What is this blog all about?

I see that this blog has recently been picked up on a social networking site, and as a result, had a 10x increase in traffic over the past 24 hours. To those who had recently subscribed to the feed, thanks and welcome! I figured that the best way to introduce you to what Set Higher Standards is all about, is to re-post the “about” section of the site.

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About This Site

Welcome to Set Higher Standards. My name is Ravi Raman. I started this site in the middle of 2006 as a way to present and discuss issues that are relevant to leading a successful life. I’ve always been interested in personal development and fitness. When I was younger, I was the exact opposite of someone you might have considered as being “on the right track.”

Morbidly overweight, I couldn’t even jog to the mailbox without running out of breath. I was scared of the water (and still am :) ). Compared to the rest of my bretheren, I was not super-smart (my siblings were both valedictorians, let’s just say I wasn’t). When I finally got into sports, I was never very good, but did give it a solid effort. I was not attractive by any stretch of the imagination. I never dated or even thought dating anyone was a remote possibility. I was pretty much the last kid in my school to get a driver’s license. I never felt like I fit in.

That was ten years ago.

In the past decade, things have changed considerably. I still have a long way to go in many areas of my life, but am happy with the level of progress so far. The biggest change for me, one that took years to really understand, was that I needed to change my perspective from that of feeling like I needed to be like everyone else, to one of simply focusing on improving myself, irrespective of what was going on elsewhere in my environment. The results will come.

As a result of this mental shift, I’ve consistently focused on setting higher and higher standards for myself, and over the long-term, have been amazed at the results. I ended up not only getting in shape, but finishing a series of endurance events that I wouldn’t have dreamed possible just a few years earlier. I graduated from Penn State Univeristy with High Distinction and Honors, and ended up landing a promising career at one of the finest companies in the Universe.

Most importantly, I’ve been lucky to sumble upon several teachers that have impacted my live in an incredibly positive way. I love studying people who have achieved great things in their lives. I think we can learn a lot from people that live their own example. This blog is a discussion of these people, and those topics that can help us live outstanding lives.

This blog will be a constant work in progress. I will discuss ideas and techniques have worked for me, as as some things that I am experimenting with right now in my own life. I expect some things to work well…others to crash and burn. Either way, only one thing is certain, we’re sure to learn a lot.

If you have any comments, questions, or ideas for this blog, feel free to get in touch with me at: ravisraman@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading!

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