Happy Thanksgiving From Me To You: A Story On Giving

Here is the complete transcript of the podcast

Welcome, or welcome back to Success with Srini. Happy Thanksgiving to you. Today is the November 24. The year 2022. It’s the third day. And it’s Thanksgiving. I can’t believe I made it to Thanksgiving, honestly. I mean, I never thought, at the beginning of this year, this podcast is going to run. And I will have this opportunity to say Happy Thanksgiving to you, you know, I have no words. I’m at a loss for words, as I’m recording today. Because this has been a long journey. waking up every day thinking about the podcast, I have no idea what to say sometimes. Some days were like, I don’t know what I’m doing. Should I do this? But thank you for your support. Thank you for being a listener, being a subscriber. And thank you for your questions. Your questions, did more to me than my answers could do to you. And keeping this alive, keeping the spirit of this podcast alive. So seriously, I have no words to express, you know, this, this is this has been such an incredible journey. So the credit goes to you.

Thanksgiving is a very special day. And I’m not saying that. And I’m not saying all these things, because of today’s Thanksgiving. If you go back and listen to my podcast episodes from October, August, and September, all along, you know, every time I hit a milestone with this podcast, I was taking a moment and I was really expressing myself expressing my gratitude along the way. So not that today’s Thanksgiving, I’m saying this. But today’s a very special day. Today’s a big day. Even though there are logical this day can be described in whatever way. But truthfully, today, we take a few moments and give thanks to everybody who has, you know, done things for us or made things for us or created things for us, whatever it is, whatever they did for us, we just take a moment. And we want to really acknowledge what they have done. And sometimes express our gratitude sometimes express our feelings to them. And I’m doing that with several of the people that fall around me. Some people are lost in the few months since the last Thanksgiving, a few people are not around. But recently, just last week, I went on my radio show. And I shared a story with you with the listeners. And I want to share the story with you here on the podcast today. And the story. I want you to listen to this just for a few moments. And the story I first heard nearly 20 years ago and the minute I heard the story, or I think I read the story. Maybe somebody told me I don’t know, but changed my life completely. And I don’t know which book this is. But this is a story by Dr. Charles Dixon. He talks about a man who stops by a flower store flower shop, to buy some flowers and to wire them to his mother, who lives 200 miles away from him.

Now as he was leaving the shop, he sees a small girl sobbing outside he asks her and the girl says, Well, I have I need $2 Because I think I’m short by $1 or something. And because I want to buy a roll for my mom. And being a good man, he just man helps the girl buy stuffed lover bicycles and gives her a ride. Now instead of going home, they go to her mother and this girl directs him to a cemetery and she places the rose on a freshly dug grave. This man instantly returns to the flower shop and cancels the order instead. Who drives 200 miles to his mother, home Mother Son personally, and delivers the bouquet of local flowers. The story is I don’t know what emotion you heard in the story. The message in the story is no gift is valuable. gifts have no value. The ultimate gift that we could give someone is a portion of ourselves. Other gifts. Yeah, they may have some context, you give money to someone, you give your time to someone, yes, they have contextually it makes sense. But when you give a portion of yourself, then that’s the highest form of a gift. It’s the highest form of gratitude. You know, when somebody said, the measure of a life is not its duration, but its a donation. And when you don’t have charity in your heart, you have the worst kind of heart trouble. And I think that was Robinson Rabindranath Tagore, who said, man, discovers his own wealth when God comes to ask for gifts from him. So today, as you are expressing your gratitude to whoever you’re expressing our gratitude to, whoever you’re giving, you’re giving tanks. But make sure or see if you can give a portion of yourself away, I’ll give you some examples of how to give a portion of yourself away. Let’s say somebody doesn’t know how to read.

You can read for them. Somebody doesn’t know how to is hungry, doesn’t have money to buy something, you give money, or maybe you take them with you to the place where you can buy them some food, somebody is struggling with a challenge. And not only do they need your help, but they also need your involvement. And your help is that your involvement is bigger than your help. Things like that. I don’t know. Very difficult to articulate this, but you get the idea. You get the point. Again, thank you for being a listener for being a subscriber. And go have an incredible Thanksgiving, a happy Thanksgiving, with your family with your friends, enjoy your time, and meet as if you’re meeting them for the very last time who knows this is a short life anyway. Otherwise, we will make it big you see, and the only way to make it big is by expressing gratitude. So go, make it big.

6 Things To Do Before The End Of The Year

Here is the complete transcript of the podcast

Yesterday on the podcast, I said, I’ll be here with you tomorrow. And today is that tomorrow, and I’m here. So welcome back to success with Srini. Happy Wednesday, Hump Day to you. And on the podcast. Today I’m sharing with you six things that I am doing that I need to do before the end of this year. I have six weeks, we have six weeks, and I’m doing these six things. Now, six is a very conservative list, you can do 10 things, you can do 15 things, it all depends on you. But these six I’m doing I’m sharing with you, if you like them, take them, if you don’t like them, don’t worry about them. Okay, so let’s get into this.

The first thing I’m doing is I’m going to complete the course that I did not complete. I bought it with excitement, I thought I’m going to do it, but it did not complete. Whether it’s on Udemy, or it’s on Coursera, or wherever it is, you have a course I know you have a course you bought you did not complete. Go do it complete it, I have one. And I’m going to complete that before the end of this year. I want to spend one day tracking everything that I’m doing with a count of 15 minutes. So I’m going to pick a day between today and December 31 of your 2022. And I want to measure what I’m doing every 15 minutes. But important, if you really want to plan your time. Next year, it’s important. I did it pretty religiously for a long time. But I have not done it in a long time either. So I’m going to dedicate one day and I’m going to get this done. The third one on the list is I’m going to list everything that I have accomplished this year. I think I have accomplished a lot this year, at least the way I set myself up for this year. Quite a number of things, including this podcast, which was supposed to be a nonstop 365 days podcast, are not there yet. won’t be there till December 31. But has come a long way. So this was one of my goals for this year.

So I’m going to list everything that I accomplished this year. I know you have if you sit down, and take some time to list them, you’d be amazed at what all you have done. And I know you have done a lot. So do it. The next one on the list is to make a donation to an unknown entity, anonymously. Doesn’t matter one dollar $10 $100. You anonymously make a donation to someone and you don’t take pride in doing that you don’t go on social media and share that stuff. Do it for yourself. Do you know this one? I have done it. I’ve never shared this before, but I’ve done it. And I tell you there is a kind of peace that comes from it. I don’t think anything else can create that kind of peace. I don’t know, it’s very hard to describe in words, do it, feel it? Don’t talk about it. The next one on the list is I want to call some non-callers. Some non-callers people who I know who are my relatives may be friends. Maybe they’re not been in touch with me in the last 1015 2030 years. 40 years. I’m calling them and talking to them. I did a lot during COVID. I did not do a lot this year, but I’m going to spend some time. It doesn’t matter. Maybe five people, maybe three people maybe one person I don’t know. But I’m going to call this noncollege. They don’t call me they’re forgotten about me. But if I call them they know they will remember me. There are some memories with them. And I’ll call them that’s on my list. And then finally, a gratitude list. Things that you are really grateful for things that happened for you. Unexpectedly people showed up in life in the last, you know, 1011 months. You’re not expecting but they showed up they did something for you. Or something happened for you or you found yourself in a situation where you’re not expecting anything but somehow it just happened or whatever, right? So there are in enough reasons to be grateful that you woke up this morning that that in itself qualifies, that should go on the list. So grateful for your child’s education for your child getting a job for your child getting married for your child coming back home.

Somebody told me, my kid came back after seven years. I know, I know that that feeling, you know, you can’t relate to that feeling. If you’ve not gone through it, it’s very hard to describe some, whatever it is, whatever you’re grateful for, make a list. So these five things I’m doing. And I want you to do at least one, maybe two, you know, doesn’t matter. If you go on the internet, and you google this, things to do before the end of the year, people have, you know, a lot of stuff there. So if you think this list is not complete, or this is not something that speaks to you, then please google, please see what others are doing. This is what I’m doing. But others are doing many more things. Please follow or please copy or mimic or get inspired by anybody. Doesn’t matter, but do it.

Okay. That’s all for now. Have a wonderful Wednesday, and hump day. And I’ll catch up with you as early as tomorrow. And guess what? Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. So Happy Thanksgiving to you. And so because tomorrow is Thanksgiving, I’m going to spend some time today. And we’ll think about what I’m going to say and how I’m going to present tomorrow’s podcast episode. That’s going to make sense. Talking about a gratitude list in a sea gratitude list. I didn’t position the gratitude list towards the end of the list. It’s just happened. But then Thanksgiving is all about gratitude. We’ll talk about that tomorrow. For now. Stay tuned.

How To Recover After Losing Your Job: The Right Mindset

Here is the complete transcript of the podcast

On the podcast today I’m answering a question that is sent to me in big font, in red color and a very sensitive email. And I think the reason why it was sent to me that way, is because they wanted to get my attention. So here’s what I’m doing. I’m going to, I got the question yesterday, and I’m answering it today. And this is it’s a long email, all written in red. But then eventually, in the end, the font color changes to thank you in black. Thank you. Srini. So, yes, you got my attention. And I’m answering your question. So for everybody who’s listening to this, here is the question I just got laid off. And I have been in the industry for 27 years, this is the first time I got laid off. And I have made some commitments, some financial commitments, that I’m starting to realize now that I cannot fulfill, I’m overleveraged. This market is not looking good. I do not know what to do. I never had a resume all these years.

What do you suggest I do? Have awesome not believe this market is going south. At least I haven’t met anybody who got laid off, or nobody called me like this. And this email comes from a gentleman who is listened to my radio show for a long time. Never met me, never spoke to me. And some house, for some reason, thinks that I have the answer to this problem trusts me, and sends me this message. And this is why I do this podcast. This is why I do this podcast, I don’t need to meet you and no need to see you. And I just want you to think that I am there for you. If you need me. So thank you for trusting me with this problem. So long email, I kind of gave the synopsis of it, the gist of it, but just is facing unemployment. Never been in this position for the last 27 years. Don’t have a resume. What should I do? I answered this question a while ago on the podcast. So here is my short answer. If you are a real player, if you really, really are playing your game, you really know what you’re doing. And you really believe in and trust in your capabilities, your experience your longevity in whatever you have done so far. You shouldn’t be sending that question.

This question should not forget about asking me the question. This should not cross your mind. So something is wrong. That’s why you asked this question something is wrong, you have a job, and you will be fired. That’s the truth. There is no guarantee there are no assurances you will be taken out. So not a good position to be in. But in a way, it’s a good thing. You see, if you have been working for 27 years, then I’m suspecting that you are in your 50s or mid-50s. Maybe it’s an age-related thing. That is why you are writing this email this way. But lets for a second assume that you will not get a job. Let’s take the worst scenario. Now, this happened recently. This happened last week. So you are that emotion is deep, the hurt, the hurt is felt now, but if you give a month, a month from today, let’s say the pain is going to be lesser. So first and foremost strategy is I want you to forget this for the next six weeks. We are done with 2022 2023 and it’s reasonable to think okay, I’m going to go apply for a job in January and I’m going to probably get it by February or March. So we’re talking about a 90 to the 120-day window within which we are not supposed to take anything we’re not going to process this at all. The only processing that you need to have is I’m given six weeks, not five weeks, and I’m going to use this time not to go have Thanksgiving lunches, and dinners and convey my pain to people or not to go out and meet people and kind of express my suffering to them. Rather use this time to not only have fun with people but also build up for all the deficiencies that I only know that I have within me That’s the mindset I want you to have. And I also want you to have the mindset of taking whatever comes your way, not the same title, not the same money, it may happen or may not happen come January, we do not know. But then I want you to start thinking of taking whatever comes. And whatever comes, I just not only take it as a job, but I’m going to immerse myself into it, I’m going to put my ego aside. And I truly get involved, indulged, and totally immersed, and totally see myself in it, whatever comes my way. That’s the least.

Now, I’m not asking you to go and start folding boxes in a retail store. That’s not what I’m asking you to do. And I’ve seen nothing wrong with doing it. But that’s not the point, I know, you are in a C-level position. And I understand, you know, that’s a big, Delta. Okay, I’m not saying that the no job is wrong. And every job has its own dignity. Every job has its own element. So it’s not about the job. It’s how we happen to the job. So every job is respectful. And every job has dignity. So but the delta is the delta. So I’m not asking you to take the least common thing from where you are. So that’s not what I’m asking you to do. I’m asking you to take whatever comes your way. But that which is in line and that which is within the space where you can make some compromises. Now, should we go even to the level of making a compromise at this point, I do not know. And I’m not suggesting that there is going to be a compromise either. But I’m telling you, I’m preparing you mentally preempting you with the thought that if at all, there is going to be a compromise, then you are prepared for it. In one of the podcasts Earlier, I talked about I made a point I said, great people are always in demand. And sometimes when a setback like this happens, it’s difficult to assess greatness. It’s very hard. If I ask you, what’s your greatness, it’s very difficult for you to show because you are, you are in hurt, right, now you’re in pain.

But taking the six weeks will allow you to go to introspect, go deep into within, within, into yourself and, and see, okay, I did these things, these things make me unique, these things make me stand out. And I’m going to put together, I’ll take all these events in the last 27 years, and specifically in the last three, four or five years, and I’m going to build a small narrative about who I am, that looks appealing, that sounds good to a recruiter, or maybe a friend in a position in a hiring position. I can build a narrative and I want you to build a few narratives about yourself. And from those narratives, comes confidence. So at this moment, you have lost confidence. And that is why this email, but then once you start thinking about yourself, you will have to look forward because whatever has happened has happened, there is no way to undo it. But then what you can do is we’re going to go into come your way, starting today tomorrow, that you have control on, because a conversation and interview, a discussion, a possibility and opportunity, all that you can control. And for that to happen, you got to have a narrative in place. So I want you to spend some time building the narrative whichever way you want to take yourself.

Now, I also want to highlight because I did not see that in this email, you are asking to tell him that you are in a C-level position, but even say anything about what responsibilities you had, or which department, or which role you played. Here’s what we know. Let’s assume for a second that this economy is going to completely go down. It’s going to be chaos and 2324. Everything is going to be chaotic till the next election. I mean, different people are saying different things in the media. Assuming that that is going to be the case. Let’s also look at the opposite of that which is still there, it will be hiring still companies are going to make products innovation is going to happen. Sales are going to happen revenues are going to be generated profits are going to be created. All that is going to happen on the other side. So the far extreme end is everything is going to collapse. The world is going to go into a third world war. That let’s say okay, that’s granted. But then on this side also it’s true. The companies are going to be created companies are going to be close to closing down but then employment, there’s going to be there, jobs are going to be there, and people will be hired. And revenues are going to be created, profits are going to be generated client-side are going to be created, all that is going to happen on the side too. So given these two extremes are true in some at some level, in some proportion, then what makes sense or the positioning that I would take is in this mix, is I’m somebody’s going to bring revenues, I’m going to be somebody’s going to be creating revenues, I’m going to be somebody’s going to be assisting in creating clients. So when I can impact directly at that level, or at least in my mind, then I know I’m creating something positive, I’m creating something big for the company. I’m not on the expense side of the equation, I’m on the income side of the equation.

So I bring something in, hence, I’m valuable. Hence, that’s my uniqueness. Hence, I have that greatness in me. I hope I answered your question. And if you have anything beyond this, then do let me know. And I promise you, you don’t need to write this email in red at all. Just text me at 888-818-0404. And if I have to record an additional podcast and release it for you, I’ll do that. Absolutely. Why not? I don’t want anybody to have to go through this situation of losing a job and getting worried. Job losses are going to happen. But what you have in control is the worry pot. So just on the podcast, I talked about no worries. So today, I’m telling you, again inclement that, don’t get worried about things that you have no control over and your job you absolutely have no control over and that’s happened to you.

Okay. I hope that’s helpful. I’m going to stop here, and I’ll catch up with all of you as early as tomorrow. Keep listening. Stay tuned.