Ramayana, the epic glorifies the virtue of humility that Lord Ram possessed and we as people of the 21st century can still learn a lot from our old scriptures. Lord Ram was known to accept help from others graciously without judging the helper and his motives. Lord Ram accepted help from others regardless of whether the helper was offering help selflessly or was helping to gain favors in return....

Survival, in many ways, is a matter of chance. When a pack of zebras is outrunning a tiger or a lioness, a lot depends on chance. The zebra runs on instinct; its tunnel vision is to get out of danger, not thinking of other possible escapes. An ostrich instinctively buries its head in the ground thinking that if it can’t see the enemy, then the enemy won’t see it. This is a chance the ostrich takes....

Civilisation is the process by which people learn to develop individually and collectively so that they can go beyond the limits set by nature....

The potter’s wheel had existed for almost 700 years before anyone thought of using it as a cartwheel; it took seven centuries for people to realise that their logistical problems could be solved. There are so many ways in which we can innovate and develop the ideas around us, but we need to open our minds to the endless possibilities that can make our lives simpler. ...

These pointers will induce you to think about how you can capitalise on what you have and find ways of overcoming what you lack:...

Plan a promise and work in that direction. Along time ago, a speech therapist worked hard to invent a device that made sound waves visible so that deaf people could ‘hear’. He couldn’t create a machine that would do what he wanted, but his efforts led to the invention of the telephone. The man, Alexander Graham Bell, was driven by a sense of responsibility. He wanted to do something to help the deaf as two important women in his life — his mother and his wife — were deaf....

Find something to look forward to and life becomes richer. When you stop and think about life, do you think about whether you have a purpose? How clear is your aim? During a study, where adults over 65 were asked the question:...

Suggestions are abundantly available, but it’s up to you to make sure that they help. We find advisors everywhere. We believe that because someone is educated and important, the advice they offer will be helpful. What we don’t realise is that there should be a certain amount of thought, logic and understanding in the advice. ...

Once you have identified what you want, dedication and direction will take you forward. Some Indian films are inspiring. Movies such as Black&Iqbal(2005), Guru&Chak De India(2007), all have one thing in common — they lead the audience to believe that the only way to lead better and more fulfilling lives is by cultivating the right desires, direction, and dedication....

In the race of life, winners are superior, not to others, but to their former selves. Life presents many external symbols of our accomplishments: promotions, degrees, bonuses, new jobs, bigger cars, achievement milestones and such....