Six degrees of separation...

The first time I heard about the concept of ‘The six degrees of separation’ was soon after I joined Facebook. A friend had sent the ‘Six Degrees’ Facebook application which calculates the distance between people on the network. As I disliked having lots of applications on my profile, I did not accept it, but read up on ‘Six degrees of Separation’. It states that everyone in the world on an average are separated from everyone else through six other people. Being the ‘die hard’ Bon Jovi fan that I am, I remember thinking, hmmm… I wonder if I can connect to him in six levels…

Just yesterday as I was chatting to a colleague I found out that yes I could! Turned out that the son of another colleague knows Bon Jovi’s eldest daughter Stephanie as they attend the same school!!! So that means I’m connected to Bon Jovi in 4 levels!

When she mentioned it, I just thought, wow the world really is growing smaller! With many of us having travelled on studies or work or at least knowing others who have travelled all over the world it’s turning into one big global village day by day.

With the advent of social networking tools such as Facebook, twitter and linkedIn and Skype it’s easier than ever to keep in touch across the miles too… the physical distance between people is getting less and less relevant, after returning back to Sri Lanka and moving to our own house (more on my new home and work on a later post) we still have not been to see our neighbors due to busy schedules, but have managed to at least send a message or email to most of my friends in Switzerland and Cambridge. I know more about my friends on FB living it different countries than about my aunties or uncles in SL who are not on FB!

I have over 600 friends on FB and on linkedIn 250 direct connections with over 3 million connections 3 degrees away. At this rate it does sound like I can connect to anyone in the world (at least the part of the world that is online) if I were to look at 6 degrees away! Of course this wouldn’t work with the many people living in isolated or rural areas, who haven’t had the opportunity or the interest in travelling outside their towns, and who may not know many people. But for many others, even if they have not travelled, they would know someone who has, and can be connected to that person’s network.

What I've also come to realise  is that even these social networks, friendships across the miles all run on the basic principles of any relationship, you need to give before you can expect to receive.  You have to be a connector yourself, when others need help, and then often help comes your way when you need it. Whether in person or across the miles, lasting relationships are all about keeping in touch and being interested in the other person, its not only about you... For me this network has been invaluable in my last few vagabond years, from putting me in touch with people in cities I’ve visited, to giving job advice or forwarding CVs when I was searching for a job. When I first went to Geneva I stayed with a couple introduced through my father's friends friend.  Another cool fact is considering how we can connect to almost anyone if we go through a few degrees is that someone in your network is bound to know something about anything you can think of!

Seeing the glass half full...

Since the day I arrived in Sri Lanka the most common question I have had to answer is ‘Is it difficult adjusting back to Sri Lanka after staying for four years in Switzerland?’ or ‘You must be missing Switzerland a lot'. My reply is always, it's your attitude towards the location rather than the specific place. Of course if you are in a place where you don't have the basic necessities like food, or water, then its a different fact all together, but as long as you have the basic necessities and try to make the most of life, it does not matter where you're located.

Everywhere you go there will be wonderful things and problems it’s upto us to focus on the good and ignore, or try to change the negatives whenever it is in our power. It was the same even when I left Cambridge, though I thought I would miss it, after I came back to Sri Lanka I loved being back home. Again it was the same when I went to Switzerland; I really enjoyed the experience as you would already have seen from my earlier posts even though many people called it a boring sleepy town. I loved the mountains in the distance, the amazingly efficient transport system, and meeting all those wonderful people from all over the world, not forgetting the chocolates of course. Now the same people ask me how can I leave such a wonderful developed country and come back home? Its the usual 'grass is greener on the other side' syndrome... 

I tell them, that in Sri Lanka I love spending time with friends and family, I like the fact that I don't have to wear layers every time I want to go out, understanding what people say and being able to get things done and seeing the beautiful beaches everyday, and I like to think that I can be part of the development of this lovely Island that has been ravaged by war for over 30 years! Sure I can think of thousands of annoyances here too, but not dwelling too much on them is the secret to stay happy.

I think its similar with people too, no one is perfect, but then no one is all bad either, most of the time there's good and bad in all people, so in order to enrich your relationships it is important to focus on the good, and if it would help, try to give feedback in a constructive manner, to help the person improve. 

This post also ties back to my earlier post on Stopping the spread of negativity. It's important to realise that there are problems, and try to improve them if possible, and if not ignore them and focus on the positive sideof life. So I'll end this post with my favourite 'Serenity Prayer'.

God grant me the serenity 
to accept the things I cannot change; 
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time;
Enjoying one moment at a time;
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;
Taking, as He did, this sinful world
as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy with Him
Forever in the next.
Amen.

--Reinhold Niebuhr

Were the good old days really that much better?

I often hear older aunts and uncles say how ‘In the good old days morals were much better, or the world was less materialistic…etc.’

While we see terrorism and murders and rape in the newspapers every day, there are also lot of young people getting involved in social services and trying to make the world a better place. Unfortunately the virtuous acts of people are not as news worthy as the ‘horror stories’ and so we continue to only hear about how the world is getting worse each day.

So in this blog post I thought of highlighting some amazing young people who have come up with creative ways of helping each other. Most of these are students or normal people like you and me. While there is also a trend of famous millionaires and celebrities such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Matt Damon, Bon Jovi establishing their own Not-for-profit (NFP) organisations, I will not go into those which get enough publicity but just mention a few examples of youngsters trying to improve the world even if it is in their own small way.

 Just yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the final presentations of undergrad students for their subject on team work. The assignment was to work in teams and achieve something larger than themselves. I was very touched by the dedication and creativity of these students. One group worked with the residents at Sahanaya (National Council for Mental Health) where they conducted art therapy classes with the residents who were given materials to make Christmas cards and then these cards were sold to raise funds for the organisation. Another group worked with a very poor school to buy them books, another worked on empowering young girls by teaching life skills, and yet another decided to help the cleaning ladies of their own university. At the end of the session most of the students said that at the beginning they worked on these projects in order to get the marks, but at the end they were so moved by the project that they wanted to continue the work they started even after the end of the project.

Another young group of students trying to make a difference from the University of Colombo have come up with their own organisation, Empower Lanka.  Their mission is to provide free electricity for rural villages to help them break out of the poverty cycle and to reduce Sri Lanka's carbon emissions. This organisation was supported by ‘GlobalChange Makers’ a vibrant community of young activists, volunteers and social entrepreneurs. The Global Change Makers community activists and social entrepreneurs aged 16-25 who are actively bringing about positive change with the support of the British Council.

Even in MBAs subjects on philanthropy and social entrepreneurship have become more popular. When I was in Cambridge (2006/07), we had an elective on social entrepreneurship but it was cancelled due to lack of students, but now subjects on these areas seem to be much more popular in most MBA schools. Here is an article from Business Weekly on the subject http://www.businessweek.com/business-schools/philanthropy-gains-eager-followers-in-bschools-08172011.html.

Cambridge University has started a new venture called Beyond Profit in their own words the mission of Beyond Profit is to inspire and support students to make the world a better place through their career or through entrepreneurship. 

Another example of young students using technology and web 2.0 in tackling the world’s major issues is End Ignorance. It is a collaborative non-profit online platform that addresses today’s most pressing issues ranging from extreme poverty to genocide by informing individuals and providing easy access to opportunities to get involved. The content is written collaboratively by volunteers around the world and it has a similar concept as Wikipedia.

Maybe the youth of today want to do something larger than themselves, or maybe after the Financial crisis they realised the temporary nature of material things and thought of doing something more… or looking for their purpose in life, in a world where religion and spirituality seems to be disappearing… With the advent of the internet and web 2.0 privileged youngsters also have the opportunity to learn more about what is happening outside their ‘happy homes’. Whatever the reason there is hope for the future… So I don’t think the ‘good old days were better than today’.

Circle of Life

After over a year away, I decided to visit my second (now my third!) home Cambridge, to catch up my old friends last weekend. I found the experience very different when going back on a vacation while earning compared to the starving student experience! It was wonderful meeting my old friends who were still in Cambridge, some continuing their phds while others working. Just thought of including a few pics here.

I even managed to squeeze in a performance of the Lion King at the west end during very short visit of 4 days (next time it will be atleast a week!). The Lion King was simply amazing (or brilliant as the Brits say). I loved the costumes the music, the singing and the dancing! From a distance, you could barely see the people acting, but the animals, and their movement was so graceful and fluid it really felt like being in a jungle. This is a clip of one of my favorite songs, you can see the way they have depicted the animals, they look real! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utq8oft7btQ&NR=1

I also loved the theme of Circle of Life… How we are all part of the one circle of life, and how we have to take care of each other in order to take care of ourselves…King Mufasa, gives his son some really good advice “Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance. As king, you need to understand that balance and respect all the creatures, from the crawling ant to the leaping antelope.”

I guess if we humans respected and lived according to this advice from the beginning we wouldn’t be having Global Warming, or the fear of extinction of some animals, or fossil fuel shortages. I think that now it’s time to respect the nature and remember that we’re all part of a delicate balance. Of course we need to use energy and fuels, and water, and all other resources, but what’s important is to use them sustainably, and to avoid wastage, and hopefully our children will still have a world to live in… This reminded me of the famous letter by Chief Seattle and would like to finish this post with his words…

This we know: The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. All things are connected like the blood which unites us all. Man did not weave the web of life, he is merely a strand in it. Whatever he does to the web, he does to himself.

My Graduation

On the 7th May I went back to lovely Cambridge for my graduation ceremony. It was lovely being back, almost like going back to my 2nd home (will be 3rd soon!) Especially meeting up with old friends was great and the weather was simply perfect, I unfortunately didn't have enough summer clothes as I was expecting it to be the way it was last year; all grey and rainy. We went around in our gowns and hoods following the traditions that have remained unchanged for over 800 years.

These days have been extremely hectic, with the graduation (as back in SL by the 13th morning) and of course getting everything ready for the move to Switzerland and of course the farewells...

Some of the pics of the graduation are below...

A Year that will last a life time...

Today is the last day of this year and looking back I think last year is the one year that I will never forget for as long as I live...

'A year that will last you a lifetime' is the tag line used in the Judge Business School, Cambridge brochure and I see how true it is... Spending a year in Cambridge was unbelievable! Now I can count Sir Isaac Newton and Lord Tennyson as my fellow alumni!!!

The people I met were amazing, from so many different nationalities and backgrounds. I learnt so much last year, both in the class room and outside and I feel that I really matured as a person. My view of the world has changed in a major way, this experience has really broadened my outlook. I learnt to see the world through different eyes, no longer do I assume the stereotypical characteristics just because someone is from a particular country. Working with the Global Fund in Geneva was also a wonderful experience, I had always wanted to work as part of the UN. I thought of sharing a video made by one of my class mates with photos of the whole class, and our special moments last year...
Cambridge MBA Highlights 2006/2007

As if that wasn't enough, Who would have thought I'll get the opportunity to see my all time fav band Bon Jovi perform live (I still have to pinch myself to make sure it was not just a dream), or go Paragliding in Switzerland, or ride dodgem cars in a ball dress or go to Paris and visit the Louvre! I feel so blessed, like the lyrics of the Take That song 'Never Forget' this really could be someone else' dream!

This year I hope to continue living life to the fullest and to do my bit to make this world a better place...

I would just like to end this post by wishing you and your families a wonderful New Year during which all your dreams will come true!

I Love this town...

I just bought the Bon Jovi album Lost Highway and the song 'I love this town' hit close to home cos I'll be leaving Cambridge soon, and I do love this town there are some words which stick in my head.

I always knew, that I'd like this place
You don't have to look too far,to find a friendly face
I feel alive when I'm walkin' on the street
I feel the heart of the citypoundin' underneath my feet

Yeahhhhh let the world keep spinnin round 'n' round
This is where it's goin' down, down, down
That's why I, love this town
That's why I, keep co-min' round
Say hey (say hey) say yeah (say yeah)
You make me feel at home some how, right, now
That's why I, love this town

I've got some good friends here, I might have broke a heart or two
It's gettin' loud over there, they boys must have had a few
And hey the cop on the corner, he knows everybody's name
And a kid with a train singin' forsome spare loose change

One of the things that I love about Cambridge is the historical significance of all the buildings and how whenever you pass a building there’s a wonderful story behind it, like the famous Eagle pub where we meet up often which was the place where Crick and Watson announced the finding of the DNA to the public. Then there's Newton’s famous apple tree (actually a descendant from it) on Trinity Street which I would pass each day on my way home from the University.

I'll also miss my friends, but will be coming back in May next year for my Graduation.

Preparations for the MBA

Well I was pleasantly surprised to see the amount of preparation done by the Cambridge MBA admissions committee even before we start the course, and the opportunity to get to know my fellow MBAers on-line is great cos already I know who I’ll be studying with. (at least by name.) Ofcourse when I see their profiles I feel a bit intimidated, cos most of them have been working in major multi nationals for many years compared to my 2 years in a local Telco…

My future batch mates sound pretty cool. We’ve even discussed about meeting informally before the course officially starts on the 18th Sep 2006 and about Pub Nights and Salsa Nights! I’m really starting to look forward to meeting all these people from so many different countries and backgrounds. I guess the fact that I’ll be leaving behind everything I know for years hasn’t really sunk in yet… (or maybe I’m just over dramatizing things, after all with the advances of technology and software like Skype, I am not only able to talk to but also see my friends and family from across the world :0) )

Another group that has got kick-started is the JBS (Judge Business School) Careers team who are already getting us to read and think about the kind of career that we’d like to do after the MBA. I’m totally clueless here. One of the reasons that I wanted to do an MBA was because it would open up so many doors for me…

To give us insight into our likes and dislikes as well as strengths and weaknesses, the JBS Careers team had given us access to CareerLeader®, a comprehensive business career development tool (as they called it!). I found it’s assessment of me pretty thought provoking… The accuracy of career leader is ofcourse questionable, considering that there are questions which ask me to identify my own strengths and weaknesses. (Usually we all tend to see our selves as better than we actually are and don’t always see all the weaknesses in us)

According to CareerLeader I have core elements of business work
· Counseling and Mentoring
· Theory Development and Conceptual Thinking

You are strongly interested in Counseling and Mentoring, one of the elemental activities in business work. You enjoy developing relationships -- and people -- and view this activity as an integral part of business work. A strong interest in Counseling and Mentoring is often expressed through a desire to manage groups and lead teams. The emphasis is more on the "people management" side of things than on managing processes, projects, or strategy.

You also have a notable level of interest in Theory Development and Conceptual Thinking, one of the fundamental activities in business work. Whether as a business professional or aspiring businessperson, you enjoy solving business problems through conceptual approaches, exploring abstract ideas and the "what ifs" of a business or industry, and considering broad economic and social trends.

The jobs suggested were, Management Consultancy, HRM, and Non Profit Sector. Hmmm funnily enough it didn’t mention anything about engineering or technology. I Wonder whether that’s cos the tool doesn’t work properly or cos I’m not a techie at heart…

Anyway I have been interested in Management Consultancy for some time now and would love to get into that sector after the MBA. One thing with Sri Lanka is that usually we’re not exposed to careers paths such as these and everyone is expected to fit into ‘doctor’, ‘engineer’, ‘accountant’ or ‘lawyer’ roles and if you’ve chosen one you’re not supposed to change it. So if I venture into a non techie field it would be considered a waste of my education. I don’t see it that way cos I believe that even if I don’t use the techie knowledge directly the analytical skills that I learnt will not go wasted. I’m looking forward to trying out unconventional fields.