RISING FROM ONE'S OWN ASHES










There is a very inspiring word and it makes my hair stand straight. The word is ‘Turnaround’.

The men and women, who bring about the turnaround, are the heroes I seek inspiration from… And, they are there in every walk of life… business, sports, technology, education, entertainment and, even, families…

In every walk of life, there comes a time, when things begin to slide… and slide fast and furiously. This is really scary as it is blaringly visible in the case of giants – those institutions and individuals who have risen from the scratch, inspiring millions of souls along their success saga, when these giants are  now losing the ground below their feet, it looks unbelievable and frightening. “No, it can’t happen to these giants,” is the immediate reaction… denial.

But, baby, it is happening to them…

The giant is falling… fast, and furiously…

It has happened to mighty kingdoms and nations… Egyptian, Roman, Greek or British…

It has happened to great nations and movements… The Nazi and Hitler’s Germany, the USSR and its brand of Communism…

The USA and China can’t be immune to this… The time will come for all of them…

IBM rose to enviable heights once; and just a couple of decades later, it was on the brink of collapse…

So it is now for our Infosys…

West Indies played cricket the way no other country did… but, that was once…

Brazil has seen its downfall, too…

Men like Amitabh Bachchan have seen it, too…

Yes, there comes a time in the lives of every individual, organization or nation, when the glory begins to fade, and demise seems certain…

Often, it is the very weight of the giant that has now brought the giant down… the weight of the elephant!

The bigger you are… the more vulnerable to the fall…

The leaner and lighter, the better… they say!

Well, there is something inspiring about the crisis in the lives of both giant individuals and giant institutions… when someone comes to do the turnaround… yes, with his heroics…

A Lee Iacocca… to do it for Chrysler…

A Louis V. Gerstner, Jr… to do it for IBM…

A Steve Jobs… to do it for his own baby, Apple…

An Amitabh Bachchan… to do to for his own sinking ship…




More than the Success stories, I am inspired by 

the turnaround stories… When one rises 

like a Phoenix from one's own ashes…



To me, those are true heroes… the true saviors… They inspire me the most.

Can Narayan Murthy do it for Infosys, now?

I cheer he would…

Yes, tough times come in the lives of every individual and every organization… and, to deal with them, often, come tough people too…

So, let’s believe in the fresh life that comes out from the cold ashes…

Let’s believe, once again, in the inspiring words: “Tough times never last, but tough people do.”

It helps… It helps… Yes, it does.



GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Gloria Pinto




Comments

Vinay Hinduja said…
Yes, the come-back stories inspire me too. Nice post. Vinay
June 23, 2013 at 5:22 PM
Anonymous said…
Must read for motivation.
............ Nitya
June 23, 2013 at 5:23 PM
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