Dr. Rakish Rana describes himself as a Clear Coach and is a professional mentor.
He has over 16 years’ experience (and counting!) in dealing with high end clientele in the high-pressured world of Investment Banking. He loves reading (lots of) books, enjoys English, Hindi and Punjabi movies and just switching off from the world, as well as being a round the clock dad and husband. As our guest columnist Dr Rana gives us an insight into business lessons and Bollywood. Yes that’s not a typo, we are deadly serious we’re talking business lessons with Salman Khan. Read on…..
I really do love Bollywood movies. I’ve previously talked about how watching Bollywood movies can be very motivational (you can read more on my blog www.theclearcoach.com) A Bollywood movie none more so than the latest blockbuster from Salman Khan; Bajrangi Bhaijaan (currently the second highest grossing movie in India of all time). A movie about a man (affectionately known as Bajrangi Bhaijaan with Salman Khan playing the titular character) with a magnanimous spirit, who tries to take a lost young mute Pakistani girl back to her homeland to reunite her with her family. It’s taken me a while to get round to watching it, and I’m so happy I did.
It had the usual Bollywood feel good factor, friendship, comedy, romance, the obligatory song and dance routines (my favourite, the ‘Chicken Song’ which I’ll leave for another blog), the hero defeating baddies and rescuing a damsel in distress (in this case a six year old mute girl), tear-jerker scenes and the happy ending that one expects from a Bollywood movie. The movie ran me through the whole gamut of emotions.
“The purpose of human life is to serve, and to show compassion and the will to help others” – Albert Schweitzer
Reflecting back on it I found myself thinking of Bajrangi’s journey throughout the movie and that of an entrepreneur growing a business. In fact, my own journey in growing my coaching practice resonated immensely.
Below I’ve picked out key moments in Bajrangi’s journey during the movie and how I believe they relate to that of an entrepreneur or anyone starting out on a new venture:
- Have an idea – Bajrangi’s initial thought was to ensure that Munni (the young mute girl) was reunited with her parents. He didn’t know how this was going to happen or who would do it, but he just thought that this needed to be done. We all have seeds of an idea which we look to grow, but it’s knowing which ones to really go after. As with Bajrangi it can be part of your nature or it can be your passion or just that ‘gut feeling’.
- Learn from failure – Bajrangi searched for Munni’s parents, spoke with the police, and when on learning that Munni was from Pakistan, he tried the Pakistan embassy and even tried to get a travel operator to have her escorted over the border. None of which helped. It’s then when he realised what he had to do and how he would help Munni. It’s sometimes after our failures or at our most desperate times that we get the clarity to focus on our goals.
- Self-belief – Bajrangi learned from his failures and from them his eventual goal was defined, and it allowed him to clearly focus on the journey ahead. He decided that he would deliver Munni to her family in Pakistan himself and he knew how he would do it. He had the belief in himself and he never gave up. In life we attempt many things which don’t always work out first time, but like Bajrangi, it’s about having the resolve to not give up and to stick to your convictions.
- Ask for advice – When Bajrangi had realised that he would have to take Munni to Pakistan himself, he was in a dilemma. It’s at this juncture he turned to his betrothed, Rasika (played by Kareena Kapoor) and sought her counsel. Starting your own business is never an easy task, and none more so for those doing it for the first time. So like Bajrangi, don’t be afraid to ask for help when needed. We don’t necessarily always have the right answers ourselves.
- Do the right thing – Bajrangi followed his conscience on a righteous path, and made sure he did everything his way; the right way. As we’ve seen with the recent Volvo scandal, there can be many temptations to take short cuts or dishonest ways to gain success, but it will always be to a detrimental outcome. Do the right thing; all the time, every time.
- Trust in others to help – Throughout Bajrangi’s journey he meets many characters, but it’s the news reporter, Chand Nawab (played superbly by Nawazuddin Siddiqi) that he befriends, who helps him on the noble cause of uniting Munni with her family. On our own entrepreneurial journeys it’s key to build strong relationships and to learn to trust those closest to us. With all the best intentions, Its important to understand that we can’t always do things on our own.
- Power of social media – The use of YouTube was key in helping Bajrangi and Chand help reunite Munni with her family and to eventually help build bridges between two nations. The use of social media, be it Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. is key for business growth. Used correctly, as in the case of Munni, it helps you be found.
“Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest” – Mark Twain
Bajrangi Bhaijaan offers up many more lessons, including those in friendship, self-sacrifice, respect and humility. But one final take away is that of gratitude and recognition. This movie is a Salman Khan vehicle, and yet it was the lesser known actors, Nawazuddin Siddiqi and Harshali Malhotra (Munni), who rightfully took all the accolades. So as in life, we can achieve many things and grow our businesses to great success, but we should never forget to recognise and be thankful to those that helped us on our journey.
“Humaare dil mein Ram basein hain, humaare liya koi bhi cheez asambhav nahin hain.” – Bajrangi Bhaijaan (Lord Ram resides in my heart, nothing is impossible for me)
If you’re a budding entrepreneur or thinking of branching out in a different direction, reach out to me if you think I may be help you on your own journey!!
Twitter @TheClearCoach
