Sunil Bali

Shift happens …..

admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 06:26:17 +0000

I suspect you may not have heard of George Buckley and probably don’t recognise him, but have used his products.

Born into abject poverty in Yorkshire in 1947, Buckley had a very tough childhood.

His parents abandoned him at 4 months old, and then his grandmother gave him to neighbours. He ended up at a school for the handicapped, crippled with anaemia and a limp, where he was easy prey to a paedophile and was raped.

Buckley left school at 15 with no qualifications but with a determination not to let his past steal his future.

He got a job as an electrician’s apprentice, took night classes at the local college and after many years studying, eventually gained a PhD.

In 1978, Buckley took a risk by going to live in America, saying he couldn’t stay in England because "I was born to the wrong parents, went to the wrong schools, attended the wrong university and have the wrong accent. So I’m going somewhere it doesn’t matter."

The risk paid off.

Sir George Buckley retired recently as Chairman and CEO of 3M (Post It Notes & Sellotape) – a $30bn operation, with over 80000 employees across more than 65 countries. He now chairs a large investment company and is on the boards of Pepsico, Rothschild and Stanley Black & Decker to name but three.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Buckley said, "I discovered in life you can choose to be a victim or a victor. I chose to be a victor".

….. shift happens.

Humour

Some old, but very good one liners….. 1,8 & 9 are my favourites.

1. We’ll be attending the National Schizophrenic’s Convention. Anybody who’s everybody will be there.

2. She quit speaking to me when I wouldn’t open the car door for her. It’s not my fault. I just panicked and swam to the surface.

3. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

4. Calories make the world go round.

5. Sign in restaurant window: "Eat now – pay Waiter".

6. Procrastinators of the world unite….. tomorrow.

7. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

8. You offer someone a sincere compliment on their moustache and suddenly she’s not your friend any more.

9. This one goes out to all the amnesiacs out there, and don’t think you know who you are.

10. The neighbour just asked if I was stealing his wi-fi, it felt like such an invasion of my piracy.

And finally, an amazing piece of street art:

(this is an update to a blog first published in 2011)

Sunil

www.sunilbali.com

Soul trader …..

admin — Sun, 12 May 2013 07:12:22 +0000

by Sunil Bali, 12-05-13

Oscar Wilde famously said, "Be yourself, everyone else is already taken."

In a world obsessed with looking good and sounding important, deliver something which is real and which makes a difference….. you.

Tell the story you want to tell, not the story you think you have to tell.

If you want a bigger brand, then make bigger deposits in people’s emotional bank accounts.

If you want to make a mark, generate a spark and a smile, because if you don’t you’re in danger of being commoditised and carted off.

Business transactions which are tepid and soulless lead to irrelevancy, and irrelevancy is a far bigger problem in business than inefficiency.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “Either write something worth reading about or do something worth writing about."

Humour

Alternative definitions:

Macaroon
To leave a Scotsman on a desert island

Mishmash
What Sean Connery will do if he doesn’t get to church on Sunday

Module
Christmas with The Who

Unfettered
Without Greek cheese

Wince
A setting on Jonathan Ross’s washing machine

Stalemate
A primary cause of divorce

Flabbergasted
Appalled by discovering how much weight one has gained

Pastiche
What Sean Connery eats in Cornwall

Sunil

www.sunilbali.com

Great advice from Joan Branson, Richard’s wife …..

admin — Sun, 05 May 2013 06:51:00 +0000

by Sunil Bali, 05-05-13

When asked how she coped with having such a driven husband, Joan Branson replied, "Extremism in the pursuit of excellence is not a vice."

She went on to say that behind the hype that surrounds her billionaire husband, is a man who works from home and spends a lot of time with the family.

A man who focuses on being creative rather than competitive.

A man who simply tries to be better than he was yesterday.

A man who if he fails is fond of quoting Lord Sebastian Coe: "Winning is built on a robust diet of defeat."

Excel don’t compete…..great advice Joan.

Humour

Beware Travel brochure jargon:

Stone’s throw from the beach
Mick Jagger once vomited from the top balcony

Palm fringed-beach
Surrounded by beggars

Compact swimming pool
Bidet

Staggering views
The local wine’s dodgy

We would strongly recommend hiring a car
You are 103 miles from the nearest lavatory

Plenty of nightlife
Watch out for the cockroaches

Sunil

www.sunilbali.com

Your whether report …..

admin — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 06:07:57 +0000

by Sunil Bali, 28-04-13

This Thursday we’ll be a third of the way through 2013.

How’s the year gone so far?

The economy is weak, as is the job market, but life’s a result of your decisions, not your conditions. Yet most people give in to their conditions…… they allow the weather to affect them.

It’s been estimated that $200,000Billion is spent globally every day. Opportunities are everywhere. Here’s a message from those that seize them:

Dear optimist, pessimist and realist,

While you were deciding how much water there was in the glass, I drank it.

Yours sincerely

The Opportunist

Whatever you are this year, be a great one.

Be the best at what matters most, it’s the only strategy you’ll ever need.

Humour

Tommy Cooper classics

A man walks into a greengrocer’s and says, I want five pounds of potatoes please. And the greengrocer says, we only sell kilos ….. so the man says, alright then, I’ll have five pounds of kilos.
I went to the doctors the other day and I said "Have you got anything for wind?" So he gave me a kite.
Sometimes I drink my whiskey neat. Other times I take my tie off and leave my shirt out.
A man walked into the doctor’s, The doctor said "I haven’t seen you in a long time." The man replied "I know, I’ve been ill."
What do you call a fish with no eyes? A fsh.
A man walked into the doctor’s, he said "I’ve hurt my arm in several places." The doctor said "Well don’t go there anymore."
Two cannibals eating a clown. One says to the other "Does this taste funny to you?"

Sunil

www.sunilbali.com

It started with a kiss …..

admin — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 06:48:04 +0000

by Sunil Bali, 21-04-13

Can you remember your first kiss or your first date?

The excitement, the butterflies in the stomach, the expectation of something special.

Your customers might not want you to kiss them, but you do need to know how your customers want to feel, and do everything you can to get them there.

Your success depends upon your story; a story about how you make people feel.

It’s about your emotional fingerprint. It’s about what people say about you when you’re not in the room.

We humans aren’t plain, rational beings. We seek experiences that spark our imaginations and fire the spirit.

Stories are the way in. The way to make a connection.

Yo! Sushi isn’t selling cold dead fish, its selling an experience.

Harley Davidson don’t just sell motorbikes, they sell a lifestyle.

Red Bull don’t just sell fizzy drinks, they sell hope.

If you can consistently make people feel more energised, happier, loved, smarter…. then they’ll give you money in exchange.

What’s your story?

Hit reply. I’d love to hear from you.

Humour

Two women met for coffee. You look stressed said one woman to the other.

"My fiancée has just told me that he’s lost all of his money and property in the stock market crash. He’s bankrupt," she explained.

"Oh that’s dreadful," her friend replied. "You must be really worried about him."

"I am. I don’t know what he’s going to without me."

Sunil

www.sunilbali.com

Solitary refinement …..

admin — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 07:33:40 +0000

by Sunil Bali, 14-04-13

We spend about 10% of our waking hours with our eyes closed; blinking far more often than is necessary to keep our eyes lubricated.

Researchers at Japan’s Osaka University have discovered that the brain powers down during each brief moment of shut-eye. During this "idle" period thoughts are able to wander more freely because conscious thought is momentarily disengaged.

If you think about when you’ve had your best ideas and been at your most creative, I suspect that it’s been when you’ve been out for a walk, in the shower or daydreaming…..and probably on your own?

Dreamstorming it would appear is more effective than brainstorming.

Researchers have concluded what many of the great sages from Descartes to the Dalai Lama have known: a period of solitude enhances creativity and well-being. Successful human doing needs a human being to be still; at least for a short while.

Sometimes you can see more clearly with your eyes closed.

So how about starting or finishing each day with a little solitary refinement and your eyes wide shut?

Humour

A distraught wife went to the local police station, along with her next-door neighbour, to report that her husband was missing.

The policeman asked for a description of the missing man.

The wife said, "He is 35 years old, 6-foot 4-inches, has dark eyes, dark wavy hair, an athletic build, weighs 185 pounds, is soft-spoken, and is good to his wife."

The next-door neighbour protested, "Your husband is 5-foot 8-inches, chubby, has a big mouth, and is mean to you."

The wife replied, "Yes, but who wants HIM back?"

Sunil

www.sunilbali.com

Pleased and scared to be here …..

admin — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 07:35:59 +0000

by Sunil Bali, 07-04-13

The actor Bill Nighy once described doing theatre as "like agreeing to be ill for two months."

Those who make a dent in the universe fight their fear, show up every day, and put a spring in our step.

Those who succumb to the fear of failure put their dreams on hold, wallow in mediocrity and start sentences with the words "If only."

Robin Sharma taught me an invaluable lesson to overcome fear: have quarterly goals, a weekly plan and daily schedule before you start each day.
When it comes to delivering your vision, the process of:

think it
ink it
do it
review it

works.

When inspiration has dried up and you’re going through hell, your schedule will give you the focus to keep going.

Even with a schedule, fear will be a persistent visitor that knocks on your escape hatch telling you to check your e-mail or do what can wait.

Don’t listen. Keep surprising us, keep delighting us and keep showing up…..every day.

Remember….. life begins at the end of your comfort zone. It’s where the magic happens.

Humour

Caveman conundrum:

A house isn’t a home unless there’s someone using wi-fi.
Not wishing to be all technical, but alcohol is a solution.
The Law of Sadness: The reduction in sadness is directly proportional to the number of calories in the cake you eat.

My boss phoned me today. He said "Is everything OK at the office?"

I said "Everything is under control. It’s been a very busy day. I haven’t stopped to take a break all day."

"Can you do me a favour" he asked.

I said "Of course, What is it?"

"Pick up the pace a little. I’m behind you and waiting for you to putt so I can tee off."

Sunil

www.sunilbali.com

A rich lackademic

admin — Sun, 31 Mar 2013 08:42:24 +0000

by Sunil Bali, 31-03-13

When he was 15 years old Nick had a great idea.

Nick had no qualifications and experience. But he went ahead anyway.

Nick didn’t get anyone’s permission or approval. He picked himself.

Nick needed money for his project. So he asked people who had a lot of money.

Last week, 17 year Nick D’Aloisio sold his iPhone app Summly to Yahoo for a reported $30million.

He’s the youngest person ever to have received venture capital – $300,000 from Li Ka-shing the world’s 8^th richest man.

Life’s one trip for which you don’t need a permission slip.

In the connection economy self selection doesn’t rely on education, who you know or how wealthy you are.

The world is littered with people who didn’t wait and worry, who didn’t pause and procrastinate. These are the people we admire, who have created not just successful businesses but legacies. They drew their own line in the sand and then crossed it.

If you don’t think you’re good enough, it’s probably because you’re not a very good judge of character.

Humour

Men and Boys

1) Overheard in the playground at my 9 year old son’s school: "The last time I saw something like you, I flushed it."

2) Little boy: “Dad, I’ve got a part in the school play as a man who’s been married for 25 years."
Dad: “Never mind Son. Maybe next time you’ll get a speaking part."

Sunil

www.sunilbali.com

Lessons from Lemmy and Forrest Gump …..

admin — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 07:14:33 +0000

by Sunil Bali, 24-03-13

"Selling your heart, selling yourself short, selling your soul, that’s prostitution," said Lemmy, legendary libertarian and frontman of Motorhead – 67 years old, still touring and still defying medical science.

It takes courage to be yourself, in a world which is continually trying to make you conform to a stereotype of who you should be.

It takes courage to think out loud, when others are trying to suppress your thoughts with their own.

It takes courage to run the other way, when the herd is running to the edge of the cliff.

Staying silent won’t save you. It will haunt you till your last breath, with the words "if only" ringing in your ears.

Conformity is the slowest way to kill your soul.

Stand strong. Think for yourself. Speak your truth.

Don’t take my word for it. Listen to Forrest Gump …..

Jenny: "Do you have a dream Forrest, about who you’re going to be?"
Forrest: "Aren’t I going to be me?"

Humour

Signs and notices

The electricity company: We would be delighted if you pay your bill. However, if you don’t, you will be.

Car dealership: The best way to get back on your feet – miss a payment.

Bowling alley: Please be quiet. We need to hear a pin drop.

Used car lot: Second hand cars in first crash condition.

Drain cleaners: You’re sh1t is our bread and butter.

Sunil

www.sunilbali.com

Now and Zen …..

admin — Sun, 17 Mar 2013 07:51:20 +0000

by Sunil Bali, 17-03-13

I come from the Da Vinci school of de-cluttering, whose motto is simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

My quarterly cull took place last week.

There was only one rule:

Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful. Including rancid relationships, psychic vampires and dream stealers.

The result? The slow leak in my fuel tank has been fixed and I’m driving down the highway of life a little faster with no excess baggage.

As the impressionist painter Philip Hoffman would say, "the unnecessary has been eliminated, so that the necessary may speak."

My mind’s spam filter has been reset, because I’d allowed one too many time wasters and toxic people inside my head. I’ve raised the price of admission to keep them out…..

….. my mind is friends with me again.

It’s simple: Your plans won’t work unless you do…..time for a clear out?

Humour

Signs and notices

On a Podiatrist’s window : Time wounds all heels.

On a fence : Salesmen welcome. Dog food is expensive.

On a maternity room door: “Push, Push, Push.”

On an electrician’s truck : Let us remove your shorts.

Sunil