I want to share this with all of you. Two days ago- I met an applicant who had been preparing for the IAS ( Indian Administrative Services) entrance examinations for over 4 years now, and he had not succeeded in any of those attempts. In the last four years, he did not gain any work experience, and he does not even know how to write emails. He has no bosses, and in a 2-minute conversation, you will easily figure out that he has never seen a corporate before. I wanted to understand his reasons and asked him, "What has been inspiring you to burn yourself for 4 years in a row?" - and the only reason that came to his mind was "SUCCESS". He said , " I want to be successful"
Working with you for over 10 years now, I realized that the student community in India has been blind folded by the continuous hammering for numbers, percentages, and permanent pressure to prove the worth- we have always been told that "We Need to get successful- we need to get there". Success has been defined for us- It is a continuous Pursuit.
It is very surprising that most of you I get to meet/speak/work with do not know your reasons for PURSUING an MBA- and yet- you are ready to pay them 80 lakhs to do it. This confusion is reflected in your reasons for doing MBA as well. More than 90% of the student community that I meet with does not know the reasons for doing an MBA- yet they want to do it. Most of us are not even keen on researching about an MBA program, and are ready to jump to any campus that gives us recognition and admiration from the people around us.
This aspiration to get successful has made you knock the doors of a TOP MBA program as well :blushing :blushing
You must know that this thing will not go away even after that
- Your reasons will change- your aspirations will change- even your network will change- but this desire to prove yourself WILL NOT GO AWAY at any point in the FUTURE- Unless you understand that Success is really not an outcome. It is a state of mind and a decision. And this desire of GETTING SUCCESSFUL every minute makes some of you very fearful as well. You face this in your MOCK tests, your INTERVIEWS, your expressions on the essays, and many more areas of your lives outside academia.
"¢ THE BACKGROUND OF YOUR FEAR IS THAT YOU PUT SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT AT STAKE: IF YOU Fail to get an admit, they are going to KILL YOU- this is how many applicants sound. I am not KIDDING. When you are so nervous as to make it impossible for you to utter a complete sentence, I always ask you " WhAT IS AT STAKE?"- If something is making you nervous, it has a FEAR OF LOSS at the back- I want you to assess the following questions
o What will happen if you do not GET INTO any school?
o What will happen if you lose your current job?
o What will happen if you do not have any bank savings?
Picture the above- and then see- what comes to your mind- See what solutions do you see- If you are an average human being- your mind will start doing amazing things to you and you will start coming up with new and creative ways of getting out of these situations.
When you start artificially inflating your losses, your mind goes numb. You don't even have an admit yet to fear the loss of it. They have not even said yes to you. In 50 years from now, when you are sitting with you grandchildren, this won't matter. Everyone who graduated from Harvard Business School in 1916 is MOST LIKELY DEAD. They got an admit, got the best of the internships, jobs, careers, and it is all over now. Life is too short to be afraid of taking newer initiatives or getting afraid of things that are not even going to hurt you. GO MAKE THE BEST OF IT. Meditate before an interview- and remember- life is MUCH BIGGER than you are currently picturing in your mind. You can do anything. Seriously.
