Post 9 of #sg100peopleToThank. More about this series is here.
Vijesh Sharma. Yet another friend, philosopher, senior from MDI that I am very grateful to have access to.
I first met Vijesh when I was working at Gravity.
He needed someone to organise his 8th birthday party. Really. 8th. I gave him some inputs and he thought they were thoughtful and interesting. From there on started this series of interactions, that has made my life tangibly better. Each interaction has been a learning experience. And every time I speak with Vijesh, I get out of the room with tons of optimism, hope, positive energy and enthusiasm. The world looks like a great place and I want to go out and win it all!
Thank you, Vijesh for being the North Star.
Vijesh and I were in Dubai last year – I was on a break from life and work and Vijesh was participating in some exhibition. After a long day, we were sitting in a hotel lobby and talking about things.
As it happens often when I speak to Vijesh, the conversation moved to life purpose and all that. And he asked, what do you want to do in life? And I blurted something like, “I want to work on the cutting edge. I want to create new things that make the world a better place”. I honestly don’t recall what I said but it would be in this zone.
Vijesh asked me, “Where do you think these things exist?”
I said, “Not in India for sure. Maybe Silicon Valley.”
Vijesh said, “I am going to make you an offer and I will make it one time only. And I will never revisit again. You can either take it or leave it.” He then said, “If you have the balls, leave everything and move to the US of A today. Now. I will pay for the flight. You already have the visa. Go figure. Spend 3 months, 6 months, hustle and see where you end.”
I was speechless. I tried to stutter things like rationality, parents, responsibilities and all that. I even said lemme sleep over it and take a more patient and grounded decision. Vijesh shut me up by saying that time is running out and if you can’t decide where you want to be, soon, you would have lost out. He said that by thinking too much you let your gut lose to reason. And reason never ever moved the world forward!
Any guesses what I chose?
The greatest lesson I’ve learnt from him?
Lemme give an example. Let’s take this hypothetical person, Ms Ganga. You know, most days Ms Ganga is the kindest human being ever. And you know that on her bad days, Ganga tends to resort to convenient lies. And you are ok with it. There are ups and downs! And here’s the lesson. You have to know that while she could be your best friend, at some point in time she would lie to you as well! To make her life convenient and easy.
You ought to try and spot patterns. Of predictable behaviour and of exceptions. You ought to know that the way the other person operates with others, is the same way s/he will operate with you.
And the other thing, become a person with zero anomalies. Your behaviour has to be so consistent, so predictable that even a stranger can vouch for it! It has to become your brand! That!
Thing is, with each interaction that I’ve had in life, I have seen this one tip, one lesson, one prophecy from Vijesh proving to be true time and again! Long-term partners have cheated on me. Romantic interests have swayed. And of course, there are positives. Kind people have showered me with love and affection and attention.
I don’t think I can ever forget this lesson. I just hope that I become the kind of person that everyone wants to get into engagement with.
Thank you, Vijesh for this. And thank you for all the mindspace, help and inputs. And apologies for not taking up the offer of the lifetime. I hope I do reach the cutting edge, in my own way 🙂
Wish you all the best 🙂
With all respect,
Saurabh Garg