Steve Jobs: An INSPIRATION

Steve Jobs will be remembered as one of the greatest visionaries of our times. What he did for the technological as well as entrepreneurial world, cannot be easily forgotten.

People matter, not features

Everything Jobs built made life easier for you. It was rare to ever hear him babbling about features he created, instead he focused on how these products made life easier for others. 

For example, the iPhone enabled you to talk on your phone, watch movies, record movies, and listen to music. As simple as that may sound, without an iPhone you may have to had to carry around a cell phone, mp3 player, and a video recorder. Because of him your pockets are much lighter. 

He taught me, along with many others, not to focus on just adding features or creating products. First and foremost, you need to focus on solving problems that people are experiencing. If you can do that, you'll stay ahead of the curve.

There's nothing wrong with pre-selling

Most companies launch products and then sell them. Jobs didn't do that with Apple. He let the public know what he was going to sell them, how it solved their problems, and that they could pre-order the product online. 

You can do the same thing. Don't wait for your product or service to be released. Start selling it now. The money you earn today will help cover your costs and it will help solve any cash flow issues you may encounter during distribution.

Keep it simple, silly

I switched from a PC to a Mac because Macs are much easier to use. Or at least they are for my dad and 1-year-old nephew. Every Apple product I bought during Steve's tenure was simple to use. 

He also created cool looking devices, but above all else his products were simple to use. For example, the iPad was the first device I was ever able to give my dad that required little to no instruction. There are no shut down or start options, you just click on applications and start using them. 

If you want more applications, you just go to the App Store and download them. 

Don't try to make your solutions complicated. Keep it simple... even if that means you have to strip off the bells and whistles. If you aren't creating usable solutions, it will be harder to gain traction.

Think big

If you are in business, you are there to make money. If not, you shouldn't be an entrepreneur. If you are going to create a business, create one that changes the world.

Apple isn't just a technology company, Steve Jobs changed the world. His products are used all around the world and by everyone. This is why Apple is the largest company in the world. 

You won't be able to create a big company unless you solve big problems. Although you can make a nice living by conquering a small niche, you wont make billions doing it.

Focus, focus and focus some more

When you look at Apple's website, it seems like they have a lot of products, right? Well, for being a hundred-billion dollar company, they actually don't. 

Jobs was smart, he always focused his energy on a few big products instead of trying to create thousands of small ones. In other words, he went for big wins instead of looking to hit singles and doubles. 

With your business you shouldn't try to do multiple things. Just focus your time and energy on one product or service. As long as your core business continues to grow, you shouldn't do anything else. The moment your growth slows down and flattens, that's when you should expand.

Create an ecosystem

I never really understood the power of creating a platform until the iPhone was released. When the phenomenon hit the market and companies started to create applications, Apple grew to have a huge ecosystem. 

Not only were they selling their products, other companies started to build products on the Apple platform and their customers were encouraged to buy and use Apple products. 

By this point Apple didn't have to sell their products, other companies were doing it for them. 

Steve Jobs created an ecosystem and he was able to do it around Apple products. If you want to grow a brilliant idea, you have to create an ecosystem for that idea to flourish.

There's always room for innovation

The iPod wasn't the first mp3 player. There were hundreds of others that were already out before Apple released the iPod. That didn't discourage Jobs from entering the space... he just one upped everyone by creating a better product. 

These days if you are looking to buy a music player, the first thing comes to your mind is the iPod, right? And what's the second brand that comes to your mind? Ummmmm... That's right, they demolished all of their competitors. The only other device that I can think of is the Zune, which kind of sucks. 

Don't be afraid to enter a saturated market... you just have to be willing to stir things up. If you can innovate, you will win. If you decide to create another me-too company, expect to be crushed.

Be passionate

Did you know that Steve Jobs had a salary of $1 a year? That's right, he didn't care for money and he stated it publicly. He cared about the company, their products, and changing peoples' lives. 

If you love what you are doing, you are going to work harder and be more likely to succeed. Heck, Jobs even worked hard when he was sick... that's how much he loved what he was doing. 

Don't just do things for the money, do things because you love what you are doing. You aren't going to live forever, so enjoy your life while you can.

Ummmmm…

That's right, they demolished all of their competitors. The only other device that I can think of is the Zune, which kind of sucks. 

Don't be afraid to enter a saturated market... you just have to be willing to stir things up. If you can innovate, you will win. If you decide to create another me-too company, expect to be crushed.

Never lose your investors money

Although Steve Jobs wasn't the CEO throughout all of Apple's history, he always took care of the company. He came back, and turned the company around. In other words, he grew shareholder money and took care of his investors. 

As I stated earlier, Apple is the biggest company in the world. It's very difficult to create a decent size company without taking money from investors... so make sure you take care of them. And if you do so, they'll always take care of you. 

Another great leader who also has a very similar rule is Warren Buffett. If you can take care of the people who are feeding you, they'll constantly be willing to reciprocate.

You're nothing without your team

Apple has a ton of benefits: from onsite fitness centers to tuition assistance, they even have cafeterias with organic food. Why did they do all of this? To take care of their employees. 

A big part of being a good leader is realizing that you have to have a good team. It's impossible to do everything yourself. If you don't take care of your employees and show your appreciation, you'll quickly lose them. 

If you take care of your employees they'll put their blood, sweat and tears into your company.

Don't Forget about your friends and family

As an entrepreneur when you work so hard for so many years, you tend to forget about your friends and family. All you do is live, sleep and breathe business. 

At the end of the day, there is nothing wrong with that, but you also have to spend time with your friends and family. Money will always be there, but your friends and family won't.

When Steve Jobs got sick, he left Apple to spend his final moments with his friends and family. He knew what was important to him. You too need to figure out what's important to you no matter how much time your business or job takes from your life, don't forget about what's important.

 

The views are taken randomly from INTERNET.  Thanks for reading the post.

Secularism in India

"I do not expect India of my dreams to develop one religion, i.e., to be wholly Hindu or wholly Christian or wholly Mussalman, but I want it to be wholly tolerant, with its religions working side by side with one another.'' So said Mahatma Gandhi.

India has been declared a secular state by its written constitution and it is every Indians duty to stand by and believe in this declaration. And yet recent political and social events have questioned this declaration. Is India a secular country only on paper or does secularism actually exist in India; or is in the form of pseudo- secularism, a term the BJP and its allies seem to repeatedly harp on.

During the freedom struggle, secularism was emerging as the most dominant principle. The leaders of the Indian National Congress; Gandhi, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Nehru and others were deeply committed to the ideal of secularism, though each expressed it in very different manners. Secularism became the mantra of the Indian nation, a nation exhausted by partition and sectarian riots and above all the assassination of Gandhiji, did not want any more divisive talk. The founding fathers represented the aspirations of the different sections of society and it is due to the struggles of these different people that secular principles got enshrined into the Indian constitution.

Under Jawaharlal Nehru and later under his successors in the Congress Party, the concept of a secular nation-state was officially adopted as India's path to political modernity and national integration. Unlike in the West, where secularism came mainly out of the conflict between the Church and the State, secularism in India was conceived as a system that sustained religious and cultural pluralism.

In the post Independent scenario the social dynamics was very complex. The process of secularisation/industrialisation was going on at a slow pace. Even at this stage, though constitution was secular, the state apparatus: the bureaucracy, the judiciary, the army and the police were infiltrated by communal elements. The Congress government, though predominantly secular, had many leaders in important positions who were influenced by a Hindu communal ideology. This resulted in a social development that was mixed; on the one hand secularism thrived and on the other though communalism remained dormant, was never dead. With the social changes of the late 70's and the early 80's, communalism got a strong boost and it started attacking secularism in a big way.

The B.J.P. was quick to take up the mantle of 'the' communal party, riding on the wave of the post-mandal upper class/caste backlash. The BJP began attacking, what they called "pseudo-secularism", which pampered the minorities at the expense of the majority and demanded that special rights for minorities be taken away.

Supporting the BJP was the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, a relatively new outfit with branches all over the world and drawing on support, both moral and financial, from the Hindu diaspora in the West. This took an aggressive form when the Babri Masjid\Ramjanambhoomi controversy erupted. This period also saw the rise of other militant Hindu organizations such as the BajrangDal and the Shivsena. These groups quickly mushroomed and poisoned the social space with communal rhetoric and the agenda of Hindu Rashtra; and launched an ideological, social and political onslaught on secular ethos, syncretic culture and composite nationalism. They refused to recognize the contributions of Muslims and other minorities, to India's history and culture. They selectively concentrated on intolerant Muslim rulers, extending their often-brutal conduct to the entire period of Muslim rule and, even to all Muslims. But such prejudices were not openly aired in public; but now they have not only gained legitimacy, but have also almost become the mainstream opinion.

The attack on the Mosque at Ayodhya led to a rash of violence across the country. The events leading to the demolition of Babri Masjid and their aftermath of communal carnage mark a watershed in the history of free India. The traumatic events clearly exposed the chasm that had been created between the two communities by communal forces.

The year 2002 witnessed one of the most devastating riots in Gujarat where mobs went on a rampage, destroying Muslim homes and businesses, killed Muslims, including men women and children and drove thousands of people away from their homes. The ostensible reason for this fury was the burning of a train coach that was carrying Hindu pilgrims returning from Ayodhya. Fifty-nine people including women and children died in the fire. This action, sparked off, as the state's Chief Minister put it, in Newtonian terms, a reaction, except that it was grossly disproportionate to the original crime. A Human Right's Watch report paints a chilling picture of state complicity in the religious violence in Gujarat. This marks the first time when the state has emerged as a major player and actor in violence by mobs, a qualitative change from previous such situations in India. It is in this backdrop that one has to understand, as to why it is only during the last decade and a half that secularism has come under a cloud and the concept of a Hindu Rashtra is being asserted aggressively.

Today, the biggest challenge to the Indian nation is coming from forces claiming to represent the mainstream majority. There is an emergence of extremist voices that claim to speak for Hindus and they are laying down demands that threaten the very idea of a secular India. The biggest area of concern is that the state has emerged to be complicit, as an actor and player in mounting this challenge to Indian pluralism, which goes under the name of Hindutva.

The communal forces are actively propagating the myth that Secularism is a new mask of fundamentalism. They denigrate the secular policies, which are a hindrance to Hindu Right's unobstructed march to subjugate the oppressed in general and minorities in particular. They are equating fundamentalism with Islam; and the policies of Indian rulers with secularism, and the appeasement of mullahs as being synonymous with secular policies. Further, Hindutva forces accuse that secularism pampers the Muslims as a vote bank. The Muslims are accused of extra-territorial loyalty because they allegedly cheer for Pakistan whenever India and Pakistan play cricket. Since Muslims are being thought synonymous to fundamentalism; therefore the assertion that the Indian state is appeasing fundamentalists in the name of secularism. It is precisely on this charge that the Father of Indian Nationalism, Mahatma Gandhi, was assassinated by one of the votaries of Hindutva.

The Christians, who are much lesser in number, are accused of being more loyal to the Vatican, another outside force and of trying to convert poor Hindus with inducements of education and food. Who can forget the brutal burning of Graham Staines and his two minor sons by a member of the Bajrang Dal in the name of religion? Or even the rape of some sisters in Gujarat, their fault being the spreading of the word of their God.

The fact, however, is that the social and the economic conditions of the Muslim community is dismal. If at all the opportunist political policies of various governments have struck compromises, it has been with certain religious leaders of the minorities and the minorities have been kept in abysmal conditions. In that sense, the govt. policies have been anti-oppressed, rather than pro Muslim. Further, the fact that 130 million Muslims decided to stay back in India rather than joining Pakistan, should settle their status as true citizens.

Secularism introduces science, technology and rationalism in the society and forms the basis of a modern secular state. In the process, it has to oppose and struggle against the clergy and vested forces in the society. And as such, the fundamentalist communal onslaughts are the 'other' of secularism and secularization. The oppressed sections join the secular movement to wrest the accompanying liberal space that can be the base for launching the struggles for their rights. Fundamentalism is the regressive reaction of feudal elements and sections of middle classes in league with the clergy, to crush the aspirations of oppressed class, whose movements for their rights is a big source of tension for them. The secularization process and the accompanying movements of the oppressed increase the insecurity of fundamentalist forces. They try to lure these classes into their fold through religion and liberal use of money and muscle power.

The burgeoning neo-middle classes have emerged as pivotal points that embraced consumerism as modernity but simultaneously began looking towards culture and tradition for support. The advent of globalization has been welcomed in India but it has also shaken people who fear that their own cultures will be destroyed. Hence they show an inclination towards the conservative Hindu identity. It's all about culture, religion and ritual, all cleverly juxtaposed with nationalism: what is Hindu is Indian and from that follows, what is not Hindu is not Indian.

A new disturbing trend has been witnessed in recent years where villages are no longer tranquil as urban-rural interactions have become much more intense. With subdivisions of land holdings, there are few jobs left in the villages for the agricultural class. They are looking outside the village and getting involved with the issues and ideas that have a reach beyond the village. The prosperous classes in rural India have also actively promoted the VHP and other communal forces. We can no longer ignore the possibility that post Gujarat 2002, villages too can become sites of ethnic riots.

There is a blatant attempt to subvert history, change school curricula and create a new set up in line with a Hindu Rastra. There is a new, muscular nationalism, one that holds up the nuclear bomb as a sign of strength and wants to keep neighbours and internal minorities in their place, and which derives its strength from invented mythology; and has taken over the polity. Indian secularism, once thought to be non-negotiable, is beginning to look shaky now. In a country with over 140 million Muslims and million of Christians, to say nothing of hundreds of other castes and communities, this can have very dangerous consequences.

It is not so much a question of defending or preserving the existing secular character of the Indian polity, but rather a need to create and build a secular polity in the nation. Only the ideal of building a secular democratic nation can stem the tide of communal fascism in the country. Sarva Dharma Sambhav has to operate at the personal as well as the social level, while Dharma Nirpekshata or Secularism per se continues to be the state policy. Religious clergy, bigotry, dogmas and rituals cannot be allowed to guide the state.

Mahatma Gandhi has rightly said: "I swear by my religion, I will die for it. But it is my personal affair. The State has nothing to do with it. The State would look after your secular welfare, health, communications, foreign relations, currency and so on, but not your or my religion. That is everybody's personal concern!!"

Hinduism is a faith that on the whole is favorable to the development of the secular state in India. It also has a strong tradition of freedom of conscience and tolerance of religious diversity that is not rightly projected by the Hindutva forces.

This strength of the Hindu religion is now viewed as a weakness. Secularism in the Indian context should imply respect for pluralism and a non-coercive and a voluntary recourse to change. Respect for diversity not only embodies the democratic spirit, it is the real guarantee of unity. We should value democratic, not fascistic, unity. No democratic society can downgrade diversity and pluralism in the name of unity. Secular ethics can be strengthened only when the acts of vandalism are sternly dealt with and the guilty are made to pay for it. With secularism that insists on the inalienable rights of the citizens and a due process of law, it will be easier to mount public pressure against sectarian killers and those who promote hatred. The battle of secularism and democracy has also to be fought at the grass root levels where a set ideals generating strong idealism is required to mobilize and prepare the masses for struggle.

In the end, secularism begins in the heart of every individual. There should be no feeling of "otherness" as we all have is a shared history. India being a traditional society that contains not one, but many traditions owing their origin in part to the different religions that exist here, has so far managed to retain the secular character of its polity. Ours is a society where Sufis and Bhakti saints have brought in a cultural acceptance for each other. Are we going to let it all go to waste and listen to people who have concern for their careers as politicians or leaders rather than our welfare at heart? Let us instead concentrate our efforts at making India a powerful and progressive nation.

 The views are taken randomly from INTERNET.  Thanks for reading the post.

RAPE - The heinous Crime

RAPE "the unlawful compelling of a person through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse", this is how it is defined in the Dictionary.

Rape happens everywhere: it happens inside homes, in families, in neighbor hoods, in police stations, in towns and cities, in villages, and its incidence increases, as is happening in India. It's nothing like that the rape cases are happening to only a category of society. it is happening with everyone no matter that she be poor, rich, urban, rural, Dalit, Muslim, Hindu, or whatever, ever, in the future, has to face sexual. Rape is not something that occurs by itself. It is part of the continuing and embedded violence in society that targets women on a daily basis.
Reason of rape:
1) Society goes through change,
2) Women's roles begin to change,
3) As economies slow down and the slice of the pie becomes smaller
4) Impact of media is increasing.
5) Youth is nor directed.
Steps to be taken:
1) The solution is not lies in someone else the solution of rape is in ourselves. It is important to raise our collective voice against such a heinous crime.
2) Moral values, the values of life, respect and much more has to be taught in the schools, colleges and university. We have seen many cases when a school teacher or a university professor is found guilty in rape cases.
3) Women's as the motherhood of nation should be strong, aware and alert. We have to teach them the self-defense like the RSS taught etc.
4) Stringent laws have to be made to increase fear in the rapist. Many of us and even media now demanding the Death Penalty for the rape, but this might be resulted in the murder of the victim to destroy evidence. The other reason behind any times male and female both enjoy the sex and later on when male says he will not marry her, in such cases females file the case of rape against the man.
 5) Fast case trial in case of rape has to be made in which punishment to rapist will be given in 1 month of time and each higher court will give judgment in a period of 1 month thus  rapist will get final punishment speedily.
6) The effect of media is also increasing as now a days in each and every channel or movies the sex scène is been shown. Even a nude body shouldn't attract wicked eyes, but my question is why create such a scene?
7) The victim of other cases also needs a serious counseling or help of physiologist.
 8) We have to implement the solution in a systematic and effective way.
 Protest is important, it shakes the conscience of society, it brings people close to change, it makes them feel part of the change. And there is a good chance that the wave of protests will lead to at least some results. Let's raise our voices against such violence and let's ask ourselves how we, in our daily actions, in our thoughts, contribute to this, rather than assume that the solution lies with someone else. Let's ask ourselves how we, our society, we as people, create and sustain the mindset that leads to rape, how we make our men so violent, how we insult our women so regularly, let's ask ourselves how privilege creates violence.

Thanks for reading the post.

Impact of Dividing States

The recent bifurcation of Andra Pradesh opened up a new chapter of debate all over the INDIA. Last week when the UPA created a new state Telangana to accommodate the demands of people, few more candidate become active to fulfill their demands.

So To get a clear idea of this bewildering situation these articles are very helpful:

http://realityviews.blogspot.in/2009/12/india-creation-of-small-states-need-of.html

http://www.hindu.com/2000/08/21/stories/05212524.htm

http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/current-affairs/logictelangana-sound-why-india-needs-50-small-states_928445.html

http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21574544-creating-new-smaller-states-should-be-made-easier-good-small-things

India: Strategic Challenges and Responses

At the outset let me clarify that I will discuss the subject primarily from the foreign policy and security point of view.
Many believe that strategic challenges should now include those relating to energy, environment, population, food, health, climate change and the like.
India is a country most challenged by terrorism because, unlike any other country, a powerful, nuclear armed state is using it as a form of asymmetric warfare against us.
With the end of the Cold War and the perception that all-out conflict between the principal powers is now out of the question as everyone has too much to lose, attention has shifted to non-military challenges.

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