You can find your Hamburg
I had my heart in my mouth when a few minutes from taking the stage Partho said he was not sure what was he there for? And he had not done something like that for a long long time. He further added 90 minutes for him to deliver his message to that large an audience could be a bit too short a time.
Perhaps it could have been a disaster had it not for Parthos’ crystal clear thoughts and innate talent to calmly and quietly present himself before the audience. He is a 50 years old, posture slightly tilted forward, long salt-n-pepper hair, broad eyes, and shining face. His voice is his asset – it comes out so clean and clear like sound of water from the water fall. His style of speaking leaves one with awe.
However, you must be thinking that those who are articulate and sound terrific may not always be most relevant and lucid, but trust me he was. H e may have had little or no idea about why he was there but he had something worthwhile that he could leave behind with most of us present there. His style was benign, far from being forceful; he was neither a sage nor a corporate czar.
Before he proceeded further he set everyone’s expectations right by making a point that neither he was there to deliver a lecture nor did he expect to change anyone’s life for good. Most he could do was to open windows for those listening to him. He called himself an educationist who only knew how to bring one to know oneself. He did not understand corporate language – EBIT, Targets, etc. What he had was answers for some questions such as what are organizations made of, how ambitions could not be enough for a happy and content being, what is passion, love for work, and excellence.
And he did succeed in opening windows for many, including me!
He made some statements which took many by surprise. He said “Ambitions are not good as they make you restless, angry, give birth to feeling of jealousy and politics in the cohort.” To which he further elucidated – Ambition should be replaced with attaining Excellence. And Excellence can only be achieved with calmness and patience. He spoke of Kungfu and football where terrific and excellent players/masters display stillness in being and calmness in midst of chaos and havoc. Those who are aiming Excellence are unhurt by successes of others; they are silently improving their own game even when others are taking the front stage.
In one of his answers of the audience question he said “Passion cannot be created for work”. He added, “You are in the wrong job if you are not passionate about it”. He then thought over what he just said for a while and responded to the next obvious question - what one should do then? You have a person dependent on a certain job and not passionate about it.
He came up with a flash of brilliance. He said one thing that all can be and should be passionate about is Excellence. You must look for excellence in whatever you are thrown into! And, in my personal opinion too, each one of us must have this approach as it not only can see us through our lives but can also make us meet what has always eluded us.
It is true in my case at least that I have mostly hoped for better and seldom tried to go deep into my work and master it in all possible senses. Usually for all of us the End takes precedence over the Means! In today’s times of struggle for survival what we need the most is awareness of ourselves and purity in action.
It is so true for a footballer that in midst of high decibel noise he takes the corner and with his poise he lifts the ball through the goalpost. He may be hearing those sounds but still he is connected with himself, listening to his heartbeat and joining every dot in his mind that takes him pass the goalpost. Stillness in action is the secret behind a man who in real sense has arrived in life.
Taking reference from Outliers, I sign out – You can find your Hamburg
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