Gerald D'Cunha

  “The strength of a nation lies in the character of its leaders.” First among equals   L ast year, a young girl was enrolled in our classes when she was in class XI… She was a good student. This year, she was enrolled for class XII, on payment of her part fees, in December itself. Then, in the last week of this April, when we started the class XII, this girl showed up. Almost two weeks into the classes, one morning, the mother of this girl called up, saying, that the girl would discontinue as she had been enrolled at another institute which prepared for Chartered Accountancy entrance alongside class XII. Well, as it’s said, ‘I am only informing you, not consulting you’, this mother had picked up the phone only to ‘inform’ me… I felt bad for the young girl… Having observed her aptitude and attitude for more than a year, in my mind, she wasn’t the material for Chartered Accountancy. “Sir, it’s her dad’s decision… He was quite adamant,” the mother tried to clarify… I...

“Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string.” R. W. Emerson in his essay, ‘Self-reliance’.   I was introduced to Ralf Waldo Emerson’s inspiring essays through Napoleon Hill’s books. In his famous classic, ‘The Law of Success’, Napoleon Hill has separate chapters on topics such as ‘Initiative’, ‘Enthusiasm’, ‘Leadership’ etc. What hit me the most, at the young age of 21, when I was reading this book over and over again (alongside his ‘Think and Grow Rich’) was the idea called ‘Initiative’. I learnt, that it’s the personal quality of an individual to do tasks without being told… doing them without looking at the watch… doing them for not money alone… It’s going the extra-mile to do them and, above all, do them with a great deal of self-reliance. As I said, at an age of 21, when one gets to grasp the importance of these personal qualities, one, also, realizes how it helps to build his personal leadership. I learnt, early, that through these qualities, I was in ...

  “In adults, maturity is the fruit of dependability; in a child, it is the seed.” Richard E. Eyre   I n one of Dawn Club’s popular Workshops, the facilitator, Swami Brahmavidanada Saraswati, (Shri. Ram Mohanji) used to hold a roleplay. He would ask some five young boys and girls to volunteer for this roleplay. The volunteers were supposed to discuss an overnight excursion among themselves and come to a conclusion… Where to go, how to go, what to take, how much contribution to collect etc. Here, in the roleplay, all five volunteers were strangers. But, they were expected to discuss as though they would do in real life, with their real friends and associates. Then would come the twist to this tale… The facilitator would pull out from his bag white bands, one after one, and tie it on the forehead of each volunteer… On that band would be written the ‘label’, the ‘script’: “I am a Leader’… ‘I am a Fool’… ‘I am a Joker’… ‘I am Dependable’… ‘I am Cautious. If there were ...

  “Some things are better than winning.” Claire Annette Noland   I enjoy watching important matches, including cricket. So, I did watch the last few overs of India Vs. England ODI-series decider. My 28-year-old son and 85-year-old father-in-law, who are greater cricket enthusiasts than I am, had watched almost the full match… It was truly a tough match, well-played by both the sides. There was heavy suspense till the last ball. And, finally, as is the case in every well-played game, the team which manages to hold the nerves better, walks away with the trophy… Indian boys did! But, certainly, the England boys – particularly Sam Curran – deserved praise for their fighting spirit… They went down gloriously, like heroes! I am not writing this Post to add my own expert-commentary to yesterday’s game. My knowledge, and update about all sports are very limited. But, I am, always, moved by some subtle things while watching sports… Some little gestures by the players, ca...

  “A graceful heart is a virtue of the meek.” Suzy Kassem W hat happens to my self-esteem and mental well-being if I spend too much time – even little time – listening to and intensely involving with those Primetime TV debates? What happens if I keep involving myself in those endless twitter-wars between people, say, Kangana Ranaut and Diljit Dosangh or Amit Malviya and Kunal Kamra? Sometimes, out of curiosity – and my innate human prejudice and weakness – I get involved, only to come out a lot ‘disturbed’. Then, I regret: “Why did I waste my time?”… “Why did I allow myself to deflate my self-esteem?” “Don’t bring home the filth of the road,” my dad used to, often, scream at us when we were little boys, “What belongs to the road should not come home.” My heart and mind are my home… What goes on at Primetime or on twitter, yes, often, is just ‘filth’… Leave it to the road… Don’t bring it home…   I am strongly reminded A friend of mine has a simple yardstick: “Does...

“I tell the kids: Somebody’s gotta win, somebody’s gotta lose; Just   don’t’ fight about it… Just try to get better.” Yogi Berra   E very sports person – be it a Sprinter, Boxer, Baseball or Basketball player, Tennis or Badminton player, Cricket, Hockey, Football, Pole Vault, Horse-riding, Swimming, Cycling, Motor bike, Boat or Car race whatever be it – knows this: 1.     He has to be in his best form, and he has to, always, play to win. 2.     He can’t win in every game… Sometimes, he can lose. 3.     When he wins, he should be humble and magnanimous in victory. 4.     When he loses, he should be graceful and respectful in his defeat. 5.     Conceding defeat and congratulating the winner are part of every championship. 6.     Finally, a game is only a game; it’s not Life, or the end of it! As a spectator, we all tend to involve intensely in the games that we watch. ...

“If you would get ahead, be a bridge.” Welsh (on ambition)   A mbition is not only a highly misunderstood word, it’s also a grossly misused one. When I first woke up to this vocabulary, I was all set to step out of my college. I was still filled with self-doubts… shy, scared and overwhelmed by the feeling of unworthiness. Simultaneously, there was a dream inside my heart, which was restlessly struggling to make its way through the mess called my mind. The result? More self-doubt, more anxiety! It’s here, on the streets of Bombay – more than four decades ago - when I found an used copy of Napoleon Hill’s ‘Think and Grow Rich’, that I was first given the ‘ deeksha’ of ‘Ambition’ … Good, that it came to me when I needed it the most. But, in retrospect, I say, that it’s even better, that I learnt, right at the outset, that the deeksha of ambition could lead me to be a worthy human or an unworthy one. I was just getting into the world with my college education tucked around my mi...

“ I f you cannot treat someone with dignity and respect – then, you need to get out. If you cannot treat someone from another gender, whether that’s a man or a woman, with dignity and respect – then, you need to get out. If you demean someone in anyway – then, you need to get out. And, if you can’t treat someone from another race or of a different colour skin, with dignity and respect – then, you need to get out.” Do you want to know who said this? Watch this… About three years ago, when Lt. Gen. Jay B. Silveria, the Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy, stood before his staff, coaches and cadets – over five thousand of them – to let all of them know what it took to ‘develop character’ and grow to be a ‘leader with heart’. He was responding to a disturbing incident at the academy… A couple of Afro-American cadets had been the target of a racial slur… The poison was spit on the room-doors of these Black cadets! Imagine this: t...

“There are no traffic jams  when you go the extra mile.” Zig Ziglar T he thought that I should know everything, I should be good at everything… I should have an answer for every problem – yes, this kind of thought can be extremely overwhelming and stressful. It comes from the misconceived and ill-advised pursuit of ‘perfection’. No Sir, we needn’t know everything in life… We needn’t have an answer for every problem under the Sun… We are living people – full of imperfections. We make lots and lots of mistakes as we walk into our unfamiliar territories in life… As long as we live, we shall live with our imperfections… and, that is not only perfectly fine, that’s also something so beautiful about living, and growing. A week ago, I was approached by a young Assistant Professor of a reputed college of Architecture in Mumbai. This young gentleman’s name was Pulkit, and he told me that the college Principal had asked him to approach me for an online motivational ...