AFVOA Newletters of Year 2004

Page 96 of 153 105. Excerpts from the speech by Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro Corporation, in the ‘Shaping Young Minds Program’ (SYMP) organized by the All India Management Association (AIMA) in collaboration with the Bombay Management Association (BMA) on ‘My Lessons in Life’ 106. 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. 107. 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 ear, 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 send 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.…… 108. 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 had 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. 109. 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. 110. 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 short comings, 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 savor the memory of the good things while they lasted. 111. The fifth lesson I learnt is that we must always strive for excellence . One way of achieving excellence is looking at those better than ourselves. Keep learning what they do