Being born as my father’s son – #GoodLuck

In our lives we always look up to men and women who have accomplished great deeds in their life and left their footprints in the sands of time. I have a few of them too. I learnt relentless focus and grit from Steve Jobs, philanthropy from Azim Premji, being a man of honor and doing business ethically from Ratan Tata, to smile always and care for your employees from Richard Branson. But all of my heroes were far and away from me. Does one qualify to become a hero only by making a product that will wow the mankind or making the world a better place to live in? What about the millions of unsung heroes we come across each day in our lives. Do their little acts not matter at all? Will they not even make a tiny dent in the universe. It was at this moment I remembered a hero close home. My first superhero – my dad. We all go through a phase where we love our parents as kids, then turn into rebels during the troublesome teen years, own the world when we start earning. We no longer need to listen to our dad’s lectures to get our pocket money. We are free. But when I grew old and started thinking of settling down and getting my life in order, suddenly some of those things the old man said seem to make sense.

He was there when my school fees had to be paid.
He was there when I needed a study table to prepare for the exams.
He was there when I moved out of our house for my first job.
He was there when I needed help doing my tax planning.
He was there when I had to shift houses.
He was there when I told him I quit my job because I hated it.

I am reminded of a conversation I had with my dad recently. He is close to 60 years and still goes about globetrotting despite his wobbly knees. He was just back from one such business trip. I asked him, “How to do you do it? Do you really love your job so much?” To which he replied, “Do you think I will be able to do all this if I did not love what I did?” That is when it struck me. My real life Steve Jobs was right with me all the time – “If you love what you do, you will not have to work a single day in your life”. My dad has been an entrepreneur way before the word became popular in India. He did not invent the iPhone or run a conglomerate. But he loves what he does and has been successful in his own right. I would say he has made a damn good dent in the universe.

So I guess my bloody good luck would be being born to such loving father. Of course I love you more mom ☺

Image credit : Flickr

****

You can also WIN Ashwin Sanghi’s book ’13 Steps to Bloody Good Luck’
by posting your #goodluck story on trhs!

*******