My ebook: Journeys with the caterpillar

My ebook
"
Journeys with the caterpillar: Travelling through the islands of Flores
and Sumba, Indonesia
" is available at
this link


Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Missed opportunity for self-help writers - Yogi Berra


I have always had trouble with self-help books. Not because they always seem to suggest so much scope for improvement in me. But also because they are based on examples from the known history or phenomena. So what happens is that they will often cite the best in any area as the example to follow. And here is my major concern. If I try to emulate a particular person I will get limited by his limitations. And thats a great turnoff for me. The more initiated may get shocked by this attitude but the fact is what is.
So I have decided not to read any self-help book. Rather I have started internalising the quotes from Yogi Berra, US baseball legend who also happens to be the most quoted sportsman in the world.
Please find inspiration from some of his quotes:
"Think! How the hell are you gonna think and hit at the same time?"
"You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there"
"If you can't imitate him, don't copy him"
"You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six"
"Baseball is 90% mental -- the other half is physical"
"Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded"
"It was impossible to get a conversation going; everybody was talking too much"
"I made a wrong mistake"
"Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel"
"You should always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours"
"I didn't really say everything I said"
His quotes hit my subconscious and hit it hard. Wish the self-help writes could be half as sublime as Yogi.

More on this to follow.

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