The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible - and achieve it, generation after generation.

These are the words of Pearl Buck, the first American Woman to win the Nobel
Prize for literature. She herself received the Pulitzer & the Nobel at a very
young age, thus living her words. While Pearl ascribed this tendency to Youth, it
is equally true for other age groups as well. People of all sorts have plunged in
the seemingly impossible abyss & come out thundering that impossible is a
word found in the dictionary of fools. Fact of the matter is not that nothing is
impossible but that everything is possible, provide it is attempted & the correct
logic is applied. But just as one doesn't discover new lands without consenting
to lose sight of the shore for a very long time, there comes a time when the risk
to remain tight in the bud becomes more painful than the risk it takes to
blossom.
Moral of the sayings is that we can achieve if we attempt, Success will be ours if
we are willing to risk failure, but risk we must take, for there is no security on
this earth. Only opportunity, if you want to go high places. Intellect must not
take precedence over adventure & the heart should rule the mind. If we listened
to our intellect, we'd never have a love affair. We'd never have a friendship.
We'd never go into business, because we'd be too cynical. Well, that's
nonsense. You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the
way down. The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice
what we are for what we could become. Many mistake will be made on the way,
many ideas would prove futile but remember that the only person who never
makes mistakes is the person who never does anything & It is better to have
enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having
no ideas at all. A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but
more useful than a life spent in doing nothing.
We must set very high goals. Let them look difficult & distant. Always Bite off
more than you can chew, then chew it. Our teeth might be hurt by the
uncertain stones in between but Creativity requires the courage to let go of
certainties. Don't be afraid to climb a branch thinking it would break. That's
where the fruits are. If you fall, learn to appreciate that only those who dare to
fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.
Think of things that you would like to do, would like to have & then run for
them. Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you
didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away
from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
Discover. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

Something about 'Risk'

This issue seems to me to be one of the best in recent times. Very informative, practical & of real use to all. The snapshot on the Consumer Protection Act is especially interesting. The government has provided us a means to solve many of our problems, but we seldom use it the way & to the extent it should have been used. Awareness of our rights can really make a difference when dealing with problematic products or services.



Of special interest is the inspirational story about the Tomato seller. If one observes in depth, we & especially today’s younger lot has become so accustomed & addicted to the internet for everything that they seldom seem to realize that there is a life outside the net too. Internet was supposed to be the means that would enable our lives & a habit that will disable our creativity off it. But alas! It is sadly acquiring the status of a self sustained maize which is not only addictive in nature but also keeps on whirling the unaware habitual user into endless helices & spirals of its huge world wide web. Its time we start realizing that the world outside the internet is bigger, has been in existence for much longer & has far more potential.



The other thing worth mention is “Risk”. We in the finance industry have a fairly good idea of ‘Risk’ for our business hinges on it & its able management. The same thing applies in real, personal lives too. Many are in the habit of playing safe & reaping he benefits of both worlds. The winners however are those who jump in the fire & emerge unscathed. In one of our previous issues, we had dwelled on the importance of seizing the opportunities. Here it comes again. To win a game for yourselves, you have to play it. Playing comes with the risk of loosing, but should you play, there is the prospect of winning the game – For Yourself. If we just play safe from the stands, we can cheer for either team (& can always side with the winner), but the win will be theirs not ours.