Learnings From Our Ancient Kings

I came across a small story about a king (as a Leader), an elephant (as a teammate), Gautam Buddha (as a mentor) where I could connect to every entrepreneurship journey in the Startup world. This short story describes the right mindset, attitude, trust, commitment and mentorship from the right mentor at the right time can make a huge difference in building and growing Startup companies. It also teaches important lessons on relationship, enthusiasm, believing in your team, hard work and many more...

Story

A king had many elephants, but an elephant was very powerful, very obedient, sensible and skillful in fighting skills. In many wars, he was sent on the battlefield and he used to return only after getting victory to the king. Therefore, he was the most loved elephant of the king. Time went by and there came a time when the elephant started getting old. Now he was not able to perform as before. Therefore, now the kings did not even send him to the battlefield but still remain a part of his team.

One day the elephant went to the lake to drink water, but his feet got stuck in the mud there and then went on sinking. He tried a lot, but he could not remove himself from the mud. People came to know from the sound of his screams that the elephant was in trouble. The news of the trapping of the elephant also reached the king. All the people, including the king, gathered around the elephant and made various efforts to get him out. But after trying for a long time, there was no way out. 

At that time, Gautama Buddha was passing on the road. Gautam Buddha first inspected the site of the incident and then suggested to the king that the battle drums should be played around the lake. The listeners felt bizarre how the trapped elephant would come out by playing the drums. As soon as the drums of war started ringing, so did the change in the gesture of that troubled elephant.

At first, the elephant slowly stood up and then came out of the mud on his own, shocking everyone. Gautama Buddha made it clear to everyone that:

There was no lack of physical ability of the elephant, only the need to infuse enthusiasm within it.

To maintain enthusiasm in life, it is necessary that humans maintain positive thinking and do not let despair dominate.

Sometimes with constant failures a person assumes that he can no longer work as before, but this is not the absolute truth.

Positive Thinking Only makes a person a "Human Being” and takes him / her to a desired destination.

May you always be full of positive energy, healthy and happy in life.

Lessons for Startups (Founders, Team Mates and Mentors)

1. The elephant did not become a favorite of the king overnight. Look at the trust, commitment and belief in each other which got developed over a period of time.
2. The elephant also must have put in best of his efforts to learn battlefield skills, made lots of mistakes and learn from them for better performance each time. Therefore he is the most trustworthy team mate for the king. 
3. The king was smart enough to identify a raw diamond at a very early stage and allowed him to learn, perform, make mistakes, take risks and bring rewards for the king. Hire people smartly. Skills can be developed if a person has a winning attitude. 
4. After winning many battles, the king did not send him to the battlefield, but he stood by the elephant when he was in trouble. Founder and team mate both maintain high regards and remain committed with each other even when they are no longer working together.
5. During troubled times, you need a mentor (Gautam Buddha) who can think out of the box to solve a big problem. Right advice at the right time can solve many problems if they are communicated.
6. Every human being needs someone to create a spark during tough times, show the right path and give unbiased opinion in life. That someone can be your parents, a teacher, a friend, a colleague, a boss or any one to who is your Godfather in true sense. (Remember Krishna & Arjun stories…).
7. Life learning lessons and experiences never go waste.

What are your thoughts ?

Let me know in the comments.