Football and the Indian Development Saga?

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I guess India is not absolutely the right place to write about the World Cup but then I am constrained for choices. As it happens, the on-going football World Cup, the 4-yearly pilgrimage for old-style fans of the beautiful game ( I say old style because these days most football followers stick to the various domestic leagues only, whereas I prefer the nation vs nation format) has again raised the question of where are we as a country in this game!

Well, Sunil Chhetri is definitely trying to do his best in the studio (a poorly conceived and executed pre and post match show by Sony). The social media is flush with tweets and shares and likes for all things football. The newspapers are giving prominent page-space to the event (even Hindi ones, which definitely means more people in the hinterland following the sport now). And the Janata can’t stop talking about the late night games and the sleepy eyes one encounters every day. And all of these are definitely encouraging signs for us all…

Yet, when we look at India’s standing in the world order of football it’s way dismal. Watching one of the matches my brother commented, when Nigeria which is such a woefully underdeveloped country can qualify and give some of the better ones a run for their money, what’s wrong with India. And my instant answer was – we don’t have grassroots development.

If we look at it objectively, as I did after making the comment (yes, like most of us, I was just trying to sound cool and authoritative at that time), this theory does ring a bell. Why?

To begin with, Indians are taught from their childhood that sports and games are bad. “Padhoge, likhoge, Banoge Nawab; Kheloge, Koodoge, Banoge Kharab”. This is such a deep psyche with us people that it takes a typical rebel to go against the grain of the society and emerge on a field to play sports professionally.

Yes, we are changing and it is becoming common now-a-days to find sportsmen everywhere in India but then most of them are cricketers, trying to make some quick bucks in the only sport that pays handsomely. People don’t want to look at sports as a serious profession because they are unsure about earning their livelihood from it. And this can only change when we develop…

Cutting it short, this bias is basically there because Indians haven’t seen the other side of the coin – people can follow whatever their passion or liking is and they will be able to make a living out of it. And it doesn’t matter if you are educated or not, the views are almost the same. So how do we change this?

My take is – if India develops fast and people start seeing opportunities everywhere, the propensity to get into alternative fields will be more. We will then not only have more sportsmen but more teachers, more scientists, more of all professions and people will be happy in their chosen line, something akin to the US or other highly developed countries!

The Long Absence…

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Reading news today morning, I came across an article claiming that the new government isn’t interacting with the media as much as it used to be; it is almost as if they have voluntarily decided to be under the radar. This reminded me of my long absence from the blogging world…

Now, the news article might have been hinting at some broad political strategy. My absence has been rather non-strategical. Its been plain simple – I haven’t been writing! But there are reasons why I was missing for almost last 3 months.

Well, I took to reading a lot (a habit which has always been there and surprises my wife even to this day – c’mon honey you have got to give me credit that I have stuck to it inspite of accusations of all kinds from you), started writing a novel (whoa, a long cherished version of mine), traveled and self-reflected a lot (business and personal), spent time with the family (quite naturally because IPL is not something you can watch all day as opposed to the on-going world cup), and even started a new venture and on the verge of another! Quite something…

Naturally all these things took precedence and I just abstained from writing. But having emerged victorious to this other side (proof is in this post), I can emphatically say that from now on I am going to be more regular (sounds familiar, eh). In fact, I am going to publish a new post each week and perhaps 2 if I feel up to it. And I know, some of you (ok, most of you) might not be very happy with my return (who am I writing for then?), I will still write to improve myself and to prove to myself that I can! (Obama style!!!)

Cheers to the new wave of my blogs then! See you all with the next post soon…

The David vs Goliath Path

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This morning, sitting at home, I decided to catch up on some cricket action in the ongoing World T20 in Bangladesh. I was curious to see the game between Netherlands and South Africa, having read some tweets pointing to a possible upset that didn’t happen.

What really happened? A newbie side came out all guns blazing to restrict a good batting lineup from scoring too many runs; and then their batsmen had a field day playing fearlessly to some outstanding bowlers and fielders. And it was perhaps a little bit of luck that saved South Africa on the day…

As the match progressed, and Netherlands faltered to reach the finish line, I went into my own thoughts of how and why this happens. Now there is something that always inspires in us a sleeping awe whenever we hear about these big vs small contests, nobodys fighting somebodys. Well, it does inspire in me! How is it that someone relatively unknown, obscure suddenly gathers the courage and guts to fight the big guns?

This is true in battles, in sports, and in the mad world of business all the time. And it has got to do sometimes with luck, but mostly the reason behind such unexpected results is the mindset that the David carries when he fights the Goliath. Mindset plays a major role in the emergence of the victor! And that is true all the times…

When the Small player comes out to face the challenges, being fearless and undeterred and in most cases knowing he/she is doing the right thing, just goes all out to achieve what is set in sight. The Bigger player becomes complacent or sometimes even arrogant, both responses a sure sign of a stalling mindset, to ignore the Small one and hence loses out in the contest. And irrespective of whether there are challengers or not, whether big players exist or not, the ones who enter the field with the right mindset, go on to win. That explains the emergence of an Ambani, or a Mittal, or a Sachin, or an Amitabh. They just don’t give up come what may, focused all the way on their goals. And that is what makes them a champion!

How can we benefit from this all? Well, if we always keep our goals clear and our mindset positive, nothing in this world is impossible. Too many times we give up on things when the going gets tough. Too many people don’t fulfil their life’s destiny because there are people discouraging them. All this negativity stops people from trying and becoming what they set out to achieve, living their life in mediocrity…

We just have to remember a simple thing – Even if there are a hundred challenges or a thousand nay-sayers, the David will win over the Goliath, provided he has the right perspective and a strong mindset to boot!!! And we will also be remembered and talked about in some corner of the world some day, even if we are small today…

Unifying India

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The other day I was sitting with one of my friends and we were just talking about random stuff when I was drawn to a rather normal detail – he is a Bengali, his wife is a Sindhi. It’s nothing out of the blue, I mean people are getting married as per their choice all over the place. But something in this detail stuck to me!

Well, to put things straight, even I have had a love marriage (a rather long labour of love for 5 years before we tied the knot :)). I am a Brahmin from MP and my wife a Marwari from Jharkhand. And we have instances in our family of inter-religion marriages as well, so it’s nothing awkward for me that two people of different castes/religions get married. What really stuck me was the amalgamation of cultures that’s happening across the board within our generation.

In older times, when arranged marriages used to be the norm, most of the alliances were in same religion/caste and to a great extent, even region. It was likeness that paved the way for a successful marriage! Remember, old aunties saying “she is of the same caste, will be able to adjust easily”…

But come our generation, the concept of arranged marriages has been overtaken by people marrying each other based on their choices. And that’s quite a profound thing that’s happening right now in India. As more and more of us get married into different castes/religions/cultures, I believe we are becoming more tolerant of the way others in the society live. And that’s great because it, in my opinion, is bringing the people of India closer.

Imagine, after a few years when Muslims will be marrying Hindus openly without any drama, Sikhs will be getting hitched to Christians and Rajputs to South Indian Brahmins, and so on. The simple idea of marrying based on your choice will create a strong harmony amongst religions, societies and castes that years of efforts couldn’t do! It’s already started, and it’s only going to become better with age! 🙂

Hopefully then films like 2 States would no longer be novelty amongst most people in the hinterland, it will be a commonplace occurrence surrounding one of the most beautiful institutions that India has taught the world how to be successful in. And it will be an India not only tolerant of its diversities but proud of the vastness of its amalgamated culture!!!

The Thrill of Building

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Last month I was at my home with parents for some work with respect to one of our businesses. Most of my free time got spent on the balcony, watching a band of construction workers diligently put together the building opposite to our newly constructed house. And as I watched them, a thought stuck to me (which you can guess took some unsticking to do :P)

That band of workers worked each day in sun/rain/wind/shade to put together an apartment complex where none of them were going to live. And as I observed them each day, I was more and more fascinated by this aspect of how the lives of entrepreneurs unfold…

Most entrepreneurs will agree to this – the fun is in the journey and the climb, the view from the top is lonesome and it’s not the destination that matters. Which suggests, building something should be of prime interest to us!

However, most people make this mistake on too squarely focusing on the end point, worrying endlessly about how it’s all going to turn out in the final race. To put it mildly, if the foundation is strong, if the journey is challenging, if the process followed is good, the end result will be just fine!

This gets displayed in our daily lives also. We fret and fume over small things gone wrong, fight with others and get angry on ourselves if we don’t get what we want, but rarely reflect back on was the building process right? And if it is, temporary setbacks or delays aren’t much to bother about then…

The thrill of building is what keeps people alive, that joy of something that you envisioned taking shape in front of you is unmatchable. It’s true for painters, for artists, for entrepreneurs, for sportsmen, for leaders, and I guess it’s true for all the so called “normal” people as well. Here’s to the spirit of the “Go for it” attitude!!!

Key to Success!

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In the morning, watching a tennis match between Federer and Djokovich, my wife (who of course is not a big fan of sports, no points for guessing :)) made a rather regular comment – “I’m getting bored with this monotonous game, don’t these players get bored too”. And my mind started to churn…

As I answered her question, I stumbled upon something quite revealing. Having been an entrepreneur, I have been observing some traits that are common to most of our ilk. And most of these traits are very common between sportsmen and entrepreneurs so I can safely make a comparison here.

One of the topmost of these traits which make sportsmen/entrepreneurs successful is “enthusiasm”. Some people also call it passion! And it is almost a prerequisite for anyone to succeed doing something of their own!

Well, most of us might think it is their gift or their intelligence or probably they being in the right place that makes them succeed. Nothing could be farther from the truth… Of course, hard work and dedication for years altogether also count, but the first and I think the most important is Enthusiasm/Passion!!!

If one doesn’t have enough enthusiasm or passion for anything, it is quite natural for them to get bored or tired of doing it. That’s why perhaps people keep changing jobs and places, they just can’t bear doing something they don’t like anymore. And that’s why perhaps marriages also break, the couple unable to keep their passion for each other for too long…

But if one has a passion towards something, they wouldn’t give it up for anything else. They would continue to labour and challenge themselves on a daily basis to become better in it. And that’s what happens to these sportsmen and entrepreneurs. They are so naturally excited and charged up about their game or idea that nothing can deter them from succeeding! And they just go on and on and on!

Now, how does this help us? I am reminded of one of Steve Job’s most profound speeches at the Stanford graduation ceremony (I don’t recollect the exact words but this is what he meant) “When I wake up in the morning and look at the mirror, if I don’t seem enthusiastic and wonder what’s wrong; and this happens for a few days, I know I am not enjoying and discover and change what’s worrying me”.

If we all just follow this great man’s advice and start living our life to fulfil our passions and remain enthusiastic about things which we are doing, we would all definitely be more successful and much more happier!!!

So here’s to more success for all of you, may you become the absolute best in whatever you are doing, following your passion!

Probity in News…

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Surfing through news today, I hit upon a report of Pranoy Roy seeking accountability and transparency from the Indian media and wanting a strong defamation law to handle spurious news and wrong accusations. Kudos to him to rake up this issue at a time when the current news channels create nuisance, unnecessarily at times!

I still remember how I started watching news early on in my life, specially ‘The World This Week’ and the DD National news in the evening. It gave me a strong footing to understand and appreciate world-wide happenings and improve my idea of the world. And all of it was cultured, sedate reporting and talks/debates to put forth the complete view-point, most of it thoroughly researched.

But today’s media in India has sadly been reduced to a caricature of its previous self of high standards and professional, authentic viewpoints. What we are witnessing these days are shenanigans of channels and anchors turning news into soap-operas to garner more eyeballs and prolong their life…

Talking about television media particularly, these intelligentsia claim that they are the true champions of democracy and are responsible for everything that’s right, bringing out everything’s that wrong! However, most of the news items seem biased and planted to favour one or the other party and the ensuing debate is cacophonous at best! And even God cannot help their ‘targets’, who is/are portrayed as a criminal or wrong-doer just by the way they are dealt with… 🙂

I am no judge of who is right or wrong but I do hope that television media becomes as sensitive to the veracity of what they are showing, and more importantly empathy towards their viewers (not repeating the same thing all day, multiple times) and participants (who look like sitting ducks most of the times)!

Otherwise they risk losing out on audience who are as such moving to the internet and other sources of getting their news rather than watching the news channels. And it’s happening not only because of changing tastes, but also because people like me value a fair and free opinion/reporting above everything else.

Hopefully that day comes soon!

Leaving a Legacy!!!

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While on a long travel, I decided to pick up a book which had been long sitting on my shelf (the digital one, thanks to numerous options on the iPad which has become my constant companion, so much that sometimes my wife laments “try something else rather than the iPad today”!), Empire of the Moghuls, written by Alex Rutherford.

As I lost myself into the plot detailing the life and times of Babur, the ruler who established the dynasty, I understood how they became one of the most successful rulers of India. From my childhood, I had viewed the Moghuls as the most successful empire in India and perhaps more so because of the history books than my own research. But never really went to the extent of understanding the reason, until the book revealed the answer to me…

The book is a brilliant account of how Babur built the empire right from his early childhood when he was declared the king owing to his father’s untimely death when he was 13! The story runs through his struggle of capturing and losing Samarkand, the famed city, multiple times; being without the throne for years together, hiding and running from his enemies; constantly suffering from a fear of will he be able to do enough; and finally fulfilling his desire to capture Hindustan.

But most importantly, the one thing which runs through the entire account is his urge and incessant desire to leave a legacy. In his own words “What will I be recalled as, and what will I leave my generations to come, and how I am remembered tomorrow”! In short, about “LEAVING A LEGACY”.

This particular thought is what drives great men, I believe – What is it that they are going to do that is going to leave their mark on humanity and for generations to come together they are remembered for what they did. And I could feel it in my stomach as I read Babur’s life account of how it must have been for him to go through the trials and tribulations of building his empire. This is what I believe drives a lot of us, members of the entrepreneurial clan…

To be an entrepreneur is not easy, it’s bloody difficult. One has to go through the most trying times of their life, lead themselves and those who believe in them through some of the most darkest paths they have ever encountered, face every adversity and still maintain their wits and guts, and most importantly never lose sight of what they want to achieve. And as anybody’s guess, most give up on this treacherous path before it winds down!

But what lies ahead of this so-called path? An absolutely stunning life, which only some are able to conquer, more in their minds than in the physical way. And all that one ever wants in his life, all the satisfaction, all the glory, all the dreams become possible…

As with what Babur did, and what most people who today are successful businessmen have done, it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to do something great and create a compelling story out of your life. So go for the glory, just don’t sit back and keep thinking, the path is anyways going to throw surprises galore along the way!

Is it worth it? Absolutely…

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I’m Back!

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After a long time, keeping all the other work aside, here I am – back to one thing I think I have always loved doing… Writing my thoughts down! Its been a long time coming and I have over multiple times tried to unleash the writer within, but somehow it wasn’t to be until today.

What brought about the need – just freedom to write down what I wish to without worrying about anything else – a way to lose myself in the midst of so many thoughts and come out with a refreshed perspective – is what is driving me right now! Hope to do some good to myself and maybe contribute in some ways to the larger world!!!

Different Worlds!!!

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As a follow-up on the previous post about the Theory of Work, I was thinking about how different are the worlds of an Employee and a Businessman. On deeper evaluation, I realized the entire difference lay in how they approach life…

To illustrate, I can use the proverbial Pyramid and highlight the difference. For an employee, the pyramid looks like this, starting from the bottom–

When an employee starts his work, he is a fresher, right out of college. Maybe he has acquired some higher/niche skills because of which he might start at a pedestal or two higher. But the essence remains that he gets embroiled in a RAT Race where he is aiming to go higher and higher up the corporate ladder, ensuring he doesn’t become redundant. What he forgets is that even if he succeeds in touching the highest pinnacle, which is highly unlikely, he will still be in the RAT race. Moreover, in this entire process, he will lose his life – of which he has just one; and his energy – which will get sapped. Even if he is the chosen one, touching the highest pinnacle, it is the glass ceiling beyond which he cannot even think of breaking through.

If we look at this slightly deeply in correlation with the Theory of Work, what he does is spends his life working for someone else in a sort of a prison. On weekends when he gets a couple of days off he behaves like a free bird trying to do

everything that is possible within his reach to feel good about his life. But he knows he has to go back to the prison again the next week. So, he keeps grinding through his life and most probably dies thinking if he could have done better.

On the other hand are business owners. For them, the pyramid looks like this, starting from the top –

When a business owner starts work, he gets paid ZERO. He puts in his hard work, his blood and sweat, his life’s worth in building up his idea, his business, with passion and hunger for success. It is not necessary that he succeeds in the beginning – he might fail and falter multiple times. But if he remains true to himself, he learns and imbibes good things, steers clear of his mistakes, and slowly starts to build up the business. He puts together a team that shares his vision and is tuned to the organization’s mission and then the multiplier effect slowly sets in and the leverage shows up. He then keeps building the business and gets paid more and more while his work keeps on reducing and reducing.

This happens till the point he reaches Financial Freedom, a stage where he becomes redundant. At this stage, he does not need to work to ensure that money flows into his bank account. He has built the business and now his team carries it forward whilst he relaxes and enjoys his life. For all the hard work that he puts in for those 5-10 years, he now gets back double. And what he leaves behind when he dies is a LEGACY – for generation(s) to come…

Where do you want to be – in the RAT race or building a legacy? Do leave your comments…