The second day of L'Attitude 13 05 got underway with Power talks by people who have lived life on their own terms and who, perhaps, for the same reason, are a source of inspiration for many of us.
Mr. Siddharth Jayakumar is a certified 'Documentary Credit Specialist' (CDCS) from Institute of Financial Services, UK & is India’s first CDCS with Cerebral Palsy. He is a recipient of National award in 2008 by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment - The “Best Employee with Cerebral Palsy”.
Highlights of his address (non verbatim) -
Siddharth's speech was one that every person would remember as the most inspirational speech of L'Attitude 13 05. Siddharth suffers from a neurological condition called Cerebral Palsy that affects the coordination between his mind and body.
Always defeat the problem. You cannot allow the problem to defeat you were some of his first words...
How many of you manage yourself? How do you make your presence felt? How do you make people accept you? That is where the challenge lies for me. I learnt to manage my limitations very well...How can I blame myself for something that is not in my control?
I used to talk very fast that even my parents could not understand me. I realized that and then I put in every effort to talk slow. That is a very painful process because it is not easy to beat your own mind...
I cannot write my own exam. I have to depend on somebody. Once, I had a person who did not even know English to write my history exam. I had to dictate the 3 hour paper letter by letter. I became very stubborn then. I decided to become mentally tough to be able to handle these situations...
It is easy to have a lot of thoughts, but how many can we really implement? Implementation was not very easy for me...I succeeded because I wanted to succeed.
A lot of insensitive people just happened to put me down without understanding my problem. The doctors could not diagnose my problem for 9 years. A school refused to admit me because I was different. If somebody else was in my situation, they would have just given up...
My parents are people who never expected something great out of me. I never passed on any responsibility to my parents. Accepting responsibilities for who you are and accepting whatever result you get for your action, that is what I did. It is very easy for me to blame the system, but blaming the the system will make me a loser. After 6 years of my career, I have met a lot of people who cannot come to terms with my ability no matter how much they know me...
I learnt that there is no second opportunity for me. Many people take their opportunities for granted. Every single opportunity I had, I had to grab it and deliver the best I can...
He ended the address with the words Everyday I think about how I can make myself better!
Siddharth's speech was about the story of his own personal triumph over his limitations. On the one hand, it is deeply personal, while, on the other, it is a lesson in exercise of will power, perseverance and a deep seated urge to succeed despite overwhelming odds. One that we would remember for a long time in our lives...!
If you went through the post on the Guest of Honour and the CEO Conclave and were impressed by the profiles of speakers, well, this list is going to impress you more...as guest speakers for the event, we have –
Mr. Arvind Talekar representing the ‘Nutan Mumbai Dabbawalas Association’ will be speaking on ‘The Magic of Dabbawalas Unfolded’. Even though 85% of them are illiterate, the Dabbawalas have Six Sigma, ISO & several other certifications to their credit. . The Dabbawala Association which was started in late 1890 by Late Shri. Mahadu Havji Bachhe now has 5000 employees and they deliver as many as 200000 boxes a day with a very high degree of accuracy.
Mr. Siddharth Jayakumar is a certified 'Documentary Credit Specialist' (CDCS) from Institute of Financial Services, UK & is India’s first CDCS with Cerebral Palsy. He is a recipient of National award in 2008 by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment - The “Best Employee with Cerebral Palsy”. Being a person with cerebral palsy, life was not easy for Siddharth. He had to encounter a number of hurdles. A turn around moment for him was when he got a call from Dr. Kalam’s office when the latter was serving as president. Thereafter Dr. Kalam went on to mention Siddharth's name on many occasions & forums including the ‘World Disability Day’.
Mr. Peter Van Geit, born and raised in Belgium, is living in Chennai for the last 12 years, working as a Project Manager in CISCO Systems India. An explorer by nature, Peter has driven over 50,000 kms across India on his bullet and has conquered the Himalayas thrice. A few years ago, he founded the Chennai Trekking Club (CTC), a non-profit volunteer based group of trekking enthusiasts who explore mountains and jungles across South India nearly all weekends of the year. This Chennai based group has currently close to 8000 members and is rapidly growing with 500 new members joining each month. It is the largest and the most active trekking community in India.
Mr. T Chendil Kumar or CK as he prefers to be called is a corporate trainer and a guest faculty at IIM Bangalore. With over 20 years of experience in sales and marketing and entrepreneurship, CK took a decision to switch over to training and speaking at the age of 45. He doesn’t regret it one bit because he now does what he enjoys best – connecting with people and enabling confidence in them. CK is an avid Toastmaster and a much sought after speaker. He has sponsored more than 10 Toastmasters Clubs in India. A redeeming feature of CK’s talks has been his sprinkling of relevant humour in his talks and programs.
Mr. Firdose Vandrevala is Chairman and Managing Director of Hirco Developments. Prior to joining Hirco, he was Chairman of Motorola in India. Mr. Vandrevala has had a long, successful and distinguished career with Tatas from 1972 -2005. He has been on the Boards of several companies. Currently besides Hirco, he is on the Board of Powergrid Corporation of India Ltd., Power Systems Operations Company and also on the Board of RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) India and UK. Mr. Vandrevala’s interests have led him to be actively involved with many organizations like Rotary, CII, and Multiple Sclerosis of India (MSSI).
Mr. Kamal P Nanavaty heads RIL’s Polymer and Cracker Business. He played a key role in capacity expansion through acquisition of IPCL in 2002 which enhanced the polymers market share from 40% to 70%. He has also been with Reliance Infocom, Reliance Retail and IPCL. He has presented numerous papers and key note addresses in conferences of international repute like APIC, NPRA, SPI, CMAI, Chemical week, ICIS, Tecnon, Plast India and others
Are you looking forward to listening to these speakers? Then, do join us on the 6th and 7th Jan, 2011 as we usher in the new year in our own style!
