As you make a little money,much of the world expects you to signal it by upping your lifestyle.In fact a lot of people won’t believe your worth their time or consideration unless you are sporting the right clothes,accessories,car,putting up at the right hotel etc.etc.
Azim Premji is known for his simplicity and modest living. He is a great role model for people who don’t like waste.He is a good example to point out to people egging you on to “invest” in a lifestyle.
He prefers to fly economy class and owns a Honda city. Recently, Premji’s senior executives and well-wishers advised him that it is time for an upgrade as the Honda was old. He traded his modest Toyota car for a Mercedes Benz but a second-hand one from one of his employees. Besides, he also travels in autorickshaws, public buses or prefers to walk, ignores extravagant hotels and always stays at the company guesthouse, and takes food from the company canteen,believing that what is good for his employees is good enough for him.He is watchful about saving money wherever possible, switching off lights when not needed and even regulating the number of toilet rolls used.
We can’t expect the world to deal with us the way they would with a billionaire,but at the same time there is no need to go overboard with the lifestyle expenses.The art is in spending where we must,so that our business is not affected and that we don’t miss out on opportunities for growth,but at the same time curtailing personal expenses that add no real value to our lives.
My wife and I have built a new home with a lovely garden which houses lovely bamboo trees. I got reading on the Chinese bamboo and learned that the tree takes 5 years, 3 months to grow to its whole height of 80 feet. Yet, for the first 5 years, you only see a tiny green shoot, but in the next 90 days, it grows into a full-fledged tree. But in those first 60 months, it is growing its strong network of roots underground, to support the tree. In an era of instant gratification, we settle for shorter trees, but remember patience has its reward. These are your years of growing that strong network of roots but be sure when you finally achieve your success, people will call it “overnight success”. If only they knew of the Chinese bamboo!-Rahul Dravid
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