Be like the eagle

Be better than before, than yesterday...

1.  Fly alone like the eagle

2.  Have a vision.   Look far away.  Think long term.

3.  Eagles are fearless..     

4.  Eagles are tenacious

5.  Dont eat dead things.  

6.  Prepare the young, leave comfort zone

7. They possess vitality

....

You have to do it alone

Be better than before, than yesterday...

There was a story of a village who experienced drought.  Their only source of water to drink, the village well dried up.  And one of the villagers William experienced the drying up while fetching water for his old mother.   People were desperate and left the village for places where there could be sufficient water.

Desperate William went up to mountain to reflect.  He met George.  And he discussed the problem with George.  Well George said there is a spring up the mountain.  But William said it is so far away and up the mountains.  About 20 km away.  Up in the mountains  But George said you are looking for a solution to the village plight.  

And so William discussed the plan with his fellow villagers.  No one listened no one cooperated.   William was not disheartened.  He surveyed the best route for a canal between the spring and his village.  He drew the plan and made sure the elevation was right so that water would freely flow from the spring to the village.

All he had as a tool was an old rusty shovel of his deceased father.   He started digging No one bothered him nor joined him   His hands bled from peeled palm on his first day and his mother nursed his blooded hands    He kept on digging.  He dug and dug.  Days passed.  Weeks and months.

Until one day it rained heavily (good for their dried well)  and destroyed portion of his digging.  Thus the defects of his digging were exposed.  He strengthened the walls of the portion that collapsed.  Widened some portion, dug some areas deeper.  

And then he continued to dig.   Weeks, months, months  Until one day he reached the portion of the mountain that was near the spring.  But an immovable large boulder separated his canal and  spring.  His shovel seemed puny compared to the boulder.   He struck the boulder  again and again.   But his effort seemed to be worthless.  He struck the rock again and again and again until finally a trickle, a flow and then a deluge.    And the water cascaded down to his canal....  

And then the flow stopped.  A portion had collapsed soil and rock blocking the flow.  He had to remove the blockage.   But his strength and energy seemed to have left him.    He nevertheless struggled to remove the block until early morning   And then the flow continued until it reached his village.   

At last he solved the water problem   Only then did people appreciate his effort.   But he did it alone.  People dont join you until the results are visible.       

Important learnings at MIT that makes their alumni entrepreneurs and CEOS - e.g you do not graduate alone!!!

Be better than before, than yesterday...

The author became a MULTIMILLIONAIRE.  Do you want to be one.  Just like him ?  (He became CEO of his company.)

I worked under one such grad when I became an EVP of Savings and Loan Assocation.   I used to hate him, but adjusted him and we became a friend in Land Rover club where we now show our own vehicles and as equals.  Learned a lot from him on leadership and management

Learning from MIT (an Ivy League School)

1.  Understand and love the system

 There were many hacks committed at the top of dome of MIT:   cars assembled on top, flags, and many more done by the students.  They beat the system and they had fun.

    You must love the system and then have fun.  You cant beat and hate the system.

(We have people who say we dont have system.

    Be even able to hack the system.  (Many do cross the line and become criminals.or our competitor)

2.  Firehose test.

    Students were exposed to loads of work that they cant seem to finish.   This develops ingenuity of what should          be finished.   You ask the question, how can I cope?

    It develops ingenuity.  

    1.  Time management

    2.  Prioritization

    3.  Cooperation and collaboration

    Effort  is NOT EQUAL TO  PURPOSE.

     Purpose is:

                 1  Impacful

                 2  Important

                 3.  Irreversible

   We have recruits who complain at slightest hint of hard work, and complexity

3.  Find the first principles

     Problems, challenges can be daunting.  Especially innovation.  Find the first principle.   Break down everything into basic parts.    And then it becomes easier.

     Steps:   Find   1.  Facts

                            2.  Aspiration (your goals)

                            3.  Do tests (experiments)

      Elon Musk used this in changing the business/rocket science.   He found out that

      single use rocket launches are very complex and expensive (NASA made it so)  and found out that rocket                  launchis only 2% of what NASA spends.  And from therEM built a multi million Space ex business

 4. Mind and hand approach

     Being practical.  Leave the academic and book part.  Do something practical

     FInd the MVP (Minimum Viable Product and improve on this)  An MVP is better 

     than no product at all.  You can improve a prototype but not on nothing.  Do it now 60% is better than doing it

     105% tomorrow

     Practice

     1    Building the product

     2.   Test

     3.  Go to the first principle

      At MIT they have a one month period where students do this to present to the VC.  And they end up owning new venures, financed by Venture Capital

  5.  You do not graduate alone even if you are the smartest guy in the room.  

      You need a team, you need collaboration. you need a mastermind.  though

     how smart you are.  John Maxmell term it as the Law of the Lid.  All of major

     discoveries and invention now are results of team effort.

     This idea makes you humble  and become less of pain in the ass. of others.    Your group becomes better

     and successful.