Starting up & taking a plunge, learnings from Shankaracharya

Continued from 1st part -- https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/shri-shankaracharya-entrepreneurship-part-1-suresh-narasimha/

*************Shri Shankaracharya & Entrepreneurship - Part 2 ****************

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He who removes darkness of ignorance of the blinded by applying the medicine of knowledge. He Who opens the eyes, salutations unto that holy Guru

They say, one of the major challenges of startups is “not starting up”. Most of us fail to take the first step. A strong purpose is what drives us to become entrepreneurs but that must be backed by the will to startup.?

Best entrepreneurs chase a passion & live for the purpose they believe in. A strong purpose is what makes the Entrepreneurial journey worthwhile which is otherwise filled with surprises & challenges.?

Shankara was a lonely son to a widowed mother & must have been pampered. But even as a young 8-year-old Kid Shankara had a strong passion for understanding truth. Stories of Nachiketa’s & Druva’s had a huge impact on him. While it is surprising to see an 8-year-old kid wanting to know the absolute truth, It’s hard to even imagine him leaving his mother in search of the truth.?

But Shankara was gifted & had a passion to take sannyasa & find answers to fundamental questions of life. So strong was his passion that he convinced his mother to let him go out of home in search of a Guru. In the 8th Century, Kaladi was a forest inhabited by many wild animals. Most kids will be afraid of walking outside their home let alone marching into forests in search of a Guru. But Shankara was so determined that he could convince his mother to thread the path that he was convinced about.

Even young Shankara thought us one thing, no dream is big enough, and no age is young enough.?

Many ask us what is the right age for us to become Entrepreneurs. Even today some of the most admired companies like Google, FB, and MS were started when Entrepreneurs were really young & when they were students. Even in recent history, we have examples of Shivaji, Vivekananda, and Hoysala who showed their intent as kids. Many great kings, scientists & thinkers demonstrated their intent & will when they were in their younger ages and in Gurukul.

The best time to chase your passion is now. If Shankara can take a plunge at the year of, what prevents us from doing it in our teenagers or early 20s. It's a great time for students to step out and make a difference in the world & parents to believe in their children.

Summary

• What is important is finding a purpose. Helping children to find a purpose is the best thing parents/society can do
• No dream is big enough & no age is young enough.
• Initial sacrifices & risks become insignificant when you consider the impact a large dream can have