*ENLEN, THE COMPANY I CO-STARTED IS RUNNING WELL AND I STILL GET UPDATES FROM THE OTHER 2 FOUNDERS OF THE COMPANY. ONLY I AM NOT PART OF IT ANYMORE.

109 days is the time since I last blogged. I started blogging when I took the entrepreneurial path but it was not deliberate. I needed an outlet to talk about the difference in life outside the cubicle and blogging served me well. The pride of walking through uncharted territory, the childhood like freedom, the slow realization that money and status are over-valued, admiration from a few and equal disapproval from a few others, the small mistakes and the joy of learning from them, learning to live with little money and still getting things done, being optimistic in spite of all odds; everything was something I needed to share with the world.

And now, all of that is past. I am back where I was before I started. I no more plant trees. I no more work towards bettering the state of our planet. I no more talk business. I am no more a change agent. I no more am an entrepreneur.

Why did I quit? Typical pressures that most startuppers face. Societal, parental, monetary pressures. My best friends didn’t think I would break under pressure. But I did break. More than everything else, somewhere along the line, I lost sight of the purpose for which I really had started out. Now, I  am just looking for a little bit of peace. I don’t want to think about money, I don’t want any more of the ‘where are you headed?’ question. Working for someone else seemed a good option now.

Working for others has a unique character. I can now work for 12 hours straight with full dedication, come back home and forget the office entirely until the next morning. I can just do one thing at a time. Sometimes, monotonicity feels better. It is just a change in perspective that is required. In my earlier avatar as employee, I used to think about salary hikes, leaves, working hours and office politics. Now, all I think is whether I am doing a good job or not. Instead of thinking about tomorrow, I am just trying to live in the present. To just do my job and do it well.

Most of my friends ask me; whether I’ll start something again? Ever? My answer is; I’ll fix myself first. Then I’ll think about fixing the world. I don’t feel ready yet.

The customer wants to buy at a cheaper price than you can manufacture. The government wants to stack all its policies against you. The investor wants all the returns in the world. So what do you do?

Right now, all I know is to just stay on course and see through the journey.

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.

I had written about Mysore Santhe in my last post. That is where I met many of the people I mentioned now. We had many more people like GV Krishnan (2), Krishnavattam, Bapu Sathyanarayana, ER Ramachandran and Javeed Nayeem who write for the print media and Anantaramaiah who runs a school in Mysore.

I guess you liked Phunsuk Wangdu on screen. Mysore Santhe is a place to meet such Wangdus. And probably get inspired enough to become a Wangdu yourself.

1. Added this line after comments from readers
2. It was G V Krishnan who initiated this idea of Mysore Santhe

Many such instances dot our day. We look out for a customer and we find an investor. We look out for a seller and find a good business contact. We look out for a consultant and find a great businessman. It is not luck. It is not just the probabilities. It is because we search for something which is not there yet. We look out for something which we want to create just out of an idea. And we believe that it is possible. When you start believing in an idea, when you stop thinking about why something may not work and instead start working on making it possible, everything starts to fall in place.

I had heard the above words a thousand times before I took the entrepreneurship path. Now I am experiencing it. And I think it is a very logical thing to happen. When we believe in an idea and talk about it, people try to build a conversation which usually centers around that idea. Talk movies with someone and she would talk more about movies, actresses and probably new movie ideas. Talk music and she would talk of more music and musicians. Then why not talk about the idea that you believe? Believe and the things just start to work.