I remember writing short stories when I was 6-7 years old, so it started at a fairly young age. For some people it may be audio, video, who knows, find your thing!

Sometimes we have to go deep into the darkness to find the light. Like a rubber band, the further into the darkness you go, the longer into the light you’ll fly once you let go.

You have the Midas touch: this is yet another interesting post. I can relate to what you have contributed, and Srini’s comment also makes a lot of sense, as usual.

I have been through the roller-coaster rides just like everybody else. I had a really lousy first innings, which ended up in loss of health. I had no peace of mind at all. I was stressed out, unhappy, and suffered from anxiety. I could not sleep at night.

It was meditation which has saved my life, but I wonder why we are not taught about this wonderful discipline during our early schooling days. That’s why one of my favorite writers, Mark Twain, an American iconoclast wrote: “I never let schooling interfere with my education.” How exasperated Twain must have been to have made such a remark–I can only imagine. So much of our formal education is wrong-headed and reactionary, that we fail to learn the essential lessons: life skills and being a well-rounded person, who is able to cope with change and challenges.

I don’t know about you, but I have for long believed in a more enlightened system of education which humanizes us. And it can even be informal education, not necessarily about earning degrees and credentials. Sort of what Mahatma Gandhi attempted with Tolstoy Farm. Or what Rabindranath Tagore attempted in Shantiniketan Ashram near Calcutta, India. There are many other examples, but we are still stuck in the dark ages, it seems. There is light at the end of the tunnel, but we have a long way to go. Education should be about the harmony of mind, body and spirit, not about destructive competition and stepping on toes to get ahead.

I’ve been through each of these phases myself. The first two are really kind of lousy. When you get to gathering and experimentation that’s where things become really interesting. Part of the challenge is that we don’t stay consistent with anything in those phases. After reading THink and Grow Rich (ironically, just recently) I’ve been religious about applying the principles in it. Creation becomes a byproduct of consistent personal development efforts. Excellent ideas in this post.