Many ways to Support the Good Work of IU Cares Foundation

IUCares Foundation: Ways To Support!

Money hasn't alone helped change the lives of people while it certainly is the back-bone of a lot of actions executed by a lot of NGOs. There are many projects running globally that need less capital but need more time and attention of people. 

The greatest capital/investment that IUCares believes can drive social change in the world is the time of intellectual people in desire to facilitating change besides funds that are obviously needed for any scaling up of impact.

Here is a list of things thaf you can do for IU Cares Foundation apart from donation of money or contributing of funds:

1. Become a volunteer for any of the partner project.

2. Invite Volunteer for projects.

3. Help us sign up with quality projects that are truly driving change.

4. Spread awareness about us among your peers about the good work IUCares Foundation has already done.

5. Help us connect to service providers who are willing provide their services as a gift to our NGO like app developers/real estate agents who can provide space for usage etc

6. Connect us to CSR wings of Corporates who wish to execute their projects globally or largely in India (either object would do)

7. Help us get great outreach on social media - Post on your FB wall regularly about the news you get from IU Cares, Broadcast to your whatsapp list, tweet to #iucares and so on.

8. Become our content developer to talk about the good work our various projects are doing and share them on your blog which you could further share with your community.

9. Help us meet more amazing people like you.

10. Let us know of more creative ways to seek support from people and be a reason for us to achieve the same.

Meanwhile, IU Cares Foundation is the official CSR Body of Inspiration Unlimited (IU). It also is a One Young World Listed body. IU Cares has existed as a project for 2 years and more but has been established as a foundation recently. 

It has achieved recognition & support globally. Ireland, US(seattle), Australia, Nepal, India, UK & Few nations in Africa currently support IU Cares in small or big ways or have stationed volunteers/officials/partner peojects. 

We look forward to receiving your support in abundance and gain momentum on this journey of positive change that we have taken up.

Thank you

Sujit Lalwani 

President, IUCares Foundation

www.iucares.org | www.facebook.com/iucares

PS: Feel free to share more ideas of ways in which you can support.

Volunteer - There is more in it than you think you know!

The fine morning when Ashok goes out with his file that has the collection of all accomplishments of his during his school and college years, certificates, appreciation and letters and everything that could get him a job, he realizes that all of that isn't enough by evening as the day passes by, when he isn't offered a single job that he applies for. The shock comes to him with trauma, disgust, sadness and a feeling of having gotten fooled all the years of college life. He gave it all for making sure he would get settled, clear his loans or pay back his parents or family by standing as the earning pillar for his people by getting a good job after a solid degree he held.

None of his certificates and appreciation letters could help. He knew something had gone terribly wrong. He came over to meet me up and asked me "Sir! I have done everything at my best during my education whatever i asked to,why am i not getting placed?". I answered "Champ! This is not the first time I am listening to something like this. This is something I deal with, almost on an everyday basis. The scenario in the market has become pretty scary. Institutions are opening up in large numbers in cities, in almost every other lane, but they aren't preparing the students for the industry."

The relatives and elders aren't able to coach us right, because the generation they belong to and the one we belong have a huge divide. The gap is in terms of the types of opportunities in the market, the skills expected, the work hours and the overall work scenario besides the drastic transformation in the size of dreams they held and the ones we hold. Our skill-sets and abilities have down-sized while our dreams have up sized manifold, this mismatch is leading to depressions and suicides.

The solutions aren't new or drastically different but we must understand one thing VERY clearly - "We need to work harder than ever to match our expectations or down-size them drastically and get pushed to lower strata of society. Since we aren't ready to not fight for our dreams, we must know we must begin the extra miles and responsible journey of life early on and must meet the demands of life head on. Life doesn't offer us a cushion ever, but parents are able to give up their earnt cushions to us and allow us to live 18 years of life, like nothing ever matters and we are going sail through the rest of it with similar ease.

We need to get out of that comfort zone and begin the journey to being accountable right from the first year of our college. Each of us must get into volunteering for organizations and projects. Businesses or NGOs could give us a terrific experience of working with people, understanding market response, understanding ourselves better of what roles suit us and what don't, developing skill-sets which we never had and enhancing the ones which we already do. Volunteering has the capacity to allow us to experience innumerable options available in the market. The organization needs cheap labor, a labor that costs them less and allows them growth. Your volunteering act allows them to receive labor at low costs, build their organization faster and better, in return giving you a platform, experience and better employability while you efforts lead to organizational growth which leads someone else's employment in that company/org (sometimes yours too).

The win-win situation and advantages that volunteering is able to offer is an eye-opener and keeping our eyes closed to this might lead us into a future of dire consequences we are building for ourselves, with lot of despair, unrest and pain of unemployed, unskilled and unfit youth. We need change and we need volunteering!!! Say YES to it and BUILD YOURSELF NOW!!!

10 Lessons for Entrepreneurs or those that want to Be Entrepreneurial!

Out of the little journey as an entrepreneur I have had here are 10 lessons that I would love to share

1. Have a VISION: it's not just to be studied in classrooms or as part of workshops, it truly has depth. You need to know where you are headed or at least what you purpose is in the first place when you are starting your business. A lot depends on what exactly you wish to do and WHY. If your vision is to give the fastest service, you will design your products around TIME and if your vision is to give the most quality service then you will design your efforts around luxury and quality, while if your focus and vision is make it affordable for all then you focus on costs. If your vision is to make it global then you work your energies on going beyond all borders,while if your focus is on being locally global then work on your local emotions.

2. Start with small targets: First of all, keep targets and keep small ones to start. No one would want to start with demoralizing effect. If you take big targets and fail them one after the other, the only thing you will derive out of it is "I am incompetent", while if you take small ones and achieve them one after the other, then the only thing you will derive out of that is "BOY! I am AWESOME!!!" and you need just that when you are NEW in business.

3. Remember NETWORKING counts as much as Nett WORK that you do. Build a network. A network of people who you can rely on, get your expert opinions from, get small things done, get big things done, do things for, get yourself pepped up, spend quality time with an what NOT. Remember a network for all your needs is a MUST. Move out and TALK, build relations, build a NETWORK and you will see things will MOVE.

4. Don't build a team of workers, build teams that are passionate missionaries. You need to understand that you work hard as an entrepreneur not just because you wanna make money and truck loads of it, you do it because you know it drives you, you are mad about it, you are passionate, you are just like the missionary who forgot his way back home because he forgot he belonged there... Let others in the team also feel that. Let go the fear that having people like that will move you out of business because they would leave your company join other high paying jobs. Remember people quit because they run out of love or purpose, not just MONEY.

5. Believe in serving: No one ever lost his self esteem by serving someone else, it only gets stronger. No one ever was taken for granted because he served well, he was taken for granted because he OVER SERVED and did it only because he expected something in return. Just serve because that is your purpose and not because you might be offered bucks in return. Believe in the statement "Well served is Well done!"

6. Bucks come to those where the buck stops: Let's get it straight - everyone wants more bucks, but unfortunately it doesn't come to you because you just want bucks and don't want the buck to stop here. To understand this google "Buck Stops here" and read on it. Take it UP & DO IT! Bucks Follow.

7. You can't have it all: Don't believe this statement! It's because others din't want to have it all or couldn't is why they coach you. Just understand - you can have what you want! Just be clear on what you want and plan it with patience how you would get there. Remember, nothing happens without giving it a time-frame and sharing the responsibilities with right set of people.

8. Reward yourself & your teams well: If you don't know how to reward, you just don't know how it feels to work hard and WIN something, may be because you haven't worked hard enough and always relied on other people's efforts or you haven't dreamt much of winning things at all instead you do things because they need to be done. In either case, please leave your business now, because you will be OUT OF IT soon and you won't survive. Better to leave then to get THROWN out, else reward and reward genuinely.

9. Stand up!: Not where you are.. but for SOMETHING. You need to understand what your principles are, what values define you and your business and stand up for them. Compromises are always there, but let those not be the only things in your business.

10. LAUGH, LOVE & LET GO: 3 Ls of Leadership. To end this sexy write-up all I would say is Laugh and Love a lot, it keeps you sane, keeps you happy and returns you enough love, that money definitely can't buy. This in-turn gives you and your team enough power to deliver the same to clients & happy customers are the passionate missionaries you hire without paying them ever, Hire as many as you like costs you nothing but your laughter and LOVE. Fair ENOUGH! Understood it all - What's with this LET GO? Don't bother... Just let go and you will understand...

I am UP for some BIG BUSINESS and I dream to create a business organization that truly speaks of what I have written above. IU is what we are building - you can help us build and we are willing to help you build yours. We love our business and we love yours too! Tell me what business are you doing and if there is anyway IU or I can do something for U - Watch out - WE will be there!!!

is.sujitlalwani@gmail.com is my eMail - if you have a thought you wanna share with me or talk to me in person. Just shoot an eMail and let's get this BUSINESS thing TICKING!!!

Sujit Lalwani, Founder & Managing Director, IU.

Over-Rustication leads to Stagnation of Activity of Neurons!

On a fine day you lie down by the window gazing into the sky and don't realize how hours together pass-by till you get hold of your senses only to know it's lunch time already. The food is overly tasty and you can relish the real-taste of it, for you know you have all the time in the world to do it. It suddenly sub-consciously feels like you are on holiday, but that ain't the case. You spend days like this relaxing and giving your body the most deserved rest and mind the space it needs. One day you wake up to realize that you have given yourself a holiday longer than was necessary and relaxed far more than you should have, only to know that "time and tide wait for none" & "time once gone never comes back again!". Either you regret or you don't.

The regret kick-starts the self-leadership mechanism in you and you finally decide that you are going to fight it and not be pushed down by this phase of your life, where you gave yourself the luxury you thought you deserved. After all of self-convincing set of phrases and volumes that you speak to yourself, you are more than convinced that you were right in what you did and that you are now prepared for the geared up phase of your life and that you are going to make up for all that was lost (if any was).

You begin with all the zeal and then work really hard, with all the momentum, that waking up early and going all out to make happen all that you desire. There are no more gossips but just talks on what can make things happen and move ahead. "Progress" is the word and the only one that hits your mind more often than your eyes could blink and lungs could breathe. You are finally owning what was once only in fairy tales - the midas touch. All that you attempt only goes great and you see results and the glory that you dream of and all that you are trying to make up is finally happening and getting closer.

You make glory in tasks after tasks and then comes a moment the energy levels are at peaks and you know you are performing beyond expectations and you are beating every target by margins twice or more and you know that you truly deserve many pats on your back, BUT NO, you are not going to stop because you had already had a long break and you now know that you have to make up for all that was lost to ensure that time feels worth it.

Now there are many paths and many destinations that can open up from this stage of life, majority relax after a few more miles only to repeat the phase mentioned at the on-set of this article and put themselves in the cycle of this article phase 1 - phase 2 - phase 1 - phase 2... and so on. But seldom do they realize each time the phase 1 is getting longer than phase 2. Such people end up in Mediocrity. While for those in whose lives the phase 1 goes shorter each time on the cycle become Winners in Life, pretty successful enough to tell tales to all their family and extended family.

For those in whose lives phase 1 barely comes again apart from the long lasting break of life called childhood, post which they are forever set in momentum and they go on rocking become Living Legends. For those in whose lives phase 1 never comes at all and they keep themselves in phase 2 always and keep rocking, become the historic role-models for living their life in ways rarely anyone could attempt living, they are the ones who love everything they do and just keep walking and truly own the midas touch.

Finally the ones in whose lives phase 2 never comes at all are ones totally unheard of or In some rare cases called quality venture capitalists :) (Who don't over rusticate! They plan & live well. Not all though.)

IUY2C Leaders Megha & Moumita Set Waves of Inspiration!

Taking upfront leadership for the initiative IUIndiapreneurship Phase running until Aug 15, 2013 starting from 5th Aug, 2013, Megha & Moumita - the two IU1010 Season 2 leaders have created waves of inspiration across 32 government schools across Karnataka. Majority of the schools covered were from Bangalore and Hassan Districts while they were successful in touching other districts too.

It has been an amazing week for the selected individuals among the many applicants for becoming a part of IU1010Season 2. All these youngsters from Bangalore were on a massive mission of educating the government school children about the lives of freedom fighters who had sacrificed their lives for Indian freedom struggle. With a holiday in the week, and the activity of IUY2Cstarting on Tuesday, these 8 elite enthusiasts had just 4 days to address students in government schools where such topics are seldom spoken about, to drive in the patriotism spirit among the younger lot. Among the 4 teams of two each involved in the activity, there was one team which went on to inspire 6810 children in a matter of just 5 days across 31 organizations/institutions with the help of ten volunteers panning 4 different cities of Karnataka. Megha and Moumita were the young and dynamic leaders of this team which cast the maximum impact.

It was a phase of Indiapreneurship that was being celebrating by team Inspiration Unlimited on the occasion of our 67th Independence Day. Inspiring people to work towards solving the problems of India with simple solutions was the core agenda of Indiapreneurship. Moumita went on to share her feelings about how she felt when she got to know that she could mentor people younger than her. She felt really proud and happy for having done so. Megha shared about the learning she took out of these sessions where she addressed hundreds of budding Indians. They spoke about how the mindsets get formed as we grow up in life and how difficult it is to break mindsets once people grow up. They were overwhelmed to see that students from primary classes were far more enthusiastic in participating and learning when compared to their seniors in schools. Overall, Megha and Moumita expressed their deepest gratitude towards Sujit Lalwani sir for having designed this amazing activity.

It was an exhilarating experience to listen to these young duo sharing their lessons from their experiences. The confidence they had in their eyes of having accomplished the feat of reaching out to so many kids in a matter of just few days and transferring the energetic inspiration with the future of India was exemplifying in itself. It has been a vision of IU to build massively strong leaders among the youth of the globe starting with India. Witnessing such hardworking and high spirited souls like Megha and Moumita has, in fact, enhanced our belief and faith multi-fold that it will not take much time before we see India as a transformed and intelligent youth led developed nation of the globe. 

I extend my warm wishes on behalf of entire team IU for the amazing work that these young-STARS are doing and request them to continue the same with the same zeal and relentless passion.