10 Lives I’d Have Loved to Lead (Part 1)


                                               
If I was given a chance to lead the lives of other people, then who would they be? This question popped in my mind the other day and I couldn’t relax until I had listed down a few names. There were no criteria in deciding these names. I allowed my mind to drift from personality to personality from as varied a field as possible and the ones that fascinated me the most and aroused the most curiosity in me, I noted down. My initial list had 25 names that I shortened to 10. Below you’ll find 5 of those names along with the lessons to be learnt from them. The remaining 5 will be discussed in tomorrow’s blog.   

Ayatollah Khomeini: The spiritual leader who led the greatest revolution of modern times. Brave, courageous, bold, and outspoken. He defied every logic in taking on the might of US and never once did show any signs of breaking down despite tremendous pressure.

Lesson(s) to be learnt: 1) how to handle pressure, 2) how to remain steadfast on the path of truth.

Casanova: The greatest seducer of all time. But that’s not what his life was all about. Very few people know that he was a spy too. He led a life of great adventure, so colourful and so exotic.

Lesson to be learnt: 1) seduction tactics.

James Joyce: A writer who redefined writing. He had that rare ability to literally play with words. His novels make you crazy and frustrated. He could weave magic with sentences and to call him a magician among writers would not be a fallacy.  

Lesson (s) to be learnt: 1) stream of consciousness 2) how to make words obey you.

Bhagat Singh: A legend. A folk hero.  A revolutionary. Executed at the age of 23. Still alive in every Indian’s mind. Single-handedly, he created fear among the officials of the British empire.  

Lesson to be learnt: 1) fearlessness.

Genghis Khan: The founder of the Mongol empire. The first Great Khan. The forefather of the Mughal dynasty (from the mother’s side). The great conqueror. Also, the alpha-male. One in 200 men are direct descendant of Genghis.

Lesson (s) to be learnt: 1) leadership 2) war strategies.

To be continued tomorrow.    

-          NZ

20.7.2019  






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