Stay Hungry Stay Foolish by Rashmi Bansal
>The book is the live narration of 25 IIM graduates who believed
in the power of their dreams and became successful entrepreneurs. The
author has definitely carried an intensive research and has put in much
labour to get a masterpiece out.However , it would have been wonderful if the story of non IIM entrepreneurs could have been included as well. The Tag line of the book ‘Stay Hungry Stay Foolish’ is derived from Steve Jobs speach , the founder of Apple computers and in fact A COLLEGE DROPOUT HIMSELF.
The book undoubtedly inspires but would have inspired more if there were stories of others who are successful entrepreneurs despite not be an IIM graduate. After all entrepreneurship is about believing in oneself, facing the challenge, following ones heart and having faith in ones dreams. The Institute really does not matter…….take the example of our Dhirubhai Ambani.
To get back to the book, some inspiring stories about these mavericks !
Make my trip: Deep Kalra: He realized internet was going to change lives and he wanted to do his own thing. Day was spent working at GE and night for starting his own venture. The first Venture capital funding came from Neeraj Bhargava, the managing partner of e-ventures. He inadvertently gave away 70% of his company for funding. However he bought back the company during distress sale by e Ventures and that’s when he really became an entrepreneur.
Edelweiss : Rashesh Shah: established the home grown investment bank in a decade. The idea was that post liberalisation the economy would grow and therefore Rashesh Shah plunged in. However 1995-2002 was a hard time for the Indian economy and there was’nt any business for Edelweiss. The partners paid themselves very little salary for almost 5 years and managed to stay afloat through some advisory assignments.
Naukri.com: Sanjeev Bikhchandani. The reason for starting his company was independence. You are your own boss. He ran a tiny business from the servants quarter and then success gave in and and befriended him.
Some started small, some started big, yet almost all faced downslide. But they never gave up! Every story is an inspiration for life.
The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma
This is a self help book written like a novel. The story is so well
written that you don't even feel like someone is teaching you something.
Every tip that he gives, go to your sub-conscious mind without any
effort. I even wondered how can so much of practical wisdom could be
packed into a single book.Robin Sharma shares his wisdom with a mystical
fable of a uber-successful lawyer Julian Mantle and his assitant John.
Julian Mantle is the hot shot millionaire lawyer in the country. During
his middle age, in one of the courtroom arguments, he gets a massive
heart attack. He suddenly realizes that he has more life to live and
there must be a reason for his existence. He leaves to Himalayas learns
the tricks of life and comes back to US to spread the wisdom.
Here is a gist of what he teaches in the book. I would suggest you read the complete book in Robin Sharma's words. He explains the seven virtues of life with a simple tale. Each character and object in the mystical fable has a meaning.
Here is a gist of what he teaches in the book. I would suggest you read the complete book in Robin Sharma's words. He explains the seven virtues of life with a simple tale. Each character and object in the mystical fable has a meaning.
You are sitting in the middle of a magnificient, lush, green garden. This garden is filled with the most spectacular flowers you have ever seen. The environment is supremely tranquil and silent. In the center of this garden stands a towering red light house, six stories high. Suddenly from the light house, comes out a nine-foot tall, nine-hundred pound Japanese Sumo wreslter who casually wanders into the garden.He wears nothing but a pink wire cable covering his private parts. He slips on a shily gold stopwatch, and falls to the ground with an enormous thud. The Sumo wreslter is rendered unconscious and lies there, silent and still. After a while, he awakens by the fragrance of the fresh yellow roses blooming nearby. Through the bushes at the very edge of the garden, he observes a long winding path covered by millions of sparkling diamonds. This path leads him down the road of ever lasting joy and eternal bliss.
1. Master Your Mind:
The garden in the fable represents your mind. Like the fresh, frangrant roses in the garden, fill your mind with pleasant, happy and positive thoughts. Good gardeners don't allow the weeds to take root in their garden. So, do not allow any negative thoughts to wander in your mind. You cannot afford the luxury of even a single thought. He gives some techniques to do that.
2. Follow Your Purpose:
The light house in the fable represents your purpose in life. You will never be able to hit a target that you cannot see. So, figure out your goals. WRITE them down in a paper. When you do that you send a flag to your mind that these thoughts are far more important than the other 60,000 thoughts. Your mind will become acutely aware about your goals and start realizing it. This is science. You can follow the below five steps.
3. Practice Kaizen:
The Japanese word Kaizen means constant and never ending improvement. The sumo wrestler symbolizes the constant self-improvement and personal expansion. People grow the most when they enter the Zone of the Unknown. He urges us to do the things that we fear and suggests 10 ancient rituals for radiant living. Just follow these rituals for 30 days and your life will begin to change drastically. .
4. Power of discipline:
The pink wire cable which covers the private parts of the Japanese Sumo wrestler symbolizes the discipline, self control that you should have in your life. Robin says, "When you control your thoughts, you control your mind. When you control your mind, you controlyour life. Once you reach the stage of being in total control of your life, you become the master of your destiny". You slowly nurture the embryo of self discipline day by day and one day you will have enormous will power to do the things that seem impossible.
5. Respect Your Time:
The shiny gold stopwatch symbolizes your time, the most precious commodity. "Being an excellent time manager doesnt mean that you have to become a workaholic. On the contrary, time mastery allows more time to do the things that you would love to do and the things which are meaningful to you. Time mastery leads to life mastery. Guard your time well. Remember, its a non renewable resource". Some of the things that you may do are
6. Selflessly Serve Others:
The fresh yellow roses in the garden symbolizes the most essential virtue of an enlightened living - Serving others. "The quality of your life will come down to the quality of your contribution". When you work to improve the lives of others, you indirectly elevating the life of yours. He suggests few tips to start serving others.
7. Embrace the Present:
The long winding path studded with millions of diamonds represents the final virtue of the fable. Living the Present.Happiness is the journey, not the destination.
Two States - Chetan Bhagat
The book is all about an IIMA couple’s struggle to marry over the cultural differences. Krish is north Indian Punjabi boy in love with Tamilian Brahmin girl Ananya. (Chetan Bhagat too is Punjabi and his wife is a South Indian.) The only catch is, Krish and Ananya don’t want to elope or be estranged to their families, therefore, they choose to convince their parents for the marriage.
Both Ananya and Krish take turns to win over each other’s families and then they try to make both the families like each other. After all in India, you don’t marry the guy (or girl for that matter), you have to marry the family. In fact, Krish does get 4 gold rings made to propose girl’s entire family! :-/ Sounds cheesy? Well, irrespective of my shortened plot summary, you must concede it is a mammoth project to accomplish anywhere, in real life.
Of course, it goes without saying that even though both Krish and Ananya are exceptions to their North Indian and South Indian clan; this book is perfect opportunity to dwell into age-old ‘North India versus South India divide’.
Krish maybe Punjabi boy, but he is blissfully unaware how in his community greedily and offensively ‘boy’s’ side can come on the ‘girl’s’ side during a Punjabi wedding. Similarly, Ananya, the Tamilian girl is completely unlike other Tamil girls: For one she is not as dark as southern girls ( a fact she will be reminded over and over again by Krish’s Punjabi clan) and unlike her staunch family, she both drinks and eats meat. (May be we should thank IIM for breaking the latter stereotype
)Though the premise is most realistic, it draws your attention to cultural differences in diverse India. Some of them are as simple as boisterous, loud Punjabi music versus quiet, mellifluous Tamilian Carnatic music. However, the difference in sensibilities is predictable. I familiarized myself once again with all the clichés.
In fact, after reading the blurb and title Two States; I was aware that plot progression will be predictable. So what if the book questions the racism India practices against its own countryman? It questions why we are scared to marry outside our clan. Lovers themselves have the dilemma that if it is worth it to marry with making so many members of the families unhappy. Is it worth it?
But then since we have been asking these questions for a long time with little progress, I personally read the book with complete detachment in one-go. I had a fair idea what was to come, so there weren’t many heartstrings moved or surprises for that matter.
I don’t need to comment on Chetan Bhagat’s language, for we all know he has never claimed to be literary. Sometimes lines are cheesy and you may have heard them before. For example, My father never smiled through his wedding. How could he, he was marrying your mother? Or
However, long ago, I had read this post about 5 elements of Chetan Bhagat’s wrting: young, modern characters (it helps if they are from IIT or IIM); conversation with F word, Blooywood-ish plots complete with proposals on knee; a love story and a twist at end. All these elements are there in this book, only you know the twist for this book.
Every Indian who watches Bollywood knows the twist in this story. Yet you must read this book once, if only to be reminded of what lovers from different communities go through at the hands of their families. How love is at mercy of societal, familial norms. And how a man eternally finds himself torn between his girlfriend/wife and mother. No prizes to guess the last one. Oh yes, I forgot there is also a hurried, steamy account of a college affair; you could find bit of Five Point Someone reminisces there.
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