“the most important thing in one’s life is – are you happy or not ?
– rest is bonus” ~ TheVIP
no comparisons, no competitions, enjoy everything in the world, just the way it is ..!
My Philosophy of living life …
कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते मा फलेषु कदाचन। मा कर्मफलहेतुर्भूर्मा ते सङ्गोऽस्त्वकर्मणि।।2.47।
introduced by Sh. Ishwar Chand Ahujaji, My High School Principal
श्रद्धावाँल्लभते ज्ञानं तत्परः संयतेन्द्रियः। ज्ञानं लब्ध्वा परां शान्तिमचिरेणाधिगच्छति।।4.39।।
introduced by Sh. Madhur Shastriji, My Sanskrit teacher
युक्ताहारविहारस्य युक्तचेष्टस्य कर्मसु। युक्तस्वप्नावबोधस्य योगो भवति दुःखहा।।6.17।।
introduced by Sh. Tiwariji, My Middle School Principal
the above three sholkas are from Shree.mad.bhag.vad.geeta … i learned these when i was in middle school … but their meaning became more and more relevant, as i grew up … and they still drive my life … i am indebted to Sh. Jaydev Dat Gautamji, My Sanskrit teacher who spent more than two years to teach me how to recite Geeta – one shloka a day … i pay my respects to Sh. Mangat Ramji (7th grade Math teacher) & Sh. Mudgilji (9th & 10th grade Math teacher), who not only taught me mathematics, but made me feel it .. & finally my respect to Sh. Ishwar Chand Ahujaji, my High School Principal, who supported me in every way possible during my school days.
here is a 5 steps plan that helps me drive my own life … hope, you find it useful.
1. BE HAPPY
in my opinion, being happy is ultimate goal of life and it is simply a state of your mind, hence requires nothing .. WoW solved your biggest problem with nothing … it is about you & your mind .. all you need to do is close your eyes and say to yourself that you are happy in the current state .. and if you can’t even manage that, then you have much bigger problem in your life.
(assuming you are an adult) you have accomplished many things in life .. like completed basic education, maybe attended one or more colleges … but, if i ask you, why did you go to school ? … i can guess the answer will be to make money or to educate yourself so you may find a good match to marry or just to impress your neighbors … okay, now that you completed education, got married/or not, have a job or working hard to setup a business or would like to create a new product to have a sense of accomplishment .. or got married to have kids .. but, if i ask you again, why create something of your own or have kids or make ton of money ? .. possibly, with ton of money, you would want to buy all the luxuries of life … but, why would you want to have all those luxuries ? … again, possibly to impress your neighbors / relatives / parents … but why do you want to impress someone in first place ? … the point of this scenario is that ultimately, you work for so many things in life so that you could be happy in present and/or future .. even if it means making your neighbors jealous … being in a state of happiness brings joy in life … & ultimately, peace in life … at least that’s my conclusion ..!
to me, nothing is more important in the life of an individual than your own state of happiness … then the question is how do people become happy … for Buddha, it was going into the jungle and sitting under a tree; and for Steve Jobs as an entrepreneur, it was building a product to be used by [almost] everyone in the world, etc .. or as a middle class person who attended good schools, got married, have kids, looking for your retirement years, so you will be away from busy daily life, your job, you boss and living on a remote island drinking margarita (i.e. get rid of all these for which your worked so hard in your life so far) … different people have different goals and ways to achieve happiness … but still it seems everyone has the same ultimate goal .. that’s my conclusion ..!
first, an individual needs to define what makes him/her happy … and then do the same to become happy in present or work towards something that will possibly make you happy in future … because 1) future is all God willing and 2) you may change your own expectations.
so, becoming happy in present is much easier than expecting something in future … in present scenario, you may build a stock [of happiness] by appreciating what you have/do … enjoying every moment of life, “now” … in current situation … & not waiting for something in future.
now, once you are happy, you can bring happiness to others by sharing [your stock] … and when people around you are happy, the world becomes a happier place … also, when you are happy, you can do something good for you and people around you (family, friends, work, society).
OTOH, if you are trying to make others happy, when you are not, it’s equivalent to “deficit financing” (google it if you don’t know what it is), and that is certainly not a good thing, as someone else, a third party, who is close to you will pay the price for your actions in future (not the person you are trying to make happy) … so, as an individual, you have to be happy first, before you can share it with others.
the second thing to be happy is to figure out your passion … and once you find that out, “do what you enjoy” and “enjoy what you do,” and enjoy life to the fullest … bottom line, you have to have something with you first (like happiness), before you share it with others; just like you can’t lend money to others, unless you have it in first place.
2. GROW YOURSELF – LEARNING IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS
before i enrolled in business school, i struggled with the question, why a business can’t remain standstill – do same thing year after year & make same amount of money (this is my 25 year old, pure & childish mind) .. why does a business need to grow [year after year] ..? … and it became so clear when i attended the stocks valuation course that, if g[rowth] = 0; i.e. the earnings/dividend is fixed, the valuation would remain unchanged … so it is no longer a stock, rather becomes a bond – also known as fixed income asset … & there is nothing wrong in it, but its neither sexy nor it will make you rich – which is a typical goal of a shareholders owned organization; moreover, the organization without growth can not exist for long, as competition will eat your lunch … similarly, human beings need to grow throughout their life to survive in this competitive world.
well, one thing is for sure that you are growing in age, but that’s given by nature … & if possible, don’t try to grow your stomach; however, are you growing your mind ..? are you learning new things ..? if you really wanna succeed in life, then never stop learning ..!
now the other side, i believe that happiness comes from a stress free life, which comes from using your capabilities, & not stretching yourself all the time; so i plan to build organizations in future, which will have no competitive pressures, no revenue targets, & no growth – just stay the same, do the same and be happy … but my biggest challenge is to find people who share the same perspective & that’s part of Mission & Vision [2].
3. HELP OTHERS
i have studied and experienced several religions in my life, and all of them share something … that there is nothing comparable to helping someone in need … of course, you should be “able” to do the job in first place … if not, go through step 1 – “be happy” & then step 2 – “grow yourself” and you will become “able to help others” …
nothing can provide a better return than investing in a person, especially a child … i am a true case in point myself, as i wouldn’t be here without the help and support provided to me by my teachers and others throughout my life … a small financial support or a little effort can make a huge difference in a child’s life to cross a hurdle, as she/he is able to generate millions some day – now calculate your ROI ..!
now the other side, helping others is all good, but remember, you can’t solve others problems because in most cases people will not even share the right problems with you (this is a big difference between young VIP & old VIP) .. people will only share tip of their problem … so help others to clear their hurdle to the extent that you can; ultimately its the individual, who has the problem, can solve the problem … as the problems are simply their state of mind … which is only in their control ..!
4. IN LIFE, ONLY THE THINGS / PEOPLE WHO STAY NATURALLY WITH YOU WILL LAST LONG
first of all, this doesn’t mean that you don’t need to to work hard or not try persistently to achieve something unique or hold people … achieving one-of-a kind objectives require hard & persistent effort; & so is relationship with smart & hard-working people … & once you attain a goal or thing or relationship, it requires practice & effort to maintain .. but, once you do all the above, & if THE THING or THE PERSON doesn’t stay naturally with you or requires lots of effort to maintain, then it won’t last long – so give up and try something else …!
5. KNOW YOUR OPTIONS
finally, everything is temporary in this world – although it may seem different at times; IF you are born, you will die (0-1-0); If there is a day, there will be night; do not get stuck in a situation thinking you can’t do anything … keep your mind open … adjust your parameters and constraints … the solutions are out there … it does no good to anyone, if you are not happy in a situation at home or work … this also means that you and only you are responsible for your failures .. don’t blame others as you always have a choice … you have a choice to stay with people / things those who give you happiness, while there will always be some who bring sadness or stress to your life; identify them & just try to part ways from them .. remember time is the key factor to solve any problem … it changes everything – your situation, your perspective, your priorities ..!
by not executing your options, you are not only limiting yourself, but also the people around you … and once you find a solution, go to step 1 – “Be Happy” … & continue from there
best advice i got from Greece
“If thou wilt make a man happy, add not unto his riches but take away from his desires.” ~ Epicurus
