Author: Kaushik Das

PLACES TO VISIT IN SIKKIM

1. Gangtok

It’s the exotic capital of sikkim, it’s surrounding regions are rich in natural beauty and atmospheric sceneries. Places you need to visit here are Nathula pass, Tsangmo lake, MG marg and monasteries. 

2. Tsangmo lake/ Changu lake 

This lake is only 38 km away from Gangtok located at a height of around 12300 ft. This is charming view of the lake is unexplainable. During the winter season the lake remains frozen. The blue waters, fresh air creates a perfect ambience! 

3. Yumthang Valley

It is located at a height of around 3,500 meter. It’s alluring beauty is just awesome. The scenic valley and the mountain view creates a magical charm. From December to March the valley trip to valley is normally cancelled due to heavy snowfall.

 4. Gurudongmar Lake

This is one of the most gorgeous lake in India located at a height of 17,800 ft above. About 5 km away from the Gurudongmar lake lies the India China border. Due to it’s high altitude, the oxygen level remains very low and the atmosphere is extremely windy and cold. 

STEPS TO START YOUR OWN FREELANCING BUSINESS

1. DECIDE A PARTICULAR NICHE OR SERVICE THAT YOU WANT TO OFFER.

Decide exactly what you will offer. It’s helpful when you have a clearly defined service such as logo design, web design, etc. the clients know clearly what you can offer to them.

2. CREATE YOUR  PORTFOLIO

Having a good portfolio of your niche creates a positive impact on your clients and it looks professional. You can either make your own website or there are various other platforms online available to build your portfolio. While approaching a client always give them the links to your portfolio

3. FIND YOUR FIRST CLIENT

Use your existing network to find your first client. Talk to your friends, family, relatives and ask them if anybody needed such kind of services. And if you get any client, after completing their projects you can ask them to recommend you to others.

4. GIVE YOUR BEST TO EACH AND EVERY CLIENT

Quality work is the most effective way to increase your business. It’s essential to do the best job you can so clients will recommend you to others. Doing amazing work will also lead to repeat clients that keep coming back to you.

LESSONS TO LEARN FROM THE BOOK : IMPOSSIBLE TO FAIL

1. MAXIMISE YOUR POTENTIAL.

Maximizing our potential is not something we can learn at school. You can’t read it from a book, and you can’t learn something like this at a seminar. It is something you develop, in the form of resilience in the face of controversy and criticism.

2. EXPLORE YOUR PASSION.

Numerous studies of highly successful people indicate a high correlation between passion, believing in a calling, enjoying a job and performing at a high level.

So ask yourself what would you do with your time if you were living your ideal life? Make a list of at least ten things.

3. THE BIGGEST SUCCESS KILLER IS

identifying with being average and accepting mediocrity as your way of life.

Mediocrity is a personal choice. Without understanding the difference between success and mediocrity, we all risk accepting things that are way below our potential and leading a very average life.

4. THE SECRET OF SUSTAINABLE PERFORMANCE

Is positive attitude towards struggle.

Its not so much the struggle that cause the burnout, but the perception of struggle as a failure rather than a setback

Developing a new skill takes effort and its okay to fail productively. But don’t ask for help or give up early – allow yourself to grapple with the task so you get the maximum growth.

4 MUST READ BOOKS TO START YOUR OWN STARTUP

1. ZERO TO ONE

Zero to One presents at once an optimistic view of the future of progress in American and a new way of thinking about innovation. It starts by learning to ask the question that lead you to find value in unexpected places.

2. THE LEAN STARTUP

Rather than wasting time creating elaborate  business plans, the lean startup offers entrepreneurs- in companies of all sizes – a way to test their vision continuously, to adopt and adjust before its too late. The author provides scientific approach to creating and managing successful startups in a age when companies need to innovate more than ever.

3. THE FOUNDERS DILEMMAS

The founder dilemmas draws on the inside stories of founders like EVAN WILLIAMS of twitter and TIM WESTERGREN of Pandora, while mining quantitative data on almost ten thousand founders.

People problems are the leading cause of failure in startups. This book offers solutions.

4. HOOKED

The author of this book provides practical insights to create user habits that stick , actionable steps for building products people love, fascinating examples from the iPhone to Twitter, Pinterest to Bible app, and many other habit forming products.

MUST VISIT PLACES NEAR KEDARNATH

  1. OMKARESHWAR TEMPLE

Located in Ukhimath this temple is the home of lord Kedarnath and Madhyamaheswar during winters.

2. BHAIRAVANATH TEMPLE

Bhairav Baba is known as ‘kshterapal’ the protector of Kedarnath Temple and kedar valley.

3. TRIYUGINARAYAN TEMPLE.

This is the place where Lord Shiva and GODDESS Parvati got married in presence of Lord Vishnu and Brahma.

4. VASUKI TAL

According to legends, Lord Vishnu had descended onto the earthly realm into this lake for a holy bath during the auspicious festival of Raksha Bnadhan.

5. RUDRA CAVE

Located one and half kilometers left from the Kedarnath Temple complex, Rudra Cave is an undergroung meditation cave.

6. SONPRAYAG

Soonprayag is a tiny hamlet on the confluence banks of river Mandakini and Basuki. Devotees take a dip in the holy waters with the faith to attain nirvana.

7. SHANKARACHARYA SAMADHI

It is believed that Sri Shankaracharya who propounded the adwaita Philosophy established this holy shrine and one of his four Mathas in the 8th century and attained Nirvana at age 32 here.

8. AGASTYAMUNI

Dedicated to Saint Agastya, the temple commemorates his one year tapas here. This ancient temple stands as an example of grand architecture and interiors with wall art adoring its wall.

QUESTIONS YOU NEED TO AS YOURSELF BEFORE STARTING A BUSINESS

1. Why are you starting the business?

First of all defining the why behind what you are doing is most important, If you aren’t clear about why you are doing what you are doing then its better to quitting that thing.


2. What value are you going to add in other peoples life?

Ask yourself whether you are going to add value to other peoples life, whether you are going to bring comfort in others life. If the answer is yes, then definitely your business will sustain in the market.

3. How well are you mentally prepared to start the business?

For starting a business you need to be mentally strong enough. Running a business includes a lot of problem solving tasks, pressure ,bear losses, patience. Therefore you need to be mentally strong enough to handle all such situations.

4. Is there any easier way ?

Most entrepreneurs think if the problem is hard then there should be a complicated solution to the complicated problem but if your are creating any product then always think how you can make it more easier for its end consumers.

5. Is it really worth it ?

Ask yourself that it is actually worth it doing this particular thing because you are going to spend a lot of time on that thing, I know you can’t predict this too early but being realistic is more important that being optimistic.

LEARNING LESSONS FROM THE BOOK : THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MONEY

1. Use money to gain control over time, because the ability to do what you want, when you want, with whom you want , for as long as you want to, pays the highest dividend that exists in finance.

2. Wealth is what you don’t see, its hidden, it is the oncome that you have not spent and that is the fastest way to be wealthy, not spending the money you have and doing its opposite will never make you wealthy.

3. Wealth is just the accumulated leftovers after you spend what you take in. And since you can build wealth without a high income, but have no chance of building wealth without a high savings rate, its clear which one matters more.

4. Do not aim to be coldly rational( by looking at the spreadsheet) when making financial decisions. Aim to just be pretty reasonable. Reasonable is more realistic and you have a better chance of sticking with it for the long run.

5. Like everything else worthwhile, successful investing demands a price. But its currency is volatility, fear, doubt, uncertainity, and regret and you have to view them as fees( a price worth paying to get something nice in exchange).

EFFECTS OF SUGAR ON OUR BODY

1. BRAIN

Sugar lights up your brain reward center with dopamine. Some studies say it is more addictive than cocaine. 

2. SKIN

Sugar accelerates ageing and exacerbates condition like acne and rosacea.

 3. HEART

Too much sugar harden arteries and damages heart Tissue

4. LIVER

The liver converts excess sugar into fat. Overloading the liver with sugar is similar to overloading it with alcohol. 

5. KIDNEY

When blood sugar is too high, the kidneys spell the sugar into urine, which can cause permanent damage.

 6. STOMACH

Stomach throws off gut health interrupting the microbiome of the digestive track. 

7. FERTILITY

High blood sugars impairs reproductive function in both men and women.

 8. MOUTH

Sugar consumption lead to tooth decay and gum disease. 

STOCK MARKET IS A GAMBLING ??

Majority of population in India thinks that stock market is a gambling like casino. To be honest that’s not the reality.

Being in the stock market field for 1 year , I have realized that stock market is a far bigger concept that what normal people think it is. Even if you blindly invest in stocks of any company you are still speculatively investing and not gambling! The simple reason is that there is a sort of ownership here.

Investing in stocks involves careful analysis of company’s performance and future forecast. So as to own a handful of shares for some period of time, to claim trust on the products of the company, further gearing the economy.

as said by WILSON MIZNER : Gambling is the sure way of getting nothing from something.

When you gamble , you get to own nothing. You play with the available probabilities and are run by emotions or gut to chase a win.

Hence from this blog I just want to convey a message to all the readers that Investing in stocks is a gambling is a MYTH !!

MAJOR LEANINGS FROM THE BOOK : THE 5 AM CLUB

1. The first hour of the day is the golden hour and thus in the first hour from 5 am to 6 am applying  the 20/20/20 formula can truly change your performance of the whole day.

2. It states that the first 20 minutes are for exercising, the next 20 minutes are for growing i.e. reading or listening podcast or audiobooks.

3. By performing these activities you awaken the 4 interior empires( mindset, heart set, soul set, and health set) because if you want to experience empires in your outer life you need to develop your inner ones first.

4. Waking up at 5 am can enhance peoples productivity and happiness and as a result people can achieve an epic height of success in their professional as well as personal life.

I recommend everyone reading this blog to please read this book once.

HAPPY READING ; )

Thank you!

10 TIPS TO END A CONVERSATION

1. I’d better get going.

2. I have to rush off now.

3. Let’s meet up again son, bye for now.

4. Let’s get together soon. Take care.

5. You have been amazing

6. It was wonderful to talk with you. I must be going

7. It was great to see you again.

8. Sorry I’ve gotta go

9. Its been good talking to you

10. I look forward seeing you again soon.

20 OTHER WAYS OF SAYING NO

1. That’s not going to work for me.

2. I would love to, but I cant

3. No thanks, I wont be able to make it

4. Not this time

5. Regrettably, I am not able to

6. May be another time.

7. My schedule is literally tight. May be another time.

8. I’m not able to commit to that right now

9. My heart doesn’t want to say no but my mind knows that I’d not be up to this plan.

10. The plan sounds fun but I’m not available.

11. That sounds a little off to me.

12. I am already taken

13. That’s really kind of you asking me for the plan but I am in for another one.

14. Sounds great, but I cant commit.

15. Rats! Would’ve loved to.

16. I’m slammed.

17. If only it worked.

18. Another time might work.

19. I’m resting now.

20. No, thank you but it sounds lovely.

SOME OF THE BEST QUOTES FROM THE BOOK: THE QUICK AND EASY WAY TO EFFECTIVE SPEAKING

1. “ Successful communication depends upon how well the speaker can make his talk a part of the listeners and the listeners a part of the talk”

2. “The chief cause of your fears of public speaking is simply that you are unaccustomed to speak in public”

3. “ If you want to interest your listeners then don’t begin with an introduction. Begin by leaping right into the heart of your story.”

4. “The best way for a speaker to endear himself to an audience is to play himself down.”

5. “ The audience must feel that there is a message being delivered straight from the mind and heart of the speaker to their minds and their hearts.”

6. “The ability to speak clearly precedes the ability to move others to action.”

7. “ You cant project your personality in a talk to others by using reasons alone; you have to release to them how deeply you yourself believe on what you say.”

8. “ You will never know what progress you can make unless you speak, and speak and speak again.”

TIPS TO MAKE YOURSELF FINANCIALLY LITERATE

Have you ever heard or read in a newspaper that a person who won millions of dollar got broke after few years, why is this so ? This is because of lack of financial education, and the reason behind many of the people after good degree and jobs and a good salary still facing financial issues is the same lack of financial education.

1. Listen to podcasts, like the Rich Dad Radio Show.

2. There are plenty of you tube channels of financial experts, subscribe their channels and follow them.

3. Read newspapers, magazines, or books based on money, finance, and investing.

4. Follow peoples or pages sharing financial knowledge on social media.

5. Hang around with people smarter than you beyond all this have a keen interest and a burning desire. That’s all you need to be financially literate.

MAJOR LEARNING LESSON FROM THE BOOK- TALK LIKE TED

1. The speaker must love and should be genuinely passionate about his topic, if the speaker himself is not inspired by what he is speaking then it cant inspire others. So always choose the topic which you would love to speak about.

2. No one wants to hear the same boring and old stuff. People want something new, thus reveal information that’s completely new to your audience, and they will be your devoted listener.

3. Deliver jaw dropping moment in your presentation. Share something by which your audience will get surprised because that moment makes your presentation remarkable.

4. Don’t try to make your talk too long or too short that the audience cant even get what you have to say. According to the author, the ideal length of a talk should be 18 minutes. Because it forces you to say only what is important.

5. The best way to teach the heart and soul of your audience is to tell them stories, especially your own stories. Because they will only listen to what you are saying only if they feel familiar and connected to what you have to say.