Gerald D'Cunha

  “It doesn’t matter how great your shoes are, if you don’t accomplish anything in them.” Martina Boone   T here is one quality in you, which, even the toughest competition in life won’t be able to make you jobless... And, that quality is your willingness to work hard... Did I say, ‘work hard’? Well, I meet many, many young ones – every day. And, all of them want to shine in life. Yes, succeed in life. But, how much hard work are they willing to put? Hardly... Most of them want it quick... They ‘wish’... and, it remains only a wishful thinking... When I stress, that Success should come in direct proportion to one’s goals, determination, perseverance, and, above all, hard work... that, one should be willing to sacrifice, wait, learn and adjust... Yes, I stress it from the belief, that this approach can never be old-fashioned. When I learnt it through Napoleon Hill’s philosophy, I instantaneously imbibed in me one lesson of his: ‘Work more than what you are p...

  “The gem cannot be polished without friction; nor man perfected without trials.” Chinese Proverb   M y wife and I had attended the wedding reception of Chandini, who was my student, ten years ago. Her brother Suraj and their father Prakash – all had been my students, particularly that of the Personality Development programme conducted by The Dawn Club. Chandini’s three cousins, Kanchan, Shradha and Sneha, and even Kanchan’s son Kapil – all of them had been students of these programmes. Yesterday, at the reception, I had the privilege of meeting all of them and several more. I am talking about many students who crossed my path over past forty or so years. Almost all of them, are, now, well-placed in life. And, almost all of them tell me proudly, that they keep talking about me to their young children, who, now, go to the ‘finest schools’ around the world. Shradha, who lives in Netherlands, was so excited to see me, that she, oblivious of the guests around her, was a...

E at fresh food... I agree. Eat simple food... I agree. Eat in moderation... I agree. Eat with a happy and grateful heart... I agree totally. But then, can you and I eat ‘fresh food’ always, considering the hectic pace of our lives? Frankly, we cannot. Many of us have to accept this reality... That, eating happily with a grateful heart is more important than eating freshly-cooked food... Frankly, we are all on a space mission... We have to choose between the Moon and the Sausages... E very migrant, who comes to big cities like Mumbai - with no money, friends or connections, but only a dream – has lots of struggle stories to share later when they succeed in in life. But, these struggle stories, invariably, inspire other strugglers, and not the children of those telling the ‘stay-hungry, stay-foolish’ stories... One such young kid I came across yesterday. He wasn’t ready to eat the tiffin packed and sent by his mother... “I eat only fresh”... The tiffin went back home, go...

  “The secret is discovered in what moves and touches us, in  what makes us tremble.” Sam Keen S ome days ago, I was invited to hold a session for the students of an Architecture college in Mumbai. The students belonged to 2 nd year to 5 th year. It was their fest week, and different kinds of Workshops – yes, anything other than Architecture – were being held by people from different fields. As I had held sessions many times before in this college, the Principal gave me a free hand: “Anything that can help bring the best out them.”… This was the brief. D oes anyone know what is ‘the best’ in him? I don’t know my own ‘best’… unless I am unusually driven… I don’t know my best potential… I don’t know how good I am… I don’t know how creative, how brilliant… how loving, caring, giving, brave etc. I can be… “The best”, as they say,   is, always, “yet to come.” We are busy just scratching the surface… while ‘the best’ is hidden deep inside. And, often, it...

  “I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.” Mark Twain   O ne of the things parents will never be able to give their children is the fire in the belly… That one thing, the kid has to ignite on its own. But, if you ask me, ‘How’… I can only say, “I don’t know’. Yes, all that I know is, that the kid has to ignite it on its own… What is common – and quite natural – for parents to do is to give their kids a better education, together with better privileges… a better living condition, better facilities, better everything. The thought process of the parents, by and large, is this: “I had to go through a lot of struggles in my life… I was deprived of all the privileges… but, I do not want my children to go through similar struggles… I want them to provide with the best possible privileges.” And, that’s what my grandparents did to my parents, my parents did to me and my brothers, and we have done to our own children, and our children will do to theirs…...

  “I am not the same having seen the Moon shine on the other side of the world.” Mary Anne Radmacher   M y mom was 45 when I left my hometown, Mangalore, for better prospects. I was 20… and, it was 1980. I was a lot excited, even though equally anxious. In those days, for young boys and girls from small towns and villages, migrating to bigger cities like Bombay was very natural. The Gulf boom was already underway, and migration to Western countries, too, was quite there. But, for someone like me, it was Bombay that was in store. I came here and lived with my uncle’s family (my dad’s younger brother) for seven-long years. That humble household was to become my launching pad… It couldn’t have been a better one! Leaving one’s nest is never easy experience, for both parents and their children. Parents know, that their young ones are leaving the nests forever… The young ones end up raising their own nests in faraway cities and countries… as I did here, and my brothers d...

  “A lifetime of training for just ten seconds!” Jesse Owens   E very Olympics medal – whether Gold, Silver or Bronze – matters to us, a lot. We are a country of close to 140-crore people; the second highest population in the world. So, if we come back empty-handed from the Olympics game, it shows us in poor light. As I said, even one or two medals – whether Gold, Silver or Bronze – can give us the relief, that we haven’t come back with a ‘duck’… This explains why the whole nation becomes ecstatic and celebrates with pride, when this simple woman from Manipur – Mirabai Chanu - brings us a Silver medal in weightlifting,   Frankly, I find it silly! Yes, while Mirabai did it, beating all odds, why are we celebrating her victory as our own? There is a lot to take away from every poor Olympics-tally of our country. Is our State doing enough? No. Are we, individually or collectively, doing enough? No. Whatever little we get from the Olympics village, it is broug...

  “You could jump so much higher when you had somewhere safe to fall.” Liane Moriarty   S ome days ago, I had asked 13-year-old Darshil and his 11-year-old sister, Tirtha, to write at least five of their privileges in life. That day, during the Zoom session, I told them the story of Ekalavya, the tribal boy from Mahabharata. I tell about this boy, Ekalavya, in every Personality-development session, while helping kids, youngsters or adults to become self-confident and proactive persons… I call it ‘The Spirit of Ekalavya’ and, often, ‘The School of Ekalavya’. What Ekalavya did was the most proactive act towards building his self-confidence… No blaming, no self-pitying and no reacting. So, to me, Ekalavya was a better student, a better learner, a better young man than Arjuna. I am not interested in the archery… The story gives us enough proof for his brilliance in archery, too. But, then, to me, that’s a small feat on his part… The greater feat was, that he beat Arjuna,...

  “It isn’t the mountain ahead that wears you out, It’s the grain of sand in your shoe.” Anonymous   W ho are we in this world – ‘The Outsiders’ or ‘The Insiders’?   So much fuss – and abuse – is made of these words!   When Barack Obama became the first Black President of America, we got to hear that he was an ‘Outsider’… which, basically meant, that he was not White, not wealthy and did not come from a political dynasty, and, above all, he made it on his own! Did we hear the similar narrative, when Mr. Modi came to rule Delhi? Remember the folklore – ‘The boy who once sold tea at a railway station in Gujarat’? Pritvi Raj Kapoor was an ‘Outsider’. But, we never said the same about his decedents. So, right from Raj Kapoor to Taimur, all have been painted in one brush as ‘The Insiders’! Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Jack Ma and men and women like these will, always, be called the ‘Outsiders’… but, not their sons and daughters. Donald Tr...