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Kindle Notes & Highlights
The pain of wondering about the what-ifs is harsher than the pains of rejection.
‘He will reply. If he sees it, he will reply.
yet rich with affection—which seemed to be a part of everything he did.
The kindness in his eyes or the polite curve in his tone, as if we were owed something
If someone had spent twenty-four years making sure I got to this point, invested all of their heart into shaping me, chiselling me to make me the individual I was, it felt selfish to abandon them under the guise of ‘better opportunity’,
under the guise of ‘better opportunity’,
he never makes his presence felt. You would never know when he is in a building or a lobby. You would just stumble upon him walking past you or in your direction. He never made any special requests, rarely called ahead for special arrangements, never had a bodyguard and never asked for security. He didn’t bypass ordinary protocol for guests the way the staff usually suggests he should. Despite everyone’s best efforts, he insists on being treated exactly as any other person at any given time. ‘No, no. I’ll go through security,’ he told them as he put his wallet and keys in the tray,
makes you feel insignificant yet gives you heart. It amplifies everything you’re feeling.
It reflects strongly what moves him, hinting at the vulnerable innocence at his very core, which is a far greater part of him than the industrialist everyone knows. The Art of Racing in the Rain.
The city was what it was. But for me, the city was always him. He was the largest part of my New York City story.
animal hospital project that had been his and the Trusts’ long-standing dream.
Even if it cost me everything else in life, I would stand by him and never let him feel the slightest bit less loved or have less than what anyone else in the world could give him. Nothing in his future would be uncertain. I was going to make sure of it. I repeated it till I believed it. And it became the truth and reality of our lives.
As much as his humility is at play in this incident, one has to understand the ripple effects of such gestures in business. The moment you address and treat subordinates as colleagues, there is little room for disagreement, and the subordinates really put in the effort to live up to that treatment.
He is not fond of anyone else responding on his behalf, let alone be rude to a stranger. Even if he has to decline a request, he will let them down gently. The humility that he exhibits is not just for him, it is expected of everyone who is associated with him and accompanies him. But I believe the source of such behaviour can only be true empathy.
When immigration doesn’t
‘The day he gets mad at you and shows it, know that you have truly been accepted into this office.’
The thing about mothers is you would imagine they can’t read you because you went around the world and changed as an adult and found independence, but there is no greater lie. They can.
This headline was misinformation.
A LOT OF EVENTS, destinies and incidents need to align for a person’s path to cross with that of another who will leave a permanent impact on their life. Often, it takes years of wading through an ocean of the wrong people, mining one good person at a time.
Most of you reading this already know how truly difficult it is to find a place to work where your colleagues are not constantly competing, bringing you down or orchestrating plots involving your failure that are beyond you.
And while I might have initially thought that their intent was to prepare me for Mr Tata and his office, it looks like they too, like him, have ended up preparing me for life.
Nobody is happier to see the sun than a sunflower, and Mr Tata clearly was one.
Cupcakes with single candles and a bit of awkward singing and another crappy movie to keep him
he truly was a sunflower.
When I was faced with shortage of animal food, the two sisters were kind enough to donate more bags throughout the lockdown.
One of the lessons that I’ve learnt at the salon with him is that appreciation should permeate all levels of a workforce. When he is done with the haircut, he won’t just tip the hairdresser, he will tip the person who shampooed his hair, the person who got him coffee, the person who swept the hair off the floor. And then he will turn around to ensure I have done the same, before finally leaving. That’s how he teaches me things, in the best way possible: by example. How much you can learn from someone like Ratan Tata is less about him handing out life lessons
probably creating another one that has more to do with helping communities and less to do with business.
It is not possible to forget the day when I came across this guiding light of a person, shining unapologetically with undiluted affection and empathy for the entire world.
