I read a post in Forbes titled “Arrogance of Growth“, it was written by Rajeev Peshawaria. It struck home, literally… the article was about how Indian Business Leaders and Managers are looking west thinking that they have it all covered and are better. I really don’t believe we should stereotype based on an anecdotal incident, but I do believe there is a lesson to be learnt from this. I believe that when success comes your way it is very easy to get arrogant and vindictive, ie. you have struggled a lot and this is time to show all those nay sayers that you have won. But that is not the right way, this is the time to be humble and bow low.
Wildly SuccessfulIt is not easy, but it is the right thing to do. As the old chinese saying goes

If you bow at all, bow low

Only those who have total control over their emotions, intellect and ego are capable of this. I struggle with it a lot and I am trying to work on it everyday. Being humble is knowing that you don’t know everything and having the courage to have an open mind to listen to another irrespective of their background, experience or education. I work with a lot of entrepreneurs and I meet those who are very young who are full of exuberance and confidence. I think it is an incredible quality. I also meet veterans who have been around the block a couple of time or those who are taking the plunge for the first time. It is scary, it is uncertain but don’t let your insecurity get in the way of being open and learn from the experience. Learning only happens when we listen and objectively evaluate feedback. I saw the above picture posted by my colleague and it spoke to me. So the next time you are tempted to act like a Jerk, stop and think where you have been and where you come from and see if your loved ones will be proud of how you act. The below clip from Gandhi, shows what being humble is. As I publish this blog post today on Gandhi’s birthday. I would like for all of us to learn to be humble and let go of our ego.

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