How To Achive The Dream?

The following article came from an e-mail I received a couple of years ago. I’m not sure who to give credit to, but I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Seven Steps to Achieving Your DreamBy Chris Widener
Vision is the spectacular that inspires us to carry out the mundane.
Can achievement be broken down into steps? Well, it isn’t always that clean and easy, but I do know that those who achieve great things usually go through much of the same process, with many of the items listed below as part of that process. So if you have been struggling with achievement, look through the following and internalize the thoughts presented. Then begin to apply them. You will be on the road to achieving your dream!
1. Dream it - Everything begins in the heart and mind. Every great achievement began in the mind of one person. They dared to dream, to believe that it was possible. Take some time to allow yourself to ask “What if?” Think big. Don’t let negative thinking discourage you. You want to be a “dreamer.” Dream of the possibilities for yourself, your family, and for others. If you had a dream that you let grow cold, re-ignite the dream! Fan the flames. Life is too short to let it go. (Also, check out my article “Dare to Dream Again,” which has been read by close to a million people in the last four months alone. You can see it at the website.)
2. Believe it - Yes, your dream needs to be big. It needs to be something that is seemingly beyond your capabilities. But it also must be believable. You must be able to say that if certain things take place, if others help, if you work hard enough, though it is a big dream, it can still be done. Good example: A person with no college education can dream that he will build a 50 million-dollar a year company. That is big, but believable. Bad example: That a 90 year-old woman with arthritis will someday run a marathon in under three hours. It is big alright, but also impossible. She should instead focus on building a 50 million-dollar a year business! And she better get a move on!
3. See it - The great achievers have a habit. They “see” things. They picture themselves walking around their CEO office in their new 25 million-dollar corporate headquarters, even while they are sitting on a folding chair in their garage “headquarters.” Great free-throw shooters in the NBA picture the ball going through the basket. PGA golfers picture the ball going straight down the fairway. World-class speakers picture themselves speaking with energy and emotion. All of this grooms the mind to control the body to carry out the dream.
4. Tell it - One reason many dreams never go anywhere is because the dreamer keeps it all to himself. It is a quiet dream that only lives inside his mind. The one who wants to achieve their dream must tell that dream to many people. One reason: As we continually say it, we begin to believe it more and more. If we are talking about it then it must be possible. Another reason: It holds us accountable. When we have told others, it spurs us on to actually do it so we don’t look foolish.
5. Plan it - Every dream must take the form of a plan. The old saying that you “get what you plan for” is so true. Your dream won’t just happen. You need to sit down, on a regular basis, and plan out your strategy for achieving the dream. Think through all of the details. Break the whole plan down into small, workable parts. Then set a time frame for accomplishing each task on your “dream plan.”
6. Work it - Boy, wouldn’t life be grand if we could quit before this one! Unfortunately, the successful are usually the hardest workers. While the rest of the world is sitting on their couch watching re-runs of Gilligan’s Island, achievers are working on their goal - achieving their dream. I have an equation that I work with: Your short-term tasks, multiplied by time, equal your long-term accomplishments. If you work on it each day, eventually you will achieve your dream. War and Peace was written, in longhand, page by page.
7. Enjoy it - When you have reached your goal and you are living your dream, be sure to enjoy it. In fact, enjoy the trip too. Give yourself some rewards along the way. Give yourself a huge reward when you get there. Help others enjoy it. Be gracious and generous. Use your dream to better others. Then go back to number 1. And dream a little bigger this time!
Chris Widener, New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Amazon.com Best-Selling author is a seasoned businessman, author and speaker. He has for nearly twenty years been involved in leadership in the business community, the non-profit world, and as a speaker and author. He has learned what he shares through his own experience and his interaction with and observation of the most successful people in the world.
For more information, visit his website http://www.chriswidener.com/.

Microsoft cutting Xbox 360 price to $200:

SEATTLE: Microsoft Corp said on Wednesday it plans to cut the US prices of its Xbox 360 video game machine, lowering the price of its entry-level console to $50 below Nintendo Co Ltd's top-selling Wii. The move makes the Xbox 360 the first game machine of this generation of consoles to sell for less than $200, a key mass-market price that Microsoft said historically has accounted for more than 75 percent of all machine sales. The lower prices ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season, a period of time when the video game industry racks up most of its sales, puts pressure on rivals Nintendo and Sony to cut the prices of their machines.

The company said it will cut prices for its entry-level Xbox 360 Arcade, which comes without a hard drive, to $199 from its current price of $279 and it also will lower the prices of its mid-range and high-end Xbox 360 consoles by $50 each. The new prices will go into effect on Sept 5. Nintendo's Wii sells for $249 while Sony Corp's least expensive PlayStation 3, which comes with an 80-gigabyte hard drive and a Blu-ray high-definition video disc player, retails for $399. "Microsoft wants to drum up demand for the holiday. Microsoft's long-term vision for the Xbox is not to turn a profit today," said Toan Tran, analyst with Morningstar. "It's a way to get a foothold into people's living rooms." Microsoft said it will cut the price of its Xbox 360 Pro, its best-selling version which comes with a 60-gigabyte hard drive, to $299 from $349 and reduce the price of its top-end Xbox 360 Elite with a 120-gigabyte hard drive to $399 from $449. The US price cut comes on the heels of a similar price cut for the Xbox 360 in Japan where Xbox sales have been slow. Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft has sold over 20 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide since its introduction in late 2005 compared to 14.4 million units for the PlayStation 3 and nearly 30 million Wii units since debuting in Nov 2006. In recent months, the PlayStation 3 has outsold the Xbox 360 in the United States. "Microsoft recognized it needed to do something and I think they also can afford it," said Michael Pachter, analyst at Wedbush Morgan. "They've got to make it up by penetrating more households and selling more software." After losing roughly $5 billion since it entered the video game console business in 2001, Microsoft turned a $426 million profit in fiscal 2008 at its entertainment and devices division, comprised mainly of the Xbox business. The price cuts were reported earlier by BusinessWeek on its Web site.

Ref:India times,04 sep 08.

IBM implementing innovative solution for HPCL:

BANGALORE: IBM on Thursday announced that it is implementing an innovative Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based solution for Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL). HPCL will leverage IBM's technology expertise to deploy an end-to-end tracking solution based on RFID technology at HPCL's Nashik plant, an IBM statement said. This USD 2.2 million deal is one of the single-largest implementations in India for RFID-based tracking solution and involves infrastructure services, business consulting services and middleware solution from IBM, it said. Under this agreement, IBM will design, deploy and integrate the RFID solution for tracking LPG cylinders from plant to the end-consumer. The solution will streamline the process of identification of LPG cylinders during bottling, distribution and supply chain, and is expected to cover 500,000 cylinders in the initial phase.

ref: Indiatimes,04 sep 08.

Chrome bags 1% share of global mkt in 4 days

MUMBAI: Chrome, Google’s desktop web browser, has created a record of sort by taking over 1% share of the global market within four days of its launch. But analysts say it will take a long while to unseat Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) which controls over 72% of the market. Analysts say the user group mainly belongs to the tech fraternity and users who actively use only Google web search, Gmail, Google reader and blogs. Chrome is in direct competition with IE and Firefox, which enjoys 19.73% of the market share. The other browsers like Opera, Safari and Netscape are still fighting for a substantial market share. “Since the desktop is largely in the Microsoft domain, it is conceivable that IE will continue to enjoy its default browser status for the desktop in the near foreseeable future,” said KPMG executive director Akhilesh Tuteja. Chrome with its simple looks and equipped with the most basic of browser functionalities is precisely what a no-frills user would want. But it lacks several features like bookmark managers which allow users to save files and webpages and view them anytime. Also the RSS reader which feeds users with news from the web is missing. Users have grown accustomed to these features and will want it on the Chrome. However, the clean and clear-cut browser makes the screen look uncluttered and larger in content area when compared to other browsers. Also, the tab feature on Chrome stands apart from the other browsers. It runs each tab in isolation from the other thus preventing the other tab from crashing it. “All of Google's products are based on American ethos. It is simple to use despite its complex architecture," said Kaustubh Dhavse deputy director (ICT practice) Frost & Sullivan. However, this first version by Google runs only on Windows desktop, but new versions for Mac and Linux are expected to be released soon. "Google is striving to ensure that Chrome will work properly with the most popular sites on the web. Massive testing is expected, and it should work as well as a Firefox Beta. Initial tests of the Chrome are being done at a fast pace by thousands." said Mr. Tuteja. According to Mr Dhavse, MS will have to constantly make changes and upgrade their browser features to appeal to the users, if they want to continue being the market leader. “The old format does not excite users anymore.” he said. Google comes from a web environment whereas MS comes from a OS environment which moved into the web space. The edge that IE has over the other browsers is that MS bundles the browser with its operating system (OS), so every user's default browser is IE and this plays in their favour. Analysts are sceptical about the adoption of Chrome by enterprises as the browser is on a beta platform like all other Google products. “Everytime Google launches a product be it gmail or Orkut and now Chrome, it is on a beta platform. This is safe play by Google and is one of the major criteria for enterprises and governments not using their products. It is not a fully tried and tested enterprise solution, whereas MS is the leader in this,” said another analyst who did not want to be named. “Google is focused on providing a great user experience, and we're releasing Google Chrome in beta so we can gather user feedback and quickly iterate to improve the product.” said a Google spokesperson in an emailed response to ET. Industry watchers say it will be interesting to watch out how the Google-Microsoft saga unfolds. Google in the past has accused MS of monopolising the OS and browser market by bundling their products and driving the consumer segment. “Google is faced with a great paradox today. It is trying to create its own ecosystem just like MS. The winner will be one who can drive the market and sustain it,” said Mr Dhavse. However, Google might never accept this and claim it is challenging the presence of the other giants in the market. “Browsers are one of the most fundamental platforms for a user and Google wants to be there, they are playing their cards very well,” said another analyst on condition of anonymity. However, Google said it believes in making the web an open platform for everyone to innovate on. "Our efforts are targeted at making the web better for everyone and further advance the openness of the web. Towards this objective Google Chrome has been developed and is being released as an open source project under the name Chromium. The intent is that Google will help make future browsers better by contributing the underlying technology in Google Chrome to the market, while continuing to develop additional features,” said a Google spokesperson.

REF:indiatimes,07 sep 08.