come with a full heart to talk to you
from my heart if that inspires anyone
here you don’t have to get influenced
with what I’m going to share with you
you can also get influenced if you would
like to what I’m going to do today is
share a little bit of my experiences you
saw my earlier speakers they had some
achievements to show I have no
achievements to show but I’ve achieved
achievements to talk about achievements
means and for a businessman sometimes
someone can misunderstand or stink the
achievement of a businessman or the
success of a businessman is all about
how much money you have for that matter
I have the least there could be some
people in this room whom I know a much
more well there but I’ve never believed
in that right from the age of 17 as the
young man introduced here I walked into
this world with a dream I am born to
11-member family and I’m number 10 eight
sisters three brothers I’m not getting
the long story they’ll throw me out for
me I got 16 more minutes ago I got out
of my business which my father had
started unfortunately passed away when I
was pretty young or 17 years old I
inherited a few employees and I had a
bunch of people around me
most of them older and wiser than me I
guess one amongst them was a general
manager that was assigned to me he is a
lawyer by profession highly experienced
guy he left his practice and decided to
work for me he was probably 25 years
senior to me and unfortunately as I
speak is no more in this world
he started work I started to do all
sorts of things like a kid all I had was
a dream a belief and the sure thing that
I will achieve these three theories I
had and I think that is what is written
here right dream believe and that’s you
yes in about three to four months I
think the cat was out of the cage this
gentleman is a realize he is not getting
paid his salary was not coming so he had
to make a choice but he was a dear
friend and a family friend he couldn’t
just leave me alone and go away so when
he comes to me and says and then I begin
the jaws mornin our dose one and a
quarter centimeter venom yummy and
honest up in satin Nara period now what
is Sameera Velma through so I go with
them to a place in through Porter I’ve
never been to the border in my life at
that time
and he took me the very old man he’s a
person he’s a palm reader I said why you
really bring me here no no just sit down
and listen to this person so this old
man looked at my hand you read my hand
and after thinking quite a bit said or
you gonna do big in life I started like
laughing side you’re gonna cross oceans
go across the world take your
organization to flourish and loop
businesses in different parts of the
universe I started to laugh again by
that I knew this gentleman that had
brought me there to make sure that
there’s a future for him to get paid
that that that was a short story and I
began there pretty funny stories I
didn’t lot of stupid things when I was
young but as I started to walk my
journey
I had a clear goal in my mind the last
thing achieve now achieve could be
misunderstood I never put money in front
of me and I will tell all of you two
youngsters and to who order listen to me
if an entrepreneur or a businessman it’s
going to put money in front you’re gonna
fail if you can put your goal in front
and chase your goal probabilities of
succeeding is larger than failing I can
tell you that and that has been my goal
but there again fortunately or
unfortunately I got into a character
formation formation at a very young age
at the age of 17 I visited Japan today
your mom’s won’t let you cross the
street at the age of 17 but my mom was a
widow at the age of 50 let me go and I
went
the Japanese unknown for high level of
integrity and ethical practices I worked
with these Japanese and I got that
embedded into me of becoming highly
ethical in a country like India even
though demonisation
has happened that I think corruption may
be on increase now unfortunately let’s
think positive because of the larger
denomination of the money that can go
into someone’s pocket instead of the 500
and the thousand that would have been a
larger bundle I decided to walk the
journey of being a businessman keeping
integrity and ethics in front of my life
then it hurt me badly but pride I must
say I would say and I’m sure that other
people also can share the same thing
I’ve never been questioned so far by no
one in this country no one even p1 today
I teach my children when we come from
abroad you’re allowed to bring few
duty-free things it could be two bottle
of wine could be literature of alcohol
could be a carton of cigarettes I don’t
know what it is but I’ll tell them even
though some of the custom officers who
work in Cochin customs may be friends of
mine or maybe even a parent of the
school we’re not gonna break that law so
I walked that journey and it was a hard
walk keeping this integrity in mind and
that drove me today when I say I’m an
educationalist more than an entrepreneur
and I think if I didn’t have that early
sense of putting integrity and ethical
practices into my life I don’t think
this children a choice school would have
selected me to be a speaker today they
would have found someone else but Lord
more money and fame and I don’t have
that I’m glad I’m here because the youth
must understand that tomorrow is going
to be not easy we are a cakewalk
we are an easy walk 20 years back banks
lend money even if you didn’t pay on
time it is okay
there is no proceeding norms like you
have today today is a tight walk you
take it alone you don’t pay in 90 days
you’re done look at unfortunate scene of
our great businessman Vijay Mallya
a man who united old broad the name of
the country to a brand called Kingfisher
you go to Japan you go to London you go
to Paris you go to New York
who wouldn’t attached India to the Brian
Kingfisher but look at him today I did
understand this very early and I must
say if I were tell you some stories have
more of sad stories
than happy stories because my failures
in life was more than success but the
question is the good news is I survived
in 94 when I attempted to start an
airline and I did go forward and texted
that my company was going for an IPO in
93 but unfortunately I could not succeed
because I believed in ethics I believed
in having the high degree of integrity I
lived in New Delhi for a year and a half
the practices I saw there to get a
license I couldn’t walk that journey and
finally I did withdraw by then my
company was almost done my orders came
to me and said mr. Jose Thomas you leave
one solution file bankruptcy at that
time there was a clear provision of law
called be IFR where if you declare
bankruptcy and room all your critters
there again I said how can I do that
hard work alone is not going to get you
over there but something like the
earliest speakers spoke about mountain
that’s physically intelligence and hard
work combined together that puts you on
to that situation for a businessman what
is it that you need your commitment and
the perseverance that is what drove me I
have another trick also to share you
don’t have to use it
the trick of whatever I did is when
someone tells me not to do it I did it
for example in 1989 I had a dream of
starting a school I was 34 years then I
don’t know who’ll think of starting at
school at the age of 34 and I still
remember
there was a meeting and called for an
expression of interest invited about
four to five hundred people like this
into a hall in Cochin I had the
principal on board already and I had my
director on board already
they spoke Queen’s English I couldn’t
speak Queen’s English but I improvised
over a period of time the function
started I don’t know most of you know
you can put numbers together and when I
said when I came with a business age of
seventeen you can imagine I haven’t seen
the four walls of a college I haven’t
you can put that number together so I
was sitting on the stage wondering what
do I speak how do I speak I was nervous
and as I was sitting there getting
prepared for my speech one other person
who’s standing on the side brings a
small note and gives it to me
as I was sitting there the note said
what is your qualification to start
school that is what makes your school
today that drove me to chase that dream
that gave me the wigger go for it
when I was trying to build the tallest
structure in Kerala the apartment which
you see right here I called my architect
and said hey I’m not a builder by the
way I’m really consecrated it’s like an
artist I like something I do it I’m not
a builder today I don’t even have one
bag of cement of steel flying around
Cochin nor a piece of land that is
idling but when it came to this one I
said hey let’s put something together
here so I’ll usually brought me a
building with three buildings together a
swimming pool in the middle a little
children’s park I looked at the set
people have done this before so you want
me really same thing I’m not there I
said can we put this together on on top
of each other he said not really
everything was negative I started
getting negative rides no architect had
the experience of drawing 41 story
building no contract have the experience
no labor had the experience and the
people said can you imagine when here on
the 35th floor how would the labor come
down for luncheon and and for their
break how long will it take for them to
go up and down eight-hour shift they’ll
be walking two hours I was enjoying all
this because I said to myself I’m going
to do something which others will not
attempt if I could do the same thing
which others could attempt then I won
I’ve been to the United States I
practically live in New York now no one
knows really what I do there even some
of my friends here I’ve never I never
planned to tell anything because it’s
not custom keeping it confidential it’s
a question of there’s no point I walked
into a category of producing frozen
meals to be sold through mainstream
supermarkets Walmarts of the world
Costco’s of the world sharp writes of
the world Delhaize of the world when I
was going in I had an Argentinian CEO
here some Argentine he told me amigo
this business is not meant for you I
said what do you mean by that this is a
big boys
Nestle Unilever ConAgra pinnacle foods
these are the place in that category and
he won the sky from mattandjenni to come
here and compete these guys forget it
again I got the negative wife so I said
others can do it let me do it
did it walked in even some of the large
competition try to sue me for
infringement
for copying their fried rice for copying
their chicken parmigiana for copying
their cheese applications but let me
tell you the story today if you see the
Nielsen Dara tasty choice is a brand at
Kochi company so number five list in
treat this earth as an achievement from
where to where the kids is you’re 17
with no basic or college education tries
and tries and tries and fails and still
don’t give up and still keep going and
I’m still keep going I’m going to be in
business without 40 years and I’ll still
do better than what I’m doing now this
is my belief and this is the courage I
think you all need when the time of need
you never give up you only go attack
your problems and that’s what I did yeah
at the same time I’m human I love my
3,000 children and the day I leave this
world they all will come but if I was
only a businessman who will come none of
my customers in the US will come none of
my consumers who aid my pasta will come
from the United States a few people who
supplied me some carton and some shrimp
locally may come and show up and say oh
whatever said and done he was a nice guy
that is another if phrase I’m very
afraid of in the comparing alum yeah
lamella mention I don’t know I’m gonna I
had a dream I was dead I was laying down
and someone comes and says oh my god he
is gone whatever said and done he was a
nice guy I wake up I said eh tell me
what wrong did I do for you to have that
little qualification whatever said and
done friends
I’ve been genuine I will continue to be
genuine I’ve loved my family and my
biggest strength today is my family my
wife my five children and my
we form a big group and I try to find
space in between my work and my life
which is extremely important money is
not everything in life I have seen
enough probably lost more than I’ve made
but the key to it is how do you still
enjoy your life how do you make it more
worthwhile by still balancing these two
acts I go home every day on time I’ve
never been to a vacation on my own I’ve
never walked a movie theater without my
family never walk into a restaurant
without my children and today the most
upsetting thing with me would be if you
want to irritate me but so my children
negotiation on that every night
including last night so sometimes when
I’ve traveled from here to the u.s. 22
hours of flight I get home at 8:00 p.m.
kitchen is clean so I asked my wife
what’s up for dinner
she says nothing why the children won’t
eat what I cook I said that’s not a
competition she says you know what they
love what you do I come and cook I serve
but this last Christmas I was in the US
and I had a good friend mahalo with me
spending the Christmas with me so we
bought this esource another crazy cook
so you’re cooking in this home morning
till evening and I all had my children
there and my family we were so excited
to serve we served and all of them are
not there they were doing their own
thing I was very angry that her anger
that is the feel of a father so I have a
strong man in me call this JT
the
this monger the same time I’m a father
I’m a husband and I’ve been able to do
this positioning of myself making this
clear divide of a wonderful family life
few friends very few a good team of
employees who work for me close to 2,500
people I think work for me I’m a happy
man
thank you check the next choice for this
opportunity thank you for listening to
me you can draw your own inference from
what I spoke well I hope you can carry
something with you when you go back I
have no data to show you I have no
photograph to show you my achievements
yeah I’ve got spear Awards theorem there
yeah once I got some export award and I
don’t want to show that but what I have
is a truthfulness in me and what I’ve
shared with you today is all from
they’ll say thank you so much [Applause]