Tip of the day – What’s your destiny?

The relentless march of multitudes of people towards what they are convinced can be changed, their destiny, needs closer examination. By definition, destiny is predetermined, something that will necessarily and inevitably happen, and is fore-ordained.

So what’s all the fuss about trying to change one’s destiny all about, then? What does this mean to folks who are in hot pursuit of goals and are driven by milestones?

In simple terms, the pursuit has to be for the right things. If destiny is predetermined, there is no need to pursue it. One can pursue a variety of other things that make the journey fulfilling, exciting and worthwhile – health, wealth, knowledge, fame, happiness, friendship, peace of mind, to name a few. You cannot change destiny but you can alter the course to it.

Folks who set out to alter destiny hit the wall sooner or later because their purpose is flawed. People who seek fulfillment in the journey, set goals, targets and milestones around finding those ‘other things’ along the way, not at the end of it. And, tell you what? These are folks that do actually end up achieving a lot more in their lives. They end up altering the course. And filled with fire and passion, they continue to march along unfamiliar terrain charting their own paths. And their destiny does change. No, not in absolute terms, no! But surely in terms of what the world thought their destiny would be.

Mind you, these two categories of people put together, and in their own rights, are a thin minority. The vast majority goes through the motions and does not spare a thought along these lines for at least the better part of their lives. And, not surprisingly, they are not a point of most discussions anyway.

A few examples of the first category of people who set out to change destiny can be found in folks who waged wars and conquered territories to get there. Their kick was not in the journey. The destiny was in the end. And it certainly panned out so! And some from the second category, who did not set out in the pursuit of the theory of relativity, or the concept of gravity, or creating works of art that would be displayed to the world at the Louvre, or being the first heads of states, or founding the largest corporations of the world at different times till date. The list is endless. But these folks got there in pursuit of finding fulfillment in the journey. You would find enough examples across all walks of life, in your own lives, if you look hard, that vindicates the point.

So what’s your destiny?

Tip of the day - The knowledge hill in ignorance land and the theory of relativity that applies there.

The journey up the knowledge hill from the base of the land of ignorance looks like this -

I know little

I know what I know (1 in 5)

I know what I know and can talk about it in detail, with authority (1 in 10)

I know what I do not know (1 in 100)

I know where to find what I do not know and am inclined to know it (1 in 200)

I know where to find what I do not know and have read/tried to learn it (1 in 400)

I have understood what I tried to learn (1 in 1000)

I can apply what I have learned in most situations that warrant it (1 in 10000)

OK. The numbers may vary but the message does not get diluted. This is reality. The lower rungs of the hill are all about awareness and the slope is gentle. Awareness is the most rudimentary step in the pursuit of knowledge. And all one needs to climb the knowledge hill is to think and act. Plain and simple. But it takes commitment and effort.

Are there many such hills? Of course, for every sphere or field of knowledge, there exists a hill. Do we have successful folks, rich folks, knowledgeable folks, smart folks at all levels of this hill? Yes, we do. That is where the theory of relativity comes in. To every person at every level of the hill, except the base of ‘I know little’, there are a bunch of folks more knowledgeable and a bunch of folks less knowledgeable than them. What you do with them determines all the other attributes like success, richness, smartness et al that we briefly mentioned. You could exploit the lack of knowledge of the lower rung(s) to achieve some of these. You could learn from the rung(s) above to fill the knowledge gap and climb the hill. You could monetize your knowledge. You could socialize it. Whatever you do, it would be by choice as you go up the hill.

What do not exist at the bottom of the hill are choices. What does exist, even there, is opportunity.

All you need is to reach out to the folks just above! And if they aren’t helping, you know what they are in it for!!

Tidbits – What does AUTHORITY really mean?

Far too often, one comes across corporate leaders and managers referring to a lack of authority being a huge handicap in their ability to deliver the goods in their roles. It warrants taking a deep-dive into what authority really means.

The dictionary definition of authority throws up some interesting perspectives as well –

-          The power to enforce laws, exact obedience, command, determine, judge

-          The power or right to control, judge or prohibit the actions of others

-          Legal permission grated to a person to perform a specified act

-          Institutionalized and legal power inherent in a job, function or position that is meant to enable its holder to successfully carry out his or her responsibilities

-          Power that is delegated formally including a right to command a situation, commit resources, give orders and expect them to be obeyed; it is always accompanied by an equal responsibility for one’s actions or a failure to act

-          The power to make decisions; official permission

Some common (and different than the above) interpretations of authority in the corporate world include, but are not limited to –

-          Power inherent in a role or office to approve (of) a particular course of action.

-          One must assume authority, only responsibility is given

-          Or a slightly more benevolent ‘responsibility and authority go hand in hand’

The problems with some of these interpretations and why they usually go wrong is

-          In the natural scheme of things it is recommended that authority be delegated but be used responsibly and not the other way round. Various religious scriptures refer to this thought. Also, the meaning of assumption consists of taking for granted which by itself does not lend itself exactly to acting responsibly!

-          How often does someone see authority being exercised to disapprove of any action as compared to an approval of a particular course of action? It is few and far between, if at all. So who has made the decision anyway?

-          One of the dictionary meanings of responsibility is ‘The ability or authority to act or decide on one’s own, without supervision’!

-          Seldom has anyone seen someone being given authority with no responsibility but there are scores of examples vice-versa!

-          If most definitions of authority hover around power, and power is vested, the argument should be sealed right there!

The real meaning of authority, and perhaps even its genesis and roots, lies in the alternative description of authority being –

-          An expert or authoritative written work n a particular field

-          Evidence or testimony

-          Confidence resulting from great expertise

-          The ability to influence or control others

All of these meanings lean towards the best person to shoulder a responsibility being entrusted the same and being vested with all the powers to carry it out as he/she deems fit since no one has a better understanding of it anyway.