If there is one thing that we can all learn from Stephen Curry – he didn’t have the height or the wing span or the physique that the NBA demanded but he had the work ethic and determination to surpass whichever team was put forward in front of him. He is a true student of the game of the basketball and he completely changed the game of basketball. He changed the way today’s NBA offenses function, changed the way kids want to play ball. Steph went on from being a “David” who shot long range 3 pointers early during his career to “Goliath” with back to back MVPs and becoming the only unanimous MVP in the history of NBA.

A lot of NBA fans don’t understand the impact Steph has when he is on the court – it feels like what Curry does has become so routine that it is taken for granted and everyone has become numb to the genius of it all. SC30 is the best offensive player and the greatest shooter to ever play the game of basketball – Curry isn’t just a “spot-up shooter”, isn’t just a “come of a screen shooter“, isn’t just an “off the dribble shooter“, isn’t just an “off balanced shooter” – he’s all of them. The game changes with each generation – Larry Bird and Magic Johnson from the 80s, Michael Jordan from the 90s, Shaq, Kobe and Tim Duncan from the 2000s, Lebron James and Steph Curry in the last decade.

To understand the way the game of basketball changed, teams now prefer guards over centers, teams now have a small ball line ups over the traditional line ups, teams now play position-less basketball over the conventional style. The Warriors brought back life to position-less basketball by doing these – spacing the floor without any isolation plays, good ball movement by sharing the ball, playing motion offense with everyone passing, dribbling and shooting the ball. It happened because the Warriors had SC30. Before this, NBA has been dominated by pick and roll offense but now everything changed.

Kenny Smith had a great quote – Stephen Curry is the Michael Jordan of this era without dunking the basketball. The impact MJ had during the 90s is same as the impact Steph had during the last decade (Fun Fact: Older people will never agree to this). Combine Ray Allen’s/Reggie Miller’s shooting, John Stockton’s passing, Steve Nash’s selflessness, Magic Johnson’s versatility and Lebron’s all round team impact – we get Stephen Curry. Obviously he does what he does offensively but he doesn’t get enough credit for the defensive end of the game. He gets his hands on passes, deflects the ball and contributes defensively through steals.

I became a fan of Steph’s game and was fascinated by the selflessness and the leadership qualities he showed to get the Warriors to where they are now. If someone asked me to say one sentence about Steph, I would say this (this is me trying a Stephen A Smith impersonation) – the brother can shoot the ball from the parking lot and is a future Hall of Famer.

Mark my words – Dub Nation will be back to the top in 2021.

• 

Recently, I read a story about Mann Kaur who is the world’s fastest centenarian. I had goosebumps when I read her story. She became such an inspiration that I decided to write something about her and derive some analogies from her story. Mann Kaur decided to become an athlete at the age of 93 (yes 93 is not a typo). Standing up at this age by itself is a tough ask for anyone and she started sprinting. At the age of 102, she won a gold medal at World Masters Athletics Championships (AKA Olympics for the elderly) in Spain. She completed her 100 meter race in 1 minute and 14 seconds. This does not stop here. She also ran 200M, 400M, participated in Javelin throw.

Just to shed some light, even Navy SEALs or military officers cannot preserve their mobility at this age. In my humble opinion, she should be the brand ambassador of Adidas since she epitomizes their tagline – “Impossible is nothing”. Some analogies from Mann Kaur’s life are as follows:

• Our bodies are capable of doing anything if we train our mind to do so.
• If we want to succeed as bad as we want to live, we will succeed.
• Age is indeed just a number.
• Self-discipline without talent can often achieve astounding results while the other way only leads to failures.
• It is never late to do the things that we love. The most important thing is to do the thing that we love.
• Passion, hard work and enthusiasm don’t regard the age.
• Do the right thing even when no one is watching.
• Do not do it for fame, do it for happiness.
• My favorite : Those who do not believe in magic will never find it.

Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Believe you can and you’re halfway there”. This mantra has helped me to be this optimistic and self-confident individual. When I was young, I wanted to ride a bicycle. I kept falling over and over. I was fed up and went to my dad and told him “I can’t do it”. He laughed and said, “Don’t think, just feel it”. I did not understand it at that time but years later, I can now relate to what he said.

Authenticity and good attitude are important to succeed. Self-celebration is actually a good thing that one can cultivate. Start by celebrating your flaws. This is critical because we often live in a sea of negativity and to find our worth, it is important to understand who we are. More often that not, people would tell us that we are not good enough. True story, I had someone tell me I ain’t good enough and I proved them wrong in the past and hoping to prove them wrong time and again in the future. Our greatest strength is our willpower. What matters most is what we think about ourselves. A combination of self belief and humility can redefine limits. Let us spread the greatness of Mann Kaur and take out valuable lessons from her life for our improvement.

Long live Mann Kaur, THE G.O.A.T.!

 

I never thought I would come out of my comfort zone. I was an average student, coming from a middle class family, studying from a good undergrad college. Travelling to the other part of the world was not in the cards for me initially. I always remained close to my family in Chennai (my city) and my experiences have been positive and top notch. I worked in a place where I loved my work and never thought of coming out of this comfort zone.

I applied to universities in the US for my grad degree after 4 years of working in Chennai, India. I was in a dilemma whether to quit job and do a Master’s degree. After much deliberation, I worked up my courage and signed for my Master’s degree in the US. Almost everything was different from what I was used to. Some basic things like commuting to grad school, shopping for groceries, eating at a restaurant were so unfamiliar.

But getting used to these differences were easier than I expected. Sometimes life throws a curve-ball at you. It is how we react to it that determines who we are. Sometimes the choices that we make may not be the best choice. For instance, I had an option to choose between research assistantship and an internship. I chose the latter. I realized (after a while) that the former option would have benefited me much better. But still, it was a choice that I made and I fully stand by it.

Every choice we make has an impact. It is important to question our choice before deciding on one – Are we aligning with our purpose or pushing against it? The person who makes the choice is the only one who knows the answer to it. All I wanted to convey is, sometimes the choice that we make would push us from our comfort zone. It is important to realize the impact of our choices and go with it even if it means moving away from the routine.

Am I better than the person that I was when I was in my comfort zone – Yes for sure. But did my choice help me succeed – Not until this point. There is still a long way to go. But I believe I have some wonderful life experiences which I wouldn’t have got if I had not decided to come out of my comfort zone. LIFE BEGINS AT THE END OF OUR COMFORT ZONE!!!

My internship is nearing its completion and as I look back on the 12 weeks here at Esri, I feel fulfilled and grateful for the experience. There is one thing that I observed at the Esri campus, people are so passionate about what they do. I am a firm believer of creating software and writing code that makes a positive impact in people’s lives. I was hired as a Student Intern for the ArcGIS Enterprise Data Store team and I loved the fact that something which I built would enhance the user experience of the existing software. Collaboration was one of the important skills that I gained during the internship. My mentor was very kind and he gave me a full-fledged project and asked me to design a solution for the project. Developing an application from scratch gave me freedom to be creative in the design and think through the user experience aspect of the application. I honestly did not have any GIS knowledge before the internship. Instead of seeing it as a disadvantage, I saw it as an opportunity to learn about GIS and understand how software built around GIS can create a huge impact.

This internship not only made me grow professionally, but it helped me grow personally as well. I approached this internship with an open mind and willingness to learn. Being open and honest as a person allowed me to connect with the other interns. Besides work, some of the interns played sand volleyball every Wednesday. We also hiked trails near Redlands during weekends. Hiking and playing games helped me know more about the other interns and their passions. Most of the interns stayed at the Grove Apartments and this really helped break the ice resulting in forming a close-knit group. Redlands is a unique location because it has mountains, lakes, beaches and deserts nearby. The Esri campus is also unique and beautiful. The 2 ponds at the campus were my favorite spots and I was one of few lucky interns to have a view of the pond right from my workspace.

One of the highlights of the internship was the User Conference. I spent the whole day meeting new people, attending tech sessions and learning about new technologies. The sheer effort that goes into the user conference is inspiring. The numbers speak for themselves – 1000+ sessions, 450+ hours of training, 300+ exhibitors and 18000+ participants. I have never experienced such an event before. It was an eye opener for me to understand the global impact of GIS and Esri’s role in making it happen. The other highlight was the Weekend of Innovation. The interns would form teams of 4 or 5 and work on solving real-world problems using GIS. This was a great opportunity not just to network but also to learn new products that Esri has built. My team wanted to have fun and do something for the local community during the hackathon. We ended up building MELA (Maps for Events, Leisure and Activities) which is a mobile app that provides real time updates about any pop-up events like food trucks, local band events, art workshops etc. It was also an opportunity for me to understand the perspective of a sales person or a designer. This multi-dimensional approach is necessary for building an application or a product (thinking like a user and not just like a designer or developer). This is a key takeaway from hackathon. Although we didn’t win any prize, I know I learned something important from it.

These are some of the traits that I learned during my internship based on observing people who are working here: teaching and learning, trusting and empowering, building and committing, giving and loving, leading and inspiring. I walk away from this internship not just with an awareness of GIS (which is new to me), but most importantly in knowing that my internship project would make a positive impact in people’s lives.

There is a famous saying – “Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you will land among the stars”. Sometimes we might get overawed by aiming for the moon. There is no point in carving out a boundary for us to achieve if we are intimidated by our goals. Sometimes shooting for the moon might be intimidating. None of us would accomplish it if we give ourselves boundaries. If you want to do it, just go ahead and put your fullest energy and effort in it and achieve it. Lose all the boundaries you have for yourself. Don’t get bogged down by adversity, failure, difficulty, hardship, suffering, disaster, affliction, sorrow, pain and trauma. Have determination to finish what you started.

I still remember the first time when I wrote an article, I was criticized for my poor writing. I had set myself few boundaries back then. I struggled to collate thoughts and pen them down as words. After few years, I wrote something which people liked and for the first time, I was proud of my writing. My mother was the strongest person that I ever know. She went through all suffering and pain (literally), yet she looked unscathed. My mother had a bad phase with her health. Though the circumstances seemed grim, she pressed on, determined to live. She proved that despite illness or difficulties, we can do all sorts of things in life. I just took a leaf out of her book and learnt that when you make your mind to want something, you go for it and do it.

There is nothing impossible if one believes in it. I felt a twinge in my chest every time I failed and it broke my heart. But I knew it would not determine my future. When life says “no” to you, ask yourself what you are capable of. Everyone has potential. We need to realize that it isn’t achieved overnight. It needs passion, tenacity and purposefulness. Real change can happen. All you have to do is think about something, put your mind to it and believe with all your heart. Let’s give it all we got to achieve what we wanted. Focus on letting go of the things, people and mindset that holds you back. Focus on your goals and people who helps you achieve it. Go for it.

 

Happiness is to appreciate all the good things in our lives, even the smaller ones. Be it reconnecting with an old friend or spending times with the loved ones or doing things that you love, basking in the glory of all these pleasures improves our time during our stay on Earth and allows us to be happy. By default, human beings are programmed to focus on the negative moments in life. Such thoughts can only spoil the mood of one and take away one’s happiness. Appreciating all the good moments would bring in joy and happiness. Pay attention and remember all the smaller good things. This appreciation does not necessarily counterbalance the painful aspects of our life. However, it lessens the sting of disappointment and help us overcome our losses.

Spend a few minutes thinking about every wrong decision you have made in your life and sit idle for few minutes. Now, switch your mind to think about all the positive moments in your life. Your mind would be dull when you focused on the negativity and later, your mind would bounce up and down like a baby playing. I tried this for some time and it really did wonders to me. Wake up every morning and appreciate the fact that you have a lot to be thankful for in your life. This certainly increases the quality of your life. Note that, happiness is not an elusive goal to be reached at some point, but it is something we can gift ourselves any moment in our life through our appreciation.

Next step after appreciation is being self-compassionate. There is nothing selfish in being your own best friend. Self-compassion is enjoying the present. Be compassionate to others as well. Selfishness is being self-centered and doing something at the expense of others while self-compassion is about treating ourselves well and with happiness. Compassion fills us with happiness which we can pass on to others. Highly compassionate people live their lives with fulfillment. Don’t choose between being compassionate to yourself and being compassionate to others while you can do both. Best way to go about in life is to take better care of yourself and treat yourself with the same compassion you extend to others. There is nothing selfish in taking greater care of yourself.

Give yourself the gift of happiness and inner peace with appreciation and compassion.