Living Life Curiously - Leadership Lessons

I have been blessed by almighty; I end up travelling around 20 days a month. I meet new people in the course of my journey; fellow travellers, hotels staff, customers in the field and lot many.  I listen to them carefully as I wrote in my last blog. Knowledge seekers are everywhere, The King Bartuhari, poet, scholar, intellect and most importantly a saint expressed it something like this “I was puffed like an elephant arrogant and ignorant and thinking that I know all, but when I met some intellectuals. My ego was gone like the fever and cold treated with a tablet”.

A profound thought which tells us that remain humble there are people who know more... Knowledge and wisdom is like liquor the more you drink the better it tastes. As one of my teachers whatsapp status once read “Living life curiously”. When you live life curiously as a child observing the plants, trees, birds, stars, any living and non-living things you will be able learn more.

When I was kid I had a very different life, I had no idea of computer games, laptops, smart-phones( even today I hate playing computer games, it’s just not in my genes) . We spent all our day out under the burning sun, playing with the wind, dust, mud and those were the best days. I hate to say this today’s generation, may not have the luxury. They might hate it to...

My Grandpa use to tell me “money is going to grow on trees one day”, I think he was a visionary we have ATM’s everywhere. A smart-phone in each of our hand, but does smart-phone, laptop, computer and so called technological growth making us smart at all!! Time will tell.... sometimes time is the best healer of all. We have forgotten talking to each other; we are more expressive in our messages, than in person. Is that what life is suppose to be.

“People say technology makes our life easy and we phones which brings us close... Oh I wish... how sure are we about that? Even when we are sitting next to each other, how far are we”.... Think about it!! How hard each toy has made our life??

Thinking about all these things makes me weep, my eyes get wet ... Just like that... I have no reasons to cry but life has become more complicated. My Grandpa and Grandma had such a wonderful simple life, a life to rejoice every moment was spent together. The happiness and sadness were just part of their life, but they fought well together and died together!!! Are you wondering why I am telling my Grandpa parents story, we have no time to listen.. I think that’s the problem with us, we have no time at all!!

When I see a child walking on the street I feel happy, he has more willingness to listen to whatever I say, he is simply curious. He knows not the ways of world; he has no boundaries laid until he enters one of those schools to become an intellectual. A hard headed self fulfilling business man, or may be a wanderer in search of excellence or self. Time just flies like a breeze we can never touch it, we forget to feel it. But it goes and we end up growing arrogant, ignorant neither we enjoy the breeze nor the wind.

Being leader is about being a great learner, when you live curiously as I have already stated “End up learning more”.. In my blog I have stated couple of things which you can learn from living and non living things.

Dog: 

Dog is known as the man’s best friend, it has the unique qualities which other animals doesn’t possess. You might be wondering, what is the point of knowing about dog, when you are a leader and leading people? We are talking about leading people not the dogs here right....

The most important quality of a dog which every leader must learn is to be loyal, never cheat your followers. There are instances where in modern so called leaders have cheated the people and they have gone ashtray. If you are dog owner you can be sure that “Dog is the only animal which loves you more than anyone else, he simply loves you not even himself as he loves you”.

One of the most astonishing qualities of a dog; is that it doesn't carry grudge. When you are a leader, you just need to shake it off sometimes, and mistakes are made to learn. And accept your followers as they are, and simply love them. Spend some time with a dog and you will learn more than what I have stated in this blog.

Donkey:

Recently while I was walking in my farm, I came across a washer-man. I just sat and watched observed the donkey for a while; the donkey was carrying almost all the clothes of the town. I am sure it was heavy and it was walking slowly but steadily. 

Donkey is well known as a burden carrier, when you are a leader there are tough times. Where in you may have to carry the blame and burden of carrying the dreams of people, one of the most forgotten traits of a leader “Never expect the fruit of your”. You are here to lead people just lead them nothing less nothing more. 

Eagle: 

One of the most fascinating creatures I have ever seen is an Eagle, whenever I see this bird I feel it carries most of qualities a leader should carry. It has the longest life span among the birds; it can live up to 70 years.

Always fly high: Dream big

No bird flies higher than eagle; it shows us “when you are a leader, have a purpose larger than life”. The purpose of your life should change the way people lead their life. The leaders “dream big for themselves, their family, kith and kin” not for the people they lead. The time not far when people will realise the hidden agenda......

Eagles have strong vision:

Recently when I visited Vizag ( a coastal city in Andhra) I could see lot of Eagles flying. They could easily find out the target from a great distance. And once the eagle has find its target no matter what it wont change the path. They fly down like the rocket you see in English sci-fi movies catch the target and fly back again.

A leader must see, real far, have a great vision. Manier times you might feel you are fighting in the darkness but after darkness is the light. You should be able visualise the light in darkness and to do that you need have vision which is clear and you should see what tomorrow might bring to all of us.

Embrace the change:

Eagle is one Bird which embraces the change as any other bird/animal. When eagle becomes old, it needs to shed down the old feather and beak so to maintain flying. It does that with lot of pain and the process could take months..

This teaches us that when in leadership, we should be ready to change ourselves by giving out our old habits and practising new one. It might be hard but it’s worth...

One of the best examples we have in today’s world is the way Mr Prime minister Modiji did his campaign and how congress had lost in their old ways. Remember change is constant “If you don’t change, change will change you”... If you don’t change your habits, your old habits will remain but you won’t...

I would like to end this with a quote from Confucius “The more I learn the better I will know how little I know”..

Dear blessed “seekers of wisdom, the learning never stop and one must not stop learning”. Keep reading and learning...