Game of Thrones: A literary analysis

Guest Post by Siddhant Menon

Game of Thrones, the epic television (book) saga, definitely filled in the vacuum left behind by masterpieces such as Lord of the Rings for old timers and Harry Potter for the millennials; violence and romance with a dash of supernatural elements, GOT had it all. Along with generic appeals to the masses, however, the Television series Game of Thrones also made use of a TON of truly genius literary devices and archetypes and set them ablaze with new found creativity.

The anti-hero, the misunderstood monster, the beautiful vixen, the power-crazed king, the tragic knight, the damsel in distress. These are just a FEW of the literary archetypes that have been portrayed in the web of colourful characters presented to us in Game of Thrones.

But where GOT differs from traditional portrayals of such archetypes is the transformation of such archetypes into a different archetype altogether by the end of the show; every one of the Stark kids for instance.

And hence the overarching theme of this show has always been ‘character arcs’; the fancy word implying the transformation of characters with respect to their motivations in life, ambitions, and approaches to said ambitions.

Literature dictionary - 1) Character arc: The changes in a characters motivations and behaviours as the plot moves forward.

Now in a show like Game of Thrones, tracking a character’s arc could be quite a challenge given that the plot is not always presented to the viewer chronologically. Thus presenting newer, more exciting character storylines than we can traditionally expect.

In my personal taste in stories, the most interesting character to follow this trajectory is the character whose archetypical transformation is most intriguing. In the show Game of Thrones, such a character to me is Ser Jaime Lannister aka the King Slayer. So let’s use him as an example, however, the point is that this holds true for MOST Characters in Game of Thrones.

The story of Jaime Lannister involves multiple truths that are revealed to the viewer at different points of the story, thus presenting a transformation in OUR eyes as opposed to the transformation in the character himself. The transformation in the character might be an internal transformation, like what could be argued was happening with Jaime during his time in captivity with Brienne.

Now during these scenes, we as viewers are revealed to a lot of truth about Jaime’s personality, but these truths are not new, and hence Jaime himself is not transformed by our knowledge of his past.

However, during these scenes, due perhaps to the vulnerable condition Jaime was at this point of time, he was having internal breakthroughs on who he was as a person, and what his ‘oaths’ meant to him. This transformation reached a climax at the moment when Jaime jumped into the ‘bear den’ with brienne.

With no strength, and no plan in mind, Jaime jumped in to save Brienne. That was a transformational moment. This was the moment to me when Jaime went from ‘family’ to ‘honor’ in his mind, defying everything that his father Tywin had been trying to teach him all his life.'

Thus the first archetypical shift of Ser Jaime Lannister to me was from ‘Prince Charming’ to ‘Noble knight’.

Note: From this point onward I will use the phrase ‘Prince Charming’ to describe a personality archetype that is self-worthy, pompous, spoiled, talented but not worth his talents, type of personality. This is in no reference to any specific story character or movie character from history.

Speaking of internal transformations, it is interesting that when Qyburn is bandaging Jaime's hand, the conversation goes as such... 

“How many men have you killed my lord? …countless?”

-           - Countless has a nice ring to it.

"And how many men have you saved?"

-           - Half a million.. the population of King’s Landing.

Thus revealing a true realization of his own self, his worth; which in turn made him go back to save Brienne. Knowledge of one’s power can be a beautiful…and possibly dangerous thing.

The SECOND archetypical shift in Jaime Lannister, which most of the #GOT die-hard fans hated, was his final decision to leave behind his honor to go back to his family.

However, if we look at this in term of archetypes, at this point of time Jaime is a man of honor. He chose to fight for what was right, against all odds, and transformed from a “Prince Charming’ to a

Knoble Knight’. Then HOW is it possible that in the penultimate episode of the show the character we had started to love, go back from a 'Knight' to 'Prince Charming'.

Well… The truth according to me is that he didn’t go back to his old archetype at all. Instead his transformation carried on in the forward direction. He went from being honorable to the world, to honor towards love.

Love is an individualistic feeling, as opposed to honor which is pluralist...

Love might not always be honorable.  At least you can’t deny that DEFINITELY holds true in Jaime Lannister’s life history; that loving someone does not always equate to doing the honorable thing.

So there was no resolution of the honor vs family (which to him was Cercei, same as love) dichotomy for Jaime.

In the aftermath of the war against the undead therefore, Jaime Lannister went from Ser Jaime, to Love-conquers-all Queensguard Lord Commander Ser Jaime Lannister. In archetypical transformations, the “Noble Knight” had evolved into “the Knight in Shining Armour”.

: ) : ( : |

Obviously, by my interpretation above, I don’t believe Jaime Lannister is making any big comeback in the show’s finale. But if opinions differ, please leave a reply ;)

Video Credits: The song was sung by me, Siddhant and the drawing is by my very talented friend Sanyukta -> Instagram: _Artysan_  -> Follow her account for some spectacular human emotions captured with a paper and some pencils. 

Thanks Sana for letting ramble my thoughts and share my love for this show on your blog :D

Miracle at Lords: Arrival of the Underdogs

“It was undoubtedly India's- and international Cricket's- finest hour”

Those were the words in the article published by India Today magazine 36 years ago, when India lifted the ICC Prudential Cup, in what might be one of the most significant moments of cricket history…

‘Cricket history’ is an interesting term, as it takes into account the histories of multiple nations, sometimes nations in times of tumultuous relationships between them; India and Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand; back when the cricket matches were more than vanilla exhibition matches. Back when cricket matches were the battlegrounds that the masses could observe live.

One can argue that no other sport has brought that dimension into play other than cricket.

In combination of national prides at play, however, cricket does also bring in age-old sporting narratives in the best possible ways; like the story of ‘comeback kings’, or the ‘rise of the underdogs.’

Rise of the underdog. That was the story of the 1983 Indian cricket team.    

       

As far as the list of sporting fairy tales go, the 1983 Cricket World cup is right up there. The West Indies Cricket team was coming into the tournament riding a wave of 2 bac- to-back world cup wins, and with the likes of Sir Gary Sobers and Vivian Richards on the side, there seemed very little doubt about West Indies going for the Trifecta.

India on the other hand, was still a nation unsettled on priorities since its political independence just 35 years ago. We had won the military battles, now it was time for India to make its mark in the sporting world.  Cricket was picking up as the sport in the streets of urban India. This fact was catalyzed with widespread use of radio transmitters, ushering in an era of cricketing frenzy in India.

The stage was set for the 1983 World Cup drama.

What unfolded next is history. You would be hard pressed to find an Indian who hasn’t heard at least some tale about the World Cup in which Kapil Dev took his boys to unchartered territory and came back as heroes.

                                                   

That’s the power that cricket holds over a nation, a nation such as India. But more so than cricket, great sportsmen rise up to great occasions. And rarely are there greater sporting occasions than the Cricket World which is held once every 4 years, with the next edition scheduled to start in a month: the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

The qualified nations have started announcing their squads, with India announcing its line-up just last week. With Ambati Rayadu’s 3d glasses, to Virat Kohli’s poor form in the IPL, the conversations regarding India’s world cup campaign have definitely started, albeit gradually. 

But conversation or not, one cannot deny that a World Cup in England is going to be a World Cup to remember. Especially given India’s terrific track record in England’s ‘showpiece’ cricket ground: The Lord’s (title of the article).

Is there going to be another Miracle at Lord’s this year? I am willing to put my money that there will be. But there’s only one way to find out: waiting for the World Cup!

Public Announcement:

If you are indeed interested in traveling to England for the World Cup, then its important that besides getting your tickets (both match tickets and flight tickets), you would also need to get yourself a VISA. Yes, we all know that’s true, and it's obvious. But with growing pressure on the UK immigration department thanks to Brexit along with a rapid increase in Visitor Visa applications thanks to the World Cup this year, the visa applications are getting refused, or delayed due to poor form fillings, at an unprecedented rate.

Don’t let your visa application prevent you from witnessing another Miracle at Lords. Contact SmartMove Immigration for sharp, quick, and cost-effective legal guidance for our UK Visa applications, from the time you apply to follow up in case of delays, and right until you have your British visa in hand. Email: info@smartmove2uk.com 

Choose the right Visa Category to start a business in the UK

This article was written in association with Siddhant Menon of SmartMove Immigration. His team is conducting a talk for entrepreneurs and businesspeople looking for expansion or startup options in the United Kingdom. For a reasonable cost of Rs. 5,900, you get to experience a great talk about how you can use immigration law to your advantage and launch your business ideas in a market away from India.

The talk will be specifically dealing with the United Kingdom, however, if you have any questions regarding migration options for your business/startup in other nations like Malta, Cyprus, USA, Portugal, Australia or Canada, the team conducting this talk will be able to point you in the right direction.

Event Details: 

SmartMove Immigration is organizing an interactive session at WeWork Gurugram (Cybercity) on 26th April between 4:30pm to 8pm for people who keen on seeking knowledge about the new Innovator Visa category and wish to settle in the UK.

RSVP: https://www.meetup.com/Go-Global-SmartMove-Immigration/events/260726856/

What the Hell Happened in Britain this week? (Parliamentary decisions, Irish Backstop and more)

What.

Just.

Happened.

Did they seriously reject the second deal as well?

....yes they did.

Frankly, I don't even know at this point. That was Tuesday and I was done with drama for the week.

But things keep going and going.

Parliament voted again yesterday (Wednesday), This time in order to decide whether they want to "choose" to go for a no-deal Brexit and save some face, OR keep striving for a new deal.

The second option comes with a 'rider' of sorts. Now that the British MPs have vetoed Theresa May's second proposal for a Brexit deal, they are in position to make another important decision.

...whether or not to ask the EU for an extension.

Keep in mind this decision lies in the hands of the EU; the EU votes to decide whether the departure of the UK from the EU can be postponed beyond the current agreed upon date (the 29th of March)

So long story short: the Parliament and the government of the United Kingdom has spent a lot of time this week making decisions...(wait for it)....about other decisions.

Well, I guess that's what they call politics. 

And that could also be seen as a summary of the British socio-political scenario in recent times. But I degress.

The point is, we are not done with Brexit. We have reached a point where we can be like "ok. that was bad, but now its over'.

Global media are still hanging on at the edge of their seats, eager to ridicule the diaspora of gaffs and guffaws happening in the UK parliament of late. 

But where does that leave us now?

Well, as I write this article, the Parliament is debating on whether they should ask for the said extension on the leave from the UK. 

If you ask me, they might as well just say "no deal" and get it done with. Hit rock bottom, so that you can finally bounce back up, mother always said. 

However, it is important to qualify my above statement with the fact: there are some potentially horrible consequences if May doesn't have a deal in place to take care of issues like the Irish border trouble, affectionately referred to by analysts as the "Irish Backstop". A NY Times Article addressing the Topic. So things are going to look bleak without a deal. Albeit possibly only for the time being.

And now the moment you've all been waiting for (heavy sarcasm) --> 

My prediction for tonight: Parliament will agree for May to ask the EU for an extension on Brexit.

Feel free to share your own predictions, thoughts, comments or even unqualified opinions below :)

I shall be back again this week, with my thoughts on how it all played out.

For now, if you would like some more substantial information on the UK's scenario (if you have bsiness interests in the UK or something), I would suggest some more technical aspects of Brtish immigration and how they affect foreigners in the SmartMove Immigration blog. Their latest -> Entrepreneurial Options in UK post Brexit

A Mumbai Street Incident

#Mumbai

#Always

(Prose poetry attempt by a not-at-all poetic me begins now :) ) ->

It's been a while since I have spent some time alone. Managed to catch my mind at peace for a few minutes while sitting in a rickshaw the other day. Going through the streets of this beautiful city, my home, and home to countless others, I felt a rush... of what exactly I do not know. It wasn't exactly adrenaline. Not entirely.

While my mind has always been of the pacy kind, my rare moments of clarity occur when I stare at the streets of Mumbai. 

These moments of clarity hit me like a few moments of paradoxes. The good kind.

Peaceful yet powerful.

Loud yet overwhelmingly secretive

Somewhere along my years spent in Mumbai, my personality picked up traits of the city's personality.

Now, like I realized while sitting in that rickshaw journey in a cool Mumbai evening, I know that Mumbai is not just me, as I had been knaively thinking.

Mumbai is everyone.

That is paradox; not quite adrenaline, not quite love, just a humble sense of awe.

A awe at the all encompassing ever growing, and ever so dangerous....

...Mumbai

(I wrote this to my blog collaborating partner Sid and he put a video together with some clips he had of Mumbai. Being a Mumbai lover himself, I think Sid's done justice to the mysterious, enigmatic aura of Mumbai... Video below)

Guest Content: Poetry on Rhythm aka Rap

As always, I am eager to share and promote people I know who produce some cool piece of art, or opinion or idea or anything at all.

Today, let's explore the power of poetry and rhythm, aka RAP :)

Thanks Siddhant for your contribution! It's a beautifully created video, and an amazing verse!

For more from Siddhant: https://smartmove2uk.com/positive-impact-of-brexit-on-uk-businesses/

For anyone who wants to present their thoughts on my blog, feel free to contact me.

For more content explorations of every kind, subscribe to my blog by leaving your email :D

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT

A socio-political contest  from Siddhant Menon, blog assister come friend, ! ->

Hey All!

Imagine you have a magic microphone, in which if you speak any instructions, then all of society will automatically follow your advice, whatever it be. What would YOU speak into this microphone?

Email your answers to siddhant@smartmove2uk.com! The cleverest (articulate, coherent, and doabale) answer will receive a prize from Smart Move Immigration: Smart Assistance for Smart Ambitions.

 #BeSmart

The Brexit Circus: Final Cut (Almost...)

As promised, here I am with the last, more analytical part of my hypotheses for Brexit outcomes. Again my usual disclaimer that if you are completely clueless,  you can start off with parts 1 and 2 of this series from my home page.

Now without any further preambles, let's hop right to it.

1) Need for talented labour in the UK

Britain will need a steady inflow of talented labour, and India fits the bill perfectly due to its English speaking population.

2) Global Market Fluctuations

The fall in prices of commodities like crude will help India save a lot on its import 'bill'. Every one dollar drop in crude prices leads to roughly 1 billion dollars of savings in India's oil import bill. This in return reduces the national trade and current account deficits.

3) Drop in Commodity Prices

Brexit would weaken global growth and lead to a meaningful decline in commodity prices. This is only going to enhance both the relative and absolute appeal of India. Lower commodity prices will help the macro fundamentals; be it fiscal deficit or current account deficit of inflation. This will only give the government more levers to pump up the investment cycle.

4) Global trading partners with the UK may feel the brunt of Brexit 

Remittance to the UK from outside in terms of the Pound will fetch lesser returns compared to the past. Export dominated countries may be affected, regardless of whether or not they directly export to the UK or not. On the other hand countries which do have the UK as a major trading partner will feel a much harsher effect.


5) Impact on global powerhouses

The United States will bear the major brunt of Brexit, being the UK's biggest trading partner. Brexit would likely cause any Dollar value rise to play out. This may cause other currencies to decline in value.

A direct impact on Asian economies is unlikely in the long run; this is because exports to the UK are less than 2% of the GDP for most economies.

However, businesses in some major economies may be hit. In India and Japan, companies which have set up operations in the UK with the intention of gaining access to markets will be affected adversely.

Now...

Is India ready to handle Brexit?

The finance ministry has stated that India has sufficient foreign exchange reserves to handle any impact. However, I have my own theories. If you're interested then I shall upload a video talking about the same within the next 10 days. Subscribe to stay updated on the same!

The Brexit Circus: What you need to know here in India Part 2 (of 3)

As promised last week, I am going to be keeping my readers up to date with a thorough analysis of how we are going to be impacted by the Britain’s ‘divorce’ with the EU across the world and in India.

Today I am going to dwell a little deeper into the impact we should be feeling in India in the near future. In this article, I am going to give myself the liberty to explain a little more of the technical details of the diplomatic crisis that is going on within the British government with regards to their Brexit negotiations (If you have no clue what I’m talking about, I would suggest reading the first part of this article first).

Let me just clarify that I am intending to write this article in the format of a rant, regarding all the things that I have had to deal with and learn about while working in a company that might have major impacts depending on the outcome of the Brexit negotiations. If you are looking for more clarity, feel free to get in touch with me. I am happy to discuss and debate; the more I learn the more empowered I feel.

So here goes nothing….

Fall in the Value of the Pound Sterling:

Due to the fall in the value of the British Pound, Indian exports to the UK will suffer. A cheaper Rupee will make Indian exports, including IT and ITeS, more competitive. Indian import companies operating from within the UK may also report losses. Also note that India exports more to the UK than imports from the UK.

On a positive note, there are many who think that a weakening British currency might be good news. India being more of an importing nation than an exporting nation, the overall impact of a weakening British currency may be positive for India, given that the US Dollar does not appreciate too much against the Rupee at the same time. With a lower Pound value, Indian companies may be able to acquire many hi-tech assets.

Investor Optimism in India

As investors look around the world for havens in these turbulent times, India stands out both in terms of stability and in terms of growth.

Trade

Brexit might give a boost to trade ties between India and the UK; Britain will finally be free to discuss a bilateral trade pact with India, which it couldn’t as part of the European Union.

Indian migration to UK options are up

Due to the fall in pound sterling, sophisticated organizations like T1 Digital in the UK assisting in work immigration routes are keen on helping many Indian professionals gain career opportunities through the Exceptional Talent Visa that might have been a lot more difficult during the EU days. Brexit might indeed open up a lot of lucrative life growth options for career-oriented Indians who are lacking the right opportunities here in India. 

Tourism boost for the UK

More Indian (and global) tourists can afford to visit Britain in coming days as the currency value has fallen.

UK Education

British universities are still, and probably always will, be considered as some of the best in the world. And now thanks to the low Pound value, many Indian students can afford to study in the UK without a hard pinch in their pockets.

There, I am out of breath now :P. So if you haven’t caught on, I am trying to make each of these Brexit articles one step more analytical than the previous. Meaning the last article of this series which I will be publishing next week will be slightly more analytical. If you're curious, I am going to be talking about how the pound fluctuations will be affecting the prices of various commodities, and hence the impact on global markets and economies.

I would say this is going to be a bigger tragedy for the UK than Price William losing his hair (Forgive me)

Stay tuned until next week for my conclusions on the Brexit Circus!

In the mean time, please leave your comments and opinions below, along with your email addresses if you would like to be notified about regular updates! 

The Brexit Circus

The Brexit Circus: What you need to know here in India Part 1

No better way to encompass everything that’s been going on with regards to the UK and its split from the EU than the word circus. There’s people juggling, there are people roaring, there are people crying and pretending to smile, and there are people smiling and pretending to cry.

Before I get on with my rant, I might as well add that since there’s so much of garbage and fear mongering happening by media outlets across the world, the best option for eager followers of Brexit (for whatever reasons ranging from plans to move to the UK, or if you’re like me and your work deals with British finance on an intimate level) then the best option is to keep track of a combination of 4 types of sources; news channels, opinion articles, and immigration discussion boards 

Yes, that is indeed the only way for you to have a more or less accurate picture of what’s going on in the UK these days and how good or bad things are really looking. And speaking of opinion articles, here’s mine J

What I intend to do is provide a list of all the consequences that this process of negotiation between the UK and the EU are leading up to; in the UK and all the nations connected. Since I am just getting the hang of blogging, I am going to use some blogger friends’ advice and provide the information in a list format as supposedly you readers find that more convenient. So here goes!

Why should you care about Brexit here in India? (10 today, 10 next week)

If any of the below listed consequences affect you in any way, then you know that you should care about Brexit and keep up with this blog for regular updates! If not, well you have some good general knowledge to read for today J

(Disclaimer: Keep in mind that a lot of these points regarding India are regarding the short term. IF things pan out in certain ways, then India should come off in a strong position in the long run after Brexit.) 

1)      There might be a rise in the US dollar value thanks to the fund outflows from the UK

2)      The Indian Ruppee may drop in value bcause of the the dual effect of fund outflows and rise in Dollar value.

3)      This in turn may lead to an increase in Petrol and Diesel Prices.

4)      Prices of gold, electronic goods, and other things might also increase.

5)      There might be a short term tumble in the Sensex and Nifty.

6)      Falling value of the GBP (Great Britain Pound) could render several existing contracts with UK based firms as loss making.

7)      Foreign funds might also move out of India if the above mentioned fluctuations creates a perception of risk towards investment in India.

8)      India’s Forex (currently a record 363 Billion Dollars) may diminish, particularly if the currency     is stored in Euros or Pounds (which accounts for about 20% of the total Forex)

9)      There would be a short term negative impact on the $108 Billion IT industry of India.

10)   All the Indian companies listed in the London Stock Exchange and those which have their headquarters in London, might suffer.

I have made an extremely long, detailed list of all the possible consequences of Brexit for Indian corporations as well as individual investors. However, I would like to put those out in my article next Sunday. This is due to the fact that the coming week might be very exciting in terms of the course Theresa May’s government takes with regards to Brexit, and also how it would lead to global confidence I the UK and the EU.

As always a special shout out to my friends and colleagues: A very belated Happy Birthday to my dear friends Divya and Sebin! May all your wishes come true.

And lastly (my blog wouldn’t be complete if I didn’t say this), a big big congratulations to the Indian Cricket Team for DOMINATING in Australia!!

In the meantime, if you would like to have a brief summary of the Brexit happenings in 2019, have a look at this summary video put together by Siddhant Menon: 

Stay tuned till next Sunday for part 2 of the consequence of Brexit to Indian investors, corporations and individuals. Leave your email below and I shall keep you updated every time there is something new I think about, and hence write about!

My Passport Strongest! – A List of the Most Powerful Passports to hold in 2019

Guest Posting Time!!!

I always appreciate other people offering me suggestions of things to think and talk about (advice requests, questions, opinions, whatnot), based on which I create new content every week for this blog. However today I would ALSO like to remind everyone that if anyone has a good article that they have written and feel would it be valuable to the people who read this blog, I would love to publish your article on my blog as a guest post!

Today we have my college time buddy who works for an immigration law firm writing an article he considers to be potentially valuable for you guys, and I agree! How do you rank the passports of a nation? How important is a passport anyway? Find the answers to this question in Siddhant Menon’s article on Henley Passport Index’s latest publication ranking the world’s most “powerful” passports. Take a look!

My Passport Strongest!

2018 was the year of immigration: immigration related news, immigration related politics, immigration related controversies, and, dare I say, also immigration related opportunities.

From Donald Trump’s Great Wall and the Brexit stall to Canada’s great migration call; civilization as a whole has had to encounter the very real truths of what it means to have distinct nationalities and what types of evidence prove this crucial identity of yours.

One such evidence that tackles both these question; a document that represents both the proof of your nationality along with the power that goes with owning that proof. That document is the passport. A word so crucial to so many of us in the global rat race.

But how do you define the worth of passport? Is it correlated with the value or worth of a nation as a whole? Its questions like these that we attempt to answer in this analysis.

And what better time to do this than a week after the Henley Passport Index launches its first list for 2019 of the “strongest passports in the world”.

Before we get to the list, I am sure you guys are wondering crucially about 4 questions, so let’s get those out of the way:

1)     Where does India rank? – 79!

2)     What’s number one? - Japan
3)     And since my team and I have a fondness for the UK, where doe the UK stand on this list? – 6

      4)   How the hell is this defined?

      

      The 4^th question is what we are going to spend the rest of this article dealing with. 

What IS a strong passport really? 

Well the answer to that question is less exciting than you might have imagined. The Henley Passport Index assesses the ‘strength’ of a passport by counting the number of nations that allow a passport holder of that country to enter their country WITHOUT a visa.

Now while this may seem a very simplistic definition, it’s not without good measure. A passport is a device created to allow the holder to enter another country. Then What could be more accurate in describing the strength of a passport than the number of countries that passport has access to without any government related stamp on it (and the hassles that go along with getting one).

Access to more countries implies better mobility for the person, allowing for more ease in doing business, as well as ease in personal matters like travelling for holidays. It’s no wonder that “purchasing a passport” from powerful countries is a lucrative investment options for high net worth individuals across the world.

Now that we have the 4^th question answered, you have earned the right to the list of top 6 rankings of the most powerful passports in the world (plus India) with the number of nations that each of these countries can access visa free. For the full list, check out this link.

I hope this guest post was helpful! I would just like to end by saying it's great initiative by Sana in creating this blog. I hope as many people can find value in this project as possible.

That being said, I myself write and work for an immigration law firm with particular expertise in British law (UK). SO if you have any inquiries, just hop by our site and fill out our inquiry form and we shall get back to you with any and all information, assistance and guidance you require regarding legal migration to The UK, Canada, Malta, Cyprus and several other nations for your business or personal reasons. 

Breaking down Common Sense

Common sense.

That two worded phrase can be very deceiving, paradoxical, insulting at times, and many many other things simultaneously.

I am going to give you my interpretation of why I think this is the case.

First of all, if common sense is really that common, then why is it that we always find ourselves in situations where we have to face some serious lack of it.

No let's take it one step further back.

What is this thing that we refer to as "common sense"?

Well the Google dictionary defines common sense as "good sense and sound judgement in practical matters".   ....and that gets us nowhere because now we have a new phrase to define. What is "good" sense?

For now, why don't we stick with the second half of the Google definition, because Thou shalt not ignore the Great Google.

"Sound judgement in practical matters". That's definition I can work with. At first glance.

On the second and third glance, an over-thinker's mind will spot a new problem. Let me explain.

Each of us has more 'matters' to deal with in a day than we have time do deal them in. Thus a crucial concept comes into play when it comes to living our life sensibly; and that concept is prioritization. Each of us MUST decide on and manage a priority list, that is dynamic and changes to different time periods.

I love my mom dearly and I will be using my experiences with her as anecdotes for my theories frequently :) And seeing as no one has accused me for not having common sense as much as my mother, it makes sense to pay tribute to her in this article.

My mother is one of the sharpest individuals I know. She has great instincts when it comes to the tasks she has to deal with on a daily basis, and many would say she has "common sense". Yet there have been occasions when I have worked with her on accomplishing things and end up having to rip my hair off screaming "my mom isn't using common sense!".

Now If I can make a hasty conclusion like that about my mother, imagine how inaccurate we might have been every single time we have accused (internally or externally) someone for not having any common sense. The truth just might have been this: just like my mom did not consider my task as her priority, rightly so, maybe the people you have had common sense struggles with have had different things on their mind too.

"Sound judgement in practical matters".

Who is to say what practical matters matter practically? :) pardon the pun ahem.

Long story short: my irritations at the seeming lack of common sense in people around me could have been dealt with much more productively had I just changed my line of sight, or 'angle' a little bit.

This was my first in a series of posts in which I talk about how your perspective defines your reality. I will be creating different pages on my blog for investment tips, life advice, personal anecdotes. I guess this particular piece would fall in the "life advice" section. As you can see, I have big plans with this blog. Please subscribe and share if you think it would be worth the while!

Parting thoughts:

My newest blog obsession: https://prathikshaaa.blogspot.com/
She talks about fitness, health and wellness with articulate ease I have never seen before. Her latest article is about women suffering from PCOS> if you are on of them, her work should really inspire you. If not, it's worth checking her blog anyway.

Note: I believe I had mentioned earlier that I would be publishing blog posts of anyone who has any requests, or would like to share their work. For the time being, my active blogging partner Siddhant Menon is top of the list as he posts new and useful content on a regular basis about politics, global legal immigration, and other sociopolitical issues. His latest Post

Keep the interactions coming so I'll start including more of you in my shout outs list.

Congratulations!

 :) Don't forget to subscribe to my channel.

This one is for everyone who is feeling bittersweet about the pace at which the years are going by...

Special thanks to my friend for giving me the "letter head format" idea : Sid

Investment Tips for those who are New in the Investment Game

If you like nifty little info graphic that I made (above), then let me elaborate on each of these points one blog post at a time. Today, let's talk about the first and most important: Try New Avenues!

I am sure you must have heard people tell you to diversify your investments. But you've probably not given much thought to it. Let me tell you that if you are looking to be smart with your investments, you have no choice but to keep your eyes and ears open to anything and everything.

I recently met one of my old friends who is now working on getting himself a citizenship in Cyprus. And he isn't doing this because he wants to migrate (that might be one of the reasons), he is mainly doing this as he considers it to be a great investment! To know more about these types of investments, here are some good links: Investment in Citizenship, UK Investor Visa qualifying investments

Now I do not know if investing in citizenship is a good idea or not (I shall research more on the matter and get back to you guys real soon) but when I heard about it, I was thinking "wow now that's original investing!"

The point I am trying to make is, as an investor you cannot confine yourself to any boundaries, be it geographic or otherwise. Your capital is yours to invest. 

I hope this post helped! And don't forget to let me know about it if you liked it, or if you have any queries on the subject. 

Introducing the Vision

A very warm welcome to anyone reading this blog! 

My name is Sana Ali, and I work in Equity Swap for a company that doesn't rhyme with Storgan Manly (:P). I'm your typical working woman with an aptitude for financial, economic, and sociopolitical thought.

If that doesn't convey the message then let me be clear: I am also a perpetrator of overthinking :)

I think, and then I think again, and at the end of it all, I think some more...

Many would call this a painful habit like I myself did until recently. But over course of time, I have come to realize that my zeal for thinking and analyzing every perspective of every angle of every situation, in the very least has given me a lot to talk about.

And hence, a lot to write about *ahem*

Now you get the idea of the blog :)

On a serious note, I hope to provide value to my readers using this platform by offering my opinions, insights, and advice on mostly financial related issues, but also some mental health and other things from time to time.

If my insights come across as flawed in any way, then we turn this blog into a discussion forum and that would make me happy too!

Political comments and personal opinions are NOT banned from this site by any means. My only request is to keep the words respectful.

Without further ado, let's get to it!

Welcome my minions :D