I tried to console myself by pretending that at least I must be wiser than those at the other side of 30. So I thought to myself. What is the wisest thing that I have ever heard in my whole life..? Like any self respecting MBA, i tried to confuse myself with a framework - just to feel intelligent.
Here is the most intelligent question that I have ever heard in my life. What makes us great?
As the hunter turned into a farmer, the farmer into a worker and more recently a knowledge worker.. the context is changing. What makes us great today? The answer is probably one of those uncommonly common sense.
It is a never ending race amongst all equals.. constantly trying to be the unequals amongst equals. And not one race. But four races in parallel. And the winner takes it all. Loser gets peanuts. And one has to win all the four races.
The race to be Fit. You gotta be fitter than the rest. Trust me. The best are trying to outperform the rest, simply by working harder and harder. So with every passing year, it is taking longer and longer hours of hard work, day after day to end up in the top. Physical fitness is taken for granted. But I think it is the most basic. And think twice if you think you are fit. When I say fit, I mean really fit. Working non-stop with as little as 4 hours sleep. not for days but for months. I think 98% of folks flunk this race one.
The race to be Nice. And if you happen to pass that test. There is another one. You gotta be Nice. You gotta be the type who knows every damn thing about everybody. Who can make a crying child laugh. Whom everybody turn to when they are in trouble. Out of the 2% who pass the fitness test, another 98% flunk this one.
The race to be Smart Uh. Oh. You gotta be smart as well. Crunch numbers.. Memorize a thousand frameworks.. Solve every damn case. the 100 CAT percentile IIT types... Again 2% success rate.. Most pretend themselves into the comforting belief that IQ is actually inborn...you cant practise yourself into being smart. And they flunk the test even before trying :-)
Phew.. Tired? There is one more race my friend.. The race to be Driven You have to passionate about something. Whether it is about getting mankind rid of poverty or about playing the guitar or being the best athelete. You must be the person who goes beyond logic when it comes to this passion of yours. Everything else is secondary to you. This is what you live for.
And then you can call yourself great. It took me three decades to figure out that I want to join the race. I guess it will take me another three to ace them.. Or maybe never..
Winner or Loser... we dont get to choose which side we end up in life. But the one thing that we get to decide is whether to race or not.
Happy Racing.
C
