There can never be a better you than you!!

 “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” Steve Jobs

“You can preach a better sermon by who you are and what you say.”

My business and the life I lead now would never have happened had I not been obnoxiously stubborn to my own will. It is worth repeating that we are the result of our own will and become what we repeatedly do.

They say in business one doesn’t need to have big bank account but a big heart to stick to it even when there is no profit. Since, only profit is not what makes business long lasting and successful it’s faith which is paramount. There is an old saying, “Never put all your eggs in one basket,” which I strictly disagree with, therefore would paraphrase somewhat like, “Always put all your eggs in one basket and then watch that basket,” and rather advise my readers to go with the latter one.

Stating the obvious, no second option can vouch success since there is inevitable risk involved in everything. Instead of having the second option one should take calculated risk and never let the fear of failure supersede the will. As the nine tenth of our fear doesn’t happen at all but the irony is that the minority of people believe in one tenth and don’t take the risk worth taking. Hard to believe but it’s true that what we do might seem to be unprofitable at the moment but what can be developed from it is more important. For instance, Student magazine (Sir Richard Branson’s first business venture) wasn’t profitable, but it led to Virgin Music, which in turn became the cornerstone of the entire Virgin group.

It’s our former president Dr.A.P.J Abdul Kalam who, in his quest to become a pilot failed blatantly and later chose to opt for aeronautical engineering and became a notable scientist and engineer. He is often referred to as the Missile Man of India. He believed more in himself than naysayers and never let the failure dawned upon him. However, everyone might not be as brave as him, since most people give up at initial heartbreak or when destiny turns them down, but he took the risk worth taking and succeeded. All in all, one can’t develop strength by not believing in oneself. It is only the fear of unknown outcome which prevent us from doing our best, once we overcome it there is a resounding success waiting for us.

Most people, especially business consultants, say that it is a hyper-competitive world where one shall not expect competition just across the street, it can be from anywhere in the world. But most of them fail to articulate the fact that more than competition or the external factors, the biggest battle is against our own fear and inertia. Once we conquer that, there will be no looking back! Each problem is not worth pondering for most of them do not happen. One must take it as a cardinal rule and must not circumvent in any case.

Ordinary people with extraordinary Feats!

Sounds wow! Whenever I hear the word extraordinary the first person comes to my mind is Sir Richard Branson. He is a living example of entrepreneurship in the 21st century, the master of multi tasking and the most adventurous person alive. He faced many challenges early in life, got beaten up by luck, and even went to jail in his quest to become an entrepreneur. “Anything I want to do in life I want to do well and not half-heartedly. At school, I found reading and writing hard, and my teachers thought I was lazy. So I taught myself to learn things by heart. Now I have a very good memory,” says Branson. Readers might be surprised to know that today he is one of the prolific writers and is the author of international bestselling books. He has always challenged the status quo and never led a company by rote, and that is how entrepreneurs are. One cannot succeed by following sets of rules blindly, therefore every task seem exacting if you are blindfolded by status quo but if you take it as fun it becomes easy and interesting.

But he never gave up and eventually reached his goals after few catastrophes, today he is the 4th richest citizen of the United Kingdom, according to the Forbes 2011 list of billionaires and his company Virgin is amongst the 20 most trusted brands across the globe. His journey from college magazine to Virgin Galactic hasn’t been a cakewalk but for him it was all fun, his frustration and faith made him world class shining example which makes him say, “There is no point going into business unless you do it out of frustration.” His first success was Virgin records, which sold 16 million copies of Mike Oldfield’s hypnotic Tubular Bells in 1973 across the world and made him a super star.

And today once again Branson, in his sixties, has thrown the gauntlet in front of dogmatic government owned space agencies by offering people trips into space in Virgin Galactic. Wow! That sounds super exciting who won’t love to go to space, today people are au fait with spaceships and curious about spending time in a new world which can be seen by witnessing celebrities like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie (Actors), Michael Shumacher (F1 Driver) and Sarah Brightman (Singer) on board paying $200,000 each!

When he left school, aged sixteen, his teacher said, “Branson, I predict that you will either go to prison or become millionaire.” Owing to his teacher’s prediction Branson did go to jail and then became millionaire. Lessons learned! Every mistake is worth contemplating than to ignore, because every mistake is a lesson.