So here I am, trying to figure out what I am going to blog about. The best part about the blogging trip is the beginning. Thanks to tech folks, setting up your own blog site is as easy as opening an email account. But then comes the part when you start thinking about what your first blog post is going to be about. I am no stranger to writing, but it’s pretty different when you are used to scribbling something for your own consumption. I have no pretensions about why I am blogging. I know a lot of the stuff that I end up writing could be pretty average fare, but for that one loud cheer that goes akin to when a batsman hits the ball out of the park – it will be worth it. So for this first post, I’d just share what I thought blogging about J
Life
I thought my first post should be about life and be deep & profound in what I articulate! Something that addresses an eternal question like “What do you want to do with your life?”. If life were a board exam, you could safely predict that ‘Is saal bhi yeh question aayega’. The sad part is there is no guide or digest, or in these tech times – you can’t copy paste! Now many people don’t have a choice or the luxury to ponder over this question – the ones struggling to make ends meet and have a decent meal a day. But for those who are little more fortunate – like most people who read & write blogs – this takes up significant mindshare (mental real estate should be the operative words in a place in Mumbai!). We ponder about it on our way back home in rickety buses & crowded trains, or sip tea while discussing it over a canteen table. Sometimes the question graduates to more formal (and ironically more chaotic) settings like a talk show or a group discussion. And a whole lot of these play a crucial role in adding to the confusion! Even if some poor fellow is not thinking about it – join the club.
I have had my share of tasty teas and rickety rides as well. And while there have been variations in what emerged in some of these arbit discussions, the magic consultative three views shine through. (like yes, no or depends!) J. In what follows, life is a metaphor for what you really wanna do.
View No 1: Stop thinking about life!
If you knew what you really wanted to do in life, you would have been doing it. So if you don’t know, don’t waste time. Start thinking about the next deal that you are going to crack, or the next product you are going to launch or if you are a blogger, the next blog post you are going to write J
View No 2: Start thinking about life!
If you are telling me that you don’t know what you want to do in life, then you are either lying to me or simply kidding yourself. You damn well know. And if you don’t have the guts to go do what you want, then just say that. Its ok for now, but don’t let your dreams just remain castles in the air. You already have the blueprint, now go get the bricks!
View No 3: Think about life on holidays & weekends!
To put this in a cliché, it says separate how you live and what do you for a living.
Remember that life is not a 100 meter dash. Most of us have parents, spouse & kids sharing equal real estate on the top floor. Their fortunes are tied to your actions, so be prudent in your choices. And if you are really passionate, you will find the time & energy to do all this and pursue your dreams as well.
Love
Next I thought I’d write about love. Discussions on this topic are equally engaging, but in environments suiting them. Like late & lazy evening get-togethers at a friend’s place. Most favourite question: ‘Is there someone out there made just for you?’ or asked in a different form ‘How do you know that you have met your soulmate?’. Junta in the gathering who have taken the bait are the first amongst equals – the undisputed gurus dispensing gyan with the authority of a sensei. And as always, different views emerge
View 1: Stop thinking about soulmates!
A friend whose poor chess skills can only be barely surpassed by his application of it in conversation once remarked ‘Pyar mein sirf checkmate hota hai, soulmate nahin hota!’.
Your lover is your soulmate because he or she is your lover, and not vice versa. Period.
View 2: Start thinking about soulmates!
Usually people who advocate this have fallen in love gradually and had a magic moment that ‘sealed the deal’ for them. They counter View 1 by saying that there could be more than one soulmate, and hence its not that you might have go through your entire life without meeting someone that connects with you at that ‘soul level’. There is someone out there that you can magically connect with and a little wait is worth it.
View 3: Soulmates are for weekends and holidays!
Ok, so I kinda forcefitted that J. But the idea is that your lover & soulmate could be two different individuals. And if you are smart enough, you will ensure that they become friends with each other as fast as possible J
Leadership
Unlike conversations on life & love which require an environment & a context, talking about leadership is like breathing. And unlike life & love, there are no views – only cribs. Every day you would have at least one crib session – and at the receiving end is your boss, someone else’s boss, the cricket team captain, head of the political party, your society secretary…the list could go on.
And yet most progress that mankind has been witness to is a result of leadership – whether it is someone taking the lead in discovering a vaccine, someone taking up the mantle of rebuilding an area struck by calamity, and several notables in making technology elements like the computers & the internet as the common man sees them today. These people also faced resistance and must have been the uninvited chief guests for several crib sessions.
A lot has been written about what is leadership. But a leader would do well to note that leadership is not a popularity contest. You cannot please all the people all the time, even if your actions are fundamentally in their best interests. So accept that first. The very fact that you are a leader means that there are things that you are in a better position to assess – perhaps after taking inputs from those very people who want to take you down. Being decisive & having faith is perhaps what counts as a leader.
