“There is only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving, and that’s your own self”. -Aldous Leonard Huxley (1894-1963) During my growing years, my source of fun was playing games, chatting with friends, or reading books. I was serious only during short periods like the final exams, so that I would get good marks. I have never been competitive – be it in academics, or profession / business, because I found it negative. This understanding also helped me to be peaceful. However, I was always conscious about the situation in which I was placed and my duties. Immediately after I completed engineering (1973), I applied for higher studies at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and a couple of US universities just like many of my classmates. I did not get a seat in IISc, but I got admission in the US universities. When I told my father about it, he innocently asked me, “If you go there and later marry a white lady, what will we do here? You should know that you have ...

  “Your network is the people who want to help you, and you want to help them, and that’s really powerful”. -Reid Garrett Hoffman (b.1967), Co-founder, LinkedIn The first network I know of is my family and then our extended families – paternal and maternal relatives. Until I was sixteen, I spent most of my free time playing games like leg cricket, football, cricket, and indoor games like carom-board and Chess apart from watching a few movies. I didn’t have to put any extra efforts for this because I always had company. However, because I played games solely for enjoyment and wasn’t competitive, I didn’t take winning or losing seriously. Towards the end of high-school, I developed an interest in reading novels and I began spending my spare time alone. For me, networking has always been just starting a conversation with someone with no destination in mind. Sometimes the conversation evolves into an interesting activity that adds value. Shekhar Borgoankar, a classmate of mine in colle...

  “Parental love is the only love that is truly selfless, unconditional and forgiving”. –Dr. Thye Poh Chia (b.1941) In today’s technology-driven, self-centric world, this topic may assume some importance for sustaining humanity. I’m fortunate to have been born in a family that was mainly driven by duty and values. It is difficult to teach, especially the young ones, the concepts of duty and values. In my growing years, I had never bothered to understand these concepts. However, during my student years, despite all the distractions, I always ensured that I performed well in my academics and undertook a few household chores as and when needed, without any pressures. I’m doubly fortunate for having born in a family that was living in their ancestral home. As I continue to live in a house where three generations of my ancestors lived, I realize its role in developing the concept of responsibility in me. I managed to modify the ancestral home in instalments, spread over almost...

  “Innovation, an instrument specific to entrepreneurship, endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth”.  -Peter Drucker Until the age of sixteen, I never considered time, knowledge, or skills as resource. Born and brought up in a joint family environment, I always thought that the biggest resource I had was relatives. During my younger days, I could easily list the names of over a hundred relatives (paternal and maternal) with whom I was fairly familiar, although I could take liberty only with a few. I always received support from my immediate and extended family directly or indirectly. It is only when I received my first National Merit Scholarship of six hundred rupees in 1967 that I understood the importance of money as a resource and the associated freedom. All through my growing years I wasn’t greatly motivated by money; what pushed me more was to experiment with my life by doing something different from what my family elders were doing.  My paternal great ...

  It is not about proving anything to the world. It is all about proving your capabilities to yourself and stretching your own boundaries.” ― Manoj Arora, Author of Dream On (2015) Generally when we face failure or a situation that we don’t know how to handle, we worry about our capabilities. Sometimes, we develop capability just to meet the demands of the situation. From my younger years, I’ve had to bear additional responsibilities both at school and home, which I fortunately considered as part of my work and not as a burden. Till I entered high school, I was the class monitor and the school assembly in-charge; I also represented the school in several extra-curricular activities like debates and sports. On many occasions I got prizes and lavish praise from teachers. I also acted as the hero in dramas and happened to perform well in academics. Thus, expectations started rising within myself by the time I turned fourteen and had entered high-school. On entering high-school, I prefe...

  “When your values are clear to you, making decisions become easier”. – Roy E Disney (b. 1930) – Son of Roy Oliver Disney, Co founder of Walt Disney Co I think confidence and empowerment are interconnected. Empowerment comes from within; typically it stems from and is fostered by self-assurance. To feel empowered is to feel free and that’s when one can do his best. Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900), who believed that embracing difficulty is essential for a fulfilling life, considered the journey of self-discovery one of the greatest and most fertile existential difficulties.  During my growing years (1950-68), I wasn’t subject to great academic or peer pressure. I could spend sufficient time in play, reading a variety of books, and being with people, both young and old. This helped me build a general perspective of life for later years. Having spent most of my growing years in my ancestral home amidst elders, siblings, and visiting relatives, my focus was on sustaining family a...