Dear Teja, We extend to you our warmest wishes as you leave for a foreign land, which is positioned exactly on the opposite side of the globe from the place where we stand today. We hope the foreign trip will evolve you into a more mature and grown-up person. You are one of the most fortunate youngsters of this country to have this wonderful opportunity. You need to be grateful to your parents, family, teachers and the motherland for the great opportunity that came your way. On this happy occasion, I would like to share some of my thoughts with you. Give a deep thought to them and always keep at the back of your mind while you pursue studies at the United States America. A man is nothing but the product of his thoughts; what he thinks, he becomes.
1. USA is known for several great things and human Excellences. It is the land of liberty and equality. It also happens to be the birth place of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Roosevelt, Martin Luther king Jr, And of course of Steve jobs, Bill gates, Larry page, Sergey Brine and Barrack Obama. It is the seat of the educational institutions having global repute. Several Nobel laureates have made it their home. Now you are going to join them by making it your second home. Always respect that country and imbibe the strengths of it's culture. Be the creator of your own destiny.
2. You are going to US to equip yourself with knowledge, but not to earn small money while pursuing your academics. Many Indian students deviate from their goals as they run after small money. I don’t want you to emulate them. By following them you may lose your focus on the academics. Have a clear goal and never lose sight of it. The world makes the way for the one that clearly knows his destination.
3. Have a rich profile. Expand the horizon of your life by reading great books, visiting worthy places, willing to take up new assignments and equipping yourself with core competencies. I suggest you to start reading the following books to have a more clear view of life; Panchatantra, Mahatma Gandhiji's My Experiments with truth, C.Rajagopala Chary's Mahabharata, Ramayana, Wings of Fire By Abdul kalam, Sudha Menon's Legacy, Light from many Lamps by Lillian Eichler Watson, Empires of the Mind by Denis Waitley, Peoples history of United States of America by Howard Zinn And also listen inspiring lectures like 'The last lecture' of Randy Paulsh and the discourses of Sri Sri Chaganti Koteswara Rao to students. Have a collection of good books, that itself will serve you as a University.
4. Life is nothing but Time. If you spend time for some one or for some thing, it means you are giving some portion of your life to the said person or thing. So always treat time as the most precious resource. Each minute lost will never come back. Always be aware of your priorities and why you went there by spending the hard earned money of your parents and family. The one who manages time well, can manage anything well.
5. Love your work. While delivering his commencement speech at the Stanford University, Apple founder Steve Jobs once said "The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle". So know your heart & soul and acquire the leadership capacity to translate your vision into reality.
6. As long as you treat your cell-phone and laptop as your servants, they will be very useful. If they become your masters they may cause ruin in many ways. Young people spend quality time on fun at the Facebook, Twitter, text messages, mails, chatting, phone calls etc. Be aware of this at every moment.
7. Life skills, or you can call them social skills, they matter most for your success in life and career. At times they are more than your academics. Marks may help you to get seats and jobs. But skills are required to grow in life. Former chief of Sony Company Akio Morita said in his autobiography "In academics our progress varies between Zero and Hundred. But in life one can grow beyond 100 and fall below Zero. So it is much more important to succeed in life, rather than just pass in the examinations. The right attitude only guarantees the success in the examinations. The right attitude only guarantees the success.
8. Europeans in colonial times typically described us like this; "Natives of these countries (people like Indians) as superstitious, Lazy, careless, Un-enterprising and merely survival- minded". Dr.Gunner Midol, a Stockholm university professor wrote in the book "Asian Drama – An enquiry into poverty of nations". Consciously over come these qualities and disprove those notions from the minds of white people. Mahatma Gandhi had said that construction of Character is much more important, before going for reconstruction of the nation .
9. Never carry the baggage of bad things from home country. They include Orthodox thinking, Superstitions, Caste- Religious discriminations, Regional feelings, Petty politics, Economic snobbishness etc. Life is like a horse. Either you ride it or it rides you.
10. Never forget your roots. You are going to be there because of your family in general and parents in particular. They will invest all their precious things like their time, energy, money for you. You are the protagonist in their lives. Now it is for you to keep and take forward the family pride. Bear it in your mind while youare away from home.
Study well and be the pride of the family and the Country.
BE THE CHANGE YOU WISH TO SEE IN THE WORLD
Affectionately,
Nageswara Rao Uncle
31.7.2013
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