What is holding us
back?
Change is good… You go first
Only one thing is constant in
this world and that is Change. Recently in India, Anna Hazare started a campaign against corruption. It was the time
when millions of people came out to support the cause. It was seen as the
biggest movement against government demanding the strong law “Jan Lokpal” to be
made to counter corruption. Some people have different views on the
above-mentioned movement against corruption as many of us think that it’s not the
right way in a democratic society. Well my idea is not to write about political
situations & sensitive issues. My whole intent here is to showcase how a
single man can make a difference. I know Anna Hazare movement is still in
infancy but I salute to a person who thought of bringing change to our society
and people started raising their voice against corruption. Even in the past one
of the most popular leader of India Jayaprakash
Narayan, who was the hero of 1942
Quit India movement against British Rule initiated an agitation in 1974
against Indira Gandhi, the then
prime minister of India. My parents were involved in 1974 movement and they
tell it was not a movement against any particular leader for any personal
grudge rather it was for a cause: Anti
Corruption, Price Hike, Change in the education system and change in political
system. The movement was so big that its effect was realized in the
different parts of the country and every youth as well as elders participated
in the movement for the cause. The above-mentioned leaders might have faced
hurdles but they took the initiative and led from the front.
Again some of you might think
all these are big personalities and it’s easier for them to pursue what they
want. And as we are the Mango People (Common Man) so it would not be so easy
for us. We would like to see if someone has done it before. Well this is
normally what Mango People like us most of the time thinks. Change is not easy.
But it is simple. Things will always change. We don’t have a choice about that,
but we do have a choice on how we react to change. If fear is your problem, then you need to realize that the only
thing you really should be afraid of is not trying. How do you think inventors
got their ideas started? Every single person in the world, who did anything
big, took initiative at some point in their life. If they didn’t they would
have probably got stuck working a regular job at minimum wage. There is nothing
wrong with having a regular job as long as you are happy. You have the opportunity to
advance your life no matter where you are, how old you are, or how much money
you have. Unfortunately there
are a lot of lazy people out there. All of us have a lazy spell now and again,
and this is perfectly natural. If the reason you aren’t taking initiative is
because you would rather just sit around and do nothing, then you are being
lazy. Lazy will never get you far in life and people will pick up on it
quickly. Take that first step even if you don’t feel like it. Once you get
started it will be easy to keep it going. Tell yourself there will be a time
later on to be lazy and reward yourself with lazy time after you get things
done. We always think too much when it comes to take the lead. We often say “Whatever you are saying sounds good, why
don’t you try and let me know so that I will also get some confidence to think
about it”
A single box of honey was all
it took to transform Anita Kushwaha,
a teenager from a village in Bihar, into a successful entrepreneur who
countered gender bias to become a role model for millions of girls in India.
Anita boldly fought and convinced her parents not to marry her off. She had set
her sights on something that no woman in her village had ever dreamed of doing;
taking on the male profession of making honey. Anita ventured bee keeping when
she was ten after her mother gave her Rs.3000. With this money she bought three
queen bees and began running hives to make a profit of Rs. 50,000 in the first
year of her business. With the hard earned money, she not only overcame her
family's financial crunch, but also paid for her education till class ten. She
has even bought her younger brother a motorcycle with the money she saved. With
the Rs. 1,500 that she saved by giving tuitions to children she purchased a box
containing a queen bee. Anita's path breaking success has been highly praised
by UNICEF for which she was declared the “UNICEF poster girl” in 2006.
Anita guided
many girls not only in her own village but also in the whole country. Earlier
when many girls might have thought of doing something different, pursuing their
dreams; many parents would have said “Whatever
you are talking sounds good in books; these things don’t work in the real
world. Have you seen anyone who tried and succeeded?” The key is to have
faith in yourself, that’s what Anita’s story is all about. When a girl
struggling for livelihood can make it big and leave the footprints for others
then why others can’t. It’s time to dream; it’s time to believe; it’s time to
achieve; it’s time to Change. Because if our actions can inspire & motivate
others to dream more, to learn more, to do more and become more. You should see
change as an opportunity not as a threat.
What does it take for Ratan Tata of Tata Group to decide to launch the most economical car Tata Nano breaking the wealth barrier?
Many people thought it’s not feasible, some thought Tata Group doesn’t know
what to innovate and now they are just experimenting. Well the kind of respect
Tata Group has in our country India made everyone think something good will happen
despite of skeptical brains. Let’s just rewind our life few years back before
the launch of Tata Nano. Just imagine that people are standing on a road in a
rainy season, a large number of motor scooters snaking in and out around the
cars. Let’s think a bit deeper; on those motor scooters most bear whole
families (parents as well as children).
Many guys belonging to so called elite society might think “That’s crazy, we are still developing
country and that’s the way it is. Look at the western countries; it’s just so
clean and systematic. I want to settle down in Europe”.J When Ratan Tata looked over
this scene, he saw a critical problem to be solved: providing a safer
alternative for scooter families.
He realized that the cheapest car available
in India cost approximately five times what a scooter did and many of the
families could not afford one. Offering an affordable, safer alternative was
very powerful value to many families. He thought of four common barriers:
insufficient wealth, access, skill, or time. He knew that the only way to get
families off their scooters and into cars would be to break the wealth barrier
by drastically decreasing the price of the car. And today we have world’s most
economical car Tata Nano that the world sees as an innovation.
Sam Walton revolutionized the business of retail. He started his discounting
model in smaller towns around United States of America. At that time no one
realized the potential of this business model. Today, Wal-Mart is the largest civilian employer in the world and alone is
responsible for more than 1 percent of America’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Wal-Mart is also known for changing the way American people live. Walton
started his life in the depression and worked his way through college. He built
an empire from the ground up and started initially with small store in a small
town in Arkansas. Walton was honored for his efforts in retail in 1992 as he
received the presidential Medal of Freedom from the then president George H.W Bush. He was included in
Time Magazine’s list of the one hundred most influential people of twentieth
century. If he were alive today, he would have been the world’s wealthiest
person, twice as rich as Bill Gates.
What happens to you when you
think about the title Miss India? The name doesn’t matter, the only thing comes to the mind is she must be good looking and might have always lived life
queen size. Many of us will just wish to meet her face-to-face, click a
photograph with her to upload on facebook so that all your friends like it or
even an autograph will do. I read about this story in a newspaper and feels
it’s worth sharing. Pooja Chopra was
Pantaloons Femina Miss India 2009. Miss India 2009 was unwanted girl child. Pooja's mother Neera Chopra was forced to leave
her home when Pooja was born. You might be wondering “What was the problem, why it happened?” And her only crime was
giving birth to a girl child for the second time in a row. Neera Chopra left the house with her girls —
Pooja and Shubra, who were seven then. She hasn't seen her husband since. She
promised herself, even if she gets just one piece of bread, she would share it
but together. She worked against all odds. Neera’s daughter’s tiny hands
would do homework on their own; feed themselves on days that Neera worked late.
Her elder daughter Shubhra would make Pooja do her corrections. This is how
they grew up. At a birthday party, Pooja would not eat her piece of cake, but
pack it and bring it home to share with her sister. When Shubhra started
working, she would skip lunch and pack a chicken sandwich that she would slip
in her sister's lunchbox the next day. Neera used to struggle for basic stuffs
like shoes, socks and uniforms. Soon her sacrifice for her children began to
take new colors. Her elder daughter Shubhra got the descent job and got married
to a guy from merchant navy. Pooja was academically brilliant; she participated
in all extra-curricular activities. When she needed high heels to model in, she
did odd shows and bought them for herself. Neera Chopra promised herself
that one day Pooja (who was unwanted child) will make her proud. Pooja spoke on
fulfilling that promise:
“When I was 20 days old, my mother was asked to make a choice. It
was either me — a girl child, or her husband. She chose me. As she walked out
she turned around and told her husband, 'One day, this girl will make me
proud'. That day has come. Her husband went on to marry a woman who gave him
two sons. Today, as I stand here a Miss India, I don't even know if my father
knows that it is me, his daughter, who has set out to conquer the world, a
crown on my head. Our lives have not been easy, least so for my mother.
Financially, emotionally, she struggled to stay afloat, to keep her job and yet
allow us to be the best that we could be. I was given only one condition when I
started modeling — my grades wouldn't drop. All the girls in the pageant
worked hard, but my edge was my mother's sacrifice, her karma. Today, when
people call to congratulate me, it's not me they pay tribute to, but to her
life and her struggle. She's the true Woman of Substance. She is my light, my
mentor, and my driving force. My win was merely God's way of compensating her.” Neera Chopra’s struggle
can inspire many of us that what a single person can do if he or she has strong
determination. Neera Chopra opted for the path, which was far from the normal,
conventional settings of the society. Normally most of the women might have
tried to compromise with the situation. Change is good; this story can be the
torchbearer to many and even if not so then at least force us to think about
it.
Are we always keep thinking about what we should be doing or rather would do
something what we are thinking? So just put your sleeves up and start doing
what you are thinking. Change your philosophy of “change is good, you go first”
to change is good, let me go first.” It’s time to create history and bring
positive change in your life.
 |
| Written By- Anis Bari |
