Snippets

A Ted Talk rekindled memories of a conversation with wise Subedar Major turned entrepreneur after his retirement. A man I deeply respected for efficiency and high personal ideals, in fact his advise was something I solicited on most complex issues, assured of reply in simple ideological terms; viz “no sir this may lead to embarrassment to the Regiment, hence I don’t recommend it”. This wise man took a few years after retirement to established himself as a businessman. The crux of our conversation at that stage, was in the statement  was “the first plant was a challenge, it made me understand that the rules are tweaked to help the capitalist(or moneyed class). I understood the ropes and now I have finished setting up my second plant with half the effort, god willing I will set up more”. I can vouch he was a man of exceptional ability to have overcome the ‘wall of rules’ of the capitalists, most would give up mid-way.   The Ted Talk by Magatte Wade of Senegal ...

While we are conscious of laws of nature; say in terms of how a plant grows and accept it as part of nature that cannot really be interfered with. If it takes 5 years for a tree to start giving fruit, it will generally take that long.    However when it comes to personal life we think short cuts can work. Short cut in getting a degree, short cut in getting a promotion, a quick buck and so on. To quote Stephen R Covey ‘ In agriculture, we can easily see and agree that natural laws and principles govern the work and determine the harvest. But in social and corporate cultures, we somehow think we can dismiss natural processes, cheat the system, and still win the day .’ [i] The truth remains you cant cram and clear college and assume life will fall in place. It has its own law of nature that allows no shortcuts. You can see examples all around as you grow older. A nice tale conveying the truth about process of life was in Coveys book (pg 77) "S...