Sharp minds are shaped by the simplest tools
It’s not every day you see a CEO writing with a pencil and I have never seen anyone in an office, especially a CEO, pick a pencil over a pen. But this CEO? He has three pencils on his desk, and he is so attached to them that he has even engraved his name on them. Every time I walk into his office, I wonder why he chooses pencils during work hours. One day, I just asked.
His answer? It's surprisingly simple and heartwarming... “I have loved pencils since I was a kid. My mom made it a habit for my brother and me to write editorial columns from newspapers in English and Malayalam every day until we hit 10th grade. She would read through everything and correct us.”
He explained how pencils made the whole process easier. You could always erase and fix mistakes, especially spelling errors. His mom drilled into them that doing this would help in three major ways:
He proudly mentioned how good his handwriting is today, all thanks to those daily writing exercises. He writes beautifully in cursive, with clear, distinct letters, and even picked up a few awards for his penmanship during school.?He loves the way pencils allow him to make corrections so easily, and they remind him of the lessons his mom taught him.
In the end, it’s really all about his mom. He loves pencils because they symbolise the care and wisdom she passed down.
It left me thinking: How many of us encourage our kids to do something similar? It was the perfect answer, and no wonder he has such sharp thinking and great writing skills. It’s all rooted in the simple things—like a pencil and a mom's love.