“Change is the law of life. And those who
look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future“
- John F. Kennedy
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| Why Change? |
I recall of the words of iconic
Steve Jobs, my favorite megastar. He once said “for the past 33 years, I have
looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: If today were the last day
of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today? And whenever the
answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change
something." Friends, I have
had similar feelings for past 2-3 months. Well, please don’t take me wrong. I
am not comparing myself with this great human star. I have just presented his
words to describe the feeling inside and kick start the content of this blog
which is the ‘need for change’. I am
my true self and I have a different calling and purpose in life.
Change at times is pretty scary but
do you know what’s scarier and even more painful – It is the regret of not even
trying, not taking calculated (wise and sometimes even un-wise) risks. Friends,
why resist change when change is the
only source for your growth? Today, as I move to a new city and step into
the most challenging assignment of my life yet, I share with you my deep
insights on why change is so very important?
“Change
is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have and
underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up” – James Belasco
At a time when I was going strong
in my career, received volumes of appreciation and multiple requests to stay
with my existing customer (none other than the top management of the Customer
itself), I decided to leave the comfort zone of easy and what’s known and chose
to dive right into the blue ocean of un-known.
Friends, without any exaggeration I
put forward my point grasping which you can apply in your own life and be ready
for the change which is yes, painful but worth it. I could have easily stayed for five or even
ten more years, I was offered position multiple times even from the customer
side, joining which is certainly against my value system. I was not feeling challenged in work, the
deliverables were looking so easy for me, even at the customer side, I was
working with people who thought and worked the same way (same
nationality). I was surrounded by people
who had lost the lust for growth, and the ones who should inspire had retired
to mediocrity.
Why Change?
Change is needed at times to better
yourselves and truly be happy. We should never stop working on the best we can
be. Every single of us have infinite potential and exploring all our potential
is not a choice or an option but it’s a must and urgency. It’s a lifelong
endeavor. Noted Irish author and playwright, George Bernard Shaw once said
‘Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds
cannot change anything.’ So Friends, we
must be ready for ‘CHANGE’ with an open mind. So for ‘why change?’ - I always
cite of the Pond Vs River (and ocean) metaphor. My wife, Rani, is so used
to listening it. She often teases me saying ‘you know nothing but the pond and
lake story (only half jokingJ)’
Well Friends, this example has a deep meaning. The pond water is stagnant,
limited within its own confines, and becomes dirty very often. On the contrary,
the River water is always flowing, clean and clear. This is true in our lives.
If we be in the same place, do the same mundane thing, not take enough risks,
we will become stagnant. We will lose the lust for growth and eventually life. And
if you are open to challenges, meeting new people, committed to making your
todays better than your yesterdays, you are bound to grow.
“He
who risks and fails can be forgiven. He who never risks and never fails is a
failure in his whole being.”
- Paul Tillich
As I step in a
very high demanding role where expectations are way high and I have the
responsibility to grow business for my organization, I sometimes have that
‘feeling of the fear of unknown’. In fact in my first meeting with the Customer
last week, I fumbled twice and was not well prepared. It is certain I am not
going to win every battle. But with my mental switch of awareness, I am so open
to taking risks, if I win, better, and if I fail, it will enrich my experience
and teach me a lesson to become my better self.
Go FAIL!
While I wrote on the importance
of failing in my earlier blog
- The
Beauty of Failing, today I share some powerful lessons from Darren Hardy,
publisher of SUCCESS magazine. He says “the people who have reached
extra-ordinary levels of success, have also gone through extra-ordinary level
of pain, failure, heart-breaks, disappointments, suffering, sadness, and
rejections. It is a part of pendulum effect that to have more success you must
go through more and more failures.”
Friends, the key to massive success is massive failure. If you are not
willing to go through all the pains and heartaches someone you idolize has gone
through, how can you achieve an equivalent or even greater level of success?
Mr. Hardy says “Show
me the most successful person and I will show you the person who has failed for
the maximum time.” Friends, if you
understand and digest this concept well, no one, literally no one can stop you
from what you want to be in life. So please, please embrace and love
failure. If you are failing that means
you are expanding your limits. Today I challenge you to come out of your
comfort zones and yes, GO FAIL!
Risk is Adventure!
Friends, the greatest risk in life
is not taking any risks. At this point, I recall of the quote by John Shedd, a
Businessman in the early 20th century in America said “ A
Ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are made for” Friends,
in the adventurous journey called Life, we are the ships and the harbor is our
comfort zone. We are not built to stay
in our comfort zone. We must realize our
fullest potential in the limited time we spent in our physical forms. Friends, a life half-lived turns to pain and
regrets. Sometimes I take risks and
willingly put myself into troubles and coming out of that risk serves as an
adventure and gives me pleasure.
Comes this November 12, and I will
complete 7 year of my professional experience which also includes 1 year of my
Masters in Management. In this period I had the opportunity to be in 7 major
cities (Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune,
Birmingham (England), Kolkata, Dublin (US)) across the world which gave me
a multitude of experiences – be it the people, the culture, work ethics,
thinking pattern, and importantly the food J Friends, I have a reason and my own
philosophy for staying in one organization for a considerable period of time.
For me the most important thing in life after family and my set of values is
the ‘INFLUENCE’, yes the influence
in the most positive way, I have on my peers, the higher leadership and
employees across the organization.
Keep your lust for learning awake!
Personally, If you are in IT
sector, I would recommend spending considerable time in one Organization
(minimum of 8 to 10 years) but do keep changing your Client every 2-3 years.
You make an identity by being reliable given that you do your ground work and
keep challenging yourself on a daily basis. At the same time changing the
client every 2-3 years helps to come out of the comfort zone you fall into over
the period of time. You also get the opportunity to work with different people,
sometimes different place which keeps your lust for learning awake.
Focus on Present
and Future...
Great Philosopher, Socrates once
told “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old
but on building the new”. So Friends, don’t be afraid of change because changes
lead you to new beginnings. Change is the essence of life and we must be
willing to surrender who we are for what we can become. It is quite obvious that if you live in past
and rest on your past laurels, you cannot move forward. Friends, how can you
start the next chapter of your life if you keep reading and re-reading the last
one? Willingness to change is a must for change to happen. When most are
apprehensive of change, I took a pro-active stand and asked for change.
Forthcoming Challenges..
On hearing of my decision to change
my Client, and location, my friends and well-wishers were surprised. They said
things like – ‘Narendra, Why are you leaving Cardinal Health? life is so easy
and comfortable here (No doubt, working
for Cardinal feels like working for a Government company in India)’, ‘You
are going from a cold to a much colder place (someone said its three times as
colder than Dublin)’, ‘Dublin is quiet and peaceful, people come here to settle
down’. Another friend said ‘it’s a bankrupt city, beware of the blacks there
and comments kept pouring like this.’
Friends, in his book Man’s search
for meaning (my current reading), Dr. Victor Frankl quotes the famous German Philosopher
Friedrich Nietzsche “He who has a why to
live can bear almost any how”. Well,
I want and am open to experiencing extreme and the most difficult conditions
because I know this is going to make me stronger. Yes, what doesn’t kill you make you stronger.
If you are in Dublin and have ever
interacted with me for some time, I must have mentioned how much I am in love
with nature, it’s lush green fields, the leafy and shade-giving trees, it’s
beautiful plants with colorful leaves and fragrant flowers. Dublin is certainly
the most beautiful places I have ever come across yet but then I am here not to
settle down, but to experience, explore and touch many more lives. While in the
first 6 years of my career, I have ventured in major cities across India, it’s
time to explore more of America. And friends, when it comes to people, you only
get what you give. We have just made a perception about the African Americans
that they are violent and likewise. It is nothing but a stereotype. A handful
few (who are the exceptions) does not define the entire race. Last week in my
flight to Detroit, I met this African American football player, Bob Sylla from
Philadelphia (originally from Mali) and when I listened to his philosophy of
life, I was spellbound. He was one of the nicest of a kind and generous guy.
For those of you who are
resisting change…
Friends your desire to change must
be greater than your desire to stay the same. I will illustrate this by an
example. A relatively lesser experienced co-worker, let’s call him Sam, came to
me a couple of weeks ago saying – “Narendra, I also want to change my Client
but then he started telling about all his fears– the management will not allow
me to go, will I be able to cope up with challenges outside, I am so used to this
client, making easy money in dollars, they are so easy going, will my risk
going to be worth it?” and so on.’ I replied him saying what I am saying to you
all – Friends, your management or human resources is not the owner of your
career, you must do what you are willing to do and what your gut instincts
says. I would say if you are not taking risks and playing small with your
infinite potential, you are dodging yourself.
The irony is Sam has been showing his willingness to change for past 1
year but never did anything about it. Friends, you will never be 100% ready to
change. Please don’t wait for the perfect time. It will never come. You must
start today.
Words of Gratitude and
Thankfulness to Dublin..
Friends, in 10 months of my stay in
Dublin, my first destination in America, I can say I did pretty well – be it
work or the human relations. At work, with my ‘Go-Getter’ attitude I won
confidence of Customer with quite ease and high-quality deliverable leading my
extra-ordinary team, received appreciation from the customer multiple times
with applaud from higher management, I won trust of my team, got a career
progression with a handsome compensation hike. I was blessed to befriend some
awesome people forming my circle of genius at Dublin. I learnt many lessons of
leadership here, special thanks to my best friend, my books, and my leadership
mentors Robin Sharma, Joel Osteen, John Maxwell, Jim Rohn, Darren Hardy,
Sandeep Maheshwari, Les Brown and so on. I shared my learning and ideas through
my personal blog and each of my blogs received over 500 views on an average
with 2 blogs crossing the 1000 mark. So I personally feel delighted about my
accomplishments in the past 10 months. Today, I leave Dublin with profound,
sweet and happy memories.
Narendra’s Final words:
Friends, as I step into a venture
which marks the major change of my life, and in quest of many more un-explored
adventures, touching and positively influencing many more lives, I encourage
you to be open to change. Recognize the need for change and please understand
that you cannot do the same thing again and again and expect a different
result. So go hug risks and embrace change. I thank you for reading me and leave you with
my most favorite childhood poem by Robert Frost which makes me emotional every time I read it
even today.
These woods
are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.
Friends, Embrace C-H-A-N-G-E!
Narendra Gupta
