Forget the Destination! Enjoy the process!!

My Favorite article !!!
Don't Hurry, Be Happy
All you have are your experiences. Why not make your mistakes, enjoy the ride, explore all your abilities and discover new ones?
Mahesh Murthy	Feedback to this article | e-mail this article
Mahesh Murthy advises, guides and occasionally invests in business. He can be reached at Mahesh@passionfund.com I've spoken at well over 25 colleges in the last year, and I see this strange phenomenon. Our best and the brightest are in a hurry to go places - and worrying themselves insane about making the right career decision. One of my students called a few months ago saying he hated his job. I asked him why; after all, it was from college placements. He said it was the highest paying job offered and with an overseas stint - he couldn't imagine not taking it up. He was, in fact, proud that he had 'won' it. I then asked him what he wanted to do - and it was something completely different. All I could tell him was that he would be happier if he followed his heart - and that it was more important to trust your gut than your designation, location or paycheque. I can't blame him. I was victim to what I call this 'ambition' syndrome. Each of us is taught that we need to have clear, specific goals - and that we should do our best to attain them. I was no different. A long time ago - or so it seems - when I'd settled down in advertising after a few false starts (trial-and-error, as I called it), I decided to prove things to everybody by having 'ambitious' goals. I secretly aimed to become a creative director by the time I was 28 and to run an ad agency by the time I was 30. As things came to pass - I did become a creative director by 28 and, two years later, ran an ad agency - that too in the US, having started off in India. I thought I should be incredibly happy. Surprise. I felt empty. The world didn't change. The sun still rose in the east. People still treated me the same. If that ambition was the purpose of my life, it suddenly felt completely meaningless. By focussing on the 'destination' and working insane hours and driving myself crazy to get there, I felt life had gone by in a blur. I suddenly felt 30 and old. It came to me that carrying on further on this path (I had thought I would then set goals like earning my first million by the year X and so on) would make life even more meaningless. Now your mileage may vary, but I decided to change. I consciously said I would forget about the 'destinations' and try enjoying the 'journey' instead. Out went targets and ambitions, in came simple things like enjoying every moment, seeing beautiful places, making room for serendipity and actually getting to know people. Some years later, my wife and I had a baby, and this belief only got further cemented. I was sure I wanted to be at home with him - and not go off tromping to work every day. Perhaps, I've been inordinately lucky - but in the eight years since I made this call, I've had the time of my life. I've done different things: design front-ends for Yahoo! and Amazon, think-up programmes for a youth channel, pick VJs, create software, write ads, start companies, sell companies, help entrepreneurs and even write a fun column like this. All mostly from home. I'm not sure I could have consciously planned and been ambitious about any of it. The rolling stone didn't gather moss - but who the heck wants moss on oneself? I can't imagine retiring and doing nothing, toodling around in a garden. Neither can any of the young people I speak with. Here's my belief - you're going to be doing something productive till you're well into your 70s. And if you're starting out today, or even in your 30s, that means you have another 40 or 50 active years ahead of you. My point is simple - what's the darn hurry to get anywhere? We all end up in the same place anyway - I understand there's a 100% probability of death for all human beings, regardless of monetary wealth. All you have are your experiences. Why not make your mistakes, enjoy the ride, smell the flowers, explore all your abilities and discover new ones? Back to my student - he called again a month later, said he'd changed lines, and was ecstatic. With due apologies to believers in reincarnation, I think this is the only life we have. Can we make the most of it?

BA BD PM - Decisions of life!!

People join BE/BTech after XII because they "like" engineering, because they dont like being a "doctor", because pure sciences have no job opportunities.

Selecting the Branch!
You should visit the Common Entrance Test Cell Counselling center in Bangalore to witness the "decision making" capabilities of future engineers of India!!
"Should I take 'any' branch in XYZ college"? or "Should I take "ABC" branch in any college"??
"If it is XYZ college then take Computer Science" but if it is "PQR" then civil is also fine"!!!!!

and that is how ppl select branch and college within minutes!

the same guys, when someone asks them the reason for their choice, say that they were always "interested " in the "ABC" branch..and "PQR" is THE college for this branch.

4 years later....(or 3 for lucky few who go through campus selection)
Which company to join?? Infosys , Wipro , TVS??? A guy who does mechanical engineering because of genuine love for motors suddenly switches gears and "decides" to join "INFOSYS" because he is now 'fascinated' by the growth in the computer industry!!!

2 years of hard work, no work, on the bench..etc. and then our hero thinks of "moving up the value chain". "come on yaar, you can't just programme for years sitting infront of this comp. we should get an MBA..preferably from IIMs...then we can be 'consultants' those guys in suits..who travel across the world making presentations.,meeting big guys!!"

so the guy now writes CAT...
which institute to join??? Calls from IIMs...no second thoughts...else?? SP??FMS??XLRI?? how are the placements?? "Can I become a consultant if I join SP?" "which are the companies visiting for placements" ," wowwww..did u read TOI?? a gal has got 12 lakhs in SP"!!! "dude..IIM guys do their SUMMERS in Tokyo,Honng Kong, London"!!!

but in the interview..."Ok..So..Mr.MNO .. You did your BE Mechanical from .XYZ college then joined ABC software company , and now you want to take up an MBA..why?"
"Sir, MBA gives me a holistic ********************************** blah blah blah"
what happened to salary? the dream job of wearing suits and travelling all around the globe with a laptop and making presentations? why dont we directly tell the interviewer that I dont bother about why should I do an MBA etc..as long as helps me get a good salary and a "dream" job!!!

Into a B-school - we start working in groups and give marketing,strategic suggestions to many companies across the world!!!!!! After some days the discussion starts..."what is the profile offered by ABC"?? "what is the pay like"??
then the peers start "hey dude...what are you interested in BA(Business Analyst),BD(Business Development) , PM(Poject management) or Consultancy"??

Is it similar to the way we chose branches in engineering?? if yes, then did it really matter???????

Introduction

This is my Entry into the world of Blogs!!

Had this huge interest in blogging..but then never really thought I'll start one!!

I plan to write about my MBA and about my experiences here at SP Jain..

Though I am already in 3rd trim and it is a bit late to start...better late than never!!

Well..to start off..a good news...Farhan(my room mate and a gr8 friend!) and myself won II prize in the IIML paper presentation competiton. The paper was on Corporate Social Responsibility and Rural Marketing. I liked this subject a lot. Though Farham single handedly wrote the paper ;-)

Cheerio,
KSP.