Thursday, October 21, 2010
Invictus
What happens when one man believes? What happens when one man inspires 43 million to be better than what they could ever be? How does this man who has not seen the outside of a prison for more that 27 years be more considerate and caring than all? What is this man made of? There are several questions that run through my mind about Mandela and I just dont seem to comprehend what he is all about. How does one man, one frail human being break the norms of everything that seems to be evil to him and become some thing that no one could ever imagine. The 1995 rugby world cup was more than just a tournament. It came at a time that a nation was beginning to define itself. It was the time for nation building. There was no motive for a person to inspire people to go beyond their limits for something as unimportant as sports. But would a victory make the bond that made the country stronger? A country, torn by apartheid, over run by crime and filled with animosity needed some kind of inspiration to help is come together. Mandela and only mandela saw this as an opportunity. He reognised the power of sports and saw the potential it had of nation building. He wanted to use it as a platform to launch a new confidence into his people. In his own words, it was not a political calcualtion. It was a human calculation. What he did for his country was more than just help them win a world cup. He taught them to believe. He taught them to come together and love one another. His words were more than just speeches. They were the kind of things that made history. The '95 world cup certainly did. He did it for them. Once again. What drives this man? How does one who has seen so much pain for so long be able to forgive his most hated enemies? He is more than just a leader. He is a believer and he is a belief creater.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Day Zero
Time 0600 hours. Date, the 19th of October. And in no time, it begins. Crunch time! All that we have done in our lives to be judged in a matter of minutes. "Butterflies in the stomach" may be a understatement this time around. The "godly" figures enter into the auditorium and give us all their instructions in DO NOTS. Do not make the GD a fish market. Do Not disclose the names of the companies that have come. Do Not leave the auditorium under any circumstances. This goes on for several minutes and finally you are just thinking how dumb do these people think we actually are?
The godly figures can be discussed another day on another post, but now getting back to the topic. The process soon begins and there is a lot to live up to. To look forward to even. This may be the start of a brand new career for me and this is the first big step in that direction. You dont get too many chances once you are 24 you know. So you try to make the best of what you get and convince yourself of it. And then it begins. Consulting, Marketing and Trade. These are the options in front of me. I think a few times but that may not be enough to give me clarity on what I want to do at that point in time. Nevertheless, here we go!
The manner in which the short listing hits you is brutal. You are not good enough! The one page write up we saw about you is not good enough to even meet you in person. Feels like your guts have been split open. Your friends definitely get through. Age, experience or some god damn science experiment they have done in kindergarten seems to do the trick. There seems to be no discriminable pattern to the whole thing but that of randomness. May be they just tossed up our CVs in the air and picked up the ones that fell closest to them. Now thats is good damn logic. Heck thats how life works i guess. So pick up what comes your way. Feel fortunate that you are where you are and make the most of the opportunity. Now comes to the point of limitations. There are never enough jobs now are there? Seems like we have just got accustomed to fighting for something that we dont see the win for all approach. But lets leave philosophy out of the scope of this discussion and talk about day 0 now. So rejections seem to be order of the day. You get some, lose them and lose the ones that never got you. Seems a lot to take in one go. But thats the way things work even in one of the most prestigious business schools in the country. So what is the growth story in the country all about? If the top 1% struggle to get a job of their liking, what about the less fortunate ones? Is there some element of the growth story that I am missing or am I being to narrow minded about it. It absolutely sucks that you got to go back to a place where all of your flatmates are placed and rejoicing. You tell yourself, study but deep down you cant help feeling, what's the damn use? Its hard to keep focus in such situtations. When they announce the results of certain processes, and your name is not one of them called out, its like getting a hard kick between your legs. But you persevere. Cause thats all you know how to do, that is all you can do. Good luck!
The godly figures can be discussed another day on another post, but now getting back to the topic. The process soon begins and there is a lot to live up to. To look forward to even. This may be the start of a brand new career for me and this is the first big step in that direction. You dont get too many chances once you are 24 you know. So you try to make the best of what you get and convince yourself of it. And then it begins. Consulting, Marketing and Trade. These are the options in front of me. I think a few times but that may not be enough to give me clarity on what I want to do at that point in time. Nevertheless, here we go!
The manner in which the short listing hits you is brutal. You are not good enough! The one page write up we saw about you is not good enough to even meet you in person. Feels like your guts have been split open. Your friends definitely get through. Age, experience or some god damn science experiment they have done in kindergarten seems to do the trick. There seems to be no discriminable pattern to the whole thing but that of randomness. May be they just tossed up our CVs in the air and picked up the ones that fell closest to them. Now thats is good damn logic. Heck thats how life works i guess. So pick up what comes your way. Feel fortunate that you are where you are and make the most of the opportunity. Now comes to the point of limitations. There are never enough jobs now are there? Seems like we have just got accustomed to fighting for something that we dont see the win for all approach. But lets leave philosophy out of the scope of this discussion and talk about day 0 now. So rejections seem to be order of the day. You get some, lose them and lose the ones that never got you. Seems a lot to take in one go. But thats the way things work even in one of the most prestigious business schools in the country. So what is the growth story in the country all about? If the top 1% struggle to get a job of their liking, what about the less fortunate ones? Is there some element of the growth story that I am missing or am I being to narrow minded about it. It absolutely sucks that you got to go back to a place where all of your flatmates are placed and rejoicing. You tell yourself, study but deep down you cant help feeling, what's the damn use? Its hard to keep focus in such situtations. When they announce the results of certain processes, and your name is not one of them called out, its like getting a hard kick between your legs. But you persevere. Cause thats all you know how to do, that is all you can do. Good luck!
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