Education in the Middle East

There is no denying that lack of quality education is holding back this region. If one looks at some of the prosperous nations today; Switzerland, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan etc; they are characterized by small land mass, no resources but well educated and hardworking people. Having an abundance of oil resource in the Gulf cooperation council countries (GCC), has truly slowed down the region’s development because of the collective thinking that money can save all problems. The decision makers in these countries should realize that people are the only true means to create wealth and education is the key to tap in to that wealth. Human asset is the only asset that appreciates over time

In sectors like oil and gas which GCC countries had a head start, they should have been world leaders by now; both in upstream and down stream technologies. However, due to lack of quality training and development of man power, even now local oil companies need assistance from multinational oil companies to perform basic oil and gas exploration and refining operations.

My work as a business consultant in the Middle East has brought me in to contact with a lot of corporate heads, which are largely locals. To be frank, most of them hold their titles because of their social status and not because of their level of education or technical competence. Some of them might have studied in western universities, but the western education has not developed any of their skills and as one local told me, they do it so their family can claim that their child is western educated. This is why in spite of massive oil wealth in the GCC region, there is hardly any local player with industry revolutionizing idea in global business.

Time is now right for GCC countries to invest in education. With oil prices on a lull, these countries need to look for alternate income. For cash rich, labor short (taking in to consideration of only nationals and no expatriates) countries like GCC, it needs to invest in sectors like IT, bio medical technology, agro technology etc, industries which are quality driven over quantity. Grants should be provided to companies willing to invest in superior education and with women being half the labor population, governments should actively promote education of women. Imagine how the economy in Saudi Arabia will benefit if all the eligible women there could work! The honchos in the Gulf countries should realize that education frees the mind from ignorance & bigotry and unleashes the creative contributions of every citizen, to improve their own lives and the wider community.

Be Well & Stress Less

Living in one of the GCC countries (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE & Oman) is a boring & stressful drama. However, I personally feel that one could ride out of this lull by positive actions. The 6 tips mentioned below have been very useful in creating happy endings to my life on a daily basis.

Pamper with a massage; Massage is a great way to de stress a distressed body. It is the best mode to relax the mind and allows the body to have some much needed rest. Moreover, massages increases the amount of blood flow in the body & feel good hormones endorphins which is a big energy booster, akin to doing exercise. If not in a position to book for a massage, one can easily learn a few self massage techniques.

Breathe control; While at work, being bombarded with various chores is the norm and this can easily make one go hyper. In such situations try to breathe in deeply and exhale slowly. Unfortunately due to our super sonic life style, we have programmed our body to use the rib cage, to force the chest to breathe in and out where as that ideal function belongs to the diaphragm. Diaphragmatic deep breathing greatly calms and reduces anxiety symptoms.

Calming effects of the sea; GCC countries are blessed with an excellent coast line. Chill out by sitting on the sea side. The vast expanse of sea is very soothing; moreover the salty air from sea is anti inflammatory and treats a host of diseases from asthma to bronchitis to eczema. A dip would be even better.

Quit smoking; Lack of constructive activities in this part of the world has created a sea of smokers. Nicotine dependency eventually creates stress & anxiety along with a host of preventable diseases.

Cut down on refined sugar & white breads; The public here loves junk food which is basically well processed and refined foods. They are devoid of nutrients and are unhealthy compared to whole or brown foods. Glucose from these foods directly gets in to the blood stream giving a quick high and a quick low; creating lack of energy, stress and negative emotions.

Learn Arabic; An expatriate at one stage or the other has to deal with government & public sector while living in any of these countries; and unfortunately very few officials in these areas can speak English. For some one in need this is frustrating and stressful. The best option; learn Arabic. Learning a new language is the best form of exercise one can give to the brain.

My final word is 'life is what you make it'. Place your attention on being in perfect health, having a good relationship with people around you and being grateful for every day on this planet and you will see yourself successful and stress free.

As Freddie Mercury said; who wants to live forever? So while living; be well & stress less.

***An exception among GCC countries is Dubai (part of UAE). The place rocks.

Two to Tang(o)

Yesterday while shopping at one of the biggest supermarkets in Kuwait, I saw a big stampede in front of me. Thinking that some one was in trouble, I too hurried to the centre of action. Soon it was clear that a physical fight was happening among a group of people and on closer observation I realized that an aggressive crowd was about to thrash few security staff at the store. However, on learning what the commotion was about, my jaw dropped. One of the popular brands of soft drink concentrate (TANG) was sold on reduced prices and the uproar was due to security preventing individuals from taking more than 2 packs. Few of them wanted up to 50 packs!!! Since the staff at the shop was vastly outnumbered, few of the bystanders including myself talked to the group to calm the situation. Some of them had already filled their trollies with the fruit concentrate; one of them told me that drinking TANG in the morning before the start of Ramadan fasting keeps him motivated for the whole day. Another champion told me that TANG has become an integral part of his life, seems that it played a pivotal role in keeping his wife happy and abstained her from divorcing him.

That goes for the true spirit of Ramadan.

Never realized that a fruit drink concentrate is such an inspiration to some people. But it definitely takes two or more to Tang(o)

Bolt and the Italians

So once again Usain Bolt has proved that he is a rare pedigree. Watching the world athletic championships the other day, I was so impressed by his casual approach before the competition. While his opponents were all having aggressive poses more suited to extreme physical sports, Bolt was strutting around the blocks all the time smiling and gesticulating. With his winning ways, he has opened the world of athletics which was embattling the menace of doping, to a new legion of fans both old and young. His exceptional talent and dazzling charisma has also made him a media darling and an advertiser's dream. The competition between Bolt, Gay and Powell is comparable to that between Carl Lewis and Ben Johnson and will propel the normally placid world of athletics in to a high octane sport.

This light hearted view of life is what I feel is making Usain Bolt so destructive. Such an approach is definitely creating a stress free environment for Bolt, making him highly creative and competent.

While living in London few years ago, I took a vacation to Italy and found that the Italian life was such a contrast to life in England. No doubt, there are excellent hotspots in UK like museums, art galleries, concert halls, theatres, clubs, restaurants etc but I found most people (the ones that I came across) in UK unexciting. May be it’s the cold and damp weather which makes them less sociable. However in Italy, I found the locals very similar in attitude to Usain bolt; cheerful, laid back, people oriented and unpretentious. Travelling around in Italy, I soon figured out that whether it’s a fisher man in Sardinia or a farmer in Naples, their casual approach to life is also making them highly creative and original which produces a winning attitude. No wonder, many of the most reputed brands in the world; Armani, Zegna, Prada, D&G, Ferrari, Lamborghini etc originate in Italy.

So the bottom line is “live free; win big”

Change or Perish

Hello everyone,

I have been thinking of writing down my thoughts for a while, however the commitments that come with balancing work and family has put me off this endeavour. But, today I finally did it. Opened an account with blogger.com, posted the intro and this blog will be a sounding board to share all that interests me, to the public. I hope you will find it cool, clever and cheering. Through this blog, am hoping to provide lots of striking observations on a range of topics like ethical concerns, sports & wellness, business, effective bullshitting a.k.a strategy, green issues etc.

The world is witnessing the advent of a self centered society which just does not care about any one or anything. It's all about instant gratification; we want, what we want, right now. Never mind how it affects others. The current generation (which includes me too) can be considered the most narcissistic generation ever and why is that? Everything nowadays is geared towards “self”; self help books, building self esteem, self motivation, self made millionaire…. and this endless “self” positioning seems to become an obsessive disorder reinforcing our sense of vulnerability. Seal pup clubbing which thrives due to someone’s egoistic lust for wearing soft fur, global recession which was a by product of greedy bankers, different wars around the world due to selfish and short sighted vision of men in power, promoting religious intolerance for the benefit of a few, deforestation, pollution, animal cruelty, human trafficking, global warming…the list is myriad and is creating irrepressible damages to the society and environment.

In this age and time, mass media controls our life so much that, it is influencing the way we think and act. Worthless reality shows, media titles like how to become a self made millionaire in a week’s time, be the next internet millionaire, dressed for success, power of plastic (surgery) are all making a generation stupid; and combine that with all the technical gizmos available in the market, they end up talking less, make minimal eye contact and seem lost in themselves with an inferior, self centered personality. A perfect entrant who could be peddled with all the self help theories.

However, this same media can be used to deliver the right message across is what got me in to blogging mode. As Dr Nathaniel Branden quoted, the first step toward change is awareness; the second step is acceptance.

On a personal level, through these words am just being myself, embarking on a journey of self discovery.

That's about it for my first blog post. Feel free to comment.