Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Think Big, Act Small

Life is simple. People try to make things complex. I work for a company that has a mission goal that states “ Think Big Act Small”. This looks like a pretty decent ideology in a corporate environment. What does this statement actually mean? – The answer is intellectual exuberance is that which makes a person feel great. In short, live according to your means.

This is the age of globalization- commodities, big and small, are available in plenty. It is quite natural for a normal sane person to crave for fancy products. It is also natural for these people to use credit to purchase this product. It is also perfectly normal for these guys to flaunt these products in public. But what they do not realize is that stretching has its limits. It is very difficult for us to stretch beyond certain limits.

Take for instance, the credit crisis that has shaken the world. The bubble that was purportedly the creation of Wall Street power houses has burst and the ripple effect has been felt in every nook and corner of the globe. Why blame the big shots like AIG , Lehman Brothers and the like. A major portion of the blame has to be shared by the general public too. If you are earning a modest income of $ 50,000 and has a couple of mortgages to be paid and have kids going to school- why even dare buying a C class Merc.. Does that make sense? Any sense? Should that person even think of buying a million dollar home and have all the accessories in his/her house?

India is no different and Keralaites are unsurprisingly similar to an average American in this respect. Keralaites like to flaunt their wealth, even the very little they have. Consumerist tendencies have bolstered their egos and greed. But remember, you are not fooling the public- just yourself. The best thing in life is to enjoy the peace and calm that comes with it. There is always a satisfaction in able to sleep peacefully at night. There is always a joy at knowing that you have strived hard and truthfully to earn a decent living for my dependents. Even if you do not have a I-phone, there is a feeling that you are able to save enough pennies for your future.

The next meltdown is going to happen in India. This is not a prediction, but an economic necessity- a market correction. Kerala is going to get affected badly. I hope that at least then we learn from our mistakes and live a life that does justice to our conscience. We should all realize that material wealth has its peak while intellectual capital has sky as its limit.

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