A new beginning

“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest,” Mark Twain, the author, said. This quote struck more than the others, especially now, as I welcome each young individual of the FSM 2011-13 batches into our fold.

You are stepping into a new phase in your lives: with hope, faith and the knowledge that this MBA is something you must do. Like Mark Twain said, ‘do right’. Because these days will never return. Before your day begins, take a few minutes as soon as you wake up to decide what you want to achieve, and go after it, relentlessly. You may not do it all, but even if you get 80% of what you promised yourself done, when you go to bed, it will be with a sense of satisfaction.

After passing through the application process, you must know that you are a special person. The panel choosing you saw a spark, talent and potential. They saw the integrity you showed to your inner ‘self’, to do what is ‘right’.

Every day changes happen in the world of business, technology, communications and marketing. Needs evolve. The FSM curriculum has been put together with a lot of attention to TODAY. Here, education goes beyond merely teaching you to make a living. You get guidance to tap into your fullest potential – relentlessly.

The years you spend at FSM will stay with you in a precious little pocket in your mind’s eye. Suddenly, when you need it, a particular, long forgotten memory of a particular class will pop up, and from there you will get a solution. This is feedback I get from our alums.

Coming from different educational backgrounds and from different parts of the county, you are here together. As one, yet with different ambitions. Some aspirations may change as you go along, while some of you will find yourselves becoming stronger in your chosen subject, with an individual, unique perspective.

Absorb, learn, imbibe. Most important of all, know what you want, and go after it with single minded determination. Put every bit of you behind your conviction. When you love what you do, you do it best.

A lot of us, at your age, faced fear. We feared irrelevant things like what someone else may or may not think. What if we disappointed our parents? What if we wore the wrong clothes or picked the wrong fork at a formal dinner? The fear list could go on, really.

Let me ask you: what are you afraid of in yourself? The only person who knows you, is you. Take pride in yourself and who you are. Once you acknowledge that, you are ready to move on.

Will it really matter two, three or five years down the line what someone else thought of you? Not really. The only opinion that matters is yours and that of your loved ones.

Irrespective of what you may think, your parents want your happiness, above all. They will offer their point of view. Take it. They are more experienced than you.

The expiry date on blaming your parents for things gone wrong in your life just ended the day you walked into FSM. So stop the blame game, if it’s still on, and move into your new life with confidence. Each day is a new beginning. Remember that. You tread the path of ‘today’ just once.