Ashwin Upadhyaya’s Blog

How do birds learn to fly? They do not just flap their wings half their life and say “I’ll make these wings strong enough before I fly”. That is never going to happen. Their only option is to take the plunge. Although most would fly awkwardly in the beginning, they would eventually learn the trick. And if you think that the rule wouldn’t work for you, then definitely read G.R.Gopinath’s Simply Fly.

From serving in the military to coconut farming, silkworms, Motorbike dealership, Udupi hotel, politics, stock broker, Agriculture consulting, helicopters, airplanes and now cargo business; His is a story of the beauty of life. There will be failures and there will be successes. What should be remembered is that failures and successes are just milestones in the amazing journey of life. The journey is what matters most.

One of the most important lessons here is “There is no such word called ‘impossible’”. I usually say to people, ‘if you want to prove why something wouldn’t work, you can invent all the reasons and accumulate all the data to support why it wouldn’t work. On the other hand, if you really want to do something, all that you need to do is to believe that it will work. Everything else will just fall in place, with effort though.’ This book just reaffirms my faith. A helicopter company can be started with no money although it took him 2-3 years to just get the licenses. 60 airplanes worth Rs.12,000 crores can be ordered with just 1 crore in the bank. And you can do farming without using pesticides or fertilizers and get a Rolex award for enterprise for that.

Those who aren’t entrepreneurs, enjoy the absolutely entertaining story and probably get inspired in the process. For those who have already taken the entrepreneurial path, this book could be a friend in your journey.