The Month that was, the Years that will be

If I said the last post came after ages, this one has taken many more!! Time has flown by, all of a sudden, leaving me without much time to let any feeling of farwewell to sink in. Ironically, it has been the longest one month of my life. In addition to the expected preparations, tying the open ends of the threads of my life in Mumbai was not easy, especially when they are entagled with all the lives that have touched me deep in there and made all the difference. I also had important people to meet in Bangalore which made an added demand on my limited time. Amidst all the chaos, I didn't realise when I reached Gurgaon and how my first week in Gurgaon went by. Matter of factly, it was an incredibly long one too.

I slept 3 hours on an average every night, with 45 minutes being the least in a day and 5 hours being the most. I had an option of paying up fines for sleep, delay and indiscipline (sleeping in sessions, stooping on the desk, etc.) but it was the easier way out. I chose to endure, because I knew this week would be a litmus test of what was to come in the next 2 years. I did succeed eventually. It seemed like I had already been at MDI for 2 months.

Moving away from trivialities, I had the fortune of meeting some of the most learned people I have ever met. CEOs of companies, writers, the founding director of MDI (who has also led IIMB and IIML), faculty and alumni - all of them telling me there is a long way to go in life. Yes, there were speeches and interactions, and no matter how sleepy I was, I wanted to absorb every ounce of knowledge they shared. I felt enlightened after talking to them and before I forget the lessons they taught me, I want to write them down.

1) Practise creative destruction. If I don't die everyday, I will not be reborn the next. I will not remain young forever (Courtesy: Dr. Pritam Singh).

2) Show humility. Small people are big because they make others look small. Big people are big because they make others look big (Courtesy: Dr. Ashok Kapur).

3) Don't undermine your values. You have to answer to yourself at the end of the day.

4) Remain aware and sensitive to ideas. You can learn from anyone.

5) Management requires strength - physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual.

6) Read the scriptures. They hold the mantra for life.

7) Set a goal. Action without purpose is time passed.

8) Strategize. Life will not take you where you want to go, but you should be able to prevent it from going where you don't want to go.

9) Show strength of character, that is what decides if carbon metamorphises into diamond or coal.

10) Be proactive and not reactive.

I will hopefully not give you a reason to miss me in the time to come. I apologize for not having dropped in to say hello on your blogs. Keep whispering!!