Over the last couple of weeks I am getting my house painted, furnished and generally settling down in bangalore. I have had the opportunity to interact with a whole bunch of people from poorer background. It is amazing to find their ingenuity and willingness for hardwork. They are also very happy with what they have. For the driver getting a Rs. 500 cell phone from reliance made his day. For the electrician an extra tip of Rs. 100 makes his day. The guy who does the tiles and appreciation about the quality of work and some cakes makes his day. I am begining to believe irrespective of the amount of money or wealth we have we can be happy. When I was in college I do not feel nervous when I do not have any money in my pocket. I remember once when we were doing a project in bangalore we went to work but did not have money to return home. Even in that situation we were not stressed out. We were able to trust that our parents would bail us out. But now even with lakhs in the bank we are still stressed about our financial future. It is just sad that the trust in God's provision is very hard. I think learning to seek happiness in small things and trusting in God's provision will help us live a stress free life.

Mission vs. Ambition

This year there have been several incidents around me that has helped me understand the distinction between Mission and Ambition. During the US elections, there was rhetoric of the presidency being a career for Obama and a mission for John Mccain. In the indian election Modi has been saying that he has a mission to transform Gujarat and India but does not have the ambition to become the CM or a PM. I was also reading an article in rediff where this man was complaining how he wasted his whole career by not building skill but going after titles and positions. I am just now starting to read principle centered leadership from Stephen Covey and he is also stating that people often miss the opportunity to build core skills in their race to climb up the corporate ladder and when they fall it becomes very difficult to get back up.

When I reflect on my life I realize that whenever I have been driven by ambition and opportunism, I have landed up with dissatisfaction and limited skill accumulation or learning. In the occasions when I have been driven by a mission I have had tremendous satisfaction and have built valuable skills. In the Bible there has been lots of stories where people who are driven by ambition often fail in the God's eye and end up doing stupid things to protect their positions.

I am using the word ambition to mean growing up in the corporate/institutional ladder.