Azim Premji - "My Lessons in Life"
An Article Address by Azim Premji in the "Shaping Young Minds Program" (SYMP) organized by AIMA in collaboration with the Bombay Management Association (BMA) in Mumbai on "My Lessons in Life".
I am very happy to be here with you. It is always wonderful to be with young people. As my hair turned from black, to salt and pepper and finally salt without the pepper, I have begun to realize the importance of youth. At the same time, I have begun to truly appreciate some of the lessons I have learned along the way. I hope you will find them useful when you plan your own career and life.
First
The first thing I have learned is that we must always begin with our strengths. There is an imaginary story of a rabbit. The rabbit was enrolled in a rabbit school. Like all rabbits, it could hop very well but could not swim. At the end of the year, the rabbit got high marks in hopping but failed in swimming. The parents were concerned. They said, "Forget about hopping. You are anyway good at it. Concentrate on swimming." They sent the rabbit for tuitions in swimming. And guess what happened? The rabbit forgot how to hop! As for swimming, have you ever seen a rabbit swim? While it is important for us to know what we are not good at, we must also cherish what is good in us. That is because it is only our strengths that can give us the energy to correct our weaknesses.
Second
The second lesson I have learned is that a rupee earned is of far more value than five found. My friend was sharing with me the story of his eight-year-old niece. She would always complain about breakfast. The cook tried everything possible, but the child remained unhappy. Finally, my friend took the child to a supermarket and bought one of those ready-to-cook packets. The child had to cut the packet and pour water into the dish. The child found the food to be absolutely delicious. The difference was that she had cooked it! In my own life, I have found that nothing gives as much satisfaction as earning our rewards. In fact, what is gifted or inherited follows the old rule of come easy, go easy. I guess we only know the value of what we have if we have struggled to earn it.
Third
The third lesson I have learned is that no one bats a hundred every time. Life has many challenges. You win some and lose some. You must enjoy winning. But do not let it go to your head. The moment it does, you are already on your way to failure. And if you do encounter failure along the way, treat it as an equally natural phenomenon. Don't beat yourself up for it or anyone else for that matter! Accept it, look at your own share in the problem, learn from it, and move on. The important thing is when you lose, do not lose the lesson.
Fourth
The fourth lesson I have learned is the importance of humility. Sometimes, when you get so much in life, you really start wondering whether you deserve all of it. We have so much to be grateful for. Our parents, our teachers, and our seniors have done so much for us that we can never repay them. Many people focus on the shortcomings because obviously no one can be perfect. But it is important to first acknowledge what we have received. Nothing in life is permanent, but when a relationship ends, rather than becoming bitter, we must learn to savor the memory of the good things while they lasted.
Fifth
The fifth lesson I learned is that we must always strive for excellence. One way of achieving excellence is by looking at those better than ourselves. Keep learning what they do differently. But excellence cannot be imposed from the outside. We must also feel the need from within. It must involve not only our mind but also our heart and soul. Excellence is not an act but a habit. I remember the inspiring lines of a poem, which says that your reach must always exceed your grasp. That is heaven on earth. Ultimately, your only competition is yourself.
Sixth
The sixth lesson I have learned is never to give up in the face of adversity. It comes on you suddenly without warning. Always keep in mind that it is only the test of fire that makes fine steel. A friend of mine shared this incident with me. His eight-year-old daughter was struggling away at a jigsaw puzzle. She kept at it for hours but could not succeed. Finally, it went beyond her bedtime. My friend told her, "Look, why don't you just give up? I don't think you will complete it tonight. Look at it another day." The daughter looked with a strange look in her eyes, "But, dad, why should I give up? All the pieces are there! I just have to put them together!" If we persevere long enough, we can put any problem into perspective.
Seventh
The seventh lesson I have learned is that while you must be open to change, do not compromise on your values. Mahatma Gandhiji often said that you must open the windows of your mind, but you must not be swept off your feet by the breeze. Values like honesty, integrity, consideration, and humility have survived for generations. At the end of the day, it is values that define a person more than the achievements. Do not be tempted by shortcuts. The shortcut can make you lose your way and end up becoming the longest way to the destination.
Final
And the final lesson I learned is that we must have faith in our own ideas even if everyone tells us that we are wrong. There was once a newspaper vendor who had a rude customer. Every morning, the customer would walk by, refuse to return the greeting, grab the paper off the shelf, and throw the money at the vendor. The vendor would pick up the money, smile politely, and say, "Thank you, Sir." One day, the vendor's assistant asked him, "Why are you always so polite with him when he is so rude to you? Why don't you throw the newspaper at him when he comes back tomorrow?" The vendor smiled and replied, "He can't help being rude, and I can't help being polite. Why should I let his rude behavior dictate my politeness?
I hope you achieve success in whatever way you define it and what gives you the maximum happiness in life. "Remember, those who win are those who believe they can."
Rashi
From India, Ahmadabad
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An Article Address by Azim Premji in the "Shaping Young Minds Program" (SYMP) organized by AIMA in collaboration with the Bombay Management Association (BMA) in Mumbai on "My Lessons in Life".
I am very happy to be here with you. It is always wonderful to be with young people. As my hair turned from black, to salt and pepper and finally salt without the pepper, I have begun to realize the importance of youth. At the same time, I have begun to truly appreciate some of the lessons I have learned along the way. I hope you will find them useful when you plan your own career and life.
First
The first thing I have learned is that we must always begin with our strengths. There is an imaginary story of a rabbit. The rabbit was enrolled in a rabbit school. Like all rabbits, it could hop very well but could not swim. At the end of the year, the rabbit got high marks in hopping but failed in swimming. The parents were concerned. They said, "Forget about hopping. You are anyway good at it. Concentrate on swimming." They sent the rabbit for tuitions in swimming. And guess what happened? The rabbit forgot how to hop! As for swimming, have you ever seen a rabbit swim? While it is important for us to know what we are not good at, we must also cherish what is good in us. That is because it is only our strengths that can give us the energy to correct our weaknesses.
Second
The second lesson I have learned is that a rupee earned is of far more value than five found. My friend was sharing with me the story of his eight-year-old niece. She would always complain about breakfast. The cook tried everything possible, but the child remained unhappy. Finally, my friend took the child to a supermarket and bought one of those ready-to-cook packets. The child had to cut the packet and pour water into the dish. The child found the food to be absolutely delicious. The difference was that she had cooked it! In my own life, I have found that nothing gives as much satisfaction as earning our rewards. In fact, what is gifted or inherited follows the old rule of come easy, go easy. I guess we only know the value of what we have if we have struggled to earn it.
Third
The third lesson I have learned is that no one bats a hundred every time. Life has many challenges. You win some and lose some. You must enjoy winning. But do not let it go to your head. The moment it does, you are already on your way to failure. And if you do encounter failure along the way, treat it as an equally natural phenomenon. Don't beat yourself up for it or anyone else for that matter! Accept it, look at your own share in the problem, learn from it, and move on. The important thing is when you lose, do not lose the lesson.
Fourth
The fourth lesson I have learned is the importance of humility. Sometimes, when you get so much in life, you really start wondering whether you deserve all of it. We have so much to be grateful for. Our parents, our teachers, and our seniors have done so much for us that we can never repay them. Many people focus on the shortcomings because obviously no one can be perfect. But it is important to first acknowledge what we have received. Nothing in life is permanent, but when a relationship ends, rather than becoming bitter, we must learn to savor the memory of the good things while they lasted.
Fifth
The fifth lesson I learned is that we must always strive for excellence. One way of achieving excellence is by looking at those better than ourselves. Keep learning what they do differently. But excellence cannot be imposed from the outside. We must also feel the need from within. It must involve not only our mind but also our heart and soul. Excellence is not an act but a habit. I remember the inspiring lines of a poem, which says that your reach must always exceed your grasp. That is heaven on earth. Ultimately, your only competition is yourself.
Sixth
The sixth lesson I have learned is never to give up in the face of adversity. It comes on you suddenly without warning. Always keep in mind that it is only the test of fire that makes fine steel. A friend of mine shared this incident with me. His eight-year-old daughter was struggling away at a jigsaw puzzle. She kept at it for hours but could not succeed. Finally, it went beyond her bedtime. My friend told her, "Look, why don't you just give up? I don't think you will complete it tonight. Look at it another day." The daughter looked with a strange look in her eyes, "But, dad, why should I give up? All the pieces are there! I just have to put them together!" If we persevere long enough, we can put any problem into perspective.
Seventh
The seventh lesson I have learned is that while you must be open to change, do not compromise on your values. Mahatma Gandhiji often said that you must open the windows of your mind, but you must not be swept off your feet by the breeze. Values like honesty, integrity, consideration, and humility have survived for generations. At the end of the day, it is values that define a person more than the achievements. Do not be tempted by shortcuts. The shortcut can make you lose your way and end up becoming the longest way to the destination.
Final
And the final lesson I learned is that we must have faith in our own ideas even if everyone tells us that we are wrong. There was once a newspaper vendor who had a rude customer. Every morning, the customer would walk by, refuse to return the greeting, grab the paper off the shelf, and throw the money at the vendor. The vendor would pick up the money, smile politely, and say, "Thank you, Sir." One day, the vendor's assistant asked him, "Why are you always so polite with him when he is so rude to you? Why don't you throw the newspaper at him when he comes back tomorrow?" The vendor smiled and replied, "He can't help being rude, and I can't help being polite. Why should I let his rude behavior dictate my politeness?
I hope you achieve success in whatever way you define it and what gives you the maximum happiness in life. "Remember, those who win are those who believe they can."
Rashi
From India, Ahmadabad
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Sweet as a kandy to read... Some thing we all can try to attain from this great Indian surely...Thanks for sharing .. i did forward it to all before writing this mail... Cheers, hanuma
From India, Kakinada
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19From India, Kakinada
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Hi Rashi Thnx for such a nice post and moreover such perception and learningof a great personality of Great India.. Good stuff forever. thnx tarun :D :D :D
From India, Lucknow
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From India, Lucknow
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Dear Rashi,
It was a delightful journey going through that fantastic post. While reading, I have analyzed that the tree with a lot of fruits is always down toward the earth... means a glimpse of the success of Premji Sir is in his humbleness. Thanks a ton for such a good post.
Regards,
Mona
From India, Mumbai
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It was a delightful journey going through that fantastic post. While reading, I have analyzed that the tree with a lot of fruits is always down toward the earth... means a glimpse of the success of Premji Sir is in his humbleness. Thanks a ton for such a good post.
Regards,
Mona
From India, Mumbai
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hi The information is very useful and highly informative,to lead a good life with great motivations to face an new challenges in life and to have great success. Yashwanth
From India, Bangalore
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From India, Bangalore
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Hi Rashi,
Good and motivating post. Many would benefit from your posting, especially those who do not have a mentor. Keep up the excellent work. Thanks to CiteHr for providing such a platform.
Regards,
Raj
From India, Bangalore
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Good and motivating post. Many would benefit from your posting, especially those who do not have a mentor. Keep up the excellent work. Thanks to CiteHr for providing such a platform.
Regards,
Raj
From India, Bangalore
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Hi Ruchi,
Thank you for your message.
Amazing post! Very informative. I appreciate that you have shared this piece of information. I will implement all those suggestions for sure and will also make a calendar of those words in my room today.
Thank you,
Rashi
From India, Ludhiana
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Thank you for your message.
Amazing post! Very informative. I appreciate that you have shared this piece of information. I will implement all those suggestions for sure and will also make a calendar of those words in my room today.
Thank you,
Rashi
From India, Ludhiana
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I think this is one of the best articles and indeed a thought provoking one. We should try and implement these values in ourselves as well to be successful. Thanks Preeti
From India, Delhi
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From India, Delhi
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It's really nice and awesome. A knowledgeable article. I did send this mail to all my friends before sending you a reply. Thank you a lot for sharing this article. Keep going.
Regards,
Shikha
From India, Bangalore
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Regards,
Shikha
From India, Bangalore
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Hi,
It's really a wonderful collection. Thanks for sharing with all of us. It really helps us in our daily life. We, the people, can learn a lot from these successful individuals. I heard Premji has a very stable mind. He faced many problems to make Wipro a very good organization.
Thanks & regards,
Gowtam
From India, Hyderabad
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It's really a wonderful collection. Thanks for sharing with all of us. It really helps us in our daily life. We, the people, can learn a lot from these successful individuals. I heard Premji has a very stable mind. He faced many problems to make Wipro a very good organization.
Thanks & regards,
Gowtam
From India, Hyderabad
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One of the Most amazing articles of all time. we can learn so many things from that article in order to success. Regards Bhaskar.
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Hey...that was really good. I am so glad there are thoughtful people like the one who posted this article for all to read. Thanks to Mr. Premji and the one who posted it. Have a wonderful time ahead. Thanks, Harsh
From India, Delhi
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From India, Delhi
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Dear Rashi,
Nice post. It's always wonderful to read about great personalities. The values they possess make them great. Role modeling these personalities will shape any person to become a good human being.
Prabhakaran Nambiar Chennai
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Nice post. It's always wonderful to read about great personalities. The values they possess make them great. Role modeling these personalities will shape any person to become a good human being.
Prabhakaran Nambiar Chennai
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Hi all,
Don't call it just 'thought-provoking.' It is the truth of life which we realize while at the office and forget while at home, in society, or even in a relationship, for that matter. We call it great when a 'Mr. Premji' speaks, but find it useless when one of us says it.
Regards,
Satyabrata Tripathy
From India, New Delhi
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Don't call it just 'thought-provoking.' It is the truth of life which we realize while at the office and forget while at home, in society, or even in a relationship, for that matter. We call it great when a 'Mr. Premji' speaks, but find it useless when one of us says it.
Regards,
Satyabrata Tripathy
From India, New Delhi
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