Live with passion

The traditional custom of ‘Whatever happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’ was broken when the 2011 World Championship of Public Speaking was webcast live (for the first time ever) from Las Vegas, across the earth. One of the contestants, Kwong Yue Yang of China (Second Place Winner), struck a chord in me with his speech, “Fortune Cookie”, in which he talked about discovering our passions by ourselves rather than aping successful people. Kwong, having received millions of free advice from many, got the best advice ever from a fortune cookie: a piece of paper with nothing written on it. The theme being: one has to discover oneself and not ape someone. The movie, Kungfu Panda revolves around the same theme. And, last but not the least, my favorite movie, “3 idiots” conveys just that.

Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you. – Oprah Winfrey

Well said. It is something that gives you a high and keeps you ticking. Even until a few years back, I remember moments in my life when I had felt empty with no excitement although it was weekend or I had nothing to worry about. The moment deserved excitement, but it was empty. Then, I never understood that emptiness and I had always wondered why. Thanks to one of my best friends who turned my life around by helping me discover my passions (blogging, marathon) and my life has never been the same again since then. No matter how bad the circumstance is, I know exactly which string to be pulled to get my spirits high. I travel to my world of passions to experience the “high” that fills the emptiness and the excitement emits so much energy that you become restless which lands me in another dilemma: from emptiness to excitement, you want to do so many things but wonder where to start.

On my recent trip to my native village in India, I came across a few enchanting people who have escaped the corporate rat race, have been blessed with flexible work times, don’t have to commute in a bumper-to-bumper traffic every day and lead an organic lifestyle (pretty much). The best part of it all is that they do not work rather they do what excites them the most: their passions. These fascinating people who have chosen their passions as their professions - Sea farers, teachers, businessmen, businesswomen, musicians, social workers, and teachers – lead an envious life and the excitement is written all over their faces anytime you meet them. One thing that they all have in common is their unshakeable conviction and positive attitude towards life.

It’s incredible!!

In the movie, “Serendipity”, John Cussack’s buddy says to him, "The Greeks didn’t write obituaries. They only asked one question after a man died: Did he have passion?" True or not, it is a powerful statement that intrigues anyone.

Turning 40!!

Turning 40!! Getting naughty!! Well, many of my friends and relatives teased me on my 40th birthday. And, I wondered why?! A lot has changed since I looked (young) the way I felt (young). It all seems like yesterday, but 2 decades of adult life has gone past in just a flash. All of a sudden in life, you feel a pause as if it was destined to happen to awaken you from the dream. Man, it is a rude awakening!! Friends of my age, who used to goof around all the time get philosophical over a drink. You start receiving wedding invitations from babies that you used to carry around several years back. Your own kids start talking about their plans for their teen life!! And, that does it. The last big bang of the bell reverberates through your ears so much that you start looking exactly (old) the way you feel (old). Welcome to the 40s!!

A sense of wisdom seeps in your life and you feel a bit serene. At times you start questioning your own convictions on "life" based on which you had taken many critical decisions in your life. You feel that you have not achieved anything although you have not done all that bad. You muster courage to face all the mistakes in life and let go most of the timid false-beliefs or empty-pride. When your kids are old enough to reason over an argument with you, they help you confront your own deepest secrets or weaknesses. Unlocking those gates of darkness gives a sense of comfort and freedom that makes you feel enlightened. Ultimately, you loosen up a lot!!

A very close friend of mine who is a quintessential person of the Catholic Faith (even during the school days), used to intrigue me with his unquestioned, unconditional faith. I never understood his convictions of faith very much many years back, but now I could relate to what he was talking about and it has made an amazing impact in my life. I feel completely free and no fear (almost). The altitude and the horizon of your comprehensive capabilities on the bigger aspects of life gets higher and wider that you start drawing parallels between this blind faith and the ideas that you come across everyday. One of my favorite attitudes (parallel drawn) from the movie, 3 idiots, is the "Aal iz well". Incredibly simple, yet amazing!! It guarantees to get rid of fear in your mind, like the blind faith. And, I wish I had had this faith 20 years back when my close friend used to shower me with plethora of faith related information with an earnest intention of saving another soul (mine).

Although I wanted to be an Engineer even as a kid, I wonder why I wanted to become an Engineer. I wish I had explored other areas of interest rather than to have just followed the crowd (in a way). The movie, 3 idiots, has been an eye opener for many youngsters and "Aamir Khan" is more of a cult these days. Glad to see a cult-trend for something good. It has definitely been an eye openner for me!! The movie does not portray something that is new or revolutionary, but it is just that we have never dared to digress from our conventions. I just loved the last phrase of the entire movie that sums up all: If you chase excellence, success will chase you with its pants down.

Especially, on the "woman" front, you wonder: Oh man, only if I had known so much about women 20 years back!! I am sure a lot of guys my age can relate to it.

For many years until I hit 40, I looked (young) the way I felt (young) and, at 40, after the wisdom has suddently dawned on me during the fateful pause-in-life, I definitely look (old) the way I feel (old). But, hey, it does not matter. In a nutshell, as long the spirit is young we never age. And, to feel young one needs to set challenges every single day to feel alive every moment and raise the bar for the next day. I pat myself on my back to cheer myself for having attained the right attitude at 40 for attitude and not aptitude will determine our altitude.

Basic steps to survive the cyber menace

One day my friend posted obscene and hurtful messages on the facebook-walls of his close friends. Well, that is according to Facebook. But, in fact, he did not!! Welcome to the untamed world of internet. My friend’s facebook credentials were compromised by a hacker and the rest is history. Thanks to the automated security controls of Facebook, my friend was alerted to reset his password. However, the damage was already done. It is not uncommon to hear thousands of similar incidents everyday around us and yet the awareness among the public is shockingly dismal to the extent of people sticking a post-it, with userid/password written on it, on the computer monitor.

Information Security is more like Global Warming which is a disaster waiting to happen and the world citizens are not prepared to face the inconvenient truth. In today’s world, although there is an overload of information over the web, especially pertaining to real-life security incidents, it is natural for readers to be attracted towards more entertaining Hollywood websites. Who cares until it hits me? Right?

Furthermore, thanks to the advancement of the bad guys, the dangers of Information Security is convoluted with terms like Malware, Spyware, Trojan Horse, Virus, Worm, Spam, Firewalls, IDS, IPS etc. It is simply mindboggling even for most of the IT geeks to get a perspective of this ocean of threats that we humans have created for ourselves in the name of advancement.

Gone are the years when cybercrime used to be a school kid’s amusement park for pranks. Today, cybercrime is a lucrative business that has got the attention of even the underworld dons and the organized crime sector. According to SC Magazine, cybercrime costs organizations $3.8 million per year on average. The overall cost to the UK economy from cybercrime is £27bn per year, according to the first joint Government and industry report. It is estimated that Data theft and breaches from cybercrime may have cost businesses as much as $1 trillion globally (per year) in lost intellectual property and expenditures for repairing the damage.

This is the plight of the big guns around the globe. Now, think of the commoner who uses an old PC at home to browse the internet. Well, the answer is obvious.

A commoner who is oblivious to the technology will be inclined to blame it all on technology. On the contrary, it is the human weakness/aspect that creates all these vulnerabilities. Most of the cybercrimes committed are because of the victims who do not take precautionary steps to protect their information.

Forget the convoluted jargons and technology. As a commoner, there are simple precautionary steps that can be taken to secure the adventure in to the World Wide Web. Here it goes….

1. Install a good anti-virus software in your PC and keep it updated on a daily basis.
2. Create smart and strong passwords. Avoid the passwords relating to your personal life: family names, date of birth, pet name etc.
3. Be smart while chatting. The person who is chatting with you may not be as sweet as he or she seems to be. Do not reveal any personal information even to known people over chat forums.
4. Beware of Phishing Scams: While chatting with you friends, someone, posing as a Bank or Tax Authority, might ask for your IDs or passwords or any identification. Remember, Banks never approach their customers to get such information through chat forums.
5. Never give your passwords or pins even to Bank authorities. If the Bank authority is asking for such passwords, report them to higher authorities.
6. Pay attention to your children’s online activities. Predators do not have to break into your homes anymore. They can break in through the internet cables to reach out to your kids.
7. Online Shopping: Before you decide to use a website for shopping, ensure that the website has a “HackerSafe” logo with current date under it and a locked padlock at the bottom right of the checkout screen.
8. Never open an email from an unknown sender. Even if the sender is known to you, beware of clicking any links or downloading any attachments as the sender’s PC might be infected with virus.
9. Backup your files regularly.
10. While using online banking, always use the virtual keyboard for entering password. With Trojans, your keystrokes on the physical keyboard can be monitored to derive your userid and password. In this case, using virtual keyboards can protect you from Trojans.
11. If you have a wireless router, change the default password. If not, a terrorist can use your internet sitting in a car parked in front of your house and, rest assured, you will be jailed by the authorities.

For some, most of these precautions might sound trivial, but brunt force of cybercrime will not be felt until it really hits you. So, venture into the web responsibly.