I recently had the good fortune of visiting one of Pune's finest educational institutions, I2IT at Hinjewadi. This was thanks to the efforts of Dr. Mohan Naidu who kind enough to invite me and address the students. As a token of appreciation I received a Book, the Autobiography of Mr. P.P. Chhabria, founder of the Finolex Group. 

I must admit that I am a lazy reader, especially when it comes to books, being biased towards articles and blogs, mainly due to their brevity. 

And to my utter surprise I completed reading the book end to end over 250 pages in less than 48 hours. 

The story of Mr. Chhabria sounds straight out of a Hindi potboiler. But one must realise that it's true. Born with a silver spoon and losing his father at a tender age, forced to mop and sweep the floor of a shop and moving about in a rented bicycle can be a life destroying and devasting experience for most people. 

But for P.P as he was fondly addressed made it a stepping stone to success. Building the Finolex group from scratch and reaching the epitome of success, having a private jet at his disposal. 

This sounds surreal, from a rented bicycle to owning a private jet, but it's true. It is a story of grit, determination, a very high level of discipline and self control and above all an extraordinary sense of self-confidence and faith in one's own self and the hunger to grow. 

One thing I absolutely detest and the quality that resonates quite well is operating from a constant state of dissatisfaction with the status quo. 

Satisfaction to my mind is death. That's exactly how Mr. Chhabria lived his life and built the Finolex group. The moment you believe you have arrived you are finished. That's the end of your story. Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli, Govinda, be it in sports or movies or business for that matter there are countless examples of people losing it at the height of their glory, because they made one fatal error. They mistook the results of years of action for destiny. 

There is no destiny beyond what you create with planned action. 

Coming back to the story of Chhabria ji, the simplicity and transparency of the man, the humility is inspiring. He has no qualms about admitting and accepting his limitations as a human being, his traditional belief system and attachment to the roots. In fact there is no boisterous display of wealth, rather the gratitude towards god and a spiritual approach. 

The core of the book however is his strong commitment towards to the community and society at large. Mr. Chhabria truly believes that it is the team that built Finolex and it is his duty to give back to the underprivileged and those who stood the test of time in building the business. 

I strongly recommend everybody to read this book, especially if you are an aspiring entrepreneur, it's a must read. Indians usually look west for ideas and inspiration but understand that when an Indian author writes it's in the context of the country and therefore much more relevant than somebody in the U.S or Canada. 

ISquareIT aims to educate and empower the youth from every strata of society and ensures that the training and opportunity to learn is world class. The commitment is to ensure every learner gets the required exposure to the most current and relevant technology. 

I am truly privileged and honoured to have had the opportunity to associate and collaborate with the institution started with a noble thought and look forward to continue the association and make a difference to the best of my abilities. 

The campus is a beautiful premises with accommodation for the students on campus. 

Visit ISquareIT the next time you are in Pune and enjoy the simple yet sumptuous meal.

Self-made man, success story, autobiography, Finolex Group, determination, discipline, self-confidence, growth mindset, community commitment, underprivileged, education, empowerment, ISquareIT, Pune, noble thought.

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