SHORTCUT TO SUCCESS
Why We Need Models

By Ranjan Yumnam *

People say there is no shortcut to success. This is an old hat that we take out of the closet every time we feel frustrated at the slow pace of things around us or at the lethargy that seems to mark our mundane existence. What's more, we scoff at people achieving success by cutting corners; but believe me there are indeed shortcuts to success. It is through models.

We need models to look upto in whatever we do. As a government, as a private entity or as an individual, we can achieve near miracles by emulating the successful versions of our craft, talent or organisation. In whatever we do, there is almost always someone or the other who had done it better than us, or who had excelled at it and left trails. As they say, success leaves behind a blueprint and failure leaves in its trail hints for success. The good part is that we can learn from both success stories of others and their big time failures - at their expense.

To cut my argument short, identifying and following a template of success or a role-model, as the case may be, is often the smartest thing to do then to discover and invent ways of accomplishing something by trial and error methods, from the scratch, by burning midnight oil and often expending a lot of emotional, time and material investment to little or nothing of consequence in the end.

Think about it: We need not invent bulbs, because Thomas Alva Edison had already done it; we need not build a car ourselves, because Ford had taken that responsibility long time back; we need not worry about how to run a five star hotel because generations of generations of hoteliers had devoted their lives to the management of the hotel business; we need not invent noodles or noodle straps for that matter, because you know the reason by now; and there are umpteen other examples. At the end of the day, what we do, eat, drink, think, use and feel are mostly the second hand experiences of people who had lived before us and did the hard work for us so that we don't have to.

Now, let's apply this wisdom. Say, you want to run a restaurant. If I were you, I would visit some of the finest ones, take notes about their menu, observe the ambience, size up the seating arrangements, look at the interior design, and many other selling points down to their minutest details - doing all of these while trying out the food. Next, it's time to juggle and play God. I would adopt the best features from the competition and crossbreed them with my own imagination which may be again a rip-off from other restaurants elsewhere. For instance, I would install Karaoke systems, so that patrons can eat, play and sing (inspired by Asian resto-bars); I would introduce Happy Celebrity Hours at weekends and invite actors, singers, comedians, fashion models, public intellectuals, politicians, bureaucrats, supercops and other eminent personalities to do what they do best in their own fields. Entertainers will entertain; politicians will announce grand populist schemes; public intellectuals will popularise issues for public debate - all over a dinner or a cup of coffee. See, I didn't have to invent anything. These features exist in many eating joints in many countries, but these have not been tried here. It's not necessary to be geniuses; we should do simple things in a smart manner. The point is: why reinvent the wheel? It's there already. You need only to use it to serve your purposes.

My understanding is that we don't have enough of success models in Manipur. So we end up faltering in a vicious cycle of poor benchmarks and expectations as if we were living out the Manipuri saying - "U leitaba maphamda kegaena yumbi oi".

Same goes for our role models. Where are they anyway? Let's groom our own role models to rally the people's aspirations and find expression through them - someone like Barack Obama who represents and shapes the American Dream.

What is the Manipuri Dream then? We don't even know what it means to be a part of Manipuri Dream because no role-model or a leader has ever defined it. It's time to start the Manipuri Dream Project and for that we need to look out, see more, observe more, and experience more from other developed states and countries. Then juggle and play God, which is the fun part basically.

Nonetheless, the American Dream is the closest thing that we can relate to as a model. It is not just important to have a dream; it's also important that we should choose the right kind of dream. Should we ever dream, it should not be a mirror image of the Taliban Dream that crushes instead of nurturing hopes and shoots down dissent instead of promoting free expression and right to choose one's destiny. Like the American Dream, opportunities should be made available to every Manipuri to rise to any level he/she aspires to, irrespective of one's background.

Second, the Manipuri Dream is essentially a simple one and will consist of such simple yearnings as the right to work and sleep in peace, go out in the evening after work to enjoy a movie with the family - little joys that are taken for granted in other societies. A union of picture perfect idyllic families, contented and civil, making up a society of good citizens and confident individuals is what the Manipuri Dream should be mostly about.

Third, our collective dream should be about building a prosperous and proud Manipur that will make every Manipuri a role-model for others...because there would come a time when we would grow tired of copycatting from others and start realising, hey, we can beat them in their own game. That's my Great Manipuri Dream.

What's yours?

Ranjan Yumnam

* Ranjan Yumnam, presently an MCS probationer, is a frequent contributor to e-pao.net. He can be contacted at ranjanyumnam(at)gmail(dot)com. This article was webcasted on February 17, 2010.