Mar
16
2014

The Gurus of Indian Classical Dance & How It Relates to Business & Life

An article by Roger

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Okay so I thought I would share an experience I recently had while I was traveling in Singapore at the beginning of Jan. It has really given me hope and the insights really helped me understand my own journey better.

It’s funny because you really never know where your greatest lessons may come from!

Over the New Years holiday I was traveling all over Asia and through a series of crazy circumstances I found myself in Singapore for 24 hours. So to make use of the time I decided to shoot the introduction video for our Entrepreneurs Pit Stop.

There was time to stroll around and appreciate the culture and the food as well as some of the historical sites. That’s when it happens. Before I know it it is as if I am Divinely led to a particular place and insights begin to download. I call them my spirit led strolling adventures. Well here I am strolling along and I find myself walking the underground walk way to the Esplanade Theater near the Marina Bay Sands Marina there in down town Singapore.

The Gurus

As I moseyed down the walk way I was gazing at all the interesting performances that were coming to the theater when what caught my attention was this large mural display that was called “The Gurus of Indian Classical Dance”.

The artist explained that most of the time artists and photographers focus on the 90 minute performance of beautiful dances with their pictures and commentaries but this murals the objective was to capture what goes on behind the scenes of a spectacular performance.

Often the performance is only the last step in a grueling internship that can last months and in many cases years as guru (Teacher) invests their lives into teaching the Shishya (disciple).

Insights

So what can The Gurus of Indian Classical Dance teach us about business and life?

Our culture here in the US and abroad has lost the art of apprenticeships. We think that we can just push someone through school and when they get done they expect they should be ready to be earning a six figure career.

Well many times the students feel that way but when life set’s in they are met with a stark reality that this is not the case. Our society also applauds the so called success stories that seemed to be overnight sensations. However 9 times out of 10 there are years of hands on preparation that go into shaping an individual to become the leader who shines during their so called 90 minute performance where they show up on the stage for all of us to admire.

The same thing happens with those trying to build a business on line. People mistakenly believe they can just have a friend throw up a website, toss up some PayPal buttons and bingo their in business. Then they think the money will just role in and they’ll make millions in the next 12 months.

I can almost hear the subtle chuckle of those who have been online right now as they say “yea right”

But there is so much to learn before a great business can be successfully launched and a home run can be hit. Those who wish to shortcut the necessary learning curve are hurting them selves and those they wish to help.

Here is why.

The Power of Devotion!

The Gurus of Indian Classical Dance literally have a special relationship of piety, similar to that between a parent and child.

Traditionally the Shishya or disciple is sent to live with their guru so as they might learn devotion ( a word that is not common in our culture.) as the guru wants to impart their philosophy, their knowledge, their style, their personality, their energy and so much more.

To train to become the best, among truly great Indian Classical dancers, cannot be done overnight nor quickly.

The tragedy of trying to “get rich quick” or even to “Get Rich” is you miss the most valuable lessons you need to make a true difference in your life and the lives of the people you will touch in the years to come. Personally my feeling is that most “get rich” authors are both doing a disservice to humanity and taking advantage of people by tempting them with an idea that many have been hurt by.

Rather what we should be striving for is proper devotion to the right ideals. The power of devotion can develop into people, who have enriched into their DNA, the character of love, honesty, integrity, a sincere desire to be concerned about the state of and to care for those around them. As well as the desire for excellence in all you do. To evolve and develop into higher beings who can help those around us avoid unnecessary suffering.

When we apply ourselves properly with the right motives we become wealthy in ways significantly beyond wealth. But if you then develop your financial skills, with the motive of helping others, you will enjoy what money can do to help the world around you.

My mentor taught me to “work on my character before working on my pocket book because my character will keep me where my skills and talents may take me”

Strategic Philosophy

Now I’m not saying that you need to go and find a guru and go and live with them. Instead what I’m offering is a strategy rooted in a philosophy, will call it strategic philosophy.

That strategy has a central key which is identified in a question my mentor always told me to ask. The question to ask is “What am I becoming?” Where you work ask yourself… “What am I becoming as a person here?” In my days at the airline I found myself becoming negative, complaining and gripping and I looked at myself and said “Is this what I want to become?”

When I looked at how I was building my business, who I was learning from and how I was getting stressed and being short with my children the thought occurred to me…

“What am I becoming here?, Is this how I want to be?”

The obvious answer was NO!

You Decide…

So let me suggest to you that you decide in advance what kind of person you want to be in character and habits before you begin your journey in life or business.

Then carefully pick those that you will allow to influence you and impart their life, energy, ideals and philosophy to you. Get around gurus or teacher and leaders who you can clearly see have the personality and character you would like to have imparted to you. Pick them carefully and learn the little nuances and style or love, patience, kindness. Let them mentor shape and mold you, to apprentice you if you will.

Don’t rush your success. Take the tine to learn gentle customer service, compassionate leadership, benevolent financing, long-suffering & patience, sincere humility, business building, powerful communication skills, proper posture, a solid hand shake. Develop the courage to look others in the eyes with love and humility, integrity based salesmanship or influence.

Do not rush the process. Ever heard the slogan “We serve no wine before it’s time?”

Your being molded into a wine that will in your life time serve millions of people. You’ll touch thousands personally and then they will go and touch thousands and so on.

The BIG Question is “What kind of wine are you becoming?

Do you want to be a fine wine for kings and queens or a cheap mass marketed wine for the masses? Do you want to be a complaining wine that tastes like rotten vinegar or a smooth sweet port wine?

Stop & Smell The Roses!

Begin your journey today by making the decision to stop rushing your life and letting technology and all the hype push you with the “Fear of loss”, or the lie that says “Do it now, you got to do this now!” Instead slow down and smell the roses as they say.

Start by looking at the images below and try to think of all the life that was invested in each human in the pictures.

Think of the time they devoted, the suffering, the trials, the challenges at home, the broken toes or fingers they may have endured, the broken hearts and relationships over the course of their lives. All that went into making these great dancers.

Do you really want to rush the process and miss all the valuable lessons and life experience that will shape you and make you truly a book worth reading or do you want to just be the cheap trash novel that get’s thrown in the trash once it’s speed read?

The answer is obvious but let me share a quick thought here and leave you with a suggestion.

A Thought

My sense is that our culture is really driven by fear and much of our rushing about is due to a subconscious thought that time is going to run out on me? So we rush trying to get to some level before the clock runs out. Those fears often appear like this: “What if I don’t have enough for retirement?, “What if I can’t make enough money to survive?”,”What if I get a major life debilitating disease or injury and I can’t work?” “What if my significant other leaves me?” “What if I can’t afford to pay my bills?” and on and on and on. It seems that this is the reason. A Fear of Death.

My Solution

Listen To Your Heart & Pursue the Spiritual Path!

Open your heart and mind to a bigger truth and picture of life. Open your heart to the fact that life really is a journey in which we learn the attributes of love, kindness, patience, peace, generosity, tenderness. It’s not about what we can achieve or get or how big we become.

It’s about learning love and giving love. A great definition can be found in the BIBLE (Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth) in 1Corinthians 12. Love is patient, love is kind, love suffers long and does not pay attention to a suffered wrong…

But to begin that journey you have to open your heart to the greatest lover of all, THE MASTER GURU, and let the CREATOR pour HIS love for you into your own life because we can’t really love if we lack it ourselves.

The kind of love we need to glide through life takes a super natural power to walk in especially when the world is lashing out in anger and suffering as a result of the pain they are in.

When you can surrender your life to LOVE, you are filled with a peace and trust that a LOVING being will take care of you and simply wants to reveal to you the best pathway for your life.

You’ll discover that you fears subside and begin to enjoy the journey. You’ll find yourself becoming an apprentice and eagerly embrace the process to become the kind of person that makes a true difference.

If you don’t know who to trust to come mentor you, then stop over at the Entrepreneurs Pit Stop. We have a growing list a real leaders who have the kind of character that makes a positive difference in our world. Who have been proven and care about you and want to help you step into your real purpose and accomplish your destiny.

In the mean time, go out side, take a walk, slow down and just talk to GOD in your own way and invite HIM into your heart and life and then slow down and let the processes of life mold you into that fine wine, that novel worth reading.

Now take time to enjoy the pictures below and share your own story or insight that you picked up along the way or even share how this post may have helped you.

Until we can meet face to face remember to Always Fly Right!

Upward & Onward;

Roger

What are these hands trying to say?

Look at his passion after all these years. This is one of the oldest teaches still around today.

Imagine if those we trained in our work force had smiles of joy like these young girls.

There is nothing like the one on one devotion of teacher to student. Sometimes we wonder if we could find a mentor who cared for us like this. What if instead you decided to be the Mentor like this tom some one in your life?

Look at the intensity of these young girls focus. What have they given up to sit here for years of there lives? What pains have they endured? What strained relationships, broken fingers, hurt ankles, lost loves?