An inspiring story of the Suhas Gopinath : World’s youngest CEO:

Suhas Gopinath

When 14-year-old Suhas Gopinath started Global Inc ten years ago from a cyber cafe in Bengaluru, he didn't know that he had become the youngest CEO in the world.

Today, Global is a multi-million dollar company with offices in the United States, India, Canada, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, Australia, Singapore and the Middle East and has 100 employees in India and 56 abroad.

Among the several honors that have been bestowed upon this young man, the most prestigious is the invitation to be a member of the Board of the ICT Advisory Council of the World Bank..

In 2007, the European Parliament and International Association for Human Values conferred 'Young Achiever Award' on him. He was also invited to address the European Parliament and other business dignitaries assembled in the EU Parliament. He is also recognised as one of the 'Young Global Leaders' for 2008-2009 by the prestigious World Economic Forum.

Suhas is the youngest member ever in the World Economic Forum's history. The other members include the Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, Hollywood star Leonardo Di Caprio, musician A R Rahman, Prince of Brunei , etc.

In this interview from his office in Bengaluru, Suhas Gopinath talks about his decade long journey and his dreams for the future.
Suhas Gopinath with former President APJ Abdul Kalam
·         On his childhood: 

I come from a middle class family. My father worked as a scientist for the Indian Army. I used to study in the Air Force school in Bengaluru.

As a child, I was more interested in animals and veterinary science. But when I saw my friends who had home computers talk about it, I had this urge to learn and talk in their wave length.

But we didn't have a computer at home. In those days, computers were very expensive and we couldn't afford one.

So, what I did was, I located an Internet cafe near my house. With my modest monthly pocket money of Rs.15, I couldn't afford to surf the net every day.

I noticed that the shop was closed in the afternoon from 1 PM to 4 PM. So, I offered to open the shop for him after my school hours and take care of the customers.

In the bargain, he let me browse the net for free. That was the first business deal of my life and it turned out to be a successful one.  

Suhas with Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates
·         On building websites using open source technology: 

Once I got the chance to manage the shop and browse the net, I started building websites. It became my passion in no time.

I got hooked to open source technology after I started looking for e-books on how to build websites. They were not available as they were created in propriety sources.

So, I started using open source to build websites.

On getting the first contract to build a website

There is a freelance marketplace on the web where I could register and offer my services to build websites. I registered myself there as a website builder.

The first website I had to do was free of cost as I had no references. It was for a company in New York .

My first income was $100 when I was 13 for building another website but I didn't have a bank account. so, I told my father that I built a website and got paid for it.

I was not excited to get the money because money was not a factor that drew me to it. It was the passion for technology that attracted me. I used to build websites free of cost also. I was only a 9th standard student.

After that, I built my own portal and called it Coolhindustan.com. It was focused on NRIs. It was a portal where I wanted to showcase my skills.

After that, many companies approached me to be their web designer. 

Suhas Gopinath speaking to students' at a conference in Austria

·         On buying his first computer

When I was in the 9th standard itself, I had made enough money to buy a computer for myself. At that time, my brother was studying engineering and my father thought he needed a computer.

In no time, I also bought one for myself. But we didn't have a net connection at home.

My spending hours in the net cafe working on websites did affect my studies. I spent the entire summer vacation after the 9th standard in the cafe.

On rejecting a job offer from the US

When I was 14, Network Solutions offered me a part-time job in the US and they said they would sponsor my education in the US . I rejected the offer because that was the time I had read a story about Bill Gates and how he started Microsoft.

I thought it was more fun to have your own company. Many US companies used to tell me that I didn't even have a moustache and they felt insecure taking my services. They used to connect my ability with my age and academic qualifications.

So, I wanted to start my own company and show the world that age and academic qualifications are immaterial. I decided then that when I started a company, I would recruit only youngsters and I would not ask for their academic qualifications and marks cards. I follow that in my company.

Gopinath delivering a lecture at the DLD Conference
·         On starting his own company at 14 

Soon after my 9th standard summer vacation, I started my own company, Global Inc. I wanted the name Global or Global Solutions but both were not available, so I named it Global.

I registered my company in the US as in India ; you will not be able to start a company unless you are 18. It takes only 15 minutes to start a company in the US .

I became the owner and CEO of the company. My friend, an American who was a university student, became a board member.

I was very excited because that was what I wanted to do. From that day, I started dreaming of making my company as big as Microsoft. 

·         On doing badly in school 

In my pre-board CBSE exam, I failed in Mathematics. The school headmistress was shocked because that was the first time I had failed in any subject. She called my mother and said she was horrified by my performance.

At home, like any typical South Indian mother, my mother made me swear on her head that I would focus on academics.

I told my mother that the world's richest man Bill Gates had not completed his education. Why do you force me then, I asked her. She then said, I am sure his horoscope and yours are not the same!

I come from a family where entrepreneurship is considered a sin. My mother was quite upset. She wanted me to do engineering, then an MBA and work in a good company.

As per my mother's wishes, I took a four-month sabbatical from my company and studied for my board exam. I passed with a first class.

I still feel that you cannot restrict yourself to bookish knowledge. I believe that practical knowledge is more important.

In the first year, the turnover of Global Inc was Rs 1 lakh (Rs 100,000). The second year, the turnover went up to Rs 5 lakh (Rs 500,000). 

Suhas receiving the Incredible Europe Innovation Award at Vienna 

·         On looking at Europe as a market

Till I was 16 or 17, I didn't tell my parents that I had started a company. I kept it a secret because I thought they would object to it. They only knew that I was a freelancer.

We used to build websites and also offer online shopping and e commerce solutions. We even gave part time work to a few programmers in the US when we got many projects but we never had any office.

When I was 16, I saw that there was enormous business opportunities in Europe as a majority of the Indian IT companies were working for American companies.

When I contacted a Spanish company, it rejected my offer saying Indians do not know Spanish. As an entrepreneur, you can't accept rejection, especially when you are young.

I hired five student interns from some Spanish universities and told them they would be paid based on their successful sales.

They were the people who met the companies and bagged the projects for us. By now, we decided to have a home office in Spain .

I replicated the same model in Italy . I contacted some Italian university students.

Suhas meeting with Sheikha Nayhan, Minister for Higher Education, the UAE 

·         On going to Germany to talk about entrepreneurship

The American newspapers were writing a lot about me as the world's youngest CEO at 14 from India , from a middle class background.

It was a good story for the BBC also. I never expected to be in the limelight. For me, starting a company was like realising a passion of mine.

On seeing these stories, a B-school in Germany invited me to talk to its students on entrepreneurship. I was 17 then. By now, I had completed my 12th standard and had joined Engineering in Bengaluru.

When I was 18, we set up an office -- the European HQ in Bonn . Then, we moved to Switzerland . Six months back, we started our operations in Vienna as well.

That is how we spread our operations from a small Internet cafe to become a multinational company with significant operations in Europe, Middle East, the US , Canada , the UK , Australia , etc.

·         On registering a company in India at 18

The day I turned 18, I registered our company in India as Global, opened an office and recruited four people. I opened the office next to the Internet cafe where I started my career.

By then, he had closed shop and joined a factory as an employee. Whenever I met him, I used to tell him, 'you made me an entrepreneur but you stopped being one.'

·         On moving to creating products

We wanted our company also to be a product development company and our focus was on education, like the software that manages everything about a child while in school starting from admission till he/she leaves school and becomes an alumnus.

It is a nasty software which students are going to be quite unhappy about! This software was aimed only at the Indian market. I want to be the market leader in ICT in education.

Our software is being used in more than 100 schools all over India , Singapore and the Middle East .

We are now in the process of raising funds. Once we do it, we will separate the company into two -- service and product development. I want to concentrate on products as I can't sail on two boats.

World Bank president Robert Zoellick

·         On meeting former President Abdul Kalam

I met Dr Abdul Kalam when he was the President of India . I was 17 or 18 then. My meeting was scheduled for 15 minutes but we had such an intense conversation that it went on for one-and-a-half hours.

I didn't feel that I was talking to the President of India . We talked like two friends. He was sitting in his chair across the table but after some time, he came and sat next to me. He is such a modest person that it was a learning experience for me.

·         On being on the board of the World Bank

As per the wishes of my parents, I joined engineering but didn't complete my engineering: like Bill Gates! When I was in my 5th semester, the World Bank invited me to attend their board meeting. I am the only Indian on the board of the World Bank.

The objective was to explore how ICT can improve the quality of education in the emerging economies, by bringing in accountability and transparency in their financial deeds.

Robert B. Zoë lick, the president of the World Bank, decided that they could not have only Americans on the board and needed people from across the world. As they were focusing on education, they wanted young minds to add value to the work.

He preferred a young mind from an emerging country and that was how I got the invitation in 2005. Not even in my wildest dreams did I imagine that I would be on the board of the World Bank. The invitation was the most unforgettable moment in my life. I report directly to Robert B Zoë lick!

Some of the others on the board are the CEO of Cisco, the vice president of Microsoft and the CEO of SAP; all Fortune 500 companies and me, the only Indian!

I am helping the World Bank set policies on ICT in university education so that employability can be enhanced. My aim is to reduce the number of unemployed eligible youth in the world.

Right now, we are concentrating on Africa . Soon, I want to shift the focus on to India . It has been an amazing experience for me.

But I had to discontinue my engineering education at the time I joined the board, as I didn't have enough attendance in college!

·         On his dreams for his company 

I have always believed that IT is not just technology but a tool that can solve the problems of people.

That is what I want to do in my company.

I want my company to be a market leader in software solutions concentrating on education.

When I was younger, I didn't care about money. Now that I am responsible for my employees, I care about what we make. If I am not bothered about money, we cannot scale up our business.

When I started my company from a net cafe in Bengaluru, I never ever imagined that one day my company would be a multi-million dollar company and I would be on the World Bank board as a member.

What drives me is my passion and it has been an amazing journey so far. 

Relationships - Good Lesson to learn from the fable of the porcupine

It was the coldest winter ever. -  Many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together.  This way they covered and protected themselves; but the quills of each one wounded their closest companions even though they gave off heat to each other. After awhile, they decided to distance themselves one from the other and they began to die, alone and frozen. So they had to make a choice: either accept the quills of their companions or disappear from the Earth. Wisely, they decided to go back to being together. This way they learned to live with the little wounds that were caused by the close relationship with their companion, but the most important part of it, was the heat that came from the others. This way they were able to survive. 
Moral of the story: The best relationship is not the one that brings together perfect people, but the best is when each individual learns to live with the imperfections of others and can admire the other person's good qualities.

Have you ever seen a baby porcupine?

A Leader Should Know How To Manage Failure

(Former President of India APJ Abdul Kalam at Wharton India Economic forum , Philadelphia , March 22,2008 )

Question: Could you give an example, from your own experience, of how leaders should manage failure?
Kalam: Let me tell you about my experience. In 1973 I became the project director of India 's satellite launch vehicle program, commonly called the SLV-3. Our goal was to put India 's 'Rohini' satellite into orbit by 1980. I was given funds and human resources -- but was told clearly that by 1980 we had to launch the satellite into space. Thousands of people worked together in scientific and technical teams towards that goal.
By 1979 -- I think the month was August -- we thought we were ready. As the project director, I went to the control center for the launch. At four minutes before the satellite launch, the computer began to go through the checklist of items that needed to be checked. One minute later, the computer program put the launch on hold; the display showed that some control components were not in order. My experts -- I had four or five of them with me -- told me not to worry; they had done their calculations and there was enough reserve fuel. So I bypassed the computer, switched to manual mode, and launched the rocket. In the first stage, everything worked fine. In the second stage, a problem developed. Instead of the satellite going into orbit, the whole rocket system plunged into the Bay of Bengal . It was a big failure.
That day, the chairman of the Indian Space Research Organization, Prof. Satish Dhawan, had called a press conference. The launch was at 7:00 am , and the press conference -- where journalists from around the world were present -- was at 7:45 am at ISRO's satellite launch range in Sriharikota [in Andhra Pradesh in southern India ]. Prof. Dhawan, the leader of the organization, conducted the press conference himself. He took responsibility for the failure -- he said that the team had worked very hard, but that it needed more technological support. He assured the media that in another year, the team would definitely succeed.. Now, I was the project director, and it was my failure, but instead, he took responsibility for the failure as chairman of the organization.
The next year, in July 1980, we tried again to launch the satellite -- and this time we succeeded. The whole nation was jubilant. Again, there was a press conference. Prof. Dhawan called me aside and told me, 'You conduct the press conference today.'
I learned a very important lesson that day. When failure occurred, the leader of the organization owned that failure. When success came, he gave it to his team. The best management lesson I have learned did not come to me from reading a book; it came from that experience.

Problem of Plenty - Superb Moral from the story

Mukesh Ambani in his 27 storeyed home...... Mukeshbhai gets up from his bed room on 15th floor, takes a swim in the swimming pool on 17th floor, has breakfast on the 19th floor, dresses up for office on 14th floor, collects his files and office bag from his personal office on 21st floor, wishes bye to Nitaben on 16th floor, says ‘see you’to his children on 13th floor, and goes down on 3rd floor to self drive his 2.5 crore Mercedes to office, but then, he finds out that he has forgotten the car keys upstairs.  But on which floor? 15th, 17th, 19th, 14th, 21st, 16th or 13th ? He phones all his servants, cooks,maids, secretaries, pool attendants, gym trainers, lift attendantsetc. on all the floors. There is a hectic search and lot of running around on all the floors, but the key is not traceable . Fed up, after half an hourof frantic search, Mukeshbhai leaves in a huff in a chauffeur driven Ikon car. At 3.30 P.M. late in the afternoon it is discovered that 4 days back , a temporary replacement maid had washed Mukeshbhai's pant and hung it to dry on a string in the balcony of 16th floor, with car keys in the pant pocket. The key had blown away somewhere in the high winds at 16th floor level and was never found. This was detected because of Nitaben's habit of checking clothes given for ironing personally. Meanwhile, after 3 days of the incident, Nitaben with all irritation writ large on her face, complained to Mukeshbhai asking him where he was roaming till 3 A.M. last night … Mukesh replied that he was at home all night. "Then why did the helicopter land in the terrace at 3 A.M? I was so much worried…I could not sleep whole night," quizzed Nitaben. "Oh That helicopter….That helicopter came from Germany , sent by Mercedes people to deliver the duplicate car key".......mumbled Mukesh. Moral of the story : Stay in 1 BHK / 2 BHK flat only. The Least-Problem Home. J   .

List of ET TOP 500 Indian Companies with their financial analysis

Please go through the following link:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/et500list.cms

Direct Tax Code 2010- Major Corporate tax provisions

Submitted by : admin on dated Thursday, October 21st, 2010



Minimum Alternative Tax (MAT)
Current situation: In light of the tax holiday available to the Power and Oil and Gas sector, MAT is a key provision impacting the sector. Currently, MAT is applicable at the rate of 18 percent (effective 19.93 percent considering surcharge and cess) of the book-profits computed after making specified adjustments to the net profit of the company. Further, the companies are allowed to carry forward the MAT credit (which is the excess of MAT tax paid over the tax computed in accordance with normal corporate tax provisions) to future years.
DTC Proposals: Under the Direct Tax Bill 2009, it was proposed that company shall pay tax on its gross assets at the rate of 2 percent. (0.25 percent in case of banking companies) if the tax liability is less than the tax on gross assets. The revised draft of the DTC reintroduced profit based MAT .Under the DTC, the rate has been increased from 18 percent to 20 percent of book profits.
Our Comments: DTC Bill 2009 had proposed to levy MAT on the basis of gross assets, which would had been a dampener for capital based industry like power, oil and gas. However, DTC has brought back MAT to Book Profits which is a positive step towards development of the industry.

Corporate tax provisions – Key provisions
Tax rates
Current Situation: Currently, the domestic companies are subject to corporate tax of 30 percent (plus surcharge and education cess) on their taxable income
DTC Proposals: While the Direct Tax Code Bill, 2009 stipulated the corporate tax rate as 25 percent, the Revised Discussion Paper had hinted that tax rates could be reviewed and suitably calibrated considering the reduction in the tax base due to certain tax benefits spelt out in the said paper.
The DTC now has retained the existing corporate tax rate of 30 percent.
Our Comments: Maintaining the corporate tax rate at 30 percent is not a positive development; in as much as other levies such as DDT of 15 percent and branch profit tax of 15 percent make the effective tax rate quite high.

Test of Residency
Current Situation: Under the provisions of the Act, a company is resident in India in any previous year, if the control and management of its affairs is situated ‘wholly’ in India.
DTC Proposals: Under DTC, it is proposed to shift the test of residence of a company from ‘control and management’ to ‘place of effective management’ in line with international practice.
Accordingly, a company incorporated outside India will be resident in India, if its ‘place of effective management’ is situated in India.
Place of effective management of the company would mean:
· Place where the board of directors or its executive directors make their decisions
· In cases where the board of directors routinely approve the commercial and strategic decisions made by the executive directors or officers of the company, the place where such executive directors or officers of the company perform their functions.
Our Comments: Although the concept of ‘place of effective management’ proposed under DTC is in line with international practice, it is important that this provision is administered in a fair and pragmatic manner. The new residency definition could impact businesses where key decisions are taken by Indian management / executives and merely adopted by the board overseas.

Treaty Override
Current Situation: Under the Act, the provisions of the tax treaties prevail over the domestic law to the extent they are more beneficial to the taxpayer.
DTC Proposals: The initial draft of the Direct Tax Code Bill, 2009 provided that in the case of a conflict between the provisions of a treaty and the provisions of the Code, the one that is later in point of time shall prevail. This led to apprehensions whether the proposal would lead to treaty override and render the existing treaties otiose. Post the Revised Discussion Paper, the DTC seeks to restore the beneficial treatment between the Act and the Tax Treaty except in specified cases-
· where GAAR is invoked or
· when CFC provisions are invoked or
· when Branch Profits Tax is levied.
Our Comments: The proposals seem to be in line with international practice.

Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) Provisions

Current Situation: Under the Act, there are no CFC provisions.
DTC Proposals: The introduction of the CFC provisions has come as a major surprise for India Inc. The CFC provisions have been brought in as an anti-avoidance measure. Under this, passive income earned by a foreign company controlled directly or indirectly by a resident in India, and where such income is not distributed to the shareholders, resulting in deferral of taxes shall be deemed to have been distributed to the shareholders in India. The CFC provisions are broadly summarized as under:
· The total income of a Resident taxpayer to include income attributable to a CFC which means a foreign company:
- that is a resident of a territory with lower rate of taxation (i.e. where taxes paid are less than 50 percent of taxes on such profits as computed under the DTC)
- whose shares are not listed on any stock exchange recognised by such territory
- individually or collectively controlled by persons resident in India (through capital, voting power, income, assets, dominant influence, decisive influence, etc.)
- that is not engaged in active trade or business (i.e. it is not engaged in commercial / industrial / financial undertakings through employees / personnel or less than 50 percent of its income is of the nature of dividend, interest income, income from house property, capital gains, royalty, sale of goods/services to related parties, income from management, holding or investment in securities/shareholdings, any other income under the head income from residuary sources, etc.)
- has specified income of such company exceeds INR 2.5 million.

· Tie breaker tests have been provided to determine the place of residence of a controlled foreign company.
- Scope of passive income also covers supply of goods / services to associated enterprises
- Specific formula prescribed for computing income attributable to a CFC. Income attributable to the CFC to be based on specified income. Specified income to be based on the net profit as per the profit and loss account of the CFC, subject to prescribed adjustments.
Our Comments: CFC provisions are likely to bring additional complexity in the tax legislation and could significantly impact Indian companies having outbound investment structures. Specifically, CFC provisions could create cash flow problems for Indian companies since they would be subject to tax without corresponding receipt of actual dividends. This may necessitate a review of the existing overseas investment structure

Exempt-Exempt-Taxable (EET) vs. Exempt-Exempt-Exempt (EEE) Regime for Saving Schemes
Current Situation: Under the Act, long-term saving schemes like Government Provident Fund (GPF), Recognized Provident Fund (RPF), Public Provident Fund (PPF), Life Insurance, etc. are covered under the EEE method, wherein the contributions, accumulations / accretions thereto and the withdrawals are exempt from tax.
DTC Proposals: All long-term retrial savings schemes moved to EEE regime as against EET proposed earlier. Deduction in respect of investment in approved funds such as Provident Fund, Superannuation Fund or Pension fund reduced to INR 100,000 from INR 300,000. Receipts under a life insurance policy on death/maturity would be exempt from tax.
Our Comments: The continuation of EEE regime is a welcome step as it will provide a tax free lumpsum amount to individuals to meet their post-retirement financial requirements.

Withholding tax provisions – Others
Current Situation: The withholding tax rate on royalty and fees for technical services payable to non-residents is 10 percent (excluding surcharge and education cess).
DTC Proposals: The withholding tax rate in respect of payment of royalties and FTS to non-residents is proposed to be increased to 20 percent.
Our Comments: The higher withholding tax rates would increase the overall cost of the Indian companies in case of payments to tax residents of the country with whom India does not have a Tax Treaty and grossing up of tax is required in case of tax is borne Indian company.

Transfer Pricing
Current Situation: Currently, there are no provisions under the Act in respect of Advance Pricing Arrangement (‘APA’).
DTC Proposals: It is proposed to introduce APA for upfront determination of pricing methodology of an international transaction.
Our Comments: Whilst the scheme specifying the procedure of APA has not yet been released, the industry would expect that the same is in line with the international practice.

Leased Assets
Current Situation: In the absence of any specific provision under the Act, there is a lack of clarity surrounding the treatment of assets obtained on finance lease by Power and Oil and Gas sector undertakings. In certain cases, companies are facing litigation from revenue authorities on the question of whether they are eligible to claim depreciation on such assets.
DTC Proposals: Under DTC, the lessee would be treated as the owner of assets obtained on finance lease and therefore, eligible to claim depreciation on the same.

Our Comments: This is an important provision for the companies in Power and Oil and Gas sectors and it will help to end the long drawn litigation regarding ‘ownership’ of such assets and depreciation eligibility with the Revenue authorities.

General Anti Avoidance Rule (‘GAAR’)
Current Situation: Under the Act, there are limited specific anti-abuse provisions.
DTC Proposals
· The Code seeks to introduce GAAR which provides sweeping powers to the Revenue authorities. The same is applicable to domestic as well as international arrangements.
· GAAR provisions empower the Commissioner of Income-tax (“CIT”) to declare any arrangement as “impermissible avoidance arrangement” provided the same has been entered into with the objective of obtaining tax benefit and satisfies any one of the following conditions:
– It is not at arm’s length
– It represents misuse or abuse of the provisions of the DTC
– It lacks commercial substance
– It is carried out in a manner not normally employed for bona fide business purposes
· An arrangement would be presumed to be for obtaining tax benefit unless the tax payer demonstrates that obtaining tax benefit was not the main objective of the arrangement.
· CIT to determine the tax consequences on invoking GAAR by reallocating the income or disregarding/recharacterizing the arrangement.
· Meaning of ‘tax benefit’ widened to include any reduction in tax bases including increase in loss
· GAAR provisions to be applicable as per the guidelines to be framed by the Central Government
· GAAR shall override Tax Treaty provisions
· Forum of DRP available in a scenario where GAAR is invoked. Our Comments:
The guidelines to be issued by the Central Government would need careful examination to assess the scope and impact of these provisions. It is an open question whether GAAR can be invoked for transactions undertaken prior to the enactment of DTC. A suitable clarification may be provided for this purpose.
Source : dtc 2010

Link : dtc 2010

True Love...Worth Reading...

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb.   He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am.. 

I took his vital  signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him. I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I  was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound.

While taking care of  his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry.

The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to  the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.

He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease.

                      As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. 

He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now.

I was surprised, and asked him, ’And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?’ 

He smiled as he patted my hand and said,
’She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.’ I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought,

’That is the kind of love I want in my life.’ 

True love is neither physical, nor romantic.
True love is an acceptance  of all that is, has been, will be, and will not be.
With all the jokes and fun that are in e-mails, sometimes there is one that comes along that has an important message. This one I thought I could share with you.

The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have. I hope you share this with someone you care about. I just did. 

’Life isn’t about how to survive the storm,
But how to dance in the rain.’