Navigating obstacles in the too judgmental world take a lot of guts to liberate from conventional palettes. It is quite natural and indispensable to face shocks and tumbles if we are chasing big dreams. Every other hurdle tends to impose challenge and tries to upset our little world. Hurdles have the knack to push us to the brim and make us lose our composure. But in those times we have to employ intrepidness and engage fearlessness. Nevertheless, we should take up a challenge with confidence and overcome it by venturing out of our comfort zones.
Don’t fit in when you can stand out:
Let’s not allow a challenge to be a setback because the ability face trying situations shows one’s true grit. Undoubtedly, it is more important to have thought in long-term than retaliating to an unpleasant situation as a reflex. I would like to share my personal experience with a challenge that tried to shake me up. Easily, it could have been a point of decent in my career if had yielded to it. But with the relentless spirit, I transcended that hurdle and in the process, I picked a wonderful life lesson.
Intrusions can strike you from nowhere:
In mid 2006, a news surfaced in leading dailies: ‘Exporter’s fraud sends DRI on a nationwide hunt’. It was a customs duty evasion perpetrated by a city exporter Shyam Tulsiram Bihani. As per DRI, he has diverted fabric and other goods imported duty-free under DEEC and DFRC schemes. Duty Exemption Entitlement Scheme (DEEC) and Duty-Free Replenishment Scheme (DFRC) schemes were meant for re-exporting into the local market. Post enquiry DRI released an estimate that the total customs duty evasion is expected to cross Rs100 crore. It would have been just another news if it was thus far, but the penultimate line was a shock.
When the going gets tough, only the tough get going:
DRI has found that Bihani has imported raw material under the DEEC. Instead of utilisation of them for re-export purposes, the goods were diverted into the local market. Out of which, about five consignments of polyester fabrics were sold by Abdul Sattar and Kamal Loungani in Mumbai. Undoubtedly, as a trader, my interests will be always on the quality of the goods I procure. Further bringing out quality products that meet the demands of my clientele has always been my aim. So the whole DRI episode appeared irrelevant to me except I have made a purchase with the alleged dealer. Though that was a shocker of a news I refused to succumb. It was with sheer composure, I channelized my energies to raising the stature of KIT Group globally. Thus, today KIT Group has become a USD 300 million enterprise.
Avoid looking behind, when you can move ahead:
Spending too much time on taking stock of what went wrong will get us distracted from the road ahead. Admittedly, hindsight is good, unless it consumes most of our living hours wallowing in despair. And yes, looking left and looking right are good, peeping into the past is also fair to an extent. But it is always more important to look ahead.
And finally:
However bad a situation is, it will change- what is more important is our approach towards it. Hence, let’s approach all the unpleasant situations with greater confidence conceiving an end goal in mind. Which is why I firmly believe, foresight is the key to a thriving enterprise and for enterprising leaders too.