House Speaker Nancy Pelosi presented a memorial of the resolution passed by the Michigan House of Representatives who condemned the Mumbai Terror attacks that took place last November. Such a pleasant surprise from all this talk about US administration’s support for aid to Pakistan, etc.The resolution was sponsored by Marty Knollenberg and it called on the Obama Administration to work with the Indian government to support them in their strategies post the attacks.

Marty Knollenberg was quoted saying that “the legislation is meant to show our support and sympathy to Indian-Americans”.

As an Indian-American living in Michigan, I send my thank you to Marty Knollenberg!

P.S. Too bad the Indian government appears to be doing little if anything after the terrorist attacks on Mumbai.

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Tim Roemer was appointed Ambassador to India a couple of days ago. Ok, I thought, let me learn more about Tim Roemer. As I expected, he’s a mover & a shaker; president of Center for National Policy which is a national security think tank in DC. So I’m thoroughly impressed. Until….

Until I dug into his voting record and stance on issues while he served in the US House of Representatives from 1991 to 2003. So what caused my eyebrows to raise incredulously?

As a member of the House of Representatives, Tim Roemer voted on the following:

Make a long-term commitment to supporting Pakistan

Roemer signed the 9/11 Commission ReportIn an extraordinary public essay asking how Muslims can “drag ourselves out of the pit we find ourselves in, to raise ourselves up,” Musharraf has called for a strategy of “enlightened moderation.”

• The Muslim world, he said, should shun militancy and extremism; the West—and the United States in particular—should seek to resolve disputes with justice and help better the Muslim world.
• # Having come close to war in 2002 and 2003, Pakistan and India have recently made significant progress in peacefully discussing their longstanding differences. The United States has been and should remain a key supporter of that process.
• # The constant refrain of Pakistanis is that the United States long treated them as allies of convenience. As the United States makes fresh commitments now, it should make promises it is prepared to keep, for years to come.

Recommendation: If Musharraf stands for enlightened moderation in a fight for his life and for the life of his country, the United States should be willing to make hard choices too, and make the difficult long-term commitment to the future of Pakistan. Sustaining the current scale of aid to Pakistan, the United States should support Pakistan’s government in its struggle against extremists with a comprehensive effort that extends from military aid to support for better education, so long as Pakistan’s leaders remain willing to make difficult choices of their own.

Huh! Double Huh! Given how India and Indians feel about Pakistan and what’s happening there, I wonder what Tim Roemer’s thinking about his above vote, now that he is in India.

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Networking is what I love to do and that love really led to the creation of the Michigan India Chamber of Commerce. Everyone networks differently and there are no “documented” right and wrong ways to network. In the 17 months or so (can you believe, it has been that long already!), I’ve formed many, many great connections. However, I’ve also been disappointed with some lack of “networking etiquette” which has led to the creation of this blog:

1. Networking is about connecting: Connections lead to more connections and the result is similar to “connecting the dots” whereby each dot takes you to another connection. Long story short, no connection is too boring, a waste of time, or useless. Value each connection because “you just never know who knows whom”.
   Remember: Connect, connect, connect, period!

2. Networking is about relationships: Networking is NOT about instant gratification. You have to meet the person over and over and over again to first form a relationship, then to leverage that relationship, and then to create mutual benefit.
   Remember: Networking is a longer-term investment. Results may not be achieved in one, two or even 17 months.

3. Networking is not selling: That’s right, networking is not selling. Networking is “marketing” which may or may not lead to a sale, transaction, or money exchanging hands.
   Remember: Learn to market, not sell.

4. Networking requires integrity: This is a good one that is my biggest pet peeve. So what does integrity in networking look like? It looks like the following:
• Remembering a referral
• Being a loyal networker
• Remembering to return a favor
• Sticking by your commitments
• Returning the favor

  Remember: It’s a small world, you just never know when you’ll need the other person

5. Networking beyond “what’s in it for me”: Even successful individuals have asked me; “what’s in it for me”. My answer; “whatever you put in and whatever you want to make of it”.Remember: Networking means “givers gain”. If you are successful, share and gain from that sharing. Sharing doesn’t lessen your success and only helps create good-will ambassadors for you.

To summarize, networking works. By providing the Michigan India Chamber of Commerce forum to you, I help you network. I can neither make or break your deals, broker relationships or transactions and nor can I promise you a “Return on Investment” for your participation.

“You get what you sow” is very true in networking. To make networking work for you, network:

• consistently
• whole-heartedly
• without a “what’s in it for me

And eventually you WILL see an ROI – in the form of relationships, a strong referral network, many goodwill ambassadors, and best-case scenario; your ROI will come in the form of leads & new business.

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We’re getting on in age. No, I’m being serious! I know I’m getting old”er” and so are my friends who are in my age group. And with age comes? You got it, health problems. All those things that didn’t bother us when we were young and energetic are now weighty problems for us – pun intended!

Yes, I’m talking about weight management and health issues that arise from the lack of weight management.

We know how socially active we are. If we aren’t entertaining every weekend, we’re the ones being entertained. If we aren’t cooking oil and sugar loaded foods, we know our friends are preparing those to serve those to us lovingly at parties and events that we are so happy to attend. Every weekend is a weekend for food and friends and the fun now even seems to spill over to work days for some of us. What with kitty parties, a drink after work, or just a girls or guys night out, there just ain’t enough time to accommodate all our social obligations.

And when we get together, what do we do? We eat and we pontificate and then we eat some more. We don’t just eat one simple meal. We have rich appetizers, huge elaborate spreads of main courses, and then we have desserts. “Have some more”, “come on you’re not eating today”, “diet tomorrow, enjoy yourself today” are common phrases heard by each and every one of us. Right? You KNOW that I’m telling it like it is.

We have a lot of time for socializing cause we love it and yet, when the discussion turns to “exercising” or “working out”, we just don’t have the time. A lot of my friends say “I just don’t have the time” or “I’m too tired after a long day and exercise is the last thing on my mind”.

Hmmm…

But don’t we find the time for what we want to do? No matter how tired we are, if a friend called and said “come over for chai” or “we’re coming over for chai”, wouldn’t we “find” the time to accommodate them, tired or not?

Well, health concerns due to lack of activity and too much indulgence of rich foods is no longer just “food for thought” at social events. Studies are now being published that show that Asian Indians are at higher risk when it comes to diabetes, heart disease, blood pressure and other health issues, a lot of which can be associated to poor eating habits and lack of exercise amongst Asian Indians.
This article titled “South Asians have Increased Heart Disease Risk in the UK” is very concerning. And although I’m no physician, I believe that similar results would be found if a study were to be done on Asian Indian eating habits here in the US.

Who amongst us doesn’t know a friend or family member who has one of these three ailments: diabetes, high cholesterol, or high blood pressure?

This is scary stuff my friends. I urge you and encourage you to take small steps towards a healthier lifestyle.

Make small, simple adjustments like:

1. Instead of sitting down and watching TV, spend 10 minutes jogging in place while watching TV.
2. Keep small weights next to your sofa and USE them even if only for 10 minutes 2-3 times a day
3. Get on the tread mill even if for 15 minutes per day
4. Skip a rope for 10 minutes, 2 or 3 times a day
5. etc. etc.

I work out at 10 pm most nights cause I’m too busy, distracted, tied-up during the day. I don’t “look forward to it” but I know how great I feel when I do work out. And I do it because I know that I must workout to keep myself from growing horizontally (since I know I can no longer can grow vertically!)

So friends, make the time to include exercise in your daily routine. While we are working hard and playing hard, it becomes even more imperative that we focus hard to manage our weight and our health so that we can enjoy a healthier life. If we don’t make time now, when will we?

Here’s to your health my South Asian (Indian American) friends!

Lots of my friends are without jobs (including my best friend & better half). Everyone’s trying to figure out where to land that next best job or find that next best business opportunity. Moving to India isn’t a very practical option for many of us who’ve lived here longer than we’ve lived in India and doing nothing isn’t an option either.

But if you aren’t averse to traveling and doing some initial ground work to investigate possibilities, how about checking out opportunities in Slovenia?

Yep, Slovenia! It’s that tiny little country in Central Europe, located in close proximity to Austria, Czech Republic, and Hungary. No, the Slovenian government hasn’t hired me to do their marketing (if only they could be convinced of how good I am at this) but alas, I’m writing this out of the goodness of my heart to help you all.

This article I read today intrigued me. The writer is David Parks (an author who writes on several topics of interest) and in this article, he states that Indians are looking at Slovenia for long-term trade and investment opportunities. He goes on to say that:

“Major industries in Slovenia include electronics, automobiles, textiles, wood products, ferrous metallurgy, machine tools and electric power equipment. In addition, industries such as pharmaceuticals, paper and furniture provide a major thrust to the Slovenian economy.”

So if you are like me, an entrepreneur, you are already thinking about how you can leverage your know-how, your India connections, and your Corporate America experiences to identify opportunities for work or business in Slovenia. So go for it! (I may be doing some checking of my own so don’t be surprised to see me around the corner when you are in Slovenia.)

P.S.

This blog marks my return from a self-imposed hiatus from blogging here on this website. Lots happening and so I’m finding little time to do what I enjoy most, pontificating in the form of my blogs. But I’m baaaack now.

Hope you’ll come back regularly to read my blogs and post your “constructive” comments. I hope to pontificate on all topics of interest including and not limited to Asian Indians and politics, education, networking, business opportunities, and more.

Happy reading……

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