Bond with the best

Bond is such a good thing to feel. One day, this topic jumped in suddenly during my discussion with my American friend (and colleague).
I have compiled and edited the chat, and made it a complete text. Read through…..
In USA, the culture is to be "Independent". In India, the culture is to be "Dependent". When I say "dependent"...not financially, but emotionally and physically….tight bond between the family members and relatives....so, no one feels that "solitude".

However, that was the case till yesterday (I would say till last night). Today’s parents are feeling that they are "left over" ...with the children "migrating" to cities in search of their livelihood.
After our parents retire, they find no one at home to accompany them. They experience solitude at that time. I don’t think they will come and stay with us in the city nor do I think that we go and stay in the Town/village with our parents. We only keep "visiting" each other.

Unlike us, who have done matriculation in one area, graduation in another place, and PG in yet another place, and working in a couple cities for a couple of years, our parents have spent most of their lives in one place. Their secondary education, job…all in one locality. They certainly have got bonds with their native place, native people, friends and relatives. That bond is true, and unbreakable. This makes them hard to leave their place, and enter our (migration/virtual land(s). I think no one can disagree with that. Just think of our relations….when was the last time we visited our relatives or friends? We have only temporary friends….depending on the organization and city we live in. Once we move out of that organization, we will not bother about each other till we come back to the same place. So, for us, it is all virtual and temporary, just like our jobs :)

However, given the number of years we spent together, and culture in which we are grown, we still attach the (emotional) bond to our parents. Going forward to the next generation, I think this emotional bondage gets weakened. For them, might be, these virtual and temporary bonds are the only bonds, because they will be grown up with them. May be generations later, this ‘bond’ would be called as an extinct genome in human DNA.

Well, that is the problem. What about the solution?
It is arguably harder to maintain close relationships at a distance (with parents in towns and villages, and children in cities)... but it can be done if everyone works at it.
How?

This is what one of my retired client manager (an American) has to speak about, when we were chatting about this topic….”For family it would be on a larger scale, but I think what you (me) and I(client manger) are doing are some of the things people do who care about each other and don't want to 'lose' the other person.
Family would write, call, chat, visit, may be even take some joint holiday together.”
Well, being an Indian, I would like to have more. Just take my case, who visit my native place (which is around 6hrs journey from my work place) every weekend, only to cherish that bond. If not every weekend, one should visit at least once in 2 weeks. Rest as said above…call, chat, and go on vacations all together.

Here is yet another question that came into my mind at this time –
“I agree....but over a few generations, will that still happen? My worry is not about the current time, but future.”
Well, here is what my 65year young client manager has told me – “We only have control over the present...we must do what we can and want to do to maintain important relationships... but we can't guarantee what our children or grandchildren will do...”

Hmm...true. Isn’t it?

“We must hope and believe that our example will not be lost on them.”

True again.....we should inspire them and see that the inspiration continues.

What else is there...? I think I have summed it up perfectly.

How to identify an opportunity?

Well, one who wants to be an entrepreneur, needs to identify in which field he should start his enterprse. Usually, depending on thier education and/or interests, one arrives at a specific branch...like IT, medical, financial, agricultural, educational etc. However, opportunities are plenty in each branch, so do wows when one tries to select one of those opportunities

First of all, one has to identify the opportunities. The following steps help in identifying an opportunity. These steps can be considered as - FIve Point Path for Opportunity (FIPPO)
1. Look into the problems faced by end users (also called as customers).
2. Find out what the market is currently providing to resolve the problems faced by customers.
3. Analyze why those market supplements are failing in completely resolving the problems faced by customers. This helps in identifying the gap between the "need" and "supply".
4. Think what needs to be done to fill the gap.
5. Formulate the solution to fill the gap in resolving the customers' problem.

If you start counting customers' problems, then you will find it easier to count the grains of sand along the Indian coastal line. My intention is tell you that opportunities are abundant in this world. I certainly did not mean that opportunities in a country can be estimated by measuring it's coastal line.

Anyways, going by above FIPPO, whenever you face a problem, then its time for celebration, because, you just landed up hitting an opportunity...Hurray!!