Chopra - When I Was 25: The Leaders Look Back

Its not magic but madness which precipitates the success of the best leaders. The stories of these thirteen people completely shattered my assumptions about leadership, success, and wisdom. And for good reason. They didnt need career counsellors, they didnt chase mentors, almost all of them studied something they wouldnt pursue later in life, they were lost and okay with that, and they did well in life by eliminating those who doubted their passions. Most of their best laid plans in their twenties stayed just that, plans. In their youth, few of these amazing personalities had any inkling of their eventual success stories. These fascinating accounts of their lives are not career graphs, they are about how they learnt from experiences, travel, people, the mistakes they made, and how they embraced failure. They show why madness is a necessary ingredient in dreaming big and how every success must be savoured and enjoyed. These people were not born leadersthey shaped their destiny to become spectacular achievers.

I wrote this book for many reasons. Our country is changing, its being shaped by those who make up its majoritythe youth. There is hunger for opportunities with pangs for success. To make it big. At 25, a lot of people in India are taking risks and starting up. These millennials are running businesses. They are leading teams. Many of them have a number they are chasing50 crores, 100 crores, a million dollars, or some such other. The reason I wanted to write this book is because I believe life at 25 isnt only about valuations. Its not only about successes. Its actually about challenges, failures, confusion, chaos, and madness. And through all of that emerge leadership qualities and personal character strengths that allow many a summit in peoples lives. Through these stories I have been able to capture the journey and excitement of these leaders and what inspired and determined their plans in their twenties. Its a book that establishes that success isnt dependent on technical, educational, or marketing skills. Its something deeper in the bone marrow. Its strength of character and not just the pursuit of winning.

Adi Godrej worked as a bellboy in a national park in the US, it taught him how to live on a shoe string budget and respect for labour. Rajdeep Sardesai interviewed the PM at 24, but later regretted that he might have been too young for it. Lesson learntno replacement for knowledge and experience. Chairman of DLF, K.P. Singh was fairly distracted when he was young. In his early twenties, he fell in love with a girl of high birth and imagined an aristocratic future playing polo in England. Why did he return to India and how did he transform his life? Former Finance Minister P. Chidambaram escaped the familys textile business to do law but returned to be a leftist for his decade of the twenties. What did those experienceswhen he was armed with pink communist ribbons in protestteach him about trade unions and the economy? What did such diverse incidents do to his character and life?

Being a great leader is about personal relationships, connecting with people, learning from mistakes, and going beyond success as the sole benchmark in life. All these leaders were seeking direction, looking for big ideas, collaborating, struggling, and challenging the status quo around them. The book articulates that they learned a lot in their twenties. And after all those decades and accolades, they are still learning.