THE THREE APPLES THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

Adam and Eve – the power of storytelling
The Biblical story of Adam and Eve eating
the apple – the forbidden fruit – will be well
known to you, whatever your religious
viewpoint. In fact it is one of the best
known stories in the entire world.
Adam and Eve is the story of creation and
sets the tone for God’s relationship with
human kind. It tells the story of our fall
from Grace, is the basis for the Christian
doctrine of Original Sin and forms the basis
of not just one but three of the great
religions of the world.
These are complex theological ideas but
brilliantly delivered in a story (whatever
your view of Biblical truth or allegory) and
one of the best examples in history of the
power of story-telling to get over complex
ideas.

Isaac Newton – this is the modern world
Isaac Newton is widely considered to be
the most influential scientist who has ever
lived and his greatest theories – on which
our entire understanding of the physical
universe is based – are said to all be based
on an apple falling on his head while he sat
under a tree.
Newton laid the foundations for classical
mechanics by describing universal
gravitation and the three laws of motion
which describes how we have understood
the physical universe for over three
centuries. His work forms the basis of the
Physics we learn at school to this day.
He also proved the concept of planetary
motion and established that the earth
circles the sun – not the other way around.
He also takes the credit along with a guy
named Leibniz for the development of
differential and integral calculus.
He did a lot of other clever stuff, was a
theologian, ran the Royal Mint and was an
all round genius.
Put simply, he advanced the scientific
revolution that created the entire modern
world we live in to this day.

Steve Jobs – intuitive beauty
And so to Steve Jobs who sadly died recently.may his soul rest in peace. Steve Jobs is synonymous with
Apple, the company he co-founded and the
company he has led since 1996. In his
innovative drive he has changed so much
about technology and the way we live our
lives today.
He developed one of the first commercially
successful PCs – the Apple II
He created the MacIntosh because he saw
the potential of a mouse driven graphical
user interface – how crap and unintuitive
was computing using the keypad and BBC
Basic command prompts.
He set up Pixar out of Lucasfilm which lead
to the re-birth of film animation and to films
like Toy Story and a Bugs Life.
His revolutionary work at NeXT included a
multi-media email system which could
share voice, image, graphics and video in
email for the first time.
He went back to Apple and turned in upside
down, becoming the completely dominant
figure.
He achieved enormous commercial success
with the iMac based on beautiful design.
He developed the iPod and iTunes digital
software which revolutionised the way we
access, buy and listen to music. MP3s and
digitally sourced music has all but killed CDs
and high street record stores. You are
more likely to listen to your iPod on the bus
or out jogging than listening to music on
the car CD player now.
He then developed the iPhone – the first
smartphone – a multi touch display mobile
phone.
Jobs was an inspirational, charismatic and
highly energetic business leader –
autocratic too. He was also something of a
lifestyle guru. His foresight in setting trends
and in innovations of style and intuitive
usability has shaped much of our day to day
living and the way we use technology in
our lives.
Jobs didn’t do market research. He was a
true market leader, knowing what the
public wanted before they knew it –
understanding the marriage of intuitive
functionality and beautiful design.

A CREED TO LIVE BY

Don’t undermine your worth by comparing
yourself with others,
It is because we are different that each of us
is special.
… Don’t set your goals by what other people
deem important,
Only you know what is best for you.
Don’t take for granted the things closest to
your heart
Cling to that as you would your life, for
without them life is meaningless.
Don’t let your life slip through your fingers by
living in the past or the future.
By living your life one day at a time, you live all
the days of your life.
Don’t give up when you still have something
to give
Nothing is really over … until the moment you
stop trying.
Don’t be afraid to admit that you are less than
perfect,
It is the fragile thread that binds us to each
other.
Don’t be afraid to encounter risks,
It is by taking chances that we learn how to
be brave.
Don’t shut love out of your life by saying it’s
impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive love is to give
love.
The fastest way to lose love is to hold on too
tightly,
And the best way to keep love is to give it
wings.
Don’t dismiss your Dreams. To be without
dreams is to be without hope.
To be without hope is to be without purpose.
Don’t run through life so fast that you forget
where you’ve been,
But also know where you’re going.
Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored
every step of the way

COMMITMENT

Commitment grows when people:
*Work together
*Feel successful at what they do
*Make decisions together
*Work through conflicts
*Support one another’s leadership
*Have fun and play together
*Overcome obstacles
*Hold each other to high principles
*Appreciate and respect one another
*Challenge one another to take the next step
*Build relationships
*Experience a victory together
*Learn from mistakes and setbacks
*See their leaders model commitment

THE COCKROACH THEORY OF SELF DEVELOPMENT

Have you heard of the Cockroach Theory for
Self Development?
At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew
from somewhere and sat on a lady. She
started screaming out of fear. With a panic
stricken face and trembling voice, she started
jumping, with both her hands desperately
trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her
reaction was contagious, as everyone in her
group also got panicky.
The lady finally managed to push the
cockroach away but …it landed on another
lady in the group.
Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the
group to
continue the drama. The waiter rushed
forward to their rescue.
In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next
fell upon the waiter. The waiter stood firm,
composed himself and observed the behavior
of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was
confident enough, he grabbed it with his
fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.
Sipping my coffee and watching the
amusement, the antenna of my mind picked
up a few thoughts and started wondering,
was the cockroach responsible for their
histrionic behavior?
If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed?
He handled it near to perfection, without any
chaos. It is not the cockroach, but the inability
of the ladies to handle the disturbance
caused by the cockroach that disturbed the
ladies.
I realized that, it is not the shouting of my
father or my boss or my wife that disturbs
me, but it’s my inability to handle the
disturbances caused by their shouting that
disturbs me. It’s not the traffic jams on the
road that disturbs me, but my inability to
handle the disturbance caused by the traffic
jam that disturbs me.
More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the
problem that creates chaos in my life.
Lessons learnt from the story:
Do not react in life. Always respond. The
women reacted, whereas the waiter
responded.
Reactions are always instinctive whereas
responses are always well thought of, just
and right to save a situation from going out
of hands, to avoid cracks in relationship, to
avoid taking decisions in anger, anxiety,
stress or hurry.