Celebrations :)

Yesss, this is my moment of glory. My first 50 followers here on this blogging platform. Never scored that much ever in cricket :)

Three years ago in Sept 2016 when I published my first blog, I had never imagined I will be writing this long.

Initially, I used to write on and off but even those on and off writings were appreciated and maybe that kept me going. The knowing that yes even if not many but at least there are some who are reading my post regularly.

I enjoyed writing and for me, this served as a way of connecting with my inner self as in meditation. Yes, writing gives me that feeling of meditation where once I start writing all my energies get streamlined in one direction, and thoughts are just poured out without much thinking.

The momentum picked up since June 2019 and the frequency of writing and publishing my blog posts increased gradually. Also reading other blogs especially those from the long term and consistent bloggers motivated me.

Reading blogs of these bloggers gave me a sense of direction and it dawned on me that if I have to be here for long I needed to be consistent. So now I try to post at least two blogs in a week.

When I looked back today after seeing this badge (50 followers) I found that I have written and published 38 posts in just 3 months. My total published post count is 76 out of which one is a reblog of a fellow blogger and one of my earlier post so that actually comes to 74 posts.

From 74 posts in about three years to 38 posts in just three months is a major leap for me and this alone is enough of a reason for me to celebrate, 50 Followers badge is like a cherry on the cake :)

I take this opportunity to thank all you amazing people across all the blogging communities and platforms who took out time to read, like and share comments on my blog posts. Your support, feedback, and suggestions and encouragement has helped me come this far.

On this note, I remember the famous lines from one of the greatest poets of our Indian film industry Majrooh Sultanpuri Sahab...

"Main Akela Hi Chala Tha

Janib-e-Manzil Magar

Log Saath Aate Gaye

Aur Caravan BantaGaya"

Humbled

Love and Gratitude

Nilesh Sharma

I am taking my blog to the next level with #MyFriendAlexa Season 4 organized by #BlogChatter as #nilesharmaawrites :)

From My Diary- Choices I made ~ #5

In this series, I am sharing the choices I made as far as my professional life goes.

Why I took up my 1st job at the age of 17 is answered in my earlier post  "From My Diary - Choices I made ~ #1" and then why I moved on to my 2nd one and why I left that can be read here >>. "From My Diary - Choices I made ~ #2" 

My journey onto becoming Self-employed could be read here "From My Diary - The Choices I made ~ #3" and From My Diary- Choices I made ~ #4

2009 was the times of turbulence and because of the troubles at my personal front, I was finding it hard to concentrate on my work. As a financial advisor especially as a planner concentration and focus is very imperative. And this is where I was having difficulties.

No amount of talking or discussing was helping me and eventually, after trying hard overcoming it, I decided to take a sabbatical from financial planning.

I went to all my then clients and expressed my incapability of managing their portfolio at least till the time I recover from what I was going through.

Many of my clients told me that this is my biggest mistake and that it will be too late if I do not change my decision. I had an idea what I was about to lose, yet I found it to give in to something for which my heart did not allow.

Very few understood me and pledged their support and stood with me. I told them that I may not be able to advise them on any new investments but I will service whatever I have done till now. They said okay and remained with me.

Now that I was no more advising and had lost a good chunk of my clientele income needed to be compensated.

In my working with clients in financial planning, I had helped a few with buying and investing in real estate. Because of my people's skill, I had also managed to stay in touch with few brokers. After some thinking, I ventured into real estate. My work helped me see most of Thane so I had a good idea about localities and the price range for most of them.

The most important factor being there was no long term commitment. Once a deal is done very little was left to do. Slowly and steadily I learned the finer details of this new business and was doing okay. Because of good work I started getting referrals and there was no looking back :)

Even today I do real estate business but now it is very exclusive. I only take an assignment if it comes with a recommendation. I have helped my clients buy properties in as far areas as Bangalore, Pune, and Hyderabad.

The most cherished client of mine is Mr. Amitava Banerjee. He was referred to me by his colleague when he first time-shifted to Mumbai. I helped him find exactly what he was looking for. He liked me so much so that when he was transferred to Pune he insisted that I find property for him in Pune. I did not disappoint him even this time. Now he is again in Mumbai and this new property is again something which I helped him with :)

He has already told me that he wishes to buy a house here within the next two years and I have to help him with that too :)

Such good clients and referrals coming my way I am the most happiest person :)

My sabbatical from financial planning lasted for about 4 years. Now I am back into financial planning and all my clients who stood with me in my turbulent times are still with me and most them say we knew you would come back :)

Financial planning is your forte and you are good at it, you should have never left it. All I can say is each phase comes with its blessings. The lessons I learned passing through that phase taught me one of the most important lessons.

What was that lesson and what price I paid to learn that is something which I will share soon. Stay tuned for one more post on this series "From My Diary - Choices I made #6"

"From My Diary - Choices I made #6" I will share about various other short term jobs I did and what each of it taught me.
Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my story. If you have something similar experience and wish to share your story with me do write to me at "nilesharma@gmail.com" I will be happy to read and respond to it.

Happy Day :)

With this post, I am taking my blog to the next level with #MyFriendAlexa Season 4 as #nilesharmaawrites for #BlogChatter

Ever-expanding horizons

I started blogging in September 2016, and then I had no idea what to expect. But then I also live by the philosophy of doing things without expectations. And as always the rewards I reaped were beyond imagination.

My journey to blogging started with blogger (blog-spot). I used to write posts as and when I felt like and that's it. I hardly read posts from any other bloggers. This continued for a long time. Writing brought a sense of fulfillment to me and so I focussed more on it. But then as they say to be a good writer you first have to be a good reader. So I started exploring the web to find other bloggers and what they write.

It was then that I came across IndiBlogger. I found that this is where most of the bloggers upload their content. I registered my self on IndiBlogger and started submitting my posts here. My blog's viewership reached out to more people. They read my posts and shared their thoughts. This gave me the opportunity to visit their sites and read their content.

I discovered that many of them used WordPress instead of blog-spot. I created my account on WordPress and did some experimenting before I migrated from blog-spot to WordPress.
The transition was good and more rewarding. With Indiblogger I could only read Indian bloggers content but WordPress gave me exposure to the global audience :)

Add caption

As reading increased newer discoveries came along and one such was BlogChatter. BlogChatter became my platform for Book Reviews. I have written two book reviews so far and this led to the addition of one more category to my blog "Reviews".

Here is the link to the Book Reviews I have written for BlogChatter "Book Review Program"

Book Review~ Missing Presumed Dead (Kiran Manral)

Book Review~ NOBODY'S CHILD (Kanchana Banerjee)

One of my well-wishers asked if I would be interested in participating in #MyFriendAlexa Season 4 campaign. I asked what it is all about and she explained to me all about it. I enrolled for the campaign and voila am I happy :)

Source~ Google Images

Why???

In addition to the blogs I follow now I am also able to read at least 8 more new blogs about which I had no idea. So yes I am now reading much more than I used to do earlier. Making news friends sharing notes and suggestions. This community has given me so much more and is helping me learn more and know more about so many things.

My gratitude and thanks to all of you who have supported and motivated me to write more. Special thanks to all who have helped me improvise my writing skills and language and for suggesting tools to keep in check grammatical mistakes. Aesthetics of this blog site could also be enhanced only because of keen observation and constructive feedback from one fellow blogger and for this, I will ever remain grateful.

Blogging has not only helped me share my experience but has also enriched me from the collective experience of all the fellow bloggers who share their stories and work.

I intend to take my blog to the next level with #MyFriendAlexa Season 4 organized by #BlogChatter

Until then...

Let days of togetherness

And all the beautiful moments

Once you shared

Serve as fond memories

From what you had.

And the pain and heartache

They gifted you

Be the learning lessons

From the journey

In your search ahead.

Let no amount of setbacks

Crush your dream of love

Love will come finding you,

The one you truly deserve,

If and only if

“YOU”

Believe in Love.

Until then

Just hang in there

From My Diary - Choices I made ~ #2

This is the second post on the series "From My Diary - Choices I Made" 

In my earlier post on this series I wrote about my first professional choice. If you haven't read it by now please read "From My Diary - Choices I Made ~ #1

After I resigned from my first job and there after finishing graduation, I was now out looking for a job.

I applied for the post of 'Medical Representative' and got selected as one for a major Pharmaceuticals company named "Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited"

By the way here is a confession I wish to make,  I never wanted to be an MR (Medical Representative), but here I was starting my work as an MR. Why?

Because the money seemed good, it was a field job, the company was well known and besides image of MR's looked nice. well groomed with Tie and shoes, meeting Doctors, first class travel everything seemed good.

I was always good with communication and people (that is what all said) so getting in tune with my new job profile was not a problem.

The job involved meeting Doctors, reminding them of our existing brands and briefing on new launches, and finally asking them to prescribe my company product.

To ensure that the prescriptions were honored, ensuring the availability of stocks at pharmacy store was also vital.

During the course of job I learned the difference between a General Practitioner (GP) and a Specialists and super Specialists. Up until then, doctor was a doctor. I soon got to know the various kinds of doctors and their relevant degrees and line of specialty.

The two things which I was not very comfortable with were the samples that we used to get and the morning and evening doctors calls.

As it is the homes in Mumbai are not very spacious and in that, to make an extra room for samples was something I did not like.

Also their should be continuity in the flow of  working hours. But then  since most of the doctors would meet only during mornings or evening hours depending upon there convenience or patients, we had no choice but to meet them whenever they allowed us.

Besides these two things I loved my work :)

I guess I was the only person in my company at least, who did the least number of evening calls.

It was over two years now on the job , when one day sometime in August or September 2001 ( I do not remember exact date now) my then Regional Manager (RM) Mr. Himanshu Desai came to work with me.

Mr. Himanshu had a very dashing personality and I remember asking him why he did not go into modelling ;)

Mr. Himanshu was the one who took my final interview during selection process.

He was to meet me at 10:30 am at Mulund station near platform no. 1 indicator. I was there before time but he came only after 11:00 am . After exchanging greetings the first thing he told me was this:
"I have heard lot of things about you and that has not portrayed a very good image of you." 

• You do not do evenings,
• Do not meet VIP doctors enough
• Only do the prescribed 10-12 calls
• Do time pass with girls, etc

Now what I could have said to all this as some of them was true. Well I always believed in smart working so as required was doing the prescribed number of doctors. VIP's I did not concentrate much was, because according to me they already had reached their saturation of prescribing the number of prescriptions for me. I instead believed in catching hold of new doctors. I used to meet them when no one else went to see them, because of this I not only developed great rapport with them easily but they were the first to prescribe my product first. As far as girls were considered, we had very few females working in this industry then and because of my easy going attitude they found it easy to talk to me. That does not mean I only talked to girls in fact my core group of friends were all males and we still meet as and when we can even to this date.

Anyway with the impression my RM had for me, we went on to work. We did few doctor calls, chemists visit and lot of waiting in between calls.

By the time it was 2:30 pm we manged to do about 10 calls. which included 3 VIP doctor calls

We went for lunch and it was then what he said made my day :)

He said,  "Nilesh I have been working with you today and I saw your style of working. You have great rapport with your doctors, the prescriptions are coming, the stocks is available at the medical store and your equation with your colleagues too is great. I must say I will have to change mu opinion about you"

Before he left for the day he said, Nilesh you work smart and I like the way you work, I want you to be an FM (Field Manger) start preparations for interview this coming March.

Now what do I say to that :)

So did I go for the Field Managers interview???

"NOPE", I did not.

Before it happened, I had already made up my mind to resign from my job.

Now why did I do that??

Well, after working for more than 4 years under someone else, I realized I was not cut out for a job. I did not liked to be answerable to anybody, nor was I interested in chasing  the numbers the so called big targets. I wanted to do my work my way as per my convenience. But above all, the most important thing which inspired and motivated me to resign was this simple logic :
" If I worked  even half of  what I did here for myself, I will end up making more money, and that too with less working hours "

I resigned in the month of October 2001, to venture in to a totally different industry of which I knew nothing except for the fact that I wanted to be a "SELF- EMPLOYED"

The job as an MR at Torrent pharma was good, money was good, company was good too, but yet again I wanted more, and this time too everybody in my circle and knowing advised me against leaving the job. 

My field manager even went to the extend of saying that I could choose to do both, work at your thing as part-time. What if  it did not workout as you think, at least with job financial security is there?

Yes the risk was there, but then I had read and  heard a lot and knew the "Risk of not taking the Risk" 

Was this next "CHOICE" which I made then was worth the risk I took?

To find out do follow or subscribe for my next blog-post "From My Diary - Choices I Made ~ #3" coming out soon...

What do you think about the choices I made in my this series so far ? Have you made any such choices which led to greater gains or did they ended up giving pain ?

Do write and share with me your story. You may drop a comment or write to me as an email on "nilesharma@gmail.com"

You may also ask me for any guidance and help if you need and feel that I can contribute with. I will be more than happy to help you if I  can ,from my rich and diverse experience.

Happy day :)

Book Review: 26 Days 26 Ways for a happier You (Priyanka Nair)

Book Review

Cover Page of the E-Book

Book Name: 26 Days 26 Ways for a happier you (An A to Z guide to Self- Help and Self - Awareness)
Author: Priyanka Nair
Genre: Self help
Pages: 72

Review: 
The book offers its reader a chance to amend the ways of dealing with self, people, relationships and our emotions.

As the name goes the book offers 26 insights into various aspects of life which affect our mental health, relationships and  above all our self esteem and confidence.

Topics like Acceptance, Letting go, Negativity, Stop Pleasing and many more which often some find difficult to overcome are beautifully dealt with and written about.

The Book not only talks about the issues but also gives practically tried and tested solutions as it comes from Priyanka's (Author) own life experiences.

At several instances Priyanka has very beautifully used idioms and quotes to put her point and perspective across for the readers.

The easy flow of words and simple language makes it a smooth read powered with loads of impact.

I have been through the same set of experiences and learned a lot from my own experience, back then knowledge by way of internet and social media was not within reach of most as can be seen now.

This E- book can be your source of learning and inspiration to avoid the pitfalls and/ or come out of them using Priyanka's Wisdom as a guiding star someone else's Wisdom force.

Why read this book?
Each day brings with it challenges and opportunities, but seldom do all focus only on opportunities. Instead all the attention stays on the hardships and the struggle that each  life comes with. We all have a choice to to design our destiny. I have shared one such in my earlier post "From My Diary- Choices I made ~ #1

This book offers you all the simple key to unlock the gates of opportunities and perspective you never might have thought of. This book comes handy by way of its 26 ways to take charge of your life and design your own destiny the way you always wanted.

About Author:
Priyanka Nair is a full time blogger and a Vlogger now. Before venturing into the world of blogging which according to her is her "Happy Space" she worked with various multinationals for over eight years.

Priyanka battled with depression during her critical illness and it was during those days she got the time to introspect and analyse her life and then decided to take charge of herself and had to take some tough decisions to make amends in her life and come out as a survivor.

From her interactions on people through her blogs Priyanka realzed that their are lot of people who are in the same boat as she once was in, so she actively started sharing her story and this helped people thus contributing towards the betterment of people and society in general.

She got so involved that she got motivated to acquire a skill set in tthe field of Mental awareness that Priyanka is now also pursuing her Doctorate in Pscychology.

To know more and connect with Priyanka choose your preferred medium from any one or all of the below:

Blog: https://priyankaspen.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VirtualSiyahi/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/VirtualSiyahi

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/virtual_siyahi/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/priyanka2323

Rush and get in touch NOW with Priyanka Nair to grab your free copy of her e-Book "26 Days 26 Ways for happier you" (limited period offer)

Do read her book and share your feedback and comments with us. If you like it please share and subscribe for more

Happy day :)

Fun Movie with a Dose of Inspiration

Mostly all of us love to watch movies, isn't it?

And the best thing about movies is that everyone gets to choose their pick of genres (Comedy, Romance, Thriller, Sci-Fi, Horror, Inspirational, Musical etc...)

Like many other blissful things in life I also enjoy the liberty of  watching movies usually at least 3-4 in a week :) some times one every day ;)

For some it may look like a waste of time but the way I see it, every movie has something to teach us. They can be looked as a package which is filled with loads of drama and emotions, sometimes joy of songs and dance, fun element by way of comedy, some fight sequence here or a murder or mystery there, and romance ....but above all they all comes with some sort of message.

Today I am writing about one such movie (A Real Life Story) which is not only fun to watch but comes with loads of  "Dose of Motivation"

Plot of the Movie
It is a story about a old man Burt Munro (Anthony Hopkins) who lived in a  village named Invercargill in New Zealand.

Anthony Hopkins as 'Burt Munro'

He is very passionate about motorcycling and speed. He has a 1920 Indian Scout which he modifies in his workshop such that the bike which was designed for a speed of 55 mph  touches a recorded speed of 205 mph. Not only this he simultaneously also worked on increasing the capacity of the bike from 600cc initially to 950cc.

The Bike - Indian Scout

He is retired and does not have much money on him, but over a period of time manages to save enough to head to USA to fulfill his dreams. He boards a ship from New Zealand with his bike in the ships cargo to go to USA. He is travelling on n tight budget so takes on to cooks meals aboard for the shippy's

Here I come America

On his way he comes across number of amazing people who helps him reach his destination, And yes he also happens to meet a lover for a very brief time ;)

Finally he reaches his dream destination " The Salt Flats of Bonneville

Bonneville Salt Flats

Here he meets Jim Moffet (Christopher Lawford) who is also a bike enthusiast and they become friends. Jim finds it amazing to learn that Burt has come for speed landing and helps him get through the process of participation for speed landing at Bonneville Salt Flats.

The Friend and supporter- Jim Moffet

Once at Bonneville and after lot of convincing and coercing the panelists at Bonneville speed landing allows Burt to give a chance, but they first needs to know if the bike is good enough to qualify for the speeding.

Heading for trial run on the Salt Flats

During the trial run Burt realizes that his bike needs some modifications and fine tuning. He makes the necessary changes with his other two friends whom he also meets while in Bonneville. Before he gets back on to the track he wants to test ride his bike so goes for a ride to Nevada where their is no restriction on speed limit. While he was speed riding a police officer coming from the opposite side of the road notices him and comes after him. He chases Burt with the police siren on and Burt pulls over to side of the road. He asks him the reason for his speeding and Burt explains why he was doing so.

Burt pulls over his car for the Police Officer

After his episode with the Police officer and convinced that is bike is good to go for the speed run Burt reports to the Bonneville Slat Flats speed tracks the following morning. He is greeted by supporters gathered there who had seen him the other day when he did the trial run to qualify for participation.

As he starts his bike on the track everybody stands there holding there breath and praying for Burt's well being more than anything else. The announcers are keeping track of his bike run progress and are reporting it live as Burt is riding and speeding up with each passing LAP.

Announcers at Bonneville Salt Flats 

If you liked what you read so far, I am sure you would like to know more... as in What happens to Burt?  Does he makes it through the highest speed? What about his bike from 1920 which he modified and is running on the Salt Flats of Bonneville in 1967 (almost 47 years after its manufacturing) ? What are the lessons and what made me choose this movie as a source of motivation and inspiration?

Answers to all of the above (and many more questions which are coming up in your mind) see this brilliantly made movie made on the life of Burt Munro who followed his dream with sheer grit and determination and passionately worked on his bike to achieve the feat which most in his age ( and otherwise) won't even dare to think of .

Trailer of the movie - The Worlds Fastest Indian
I present to you a glimpse of the movie through its trailer below.

The Worlds Fastest Indian (2005)

Click here >>> for the Cast & Crew of "THE WORLDS FASTEST INDIAN"

I hope you will enjoy this movie as much as I enjoyed and share your experience and learning's from this movie with me soon enough.

If you enjoyed this post of mine do like and share it .

Your comments will help me understand if I should bring more of such motivating and fun movies for you all.

Thank you all  for your valuable time, have a happy day :)

From My Diary - Choices I Made ~ #1

Life is all about making choices at every juncture...isn't it ?

Like you all I too have had made many choices in my life some of it turned in my favor yet some were not. Yes that's how it is with all of us, won't you agree?

Today here I wish to mention about one such choice I made about twenty years ago. Rather my life's first major choice.

I was working then for a commissioning agent firm "Sai UnicornGroup of Companies" which back in year 1995 was offering its services primarily in FMCG markets for defense sector. Now it has come up with its own brands and has emerged as one of the  market leaders in retail markets.

I was one of the best performing employees and was the only one in the firm who got five increments (Yes you read it right) five increments within a very short span of service of  about two years with them. 

I had joined the firm in order to help my family financially. 

The thing was that my father was a Government employee ( an honest one, of which I am very proud of). During that time he was posted in B D Bari (Jammu) and we were at Mumbai. 

We had bought a modest one bedroom apartment in suburbs of Mumbai and his salary was not enough to support the expenses of two houses (he being posted at  B D Bari & we staying here in Mumbai) and the EMI of our new house.

Being the eldest one I took upon myself the responsibility of doing something about it  I decided that I would do anything I can to help my family get through this, and thus came into this job at Thane.

The salary was okay but the profile was good and the bonus was that it gave me the opportunity to travel to all the major cities of India. The only catch was that back then I was a student, pursuing my graduation in science stream and this job kept me from attending science practicals, and hence I discontinued my studies then.

I really wanted to do study, but  for me it was not my priority at that point of time of my life. My priority was to help my family through those financially troubled times. 

I am a living example of this famous Quote

I had not read the book nor was I aware of this very famous quote by world renowned author "Paulo Coelho" from his famed book "The Alchemist" (which was apparently also used later in one of the blockbuster Bollywood movies "Om Shanti Om" ) 

Now when I look back something similar happened with me. Yes I very much wanted to study and at least finish my graduation and so it happened :)

It was year 1998 when the Fifth pay commission was announced and when it came into affect I got the opportunity to go back to my studies. The increase in my father's pay scale almost compensated my salary :)

I decided to quit my job and carry on with my studies after a gap of almost two years. But the decision was not easy, why? Because during those times I was making good money. Better than some of the graduates I knew. 

I was my Boss's favorite so he did not want me to resign. He tried all he could to keep me. He proposed to me a very tempting offer, which not only would have been good for my pocket, but he also offered me a designation of "National Sales Head" with several other perks which included company provided vehicle.

When I talked about this with the people at home and my fiends and some of their parents, they all advised me to continue with my job. They all said I would be a fool to let go such a great opportunity in order to fulfill my dream of completing the graduation, which gave no guarantee of a job. in future.

What they said did made sense at some level but somehow I was not feeling right about it. 

The choice was difficult for me then. At one side I had a job which most would have wanted and on other I had my desire to complete graduation which came with no promises. 

I chose to let go of that opportunity and followed my heart . 

I resumed college, finished my graduation. Worked in corporate culture with one of the biggest names in pharma industry, and later in 2001 came up with yet another situation similar to this...

What happened, what was this new job and what were my circumstances and choices then....

to find out do come back to read my next phase of life story...

Till then read my other posts and if you like them do share and subscribe. And if there is any thing you want to suggest or ask please drop your comments in the comments section at the end of this post and I will revert to them as soon as I can.

Thank you for droping by and reading this post :)

Have an amazingly Happy time !!!