SRK gave a key note lecture at IIM Bangalore Alumni Meet and he was as witty and charming as he could be. Here are some of his best points from his lecture.
1. I was so pleased with myself when Mrs. Shaw requested me to give the keynote lecture for this alumni conclave until I saw the alumni list. My mind suddenly froze up like the icebergs in Iceland where I have just shot my latest song, and I thought, “What will I say to all these wonderfully wise people?” For a second, I contemplated sending a stunt double but then I read a joke about the wisdom of all you amazing achievers from IIM.
2. The joke made it clear to me that all of you are extremely wise, but your wisdom is of a different kind from us lesser mortals. It went something like this….it was about a kid who claimed he was too good for the standard 1 that he was in and should be promoted to the fourth standard. He was marched to the principal’s office and for gender equality reasons, obviously the principal was a lady. She thought the kid should be given a fair chance, as ladies are always fair and said she would ask him a few questions and if he answered them right…he will be promoted to the fourth standard.
Her first question to him was…
What does a cow have four of that I have only two of? Boy after a moment…Legs.
What is in your pants that you have, but I do not have. Boy…pockets.
What does a lady do sitting down a man does standing up and a dog does with his one leg raised. Boy…shake hands.
What starts with F and ends with K is a four letter word and if you don’t get it, you have to use your hand….boy confidently…A Fork.
The principal looks at the teacher and tells him, send him to the IIM…he will fit in there just perfect!
3. The essence of creativity is the ability to channelise imagination into expression and build from it something new and possibly ingenious. Whether it is an art form or a scientific invention or discovering a new way of doing the same old thing…it begins in the mind.
4. A mind that does not function within the framework of boundaries but constantly searches beyond them is a mind that is able to create anew.
5. The cornerstone of leadership, I believe, is nothing more than cultivating the discipline and courage to nurture and sustain such a mind while constantly calling the bluff of the illusory limits imposed by life.
6. With respect dignity and put in my own experiences of life, which younger heroes won’t have. Though I must admit girls having a bit of a father fixation, comes in handy with my endeavours.
7. There is an old song I always turn to when I am faced with adversity. Being a public figure most of my actions and intentions are questioned, reviewed and sometimes loved and sometimes even distorted. Ranging from praising my sexiness to questioning my sexuality, I get it all. But whenever I feel thwarted I think of this song…Hum to ACT Karega. Duniya se nahi darega. Chahye ye zamaana kahehumko deewana kahe hum toh ACT karega.
8. But dreaming is not enough, it’s also important to be able to dismantle the old, the frameworks that are laid out before you, the ideas that you yourself cling to, the ones that hold you back and prevent you from growing. It is by disassembling your fears of failing, of losing (not just things, but people and positions), and most of all- of change that you can be truly creative not just in the things you choose to do, but in the way you view your part in the world you inhabit.
9. Inspiration is an emotional construct. To make people believe in anything, whether it is a product, a story, an idea, or you: you need to connect their ability to imagine and dream with your own.
10. Diligence is imperative to both creativity and leadership. Making the mistake of thinking that your dreams will take flight without you having to flap madly at those wings to get up into the sky is plain silly. In my experience, its great to delegate, but there’s no shortcut to working hard. To know and to understand what you are doing, to be open to learning about it and from it, every single moment requires diligence. It requires work.
11. If you want to excel at something there shouldn’t be a single person around you who can claim to be more familiar with its mechanics than you are. Itsnon negotiable to strive and to be familiar with your trade. Life remains ordinary if you are unable to sustain the capacity to work hard on your dreams. If you aren’t determined to get there- you won’t.
12. Now that I am on the cover of Forbes India, is that where I wanted to be as a businessman. My IPL team has won the championship and it’s profitable is that the dream I had for a sporting franchise venture. I have a film running in a cinema hall for the last twenty years…should that be the attempt in terms of achievement for my, next film. No, I don’t think so. I believe goals actually limit our ambitions and desire. I don’t mean that don’t have goals, but call them milestones…think of them as a passing moment of excellence and keep on striving harder for a place which cannot be defined or confined by names or numbers.
13. Destiny isn’t what it’s rolled out to be either. Accidents happen (I am a living proof of an accidental movie star/entrepreneur/speaker at an IIM gathering.
14. I wanted to be a sportsman. Represent India hopefully as a hockey or a cricket player. Suddenly I hurt my back. Didn’t have the resources to get the best treatment. Joined a theater group to fill in time and overcome my sadness of not being able to play at a professional level. Father died and we were evicted from our rented house. Mother went looking for a smaller place and the dealer’s father in law was making a series, called Fauji. My mother sent me to him and he cast me as Abhimanyu Rai in the serial. Things went ballistic from there. I got film offers and one thing led to another, and I became a movie star. By the way we never took the house from the dealer, Mr. Dhawan who actually got me on the road to stardom. And my mother Dhawan who actually got me on the road to stardom. And my mother didn’t live long enough to see my work either). I realize now that hurting my back wasn’t realize now that hurting my back wasn’t an accident, being here speaking to you all is the larger happier accident.
15. Destiny plays a part for sure and no one can teach us either how to find it or how to chase it. Just like a disaster, it will come your way but if you don’t have the courage to ride its wave when it does, it’ll toss you right back on the beach and all you’ll get to see is the sunset of a tired and weary life (plus your backside will be sore!). So I would advise keeping your eyes open for life’s magic and not turning away from it citing practicality and good reason.
16. Be brave enough to face your destiny, to sacrifice for it and compromise for it if you have to. It will always be worth it. To imagine that you know better than life is the silliest (and possibly the most costly) mistake one can ever make.
17. ’d like to borrow from my latest endeavour of creativity- Dilwale and say that unless you live by the heart, unless you are Dilwale, none of this will truly translate into the splendour that life is capable of unfolding before you.
18. The mind is the seed of creativity, but the heart is the soil. That seed cannot grow without an open heart. To be able to love, to give, to share, to nurture, to take others along on your journey with as much goodwill for them as you have for yourself is the basis of all creative endeavour, of all real success, of all happiness and of true leadership.
By: Archa Dave
