Mark Aethen Agana Who made it to FINAL 30 of YOUR BIG YEAR 2013 Shares his Inspiring Lessons with IU.

The article is in direct speech. The answers are as submitted by the Interviewee himself

A Short Bio of Mark Aethen Agana:
I’m Mark Aethen G. Agana, born in South Cotabato, Philippines. I’m a multisport athlete, a community volunteer for education, environment, and health, an aspiring social entrepreneur, and a proud Filipino. I grew up in a simple home, where most of the time, we had just enough, and the rest of the time there was a little less than enough. However, I didn’t allow my circumstances be an excuse for me not to succeed in life. Currently, I work as technical consultant in various NGO projects and an alumnus of The Outstanding Students of the Philippines.

I envision a nation where Filipinos have equity to access to quality college education and who are productive and responsible leaders of society. All of my advocacies, my firing desire for change and progress, these are the same reasons why I joined the World Merit community. These hopes ignited and relieved my dreams of fighting for a better world, starting in Philippines.  I gained an incredible amount of energy and motivation from other members who continue to push one another to reach their full potential.

1. What is your vision to Win Your Big Year?
Your Big Year is more than a competition. It is beyond competition. It is not only fun. It is not only inspiring. It is a chance to be one and share true friendship with equally talented people worldwide. It is life-changing and an opportunity to change the world.At the moment, I can say that I have won so much out of YBY. The network and friends I gained out of it is already the reward for engaging and being active in the community. Winning it is just a bonus and an opportunity to lead change and work together for a more equitable, stable, and peaceful world.

2. Why would you want to travel the globe? 
Aside from to be inspired, to see and experience different cultures, to eat, and to meet new and interesting people, I want to travel to mainly experience how people are generally good and to have broader perspective of the world for I believe that the only way to really have a sense of how the world works is to see it yourself.

3. What do you think that you had that the rest dint that brought you this far? 
Everyone in Your Big Year is equally talented and amazing. We all have different inspiring stories to share and we all have the same heart for creating a better global community. But I think what makes me stand out from the rest is the way I packaged my ideas to convey key messages to the community. I think out of the box and do things creatively. Also, I always have a ready smile and make sure I incorporate “fun” factor in everything wonderful I do.

4. One message for the youth of the globe...
Live you dreams. Remember that you can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get. Make anything possible and start a journey to confidence. Anything is possible in life... and it begins with the confidence from within.

Sharing also my mantra in life, “keep learning, leading and serving for life.”

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Mr. Michael Suplaag - Young Leader from Phillipines makes it to FINAL 30 of Your Big Year 2013 Competition!

Mr. Michael Suplaag - A Young Leader from Phillipines makes it to the Final 30 of Your Big Year 2013 Competition. Inspiration Unlimited Team from India learns from him about what drives him to be so dynamic and how does it feel to come this far. We wish to share his message with all the youth across the globe to inspire more leaders.

1.      How do you feel reaching the Final 30?

  - I feel happy and overwhelmed. Happy because all my efforts paid off and overwhelmed because not everyone is given this kind of extraordinary opportunity. And it is indeed a great honor for me to be selected in the top 30. Since this global search has begun, I have been working tirelessly to use my talents and energy to further the cause of World Merit.  I now look forward to continue using everything in me to help other people and to be the source of their inspirations to continue dreaming despite the hardships and challenges.

2.      Your lessons (in brief) so far?

-   I have learned a life-long lesson that hard work, determination and intense desire have great rewards. Moreover, interviewing people who have achieved great things has taught me that wisdom is vital to be successful and the tinge of humility in your heart is the ticket to succeed. I also am grateful to have the opportunity to come accross with brilliant youth leaders around the world who have the drive and passions to influence other people and the learnings I got from them are something I would cherish in the rest of my life.

3.      What is your vision why you wish to win Your Big Year?

- A successful career and fulfilling personal life. A state of contentment where you know your value not because of how other people make you feel about yourself but because how you make other people feel about themselves and their lives. Furthermore, the title itself will give me the opportunity to encourage millions of people around the world to set high goals and not stop until their goals are reached. So many people are discouraged because of the conditions they live in.  I will be an ambassador for hope and achievement and show to them how they can rise above their conditions and succeed in life.

4.      What is your inspiration to come this far?

- Aside from God, basically my family is the one that entirely fuels the engine of my desire to succeed in this journey. In addition, people have dreams. So do I. I grew up fully aware of the sad realities of life. That's why I strongly held on to my dreams. The difficulties I have experienced have made me persevere, they made me more eager and driven to make all these dreams happen. And now, that I'm about to reach the top, Your Big Year - Win A Life Changing Prize came to my life. It made the whole climb even more meaningful. Meaningful in the sense that one of the dreams I would like to realize will serve a genuine purpose.

  

5.      One message for the people who apply for next year?

-          Be consistent and be genuine. Feed the burning passion of volunteering and public service in you. Do not be afraid to take the challenges of life. Transform your good thoughts into actions. Remember, the future only belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. So dream your dreams, go where you want to go, and do what want to do for we have one life in this world.

      IU Appreciates his achievements and wishes him for the best! 

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The 10 Most Important Lessons for a lifetime!

Article By Sireesha MK, from IUeMagazine

1. A for Ant!

If the person mentoring you says, it's A for Ant, Believe it is! You might have learnt it's A for Apple and not Ant which is also true but A for Ant applies as well. Don't lose your mental energy in arguing and justifying why it is so. Your Mentor is wise enough to teach you. Believe in him and move forward. You will realize in the course of journey, why he said so.

2. Can I help you?

Not all who walk into your life might be your friends/soul mates ( I still wonder what that is) best buddies. You will meet many like dew who will at times make you blue. You wouldn't be able to see - through, be wise enough to unscrew. Haven't you got a clue? Make friends with a few. (Sorry for the terrible poetry). What I am trying to say is, Connect with the World, Network with a million, Help a thousand, Stay answerable to a ten.

3. Learn - Un-learn - Relearn

The title says it all. At all points of time, have the readiness to learn when you are taught. Be more ready to un-learn when said so and re-learn with the same spirit. Light is a wave, Light is a particle. Light has a dual nature. The definitions changed with time. So how many planets do we have in the Solar system? :)

4. I want to be a Jack of all Trades.

If this is you, let me tell you, I am also like you. There is always a right time for anything to be done. You might have a hundred interests, my friend, but what needs to be done now is more important than what can be done. Keep up to your priorities and commitments first. Do Delay Dump Delegate. One of the 4 D's should be the answer when faced with a question.

5. Where am I heading?

If you have ever played a game of Mario, you can relate well. Anyways, let me explain. When you are playing a game, what matters is, to reach the destination, no matter what comes your way. Ducks, ants, bricks, fire balls, arrows and the rest coming your way really don't matter as what stays in your mind continuously is to win the game. Similarly in this game of life, it is very important to have a clear purpose in mind. It's when the Goal is clear is when your mind aligns to it and the heart is ready to believe, your actions will speak. Let no thorns irritate you, stop you or disappoint you.

6. I want the egg to hatch TODAY?

No matter what you do, certain things take time. Have patience. Your work might not be paid off immediately but it will certainly be paid off someday. Give your best and be not concerned about the results. Your work will fetch it's reward when the right time comes. No work goes waste. Someday the egg will hatch.

7. "I don't want to rise today. I am so bored of coming up every day" says the SUN.

Will that be ok with you? If yes, drop me a mail! If no, read on. Each one of us have been bestowed with a responsibility. We need to be committed in fulfilling them. You are counted on for a particular task to be done. Make sure you do it.

8. E-X-P-E-C-T-A-T-I-O-N

Have expectations out of yourself and not from others. Be responsible and accountable to finish what is given. No one can walk your path. You need to carry yourself when you fall and walk it through. Do not expect people to lift you through the desert. Face the storm and be a strong sailor. If lucky enough you might find a voice which might give you a direction.

9. A pinch of Salt

A pinch of Salt ...can disappoint your taste-buds, spoil your mood, and bring down your bank balance and a lot more :) When you're working in a team, the most important factor that takes the highest place is Communication and Coordination. More than the work you do, what matters is your report. You might spoil the recipe of suc-cess if your report of how much was done was incorrect.

10. H for Happiness

I need a break to fill in happiness. I need to go for a vacation. I need to spend time with friends. I need to be alone. Good Luck. You are digging your own well. It's when you find happiness in your work is when you will be the happiest person in the world. 75% of a person's life consists of Work. If you cannot enjoy what you're doing, you can never be happy. Love yourself and live life!

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Founder Of WORLD MERIT* Talks about MERIT. He Supports IU for #WID.

Written by Chris Arnold, Founder of Smaller Earth, YOUR BIG YEAR & World Merit*.

Today, Inspiration is not that difficult to find. Social Media makes great quotes extremely accessible, almost to a point beyond saturation.  The oratory and poetry of great historical figures is being somewhat undermined by the sheer quantity of ‘wise words’ online.

However, though sharing a platform with the common words of ‘Anonymous’ may dent the ego of past poets and political leaders, I say this ‘inspiration clutter’ is a great thing. It has created a modern day peer pressure to be a source or conduit for inspiration. As Anonymous or perhaps a famous poet first said, there is a pressure now to do well but also to do good.

Users of Social Media have already and irreversibly made a commitment to check or judge the actions and values of politicians and corporations. Though that is not always going to be fair in the unfiltered world of places like Facebook or Twitter, the consequence is that all emerging leaders know that they have to be people of value and values. The best of the upcoming generation know that it makes strategic sense to be collaborative, emotionally aware, culturally aware, ‘social’ entrepreneurs.

In the past, because the chance of being ‘found out’ was much lower, leaders were ‘safe’ if standards occasionally dropped lower than the electorate or customer would want. There were only so many news reporters to go around. Compare this to the speed and distance both news and innuendo can travel today. As David Jones, CEO of HAVAS Worldwide and Founder of One Young World says, "People are now empowered by social media to hold business and leaders accountable. So, if you behave in the wrong way – whether you are the head of an Arab Spring country or News International – then people can sanction you. That has taken corporate social responsibility out of the silo and put it in the P&L statement. Business cannot avoid this.”

In my opinion the remarkable effect of Social Media is not the access to information or communication it has provided, but rather the positive change in culture it is inexorably making. Twenty year olds have always been vaunted as idealists and activists, but today I believe it is increasingly more so. The tools are there to collaborate across borders and the desire to be seen to take action and have positive momentum is something for society to harness.

Old people, and by that I mean everyone who has failed to adapt to the current online methods of communication, will latch onto the painfully frivolous uses of social media. They believe that Twitter is about sharing lunch updates; they believe Facebook is simply a source for inanity; they regard the Internet mostly as an efficient delivery system for porn and a way to browse information – like a big virtual library. This view is irrelevant and almost certainly in its final years.

There is Merit Online. That is a useful pun for me as my organization is called World Merit and we have our own online social community, however, I mean it in a more encompassing way. The upcoming generation is grouping together in ways that will absolutely change the world. Yes! There are huge number of superficial online communities, but just look at how many powerful groups are being formed, for example, www.worldmerit.org, www.oneyoungworld.com, www.dosomething.org. This multi –tasking generation is comfortable with being bombarded with messages that naturally splits its focus. In the same minute it will think about football and famine, pop and poverty, and these groups sit unapologetically next to each other on Facebook and in their consciousness.

So here is my main point. Quotes are unlimited, messaging is unlimited, but because of the actions that the upcoming generations will take and the way that content is easily shared, inspiration is also unlimited.

This has been recognized by my friend, Sujit Lalwani, who happened to be a finalist in the www.yourbigyear.com competition that I started a few years back. In YBY2 Sujit beat over 60,000 people from almost every country in the world to become a finalist. He had already recognized the power of his actions on peers and had set up the Inspiration Unlimited initiative, and has now authored his first book with the title ‘Life Simplified!’. Sujit is in his mid twenties and is one of the most motivating emerging leaders I’ve met. The incredible thing is that the ‘Your Big Year’ competition revealed to me the positive power and positive mentality of such a huge proportion of youth. They will not allow the cynicism of the older generations to infect them, but unlike in the past, this is not because of naivety.

They know the problems that face humanity and the planet. They understand the need for change more acutely than ever before. They also know that their approach will be unrecognizably different, more collaborative, and more open, than ever. They are aware of the risks of being subverted or made immobile by sheer weight of input and death by committee, but in the transition of leadership styles, to theirs, they know that they hold the seeds of previously unimagined potential.

Sujit from India, Charles from Uganda, Barbra from the US, Linh from Australia, Sarah from the UK, each one of them knows their responsibilities to make the world a better place. I for one, for the sake of my two children and because it is so much fun, will do everything I can to help them.

Join the Merit community of global citizens and emerging leaders at www.worldmerit.org. Also try and become the voice of the upcoming generation by winning our Ambassadorial world trip at www.yourbigyear.com. If you are in a position of influence please try and support both initiatives and contact me directly. If you are old, and I mean in the definition I laid out earlier (not being literate in the new world’s communication methods) then you are unlikely to have read this note, but if you have, either modernize, or get out of the way of Sujit et al.

Chris Arnold,

Founder World Merit and Smaller Earth

_____________________________________________________________________

For knowing what #WID is Just visit http://sujitlalwani.blogspot.in/2013/04/wid.html

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"How Newton Could Have Been Today's Steve Jobs!" shares an IIT Roorkee - MSc Physics Student

Contributed by Indradeep Bannerjee, MSc Physics from IIT Roorkee

Entrepreneurship is a term doing the round these days, a term imported from Silicon Valley of The Great Americas to our own very own backyard of Bangalore.

It all started with the Big Bang, the IT boom. At t= 0 sec with the launch of commercial computers a huge number of particles (start-up possibilities) were created from the singularity that gave birth to the start-up spectrum of today.

But all of those start-ups start with that most resilient parasite called “What an idea sirji!”  or “Dimaag ki batti jalade”(In Hindi: It translates to "Activates your brain"). No one realizes there is not much distinction between this idea and the Higgs Boson, that almost realistic (we are still 99.7 % sure it exists) particle that gives everything mass, the idea of making product line a customer fetish by Apple. Well without that idea your venture won’t have the mass to gather momentum.

Next comes the organizational structure. Every start-up has a nucleus of inner coterie of staff made up of males and females, the protons and the neutrons, well guys are usually quite charged up seeing Man U and Barcelona so lets consider them as protons and the gals the neutrons, they are more stable, hence greater mass. The guys usually repel each other (no offence to the gay crowd) by the Columbic force of repulsion, yet when time comes to deliver within the deadline, they show cooperation and the attractive nuclear force kicks in. The Guys and Gals are also quite attracted to each other, and this attraction is stronger than the deadline issues, just like a bond between a proton and neutron is stronger than a proton and a proton or a neutron and a neutron. Apart from this there are always the temporary guys the electrons there to do the menial run of the mill work. They are mostly exchanged with other similar start-ups when remuneration, energy is not enough or plenty.

When a company enters a market it has to compete with other market forces and similar companies giving rise to the chaos theory and the most favorable company always scrapes through, Amazon for example. Sometimes the companies which are quite successful gather enough mass to themselves and become black holes and curve the space time around them so much that all heavenly bodies and light fall victim to their never ending desire of growing, much like a market leader that acquires all the smaller companies in the domain, like Microsoft and GOOGLE.

Lastly when the black hole cannot take up any more mass and a company becomes a white elephant, like Lehman Brothers it crashes and throws out all its constituents, we call it a filing for bankruptcy in industrial terms.

So generally speaking its Physics everywhere...

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Passion & Purpose: The most difficult things to understand - simplified by Akshatha Bala(a Life Coach from Dubai).

Contributed by Akshatha Bala, Life Coach from Dubai.

If you catch yourself, every so often, saying, “this is not what I want to do in life”, “why does the sun have to rise?”, “when will the weekend be here?”, “I know I am made for something else”, then read on…..

Consider life to be a big jigsaw puzzle. Right now if you don’t understand and find this puzzle interesting, it’s because the two most important pieces are missing. When these fall into place the rest will automatically begin making sense.

Both these pieces can be named with words that you’ve heard before and you know what they mean. Don’t get guessing! I’ll tell you what they are. Ever heard of the word PASSION. Well, now that you know it is passion, you can’t just waltz into your day with it from tomorrow. For passion to fall into place, it has a prerequisite.

That’s when we come to the other important piece/word – PURPOSE. If you don’t know your purpose, what are you going to be passionate about? If you don’t have the chicken where will the egg come from! Passion will get ignited in you only when there’s purpose.

Having read till here I know what’s next on your mind. How does one know their purpose? To do that it takes a whole new journey – a journey within you. To set foot on this, you have two raw materials – YOU and your desire to find your purpose.

This first thing to do is to simply go quiet, and go within. In a few days, weeks, months, as you get accustomed to going within, add an intention – your intention to find your purpose – as you go within you.  And one day it will dawn upon you! You’ll see, hear and or feel your purpose.

Alright! Alright! It may not be as easy and can be highly time consuming! Weeks, months… may be years!  Yeah, you’re right. It doesn’t usually happen overnight.  How do I know that? I have been there once upon a time! Much like you!

So now what? Of course, there’s a way out. You need to find a catalyst. Approach those people who have done it – those who have found their purpose, who are living their dreams already. Those people who have the knowledge about journeying within, of meditating, professionals into training/programming the mind, life coaches. They can become the catalyst that can catapult you into your life’s purpose. Ever heard of ASK AND YOU SHALL RECEIVE?

 All I can say is that when you don’t find your purpose, life seems like a load, a burden, a yoke that you carry like a bull that ploughs the land. With your purpose found you’ll fly high into the sky, and radiate the brilliance within, your passion will shine.

From there on, you’ll be high on life! You’ll also rub it onto those who come in your path. You’ll catch yourself jumping out of your bed early and waiting for the new rays of a new sun to kiss the horizon, every day! PURPOSE AND PASSION can do this to you like no other.

Trigger it! NOW! Live YOUR life! 

About the author:

Akshatha Balachandra is a passionate coach, who has found her life’s purpose and loves coaching people find theirs. A post. Grad. in Psychology, Master Practitioner of NLP(USA), Hypnotherapist, Past Life Regressionist, trained in Karuna Reiki and Psychic Surgery. An avid reader and a speaker.

Can be followed on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/akshatha.bala

FB: Simplify Life with Akshatha Bala | Blog: www.themeditatingcoach.wordpress.com

e-Mail her at: coachakshathabala@gmail.com

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AGE is NO BARRIER to YOUR Dreams!!! Mr, Marcelo Vieira, Founder of the next BIG thing from Brazil - Eureca.me - shares his message for the Youth with IU!

Contributed by Marcelo Vieira from Brazil, Founder of Eureca.me

Olá pessoal! Hello everyone! =)

This is Marcelo from Brazil. I was invited from my dear friend Sujit Lalwani to share a message for growing entrepreneurs who follow IU Blog in India and around the World. Just loved this opportunity, since I’m a young entrepreneur who is raising a business that aims to develop entrepreneurial skills among brazilian undergraduate students. As part of my job, I give speeches and host workshops in the top Universities of the country. I’m also fine tuning a platform that will be launched on April, 15^th with the purpose of providing knowledge, tools, networking and challenges to the youth.

The key message I share with my audience is that entrepreneurship is not only about setting up businesses. It’s more about having the attitude to: make things happen, positively impact people and accomplish remarkable achievements. It’s possible to demonstrate this attitude as a businessman, entrepreneur, volunteer, researcher, sports person, artist, or in any other career path one chooses. In addition, there is no right age to start developing these three entrepreneurial skills. The earlier the better. How about starting to practice it right now?

Our generation, known as the Millennials, is the first one with a concrete opportunity work with what we love the most. Please, do not throw this away. There is a very simple tool I share in my speeches that helps people think about their biggest dreams and ambitions. Take a piece of paper and pen, and move yourself to a place where you can be alone for a moment. Imagine you are 30 years ahead. Write how you feel about it, who is by your side, what you have reached, what stories you’re proud of telling to people. Make it seems real. Now return to the present, and think for a while about which actions you should be taking right now in order to make your desired future come true. And go for it!

Cheers from Brazil!

Marcelo Vieira - marcelo.vieira@eureca.me

http://eureca.me

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College Students Turn Ardent Bloggers!!!

Contributed by Akshay Naik & Nandeesh Kamath.

Welcome readers! 

This is Akshay Naik & Nandeesh Kamath who are here to share a short story on how we started two blogs in a span of two weeks which earned some awesome response & made us get 1000 views in just 15 days!!!

First of all we would like to tell you how we got inspired to start our own blogs.It was a day to remember,a small inspirational program with a big gathering was arranged in our hometown Kundapur(Karnataka,India) which was addressed by a solid set of speakers including a powerful,inspirational man whom people would love to hear again & again.He was MR.Sujit Lalwani.

On that day we got our passes booked and were set to go for the event.As we are college students & it was a sunday we didn't want to waste it & wanted to make full use of the day.We entered the hall, it was a packed gathering with a positive atmosphere and then the program started.We started listening to the speakers in an interesting manner & it developed a sense of positiveness in us.

Two sessions were over & we started enjoying the program.And then came the third session which was on internet awareness & how effectively you can use internet as a tool today.The program was presided by MR.V Gautham Navada who started to tell us about the best use of internet and at that point of time came the concept of blogging! before that we knew nothing about blogging and by listening to him we somewhat got an idea about it but still we lacked the courage to start our own blog at that time.The morning session was over & then started the afternoon session and it was presided by MR.Sujit sir.We were very much excited on that because we had earlier once got an opportunity to listen to him.He presided over the stage in style & started his talk.

It was so memorable & inspirational that we forgot everything for the next 3 hours and were just pumped up by his inspirational words.It was so effective that, the last when we saw our watch it was reading 2:30 & the next time when we saw our watch it read 5:30. We truly got inspired by his words & the courage which we lacked to start our own blog was all brought back by this man! on that evening we both went to a cyber center and started our very first blog- 
www.entertainmentunlimited4u.blogspot.com. 

Our main aim was to entertain people by providing latest stuffs based on entertainment.It was started on January 15 and we started posting in it.Initially we got a decent response & we were pretty much satisfied with its progress.As we are students it was a very much difficult task for us to post during daytime and the final exams coming near,our parents wanted us to leave all the extra co-curricular and wanted us to only focus on studies.As our blog was new we wanted to post regularly but we were running short of time.Then one thing came in our mind was "it is difficulties which yields success in life,if you don't have way to success then construct your own".

Then the way which we constructed for our blog's success was utilizing the time of our sleep & we started blogging and updating our blog at midnight.It was so tough for us that we hardly slept 3 hours a day.Even though following this method success was not achieved.But we were not disheartened.We kept it going ,simultaneously read for exams and made best use of social media.And then we got an extraordinary response & in a week we started our second blog www.galaxygamerzone.blogspot.com and even worked hard on it to make it successful.Now we are at a commanding position, working very much hard to make it successful in future.Guys one thing always to remember is never let yourself down no matter the things are not working in your favor but just keep on trying because trying is the key which opens the door to success.

"Student power is the best power" is our belief & we want all the students to contribute to the world in one or the other way.We hope that all you guys,especially students, must have somewhat got motivated by reading our story,till then be motivated & try to motivate others!!!

Links to the contributors:

*Blogs- www.entertainmentunlimited4u.blogspot.com | www.galaxygamerzone.blogspot.com

*FB: www.facebook.com/eu4ul | *Twitter: @TeamEnT4U

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