FOREWORD ( in part..)
By Captain Gopinath
Founder Air Deccan

“Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it." Goethe

Rajeshwari’s book on “Mid life career choices” has brought together a group of people who dared to dream and followed through on their dreams. And as I read the book, it brought back all those memories of moments of inner strife, the struggles, and the jubilant moments of the changes that I made in my life in terms of various careers. Amongst the many career choices that I made, I started India’s largest Low cost airline, Air Deccan, but before that I also successfully ran my farm, which I had converted from a barren piece of land that the government had given us. I also ran a Udupi restaurant, was a motorcycle dealer and joined politics!! Some I was successful at and some I wasn’t…but the journey was exhilarating. I believe that the ingredients that go into achieving what we want in our lives are hard work, courage and determination-much more than just talent. With the window of opportunities being plenty, there is a set of Sabeer Bhatias, Narayan Murthys, Ambanis to draw inspiration from. My advice to my daughters or to my friends has always been to find their true calling. It is a long drawn process but is completely worth going through. In the final analysis, I believe it is not about the money or the privileges that a well settled job can get you. It is actually about finding where your heart belongs. And that makes work a pleasure, brings out the best in you and makes your life worth living.
Rajeshwari’s book talks directly to those who are sitting on the fence, evaluating career change, but are not taking the plunge because of various reasons. The insights from the book are very real and I was able to see myself in many of those situations. Each story is a reminder of the fact that ultimately we alone are responsible for what we wish to do with our lives and that we need to make our work/life choices with great care.