Interesting Facts

You must not be led aside by fits of disinclination or annoyance; if you give way to these you will never succeed. Patience and perseverance win the day. "Softly, softly, catchee monkey."




Managers, Teachers, Parents, Users, Stakeholders and other Authority Figures seem to want it done right, done immediately, and never done again (DoItRightTheFirstTime). Of course you can't deliver on such expectations, and in fact most of these Authorities are just your own boojums - the real people behind them know that good work takes time. They're putting pressure on you because they want your best, not because they expect a miracle.

Now sometimes what these folk want is really not difficult to do. You know how to get from A to B, you get into that Mental-State Called Flow, and you do it. But sometimes you haven't got the faintest, or you're damn certain what they're asking for isn't a realistic expectation, or it isn't the right thing at the right time.

Therefore,

Don't meet the insurmountable problem head on, but move slowly, deliberately, compassionately, to surround it. You don't catch your monkey by running into the jungle and trying to flush it out. Monkeys move faster in a jungle than you, and they can always climb and hide.

Step back. Get lazy. Ignore deadlines. Think. Research. Wander. Let the back-burners do some work. Panicking and rushing isn't going to solve a hard problem. Perhaps you're not doing the right thing at the right time. Perhaps there's some other way to balance the forces, or some forces you're neglecting. You won't find the solution by looking for it; it has to find you. Let it.

If you enter the jungle with due pace and caution, but with no idea in your head about catching a monkey, they won't see you as a predator coming. You just mind your business until you see a monkey. They'll be paying you no attention. Then calmly and deliberately notch your arrow and catch your dinner.

Following is a list of all the available HTTP 1.1 status codes, along with their associated message and interpretation. You should be cautious in using the status codes that are available only in HTTP 1.1, since many browsers still only support HTTP 1.0. If you do use status codes specific to HTTP 1.1, in most cases you want to either explicitly check the HTTP version of the request (via the getProtocol method of the HttpServletRequest) or reserve it for situations when no HTTP 1.0 status code would be particularly meaningful to the client anyhow.

There was a young boy who used to come for regular practice but always played in the reserves and never made it to the soccer eleven. While he was practicing, his father used to sit at the far end, waiting for him.

The matches had started and for four days, he didn't show up for practice or the quarter or semifinals.

All of a sudden he showed up for the finals, went to the coach and said, "Coach, you have always kept me in the reserves and never let me play in the finals. But today, please let me play."

The coach said, "Son, I'm sorry, I can't let you. There are better players than you and besides, it is the finals, the reputation of the school is at stake and I cannot take a chance." The boy pleaded, "Coach, I promise I will not let you down. I beg of you, please let me play."

The coach had never seen the boy plead like this before. He said, "OK, son, go, play. But remember, I am going against my better judgment and the reputation of the school is at stake. Don't let me down." The game started and the boy played like a house on fire. Every time he got the ball, he shot a goal. Needless to say, he was the best player and the star of the game. His team had a spectacular win.

When the game finished, the coach went up to him and said, "Son, how could I have been so wrong in my life. I have never seen you play like this before. What happened? How did you play so well?"

The boy replied, "Coach, my father is watching me today." The coach turned around and looked at the place where the boy's father used to sit. There was no one there.

He said, "Son, your father used to sit there when you came for practice, but I don't see anyone there today."

The boy replied, "Coach, there is something I never told you. My father was blind. Just four days ago, he died. Today is the first day he is watching me from above."

The train is coming, and you are just beside the track interchange. You can make the train change its course to the disused track and save most of the kids. However, that would also mean the lone child playing by the disused track would be sacrificed. Or would you rather let the train go its way?

Let's take a pause to think what kind of decision we could make...

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Most people might choose to divert the course of the train, and sacrifice only one child. You might think the same way, I guess. Exactly, to save most of the children at the expense of only one child was rational decision most people would make, morally and emotionally. But, have you ever thought that the child choosing to play on the disused track had in fact made the right decision to play at a safe place?

Nevertheless, he had to be sacrificed because of his ignorant friends who chose to play where the danger was. This kind of dilemma happens around us everyday. In the office, community, in politics and especially in a democratic society, the minority is often sacrificed for the interest of the majority, no matter how foolish or ignorant the majority are, and how farsighted and knowledgeable the minority are. The child who chose not to play with the rest on the operational track was sidelined. And in the case he was sacrificed, no one would shed a tear for him.

The great critic Leo Velski Julian who told the story said he would not try to change the course of the train because he believed that the kids playing on the operational track should have known very well that track was still in use, and that they should have run away if they heard the train's sirens.. If the train was diverted, that lone child would definitely die because he never thought the train could come over to that track! Moreover, that track was not in use probably because it was not safe. If the train was diverted to the track, we could put the lives of all passengers on board at stake! And in your attempt to save a few kids by sacrificing one child, you might end up sacrificing hundreds of people to save these few kids.

While we are all aware that life is full of tough decisions that need to be made, we may not realize that hasty decisions may not always be the right one.

'Remember that what's right isn't always popular... and what's popular isn't always right.'

Everybody makes mistakes; that's why they put erasers on pencils.

A German once visited a temple under construction where he slaw a sculptor making an idol of God. Suddenly he noticed a similar idol lying nearby. Surprised, he asked the sculptor, "Do you need two statues of the same idol?" "No," said the sculptor without looking up, "We need only one, but the first one got damaged at the last stage." The gentleman examined the idol and found no apparent damage. "Where is the damage?" he asked. "There is a scratch on the nose of the idol." said the sculptor, still busy with his work. "Where are you going to install the idol?"

The sculptor replied that it would be installed on a pillar twenty feet high. "If the idol is that far, who is going to know that there is a scratch on the nose?" the gentleman asked. The sculptor stopped his work, looked up at the gentleman, smiled and said, "I will know it."

The desire to excel is exclusive of the fact whether someone else appreciates it or not. "Excellence" is a drive from inside, not outside. Excellence is not for someone else to notice but for your own satisfaction and efficiency...