World's Highest Bungy Jump

What makes someone jump from a height of 233 mtrs with a cord tied to their ankles? Why would someone put their life in danger and do a bungy jump? Bravery and Courage or Studpidity and Madness?

In my case it was a New Year Resolution and the fact that it can be done. I have always believed in attempting to push the limits of mental abilities. Fear, in my opinion, is a state of mind. It resides in your mind and can be overcome there.

When I got to know a few months back that we would be going to Macau for our Sales Kickoff I decided to do the Skywalk on the Macau Tower. It had been done by a close friend of mine and it seemed exciting. Then I got to know that the Macau Tower has the World's Highest Bungy Jump and I was hooked. This had to be done. I booked my slot and started getting myself psyched for it.

The day dawned gloomy, cold and foggy. I had an apointment at 11 and I had to be back at the hotel for a meeting by 12 noon. It was going to be close. I had a quick breakfast and decided to head out. Two of my colleauges, who were having breakfast with me, on hearing that I was going to do the bungy jump decided to come along for the spectacle. I landed at the Macau Tower by 10.30 in biting 8 degree cold. The tower looked deserted and one of my colleauges commented on whether it was even open. We took the elevator up to the 63rd floor of the tower and it was amazing to watch the ground fall beneath and the various features gets smaller and smaller. Stepping out it was very cold and windy but my mind was set.

In fact in hindsight I seemed to just go through the motions. I was clear that I wanted the package with the photos and video. After all there has to be proof that I did the jump! So this is what follows once you have paid and committed.

First you are asked to empty your pockets and everything else including your watch. You can pay a $20 deposit for a locker but I had my friends so they took the stuff. You are given a AJ Hackett bungy jump T Shirt to wear. You can then decide if you want a warm jacket from them for a security deposit of $100. Believe me I needed that. It was 8 degrees....brr! You are then taken to wear the harness which is tightened around you. You also change your shoes into one that they give you. You are then weighed with the harness et all and your weight is written on your left hand. This is for them to determine the kind of rope that they should use. Apparently each weight category has a different kind of rope to balance and manage the weight.

You then move into a 'jumpers area' and that's when it hits you and you are next in line or in my case first in line. It will really happen. The crew starts preparing the rope et all for the jump as you wait in the area. You are then called into the area where the equipment is being readied for the jump. You sit on a table and hold your legs out for them to tie your ankles together. Once that is done you are interviewed on video with questions ranging from where you are from to leaving a message for your family and friends before you jump. Now you are ready.....or are you? Post this the jump master explains to you what is going to happen. You will move to the edge, spread your arms and just lean over. As you reach the bottom of the jump there is small red cord that you pull. This will make you turn over from an upside down position to a sitting position and you will be lowered down. Really? Just like that? Its that simple?

You move to the ledge and they snap on the various hooks tying the ropes to the contraption. You move closer to the edge as they snap on the last hook. At this stage the question in my mind was what if this one snaps? They all look so fragile! But you have already committed to this jump. You are asked to move right at the edge and thats the balls-in-the-mouth moment. You look down and see the small tiny features on the ground. That's when you realise how high you really are. Are you ready to do this? The jump master asks you to look right and say hi to the camera. Then spread your arms.

When I was asked to do that I decided to look straight ahead. If you look down the mind registers the height and starts playing games in your head. Look straight ahead and the mind does not get time to register the height and the fear. I closed my eyes and when the countdown happened - 5...4...3...2...1.....I just leaned over letting go of all my fears.

The sensation after that is absolutely awesome. Wind in your face, the feel of gravity, the ground coming towards you and absolute exhiliaration. Its really great and you realise that you have conquered your fear and have actually jumped. There really is no way to explain the feeling. You have to experience it yourself.

As I reached the bottom of my jump I just couldn't find the cord to pull. It took me some time but I found it, pulled and my harness made me into a sitting position. I was lowered down and I HAD DONE IT! I had done the World's Highest Bungy Jump! YooHoooooooo! :)

While the mental preparation takes a long time, the jump lasts all of 10 seconds but its an out of this world experience! If you get a chance, do it! Conquer you fear!

11 for 11 (Resolutions for the Year)

Its always an interesting exercise to set goals and resolutions for the coming year. Something about a New Year makes us want to renew our hope that we will achieve our goals again. Every year millions of us go through the same exercise of setting goals for ourselves on the 1st of the year with the hope that we will see them through - jobs, weight loss, love, relationships, friends - everything goes.

After all the year that has gone by is gone best viewed through the rear view mirror but the year ahead is the one that our eyes are focused on through the windshield.

In the spirit of Setting Resolutions I decided to do the same last year and so in continuing that tradition here are the 2011 Resolutions. We will, of course, come back and re-look at these next year and see how we fared. So here are my 11 for 11!

1. STAY HEALTHY: Make sure that I use the gym at least 50% of the time i.e 183 days at least. Why 50%? Because I travel a lot and because weekends are off-limits.
2. STAY HAPPY: Try to reduce stress as much as possible. Remember nothing in life is worth stressing about.
   
3. BE A GOOD FRIEND: Unobtrusive, always at hand, helpful, lending a shoulder. Try not to loose a friendship. Be open in thoughts. Do not judge anyone.
4. BE A GOOD HUSBAND & FATHER: Take care of the family. Do not be a cause of stress to wife and kids. Be helpful to kids and stand by them. Try to inculcate good values in them through practice and not preaching.
5. TRY NEW THINGS: Push the limits of experience. Try new things - be they food or experiences. Bungee Jumping and Sky Diving are two things I want to do this year.
   
6. LEARN GOLF: This is a unfulfilled resolutions carried over from last year. Its a great game and teaches one a lot of patience and focus. Try to learn golf.
7. HAVE MORE HOLIDAYS: Learn to relax and chill. Try to have at least 1 holiday every quarter with family and friends.
8. BUILD A BRAND: Build a brand for myself. Try to see if I can use my experience and knowledge to build a name for myself. Try to speak on marketing at colleges and events - at least 6 speaking opps this year. Try to blog on marketing on a popular site - at least 12 blogs in the year.
9. BLOG MORE: Continue blogging on this and my other blog. While the Book Review blog is active based on the books that I read, this blog has suffered. I want to try and cross 150 blogs on this blog - thats 70 blogs in 365 days.
10. EDUCATE MYSELF: Identify the gaps in my skill sets and undergo training to fill those gaps. These could be executive education or sessions in that particular skill set. Constantly try to learn new skills and things. Keep the brain active. More importantly use those skills in daily life - professional or personal.
11. PUBLISH SOMETHING: Try to get my writing published. Could be a book, an article, a story, a letter but try and see if my writing can be spread wider.
    

So there we are - my 11 for 11.

Revisit in end december 2010 to see if I have done any of these.

2010 - A Retrospect

Its always interesting when a year ends. Newspapers run 'the year gone by', TV channels have experts come on board to talk and disect the high points and the low points of the year and all of us start talking about resolutions and a new start. SMS and email messages talk about how the coming year should be a good one for us.

But do we look back and the year? I tried doing that last year and so lets continue the tradition while at the same time look at how I fared at my resolutions? :)

2010 was a good year. Most of the 'upheavels' of 2009 had settled down and the talk was of consolidation.

At work we had a new leader who joined us and we were all evaluating to see how he would be. He turned out to be a great people's person and we had quite a few firsts in the organisation. A young guy, he's a focussed person and loves being loved by all. Very high on EQ and a good sales leader as well. And his leadership was good for the country as well.

My challenge was to ensure that the 3 month trail period of me handling marketing another region was not a flash-in-the-pan and that I could sustain my skills for the whole year. I like to beleive that I did. I had not issues or complaints from the team or my manager. What it did do for me was increase my travel to a very large extent. That meant that I had to be away from my family for a few days every month and it was not a good thing. The support of my family counted a lot for that. Professionally I went through patches of highs and lows - loving my job and wanting to leave it. Some things worked to keep me going while there were some roadblocks but thats a different post altogether. My boss believed that I had to align to the team's vision and I guess I had to work at that.

On a personal front my family and friendships kept me grounded. My constant Singapore visits were made great by Arvind's presence and dinners with him. Some great advice from him made me change some of my investment decisions and some good discussions resulted in him changing his thoughts. The GMC meetings were on for the year and we have some grand plans for 2011. My kids did well in school and so did my wife at work. Parents health was good and sister had a good change in her job - something that she wanted. Life was good! (Touchwood). We invested in a new house and Tarush finally got admission into the same school as Ipsi for next year.

The biggest event on a personal front was Sowmya's accident and the events thereafter. I Thank God everyday for keeping her safe and making the things happen in good stead post the accident - presence of a good samaritan, the doc at the hospital not putting the stiches on the head, her admission into Manipal and a plastic surgeon doing a great job at the stiches and keeping her safe. My biggest regret was that I was not there by my friend in her time of need. But she is safe and well and that's what counts. Thank you God!

So lets re-look at the resolutions and see where I stand:

• Continue to exercise and remain fit. Do not gain weight :( NOT MET. I gained some weight but did try to keep my exercise regimen going.
  
• Be more patient and keep an open mind. :) MET. I definitely was more patient and absorbed quite a few ideas.
  
• Be a good friend - supportive, non-intrusive, helpful when needed. :) MET. I would like to believe that I was.
  
• Be a good father - helping, inculcating values by practice rather than preaching, giving proper direction, expanding their minds with experience rather than rote, not being too assertive, listening. :| Can't Comment but I think I would get 7/10 for this in 2010.
  
• Be a good husband - listening, loving, supportive, participating and patient. :) I think I can safely say Met for this.
  
• Be a good son and brother. :) I guess its a MET for this?
  
• Get better at my job or Get a better job. :| Quite difficult to comment on this. I got a bit better but definitely did not get a better job!
  
• Read more books and catch up on new ideas. :) MET. Any my blog is a testament to it. More blogs there than here.
  
• Try to do a good executive management program. Get more relevant education. :( NOT MET. This is a definite gap that I need to fill.
  
• Keep blogging. :( NOT MET. I definitely need to get better at blogging here.
  
• Get a tattoo. :) MET. And it was great. Maybe get one more in 2011?
  
• Learn to play Golf. Get coaching. :( NOT MET. Must try again in 2011!
  
• Have more holidays. :( NOT MET again. Should try more.
  
• Don't take life too seriously. Have fun! :) MET. I think I did!

So a scorecard of 7/14 for MET, 5/14 NOT MET & 2/14 not known! Not bad eh?

Let's see what 2011 has in store!