Striving towards Excellence

-Karthik Gurumurthy

I've been thinking about how life is always changing - it's the one thing we can count on! But change isn't something to fear. I see it as moving from one amazing experience to another, each with its own beauty and mystery to uncover.

Dealing with change is really what good leadership comes down to. In my experience, the best leaders don't just stick with what's comfortable or familiar. They have this amazing ability to see beyond what's right in front of them. Average people think "what I have is good," but exceptional ones think "whatever is good, I'll make it mine."

I've found this fascinating concept called the 'law of three' really helpful. It's like this: when you put out positive energy (first force), you'll inevitably face resistance (second force). But here's the cool part - if you keep pushing with that positive energy, eventually this third force kicks in and actually transforms all that negativity into something positive! But you have to stick with it, or the negative will take over.

There's this story that really drives this home for me. Some biology students were watching a butterfly emerge from its cocoon, and they felt bad seeing it struggle, so they helped it out. But the butterfly died! Their teacher explained that the struggle was actually necessary - it strengthens the butterfly's wings. By "helping," they accidentally killed it.

That's been such an eye-opener for me - sometimes the struggles we face are exactly what we need to grow stronger. Good leaders get this. They stay positive even when everything around them is falling apart.

I also try to follow what I call the "ladder principle" - we're all on different rungs of personal growth. If you want to climb higher, you should help others up too, not pull anyone down.

When I'm working with people, I've learned it's crucial to keep their hopes alive. I focus less on my own career path and more on helping others develop theirs. The real skill is igniting enthusiasm in others. I love what Andrew Carnegie said about having the patience of a gold miner - you have to sift through a lot of dust to find those golden moments with people.