Friday Reflections

Who can guess that precise moment when your world is going to change?

Two weeks ago Christopher from Canada sent us a note:

"Thanks for continuously sharing these amazing stories that serve as inspiration and enlightenment at anytime...anywhere. One suggestion though, while repeating the principle or idea highlighted in FR's, would it be possible to showcase such re-released principle or idea in another example or story? That would more flavors and put more gravity to the truth behind the principle/idea."

Well, here we go Christopher:

"The dream does not begin unless you do. Too many wait for just the right time and just the right place to act. The very act of waiting actually pushes the desired event away. You must do in order to be."
     - From the book 'Ping: A Frog in Search of a New Pond', by Stuart Avery Gold

Story Line:

Last weekend, we visited a friend that we knew since our college days. While we were talking, she shared an interesting story about the fourteen year-old son of one of her friends in India.

This boy had big dreams to become an actor, but his parents were not very enthusiastic about the idea. The persistent son refused to drop the subject, and eventually convinced his parents to let him try - in exchange for getting good grades in school of course. So, photos were taken, and resumes were submitted to an agent.

A few months later, the boy got an audition call for a small new independent movie called Slumdog Millionaire. He was cast in a leading role, as the 'middle' Salim in the movie.  For those of you who haven't heard, this small movie went on to win eight Academy Awards and worldwide fame.

This story got me interested in finding out more about the making of Slumdog Millionaire, so I dug a little deeper:

1. Vikas Swarup, an avid reader and quizzer, had not written anything beyond his school days. But after reading a news report about slum children, he got the idea to juxtapose a quiz show format with the life story of an unusual contestant - a penniless waiter, living in the biggest slum in Asia. He wanted to show that knowledge is not the preserve of the educated elite, and that even a 'street-kid' can possess the wisdom to win a quiz show. In 2005, at the age of 42, he took a shot at writing the book "Q and A", which was the inspiration for Slumdog Millionaire, and which now is translated into 40 different languages. The BBC has even bought options to create a film based on his second book, "Six Suspects".

2. Many others involved in this improbable success story have similar stories. The lead actress (Freida Pinto) has recently been signed for Hollywood films at $3 million.  Two young actors who came from real slums have 2.5 million rupees in the bank for their education and upbringing.  Most importantly, the movie has raised international awareness of plights of people in slums.

Reflection:

All of these people had the courage to follow their dreams. No one can tell when the precise moment your fortune will change, but your "Dream does not begin until you do ... you must do in order to be."

Passion

Passion: Do things with passion. It is contagious.

Lessons about life from Vajubhai, our school Principal

"It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honoured by the humiliation of their fellow beings." - Gandhi

No human being is inferior to another just because of his birth or because of his work.

Story Line:

Teachers are the backbone of a nation. Next to parents, they are most instrumental in instilling good values in children. Those values shape not only the children’s future but that of a society as a whole.

Our Principal in school, Vajubhai, was one such great teacher. He believed that education was more important than just literacy. He introduced curriculums that were not just focused on class room book learning but also on real life education.

One such “educational” event that happened annually was an Appreciation Day for all the educators. That was the day where students were to thank all the people who made it possible for their education, every individual involved in keeping the entire system operational.

On Appreciation Day, we would gather in an Assembly hall or an open field. All those who made our education possible; teachers, administrative assistants, book keepers, bus drivers, yard cleaners, janitors and others were recognized and students would thank them.

There was one part of this event that was controversial. This is where our janitor, Trikam, would be invited on the stage and asked to raise the school flag. Then we would sing the school anthem and after that, salute Trikam. This was to be followed by a handshake with him. There was not a year when I did not notice tears in Trikam’s eye during this part of the ceremony.

Now many would wonder what was so controversial about this? Well, Trikam was not only a janitor but he was from the lower class of society classified as an “Untouchable.” To have upper class kids, most of them from wealthy families, salute a “lowly” worker and then shake hands with him was not something that was tolerated by some people in those days.

When this event was first introduced, it had created uproar. Some wealthy donors had cancelled their money contributions and also pulled their children out of the school. Additionally, every year some parents were displeased that their children were being asked to participate. Some had even asked or warned to keep their children away from the “Hand Shake” part of the ceremony.

However, Vajubhai did not give in, and in the process he taught some very important lessons about life that many years after, some of us still fondly remember and talk about during reunions.

 

Reflection:

The lessons (education) that Vajubhai instilled in students were:
1. Every human being must be treated with respect and recognized for his or her contributions.
2. He did not compromise on his believes and values even when pressured with cancellation of crucial donations.

Flexibility

Flexibility: If you want to be successful in this fast moving world, be ready to change the document before the ink is dry.

Ask one more question ...

“Ask one more question, try one more time” ... from a Southern California School to Silicon Valley during the recession of the mid 1970s.

“When we meet brick walls in life, don’t be depressed. Brick walls are there for a reason – they let us prove how badly we want things. Brick walls are there to distinguish people who don’t really want things.”  - Randy Pausch (Thanks to Joseph Ding from Dalian China for sending the quote)

Story Line: “Ask one more question, try one more time”  -Pravin R. Shah 

Here is a story of the fellow I know who got admitted for BS in Electrical Engineering at a University in Los Angeles. He already had a BS degree in Physics, but the University did not recognize his previous school program and had asked him to spend four years for Bachelor’s program.

On the second day, while waiting for his first meeting with the advisor, he noticed a poster by the department announcing a new masters degree program with focus on Semiconductors, an emerging technology. Looking at the details, he noticed that the prerequisite was background in Physics.  He got very interested and inquired further - and after a few meetings with two professors he was sent to the department head for final interview. The head expressed concern that he did not have BS degree from an approved university, to which the fellow replied, “How about if you give me chance for one semester and if I fail, send me back to BS program. I assume the risk of one semester worth of time and lost fees.”

18 months from then, he graduated with a Masters degree instead of spending four years getting a BS. The next challenge was to find a job during the extremely bad economic conditions.

It so happened that a few months before graduating, he had attended a seminar at UCLA, a school across town, where two guest speakers were executives from Silicon Valley - then an emerging area for Semiconductor companies. After the seminar, he talked to the guest speakers and asked “How can I get more information about Silicon Valley?” They were gracious enough to give him their business cards, and so he followed up with periodic phone calls to inquire about Silicon Valley.

As soon as the graduation ceremony was over, the fellow went to Silicon Valley. He called the people he had met at UCLA. Both of them were kind enough to invite him to their companies for a short chat.  Both gave him a good orientation about Silicon Valley, but told him that it will be challenging to find a job in the extremely bad economic situation. While leaving one of their offices, he asked “There are not many job ads in the papers. Is there any other thing I should try?” Francis suggested looking at postings at local university placement offices.

What happened then may seem unreal or a dream, but I know it to be absolutely true. He stopped by Santa Clara University on the way back and found a fresh job posting by a company in Mountain View, looking for a student to work on a project for VATE process technology. Unimaginable, in his Masters program, the fellow had worked on Convergent Geometry diode using VATE type processing.

The interviews went very well, but then the next hurdle surfaced. The job was approved for only a junior engineer/technician level person, and they did not have budget for Masters level salaries. But this fellow asked the hiring manager “What if I take what you can afford, take Junior Engineer title and still give you what is expected from Masters level candidate?”

The final thing that came up was that the Human Resources department wanted a character reference from a local person. A strange request, but many strange things happen with some departments ...

He called Francis and told him about the request. Again Francis was too generous, and agreed to give the reference and directly called the hiring manager.

Reflection:

Months after he had established himself in the company and developed excellent credibility, this fellow asked his boss about what Francis had said about him. This is verbatim from the boss: "Francis told me about how you met. You were one of very few who approached him after the seminar. Only two kept in touch and you came down to see him. You asked many questions and even while leaving his office you still kept inquiring about things. Francis said that he did not know your technical ability but he can attest to your persistence, inquisitiveness and interest in keeping relationships. He told me: Charlie, it is worth taking chance on this kid. He will do good.”

Nine months into the job, Charlie called this fellow in his office and handed over an envelope. This fellow has shown me what was inside and I have made a copy with his permission. Two words on that evaluation paper have stuck with me: “Policy Exception” signed by the Chief Executive of the division of that Fortune 50 company. You can guess what else was in that envelope.

“Ask one more question, try one more time.”

People and Relationships

Maintain your relationships: it is people who make things happen

When one door of happiness closes, another opens ...

Last week a friend in Penang sent a message:

"I have a suggestion for the upcoming article: sharing of your past Friday Reflections  – I can see this as a very motivating approach, and people will benefit a lot from the learning, wisdom and experience [and] apply it to daily life, especially at this difficult time. I don’t mind reading or listening to the repeat topics because it triggers new ideas and thinking that helps to improve my daily life."
 
Here you go my friends: some old articles that are relevant in these times:

 

Points to Ponder:

"There is no such thing as can't, only won't. If you're qualified, all it takes is a burning desire to accomplish, to make a change. Go forward, go backward. Whatever it takes! But you can't blame other people or society in general. It all comes from your mind. When we do the impossible we realize we are special people." - Jan Ashford

"Never be bullied into silence.  Never allow yourself to be made a victim.  Accept no one’s definition of your life; define yourself." - Harvey Fierstein

Story Line: 

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." - Helen Keller

1.  "I have said many times that the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that successful people do a lot of the things that unsuccessful people don't want to do. Like when the door is slammed in your face ten times, you go on to door number eleven with just as much enthusiasm.” - John Paul Dejoria. The person who was laid off in his first two jobs and never gave up trying and became a very successful businessman and a philanthropist: http://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/2007/11/persistence-pay.html
    
2. Persistence Pays Part 2: Silicon Valley's Midas: Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will ... http://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/2007/05/persistence-pay.html
    
3. Persistence Pays Part 1: But there is suffering in life, and there are defeats. No one can avoid them. But it’s better to lose some of the battles in the struggles for ... http://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/2007/03/persistence-pay.html
    
4. You never know unless you try! During my college days in the 1970s, I met this fellow who was studying for a degree in Pharmaceutical Engineering. After graduating, I left for the USA and he stayed home and started a business. The first product he introduced was an insect repellent cream. Irony of fate or what, but the formula he used created an opposite effect: i.e. instead of repelling insects it was attracting them. This young entrepreneur became the laughing stock of the town ... http://fridayreflections.typepad.com/weblog/2007/09/you-never-know-.html
    
5. Consider the case of a young woman who became a news anchor only to be subsequently demoted because management did not think she is right for that kind of job. TV producers of that station in Baltimore concluded that her delivery was just too emotional for hard news stories. So they relegated her to a morning talk show, “People are Talking”. The new opportunity that looked like a demotion helped her unlock her potential and her show even beat out Donahue. This woman moved to Chicago to host another talk show, AM Chicago and it was so popular that they named it, “The Oprah Winfrey Show”.  (That show is one of the highest rated shows in USA and Oprah is one of the wealthiest women in the world)

Reflection: Your sense of empowerment comes from how you view yourself, and your view of yourself must not be dictated by others.

Assume Responsibility

 
Assume Responsibility: If you see an opportunity/problem, you own it