Young Billionair at 27 - Sabeer Bhatia

Born: 1969Success Story of Young Billionaire - Co-founder of Hotmail -Mr. Sabeer BhatiaSabeer Bhatia is one of the poster boys of Indian success story at Silicon Valley. He is better known as the man who co-founded Hotmail. He later sold it to Microsoft for $400 million and today Hotmail is the world's largest e-mail provider, with over 50 million registered users.Sabeer Bhatia was born in 1969 at Chandigarh. He comes from a humble background. His father was an army officer and his mother worked with the Central Bank of India. Sabeer Bhatia had his earlier schooling at Bishop Cotton's School in Pune and later on at St Joseph's College in Bangalore. After passing out from school he joined the Birla Institute of Technology (BITS) at Pilani. At Pilani, he qualified to try for a transfer scholarship at Cal Tech, considered to be the world's most competitive scholarship. Sabeer Bhatia was the only applicant in the entire world in 1988 to get a passing score of 62.In 1988 Sabeer Bhatia came to America and completed his B.Sc. with honours and earned a master's degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University. In 1992, while working on his Ph.D., Sabeer dropped out and joined Apple Computers as a systems integrator. He worked for Apple Computer for a year. Then he worked for another startup, Firepower Systems Inc. In 1995, Sabir Bhatia co-founded Hotmail Corporation along with Jack Smith, a colleague at Apple Computers. They launched pioneering web-based e-mail service Hotmail. At the end of 1997, he sold Hotmail to Microsoft for $400 million. Sabeer Bhatia t worked for Microsoft for a year until March of 1999, and then in the middle of 1999 he founded Arzoo.comHow did the Indian-born then 27-year-old engineer pull it off? All with a coolly executed mix of brilliant idea, Zen-like negotiations, and sly approach to venture capitalists that would make Machiavelli green with envy.I think you have some gut instincts and you have to go on those," says Bhatia. "And you have to give it a shot ... to an entrepreneur it's like a gamble, but you've got to take that chance." Bhatia crafted the strategy of pitching a decoy idea to venture capitalists in order to see which ones he could trust his true idea with. His real idea turned out to be Hotmail, which offered free e-mail accounts that could be accessed over the Web.
"I was introduced to a number of people who pretended to be venture capitalists, but were in fact, people who had little money or just wanted the idea," explains Bhatia. "I was skeptical and I was scared. I truly believed it was going to be very powerful."
The strategy was not only gutsy, it paid off handsomely. Hotmail added users at a record pace after its kickoff on July 4, 1996, which attracted a lengthy courtship from Bill Gates & Co. Bhatia's stubborn negotiations shocked the Microsoft officials and frightened his own partners, who worried the deal would blow up in his face.
It was the software giant that buckled, however, and it purchased Hotmail for a then mind-boggling $400 million. The humble engineer from Bangalore became an instant Internet player.
Bhatia's mild-mannered appearance may lie in the grounded roots of his upbringing in India. Yet, that doesn't fully explain his innate yen for navigating the business' oft-murky waters.
"You have to be able to look into your adversary's eyes and try to figure out how much does he want this, and can I play on his weaknesses? ... And that's exactly what I did."Sabeer Bhatia has won several honors and awards. These include: "Entrepreneur of the Year," award by the venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson (1997); and "TR100" award, presented by MIT to 100 young innovators who are expected to have the greatest impact on technology in the next few years. He was named by TIME as one of the "People to Watch" in International Business (2002)

The Last and Final wishes of Alexander the Great - Part I

This is a very nice story that people need to keep in mind. It has touched my heart and I feel it will definitly touch yours as well. This story has definitely thrown a new dimension towards my thought about life. How is that.......We will discuss at the end.

As every one knows Alexander the Great had conquered almost the whole world by the time he was 32. He was unconquered and undefeated, making him one of the most successful kings in the world history. Unfortunately on his way back home he developed illness, which his physicians claimed, was uncurable. Alexander knew his death was near and he would die soon. Yet he pleaded with his doctors to make him fit enough to reach his homeland.

He was not afraid of death, but.... he wanted to see his mother.. before his death. Alas, the doctors were helpless. Alexander was ready to trade all the kingdoms, wealth and glory that he had amassed during his lifetime for the last few moments he would get to see his home land and mother. Unfortunately, they were in vain.

This was the moment when Alexander realized that all his conquest, wealth and glory wouldn't be of any help when he was to face death. They had no meaning to him any more. They were useless. He realized that death will soon arrive and it was impossible to go back home.So, the mighty conqueror lay prostrate and pale, helplessly waiting to breathe his last.

He called his Commander and said, "I will depart from this world soon, I have three wishes, please carry them out without fail." With tears rolling down their cheeks, the Commander agreed to abide by his king's last wishes.

“My first desire is that," said Alexander, “My physicians alone carry my coffin."

“Secondly, I desire that when my coffin is being carried to the grave, the path leading to the graveyard be strewn with gold, silver and precious stones which amassed during my conquest.

"My third and last wish is that both my hands be kept dangling out of my coffin."

The people who had gathered there wondered at the king's strange wishes. But no one dared to bring the question to their lips. Alexander's favorite Commander kissed his hand and pressed them to his heart. “O king, we assure you that your wishes will all be fulfilled. But tell us why do you make such strange wishes?"
At this, Alexander took a deep breath, smiled and said: “I would like the world to know of the three lessons I have just learnt.

First, I wanted my physicians to carry my coffin because people should realize that no doctor on earth can really cure any body. They are powerless and cannot save a person from the clutches of death. So let not people take life for granted. People should learn to treasure their lives.

Through the second wish of strewing riches on the way to the graveyard, I want to tell People that not even a fraction of gold that I had collected for this long period is going to come with me. I spent all my life earning riches but cannot take anything with me. Let people realize that it is a sheer waste of time to chase wealth. I want people to learn from my mistake.
And about my third wish of having my hands dangling out of the coffin, I wish people to know that I came with empty hands into this world and I go with empty hands out of this world."I can't even take my body along with me on this journey of death.

With these words, the king closed his eyes and soon breathed his last. . .
The moral from this story.... we will see in the next post

Inventions by accidents - Micro Oven

History of the Microwave Oven

Like many of today's great inventions, the microwave oven was a by-product of another technology. It was during a radar-related research project around 1946 that Dr. Percy Spencer, a self-taught engineer with the Raytheon Corporation, noticed something very unusual. He was testing a new vacuum tube called a magnetron when he discovered that the candy bar in his pocket had melted. This intrigued Dr. Spencer, so he tried another experiment. This time he placed some popcorn kernels near the tube and, perhaps standing a little farther away, he watched with an inventive sparkle in his eye as the popcorn sputtered, cracked and popped all over his lab.

The next morning, Scientist Spencer decided to put the magnetron tube near an egg. Spencer was joined by a curious colleague, and they both watched as the egg began to tremor and quake. The rapid temperature rise within the egg was causing tremendous internal pressure. Evidently the curious colleague moved in for a closer look just as the egg exploded and splattered hot yolk all over his amazed face. The face of Spencer lit up with a logical scientific conclusion: the melted candy bar, the popcorn, and now the exploding egg, were all attributable to exposure to low-density microwave energy. Thus, if an egg can be cooked that quickly, why not other foods? Experimentation began...

Dr. Spencer fashioned a metal box with an opening into which he fed microwave power. The energy entering the box was unable to escape, thereby creating a higher density electromagnetic field. When food was placed in the box and microwave energy fed in, the temperature of the food rose very rapidly. Dr. Spencer had invented what was to revolutionize cooking, and form the basis of a multimillion dollar industry, the microwave oven.

source: http://www.gallawa.com

Story of Xerox- Photocopier

Just imagine, having to copy everything by hand. You'd get writer's cramp within five minutes! Well thanks to this guy, we don't have to go through all that.

A man named Chester Carlson worked in a patent office. That's a place where inventors go to get a kind of a license to say that no one can copy their inventions. Anyway, he was always being bothered with people needing copies of patent applications. Copying things took a long time back then, and it was sloppy. Mr. Carlson got fed up, I guess.

He started to work on an invention that would copy right at the push of a button. He worked on it right in his own kitchen. Just imagine, eating breakfast each morning, and seeing this big thing that really didn't even work yet! I would just want it out of there, and that's what would make me keep working on it.

Anyway, he kept working and working on it, and it was FINALLY done. It had taken a while, but it was worth it. The pile of wires that had once been sitting uselessly in his kitchen was now all over the world!

I bet you are all very thankful for Chester Carlson and his kitchen now! If they didn't exist, we'd have to wait for hours at a time to just copy our friends assignment or have to copy the whole thing by hand. That would just be a pain in the neck!

Now I know that you are thankful for Mr. Carlson. He was a great help to people who needed copies of things, and to people who were supposed to make the copies. Now, where would we be today if Chester Carlson hadn't taken the time to invent the Xerox machine?

Story of Zippppppppppp

Zippers were invented by an American engineer by the name of Whitcomb Judson way back in 1893. His idea came because he wanted things to be easier. Everyday people did have to button their coats and dresses. So he invented what he called his "clasp locker and un-locker" which today is the "zipper". It was a collection of metal clasps with a metal slider.

Of course this thing was brilliant but at first, his brilliance failed him. The zipper would often come undone, or it wouldn't pull up because it was stuck. Mr. Judson worked at it, making it better and inventing machines to make them. But even that sometimes goofed up and not many people bought it.

Whitcomb Judson did not want his idea to collapse. Another engineer, Gideon Sundback, made some improvements to make it work. In 1908 he joined Mr. Judson's company. He then made a few more changes and in 1913 he had a cup-shaped link that was easier. It then sold thousands!

Story of Levi Jeans

Jeans are really comfy pants, but have you ever heard the story of how they were invented? It's actually pretty interesting. It goes like this...

In 1850, there was a man named Levi Strauss. He came to San Francisco when he was 17 years old for the Gold Rush.

He noticed that all the miners needed tougher pants because of the rough work they were doing. Seeing that he could start a business, he cut up some canvas from a tent. He made pants out of it, and soon, every one wanted a pair.

Levi didn't really like making pants out of canvas because it was too stiff. He started to make pants out of a different fabric. People in Italy started to call the pants "genes". They called them that because the city where the fabric was made was called Genoa.

Levi decided to change the spelling to jeans, and dyed them dark blue so stains wouldn't show up as well.

Today, blue jeans sell better than any other type of pants in America!

Inventions by Accidents...........

Till date have you been thinking that all the gadgets, the different varieties of food and other day to day devices were a product of years research...........you may be wrong........ because many came up when things went wrong and haywire. Check it out................

1. Cheese
Cheese was invented by an old Arabian traveling across the desert. He had a pouch along with him made from a. . . . . . . . SHEEP'S STOMACH!! Anyway, he poured his milk into it and continued on his way. Later, he opened the pouch to find. . .cheese!!!!!!!
How???
Chemicals from the sheep's stomach combined with the heat of the sun and clumped up the milk into cheese.

2. Frisbee
How many people do you know who toss around a pie tin for fun? Well, it might have been a lot if you had lived before Frisbees were invented. College kids used to play catch with pie tins for fun. Why the name? Frisbee Pie Company, of course!

3. Popsicle
A long time ago, a boy named Frank Epperson was sitting on his front porch stirring soda. Suddenly, something distracted him, and he ran away, forgetting his soda. That night, the temperature reached an all-time low. Frank awoke in the morning to the world's favorite
summer snack-the popsicle!

4.Sandwich
Here he is, the high-and-mighty Earl, sitting daintily at his gambling table when-rats-it's lunchtime! What's a poor Earl to do? Give up his gambling or. . .starve? Suddenly, the Earl gets an idea! He orders his servants to simply pile all the food between two pieces of bread. Easy enough to eat while gambling, and a delightful snack, too. But what does he name this invention of his? Why, after himself- John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich!

5. Potato Chips
Potato chips were invented by a chef. But they were not invented as a new food. They were invented because the chef was getting irritated with one of his customers. You see, one of his customers kept on sending back his potatoes, claiming they weren't thin enough or fried long enough. The chef angrily sliced the potatoes paper-thin, fried them for a loooooong time, and sent them to the customer. To his dismay, the customer loved them and asked for more!

6.Coca Cola
A long time ago, a doctor was carefully working on a new headache medicine. He wanted it to taste good, but also to feel good. He finally perfected it and sent it for approval. When the approvers were inspecting it, they realized that the medicine tasted better than it worked. They put in some carbonated water, changed it a little more, and introduced it world-wide as: Coca Cola, a new soft drink!!

Source: Forwarded Mail

Story of Charlie Chaplin

Charlie, a native of London, was born in poverty on April 16, 1889 to music hall performers Charles and Hannah Chaplin. As a child he was confined to a bed for weeks due to a serious illness. At night his mother would sit at the window and act out what was going on outside. This was a major reason Chaplin became a comedian. He was a small child when he got his first break by performing in place of his mother, who was suffering from severe mental illness.

He got his start in films when his half-brother Sydney got him a job with the Karno Company in England. He came to the United States and joined Mack Sennet's Keystone Studio. Sennet was famous for his slapstick comedies which invariably ended in chases. Chaplin went on to work for Essenay where some of his best known work was done. Eventually, with Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford he formed United Artists.

Along the way Chaplin did something that made him a famous figure world wide. Charlie Chaplin was considered to be one of the most pivotal stars of the early days of Hollywood. He lived an interesting life both in his films and behind the camera. He is most recognized as an icon of the silent film era, often associated with his popular "Little Tramp" character; the man with the toothbrush mustache, bowler hat, bamboo cane, and a funny walk.

Actually, he invented the Tramp. He went to the costume room at the studio and began combining pieces of clothing until he was wearing a derby hat, vest that was too small, shoes that were too big, a brush-mustache, and was carrying a cane. The costume seemed to produce the character. He remembered the walk of a man from his childhood and copied it. The character became synonymous with Chaplin until 1940 when he did his first sound film. Even though he did a small amount of work without the Tramp costume he will always be remembered for that character.

Because Chaplin began his life in terrible poverty he always connected with the common man, even when he had become a multi-millionare. There was a serious side to his work, a combination of comedy and melodrama known as "pathos". It hadn't occurred to many comedians to pepper their hilarious performances with scenes that would tug at the audience's heart strings. Charlie became the master and such films as The Gold Rush, The Kid, and City Lights are considered to be treasures for just that reason.

He was daring, willing to take chances, and had a knowledge of what the audience wanted. The silent genius was all of those things. Chaplin was not only a great performer on screen, but he directed most of his films (only his earliest films were directed by others). He was a producer and writer. In the days of silent films he wrote the scene as the film was being made. In his later films the opening credits seem to say "...by Charles Chaplin" over and over.

Up until his last few movies, he never shot with a working script. He would start with a story in his mind and constantly retool it, often shooting hours of scenes that wouldn't make the final cut until he was satisfied. He spent his nights during filming, critiquing the rushes with his assistant directors. Consequently compared to the major studio's films, he spent months/years and excessive amounts of money on his productions. He often said though he would not release any of his films until he was 100% satisfied with the result.

There was more. Chaplin proved to be a prolific composer. He could not read a note of music but could play it for those who could write it down. Some of his music has gained widespread recognition, such as "Smile", from Modern Times and "This is my Song" from one of his lesser known films, A Countess from Hong Kong. The most beautiful is "Eternally", the opening theme of Limelight. It became so widely known as one of the great Chaplin compositions that it was played at many of his professional appearances, including his Academy Award acceptance in 1972.

In 1962 Charlie received an honorary degree from Oxford University. In 1972, twenty years after he left the US, Chaplin was invited back to receive a special Academy Award for achievement. This was followed by a knighthood by Queen Elizabeth II. As Sir Charles Chaplin is star was again on the rise!

A Nice story from British Airways

This scene took place on a British Airways flight between Johannesburg, South Africa & London.

A white woman, about 50 years old, was seated next to a black man. Very disturbed by this, she called the air hostess. "You obviously do not see it then?" she asked.

"You placed me next to a black man. I did not agree to sit next to someone from such a repugnant group. Give me an alternative seat."

"Be calm please," the hostess replied. "Almost all the places on this flight are taken. I will go to see if another place is available." The hostess went away & then came back a few minutes later. "Madam, just as I thought, there are no other available seats in Economy Class.

I spoke to the captain & he informed me that there is also no seat in Business Class. All the same, we still have one place in First Class." Before the woman could say anything, the hostess continued. "It is unusual for our company to permit someone from Economy Class to sit in First Class.

However, given the circumstances, the captain feels that it would be scandalous to make someone sit next to someone so disgusting."She turned to the black guy & said, "Therefore, Sir, if you would like to, please collect your hand luggage, a seat awaits you in First Class." At that moment, the other passengers, who'd been shocked by what they had just witnessed, stood up & applauded....

Respect all....

Source: Forwarded Mail

Story of Superman - Chistopher Reeves

Christopher Reeve was born on September 25, 1952, in New York. He studied at Cornell University, while at the same time working as a professional actor. In his final year of Cornell, he and Robin Williams, who became a life-long friend, were selected to study at the Julliard School of Performing Arts.

When it became financially difficult for him to continue his studies, Reeve took a role in the soap opera Love of Life. In 1976, he dropped out of Julliard to take a role in the Broadway play, A Matter of Gravity, starring Katharine Hepburn. Reeve since appeared in many feature films, TV movies and some 150 plays. He also hosted many specials and documentaries. Some of his better-known films include, Somewhere in Time (1980), Deathtrap (1982), The Bostonians (1984), The Remains of the Day (1993), and Above Suspicion (1995).

In addition to his early stage work, Reeve appeared in The Marriage of Figaro in New York, Summer and Smoke with Christine Lahti in Los Angeles, and he toured with Love Letters in several major cities. He also starred in a well-received production of The Aspern Papers in London's West End with Vanessa Redgrave and Dame Wendy Hiller. He liked to spend summers at the Williamstown Theater Festival.

He established himself early as a Juilliard-trained stage actor before portraying Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent in four films, from 1978 to 1987.

He made three sequels to Superman, and, in an interview he once said that when he asked Sean Connery how to avoid being typecast, Connery answered, "First you have to be good enough that they ask you to play it again and again."

In May, 1995, Reeve was thrown from his horse during a riding event, and, landing on his head, broke the top two vertebrae in his spine. Left paralyzed from the neck down, Reeve became an active advocate for bringing greater public awareness to the needs of those with spinal cord injuries. He and his wife created a fundraising foundation called the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation to raise research money and provide grants to local agencies that focus on quality of life for the disabled. He was also an outspoken advocate for the need for stem cell research.

Despite his injury, Reeve continued to work, both as an actor and as a director, winning accolades for his role in a TV production of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, and acclaim for his directorial debut of the HBO-film In the Gloaming. His autobiography, Still Me, was a bestseller, and he won a Grammy for his spoken album, of the same title.

Reeve died of heart failure on October 10, 2004, after being treated for a systemic infection that resulted from a pressure sore, a common affliction for people living with paralysis.

Reeves became a symbol of positive attitude, persistance and courage

source: wikipedia.com, answers.com

History of John Claude Van Damme

Jean-Claude Van Damme (born October 18, 1960) is a Belgian martial artist.

Van Damme was born Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg in Berchem-Sainte-Agathe (Brussels), Belgium, the son of Eliana and Eugène Van Vaerenbergh, who was an accountant and owned a flower shop. He began martial arts at the age of ten, enrolled by his father in a shotokan karate school. He eventually earned his black belt in karate, later winning the European Professional Karate Association's middleweight championship. He also started lifting weights to improve his physique, which eventually led to a Mr. Belgium bodybuilding title.At the age of 16 he took up ballet, which he studied for five years.

Van Damme's karate teacher and coach was Master Claude Goetz. Jean-Claude studied in Goetz's dojo in Brussels, Belgium. Under Goetz's guidance, Van Damme developed an impressive array of kicks and strikes. Van Damme has also studied Taekwondo and Muay Thai, along with Shotokan Karate.

In 1976, at the age of 16, Jean-Claude made his semi-contact debut under his birth name, Jean Claude Van Vaerenbergh. Fighting at an event sanctioned by the European Karate Union (EKU) in Brussels, Jean-Claude overcame a shakey start to stop fellow-countryman, Toon van Oostrum in 46 seconds. Knockouts were prohibited under the rules, however, van Oostrum quit and the result was listed as "stoppage 0:46". Master Goetz realized his young pupil needed more schooling before he was ready to compete again.

In 1978, after two serious years of training, 18 year old Jean-Claude entered his first EKU tournament in Antwerp, Belgium (under "full-Contact" rules) in the Beginner's Division. Now equipped with more confidence and skill, Jean-Claude had little trouble in winning the tournament. He scored three victories; an 18 second knockout over German-born prospect Eric "Basel" Strauss, a 39 second stoppage over Michel Juvillier (Juvillier quit), and a 12 second stoppage of Orlando Lang.

Two months later at a tournament in Izegem, Belgium, sanctioned by the World-All Styles Karate Organization (WAKO), Van Damme won his first "Semi-Contact" championship in the Beginners Category.

Van Damme won all matches he participated except in one match where he lost a 2-round decision to fellow countryman, Patrick Teugels. Hence, before his retirement from the active competitions he requested a rematch with Patrick Teugels, the only man to defeat him. Teugels was now rated 2nd in the world in the middleweight division by the WAKO. The rematch in Brussels was scheduled for 5-two minute rounds. At the bell, Van Damme came out punching and kicking. His overwhelming aggression was too much for Teugels and the match was halted in under the 2-minute mark (A video of this fight now appears on aol.videos). Following the victory, Jean-Claude retired from active competition with a 18-1 (18 knockouts) record and entered Hollywood.

source: wikipedia.com

Story of Warren Buffet-The "Oracle of Omaha"

Warren Edward Buffett was born on August 30, 1930 to his father Howard, a stockbroker-turned-Congressman. The only boy, he was the second of three children, and displayed an amazing aptitude for both money and business at a very early age. Acquaintances recount his uncanny ability to calculate columns of numbers off the top of his head - a feat Warren still amazes business colleagues with today. The boy received an early, close-up look at the stock market. His father Howard and young Warren, just nine years old, often visited the shop and charted stock performances. He chalked in stock prices on the big blackboard at his father's office, and at age 13 ran paper routes and published his own horse-racing tip sheet.

At only six years old, Buffett purchased 6-packs of Coca Cola from his grandfather's grocery store for twenty five cents and resold each of the bottles for a nickel, pocketing a five cent profit. While other children his age were playing hopscotch and jacks, Warren was making money. Five years later, Buffett took his step into the world of high finance. At eleven years old, he purchased three shares of Cities Service Preferred at $38 per share for both himself and his older sister, Doris. Shortly after buying the stock, it fell to just over $27 per share. A frightened but resilient Warren held his shares until they rebounded to $40. He promptly sold them - a mistake he would soon come to regret. Cities Service shot up to $200. The experience taught him one of the basic lessons of investing: patience is a virtue.

His Education

Warren Buffett's EducationIn 1947, a seventeen year old Warren Buffett graduated from High School. It was never his intention to go to college; he had already made $5,000 delivering newspapers (this is equal to $42,610.81 in 2000). His father had other plans, and urged his son to attend the Wharton Business School at the University of Pennsylvania. Buffett stayed two years, complaining that he knew more than his professors. When Howard was defeated in the 1948 Congressional race, Warren returned home to Omaha and transferred to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Working full-time, he managed to graduate in only three years.
Warren Buffett approached graduate studies with the same resistance he displayed a few years earlier. He was finally persuaded to apply to Harvard Business School, which, in the worst admission decision in history, rejected him as "too young". Slighted, Warren applied to Columbia where famed investors Ben Graham and David Dodd taught - an experience that would forever change his life.

After graduate school, at his father's brokerage firm, Buffett would often travel to Lincoln, Nebraska and pore through company reports. As he told Forbes magazine, "I read from page to page. I didn't read brokers' reports or anything. I just looked at raw data. And I would get all excited about these things." Today, he conducts his business the same way. Buffett does not have a stock ticker in his office, nor a computer or calculator. According to numerous published reports, he spends about five to six hours each day reading annual reports and trade publications. Fortune magazine reported that in Omaha, Buffett "does what he pleases, leading an unhurried, unhassled, largely unscheduled life….He spends hours at a stretch in his office, reading, talking on the phone, and, in the December to March period, agonizing over his annual report, whose fame is one of the profound satisfactions in his life."

How do you succeed in the stock market? Throughout the years Buffett has offered bits of advice, such as:

1) If you buy into a great business, stick with it no matter how high the stock price goes;

2) avoid staggering debt;

3) think long term and don't hop in and out of the market;

4) in a bidding war between companies, buy stock in the side you think will lose;

5) easy does it (meaning, avoid businesses with big problems), and

6) concentrate on a small number of stocks.

Story of LN Mittal - Archelor Mittal

Lakshmi Niwas Mittal was born in the village of Safalpur, India, on June 15, 1950. Lakshmi spent his first years in India, living with his extended family on bare floors and rope beds in a house built by his grandfather. His family, from the Marwari Aggarwal castel, was from humble roots; his grandfather worked for a leading Marwari industrial firms of pre-independence India. Lakshmi was a keen student and his classmates knew him as a sharp student who was good with numbers.

Lakshmi Mittal began his career working in the family's steelmaking business in India, and in 1976, when the family founded its own steel business, Mittal set out to establish its international division, beginning with the buying of a run-down plant in Indonesia. Shortly afterwards he married Usha, the daughter of a well-to-do moneylender, who would become a key adviser to the future tycoon. In 1994, due to differences with his father and brothers, he branched out on his own, taking over the international operations of the Mittal steel business, which was already owned by the family.

Parting ways with his father, Mittal purchased a money-losing state mill in Trinidad in 1989, the same year that the Berlin Wall fell. His strategy, as explained to management professor Sumantra Ghoshal: “We set very aggressive targets because we don’t benchmark companies based on local standards, but on international standards. If the management of the acquired company is willing to commit to these targets, they stay. If they have any problems following our business plan and vision, they go.”

The new owner of Sparrows Point (His new house) has come a long way in a short time – an Indian now living in London who is reputed to be the world’s third richest person.

In his 16-year rise from obscurity to opulence, Lakshmi Niwas Mittal has multiplied his steel holdings by 138 times. As recently as four years ago, before he became embroiled in an influence-peddling scandal involving UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, he was known mostly for his oddball collection of steel mills in such countries as Kazakhstan, Trinidad, and Mexico.Today, he is the biggest steelmaker on the globe, holds a dominant position in the U.S., employs 165,000 people worldwide, and, at least on paper, has climbed to the uppermost rungs of the mega-rich.

With a net worth vaulting last year from $6 billion to $25 billion, according to Forbes magazine, Mittal has not been shy about advertising his wealth. He shelled out $125 million last year for a mansion next door to the royal family’s Kensington Palace in London. The property, comprising the former Egyptian and Russian embassies joined together, boasts 55,000 square feet of floor space, a swimming pool inlaid with jewels, Turkish baths, a ballroom, and a 20-car garage. Purchased from Formula One racing boss Bernie Eccleston, the house is the most expensive private residence in the world, excluding that of royalty.

Mittal also raised eyebrows last year for the lavish wedding of his 23-year-old daughter Vanisha. Invitations for the Hindu nuptials were 20 pages thick, encased in silver, and contained jade necklaces or diamond watches for close family friends. The industrialist chartered 12 Boeing jets to fly 1,500 guests from India for five days of festivities in France that ranged from the Tulleries Gardens in Paris to the Palace of Versailles. Fireworks filled the skies, Bollywood stars mixed with the guests, 5,000 bottles of Mouton-Rothschild 1986 were consumed, and pop star Kylie Minogue entertained the throngs before a makeshift castle. The Indian press tagged the cost at $55 million.

Rupees 1,100,000,000,000. Or Rs 110,000 crores!- yes thats the net worth of Archelor Mittal

That's the approximate amount of money the world's third richest man Lakshmi N Mittal is valued at.

What can a man do with that kind of money? Well, with that:

• He can wipe out the entire debt of cash-strapped Maharashtra (Rs 105,000 crore at last count) and still have enough small change (Rs 5,000 crore) to be counted among the country's rich and famous.
• He can four- or six-lane all of India's national highways two times over. (Government estimates say that the ambitious highway project would cost India Rs 55,000 crore).
• He can buy 4,400,000 (44 lakh) Maruti [Get Quote] 800 cars. That means he can buy every Maruti 800 sold in India for the next 34 years! (calculated at today's prices, assuming that 130,000 Maruti 800s are sold each year).
  Or, if Marutis are not his style, he can buy 22,000 of the Rs 5-crore Maybach luxury cars.
• He can clear off over 20% of India's external debt of about $120 billion.
• He can buy 35% of all of India exports this year (India's exports touched a record $70 billion this year).
• He can eat McDonalds Family Value Meal (@ Rs 199 twice a day) for the next 7,500,000 years!
• He can stay at Taj Mahal hotel's (Mumbai) grand luxury suite (@ Rs 42,650 per night) for 70,661 years (you could lop off a couple of thousand years if he's ordering room service).
• He accounts for 3.84% of India's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) -- which in 2004-05 was approximately at $650 billion.
• He can make rupee millionaires of the entire population of the cities of Howrah or Meerut or Varanasi or Nashik (these cities have populations between 10 lakh to 11 lakh as per the 2001 census).
• Give every Indian (Yes, you, me and the rest of the billion of us) $25 (Rs 1,084).
• He can also fly 55 million Indians to and fro London on Air-India flights (with air fares plummeting Air-India is offering a one-way fare to London of about Rs 20,000)!
• He already owns the world's most expensive housewhich he bought last year in central London at a stunning price of $128.25 million. He can buy 190 more of those at yet have over half-a-billion dollars left at his disposal.
• Mittal's 25 billion dollar-notes would weigh 2.5 million kg (a dollar bill weighs 1 gram).

Source: Rediff.com

Story of Azim Premji - Wipro

Azim Premji is Chairman of Wipro Technologies, one of the largest software companies in India. He is an icon among Indian businessmen and his success story is a source of inspiration to a number of budding entrepreneurs.

Born on July 24, 1945, Azim Hashim Premji was studying Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, USA when due to the sudden demise of his father, he was called upon to handle the family business. Premji’s father was s small vendor who made edible oil out of dry coconuts and catered to his immediate neighborhood. His slow growth resulted in the establishment of a company called Western India Vegetable Products (WIPRO) and its various food products were sold within the country until his demise.Azim Premji took over the reins of family business in 1966 at the age of 21.

At the first annual general meeting of the company attended by Azeem Premji, a shareholder doubted Premji's ability to handle business at such a young age and publicly advised him to sell his shareholding and give it to a more mature management. This spurred Azim Premji and made him all the more determined to make Wipro a success story. And the rest is history.

When Azim Premji occupied the hot seat, Wipro dealt in hydrogenated cooking fats and later diversified to bakery fats, ethnic ingredient based toiletries, hair care soaps, baby toiletries, lighting products and hydraulic cylinders. Thereafter Premji made a focused shift from soaps to software.

Under Azim Premji's leadership Wipro has metamorphosed from a Rs.70 million company in hydrogenated cooking fats to a pioneer in providing integrated business, technology and process solutions on a global delivery platform. Today, Wipro Technologies is the largest independent R&D service provider in the world. His disciplined way of life is one of the reasons for his meteoric rise to fame. He seldom loses his temper. Once when he returned from a foreign visit, his driver failed to turn up at the airport to receive him. Any other person in his shoes would have become enraged at this incident and probably would have suspended the driver at once. But Premji is made of sterner stuff. He coolly hired a cab and reach office. He did not discuss this matter with anyone either. Much later, when a friend referred to this incident, Premji replied that erring workers should not be punished instantly. On the contrary they should be allowed to go wrong and then we must give them a fair chance to realize their folly and reform. This is the best approach. But, should they repeat the mistake again, we should not hesitate to discipline them, he added.This is but one sterling example of his unique approach to his human resource development on a day to day basis. That is precisely the foundation of his success.

He leads a simple life in Bangalore. Despite being one of the richest men in the world, Premji still drives a Ford Escort and travels economy class during foreign jaunts.

Azim Premji has several achievements to his credit. In 2000, Asiaweek magazine, voted Premji among the 20 most powerful men in the world. Azim Premji was among the 50 richest people in the world from 2001 to 2003 listed by Forbes. In April 2004, Times Magazine, rated him among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. He is also the richest Indian for the past several years. In 2005,Government of India honored Azim Premji with Padma Bhushan.

His advice to youngsters: In his own words:

My own successes and setbacks along the way have taught me some lessons. I wish to share them with you and hope you will find them useful.

Lesson #1: Be careful to ask what you want.

You may get it. What this means is that do not ask too little either of yourself or the others around you. What you ask is what you get. When I look back at the time when I joined Wipro, I was 21. If you ask me whether I thought that Wipro would grow so by someday, the honest answer is that I did not. But neither did I think it would not. We constantly stretched ourselves to higher and higher targets. Sometimes, it seemed possible, sometimes fanciful and sometimes plain insane. But we never stopped raising limits. And we got a lot more than what we bargained for.

Lesson # 2: Respond, don’t react:

Always be aware of your emotions and learn to manage them. There is a huge difference between people who react impulsively and those who can disengage themselves and then respond at will. By choosing to respond differently, we can prevent another person from controlling our behaviour. I remember a small story that illustrates this well. There was once a newspaper vendor who had a rude Customer. Every morning, the Customer would walk by, refuse to return the greeting, grab the paper off the shelf and throw the money at the vendor. The vendor would pick up the money, smile politely and say, “Thank you, Sir.” One day, the vendor’s assistant asked him, “Why are you always so polite with him when he is so rude to you? Why don’t you throw the newspaper at him when he comes back tomorrow?” The vendor smiled and replied, “He can’t help being rude and I can’t help being polite. Why should I let his rude behaviour dictate mine?

Lesson # 3: Intuitions are important for making decisions:

It is important to realize that our intuition is a very important part of decision making. Many things are recorded by our subconscious. Use both sides of the brain. Even that is not enough. Some decisions need the use of the heart as well. When you use your mind and heart together, you may get a completely new and creative answer.

Lesson # 4: Learn to work in teams:

The challenges ahead are so complex that no individual will be able to face them alone. While most of our education is focused in individual strength, teaming with others is equally important. You cannot fire a missile from a canoe. Unless you build a strong network of people with complimentary skills, you will be restricted by your own limitations. Globalisation has brought people of different origins, different upbringing and different cultures together. Ability to become an integral part of a cross-cultural team will be a must for your success.

Lesson #5: Never lose your zest and curiosity:

All the available knowledge in the world is accelerating at a phenomenal rate. The whole world's codified knowledge base (all documented information in library books and electronic files) doubled every 30 years in the early 20th century. By the 1970s, the world's knowledge base doubled every seven years. Information researchers predict that by the year 2010, the world's codified knowledge will double every 11 hours. Remaining on top of what you need to know will become one of the greatest challenges for you. The natural zest and curiosity for learning is one of the greatest drivers for keeping updated on knowledge. A child’s curiosity is insatiable because every new object is a thing of wonder and mystery. The same zest is needed to keep learning new things. I personally spend at least 10 hours every week on reading. If I do not do that, I will find myself quickly outdated.

Lesson # 6: Put yourself first:

This does not mean being selfish. Nor does it mean that you must become so full of yourself that that you become vain or arrogant. It means developing your self confidence. It means, developing an inner faith in yourself that is not shaken by external events. It requires perseverance. It shows up in the ability to rebound from a setback with double enthusiasm and energy. I came across a recent Harvard Business review which describes this very effectively :“No one can truly define success and failure for us- only we can define that for ourselves. No one can take away our dignity unless we surrender it. No one can take away our hope and pride unless we relinquish them. No one can steal our creativity, imagination and skills unless we stop thinking. No one can stop us from rebounding unless we give up.”And there is no way we can take care of others, unless we take care of ourselves.

Lesson # 7: Have a broader social vision:

While there is every reason to be excited about the future, we must not forget that we will face many challenges as well. By 2015, we will have 829 million strong workforce. That will make India home to 18% of global working-age population. The key challenge is to transform that into a globally competitive work-force. This will not be an easy task. Despite all the rapid economic expansion seen in recent years, job growth in India still trails the rise in working-age population. It is important that gains are spread across this spectrum, so that the divide between the employed and the under-employed, is minimised. Education is a crucial enabler that can make this growth as equitable as possible.

Lesson # 8: Play to win:

Playing to win is not the same as playing dirty. It is not about winning all the time or winning at any cost. Playing to win is having the intensity to stretch to the maximum and bringing our best foot forward. Winning means focusing on the game. The score board tells you where you are going, but don’t concentrate too much on it. If you can focus on the ball, the scores will move by themselves. I recently came across this story that I thought I would share with youA group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went into the kitchen. He returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups: porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal- some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite – and asked them to help themselves to coffee. When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, you were more concerned about comparing your cups but what you really wanted was coffee. Yet you spent all your time eyeing each other's cups. Now if life is coffee, then the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to contain Life, but cannot really change the quality of Life. Sometimes, by over concentrating on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee."I wish you all every success in your career and your life.

Source: Forwarded Mail

The Story of Nirma Washing Power - Karsanbhai Patel

In 1969, Karsanbhai Patel, a chemist at the Gujarat Government's Department of Mining and Geology manufactured phosphate free Synthetic Detergent Powder, and started selling it locally. The new yellow powder was priced at Rs. 3.50 per kg, at a time when HLL’s Surf was priced at Rs 15. Soon, there was a huge demand for Nirma in Ruppur (Gujarat), Patel’s hometown. He started packing the formulation in a 10x12ft room in his house. Patel named the powder as Nirma, after his daughter Nirupama. Patel was able to sell about 15-20 packets a day on his way to the office on bicycle, some 15 km away. By 1985, Nirma washing powder had become one of the most popular detergents in many parts of the country.


By 1999, Nirma was a major consumer brand – offering a range of detergents, soaps and personal care products. In keeping with its philosophy of providing quality products at the best possible prices, Nirma brought in the latest technology for its manufacturing facilities at six locations in India. Nirma’s success in the highly competitive soap and detergent market was attributed to its brand promotion efforts, which was complemented by its distribution reach and market penetration. Nirma’s network consisted of about 400 distributors and over 2 million retail outlets across the country. This huge network enabled Nirma to make its products available to the smallest village.



“It all started to earn a side income, and at that stage, I had never imagined this kind of success.” - Karsanbhai Patel, CMD, Nirma Ltd. “Like other FMCGs, we have not concentrated only on marketing strategy. From the very beginning, operational strategy in cost containment, backward integration, economies of scale, innovative production, packaging and penetration schemes have received equal attention.” Hiren K Patel, CMD, Nirma Consumer Care Ltd. (Nirma’s marketing arm). In the early 1970s, when Nirma washing powder was introduced in the low-income market, Hindustan Lever Limited HLL reacted in a way typical of many multinational companies. Senior executives were dismissive of the new product: “That is not our market”, “We need not be concerned.” But very soon, Nirma’s success in the detergents market convinced HLL that it really needed to take a closer look at the low-income market.


Starting as a one-product one-man outfit in 1969, Nirma became a Rs 17 billion company within three decades. The company had multi-locational manufacturing facilities, and a broad product portfolio under an umbrella brand – Nirma. The company’s mission to provide, “Better Products, Better Value, Better Living” contributed a great deal to its success. Nirma successfully countered competition from HLL and carved a niche for itself in the lower-end of the detergents and toilet soap market. The brand name became almost synonymous with low-priced detergents and toilet soaps. However, Nirma realized that it would have to launch products for the upper end of the market to retain its middle class consumers who would graduate to the upper end. The company launched toilet soaps for the premium segment. However, analysts felt that Nirma would not be able to repeat its success story in the premium segment.


In 2000, Nirma had a 15% share in the toilet soap segment and more than 30% share in the detergent market. Aided by growth in volumes and commissioning of backward integration projects, Nirma’s turnover for the year ended March 2000 increased by 17% over the previous fiscal, to Rs. 17.17 bn.



source: en.wikipedia.org

The History of Yahoo! - How It All Started...

Yahoo! began as a student hobby and evolved into a global brand that has changed the way people communicate with each other, find and access information and purchase things. The two founders of Yahoo!, David Filo and Jerry Yang, Ph.D. candidates in Electrical Engineering at Stanford University, started their guide in a campus trailer in February 1994 as a way to keep track of their personal interests on the Internet. Before long they were spending more time on their home-brewed lists of favorite links than on their doctoral dissertations.

Eventually, Jerry and David's lists became too long and unwieldy, and they broke them out into categories. When the categories became too full, they developed subcategories ... and the core concept behind Yahoo! was born.

The Web site started out as "Jerry and David's Guide to the World Wide Web" but eventually received a new moniker with the help of a dictionary. The name Yahoo! is an acronym for "Yet Another Hierarchical Officious Oracle," but Filo and Yang insist they selected the name because they liked the general definition of a yahoo: "rude, unsophisticated, uncouth." Yahoo! itself first resided on Yang's student workstation, "Akebono," while the software was lodged on Filo's computer, "Konishiki" - both named after legendary sumo wrestlers.

Jerry and David soon found they were not alone in wanting a single place to find useful Web sites. Before long, hundreds of people were accessing their guide from well beyond the Stanford trailer. Word spread from friends to what quickly became a significant, loyal audience throughout the closely-knit Internet community. Yahoo! celebrated its first million-hit day in the fall of 1994, translating to almost 100 thousand unique visitors.

Due to the torrent of traffic and enthusiastic reception Yahoo! was receiving, the founders knew they had a potential business on their hands. In March 1995, the pair incorporated the business and met with dozens of Silicon Valley venture capitalists. They eventually came across Sequoia Capital, the well-regarded firm whose most successful investments included Apple Computer, Atari, Oracle and Cisco Systems. They agreed to fund Yahoo! in April 1995 with an initial investment of nearly $2 million.

Realizing their new company had the potential to grow quickly, Jerry and David began to shop for a management team. They hired Tim Koogle, a veteran of Motorola and an alumnus of the Stanford engineering department, as chief executive officer and Jeffrey Mallett, founder of Novell's WordPerfect consumer division, as chief operating officer. They secured a second round of funding in Fall 1995 from investors Reuters Ltd. and Softbank. Yahoo! launched a highly-successful IPO in April 1996 with a total of 49 employees.

Today, Yahoo! Inc. is a leading global Internet communications, commerce and media company that offers a comprehensive branded network of services to more than 345 million individuals each month worldwide. As the first online navigational guide to the Web, www.yahoo.com is the leading guide in terms of traffic, advertising, household and business user reach. Yahoo! is the No. 1 Internet brand globally and reaches the largest audience worldwide. The company also provides online business and enterprise services designed to enhance the productivity and Web presence of Yahoo!'s clients. These services include Corporate Yahoo!, a popular customized enterprise portal solution; audio and video streaming; store hosting and management; and Web site tools and services. The company's global Web network includes 25 World properties. Headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif., Yahoo! has offices in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia, Canada and the United States.

source: http://docs.yahoo.com/

Story of Orkut.......

The Story....

A guy lost his girlfriend in a train accident.... but the gal's name nowhere appeared in the dead list. This guy grew up n became IT technical architect in his late 20?s, achievement in itself!!. He hired developers from the whole globe and plan to make a software where he could search for his gf through the web..

Things went as planned... and he found her, after losing millions of dollars and 3 long years!!

It was time to shut down the search operation, when the CEO of Google had a
word with this guy and took over this application.

This Software made a whopping 1 billion dollars profit in its first year, which we today know as ORKUT .
The guy's name is ORKUT BUYUKKOTEN . Yes its named after him only. Today he is paid a hefty sum by Google for the things we do like scrapping. He is expected to b the richest person by 2009.

ORKUT BUYUKKOTEN today has 13 assistants to monitor his scrapbook & 8 to
monitor his friends-list. He gets around 20,000 friend-requests a day & about 85,000 scraps!!!

Some other Cool Facts about this guy:

* He gets $12 from Google when every person registers to this website.
* He also gets $10 when you add somebody as a friend.
* He gets $8 when your friend's friend adds you as a friend & gets $6 if anybody adds you as friend in the resulting chain. * He gets $5 when you scrap somebody & $4 when somebody scraps you.
* He also gets $200 for each photograph you upload on Orkut.
* He gets $2.5 when you add your friend in the crush-list or in the hot-list. * He gets $2 when you become somebody's fan.
* He gets $1.5 when somebody else becomes your fan.
* He even gets $1 every time you logout of Orkut.
* He gets $0.5 every time you just change your profile-photograph.
* He also gets $0.5 every time you read your friend's scrap-book & $0.5 every time you view your friend's friend-list.

Source: Forwarded Mail

Never Underestimate others - a small nice story

A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his Customer,"This is the dumbest kid in the world.

Watch while I prove it to you.” The barber puts a dollar in one hand and 25 cents in the other,then calls the boy over and asks, "Which do you want, son?"The boy takes 25 cents and leaves. "What did I tell you?" said the barber. "That kid never learns!"

Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store.

"Hey,son, May I ask you a question? Why did you take 25 cents instead of the dollar?"

The boy licked his cone and replied, "Because the day I take the dollar,the game's over!"

Moral: Sometimes, when you think the other is dumb, you may be making a fool of yourself

Source: forwarded mail

A Nice Management Story

The Japanese have a great liking for fresh fish. But the waters close to Japan have not held many fish for decades. So, to feed the Japanese population, fishing boats got bigger and went farther than ever. The farther the fishermen went, the longer it took to bring back the fish. The longer it took them to bring back the fish, the staler they grew.

The fish were not fresh and the Japanese did not like the taste. To solve this problem, fishing companies installed freezers on their boats. They would catch the fish and freeze them at sea. Freezers allowed the boats to go farther and stay longer. However, the Japanese could taste the difference between fresh and frozen fish. And they did not like the taste of frozen fish. The frozen fish brought a lower price. So, fishing companies installed fish tanks. They would catch the fish and stuff them in the tanks, fin to fin. After a little hashing around, the fish stopped moving. They were tired and dull, but alive.

Unfortunately, the Japanese could still taste the difference. Because the fish did not move for days, they lost their fresh-fish taste. The Japanesepreferred the lively taste of fresh fish, not sluggish fish. The fishing industry faced an impending crisis!

But today, it has got over that crisis and has emerged as one of the most important trades in that country!

How did Japanese fishing companies solve this problem?

How do they get fresh-tasting fish to Japan ?

To keep the fish tasting fresh, the Japanese fishing companies still put the fish in the tanks. But now they add a small shark to each tank. The shark eats a few fish, but most of the fish arrive in a very lively state. The fish are challenged and hence are constantly on the move. And they survive and arrive in a healthy state!They command a higher price and aremost sought-after. The challenge they face keeps them fresh!

Humans are no different. L. Ron Hubbard observed in the early 1950's: "Man thrives, oddly enough, only in the presence of a challenging environment.

" George Bernard Shaw said: " Satisfaction is death!

"Moral Of story -If you are steadily conquering challenges, you are happy. Your challenges keep you energized. You are excited to try new solutions. You have fun. You are alive!

Instead of avoiding challenges, jump into them.Do not postpone a task, simply because its challenging. Catch these challenges by their horns and vanquish them. Enjoy the game.

If your challenges are too large or too numerous, do not give up. Giving upmakes you tired. Instead, reorganize. Find more determination, more knowledge, more help. Don't create success and revel in it in a state of inertia. Youhave the resources, skills and abilities to make a difference.

Put a shark in your tank and see how far you can really go!

source: Citehr.com

A true story of a Man without face. - Guess who????

Here is a true story. You ill be surprised who this young man turned out to be. (Do not look at the bottom if this letter until you have read it fully)

Years ago a hardworking man took his family from New York State to Australia to take advantage of a work opportunity there. Part of this man's family was handsome young son who had aspirations of joining the circus as a trapeze artist or an actor. This young fellow, biding his time until a circus job or even one as a stagehand came along, worked at the local shipyards which bordered on the worse section of town.

Walking home from work one evening this young man was attacked by five thugs who wanted to rob him. Instead of just giving up his money the young fellow resisted. However they bested him easily and proceeded to beat him to a pulp. They mashed his face with their boots, and kicked and beat his body brutally with clubs, leaving him for dead. When the police happened to find him lying in the road they assumed he was dead and called for the Morgue Wagon.

On the way to the morgue a policeman heard him gasp for air, and they immediately took him to the emergency unit at the hospital. When he was placed on a gurney a nurse remarked to her horror, that his young man no longer had a face. Each eye socket was smashed, his skull, legs, and arms fractured, his nose literally hanging from his face, all is teeth were gone, and his jaw was almost completely torn from his skull. Although his life was spared he spent over year in the hospital. When he finally left his body may have healed but his face was disgusting to look at. He was no longer the handsome youth that everyone admired.

When the young man started to look for work again he was turned down by everyone just on account of the way he looked. One potential employer suggested to him that he join the freak show at the circus as The Man Who Had No Face. And he did this for a while. He was still rejected by everyone and no one wanted to be seen in his company. He had thoughts of suicide. This went on for five years.

One day he passed a church and sought some solace there. Entering the church he encountered a priest who had saw him sobbing while kneeling in a pew. The priest took pity on him and took him to the rectory where they talked at length. The priest was impressed with him to such a degree that he said that he would do everything possible for him that could be done to restore his dignity and life, if the young man would promise to be the best Catholic he could be, and trust in God's mercy to free him from his torturous life.

The young man went to Mass and communion every day, and after thanking God for saving his life, asked God to only give him peace of mind and the grace to be the best man he could ever be in His eyes.

The priest, through his personal contacts was able to secure the services of the best plastic surgeon in Australia. They would be no cost to the young man, as the doctor was the priest's best friend. The doctor too was so impressed by the young man, whose outlook now on life, even though he had experienced the worse was filled with good humor and love.

The surgery was a miraculous success. All the best dental work was also done for him. The young man became everything he promised God he would be. He was also blessed with a wonderful, beautiful wife, and many children, and success in an industry which would have been the furthest thing from his mind as a career if not for the goodness of God and the love of the people who cared for him. This he acknowledges publicly.

The young man. Mel Gibson.

His life was the inspiration for his production of the movie "The Man Without A Face." He is to be admired by all of us as a God fearing man, a political conservative, and an example to all as a true man of courage.

source: http://urbanlegends.about.com