Writing prompts

Power your Blog: Let your words stand out

| Subhash

Do you feel you have found your voice on your blog?

So did I find my voice in my blog – Yes I did, I share my experience, my learning and what the world has taught me, to be where I am today. My post happen to be around my experiences, situations I have faced, books I have read. I try to recollect them and share with the community. I want to give back to the world, what it gave to me; obviously the better things.

These are simple yet powerful tips to keep your blog’s heart beating:

Power Writing
Power Writing
  1. Blog Category or Voice: Do you have a particular reason for starting your blog. People blog about photography, cooking tips, parenting, motivation and other stuff. So although this may sound implicit but it is very important for one to realize the sole motto why he is here, why am I writing the posts in the blog. Once you have a vision for your blog half of your battle is won.
  2. 1 % Rule: I read this a few months back and it is very motivating, just do 1% daily of your goal. This means at the end of the month you will achieve 30%. so in other words you can make 30 posts a month. Believe me this is possible, just give a try.
  3. Simple Sharing: Your post don’t need to be out of the world or a first time read for the world. Share what you know, what you have heard, what your Mom,Dad, Granny or Kid has told you or your experiences with them. Share a message from a video clip your friend has just shared on WhatsApp. You may find it trivial but there are many people out there for whom it will be a first time read, they will love it. So get rid of this belief – “I may be writing about trivial facts’. Share your experience of a book you read or a movie you saw recently, trust me people will love to read your summary and the way you have shown your interpretation skills. Be simple in writing your posts, you need not showcase your oxford dictionary skills and use the most complex words to leave your readers Google about it. Being simple will help you connect with others.
  4. Reading: One of the most important trait is to read what others are writing. Also indulge in reading stuff from other authors. This will help your creative imagination to divulge, you will gather more ways to coin your voice. I myself have some blogs which I follow and read their posts, then there is Paul Coelho – from Alchemist to Veronica decides to die. I also indulge in listening to music from hard rock to classical.
  5. Buy Time: This one is the toughest part. I am thankful to GOD that he has blessed everyone with 24 hours, rich, fat, slim or tall all human beings are having the same time boundary. It is how you plan your time, so be good in your planning and ask yourself when is the best time to do some scribbling in your post. Indeed I have to buy time from my wife, kid, office and friends to post. Morning hours works for me.
  6. Thoughts for a post: You might be having some fix time for your bog, however the best thoughts come to me at stranger times, when I am sipping a coffee in the evening, taking a bath or listening a song. Recollect your thoughts before posting, make a list of topics which came to your mind which you believe could make a good new post.
  7. Writing Prompts: Follow daily writing prompts, it will help you initially to write even in topics which are not comfortable. This brings us out of the comfort zone.
  8. Read what you write: Before you hit the Publish button or even after that read your post once, does it make an appeal to you. What you dot like to read, you shouldn’t expect others to read it.
  9. Be Happy: Be happy, chase your dreams and ambitions – what I want to convey is, create positive vibes by your post, talk about some skills, your photographic or your poetic side. There is a lot of negativity around. People are genuinely not interested to read about it, Be the happy person to post and soon you will be the catalyst to create a ripple of happiness like a stone thrown in still water creates ripples.
  10. Stop worrying: Stop thinking what will people think about me when they read my post. Start writing first and let others do the thinking. We should not worry about actions which are beyond our control. This is a single reason which is killing the dreams of millions – “The worlds biggest fear, what they will say my dear”. Bury your worries and be free from fear of others,, create trust in yourself and you wil be rocking not only in your blog but wherever you are.

So just get going and set your post rolling out.

Leave some words to let me know how did you find this post and share your views.

Happy Posting Month #NaBloPoMo

What is your favorite holiday memory?

| Subhash

So what’s your favourite holiday memory. I would like to hare my bit.

My visit to the Himalayan city of Manali is among one of the most remembered holidays. Manali located in the Himalayas in the Indian State of  Himachal is a city surrounded by snow clad mountains, devadār trees kissing and reaching out the skies, the chilled weather and River Beas in the back drop. It is a perfect romantic get away around Delhi.

There are certainly reasons more than these as to why this is my favourite trips:

  1. We visited the place on our first anniversary and it was the first time my wife witnessed snowfall and any hill station. She was like wow, when she saw the snow-clad mountains and when at the Solang Valley(a place filled with snow, having skiing, rides etc) she went bonkers. How can we forget the taste of coffee amidst sitting in the snow.
  2. It was hypnotized to see the snow fall and the clouds pass by us.
  3. Visit to the Hidimba temple was quite unique, she holds a high  religious faith among the locals.
  4. As my daughter was not born at this time, she would always get angry whenever we watch the photo slides or videos. She would complain to take her at the same place to which I add to her worries by replaying, Hey you need to get married for that. And then she starts the war with me…
Surfing in the snow
Surfing in the snow
Snow Filled Mountains: Himlayan Range
Snow Filled Mountains: Himlayan Range

Thanks for reading the stuff happy holidays.

Happy Posting Month #NaBloPoMo

This too shall pass….

| Subhash

These are very simple yet powerful four words. This phrase is an adage which signifies that we can use it at good as well as negative moments. It helps you to maintain a balance when you are elated or you are grief stricken or in a tough phase of your life.

The origins lead to Arabs kings although I have not dug much on it.

Indeed I heard a fable around it which I would like to narrate here.

Emperor Akbar belonging to the Mughal dynasty during 1560 had a flair and love for arts, culture and literature. He had a wise courtesan called Birbal. There are many folk-fares of Akbar and Birbal which are famous in the Indian sub continent however this one is short and inspiring.

So once Akbar was having a walk in the town with Birbal and suddenly he asked him “What is the phrase which can be used in both happy and sad moments. When I am sad it will make me feel happy and when I am happy it would make me feel sad.”

Birbal very wit-fully replied,  “Majesty it is indeed, This too shall pass“.

When you are happy it will make you feel sad that this enjoyment is short lived and soon the moment will vanish. When you are low it will make you feel good that it is not here to stay.

Although there are separate origins of the saying and you can do a wiki, I wanted to share this with you all as it is short and inspiring.

Stay blessed and happy…. and keep posting . Celebrating #NaBloMoPo.

The ability to Persist

| Subhash

This was the time of life when I was having a bumpy ride in my life. I don’t want to dig you deeper in my life however the story is around this.

When you face the toughest challenges in home, work or life, you need to remember two golden words “HOLD ON“, don’t give up and stay till the end before you call a quit and always remember the saying This too shall pass.

When I was having this situation and badly needed some motivation and inspiration my Dad narrated me a short story, not exactly a story but a motivational thought.

He said look son, people are afraid of putting their hands on fire(situations), they don’t want to take risk and some have fear of getting exposed(these are the one who want to remain encapsulated). Once you are into the situation (with others too) just remember to firmly keep your hands above the fire until the flames douses off.

Diya: An Earthen Lamp, lamp made from mud
Diya: An Earthen Lamp, lamp made from mud

Always remember that no matter how severe and devastating the fire is, at the end it always douses off. Have you ever seen or heard anything contrary to this. Be it a matchstick or a massive fire, it always goes off. These simple yet powerful thoughts shared by him made an impact, a connection in my mind which gave me motivation enough to recollect and re-build myself and my inner strengths to fight the situation.

During such situations in life we should have this ability to persist, and firmly hold on until the fire goes off, i.e. the situation is well handled. People often do the mistake by quitting earlier; Feel the heat, Bear the brunt and remember thy shall come out victorious.

To end with my motivational story telling I would like to share with you all the Billy Joel track “We didn’t start the fire”, which came to my mind while writing this post:

We didn’t start the fire,
It was always burning
Since the world’s been turning.
We didn’t start the fire,
No we didn’t light it
But we tried to fight it.

Happy posting Month.

A day without being connected…

| Subhash

I am back…. feeling good and proud and what a time to be back, its NaBloPoMo. National Blog Posting Month is here, so raise your sleeves, get your writing juices flowing and make a rocking start for this month. 

Coming back to the post, I was going through a tight schedule and repented not getting time to post. Suddenly something cracked, Ahhhh! my Note 3 was down and it blacked out.

Owing to the busy schedule I was not able to run it through the service center. So I got disconnected from the world. Fortunately my life and work survives as long as I am sending and receiving emails.

I wanted to share this wonderful feeling that I have been through i.e. living without my mobile. No worries to carry it, now fears to forget or no handle with cares. Checking emails over mobile was gone so all worries gone while I am eating, relaxing, sipping coffee or with my family, no intruders.

You just feel so relaxed and suddenly I was getting connected to more and more people around me and talked to them more than I used to do.

So what would I like to speed up or slow down. The following comes to my mind immediately:

  1. Going through the current ordeal I would like to speed up the process in which repairing any faulty devices takes less time.
  2. Thereafter I would like to speed up the process of getting babies born may be 9 weeks. A little bit of time is good as my wife and myself enjoyed this duration, however at times you feel to shorten it.
  3. Speed up the recovery of people suffering from critical illness.
  4. Speed up the week days and down the week ends.

Enjoy your weekend and have a blast, come back here and share some words to last.

Criticism: Does it make or break you

| Subhash

How are you at receiving criticism? Do you prefer that others treat you with kid gloves, or go for brutal honesty?

As they say Kites rise against the wind not with it. Similarly criticism is the flight towards a better you.

The more criticism you face the more is the likelihood of your being famous, rising as a star, creating a niche everyday and continuous self-improvement. Criticism should be straight forward and honest. It should be true and authenticated.

One must also keep in mind that the criticism should be thought of when given in a good light. Is the person aware of the area in which he is criticizing you. Is he himself a master or leader to give a note good enough to propagate your instincts in the correct directions or it is just another passers-by comments which needs ignorance.

A vital factor in criticism is that people often intend to sandwich criticism, they mix the good then the bad (criticism) followed by positive points again. It is indeed a sandwich criticism.  This dilutes the criticism and it is not taken correctly by the receiver. To make it more adaptive it should be direct and to the point.

So to conclude we must be receptive to criticism and at the same time use our senses to plead further.

Litmus Test in Life!!!!

| Subhash

If you had to come up with one question, the answer to which would determine whether or not you could be friends with a person you’ve just met, what would it be? What would the right answer be?

Does it sound interesting to you all, at least it does to me.

Litmus test on life @http://agileopedia.com
Litmus test on life @http://agileopedia.com/

So the question which I would throw at the person would be:

What keeps you busy all day and is it a reason good enough to lend me $2000.

This will help me comprehend that what he does as a daily journal in life and provide a hint of whether he appreciates it or not. The way he narrates will help to understand whether he is contended in his life. Does he bestow respect for family, moral values, society and culture? This will indeed let me get a sneak peak in his life.

His preferences towards life on his daily routine, whether he is self employed, entrepreneur, working professional, Jazz artist, rock-star and the like.

The question will open up the Pandora ’s Box from his side which will be not only good to hear but at the same time provide a spring of surprises to me.

Whether he lends me a stranger 2000 bucks will decide his ability to trust persons and to make a friend forever. If he gives the money he will be ready to take a challenge and risk in life. I would like such a person and moreover he is providing me with some money, albeit I won’t accept it at the end.

These stints will be enough for me to concur whether I have a take or not.

This was my short and sweet view on the litmus test on strangers, do you have some other opinion or believe in what I said.

 

Absolute Beauty:Is all beauty contingent on a subjective point of view?

| Subhash

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, is it true?

As far as nature is concerned my thoughts are that all beauty is not contingent on a subjective point of view.

Show me a person who does not like the beauty of sunshine, the smile of rainbow, the beauty of rain, the beauty of winds blowing past you in the hills, the lush green meadows and the snow falling on X-mas.

Beauty of Sun Rise: Sun rises behind the trees
Beauty of Sun Rise: Sun rises behind the trees

People might have a perspective of favorite seasons or they may or may not like rain or winter, however when it comes to the beauty which nature has provided us I can’t find someone who coins a different opinion on this.

When it comes to beauty relating to people or objects it does have meaning that we can have different versions from different eyes for the same people or object.

A painting which I may like is quite possible does not go well with others. The smile on a face may bring cascading smiles and some may frown on it.

As I write the post I just have the vague thoughts, here we discuss about beauty and eyes and what about those who have an impaired vision. they only imagine the beauty of rain, sun light, rainbow, lovely smiles. they stay happy and contended with what is around them and don’t have any regrets on whats good, bad or ugly. They are blessed with the power of sensing – hearing, feeling and touch. May God grant them courage to beat all odds and be inspirations to people who refrain from admiring the beauty in and around them.

As a closing note on Absolute beauty I would like to add a line I heard long time back:

Beauty lies in the eyes of the beer holder.

Meeting with a Stranger!!!

| Subhash

You’re sitting at a café when a stranger approaches you. This person asks what your name is, and, for some reason, you reply. The stranger nods, “I’ve been looking for you.” What happens next? Continue reading to know more about this adventure.

It was a warm morning and I was enjoying the last sip of my coffee at Starbucks as the part of my daily routine. I was running through my mind the to-dos for the day, the meetings, appointments deadlines when I felt a drift from behind and someone called out to me “Yes you, can I have your name”.

Intrigued by this behavior I turned around to discover a person in a black suit standing behind me carrying a bag. He did not carry the looks of the marketing or sales person, rather he was very calm and had an impressive persona that of an intellectual. I was wondering what led him to this behavior.

I replied “Hiya, this is Subhi, How can I help you gentleman”.

“Ahh! There you are, I have been looking for you since the last few days; I am John Prescot”.

This took me back again and I wondered what on earth I have done to become so demanding. I inquired “Why are you looking out for me”.

Strangers or Dangers @http://agileopedia.com/
Strangers or Dangers @http://agileopedia.com/

“Mr. Ben has sent me to contact you” replied John.

“Sorry!  Mr. Ben, who is Mr. Ben.” I inquired.

“You know him very well; indirectly you are working for him and helping him out”.

“I am getting late”, I started to walk for my office.

“Mr. Ben, Ben Huberman, remember, WordPress, the daily post, writing prompt, community pool.” shouted John.

“You work for him daily, respond to his daily post and participate in the community pool.”

John said “He is very impressed by the posts in your blog” and added “He wants me to invite you to be in the editor’s community at WordPress”.

I thought it was enough and it might be some prank from my friends but then John revealed his identity by showing his cards and other detailed documents and photographs.

“Sir, you are invited to be a part of the community and we will send you details recently” said John politely.

The morning turned out to be amazing for me and I was very elated.

He asked me to follow me to a convention being held at a corporate hub near to where we were.

He stopped a bus and got in; while I was gathering my belongings the bus started to move, owing to the traffic. The stranger Mr. John waved his hand out and prompted me to rush.

I felt some resistance and tried my best to reach out his hand, somehow I cannot move, walk or even run. Someone was holding me very firmly and pulling my hand.

At last I got up in a flash and found my daughter pulling my hand. She said Dad, what strange things you have been doing and saying while sleeping, get up and get ready for office, drop me to school too.

I paused, smiled and gave her a hug, then I suddenly realized what I have been doing all these days, working for Mr. Ben for all these days although not directly but he is driving me and all bloggers out there.

But thanks Mr. Ben, would for sure continue to work for you.

That’s my take with the stranger, keep coming back for more.