I will give you 3 reasons to believe that the poet and the CEO are very similar except they differ in the things they are looking at. Both use tools of imagination and intuition to look at things in a whole new perspective.

Think Tagore, think Tata. Both were fearless visionaries. One inspired generations to fight against the poverty of mind. The other created a wealth of opportunities through employment.

Consider the following:

1. Both the poet and the CEO have a very intense relationship with Time.

One figures time is immaterial while the other estimates every moment is time and material.

Glamor and the Grim
When I tell people that I toured with the Indian cricket team to cover the world cup, a lot of them tell me that I am lucky to have got such an assignment. Agreed, I was lucky enough to shake hands with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar and Chris Gayle. I have been behind the camera in various events of pomp and show, those that came with a lot of glamor.

There were also days when I waited for hours in a stinking mortuary to take shots of someone brutally murdered. This was life in the traditional media, one day there was a sumptuous buffet at a five star hotel and the next day went without even a glass of water to drink.  Not complaining, I knew this was a part of my job and I did it with passion.

I slept analog and woke up digital.
I was never bothered about the “just a cameraman” notion some people had, but was tired of the sarcasm people showed when I told them what job I was doing. In most news channels, cameramen are not expected to be thinkers. I believed that I could do better than a few of the self-proclaimed ‘intelligent’ reporters in the industry, but was never given a chance. You are considered over-smart if you give inputs for production or pitch in with new ideas, and that was when I realized, that I was capable of doing better things than just shoot news visuals. My transition into the digital media did not happen instantaneously.

One of the prime reasons for backing off from your responsibilities, I believe, is the lack of confidence, the other is being lazy, for which there is no cure but self-determination. Either way, we might find ourselves entangled in a maze, lost in thoughts of ‘Can I do it?’ or ‘nah, I’ll give it a pass, let someone else take the trouble’. But what really holds us back is something we need to ponder upon.

I have to admit that I was one of the ‘no’ people, but that’s just the past. Everything changed for me from the day I laid my hands on a motorcycle, a ‘Royal Enfield – Classic 500’ to be specific. So how does a motorcycle really change a person? Isn’t it just a mode of transport for the less fortunate who cannot afford a car? Well, that’s what everybody else thinks at least. But for all they know, a motorcycle is a window to the world out there. It lets you explore, dream and discover. For me, it is my soul reviver.

Look back at your past and you will wake up to a rude shock that people just threw muck at your true potential by institutionalizing your whole life. Twenty years of schooling and they put you on a day shift? Is that the real you? It’s time to think beyond and break free to the other side. Rediscover yourself.

A casual meeting with my friends last Thursday evening sparked the excitement for yet another road trip. “So, guys, we have been riding to all the popular tourist destinations, why don’t we push our limits and ride a thousand kilometers in 48 hours flat? Let’s ride to the Western Ghats,” suggested both Diwakar and Prajwal. “Are you out of your mind? Its monsoon and it rains 24/7 there, plus Western Ghats means off-roading without tarmac!” replied the rest of the gang. I said, “Why not? Let’s get some excitement” and lo! The road trip to Kodachadri was on.

What makes the field of creativity exciting is its essential nature of constant innovation. Every creative leader brings with him his unique experience to the table and that’s what keeps the creative core fresh forever.

Rahul Bose, an actor, Chetan Bhagat, a writer and Prahalad Kakkar, the veteran ad guru came on stage together last week in Bangalore to speak about guts and entrepreneurship. Different ages, different approaches, different disciplines but held together by the common thread of creative urge.

While Rahul Bose is driven by what he terms his inner moral compass, Prahlad Kakkar is driven by the sheer force of creative instinct, whereas Chetan Bhagat lets his self belief and the breaking of assumptions drive him.

This triad energy of soul, body and mind defines the nature of each creative leader, marking a signature style to creativity. For what else can it be but the soul that gives direction, mind that applies intelligence to seize opportunities and bodily instinct the survivor’s only tool to rely upon when everything else fails?

Taking risk allows you to challenge yourself. But there are all kinds of risk takers, impulsive ones, and calculative ones to name a few. The calculative guys are those who have been to school, the impulsive ones are well, like gamblers. Once they have made the first kill, they can’t stop. It is the same spirit that rules the entrepreneurs. They are not afraid of failure, they have to start something and they will continue to throw the dice, risking everything.

The exhilaration of the adventure drives them to challenge all odds and eggs them on to test new limits. And they begin to enjoy the challenges, like serial entrepreneurs who are continuously testing new grounds. One can understand how easy it is to get addicted to this new high of challenging the known for the unknown.

Embracing the unknown doesn’t mean giving up the familiarity of home to embrace the jungle, but to feel the exhilaration it brings in order to be rejuvenated, energized and be born again and, to look at life in a whole new perspective.

Like when I went in search of a tiger in the jungles of Corbett. Did I find my tiger? May be, may be not, but I surely came back burning bright like a tiger who is the king of the jungle.