| Inspiring ariticle from Wipro chief - Azim Premji Inspiring ariticle from Wipro chief - Azim Premji
I am very happy to be here with you. It is always wonderful to be with
young people. The funny thing about life is that you realize the value
of something only when it begins to leave you. As my hair turned from
black, to salt and pepper and finally salt without the pepper, I have
begun to realize the importance of youth. At the same time, I have begun
to truly appreciate some of the lessons I have leant along the way. I
hope you will find them useful when you plan your own career and life.
The first thing I have learnt is that we must always begin with our
strengths. From the earliest years of our schooling, everyone focuses on
what is wrong with us.
There is an imaginary story of a rabbit. The rabbit was enrolled in a
rabbit school. Like all rabbits, it could hop very well but could not
swim. At the end of the year, the rabbit got high marks in hopping but
failed in swimming. The parents were concerned. They said, "Forget about
hopping. You are anyway good at it. Concentrate on swimming." They sent
the rabbit for tuitions in swimming. And guess what happened? The rabbit
forgot how to hop! As for swimming, have you ever seen a rabbit swim?
While it is important for us to know what we are not good at, we must
also cherish what is good in us. That is because it is only our
strengths that can give us the energy to correct our weaknesses.
The second lesson I have learnt is that a rupee earned is of far more
value than five found.
My friend was sharing me the story of his eight year-old niece. She
would always complain about the breakfast. The cook tried everything
possible, but the child remained unhappy. Finally, my friend took the
child to a supermarket and brought one of those ready-to-cook packets.
The child had to cut the packet and pour water in the dish. After that,
it took two minutes in the microwave to be ready. The child found the
food to be absolutely delicious? The difference was that she has cooked
it ! In my own life, I have found that nothing gives as much
satisfaction as earning our rewards. In fact, what is gifted or
inherited follows the old rule of come easy, go easy. I guess we only
know the value of what we have if we have struggled to earn it.
The third lesson I have learnt is no one bats a hundred every time.
Life has many challenges. You win some and lose some. You must enjoy
winning. But do not let it go to the head. The moment it does, you are
already on your way to failure. And if you do encounter failure along
the way, treat it as an equally natural phenomenon. Don't beat
yourself for it or any one else for that matter! Accept it, look at
your own share in the problem, learn from it and move on. The important
thing is, when you lose, do not lose the lesson.
The fourth lesson I have learnt is the importance of humility.
Sometimes, when you get so much in life, you really start wondering
whether you deserve all of it. This brings me to the value of gratitude.
We have so much to be grateful for. Our parents, our teachers and our
seniors have done so much for us that we can never repay them. Many
people focus on the shortcomings, because obviously no one can be
perfect. But it is important to first acknowledge what we have received.
Nothing in life is permanent but when a relationship ends, rather than
becoming bitter, we must learn to savour the memory of the good things
while they lasted.
The fifth lesson I learnt is that we must always strive for
excellence.
One way of achieving excellence is by looking at those better than
ourselves. Keep learning what they do differently. Emulate it. But
excellence cannot be imposed from the outside. We must also feel the
need from within. It must become an obsession. It must involve not only
our mind but also our heart and soul. Excellence is not an act but a
habit. I remember the inspiring lines of a poem, which says that your
reach must always exceed your grasp. That is heaven on earth.
Ultimately, your only competition is yourself.
The sixth lesson I have learnt is never give up in the face of
adversity.
It comes on you suddenly without warning. One can either succumb to
self-pity, wring your hands in despair or decide to deal with the
situation with courage and dignity. Always keep in mind that it is only
the test of fire that makes fine steel. A friend of mine shared this
incident with me. His eight-year old daughter was struggling away at a
jigsaw puzzle. She kept at it for hours but could not succeed. Finally,
it went beyond her bedtime. My friend told her, "Look, why don¿t you
just give up? I don¿t think you will complete it tonight. Look at it
another day." The daughter looked with a strange look in her eyes, "But,
dad, why should I give up? All the pieces are there! I have just got to
put them together!" If we persevere long enough, we can put any problem
into its perspective.
The seventh lesson I have learnt is that while you must be open to
change, do not compromise on your values.
Mahatma Gandhiji often said that you must open the windows of your
mind, but you must not be swept off your feet by the breeze. You must
define what your core values are and what you stand for. And these
values are not so difficult to define. Values like honesty, integrity,
consideration and humility have survived for generations. Values are not
in the words used to describe them as much as in the simple acts. At the
end of the day, it is values that define a person more than the
achievements. Because it is the means of achievement that decide how
long the achievements will sustain. Do not be tempted by short cuts. The
short cut can make you lose your way and end up becoming the longest way
to the destination.
And the final lesson I learnt is that we must have faith in our own
ideas even if everyone tells us that we are wrong.
There was once a newspaper vendor who had a rude customer. Every
morning, the Customer would walk by, refuse to return the greeting, grab
the paper off the shelf and throw the money at the vendor. The vendor
would pick up the money, smile politely and say, "Thank you, Sir." One
day, the vendor¿s assistant asked him, "Why are you always so polite
with him when he is so rude to you? Why don¿t you throw the newspaper at
him when he comes back tomorrow?" The vendor smiled and replied, "He
can¿t help being rude and I can¿t help being polite. Why should I let
his rude behaviour dictate my politeness?
In my youth, I thought of myself as a rebel and was many times, a rebel
without a cause. Today, I realize that my rebellion was another kind of
conformity. We defied our elders to fall in line with our peers!
Ultimately, we must learn to respond instead of reacting. When we
respond, we evaluate with a calm mind and do whatever is most
appropriate. We are in control of our actions. When we react, we are
still doing what the other person wants us to do.
I wish you all the best in your life and career. I hope you achieve
success in whatever way you define it and what gives you the maximum
happiness in life.
Remember, those who win are those who believe they can.
Azim Premji |
