Bhubaneswar: It’s the mindset of a person that truly matters and makes him stand apart, according to life coach, motivational speaker, ISKCON monk and author Gaur Gopal Das.
Addressing students, faculty members and corporate leaders at ‘SOA Proxima’, a three-day annual talent engagement event of SOA Deemed to be University here, Das said the corporate world has been looking for people with talent and skill, but individuals with the required mindset, and not obsessed with growth, will eventually succeed.
“If asked to hire people, I will not care about talent and skill but look for the person possessing the X-factor,” said Das, the author of ‘You Can Have It All’.
Das, who mingled with the teeming students, explained that colourful balloons didn’t soar into the sky because of their dazzling shades, they fly in the sky because of the gas inside them.
“Skill is critically important but unless you have the mindset you will not succeed,” Das stated while drawing a parallel with the Mahabharata. “Arjuna was highly skilled and had all the weapons but he didn’t have the will to fight,” he added.
Elaborating on the X-factor of students, the ISKCON monk said children love to chase colourful butterflies, but it is a better opti
on to create a beautiful garden where butterflies of various hues will assemble on their own.
“This is the X-factor which will make you irresistible for the corporate honchos when they are hiring people for their companies. You have to be that person,” said Das who qualified as an electrical engineer before turning a monk.
Urging students not to be obsessed with growth or to chase success, he advised, “you create that garden where butterflies will converge.”
“Everyone who has grown exponentially has not bothered about growth. You need to work hard on the process,” he said.
The monk urged the students not to compare their own growth and progress with others. “Parents often compared the performance of their children with others but they did not understand that success did not come by comparing. They were not wrong as that is what they had understood at that time,” he said.
“I urge you not to worry about what others are doing, rather you worry about what you are doing”, Das said, adding “mistakes are our biggest teacher as they teach us more than success.”
“A mistake that makes you humble is better than an achievement that puffs you up,” Das said.
Referring to the buzz over artificial intelligence, Das said though it threatened to squeeze the job market, it will never be able to generate human empathy or creativity. “Human capital is the biggest capital in the world”, he said.
SOA Founder President Prof. (Dr) Manojranjan Nayak received the monk, who presented him one of his books.
In a programme titled ‘Celebration of Excellence’, corporate leaders attending the event were presented with awards.