वो कैसा आम आदमी होगा

वो कैसा आम आदमी होगा – 1968 में उसके पापा अच्छे इंजीनियर थे, मां भी पढी लिखी थी।
वो कैसा आम आदमी होगा – बोर्डिंग स्कूल में पढता था वो ।
वो कैसा आम आदमी होगा – आई आई टी में दाखिला बिना टेस्ट के ही हो गया उसका।
वो कैसा आम आदमी होगा – बड़ी अच्छी नौकरी लगी थी उसकी।
वो कैसा आम आदमी होगा – 1995 में IRS में गया था वो।
सुना है IIT, IRs में. बडे सौभाग्यशाली ही जा पाते हैं।
वो कैसा आम आदमी होगा – पैंतालीस की कम उम्र में ही दिल्ली का मुख्य मंत्री बन गया था वो।
वो कैसा आम आदमी होगा – बस मफलर लपेट कर, चप्पल पहन कर, थोड़ा खांस कर, आम बन गया वो।

ये सब तो आम आदमी की किस्मत में लिखा नहीं होता।
ये आदमी आम है तो खास आदमी कौन होगा?
जो रेल्वे स्टेशन पर चाय बेचता है?
फिर भी उसकी टोपी पर क्यों लिखा है ‘मैं हुं आम आदमी’?
क्या खास आदमी देश की सेवा नहीं कर सकता?
उसने वही टोपी औरों को भी पहना दी।

लाखों कमाने वाले मेरे मित्र, हवाई जहाज से दिल्ली जाते हैं।
टैक्सी से जंतर-मंतर पर उतर कर, ‘मैं हूं आम आदमी’ वाली टोपी लगा कर
जब अपने आप को आम आदमी कहते हैं तो मैं सोचता हूँ – क्या खास होना गुनाह है?
क्यों इस नकाब की जरूरत पडी उनको?
क्या अपनी सफलताओं से वो शर्मिंदा हैं वो?
सेवा करना हर किसी का भाव होता है,
अक्सर ये देखा गया है – जो खास होते हैं, वो लाखों आमों की सेवा कर जाते हैं।

फिर भी उनका वोट पाने के लिए उन्हें एक झूठी टोपी क्यों लगानी पडती है।
अगर टोपी लगाने से कोई कुछ भी बन सकता है तो क्यों नहीं हर कोई ‘मैं हूँ खास आदमी’ की टोपी पहन लेता??

~ a.j.

100% Education – 0% Reservation: What India needs

What’s happening in India? More and more people are fighting to be called backward in want of reservations. If the law of attraction holds any truth, they are making India Backward. You can’t create abundance by praying for poverty. Caste based reservation system (CBRS) was created in India to help the lower caste section of society to come on par with the upper caste. However, lack of opportunities is multiplying the problem. India is the only country to have a reservation system like this.

Whether caste based reservation (CBR) should be there or not is an inconclusive debate in India. You can choose any side and defend your stance very convincingly. In 2006, the reservation was increased from 22.5% to 49.5% by the introduction of OBC (Other Backward Classes). To me, the reservation cancer is spreading. If the government has done it, there must be some reason behind it. The ideology behind CBR was good and it has produced some good results also but it is also leading to a lot of angst and frustration and my worry is that this system is leading us to a DISASTER in the long term, same way as cancer leads to death if not detected in a timely manner. Something that Dr. Ambedkar introduced to bring equality is now used only for politics. His vision probably was that India will be free of Caste System by 2000 and we will not need any kind of reservations. Here, the story is completely opposite.

Here are a few signals why I’m calling it a Long Term Disaster, limiting it to only 5 though the list is very long –

• CBRS is the backbone of a very dirty vote bank politics which leads to protests, killings, arson and crime.
• Rich people from reserved classes getting most benefits, poor people from reserved class don’t have access and poor people non-reserved classes are becoming hopeless.
• It is giving rise to agitations throughout the country – recent Jat agitation in Haryana and Patel agitation in Gujarat could be just a trailer of what’s in store.
• Indians are applying the caste systems even in countries outside India.
• It is leading to sub-standard appointments at key government positions.

Some of the signals mentioned above can really lead to disasters of unimaginable magnitude. There are warning signs everywhere. Politicians chose to ignore because they care about something else. We are living in a short term vision days. Every politician is worried about somehow getting a chair for 5 years. No-one seems to be worried about where we are headed. Unfortunately, Caste based politics is their best bet for them. Narrow minded and selfish Political motives are the root-cause of all large scale evils in India. Few individuals have tried to fight the system from outside and inside. Unfortunately, most of them have become slaves of their own political ambitions and made the game dirtier than ever before.

So, who is the saviour? 100% EDUCATION as it is the only way to achieve 0% RESERVATION. That will happen when everyone feels equal. Literacy will make everything a level playing field. It’s already happening at places. In my 17 years of corporate career, I never bothered to check anyone’s caste or religion. It never even crossed my mind though I’m brought up at a place that practised untouchability to some extent. I and many of the people I know don’t believe in caste system because of the education we got.

Dr. Martin Luther King fought for equality – not for reservations. That’s the right thing to do. I hope that Government is investing the education cess in the right direction. “Padhega India tabhi to badhega India” – it’s a line so true – a great vision by Modi government in India, I hope everyone take it seriously. Why am I voting for 0% reservation? It is because even 1% exception will open the floodgates that were opened in 1950 when our constitution was formed at 7.5% and now it stands at 50%.

Mr. Azim Premji gave away 27,514 Crore of his personal wealth in educational charities in 2016. Here is a visionary who is donating for the right cause – EDUCATION. Thanks God he didn’t enter politics, otherwise he would have become slave to the Chair. Nandan and Rohini Nilekani were at #2 and Narayana Murthy at #1 – all donating into education sector. They all know, education is the need of India, NOT RESERVATIONS. Otherwise they would have implemented reservations in their companies.

Education can eradicate the Evils of Caste system. These evils as well as challenges of CBRS should be part of school curriculum. Indian ruling parties have been messing up with school curriculum based on their own political belief system. This time they should target the right reason. We should Bootstrap people from all segments with education. Government should take up a campaign against Caste system. Unless the caste system is abolished, people will keep fighting for showing themselves as superior caste at one place and inferior caste at another. Strong laws against caste system should be made and implemented and taught right from the childhood. If we catch them young, we can change the world as it becomes part of their value system.

The world is becoming smaller and flat. In earlier days, a kshatriya was not supposed to study what a Brahmin was studying and a shudra was not supposed to study at all. Anyone other than kshatriya was not supposed to pick arms. Now, we have come much beyond that. We are in the internet world. Same media and information is available to every human being. Everyone is equal and the law protects their equality.

No reservation system can provide jobs to everyone in India. Only 2 Lakh out of eligible 26 Crore ST/ST/OBC get a job every year due to CBRS. Even if we make 100% reservation, they all still can’t get a job. Asking more reservation can’t change the scenario. Educating them surely can.

Every existing reservation should have an end-date and there should be proper objectives and plans in place on how to end this menace. The reservations need to be phased out, not increased. It can’t be open ended. 36% poor of India are upper class that doesn’t benefit from any of the reservation schemes. This number is not a joke. It’s a serious agitation boiling somewhere. The only value they are adding to the country leadership is their Vote. That too is needed only once in 5 years. Let’s bring the real value out of them by giving them opportunities. The challenge is big hence the result can be amazing. We just need to work in right direction. So, vote for 100% education and 0% reservation.

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Branding Intolerant India: The story

Do you know what was brand “Aam Aadmi Party” doing 3 years ago? Well, it didn’t even exist then. Though Aam Aadmi existed but the party was not there till Nov 26, 2012. Now, it’s a brand, an inspiring success story, a force to reckon with, well recognized in India and a success case study of many schools. It takes meticulous planning to launch a party and take it to this level within 3 years.

I took AAP example only to prove how easy we accept something and spread it exponentially, especially in India. The above is the case of a constructive situation. However, unfortunately, the same is true for disasters too.

One such disaster is “INTOLERANCE”. Where was it a year ago? it was just a concept but never existed as a brand. Today, it is a brand. A horrible story, a force to reckon with, well recognized in India and across the globe. If not controlled, it can spread like a cancer across the nation. Nothing has fundamentally changed in India. The tolerance levels of people are same. However, we are becoming extremely intolerant to the word Intolerance. We were not like that before. Someone is playing the game again. The game called “DIVIDE AND RULE”. The game that India is extremely vulnerable to. Something we have succumbed to time and again including the British Raj. It’s an open secret. It’s a strategy that never fails with Indians.

Today I am against some of my good friends who are supporting Aamir Khan’s statement who was reciting what his wife said who is influenced by the brand Intolerance. You can see this cancer is spreading everywhere, even the intelligentsia and the cream of India getting vocal about it. Though, I believe that India is becoming more tolerant than ever before, no one will talk about it. Why? Because negativity sells – not positivity. You can’t sensationalize and sell positive things happening around you, there are no buyers. For example, one plane crash news makes it to headlines all over the world, no one is interested in knowing that 100000 flights landing safely every single day.

I’m sure you would be interested in knowing how the brand “INTOLERANCE” enter our lives in the last few months. I found very interesting sequence of events of recent Intolerance in India. So, thought of sharing the timelines of Indian Intolerance with you.

Very surprisingly, the first mention was on 25^th December, 2014 in New York Times with an editorial called “Religious intolerance in India” and it starts with how Narendra Modi government might be pushing its militant Hindu-nationalist supporters. Next, it was Barack Obama advising India that it will succeed if it didn’t “splinter along religious lines”. That was followed by a blog published in the Wall Street Journal on 6^th February, 2015 as “Obama: Gandhi Would Be Shocked by Religious Intolerance in India”. Looks like the brand Religious Intolerance was taking birth and shape here. On 18^th February, 2015 Wall Street journal again published “India’s Modi Vows Crackdown on Religious Intolerance”, basically Modi talked and the newspaper didn’t forget to use the word Religious Intolerance again. How will the brand build otherwise?

Probably the brand religious Intolerance wasn’t selling enough alone. So, it decided to expand it’s scope. On 22^nd March, 2015 the article “Beep it! Bans fuel fears of intolerance in India” was published. Interesting part is that here first time intolerance was used without religion and it happened in a UAE newspaper this time. People outside India seemed more concerned about Indian Intolerance – one would wonder why? Still, nNext 5 months were really silent on this topic other than an article in tribune on 1^st May saying “Govt rejects US report alleging religious intolerance in India”.  However, very interesting to see how all these articles had BJP or Modi’s names all over.

September is when the assault intensified. On 6^th September, 2015, Indian Express published “Across the Aisle: The rise and rise of intolerance” a very interesting article by former finance minister of India P Chidambaram. Interestingly, there was no mention of BJP or Modi in this article. Once again the horizon of the article was not limited to religious Intolerance. Then, the meat ban in Mumbai brought another opportunity for the keyword to be used in a news article. Vir Sanghvi, on 14^th September, 2015, published “Meat ban is just the beginning: More intolerance is coming” the title looks like declaring the war. I wonder why there is still no logo for the brand Intolerance? There was no mention of the word Intolerance inside the article other than the last line but it did make a very interesting and impactful headline. After this, few mentions of Intolerance found place here and there.

Intolerance assault went full throttle just 50 days back and the return of awards made it more prominent. On 6^th October, 2015, TOI published “Nehru’s niece Nayantara Sehgal returns Sahitya Akademi award, protests rising intolerance” first real action reported against Intolerance under the brand. Next mention again was interestingly in gulf news on 8^th October, 2015 “India must raise its voice against intolerance” not only it directly linked Intolerance with BJP, once again the title provokes people to recognize and agitate against Intolerance. This news started with the mob lynching of a man on a beef eating controversy.

From this day, brand Intolerance became akin to anti-BJP sentiment in many ways. So, the political divide over the next few days became very visible. Next day, more intelligentsia of India came forward in support of the cause by returning their awards “Writers raise voice against growing ‘intolerance’”. Media covered it 24 x 7. Whole nation got divided over the issue. Everyone was writing about it and protests started here and there. The Aam Aadmi or Bharatiya Janta of India did what they can do best, pouring their emotions over social media. Facebook, twitter, whatsapp was full of nicely crafted messages. Some of these were people’s emotions but most of these were just shares and copy paste that originated from motivated individuals – the only technology you ever need to pollute people’s mindset. NRIs who haven’t set their foot in India in past 10 years also started showing their concerns for their motherland. Internet and Social media fission can be more deadly than Nuclear reaction.

Then, on 10^th October, 2015, Tribune (Pakistan) printed an article called “Intolerance in India”. The title sounds like “here’s the new brand”. It was full of anti BJP and Narendra Modi and their policies. The article ended with “a long, difficult road needs to be traversed to get out of the morass” How true indeed. On 10^th October, 2015, NDTV had “The Big Fight: Are We Becoming An Intolerant Nation?” A big debate, building the brand on primetime. By now, everyone had fallen into the trap. Here’s Advani himself endorsing the issue on 12^th October, 2015 “Intolerance growing in India, says Advani on Sudheendra paint attack: Who said what”. Next day, NDTV quoted the above Pakistani newspaper article as “Freedom Under Threat in India, Says Pakistani Newspaper”. How ironic, Indian paper needing Pakistani clutches to prove a point. Multiple articles followed everywhere in media and social media. After this point, even my mother knows about Intolerance or “asahishnuta”.  After all, the brand was needed in hindi also otherwise a large community would have missed out.

So, it was the week of 6^th – 12^th October that casted the spell. Everyone is clearly divided today but no-one is ruling yet. However, the first step to rule tomorrow is to divide today. Some ulterior motives are already getting served. If we, the people of India don’t stop the madness, we are looking at something messing the fabric of the entire nation. Someone is probably sitting on a drawing-board designing the next steps. Iron is hot and it’s not that difficult to strike it from multiple sides. If someone is really orchestrating the Brand INTOLERANCE in India, we may only be seeing the tip of the iceberg today. The INTOLERANCE MOVEMENT is all set to derail anything good that the government is planning. It might also give them excuse to hide their inabilities to deliver what they promised.

So, what next? India has an amazing history of forgiving and forgetting. It’s one of the most tolerant nations you can find. Here, you can have the most horrible attacks in the history of humankind today and everyone goes to office tomorrow with the headline “India moves on or Mumbai moves on or Delhi moves on….”. Let’s all hope, 50 days from now, no one will be talking about Intolerance anymore. That’s only possible if no-one is working on building this evil brand. Every Indian can also make it happen by just ignoring this topic. When you get involved, your blood boils at the slightest provocation and you react. This reaction causes the divide. At the end of the day, the aam aadmi is always a pawn, someone else is playing the game and making us act the way he wants. Our sentiments are not difficult to guess. Let’s wake up and crush the brand “INTOLERANCE” before it gulps all of us.

Unfortunately, by now, everyone has chosen sides. The intensity may be different. The divide and rule strategy works on intensifying these emotions. That’s when the real divide happens. Let’s not brand it. Let’s not fall into the trap. If every India is saying Indians are becoming intolerant, it’s a matter of introspection. Let’s stop following the propaganda and let’s not get emotional over it. Lets practice restraint. Let’s remember that – We, the people of India, have solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC . It’s not going to be easy but it’s already a miracle that we are doing so far so good. Nothing can divide us – if we decide. If we remain united, we also will become the greatest nation.

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Are you a responsible human being?

It was a busy Monday morning in Bangalore. The traffic was not moving at all. Srini was getting really impatient as he had an extremely important meeting at office. A multi-million dollar deal was about to be signed. He asked the driver to check what was happening. The driver found out that a homeless beggar has fainted in the middle of the road. He needed medical attention. His friends have surrounded him but no-one had the money to take him to hospital. This is causing the jam. Srini got concerned, more regarding the delay but also for the beggar. He gave his driver four thousand rupees to give to them to take him to the hospital. The driver obliged, jam was clear in next 15 minutes. Srini was happy to reach office within time. He made an entry against CSR account in his excel sheet and pretty much forgot about it. Next evening, his small gesture made it into the local newspaper. His driver showed him the article. They didn’t know his real name and hence the paper called him ‘a good Samaritan’. His timely help saved the person’s life. Srini felt good, a smile ran across his face. He thanked God for enabling him to help someone.

Can you imagine how helpless the beggar’s friends must be feeling when their friend was lying in the middle of the road? Weren’t they willing to help him? What was stopping them? The clear answer is lack of money. They were themselves struggling for their basic needs, how could they really help him? They were all watching helplessly there. Isn’t this a common situation? Many a times we want to help others but not able to do so because of lack of resources. These situations remind me of two very interesting powerful concepts I have come across. They are –

1. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
2. RYTHM

These might sound like Latin and Greek to you so let me explain both and why all this is connected.

1. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs – Abraham Maslow, in 1943 published a very famous paper called as “A theory of human motivation”. Then in 1954, he wrote a book called “Motivation and personality”. His book is perhaps the best known contemporary work on human needs. Maslow depicted a hierarchical pyramid of human needs in five stages stretching from basic physical needs at the bottom to spiritual or transcendental needs at the top. he argues that in order for individuals to thrive and excel, a health-fostering culture must be created. Maslow considers human beings to be energized by an actualizing tendency and believe that well-being occurs to the extent people can freely express their inherent potentials. See the figure for explanation of the theory.

How is this theory relevant here? The beggar’s friends were at the bottom of this pyramid whereas Srini was somewhere at Stage 4 (esteem) or 5 (self actualization) where he was not only able to help others, he self esteem also got a boost, recognition and self satisfaction.

2. RYTHM – The spelling is not wrong. Somewhere I read RYTHM to be an acronym for “Raise Yourself To Help Mankind”. It is an extremely thought provoking statement. If you really want to help someone, you have to raise yourself first. Otherwise your ability to help others could be very limited. If your own kids are hungry, would you be able to feed other poor kids. That’s what the true essence of RYTHM is. Let’s take the same story. Srini was able to help the beggar because he had raised himself while the beggar’s friends could not help though they had the right intent. If you look around, the people who are helping mankind the most are the people who have raised themselves. Everyone wants to help others, you want to do the RYTHM. Without raising yourself, there is very little your can do.

Bill Gates Foundation has 41.3 Billion dollars for charities. He is able to do it because he has raised himself to the top of the Maslow’s pyramid. There are many Srini’s in the world who are able to do the same. I’m sure you are also doing your bit.

Your journey of RYTHM is also your journey of “Transformation”. As humans, God has empowered you to transform yourself and even transform others. No other creation of God enjoys as much potential as human beings. Human race is the only species where one can uplift each other even without being with them. Bill Gates can help malnourished children in Africa and poor in India while sitting in the USA. That’s something that animals can’t do. An animal can at most take care of it’s own offsprings that are next to it. As humans, you should not just do that much and be satisfied. God has made you to do more than that. So, justify God’s greatest creation by being a better person. Transform yourselves and automatically we will help transform others too. Transformation is never easy, you need to come out of your comfort zone to let the transformation happen. The process of transformation is often difficult and long and often painful. However, once the transformation has taken place, you can really make a difference.

Maslow’s pyramid signifies something else too. The pyramid is wide at the bottom and tapered at the top. It means that very few people are able to reach the top. If you are reading this article, you don’t belong to first category or maybe even second category in many cases. So, wherever you are, you can make a difference. Your destiny is to reach 5^th stage. The sooner you move up, the more you are empowered for the RYTHM.

RYTHM is more of a bottom up approach. If you reverse the concept, you will still find it very fitting. Instead of looking at people who are raising themselves to help mankind, if you look at people who are helping mankind, you will realize that these people have raised themselves. The process of raising yourself and helping mankind goes hand in hand. If you are a good leader, people will listen to you and you will make a difference in their lives. The more difference you make, the more people will listen to you and you will become a bigger leader. Similarly if you are an entrepreneur, if you just focus on growing your business with full integrity and dedication, you will end up serving more and more people. The more people you serve, the more your business will grow and the more you will grow. End of day, you get satisfaction of touching so many lives.

Think of the people who are your role models in any field. You will realize, the bigger the person, the more the RYTHM and the higher he is on Maslow’s hierarchy diagram. So, what are you waiting for, Do your RYTHM. Isn’t it your responsibility as a human being?

Why India ought to respect America?

When I was 5 year old in a small town in UP called Saharanpur, my uncle’s family often visited us from America and we used to hear the fairy-tales and the American dream. American stories were good though my key dream was to just see an airplane from nearby and hopefully one day, touch it and maybe actually sit in it.

Well, time flies and times changed. Economies opened up and thanks to IT industry and Indian education system, going to America from India became as convenient as going to Bombay (Mumbai) from Saharanpur in those days. Still, a very obvious American dream of the people across the globe is no secret. America offers a life of freedom and independence to everyone.

Few things about America never cease to amaze me. There are various reasons why I believe it’s a great country. Recent appointment of Sundar Pichai at the top of Google is one such example. As a hardcore Indian, I always tend to compare the two nations. Here’s my list of reasons why I believe America is a country with a Big Heart and why it ought to be respected.

America is the land of opportunities and talent is not only respected but also rewarded in high currencies. Be it sports or business or even politics, if you can prove yourself, you can climb to the top. The rise of Barack Obama or Satya Nadella of Microsoft or Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo or even Sundar Pichai at the top position at Google and many more similar examples are a proof. Very few other countries would be open to give the top jobs of the world to the people who hail primarily from a different background. India is certainly not there yet.

That means, all are equal in America. Human rights are very well respected and preserved in America, not only on paper but also in practicality. People are not treated differently based on their caste, color, creed, gender, language or nationality in America. Very different from what happens back home in India. When you are treated equal, you feel much at home and you feel safe.

Yes, you feel safe when you see Police in America, something surprisingly opposite of what happens in India. American police goes by the book and their genuine objective is to make the country a safe and better place to live for all. Unfortunately in India, people often get scared when they see police. An image that takes lot of honesty and discipline at all levels to be created. In America, citizen and consumers rest assured that they are in good hands.

That also means, Consumer protection is very high in America. In India, often shops say customer is God but reality is far from it. Whereas, we all know how American consumer and customer are really treated like a God. America ensures that its people get what they deserve. In most cases, it’s about giving people their rights.

America also doesn’t tolerate terrorism of any kind, one attack on world trade centre and the whole America united to ensure that the root cause of the attacks is eliminated even if it originated from another country. In India, capital punishment for even one person within country from the most gruesome terrorist attacks here has become a matter of criticism. Even political parties are not united on matters of national security here.

Not only it’s own citizen, America assumes leadership position across the globe. Many countries stay relaxed just because America is there to help and support and fight for their rights.

The list is very long and I have no intention to go through the entire list. Whether it is absolute freedom to citizen or care for senior citizen, America has set many examples in front of the world to be called a well respected world leader. There are definitely many things India and Indians can learn from America.

Well, it takes two to tango. I’ve seen same Indian people behaving like an Indian in India and like an American in America. This is where personal leadership comes.  One day I would love to see India also as a globally respected and regarded nation. Every Indian has to work together to make it happen. When 1.3 billion people work together with great intent, they can move any mountains and even oceans. The person leading these 1.3 Billion also has a dream, I hope Dream India for Narendra Modi is same as Dream India for you and me.

Personally, I respect India more than any country on this planet and I’m not saying America is perfect; I can fill pages of things I don’t like about America. Not today though. Today, let’s congratulate America, especially corporate America for its objective decisions. Bigger success comes to those who celebrate success of others. Let’s do just that.

It’s a mixed feeling to see good Indians leaving India to pursue their American dream. I’m sure one day it will all come together and create greater synergies for India. It’s building the foundation of that dream India. Let’s make it happen.

Is PoD the Secret of the Classes being kept away from the Masses?

Once a King was defeated by a sage in the game of chess. The magnanimous king was ready to reward him anything he wants. However, the modest sage requested just one grain of rice per square of chess. The king wanted to give more and the sage then asked a grain of rice in first square of chess and then double it to two in 2^nd square and then double it to 4 in 3^rd square going on till the 64^th square.

The king was still not happy at his petty demand but be agreed and told his secretary to take care of it. After a few hours, the secretary panicked as he told the king there is no way they could fulfill the sage’s wish. The king was upset being bothered on such a small matter until he realized that they need to give out 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 grains – that’s enough rice to cover entire India with one meter thick layer of rice. The king fainted on the spot. However, he learnt an important lesson “The POWER of two” or “PoD – The Power of Duplication”

The POWER of Two, isn’t it amazing? Understanding this power is different than realizing it. Realizing it has been one of the most significant breakthroughs of my life. You might have heard, “It takes two to tango”. To me, number two is simply the first significant whole number now.

“The power of two” is also called as “The power of Compounding” or “The power of duplication” or “The exponential growth”. Eventually they all mean the same. Whether it’s economic life or your social life, two is where the power starts.

No one likes a loner. You could start dancing while a serious and boring meeting is going on and everyone would laugh at you. However, the moment one more of your friends join your dance even if just to support you, one by one the whole room might start dancing with you. You may put a post on Facebook and people may not “Like” it. Once two people click a like on it, everyone start drawing meanings from it. That’s the magic of Two.

In economic world, power of compounding is simply amazing. Let’s take a small example. If you start saving 1 Lakh per year at the age of 24 and the saving amount every year grows 10% at interest rate of 8%, you would have saved 8.07 Crore by the age of 60. However, if your same money grows at 16%, your saving would be 4 times, that is 34 Crore and it will be 201 crore at the rate of 24%. See the image below, Isn’t it amazing? Unfortunate part is that very few people understand the real power of compounding.

We can see numerous examples of the power of multiplication around us. Ever wonder how did Bill gates or Mark Zukerberg or Dhirubhai Ambani become the wealthiest people around? Their businesses are growing based on the power of compounding. How did Mahatma Gandhi or Narendra Modi or Barack Obama become the biggest leaders? Their fans increased exponentially. How did world population become 7 Billion while there was only Adam and Eve once? You got it – It’s all power of duplication.

The more I think about it, the more I feel that power of compounding is “the Secret” that the Classes are keeping away from the masses. Once you realize this power, you can be as powerful as your Dreams are. It’s just a matter of dreaming big and then applying the Duplication secret to reach there.

Thousands of people and businesses around us grow based on this secret of power of exponential growth. If you think about it and use it, you will be it. One of the biggest secrets to successful life is knowing how to leverage the secrets. Knowledge without application isn’t the best thing you can do with your life. All the best.

The world awaits your big comeback, how about yourself?

As an achiever, my best days are behind me – has this thought ever crossed your mind? Do you think it’s too late to get started or get restarted now? What does the Leader and the achiever and the dreamer inside you think and say? Few days back, I wrote You are the best, today, I want to share something very important for you – RESTART.

How do you visualize super-star Rajesh Khanna today, I’m sure you remember the young smiling person with amazing style. How about Big B? I’m sure a very finished looking tall gentleman in 70s in French beard, black glasses and inspiring the world. If Big B had not come-back, you would have had his angry young man Image in your mind. So, what do you think, who did better of the two? Who made difference in more lives?

When I was a student back in early 90s, a company called Arthur Andersen used to be dream job in our campus. Where does it stand now? No-where. You can do research. I’m sure you remember Enron, Konika, Nokia, Vinod Kambli also? All these were super-stars once and fizzled once their “best days” ended.  I just think they failed to restart and reignite and reinvent and rebrand themselves.

Now what’s interestingly common between Amitabh Bachchan, Steve Jobs, Mary Com, General Motors, the Beatles, Sourav Ganguly and many more such people and companies? I’m sure you’re getting the point. They all saw their own “best days” and then those days ended and then they restarted/reignited/reinvented/rebranded themselves as market leaders into “better than best” days. Some of them did it multiple times over and over.

What does these comebacks tell us? I tried searching Google for people who never made a comeback and I had a tough time finding it. Not because such people don’t exist, actually because nobody cares to talk about them anymore. Then I searched for people who made big comebacks and I found hundreds of entries.

Both Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan even reached points of bankruptcy or “worst days” as world started writing them off. Then something happend, Amitabh Bachchan’s Passion, never give up attitude, sincerity and Dream and even his needs drove him to reinvent himself and he again became No 1 in his own way.  You can Google their stories for details, I am here just to make a point.

The same is true of you. Whatever stage of life you are in, you can always make it Bigger, Louder and Stronger. All you need is your Dream and belief and willingness to pay the price. There are enough examples of start and re-start at all points in time. Harland Sanders started KFC at the age of 62 and we all know what it is today.

What’s next for Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and the likes? I feel it would be a pity if they just take a comfortable job at BCCI and not make bigger difference in the world. If they have even bigger dreams, they will become the next big thing, else they will go into history books as masters of those two decades. They have a choice, everyone has. I hope to see them revolutionize the world again – somehow.

So, if you are still not thinking of making a mark on this planet, the only reason could be – either you have become comfortable with where you are or you have written yourself off or you are not dreaming big enough. Wake up, there’s still time, there always is…

It’s not over until you win. Your shelf life is much more than you think. Remember this and all the best..!!

What’s your DNA? Are you Different yet?

Has someone ever asked you, “What’s unique about you?” 1.3 Billion Different people and counting. That’s a hell of a Job done by The God. The question is, are you really different? What’s your DNA?

Science can prove how you are unique even if you represent only .0000000001% of world population. That’s something, isn’t it? Whether you are shopping clothes or service, buying a house or a car, meeting a new person or boss, you are always looking for something unique and different. The most frequent question any large organization gets asked is “How are you different than others?” What’s your USP? Whether it’s Microsoft, Nike, Apple, Coke, Sachin Tendulkar or Amitabh Bachchan. The moment you hear the name, you know what’s different about them.

How come then, you as a human being are ready to settle without making a difference? Wouldn’t you like to have a personal identity that makes you stand out? The answer has to be a “Yes”. If your friends are talking about you, what’s that one topic or quality when everyone thinks of you first? I know there are more questions in the above lines than answers. But then, I read somewhere, “Questions are the Answers” – isn’t it?

Imagine a spotlight rotating among millions of people and all of a sudden it stops on you. How would you feel? Wouldn’t you like to get spotted among millions of people? For good reasons of course!

The good news is that you can make it happen. All you need to do is to focus on what you stand for, your strong character and your hard work. Once you know the core of your character and value system, you just need to live up to it and everyone will start identifying you with the same. Believe me, it’s possible. No if’s and no what if’s. Your life will be much more meaningful when you are recognized by something good. Your passion and resilience and determination can make a leader out of you. It’s really as simple as that. You become more visible and powerful as you nurture your character into that value system.

Remember, It’s not a competition and that’s probably the best part. Many people around you could have the same determination and same character but believe me, you can still stand out. You can still get the spotlight. The law of attraction will ensure it. That’s when you start enjoying life more than otherwise. Isn’t it? All the best.

Did you know, you are the best…!

Hi there, how is life going these days? Out of 20 departments of life that you deal with on a daily basis, Aren’t there 2 or 3 that you wish should just vanish? If life is all about enjoying it then why are there few areas bothering you all the time?

I’m sure that there are areas of life that are really frustrating or bothering you, be it job frustration, your boss, a relationship, boredom, monotony, rejection, too much work, finance, business, system others or you yourself. You may be at a point when you are thinking that enough is enough. If you are into that situation right now, I’m here to tell you that you are NORMAL.

Here’s the SECRET. Not only you are normal, I’m here to remind you that you are the BEST. Yes, if you are a human being, you will have your moments of challenges and frustrations in life. Your life is a roller coaster of emotions and situations. That’s what differentiates you from the animals. The other fact that sets you apart is that you are the BEST. Let me tell you how.

Before you read further, just close your eyes and take a deep breath in and out and say “I am the best” with a smile. Now, let’s look back at least 3 instances of life when someone congratulated you on your achievement, be it doing a great job or getting an award or clearing some exam or winning some competition or something you did for others or you helped someone or even when you cooked great food that everyone loved. Just remember how it felt? Doesn’t that bring a smile on your face still? I bet it does. That moment you had a feeling that you are the best.

Also, I want you think of at least 3 instances when you felt good after doing something good. It could be few of the above instances or it could be when you stretched your limits to do something else or maybe when you protected your friends and family with your action or when you helped a needy or the way you take care of your loved ones on a daily basis or the way you are generally helpful or your positive attitude, It could also be three things you like about your own personality. Think about it and smile once again with pride.

Now you must believe that you are the best not only because of the 5 or 10 things that you just thought, you are the best because if you could bring the best out of you a few times in your past life, there is no reason why you can’t bring THE BEST out of you every coming day of your life. In fact the frustration you are going through right now will bring the best out of you. Challenging moments bring the best out of people. As long as you remember that not only will you face the challenge with a lot of determination, you move one more step towards becoming your best. A small act of being able convincing your boss why you want that leave can add to your convincing abilities of being the best.

I very close friend of mine got fired from one job for being incompetent and he found another job where he is the best employee for 2 consecutive years. It happened because he took a decision and moved forward with a positive attitude. Now, he is a role model to others. Another similar friend became very successful entrepreneur due to similar adverse situation. Gandhi became the world leader just because he took charge when he saw discrimination happening in another country. He came out to be the BEST.

Remember, you are the best. When you remind yourself of that and take charge, you end up helping lot of people and friends and family. That’s when you start justifying and enjoying your birth as a human being. Every-time you are feeling low for whatever reason, remember your strengths and face the situation. It will bring the best in you and you will move towards being the Bestest..!

As a Leader, what are the first Three words you see in this grid.

As a Leader, the First three words you see is what is significant about your current or predominant leadership style. Type those words in the Comments here.