Blame game!!

Although a bit delayed, it was still refreshing to hear President Obama say -- "The buck stops with me." This was in response to the attempted bombing of a commercial airliner near Detroit, about month ago. But prior to this statement, there was a lot of finger pointing in Washington. The various national security agencies blamed each other for letting the alleged bomber acquire an American Visa, then slip through airport security inspite of being on the "Watch list" with an explosive strapped to his leg!

We see similar scenarios of "passing the buck" all the time in our day to day lives. Its not only the politicians. Blame is passed around, and nobody wants to accept responsibility. Here's how we should NOT define Responsibility-- "A detachable burden easily shifted to the shoulders of God, fate, fortune, luck or one's neighbor!"

There have been times in my life when I have tried to shirk responsibility. But then I realized I could dodge my responsibility, but its tough to dodge the consequences of dodging the responsibility. When we take charge of our own lives, there's one terrible thing that happens -- "There's no one to blame!" Wherever we are today, at whatever juncture we are in life, is a result of the choices we made. At some point or another in our lives, we all have made a decision that we would love to take back. But unfortunately, there is no "rewind" in real life. So its best, in my opinion, to accept the consequences of that decision and move on. Life is a constant learning experience. Its up to us to imbibe the lessons we get everyday and apply them in our day to day life.

In real life scenarios, "I must do something" always gets more results than "Something must be done!!"
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Ordinary people, extra-ordinary achievements...

This past weekend I was flipping channels on TV. There was nothing interesting on, so I started watching CNN-Heroes. These were stories of ordinary people who had dedicated their lives to help others selflessly, and in doing so achieved extra-ordinary things. Each story was inspiring. I was in awe of these people and what they had accomplished.

There was a veteran who took homeless veterans into his own home -- a Filipino young man who went back to the slums from which he survived with books & a message of education -- another twenty-year old young man, who lost his legs at 16 in a freak accident and now ran a foundation that helps children to get prosthetics for lost limbs -- and so many others. So what turns ordinary people into extra-ordinary achievers? I guess its circumstances, situations and having a "Can do" attitude.

These special individuals put others before themselves and wanted to help people, and did not want or expect anything in return. In each of their endeavors, they just kept plugging away. Spectacular achievements are often preceded by very unspectacular preparation. To have a "Can do" attitude, I think one has to be an optimist. You have to believe that things will go well. Both pessimists and optimists contribute to our society. The optimist invents the airplane, the pessimist the parachute!

Perseverance is the key to success in almost everything. With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, almost anything is attainable. Circumstances are often blamed for anything that does not go well. Those who are successful are the people who get up and look for circumstances they want; and if they can't find them, make them.


"There is no telling how many miles you will have to run while chasing a dream."

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