I have just returned from an indulgent vegan-friendly, jazzy-vibe, alcohol-free, stripper-free stag do. My brothers set up a semi-surprise priceless night out.

Just 48 hours earlier, Kavit asked me if I’d like to have a stag do on Friday night.  I said no thanks.  The wedding’s minimalist and low-key, and I didn’t really feel like having a stag do which involved getting drunk and ogling nude women.  Turns out he convinced me to have one, with a twist.  Kavit and Sawan took care of everything.

Vegan-friendly

I’ve been following a vegan diet since April (over 8 months now), so they made arrangements to have dinner at one of the best vegan-friendly restaurants in Britain.  The customer service was excellent, and everyone was really impressed with the food.  The next time you’re in London, make a special effort to visit Mildreds in Soho.  Although they have a no booking policy (other than for the private dining room), and they’re always busy, it’s well worth arriving early and waiting to be seated.

Alcohol-free

Following an intention to be more alert and aware of my surroundings and take considered action, I have been keeping away from consuming alcohol for the last couple of months.  I decided to drink no beer, wine or spirits all evening, which everyone around me kindly supported (following a little stubborn-ness from from my side).

Stripper-free… but I’m up for some jazz

There’s a certain level of respect I have for women and see no reason to spend part of my pre-marriage time pleasing my visual senses and igniting my passions at the sight of luscious curves on a stranger’s body.

Instead I diverted my sensual pleasures to that of vibrant jazz music.  The boys had made reservations at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club in Soho, one of the UK’s foremost jazz venues.  Not only that, but they had unknowingly booked seats at the venue for the multi-award-winning trombonist Dennis Rollins - someone who bassist Darren Taylor of Jazzreloaded has highly recommended over the last few years. 

The perfect stag night

So it turns out that I had manifested the perfect stag-night: vegan-friendly, alcohol-free (for me at least), immersed in jazz music which I love, and not a single stripper or hooker in sight (even though we were in the heart of Soho)!

At the drop of a hat, my dear brothers and friends who could make it decided that they will be there.  Sawan, Kavit, Sagar, Deep, Amit & Ash - blessings to each of you for making the night so special.

This week I am limiting my computer use to 6 hours.  Regardless of whether it is for emails, surfing, blogging, skype chat, social networking, writing articles, or listening to music, I will only use the computer for a maximum of 6 hours this week.

Yes, it is an experiment.  It tests to see what happens to the quality of my work, the depth of my relationships, and my level of vitality.

I expect that by limiting my use of the computer, my method of working would be more reliant on spending enough time working things out in my own mind, and then exploring creative ways to record information and communicate it with those I am collaborating on projects with.  It would also have an impact on my health (more time healthy eating and getting fresh air rather than being stuck in front of a computer), and most certainly enrich my personal and business relationships.

So hey, lets see what happens in a week and how it really impacts my work, my relationships, and my vitality…

For it to be truly effective and to make the most of limited time on the computer, it requires me to batch tasks such as checking and responding to emails, programming in Living Jain quotes, or raising invoices.

If you happen to get an autoresponder message from me when you email me this week, please be patient for my response - after all, the time I have on my computer is limited so that it can make me unlimited!

Much love,
Sol

Back in October 2006, I sent a wish out into the universe for some comfortable size 14 squash shoes.

Today they have arrived.

When ordering these shoes through www.walktall.co.uk, I also picked up a pair of Columbia Slate Slides - wow, when I’m travelling out in the hotter parts of the world, these will be a TREAT to wear.

So, who’s up for a game of squash? Any takers? Badminton works for me too!

Last Wednesday (28th Feb 2007), I was placed on the guest list of top jazz saxophonist Courtney Pine’s gig at the Jazz Cafe, Camden, London, by my good friend bassist Darren Taylor.

What a phenomenal gig! A prime example of hours and hours of determination packed into two hours of passionate delivery.

Check out this video of a gig that Courtney, Darren and the band played at Falmouth Princess Pavillion. Darren’s on the double bass behind Courtney - you can see that he’s having a wiked time!
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For more on Courtney, visit www.courtneypine.co.uk

On the night, Courtney also played a sax tribute to Lynden David Hall - here’s the late Lynden’s very own Sexy Cinderella:

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Inspired by the layout of Monopoly, this Jain twist to the game gives all teams the chance to shine out with their knowledge and understanding of Jain Dharma, in a typically warm, supportive, and light-hearted Young Jains setting.

Facilitated by the creator of Jainopoly, Deepa M Shah used quizzes and party games to elicit the qualities required to playfully embrace the often challenging life we come across in our every waking moment.

My personal favourite game involved coming into a circle, catching a tennis ball from someone, and then whilst throwing it to someone else, shouting out a Jain word or phrase. Then, remembering who you threw the ball to, the next time a ball would come your way, throwing it to that same person, shouting out the same phrase as last time.

For me this really helped me build focus, awareness, attentiveness, vigilance, and persistence to keep going, even in moments when the ball dropped. Repeating that one phrase helped keep the main thing the main thing.

The lesson was: if the ball drops, and you go to pick it up, don’t forget to stay alert for the next ball coming your way, otherwise it’ll hit you on the head! It may be better to let the ball roll away rather than get knocked out by trying to do it all. Alternatively, let all the tennis balls come to you, pick up the one you dropped, and with all the tennis balls in your hand, continue the game by releasing each ball out to the group one at a time.

Recently I have found myself following my usual habit pattern of taking on loads of projects, and can sense myself collapsing soon by trying to meet all these expectations I’ve been overloading myself with. I have one of two options to relieve this pressure:

1. Release some of the projects into the world so that other people receive the opportunity to take them on, whilst I can focus on the projects that I need to be working on the most.
2. Continue to oversee all the projects, focusing only on what I’m uniquely qualified to do, and then delegate all the other tasks and sections of each project to other talented individuals who generate much greater value than what I could do on my own.

I do like the sound of the second option, and it gives me the opportunity to be involved in projects that really mean a lot to me, whilst offering the chance for others to get involved. As it is, I love collaborating with other creative individuals, so what a great way to stop hoarding and continue GIVING!

If you’re reading this and fancy working with me on one of the projects I’m currently immersed in, get in touch, and I’ll fill you in on what you can get involved with. It’ll be interesting to explore the special talents you can bring to the mix.

“There are only two ways to live your life.  One is as though nothing is a miracle.  The other is as though everything is a miracle.

But without deeper reflection, one knows from daily life that one exists for other people; first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy.

A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labours of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving.

A human being is part of a whole, called by us the ‘Universe’, a part limited in time and space.  He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separated from the rest - a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness.  The delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest us.

Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circles of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.

Only a life lived for others is worth living.”

- Albert Einstein

And on the topic of compassion, let me highlight the true meaning of compassion…  Com-passion: Com (with) - passion (strong feeling, enthusiasm); to be with another in strong feeling and with enthusiasm.

So we do not need to limit compassion as a response to suffering.  Compassion is life itself!  A quality which could be lived out in every situation, with anybody, instead of just with those who are in distress.

Thank you to Albert Einstein for your powerful words earlier, to Jay Litvin for this gem on compassion, and Kishor Bhimji Shah (editor of Oshwal News) for bringing the messages from both people to my attention.

In Steve Pavlina’s most recent post about The Dark Side of Financial Abundance, he highlights the practical implications of going from making a little amount of money to making loads of money.

Steve writes about:

• how financial abundance affects your accounting and tax situation
• what financial mistakes can cost you (and how it’s all relative)
• how people will treat you differently
• how you’ll feel pressured to develop better money management skills
• how, by facing up to the dark side of financial abundance, you’ll become less fearful, more flexible, more responsible, more organised, and more confident.

In his closing paragraph, Steve states “To attract more abundance, you must create more value for others, which requires that you recognize, accept, and embrace your own value.”

This to me is probably the most important statement that I’ve needed to read in recent times. I’ve known that attracting more abundance involves creating more value for others. Little did I realise that to create more value for others, you must certainly recognise, accept and embrace your own value. Afterall, how else will you keep serving others consistently in the best possible way?

Earlier today I received an email from a friend who shared with me his strategic plan for 2007. He’ll comment here if he’d like to make himself known. His objective is “To directly impact the lives of a million people by November 2007″. He’ll know he has achieved this by having sales of £1 Million + through all his various websites and projects. How powerful that he recognises not only how much he’ll have received in sales this year, but also that he’ll have made a positive impact on the lives of a million people. He has a strong belief in himself of how he’ll be able to recognise, accept and embrace his own value so that he can directly and positively impact millions of others.

So on MY path to financial abundance, how am I recognising, accepting and embracing my own value?

What I’ve recognised is that I directly add most value when I’m sitting face-to-face with an individual, over a cup of coffee, discovering what their raw, unique talent is, and co-creating a strategic approach for how they can tap into their existing resources to serve more people, to serve their people better, and to make loads of money to keep on serving.
I have proof (!) Here’s what guitarist Tim Stone has to say about a recent effortless session I had with him:

“I recently signed up to a 3 month package with Kavit Haria, a musician’s coach who helps you focus and market yourself and your music. (Incidentally, I’ve been round a block or two and am not convinced easily! ). Anyway, part of that package is an hour’s consultation with Sol Shah to develop what they call the marketing funnel, which I had recently. Sol is a very warm guy and the hour turned into quite a few more! He’s dead easy to get along with and I learned a lot. The funnel seems to be about recognising what resources you do actually have and how to order and maximise them. I came away from the meeting with quite an update on what I have to offer and how to go about it. Sol listened closely and his feedback allowed me to see some very positive steps that were probably staring me in the face, but that I was missing. I also saw that a lot of stuff I already have nailed is a lot more useful to my marketing plan than I had previously thought. Wicked.”

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Tim Stone on the Bedford Bandstand

So I’ve recognised where I add most value to others, and I am able to accept and embrace it by continuing to consult talented individuals, effortlessly over a coffee (or herbal tea), whilst exploring opportunities for serving more people at any given time, either in person, or via the web. As you’re reading this right now, how would YOU like me to serve you and more people through the work we’d do together?

On Friday 8th December, I had some friends round for dinner. After the meal, we played Cranium, and Roopal Shah created this Masterpiece!

What does the plasticine model mean to you?

» Continue reading “Mr Cranium”