Panaji, Aug 30 (IANS) An increasing number of suicides by jumping off river bridges in Goa has led an academic to write to Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to build high balustrades along the structures to make suicide attempts more difficult.
Nandkumar Kamat, who teaches Botany at Goa University, appealed to the
chief minister to work out both short-term and long-term measures to
curb suicides in the state.
Over 300 people killed themselves in the state in 2010, police statistics say.
“I appeal to you to either raise the height of these balustrades or
railings so that climbing on top of them and jumping in the river below
becomes difficult,” said Kamat.
“Both the bridges on the Mandovi have become notorious for suicides. As
honourable MLA of Panaji, you need to do something serious, tangible
about it and it is simple, logical and possible,” Kamat wrote in his
communique to Parrikar.
“Putting these railings in place can be the most practical solution.
Setting up of surveillance cameras too can help curb suicide attempts
off the state’s bridges,” Kamat told IANS.
While Goa has been grappling with the issue of suicides, a mind-numbing
incident recently made the headlines in nearly all local newspapers and
sparked a state-wide debate on mental health.
On July 29, before sunrise, Vaishali Kambli,
a 35-year-old doctor at a government hospital, drove off from her home
on a scooter with her two daughters, aged five and three, riding
pillion.
On reaching one of the two bridges across the Mandovi river, which connect the capital Panaji to Porvorim, an upmarket suburb, Kambli parked her scooter and leaped off the bridge with her children in tow.
While her husband subsequently claimed that she was being treated by a
psychiatrist, the relative “ease” with which she committed suicide by
simply jumping off the bridge was something Kamat said needs to be
addressed.
“Every life is precious, CM. I just don’t understand why you can’t make
our bridges suicide proof. Of course, one may argue that suicide-prone
people may anyway find other ways to jump. But please note that near
jetties, wharfs, etc. there are people around and they can notice such
activity,” Kamat said.
A suicide was averted by an alert mother earlier this month after her
young daughter tried to end her life by jumping off the Mandovi bridge.
The daughter was grief-stricken after she was allegedly repeatedly raped by her uncle, a Goa Police officer.
After the Mandovi, railings on major bridges across deep rivers at
Zuari, Bori, Banastarim, Khandola, Colvale and Siolim could follow,
Kamat said.
Experts say increasing pressure and stress are some of the key reasons
for suicides in Goa, a state conventionally known by and large for being
a laid-back society.
They say the reach of professional counselling needs to widen.
Emeidio Pinho, who works with a children’s NGO, said suicide attempts as
a trend increase after sensational reportage of suicide attempts in the
media.
“When youngsters read the details, they try to emulate them; especially
those who see a suicide as an easy way to run away from a tough crisis,”
Pinho added.
Saturday, August 31, 2013
5 People Who Turned Career Disaster Into Success
5 People Who Turned Career Disaster Into Success
When it comes to your career and personal life, how you respond to failure has a great impact on your prosperity. There are basically two ways to deal with adversity: put your tail between your legs and hide from it, or dust yourself off, reload and fire back! Take Rep. Anthony Weiner for example. When even President Obama says he would resign if he were you, does that mean it's time to pack it in? Only time will tell what the right move is for Weiner, but here are the stories of five prominent people who suffered extreme setbacks, yet turned around from their failures to achieve, or re-achieve, career success.
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1. Donald Trump
This is probably the most publicized "fall from grace, return to glory" story. Donald Trump is the chairman and CEO of Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts, which runs a variety of casinos and hotels throughout the world. He initially made his money from huge property developments in Manhattan, but the recession during the late eighties really crushed "The Donald." He was unable to meet his company's loan payments and in the early nineties, his business went bankrupt and he was almost forced to declare personal bankruptcy.
But, like any true entrepreneur, Trump was by no means down for the count. As early as 1994, he had eliminated a great deal of his personal and professional debt. His return to the top has been bumpy, but he certainly enjoyed new-found fame with his hit reality series "The Apprentice," and he has been able to return to the extravagant lifestyle he once led. Mr. Trump has even considered a run for the presidency. How about that for a comeback? (To follow in Donald Trump's footsteps, check out Find Fortune In Commercial Real Estate.)
2. Martha Stewart
Martha Stewart is an American business magnate, media personality, author, magazine publisher and founder of Martha Stewart Living Omnipedia. During her original heyday, she published a variety of cookbooks and authored many newspaper columns, magazine articles and other pieces on homemaking. In 1990, she developed a magazine, Martha Stewart Living, where she was editor-in-chief. Circulation eventually spiked to more than two million copies per issue.
However, all of this success came to a crashing halt in early 2004 when she was convicted of lying to investigators about a stock sale using insider trading (and thereby avoiding a loss of more than $45,000). Martha Stewart served five months in a West Virginia federal prison camp.
Most experts speculated that her career was over, but they were wrong. Straight out of incarceration, Martha began her comeback. Amazingly, she returned her company to profitability by 2006. She introduced lines of ready-made home furnishings and mass market interior paint. She came back to television, re-inventing the Martha Stewart Show, and released a book during this time as well. She definitely did not let a short prison sentence get in her way! (For more on insider trading, check out Top 4 Most Scandalous Insider Trading Debacles.)
3. Bernie Marcus and Arthur Blank
These two bring a whole new meaning to "self-made millionaire." On a fateful day back in 1978, both of these men were fired from their executive jobs at Handy Dan Home Improvement Centers in Southern California.
Rather than sticking their heads in the sand, they envisioned, and ultimately created, a chain of home improvement centers larger than any of the competition. They named it Home Depot. Before long, it became the youngest company to reach $30 billion, then $40 billion, then $50 billion and then $60 billion in sales in 2004. Need I say more? (To learn more about these CEOs and others, see The CEO Dream Team - Walton, Schwab, Marcus And Blank.)
4. George Foreman
You probably know the name. He was an accomplished boxer and now sells personal grilling products for a living. However, the transition wasn't so easy from professional athlete to successful entrepreneur.
In the mid-1980s, George Foreman was near bankrupt, which forced him into a boxing comeback at the age of 45. Even at this age, he was able to regain his heavyweight title (an amazing feat in and of itself). This allowed him to pay off millions of dollars in debt and launch his career as an entrepreneur. Talk about fighting your way back to the top! (To read more about some other great entrepreneurs, read The 10 Greatest Entrepreneurs.)
5. J.K. Rowling
Rowling is the author of the phenomenally successful Harry Potter fantasy series. She has sold hundreds of millions of books that were made into a string of wildly successful movies and profited from a huge amount of branded merchandise revenues as well. Anything with the name "Harry Potter" attached to it is almost guaranteed to sell.
This is truly a "rags to riches" story. When she first conceived the idea for the Harry Potter series, J.K. Rowling was living on benefits from the British government. While she never really experienced a "fall from grace," her story deserves mention when talking about people who have survived and flourished in spite of adversity. (For more information, check out Analyzing Show Biz Stocks.)
The Bottom Line
These stories are certainly interesting, but they can be valuable tools as well. Let them inspire you to reach farther, dream bigger, and jump higher. And when you fall down, think of George, Martha, Donald, J.K. and the founders of Home Depot. Get back up, brush yourself off, and come out swinging. Some of the most successful stories in the world are about people who have overcome adversity. They dealt with crisis head on and rose to the top despite tremendous odds. (To help you make millions, read 6 Simple Steps To $1 Million.)
Overcoming adversity: Demi Lovato and other alphas
Can't Keep A
Good Girl Down
Into everyone’s life a little rain must fall. But into some people’s
lives monsoon rains fall, and celebrities are not exempt. Here are a
few alpha female celebrities who rose above adversity to get where they
are now…
J.K. Rowling
Perhaps one of the most inspiring now-celebrities of our time is J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter
series. Her story from despair to unparalleled success is a
contemporary favorite. In 1993 when J.K. Rowling separated from (and
later divorced) Jorge Arantes, she became a single mother on welfare,
fell into a dark depression and contemplated suicide. With three
chapters of Harry Potter already completed, Rowling finished
her first novel. Legend has it that Rowling spent many hours writing in
cafes because it made her daughter sleepy. Rowling is now a billionaire,
remarried, and has had two more children. J.K. Rowling’s journey from a
post-divorce abyss to one of the most famous authors of all time makes
her an inspiration to women, writers, mothers and anyone who has
considered going with Plan B and ending it all.
Oprah Winfrey
What would an alpha women list be without Oprah Winfrey?
Raised in abject poverty in rural Mississippi, young Oprah endured a
childhood of sexual abuse starting when she was 9 years old and gave
birth to a baby boy when she was 14, who died as an infant. Oprah’s
dark, horrifying beginning did not keep her from setting, reaching and,
we’re guessing, far exceeding her goals. She went from a high-school
radio broadcaster to hosting her own morning program in Chicago that ran
up against and eventually beat Phil Donahue. Now the billionaire
producer, actress, philanthropist and media mogul is one of the most
influential and powerful people in the world. Her “if I can do it,
anyone can do it” attitude has motivated and inspired people the world
over to follow their vision and stop at nothing to realize their dreams.
Bethany Hamilton
Bethany Hamilton
has become the poster child for overcoming adversity through mind over
matter. Hamilton’s career as a professional surfer came to a violent
halt when her arm was bitten off by a shark. As chronicled in the movie Soul Surfer,
based on Bethany’s story, it took a little more than a hungry shark and
a missing limb to keep this athlete down. Hamilton has since returned
to professional surfing, eroding all excuses for the rest of us who just
want to curl up in the fetal position and give up when things don’t go
our way.
Demi Lovato
If you think ordinary folks aren’t inspired by the hardship of celebrities, you obviously didn't see Jillian Jensen on X Factor Season 2. Jillian took the stage and told judge Demi Lovato that she too had been bullied. Lovato has spoken publicly about the bullying she experienced in junior high, and how she battled depression and an eating disorder because of it. But as Lovato says to Jillian, “All the bullies are at home, watching us on X Factor.” Lovato battled her demons to rise to fame in short order, which should serve as a valuable reminder to all of us. That kid you make fun of in the school hallway may grow up to be your boss, the next Demi Lovato or Bill Gates.
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