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Speech by Azim Premji

My lessons in life Following is the speech of Azim Premji,
Chairman, Wipro Corporation, in the "Shaping Young Minds Program"
organized by the All India Management Association (AIMA) in
collaboration with the Bombay Management
Association BMA) on February 9, 2004 at NCPA
in Mumbai:

I am very happy to be here with you. It is
always wonderful to be with young people. The
funny thing about life is that you realize the
value of something only when it begins to
leave you. As my hair turned from black to salt
and pepper and finally salt without the pepper,
I have begun to realize the importance of youth.
At the same time, I have begun to truly appreciate some of the lessons
I have learnt along the way. I hope you will find them useful when you
plan your own career and life.

The first thing I have learnt is that we must always begin with our
strengths. While it is important for us to know what we are not good at,
we must also cherish what is good in us. That is because it is only our
strengths that can give us the energy to correct our weaknesses. From
the earliest years of our schooling, everyone focuses on what is wrong
with us. There is an imaginary story of a rabbit. The rabbit was enrolled
in a rabbit school. Like all rabbits, it could hop very well but could not
swim. At the end of the year, the rabbit got high marks in hopping but
failed in swimming. The parents were concerned. They said, "Forget
about hopping. You are anyway good at it. Concentrate on swimming."
They sent the rabbit for tuitions in swimming. And guess what
happened? The rabbit forgot how to hop! As for swimming, have you
ever seen a rabbit swim?

The second lesson I have learnt is that a rupee earned is of far more

value than five found. My friend was sharing me the story of his eight
year-old niece. She would always complain about the breakfast. The
cook tried everything possible, but the child remained unhappy. Finally,
my friend took the child to a supermarket and brought one of those
ready-to-cook packets. The child had to cut the packet and pour water
in the dish. After that, it took two minutes in the microwave to be
ready. The child found the food to be absolutely delicious? The
difference was that she has cooked it! In my own life, I have found that
nothing gives as much satisfaction as earning our rewards. In fact, what
is gifted or inherited follows the old rule of come easy - go easy. I
guess we only know the value of what we have if we have struggled to
earn it.

The third lesson I have learnt is no one bats a hundred every time. Life
has many challenges. You win some and lose some. You must enjoy
winning. But do not let it go to the head. The moment it does, you are
already on your way to failure. And if you do encounter failure along the
way, treat it as an equally natural phenomenon. Don't beat yourself for
it or any one else for that matter! Accept it, look at your own share in
the problem, learn from it and move on. The important thing is, when
you lose, do not lose the lesson.

The fourth lesson I have learnt is the importance of humility.
Sometimes, when you get so much in life, you really start wondering
whether you deserve all of it. This brings me to the value of gratitude.
We have so much to be grateful for. Our parents, our teachers and our
seniors have done so much for us that we can never repay them. Many
people focus on the shortcomings, because obviously no one can be
perfect. But it is important to first acknowledge what we have received.
Nothing in life is permanent but when a relationship ends, rather than
becoming bitter, we must learn to savor the memory of the good things
while they lasted.
The fifth lesson I learnt is that we must always strive for excellence.
One way of achieving excellence is by looking at those better than
ourselves. Keep learning what they do differently. Emulate it. But
excellence cannot be imposed from the outside. We must also feel the
need from within. It must become an obsession. It must involve not
only our mind but also our heart and soul. Excellence is not an act but a
habit. I remember the inspiring lines of a poem, which says that your

reach must always exceed your grasp. That is heaven on earth.
Ultimately, your only competition is yourself.

The sixth lesson I have learnt is never give up in the face of adversity.
It comes on you suddenly without warning. One can either succumb to
self-pity, wring your hands in despair or decide to deal with the
situation with courage and dignity. Always keep in mind that it is only
the test of fire that makes fine steel. A friend of mine shared this
incident with me. His eight-year old daughter was struggling away at a
jigsaw puzzle. She kept at it for hours but could not succeed. Finally, it
went beyond her bedtime. My friend told her, "Look, why don't you just
give up? I don't think you will complete it tonight. Look at it another
day." The daughter looked with a strange look in her eyes, "But, dad,
why should I give up? All the pieces are there! I have just got to put
them together!" If we persevere long enough, we can put any problem
into its perspective.

The seventh lesson I have learnt is that while you must be open to
change, do not compromise on your values. Mahatma Gandhiji often
said that you must open the windows of your mind, but you must not
be swept off your feet by the breeze. You must define what your core
values are and what you stand for. And these values are not so difficult
to define. Values like honesty, integrity, consideration and humility have
survived for generations. Values are not in the words used to describe
them as much as in the simple acts. At the end of the day, it is values
that define a person more than the achievements. Because it is the
means of achievement that decide how long the achievements will
sustain. Do not be tempted by short cuts. The short cut can make you
lose your way and end up becoming the longest way to the destination.

And the final lesson I learnt is that we must have faith in our own ideas
even if everyone tells us that we are wrong. There was once a
newspaper vendor who had a rude customer. Every morning, the
customer would walk by, refuse to return the greeting, grab the paper
off the shelf and throw the money at the vendor. The vendor would pick
up the money, smile politely and say, "Thank you, Sir." One day, the
vendor's assistant asked him, "Why are you always so polite with him
when he is so rude to you? Why don't you throw the newspaper at him
when he comes back tomorrow?" The vendor smiled and replied, "He

can't help being rude and I can't help being polite. Why should I let his
rude behavior dictate my politeness?”

In my youth, I thought of myself as a rebel and was many times, a
rebel without a cause. Today, I realize that my rebellion was another
kind of conformity. We defied our elders to fall in line with our peers.
Ultimately; we must learn to respond instead of reacting. When we
respond, we evaluate with a calm mind and do whatever is most
appropriate. We are in control of our actions. When we react, we are
still doing what the other person wants us to do. I wish you all the best
in your life and career. I hope you achieve success in whatever way you
define it and what gives you the maximum happiness in life. Remember,
those who win are those who believe they can. ?

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Lessons of life - excellent speech by Azim Premji

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Lessons of life - excellent speech by Azim Premji