In India people hardly share their experiences as they are either too shy about it or too ignorant about it. As we graduate from college to begin the real life, no one has ever told you what it could be like out there and what could matter. Our college teaches us how to make a living but not how to live, they actually just taught the easier part and forgot to share anything else. Below are excerpt’s from an open letter to a dear one when he moved out of college.
As you move to a new phase in your career and life, I want to wish you luck and joy. I hope you will be able to ride on the positive energy within you and conquer the numerous possibilities of this world.
This is your life, you decide and live it
As you grow older, you have to find a meaning of life for yourself and what you want from it, and there is no one who can solve it for you. Parents, relatives and friends are all actors with a varying degree of emotional attachment and they should matter a lot, but they should not be the ones who decide your life. In the end you are responsible for it, so always be open for guidance, coaching, help and opinions but in the end whenever you do something, make sure you are convinced about it. Whether you succeed or fail, it’s all yours. You can always share it, but make sure you have done work enough to be reason for the task and outcome, as the result always comes later. Sooner or later you will have to take decisions, so why not start now and live for them.
Always aim to be among the top N
This may sound too cruel or too competitive to you, but having a benchmark goal goes a long way in life. While being above the rest is not the sole aim of life, but a relative target in life always helps. Whether you like it or not as living species we have to face some basic competition. Not all people on earth make it a better place, they live their lives because they have to and they try to find reasons for it. They always have reasons for doing things for the sake of it or for others because they have parents, a loving wife, kids or friends and they are overwhelmed by what it requires to go beyond a normal effort. It is usually the top N % people in this world who make this world a better place, who innovate, who lead, who guide and who help solve problems. It may take many many years, many failures but you can get there and be among the leaders and not the sheeps. Being a sheep you can give company to all the sheeps around you but you will not be able to help them solve problems. The purpose is not to defeat others, the purpose is to be among the top no matter what you do. The top N % do not always consist of monetary parameters, you should decide what you do and what are your criteria’s for the top N % but it would justify only if you made a big impact.
Don’t be a Complete Man, be a Better Man
There is no such thing as perfect in this world. Everything in this world is relative and keeps evolving and will continue to do so. Be ready for change, keep evolving and adapting everyday and never assume that you are done. This is one of the hardest things in life, but it’s unavoidable. The real clock of the world is always ticking, even if you shutdown your watch. Change is constant and you can’t avoid it. There is no such thing as a Complete Man, you just have to be a better man tomorrow than what you are today, and the world will often treat you as a complete man because you are always changing and adapting to be better.
Be passionate and challenge yourself
Life is too short to be lying around on the couch and spending all your time on stupid things. Keep challenging yourself against the things you have not done before. Life will keep throwing challenges at you, you either win them over or lose them or worse ignore them to try your luck but ignorance is death and only losers ignore. If you are not challenging yourself, you are being unfair to yourself and no one else.
Share love and wealth
Share and spread as much love and wealth as possible. This is very hard, but a smile on other’s face will make you a very happy man. People don’t remember you for the car’s or houses you own, they remember you for your company, your actions, your camraderie, the time you spent with them. Never be arrogant about what you achieve, trust me it’s very difficult to be a simple man once you have been successful but you should always try to be a simple man.
It’s not impossible
Trust me it never takes too long for things to change or be successful. Germany lost the world wars and was ruined, but it’s still one of the most prosperous countries of the world. People become millionaires/billionaires by the time they are 25, not because they are blessed by god but they did something for it. People with disabilities conquer the most physically enduring challenges on earth. There are umpteen examples of how a normal man did what always seemed impossible. While this may sound theoretical and rhyming to you, let me tell you that there is no such thing as an average kid, we are all special kids but not all are able to explore and exploit their speciality.
Set goals, they are helpful
Always try to set goals in your life and try to track them against time. It will provide you opportunities to retrospect and course correct. If you are not failing in achieving your goals, it means you are not setting tough goals for yourself.
Take risks
Always be willing to take risks in life. There is nothing like a real life experience, if you have not had it you will never know it. Consider yourself lucky, if you manage to limit your loss but don’t be afraid to take risk for the fear of losing. The upside is always limited if you are not taking risks. You should be limiting your downside not your upside.
Do something for the environment
In your own capacity, make sure you explore this world and do something for the environment. It needs to be preserved.
I wish you luck, love and success for your future.