capital — over the next six months, both of us will put in a lot of effort, which is worth a lot more. How can we divide our capital accordingly?"
"You can alter shareholding based on effort, if you create a stock option plan that compensates you with stock. This is a more tedious process, and I would only recommend it if you want to bring in external investors. For example, you might decide to issue yourselves 10,000 shares each, every month, for your effort. In a year, your individual holding percentages will change, and will reflect more of your effort and less of the cash you initially invested. Remember your shareholding today will get diluted as you raise more capital tomorrow, and the percentages are likely to come down substantially."
"Oh. So we can't own this company anymore?"
"Well, there's a difference between management and ownership. For example, if you manage the company, you can decide to pay yourself a very high salary. If you own the company, you want to keep salaries down so that profits are higher and you get better dividends.  When you let other people invest, you part with ownership, but usually not over management control. So there will always be a tussle between your investors and you on that note, but people have learnt, over years, that it makes sense for founders and management to have a significant stake in the company. And since you are starting off with such small amounts as 5 lakhs, if you aren't getting a big stake, you can always quit and start a competing company with a higher stake. To motivate you to stay, investors need to give you a meaningful percentage."
"But don't investors require you to sign non-compete clauses?", asked Rakesh.
Sehgal sighed. "Yes, but it's very difficult to enforce non-compete restrictions in India. Investors might try but they know that it's better to keep you motivated than to let you run away; legal agreements only make sense to enforce if you succeed.
Only novice entrepreneurs part with more than 50% equity in the first round of fund-raising. In fact, even in listed companies, you find that most founders or "promoters" continue to own a majority (or near-majority) stake in the business".
Sudhir chewed on his pencil.
"That's interesting. So we decide how the stake between us is split, and later, someone will put in money. I need to give that person shares, but at that time, I will have a product, and revenues; I might need 50 lakhs — but my share capital is just five lakhs! How does that work?"
"Once you generate revenues and profits the overall valuation of the company increases. Let's say you generate 20 lakhs in profits, and using industry figures, you are given a valuation of 10 times profit — or Rs. 2 crores. If the number of shares hasn't changed, it's still 2 crores divided into 50,000 shares — or Rs. 400 per share. Remember, you bought in at Rs. 10 per share, and you have grown it to the Rs. 400 a share valuation without putting any more money. That's the power of effort, and that's how great companies are built — not by money alone", said Sehgal.
Sudhir and Rakesh gave each other a look. Just five minutes into the conversation, they were worth 2 crores together. But it's easy to be a millionaire in your dreams, they knew.
Sehgal continued, "Now you need 50 lakhs and your investor agrees to value you currently at 2 crores. That will add 50 lakhs of cash to your company, and you will issue him new shares at Rs. 400 per share, which is 12,500 shares. Now there are 62,500 shares in total. Each of you owns a little less as a percentage, and the new investor owns 20%".
"So how does the investor make money? I can take a salary and get a return on my investment. Why should a non-involved investor bother?"
Sehgal got up to pace his room, a tactic he often employed when he was about to explain a delicate detail.
"Two reasons. One: you might be successful and give dividends to investors by sharing your annual profits, which can realize great returns on the initial investment. But this is no longer the preferred reason to invest at the early stage. The main reason is to exit at a high value. If I trust the founders, understand the market and believe in a product, the initial seed funding can multiply many times if things go right. You, for instance, might either get acquired by a big company that's making solar cars, which gives your investors a great return. Or, you might grow big enough to get listed in the stock exchanges, through an IPO — this allows anyone else to come in and the original investors to sell."
"Nice. That means we, as founders get to exit as well, even partially, I guess. But then, how does one list on a stock exchange?"
"If you choose to list yourself on an exchange, you typically make a public offer, where you offer the shares to just about anyone. There is regulation involved, and you will need to employ bankers and underwriters and have a great track record. With that, the greater investing crowd in the stock markets may see even more value in your shares, perhaps even 20 times profits, and the shares can be richly priced."
"Like 4,000 rupees a share? Or 40,000?"
"Sure, but because people get scared of large numbers, listed companies tend to reduce the share prices through bonuses or splits. Imagine that when your company was worth two crores with 50,000 shares, you chose to issue another 50,000 shares for free to all shareholders, in the same proportion as current shareholding. Now the same 2 crores of value is  spread across 100,000 shares, which is Rs. 200 per share, versus the Rs. 400 a share earlier. This is how listed companies tend to make their shares look affordable."
"But if listing is so great, then why doesn't every company list itself?"
"Many don't qualify. The regulations require either a good record of profitability or high quality institutional investors on board, plus approval of your specific offer. Then you need to reveal your financial details every quarter, and make sure the exchanges are aware of any large decision you take. And because you have shares listed, any material information needs to be revealed immediately. This could put you at a disadvantage in a competitive field. A number of companies use creative accounting that will not be acceptable in public markets."
"Whoa. So if we're clean, we are okay. But this is brilliant, Mr. Sehgal. Thanks for your help. Now to get back to making our solar car software."
"All the best, Sudhir", said Sehgal, wondering if he should ask for shares as his fee. The Honda is nice, but petrol isn't getting any cheaper.

Precaution is more than any thing

One of ma friendz experience in life.... Precaution is more than any thing...

In a relationship, married or not... YOU SHOULD READ THIS!

MARRIAGE When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I've got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes. Suddenly I didn't know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly. She didn't seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why? I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn't talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn't love her anymore. I just pitied her! With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release.

                     The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now. The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn't have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again. In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn't want anything from me, but needed a month's notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month's time and she didn't want to disrupt him with our broken marriage. This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that every day for the month's duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

                               I told Jane about my wife's divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully. My wife and I hadn't had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don't tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outsidethe door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office. On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn't looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her. On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again.

                          I didn't tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger. She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily. Suddenly it hit me... she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head. Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it's time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day. But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn't noticed that our life lacked intimacy.

                                I drove to office.... jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind...I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore. She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won't divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn't value the details of our lives, not because we didn't love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart. Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away. At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I'll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.

                             That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed - dead. My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push thru with the divorce.-- At least, in the eyes of our son--- I'm a loving husband.... The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves. So find time to be your spouse's friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage! If you don't share this, nothing will happen to you. If you do, you just might save a marriage. Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Secret of success: Get the mind-set of an ant!

All of us tend to look up to big people for lessons on how to get better. We are keen to learn the secrets of their success. But we forget that sometimes the biggest lessons in life come from the smallest folks around us. Now that’s a good lesson to remember!

Take ants for instance. Would you believe those small creatures can teach us how to live a better life? Jim Rohn - the great motivational guru – developed what he called the ‘Ants Philosophy’. He identified four key lessons from the behaviour of ants that can help us lead better lives. Jim Rohn is no more – but his messages continue to inspire. Here then, are the four lessons from Rohn’s ‘Ants Philosophy’.  

1. Ants never quit. Have you noticed how ants always look for a way around an obstacle? Put your finger in an ant’s path and it will try and go around it, or over it. It will keep looking for a way out. It won’t just stand there and stare. It won’t give up and go back. We should all learn to be like that. There will always be obstacles in our lives. The challenge is to keep trying, keep looking for alternative routes to get to our goals. Winston Churchill probably paraphrased the ant’s mindset when he offered this priceless advice: “Never give up. Never, never give up!”  

2. Ants think winter all summer. Remember the old story of the ant and the grasshopper? In the middle of summer, the ant was busy gathering food for the winter ahead – while the grasshopper was out having a good time. Ants know that summer - the good times – won’t last forever. Winters will come. That’s a good lesson to remember. When the going is good, don’t be so arrogant as to believe that a crisis or a setback cannot happen to you. Be good to other people. Save for a rainy day. Look ahead. And remember, good times may not last, but good people do.  

3. Ants think summer all winter. As they suffer through the unbearable cold of the winter, ants keep reminding themselves that it won’t last forever, and that summer will soon be here. And with the first rays of the summer sun, the ants come out – ready to work, ready to play. When we are down and seemingly out, when we go through what looks like a never-ending crisis, it’s good to remind ourselves that this too shall pass. Good times will come. It’s important to retain a positive attitude, an attitude that says things will get better. As the old saying goes, tough times don’t last. Tough people do.  

4. Ants do all they possibly can. How much food does an ant gather in summer? All that it possibly can! Now that’s a great work ethic to have. Do all you can! One ant doesn’t worry about how much food another ant is collecting. It does not sit back and wonder why it should have to work so hard. Nor does it complain about the poor pay! Ants just do their bit. They gather all the food they can. Success and happiness are usually the result of giving 100% - doing all you possibly can. If you look around you, you’ll find that successful people are those who just do all they possibly can.

Follow the four simple steps of Jim Rohn’s ‘Ant Philosophy’ – and you’ll see the difference. Don’t quit. Look ahead. Stay positive. And do all you can.

And there’s just one more lesson to learn from ants. Did you know that an ant can carry objects up to 20 times their own weight? Maybe we are like that too. We can carry burdens on our shoulders and manage workloads that are far, far heavier than we’d imagine. Next time something’s bothering you and weighing you down, and you feel you just can’t carry on, don’t fret. Think of the little ant. And remember, you too can carry a lot more on your shoulders!

BOSS & PERSONNEL ASSISTANT

PA: Excuse me sir, may I talk to you?

BOSS: Sure, come on in. What can I do for you?

PA: Well sir, as you know, I have been an employee of this prestigious firm for over ten years.

BOSS: Yes.

PA: Sir, I would like a raise. I currently have " four companies " after me and so I decided to talk to you first.

BOSS: A raise? I would love to give you a raise, but this is just not the right time.

PA: I understand your position, and I know that the current economic downturn has had a negative impact on sales, but you must also take into consideration my hard work, pro- activeness and loyalty to this company for over a decade.

BOSS: Taking into account these factors, and considering I don't want to start a brain drain, I'm willing to offer you a ten percent raise and an extra five days of vacation time. How does that sound?

PA: Great! It's a deal! Thank you, sir!

BOSS: Before you go, just out of curiosity,"" what companies"" were after you?

PA: Oh, the Electric Company, Gas Company, Water Company and the Mortgage Company!!!!!!!!

Republic Day of India

Republic Day, celebrated on January 26th every year, is one of India’s most important national events. It was on January 26th, 1950 that the constitution of India came into force and India became a truly Sovereign, Democratic and Republic state.

On this day India finally enjoyed the freedom of spirit, rule of law and fundamental principle of governance. The patriotic fervor of the Indian people on this day brings the whole country together even in her embedded diversity.

Republic Day is a people’s day in a variety of ways:

It’s when regional identity takes a backseat and what matters most is the universal appeal of unity and brotherhood projected by all Indians.

The Indian constitution basically stands for the aspirations which ‘the common man of India’ cherishes.

Republic Day is a day of the citizen of the country when he is entitled to be ‘all supreme'.

Republic Day is celebrated most majestically in the capital, New Delhi, where symbols of the great nation's military might and cultural wealth are displayed in what is the world's most impressive parade. All Government buildings are illuminated lending the city the atmosphere of a fairyland. This day is celebrated with much zeal and pride all across the nation.

Behind the Wheel

The way we answer these questions will provide the ultimate context for everything else we do with our lives. If we place any value on our lives at all, we must give some consideration to these questions.

Let’s say you have your life organized around goals, projects, and actions. You set a goal like starting a new internet business. You break it down into projects like writing a business plan and launching your web site. And then you break those projects down into actions like going to the bank to open a business account and registering your domain name. Fair enough.

But why start the business in the first place? What’s the point? Why pick this goal vs. any other goal? Why even set goals at all?

What determines the goals you set (or don’t set) is your context. Your context is your collection of beliefs and values. So if the values of money and freedom are part of your context, you might be inclined to set a goal to start a new business. But with different kinds of values — a different context — you may be disinclined to set goals at all.

The most significant part of your context is your collection of beliefs about the nature of reality, which includes your religious, spiritual, and philosophical beliefs. Your overall beliefs about the universe will largely determine your results. Context dictates goals. Goals dictate projects. Projects dictate actions. Actions dictate results.

Within a certain context, it will be virtually impossible for you to achieve certain results because you’ll never set the required goals that will lead to those results.

Your context works like a filter. When you are inside a particular context, you lose access to the potential goals, projects, and actions that lie outside that context. For example, if your context includes the belief that criminal behavior is very bad, then you aren’t likely to work towards becoming a future leader in organized crime.