DIE HARD

Who knows what lies ahead? Time does not predict its path. It keeps ticking and makes humans reach unimaginable destinations of life. The fighting spirit of humans keeps them alive and keeps them ready to savage the challenge. After all, mayhem and chaos rules the roost in human lives, isn’t it? Each stage of life is filled with paradoxes and humans have to be strong to weather the unpredictable storms.

In the 1988 thriller, Die Hard - New York City policeman John McClane is visiting his estranged wife and two daughters on Christmas Eve. He joins her at a holiday party in the headquarters of the business she works for. But the festivities are interrupted by a group of terrorists who take over the exclusive high-rise, and everyone in it. Very soon McClane realizes that there's no one to save the hostages -- but him. The character of the movie depicts every human as every now and then a situation arises where there is no one to act- but the involved human himself! There is no escape from the harsh realities, the bitter truths and many other such insensitivity which continuously envelope the human lives. All that it needs is an effort from the human to get up and rise like a Gladiator to face the situation.

Can humans escape from the challenges that they meet in their lives? Yes, they can!! Would anyone agree with this statement? The World has been configured so intricately that it is easy to recognize who will fight against the odds and who would not. So, this does mean that humans can escape from the challenges that they meet in their lives. Humans have various mechanisms at their disposal which they can effectively deploy to circumvent the odds in their lives. Many of these mechanisms involve putting other humans in the line of fire and misusing their trust and benevolence. But, who cares? The purpose is to meet the challenge and overcoming the same without any threat. Little do the humans realize that with each such step they are increasing the stakes and making the future more challenging for the next generation.

Have a careful look at our homes, societies and professional arenas. Analyze just that little about what is going on right and what is going on wrong. One will agree that not all is right and there are more wrongs than right!! If one analyzes more closely on the wrongs, it would throw a startling fact. Wrong does not become wrong till a human wants it to be wrong!!! Should the entire human arena pay the penalty of just one human desiring of doing a wrong and making others join the same chorus? The Planet is choking and who does not know about it? Still, humans continue to choose the wrong over right.

Let us take the example of a job. Each job is taught by some human to the new comer. Do we mean to prove that humans have been teaching wrongly to their successive generations? The wrongs in human lives throw out an interesting analytics and maybe the answer to the question is a broad Yes!! Competition is the bedrock of the humanity. After all the fittest will only survive, right? The fittest will never get decided in one go. The decision to remain fit needs long term investments and the correct ones. The fittest who dream to survive the onslaught of time have to be 100% fit as almost fit or partial compliance will not help otherwise. A continuous adjustment and improvement is warranted and cannot be circumvented in any case. 

The World around humans is a maze. It wears and tires humans. No one can escape from the maze and tiredness that is associated with it. It is but natural to get tired and everyone needs that proverbial rest to rejuvenate. One would realize that it a faster rejuvenation when tiredness is simple and that of pure hard work. Tiredness is long when the human mind rakes complexities which trouble many other lives. The maze of life then gets meaner and worse to navigate. Every human is defatigable and susceptible to defeat. Valor coupled with true values enables humans to remain indefatigable for a longer time. 

In the end, all humans are alone and have to meet the quest of their respective lives. It is better meet the situation on your own and effort should be to simplify the issues for a longer benefit. There is always a price for chaos and someone has to pay it. One who reaps today, pays it at a later date. The wheel of life does not pardon mistakes. Die Hard is not the right approach that is what some would say. But, don’t you think that John McClane did the right thing by volunteering to solve the complex problem? He went into the complexity alone and saved many a humans. It would be worthwhile to ease out the issues rather than leaving them out into the open. Issues would be created by erring humans to reap their own scrupulous benefits. Good must win over the bad as the fable goes. Good must win over the bad, isn’t it? Keep the life simple and straight. Many would have to become Die Hards to keep this World going. There is no choice, so better be a Die Hard. Time brings forth this truth in front of humans every time. It is a jungle out there.

Do you have it in you, eh! 

THE HUNT

Ray, Rob, John and Mike were born continents apart. They had nothing in common except for an indefatigable spirit of adventure. This spirit, berthed deep inside their hearts and minds. Ray, Rob and John were surfers who had chanced upon Bali in early 1960s and hit upon each other as they tried to catch the virgin big, white waves. Mike was a strapping Marine during Iraq War and had got his maiden chance to be the Mission Team Leader.

Both surfing and commando military mission have one thing in common- Timing. The hunt must begin in the right earnest and at the right time. The execution is important. One has to be at the right place and at the right time. Both need minimum interference from external disturbances and arrival at the action site has to be perfectly orchestrated. Ray, Rob and John were mesmerized by the long Kuta Beach of Bali, There were very few surfers around Bali and the three pioneered their art to take Bali by surfer’s storm. Any new wave did not break in Bali where Ray, Rob and John did not have their trademark presence. They were always on the hunt for a new location where they could step onto the sea and begin riding the waves. As they stepped onto a new wave front in Uluwatu, an exceptionally high wave smashed Ray as he tried to mount on it. The impact was lethal and left Ray with broken bones and ruptured ears.

 Mike was leading his mission along with friendly forces and they were raiding a compound filled with enemy terrorists. The teams were in accurate position as per the plan when a radio communication just snapped. The glitch, though momentary, led to the confusion in the plan of action. The fog of uncertainty stepped in and the hell broke loose. At the end of the mission there were unwanted casualties in Mike’s team and the mission was branded as a failure. Someone had to take the call for the failure.

Both Ray and Mike knew that it was their hunt and they were responsible for the outcome of their respective missions. Ray was rescued by Rob and John and as he lay recuperating in the hospital, he knew it was his hunt and he would go back and ride the sky high wave again. Mike was brought in for debrief by an investigating team along with his team mates. Each one was being grilled, when Mike got up and took the responsibility onto himself. He knew that it was his hunt and he had to take the pole position to give the answers on behalf of his team. Mike took the onus of the mission’s failure and watching his conviction, he was sent back to lead another mission. The failure was not construed to Mike or Ray. Ray had nothing to prove to anyone as he was an independent individual and his decisions were his own. Mike was working in a hierarchical system and had answers to give to his superiors and to the men he commanded. Each one had a hunt at hand and the methodology was same-risk which needed precision. Both were passionate about their jobs and took the onus of the damage upon themselves. The others around them, in various positions, understood the clarity displayed by Ray and Mike and supported their decisions.

Ray and Mike went back to their respective hunts and attained great professional heights. Ray surfed and Mike combed out terrorists. Both knew their tasks and planned well to meet the unknowns. The trait that stood them ground was the capability to hunt and hunt for more. Each living thing has the ability to survive, but, those who can hunt better survive more than the others. After all, it is the survival of the fittest. As the World around humans changes at a rapid pace, the capability to hunt will continue to be an important survival tool.

Hunt is omnipresent. It is a part of almost every facet of life. Sensory organs get active for smallest of the human activity. They get involved in the hunt the moment brain sends out the control signal. Humans are capturing phenomenal amount of data and some are devouring it to generate new prospects. The data scientists have taken the hunt to a new level. Trails are being left by humans in various forms and somebody is capturing the trail to generate a new hunt each day. Humans will continue to be caught in smaller spirals as questions become deeper and deeper. The arena of hunt has become larger and there will be no escape for erring humans in times to come. The ever widening hunt will also impact the laws of various games of human existence. Winners will be decided on the ability to hunt in a positive and decisive fashion. Options to escape will become limited and time consuming. So, would it not be better to join the hunt and join it positively!! Keep chin a little up, keep the eyes focused on the ball, move the shoulders and let the club face meet the ball head on- that has been the lesson each budding Golfer gets when the game is being learnt. A mere follow up of these guidelines ensures that the ball travels the right distance and in the right direction. The game finishes on a high note in spite of a few erratic ball hits here or there. In the end, what matters is a good result and a game played with a positive spirit keeps the fun quotient to its maximum.

So, what do humans wait for? Keep the hunt on in its correct perspective because no one else is going to come and hunt for us. Each one of us has to live his or her own life. Survival is our own duty and responsibility. If we can then we must help others as they gain better strength to keep following their hunts. There is no escape from hard work, efforts and efficient planning. Without these, the hunt would not materialize. So, are you ready for the hunt, eh?

MEET THE PROFESSIONALS

Addressed 1 Year MBA Program Batch at MDI, Gurgaon on "MANAGING SELF IMAGE & CORPORATE REPUTATION" Many thanks to Dr. Vidhu Gaur for creating the opportunity to meet professionals engaged in enhancing their academic skills.

TAME THE TIGER

1.       The setup was different this time around - Jim Corbett was being hunted. The winds were gushing across the lush green forest. Jim knew the jungle and its inmates well. He had a hunch that the tigress which was credited with at least 64 human kills was stalking him. Jim had his own aura over the jungle. He knew every sound and paths inside the jungles around Kaladhoongi (Nainital). He could read the minds of tigers and folklore went that he walked alongside tigers, both wary of each other but never crossing their respective lines. That day, Jim hoped that he was her next target. 

2.       Jim leaned against the rocky slope of a hill and lit a cigarette. The Chowgrath Tigress had already sneaked up on him once in this grove. Jim was trying to give her the chance to do so again. The afternoon was slipping into the evening and Jim understood that the Tigress would not try the same trick twice. The hunter was being hunted.

3.       He opted to lay one last trap for his adversary before the sunlight failed. He led a buffalo into the grove, and tied it up securely as it grazed. If the tigress took the bait she would be able to kill the animal, but would be unable to drag it off. His intent was to circle behind the nearby hill, climb to the top, and give watch to the grove below. It would be a shot of over two hundred yards, but over the years he had felled many a beast from such distances. Even if his long-range shot only managed to wound the man-eating tigress, he would at least be left with a blood-trail to track, and therefore end his months-long hunt.

4.       Jim set off at a quick pace, anticipating that the tigress would observe his departure and take the opportunity to prey upon the buffalo. As he rounded the hill in a dry riverbed his pace wasn’t so hard as to shut out all distraction: in a shallow depression there rested a pair of Rock-jay eggs. As an amateur oölogist, or egg collector, Corbett could not pass up these unusual specimens. He used some moss to wrap them up, and carried the eggs delicately against his belly with his rifle crossed over his chest. He continued briskly along the sand, hoping to make it to the hilltop before the tigress finished her buffalo feast. 

5.       He was squeezing past a large boulder which blocked most of the riverbed when his peripheral vision gave him a pause. The colors orange and black, with predator’s eyes, stood behind the boulder and ready to pounce. In that instant, Jim knew he had been outmaneuvered. With his hands full of Rock-jay eggs, and his rifle hugged against his body, there wasn’t much he could do to deflect the imminent attack. He turned his step into an anti-clockwise spin, set the rifle butt against his hip, and managed to fire a single shot. 

6.       For a moment the tigress was unaffected, and stayed coiled on the verge of springing out. Her brain was focused onto her target but the blood vessel supplying adrenalin had been pierced. Her muscles slacked and head came down to rest on her forepaws. The bullet had entered the back of her neck, and plunged through to her heart. After ensuring that the Chowgrath Tigress was indeed dead, Jim returned the way he’d come. He believed that he could not have made that improbable shot without the eggs in hand and returned them to the nest. It was the least he could do. The Tigress had been tamed, finally.

7.       There is a tiger inside each human being. It is always lurking to do something new, something different and something off-beat. No one can see the tiger inside but for the individual himself. The tiger can become a man-eater due to reasons well known. It can be old age, injury or just the taste of the human flesh and blood! The tigers inside the hearts and the minds of humans collaborate to produce the results of life. Good or bad is the by-product of the actions that humans take based upon their internal sensitivities.

8.       Humans are trainable in majority of cases. Even the special ones have an ability to understand and follow directions. So, what deters humans from carrying out the correct steps and ensure that humanity finds solutions to problems which arise from varying conflicts of life? The animal instinct inside humans lurks in corners of positivity and negativity. It propels them to take actions which can bring them peace or wrath of the civil society.  Each dispute has a solution. Wise humans find the solution immediately and some linger on for understanding the mere problem itself. The tiger inside humans is either subdued or becomes volatile. The control is all that matters in most situations and is available with the humans themselves. Patience is the only key to achieve subtle control over the proceedings.

9.       Jim Corbett did not panic when he saw the tigress eye to eye. Neither did he throw the eggs nor did he try to run. The barrel of the gun had to be positioned in the right direction and the trigger had to be pressed. He did exactly the same activity and the bullet did the rest. Had the bullet missed its mark or had not achieved the fatal spot, then Jim would have been in trouble. A wounded Tiger can be lethal. Jim would have had to fight back to live another day. Fortunately that story remains untold.

10.     Human life is all about negotiations. Even when humans keep silence or retract away from the society, they are negotiating. The circumstances never leave humans and are constant companions wherever they go. The tiger inside humans keeps rising to take a look. It hides inside the cranium crevices and deep inside the heart in various forms. It waits for the opportune moment to come out with its trademark roar. Little does it realize that the gun is loaded and trigger has been pressed. The bullet pierces and the tiger lies still. The tiger has been tamed. Trained humans do their acts effortlessly and no sweats are broken.

11.     Train the mind and the heart to keep the tiger under control. A controlled dialogue is all that is required to achieve the aim. Time is a great healer, but, why give the time the opportunity to be a great healer? Why to spend precious time in healing? Tame the tiger in the first go to heal immediately and to move on with the life. Take the positive decision and extend the best help possible to ease out the issue.

12.     2016 Olympics was the 3^rd consecutive Olympics for Usain Bolt. As the gun went off, Usain bolted off from his starting block and made history again at the 2016 Summer Games in Rio when he won gold in the 100-meter and 200-meter race and 4x100-meter relay, completing a "triple-triple," earning three gold medals at three consecutive Olympics for a total of 9 gold medals over the course of his Olympic career. Usain had trained hard to create a unique history. His competitors had also trained hard, but Usain knew the value of his win and maybe had trained a shade harder than the rest.

13.     Jim, Usain and Tiger have many things in common. They reside inside all the humans. Jim personifies aim, Usain personifies speed and Tiger is the epitome of wild energy. The energy needs to be controlled and there is then a very less chance that the aim would not be met with speed.

14. Tame that tiger which resides inside all us. Let us do something better for the society around us whether professional or personal. In the end, the tiger would lose its life, so why be a man-eater at all? Do you have it in you, eh?