Hi Friends
Federer and Tsonga's point to point fight in the quarter finals of Wimbeldon 2011 is in progress and watching it reminds me of my long distance running in school and college. Also reminds of long hours of badminton played during weekends and vacations in my friend, Deepak Bhatia's ( he is now a Navy Commodore ) garden converted into a badminton court.
Why am I discussing it here and sharing it with you ? I am looking at my life ( maybe many of you would also try to see familiarity) from a point of a sportsperson, an athlete.
The choice of entrepreneurship and my interest in adventure sports both require long term stamina, decisivness, willing to go that extra mile even if one is exhausted and accepting defeat with grace.
I have this congestion in chest and when I used to run long distance , I would be pufffing to get some breath as cough would rise dramatically to my throat, because of the heat the only thing which kept me going was desire to beat the man ahead ( and cheers from the girls wink ! ). This challenge I took to heart and never give up whether in my ventures ( as every venture face some cahllenge or the other all the time ) or othere games of life.
Also in last decade or so my knee developed abrasion of cartilage making it painful for any climbing activity. Here my training to compete; with my own limitations in athletics or variety of shots in badminton, kept me going and enjoy the sports like rock climbing, trekking or white river rafting.
The point I am trying to make is that as human each one of us has some limitation or the other, but one can always win/succeed if ignores the limitation and work on achieving the goal. Persevarance is the word ! { by this time Tsonga has won set and also won a breakpoint against Federer. He is not giving up against the formidable reputation of his great opponent. By the way Federer is also doing the same, persevere ! }
The desire to excel against competition or even one's ownself is a ultimate component in entrepreneurship ( which can be done while being an employee of a company..I am talking about the spirit of entrepreneurship ). { Tsonga has beaten Federer in the 2nd set while this line is being typed }. One sweet remembrance is the cross country race in class 12th ( our last one in high school ). Deepak my dear friend is more than 6'2" tall and he used to run in races senior group than the rest of us. In 12th because it was the higest class , we ran together and naturally I was in awe of him. but while running I just concentrated on my running forgetting about the competition and voila when I was about to finish ( around 400m before the finish line ) I crossed Deepak. It didnot register in my mind while doing this but when It dawned upon me after resting , I was thrilled. Not because I have been ahead of Deepak ( who maybe a much greater athlete now ) but because I thrashed my fear and overcame it through concentration.
Concentration and focus are the other major strengths in life and living in present comes from that. It helps me in my ventures and when I become unnecessarily worried. When we used to play badminton I never used to lose heart even at, lets say, 14-8, fight it out with my last bit of game. equired intense concentration and aggressiveness. { is it by chance that Tsonga has scored a breakpoint in the first point of last set ? }
"Aggressivness" defined as quality of being bold, assertive. Generally taken as a negative trait in India ( even in US of A ) has done me great service , when in used in the right context. Our companies work on bold initiatives and are bringing in innovations. Change is resisted in society, thats a natural human tendency. My assertiveness yielded our company the first product, biodegradable plastic additive ! The senior scientist, who gave me the information about me after my fourt visit to his National Research Devlopment Centrel office in Delhi has this to say to me " Pranay, tumhare jaisa banda nahi dekha. Tumko batana hi padega " [ " Pranay, never seen a person like you, I have no option otherthen to give you the info " ] . Lesson learnt Sir !
Getting inspired and learning from the implementers across different fields, like Einstein, Gandhi, Schumacher, Sachin, Boris Baker & Steffi, Van Gogh gives the fuel for growth and courage to tread the path relentlessly in face of failure.
So whether in business or game or other aspects of life these trainings have remained with me as tools. But wait there is this last thing, because of which I am what I am.
Belief. Belief in whatever path I chose , even a path less trodden. There is no evidence in this world that any new idea/product/solution will not be accepted. The world is replete with examples, from India's independence struggle to communication revoloution to "jasmine" revoloution of Middle East. The only condition is to BELIEVE in it.Life is always a choice. { Update: Tsonga has chosen to win }
And if one is defeated in one game, accept is it with grace and always remember theres always the next game which can be won ! Life itself is composed of games and ulitmately each one of is composed of soil and will go back to it. Its upto us, if we go in style .
until the next time , Keep up your spirits and CHEERS
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