Gerald D'Cunha

  “The toughest opponent you’re ever going to have to face is in the mirror.” Rocky Balboa S ince last evening, I must’ve watched this video, at least, half-a-dozen times…  And, let me confess: I did so for Pete Seeger! Pete Seeger was 90 when he was pumping life into that mammoth crowd at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C, in Jan., 2009. It was at the inaugural concert of Barack Obama’s first Presidency. I bet, almost the entire crowd was made up of people around a quarter or a third of Pete's age! During his lifetime, about two dozen Presidential inaugurals came and went, two devastating World Wars exploded, apart from many more wars his country plunged into… He lived through the Great Depression… the Cults and the Isms, the Godliness and the Godlessness… And, through it all, he survived with his songs and music… Yes, I watched the video – ‘This Land Is Your land, and This Land Is My Land’ - just for Pete Seeger, the Legend… Yes, I prayed, as I watched it ov...

S uddenly, a thought was crossing through my mind, today: “What was I doing at 25?” At 25, I  was young, energetic… had a big bush (African hair) over my head… A couple of years before that, I had decided not to take up a steady job anywhere… Instead go on my own. So, inspired by Napoleon Hills’ famous success principle (in ‘Think and Grow Rich’, and ‘Law of Success’) – ‘Master Mind Alliance’ – I had bought together some men of different skills and strengths to found an Institute in Kalina… When I look back and see this episode, I get a broad smile on my face… I was still very raw and inexperienced… Business and entrepreneurship never ran my family DNA… Still, solely influenced by Napoleon Hill’s success philosophy – here I was: with a commercial venture in hand. I had burnt the bridges behind me to be there… I had left no escape route… I had to do or die… I had to sink or swim. So, the secret was to give your all, and I gave my all… And, even at that r...