akeb

Category: Ideas & Wisdom

  • Great Book – The Fountainhead

    The Fountainhead has been one of Ayn Ryand’s most prolific work. Though it is famous for its philosophy of individualism, I love it for its intellectually challenging themes of passion, excellence, integrity and ethics. And yes it is a great love story too.

    The Fountainhead is a book every collegian reads and worships! The Fountainhead is a tribute to positive selfishness (?), individualism, ego and is based on Ayn Rand’s theory of objectivism. Once you start reading The Fountainhead, it is difficult to put it down. Though I do not always tend to agree with her, I am amazed at her thoughts. She is refreshing, creative and too engrossing. While The Fountainhead is about people behaving in a certain way, Atlas Shrugged is why they behave in that way. The Fountainhead is the favorite book of loads of people including students, celebrities and CEOs. Imagine this was a book that was rejected by many publishers.

    Sample these Ayn Rand quotes :
    1. Wealth is the product of a man’s capacity to think.
    2. I swear, by my life and my love of it, that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.

    The story of The Fountainhead is centered on an architect, Howard Roark. Howard Roark was a Brilliant young architect whose integrity was as unyielding as the granite of the buildings he created. This is the story of his violent battle against the world’s standards and conventions, and of his explosive love affair with a beautiful woman who loved him passionately, yet struggled to defeat him. The theme of this record-breaking bestseller is that man’s ego is the fountainhead of human progress.

    The theme of individualism vs. collectivism, or self vs. selfless, runs throughout philosophy. The story is mostly concerned with ethics, though. The Fountainhead deals with issues of: selflessness, altruism, collectivism, creativity, aesthetics, love, sex, morality, and how to live morally.

    The Fountainhead is the fastest book that I have read. I was up the whole night while reading this book and while in the lecture next day, my mind was on the plot ahead. I completed the book in less than 48 hours. Go – read it!

  • Erasing The Past

    I have erased my past. I am trying to start all over again. Nitya says that our past is never erased – and that’s a good or bad thing depending on your past. But I think that most people are so obsessed with their past that they never move ahead in life. The best example is INDIA. Past should never be an handicap but a source of strength and wisdom.

    I like the quote: Nothing is more crushing to your laurels than resting on them. Also, Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it!

    There is a alternative school of thought which says that live for the present. But that does not mean that we forget past or be careless about the future. The idea is to learn to enjoy the present and now get too worried about both past and future. Plan for the future, learn from the past but live and enjoy the present too.

    And that indeed is a sensible idea. We need to live for today. Give your best and forget the rest. Easy to preach, difficult to practice!

  • Money Habits of Rich People

    I was analyzing the habits of successful people, who also happen to be well-off financially. I gathered these habits from online browsing and book reading.

    Rich people had the following characteristics:

    No Credit Card Debt
    No Smoking
    No Drinking
    No Big Weekends
    No TV
    Less Clutter
    Less Materialistic
    Less Needs
    More Peace of Mind

    I am sure many of us will be surprised. The real rich do not show off or flaunt their money. They are rich because they understand the value of money. The value of money is not determined by spending power. The power of money is the power to give and make a difference in lives of others.

    If we are looking for money, we will never get it. If we are driven by it, money will elude us. This century is about ideas, not money.

  • Black Economy In India

    Recently, Businessworld Magazine had carried a excellent and timely cover story on the growing black economy in India.

    mag_jun04.jpg

    It is true that there is no political will as the political-bureacratic class are also involved. Some guesstimates indicate that the Black Economy is larger, deeper and wide-spread across the socio-economic strata. How many people we meet in a day? How many of them actually account for their earnings and pay taxes? Under-reportting of income is an accepted norm for doctors, contractors, builders, cable operators, restaurant barons, event managers etc. We are not speaking here of not-so-poor fruit vendors, petty traders and beauty parlor owners or officially illegal trade such as drugs, trafficing etc.

    The surprising thing is the ‘crawl when asked to bend’ approach of financial authorities. It is no wonder that legitimate Indian businesses are setting up operations overseas and talented Indians are migrating. After a point, patriotism sounds a cruel joke when we look at the politicians.

    Yet the India Story remains intact. The power of young Indians remains in place. Only the pace and direction might see some correction.

    Some of my comments have been published in the latest issue of Businessworld.

  • What Parents Know About Money!

    Parents and we might have a different view on certain apsects of money. However, not everything they believe is wrong. Some ideas and insghts are classical and stand the test of time.

    Rediff Archives has a note named What Mom Thought About Money which discusses the above fact. It says:
    1. More Money Is Not Solution – Managing money is. Setting priorities for expenses and planning it means better money management.
    2. The 80:20 Principle – Eighty percent of the things we buy, we use 20% of the time. And 20% of the things we buy, we use 80% of the time. (See my previous post Less Is More!)
    3. Always Tie Loose Ends – Do not postpone credit card debt. What needs to be done, must be done.
    4. Budget for emergencies!
    5. Bargain – Will be amazed to see how much it actually works!

  • What Parents Do Not Know About Money!

    One of the areas where I have a different opinion from my parents, is money! It is due to various reasons:
    1. Economic Situation of India Is Different Today
    2. Earning – Spending – Saving Habits Are Different Today
    3. Overall Philosophy  Is Different Today – Ideas, Quality of Life, Self Actualization etc Are More Important Now. Earlier Money Was A Guarantee To Good Life.

    My parents frown when I spend good bucks on restaurant food or movie or see my credit card bills. I see this expenses as rewarding self or enjoying some money for today rather than wait for tomorrow. I am sure many of my friends also face this unique situation.

    Recently, I came across a wonderful Rediff archive which revolved around the same idea : What Parents Did Not Teach About Money!

    Here is the gist and my comments:

    1. Debt is good – Depends on how you use it. If for education, go ahead.
    2. Stock market is not only for gamblers – Think long term!
    3. Credit card can work for you – If you pay within credit free period. Offer convenience of not carrying cash.
    4. Jewellery is an lousy investment
    5. The bank is not the best place to park your money – Obvious! Interest here is peanuts and you actually lose money, if you factor in the inflation.

  • Teamwork & Ego!

    Teamwork & Ego!

    One more good anecdote on teamwork from Idea-Bank

    The sin (and danger) of excessive pride (or an excessive ego) is admirably demonstrated in this simple fable:

    A frog asked two geese to take him south with them. At first they resisted; they didn’t see how it could be done. Finally, the frog suggested that the two geese hold a stick in their beaks and that he would hold on to it with his mouth.

    So off the unlikely threesome went, flying southward over the countryside. It was really quite a sight. People looked up and expressed great admiration at this demonstration of creative teamwork.

    Someone said, “It’s wonderful! Who was so clever to discover such a fine way to travel?”

    Whereupon the frog opened his mouth and said, “It was I,” as it plummeted to the earth.

  • Teamwork!

    Teamwork!

    Teamwork is one of the key differentiator for success in today’s corporate environment. People work in teams and need interpendence to deliver results. The group dyanmics, ego, comparison etc come into play.

    The best example of Teamwork and Results is Australian Cricket Team. They have made a habit of winning. And they win by outclassing the competition by miles. They aside their huge egos and differences while on the field. The only purpose, the only mission, the only attitude is Winning. The team work in the Australian Cricket is indeed worth emulating.

    I came across a few quotations on Teamwork from a commercial site called Idea-Bank.

    Michael Jordan on Teamwork

    There are plenty of teams in every sport that have great players and never win titles. Most of the time, those players aren’t willing to sacrifice for the greater good of the team. The funny thing is, in the end, their unwillingness to sacrifice only makes individual goals more difficult to achieve. One thing I believe to the fullest is that if you think and achieve as a team, the individual accolades will take care of themselves. Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence win championships.

    Michael Jordan (1963- )
    American professional basketball player with the Chicago Bulls in “I Can’t Accept Not Trying”
    Harper San Francisco, 1994

    Geese & Teamwork
    Have you ever watched a flock of geese flying in their traditional “V” formation, heading for Canada?

    Two engineers learned that each bird, by flapping its wings, creates an uplift for the bird that follows. Together, the whole flock gains something like 70 percent greater flying range than if they were journeying alone.

  • Life Lessons from Narayan Murthy

    Life Lessons from Narayan Murthy

    Narayan Murthy is one person I immensely admire. He has played a key role in putting India on world map and inspired millions of Indians. And he created several millionaires in the way. A living example of living a value-driven life. We have heard several anecdotes of his greatness.

    Today Infy is the flag-bearer of Indian IT Industry and has perfected the art of consistently exceeding investor targets. It has always believed in the adage : under-promise, over-deliver. One of the many examples of Narayan Murthy’s imprint on the company.

    Yesterday’s The Economic Times and Rediff carried an extract of Narayan Murthy’s speech at New York University. The last paragraph is a real gem. True essence of spiritualism.

    I believe that we have all at some time eaten the fruit from trees that we did not plant. In the fullness of time, when it is our turn to give, it behooves us in turn to plant gardens that we may never eat the fruit of, which will largely benefit generations to come. I believe this is our sacred responsibility, one that I hope you will shoulder in time.

  • Hot Investment Destinations

    Investment Bankers regularly come up with their new themes, ideas and destinations to justify their salaries.

    BRIC (Brazil – Russia – India – China) is now the popular flavor. Though I admire the BRIC Report Author for walking the talk. She has joined Future Group, Kishore Biyani’s flagship venture.

    The new exotic and hot Flavors are :

    1. VISTA – Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Turkey, Argentina

    2. Chindia – China & India

    3. N11 – Next 11 – Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, Phillipines, Turkey, Vietnam

    How many of these HOT sectors / geographies actually perform as expected over the long run? God knows!