Solitary Soul

THE ART OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION Mario D’Couto             While there is a lot that has been said about communication, so many seminars, workshops and books written about this particular topic, I summarize good communication to just two things namely, content and articulation . Now, I am not an expert on communication nor have I done any workshops or given any seminars on communication although this is just a humble reflection on something that I have thought about over a period of time.             Speaking about the two pillars on which the art of effective communication is based, some people have content but are not able to articulate well while some do not have content but have the gift of the gab . Some have both, the content as well as the ability to articulate while some have neither of it. Sure enough, when we speak about effective communication, it...

IMPROVISATION Mario D’Couto             While sticking to order and details in performing a particular task, one does not lose in playing with what one has in hand. This in one word is called “Improvisation”.             Improvisation is a phenomenon that is quite common among musicians, most notably among jazz musicians. However, this can also be applied in other aspect of life. A person giving a speech suddenly goes off track, uses instances, anecdotes or just speaks extemporally (of course within the confines of the topic) is another classic example of improvisation. In a sense, improvisation can also be compared to surfing. Whenever a huge wave comes, it is up to the task and the skill of the surfer to overcome or surf along the wave.             There are positives to take from this phenomenon, 1. ...

YOU ARE MORE THAN WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE Mario D’Couto             Awareness is the key factor to individual growth. Being aware of your strength and limitations is fodder for one’s wholistic development. While the above statement can be interpreted from both angles, namely, positive and negative, in this article I would like to give a positive interpretation.             Just to mention briefly, the statement “you are more than you think you are” in a negative way, can be interpreted as living ignorant of one’s limitations and acting like as though nothing is wrong. It would be worse to think that one was better than the rest when, in reality, it is just the opposite. Yet, as stated earlier, the purpose of this article is a source of upliftment or at least this is what I intend it to be.             Keep...

“ TAKE A BREAK” or “JUGGLE WITH DIFFERENT TOPICS” – A Path to Creativity Mario D’Couto             It is human nature to want to improve and this means that we tend to be instinctive hill – climbers. Whether we’re trying to master a hobby, learn a language, write an essay or build a business or anything for that matter, it is natural to want every change to be a change for the better. But it is also easy to get stuck if we insist on never going downhill.             Mistakes are part of the creative process and the more we make, the better we get at that particular skill. This, of course, would be possible if we have an open and a curious mind for as Einstein said that the true purpose of education is to train the mind to think and for that reason it is priceless. So, if you want to write a good song, write a bad song; if you want to write a good poem, write a bad ...

A disease called “DISCOURAGEMENT” Mario D’Couto             Evan Williams founded a company called Odeo, a podcasting platform. Shortly, Apple announced that I-Tunes would include a podcasting platform, making Odeo obsolete.  Evan was not ready to give up his pursuit. He, along with Noah Glass and Biz Stone went to build Twitter, one of the most leading online social networking and microblogging services today.             Robert South once said, “ Defeat should never be a source of discouragement but rather a fresh stimulus.” Discouragement is one of the mental conditions unique to human beings. It is easy to get discouraged when you reach a point at which nothing you do seems to help you reach your goal. However, the clutch of discouragement will not hold you down if you refuse to fall prey to it. If you happen to allow discouragement to set in then you will...

SHADES OF LIFE Mario D’Couto             It’s been quite a while since I have done pencil shading (which is something I enjoy) and the beauty of art is creating something out of nothing or doing something different than what one would expect to do, for instance, some people think of creativity as finding 10 new ways to use a pen stand or a sheet of paper and so on. It’s about thinking ‘out of the box’.             However, the purpose of this article is not a discourse on creativity but is to drive home an analogy of art (painting and sketching to be precise) and life. A piece of art, as in a painting has a lot of different shades and if it were all the same colour, it would be a disaster. A good artist is one who knows how to combine the different colours and shades of colours to produce the desired effect. Skill is therefore very important in this regard. ...