If i was not in Finance or Education what would it be?

my choice (in hindsight) has always been around what i love. And with God's grace, have been blessed with either of two situations when it comes to making a choice:

• left it to my parents, their word is a command for me
• from the day they left it to me, it was driven by LOVE

Love to me has been so powerful a barometer, that with each experience of deep hatred or selfless love, with each experience of selfish capitalism or selfless giving, i am coming closer to choosing Love as the only tool.

Let me share some examples of when i experience real love:

• most real for all parents is moments with their angels, its pure love & de-stresses us after a long tiring trying day
• when we help or share a part of us without knowing the person receiving and most importantly without waiting for an acknowledgement

Also haven't we come across experience of how love turns into difficult relationships when a tangible finite goal comes in between? In today's time the most accepted and sought after measure is Money. and some classical cases worth repeating:

• two brothers grow up together playing in their home corridor to eventually fighting board room battle
• two friends want to make their love for sports a start-up eventually fight court battles for that extra share of wealth and recognition

True love has never needed finite tangible goals, explicit communication and singing eulogies. Just the fact that your Mom woke up at 4.30am keeping your quick snack on the table before you rush to airport for a meeting to get the deal done, is pure love.

So when i had said Bye to my "glorified high-flying flamboyant entrepreneurial venture in finance", i was saying Bye to a world where it was most common to have pure transaction / finite (4-6 months is the standard expected deal closure time when you sign a mandate) goal focus - chase a new trend hence a deal, close the deal with not really love for the client or his business And then whether its a bumper year or not, do a sugar-coated or difficult conversation with your team on their bonuses.

And yes a big hug to all my banker friends who did this out of "true love" for their clients always making the "right choice" for their clients with "deep understanding of client business" and eventually got an investor who they knew as "good human beings for sitting with their investee companies as a true partner on a roller-coaster ride for a multi-bagger".

In simpler words, the answer to the question on 'what would i do if i was not in finance or education is' - i would anything in an eco-system (whether home, society, work place, etc.) where it passes the following litmus test:

1. Love exists within all stake holders, can evolve & grow with time
2. Alignment of personal vision to eco-system's vision
3. Optimism for GOOD to prevail & hence stick to Values which were cast in stone at the start of journey

And the most important one is what i accidentally came across this morning, an interview of 'The Godfather of Good' futurist Stewart Brand saying "We are gods and might as well get good at it" (https://www.good.is/features/issue-38-stewart-brand).

With Love, a true lover of life! Intoxicated with life...

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P.S. These are absolutely my personal views and not the organisations i have been ever associated with; personal reflections from my experience in banking and yes, continue to have my best friends in Banking!!