3 Words

My daughter had an assignment in her AP Lit class in which she was required to ask people who knew her to describe her in 3 words and provide a short explanation for the words chosen.

My response to this was as follows:

Word 1: Courageous – because my daughter’s not afraid to ask people for anything and can take no for an answer without being discouraged.

Word 2: Curious - because as a third grader she asked me, “Mum, why do teachers address the class saying ‘Boys and Girls’.  Why don’t they say ‘Girls and Boys?’”

Word 3: Problem Solving – because as a fourth grader, when I complained to her about how hard it was to back out of my apartment parking space safely because of the hummer-like battle-ship of a car parked next to me, she said “I know - Maybe you could back into your space, or…. if you can’t do that, you can park so the back of your car is lined up with the back of their car”.

So here’s my question to you, readers….

If you had to describe the people close to you in 3 words, what 3 words would you choose and why?

Get thinking…

Word 1:

Word 2:

Word 3:

And don't forget to say why for each.

Warning: If you select 3 words and then wake up in the middle of the night with some completely new ideas, don’t be surprised!

P.S. Speaking of 3 words, I came across a thought-provoking article by Salman Khan of Khan Academy in which he talks about the 3 different  ideas that are in people’s minds when they talk about education (Learning, Socializing and Credentialing) and why these 3  different ideas should  not be mixed up or linked. You can read the article here.

P.S. 2: What is the best 3 word phrase in your opinion? Is it “I Love You”? Look at this list of the 100 Best 3 Word Phrases and decide.

P.S. 3: ABC Good Morning America launched a program with these words: “If one word can convey a lot about your state of mind, just think how much three words could reveal. Tell us how your week was. From the sublime to the ridiculous, nothing's too big or too small to send in. Write your three words on your palm, cut it out in letters, paste it (strategically -- and tastefully) over your body. Shoot it with your digital camera, webcam or cell phone, and upload it here”. Want to see what ABC viewers came up with? Check out this link.

P.S. 4: Thanks to Santa Teresa High for providing material for yet another post. Santa Teresa high school assignments have been featured in these earlier posts:

On Writing Well by Shantel Chavez

On Writing Well by Gursharan Summan

On the Importance of Language Arts by John Paraskevopoulos

The Colors of Life by John Paraskevopoulos

Feet Planted by Gursharan Summan

P.S. 5: Also, the Santa Teresa Girls Golf Team was covered in The She Victories and the Starbucks preferences of a cross-section of Santa Teresa High students in What Your Starbucks Drink Says About You. 

P.S. 6: I have been featuring Santa Teresa High students starting March 2011, when I wrote Move Over Michael Burry (whom I learned about from reading the book The Big Short written by Michael Lewis of Blindside fame).

P.S. 7: As always thanks for reading and have a great day. Actually, let me rephrase that ….have a stupendous, amazing, awesome day.

What's Next For You?

What happens when you decide to change the status quo?

When you look at what you are doing and say “Is this the direction I want to go?”

When you tell yourself, “It’s time to spread my wings”

When you think, “I am willing to do what it takes”

When you wonder about resources and then you tell yourself, “Forget excuses. I will somehow find the resources”

When you think, “It’s okay if the going is slow initially and I run into some roadblocks. I will just follow my star”

When you tell yourself, “Even if I fail or lose money, I need to give this a shot”

When you decide, “Ok, this is it - I am taking the plunge”

And you never look back.

This is every entrepreneur’s and dreamer’s story.

And I sincerely hope one day it will be yours.

Several years ago, Vinitha D’souza  (whom I am proud to call a cousin of mine) decided to give up supervising 250 engineers and generating 1.25 crore rupees a year to start making handmade olive oil soaps and pursue her painting passion on the side.

She did not know whether she would succeed, but she knew she was about to embark on a journey far more fulfilling and exciting than the one she was leaving behind.

Secure in the knowledge that her family had enough money for their needs  - with both her husband and son in stable jobs - Vinitha was encouraged to strike out in a new direction and go where the idea took her.

Thanks to the decision she made back then, Vinitha is the founder-manager of Petals&Herbs, a flourishing hand-made olive oil soap business which she finds truly fulfilling.

When Vinitha is not making her soaps, she finds time to indulge her favorite hobby.

Of course, Vinitha’s ultimate legacy will be the legacy of courage and willingness to change the status quo and adding to the DNA of the great human spirit.

Thank you Vinitha.  You are my hero.

P.S.  Here’s the link to Petals and Herbs, Vinitha’s hand-made olive oil soap-making business.

P.S. 2. Vinitha is just one of my personal heroes.  I have covered some of my other personal heroes in previous posts. If you want to read about Nithya and Uday, you can do so here.  If you want to read about Vinita Piyaratna, you can do so here. If you want to read about Trevor Keelor, you can do so here.

P.S. 3: Here's an interesting Factoid.  According to this Business Insider article, India ranks No. 19 in the world for percentage of female entrepreneurs.  Thailand is No. 1 and Peru is No. 2. The US is 16th.

P.S. 4:  I would like to give a shout out to Arun Bhaskaran of Trident Engineering, Shreekant Jha of P J Commodity Ventures, Ben Silbermann of Pinterest , Vikram Bhaskaran of Samosapedia and Ron and Audrey Garrett of Raga Press  - some of the entrepreneurial lights in my family. Thank you for blazing the trails you have.

P.S. 5:  A shout out to Ashwini Deo – may your budding Bay Area Children’s Freelance Photography business thrive. And to all you budding farmers,vintners, cupcake makers, future e-book publishers, and what have yous – keep the candle burning and may you also grow and thrive.

P.S. 6: And finally a shout-out to all my readers - thanks for stopping by and hope you have a great day.