When I look back, I don't remember my life through achievements, designations or milestones. I remember it through people, experiences and values that shaped the person I became.
One of my earliest memories still makes me smile.
On my very first day at school, I was made to wear a shirt with the buttons stitched at the back. In those days, girls wore frocks with buttons at the back. I was so embarrassed that I spent almost the entire day standing with my back against the classroom wall, hoping no one would notice.
Life has a beautiful way of reminding us that the things which embarrass us today often become the stories we smile about tomorrow.
Perhaps the greatest gift I received as a child was not education or opportunity.
It was trust.
For reasons I still cannot explain, my parents, teachers, relatives, neighbours and friends believed in me long before I had achieved anything. Like every child, I made mistakes. I even told the occasional lie. Yet they always chose to see sincerity beyond those mistakes.
Looking back today, I realise they were not simply trusting a little boy.
They were quietly shaping the man he would one day become.
Before I turned fifteen, my father placed four books in my hands:
- The Story of My Experiments with Truth
- The Bhagavad Gita
- The Simple Life
- Character
At that age, I thought he was giving me books.
Only years later did I realise he was giving me a way to live.
Those pages quietly taught me that character is built long before success arrives, humility is a strength and trust, once earned, becomes life's greatest wealth.
Years later, completing my post-graduation in Pure Science brought another important realisation.
Education gives us knowledge.
It does not build a career.
Growth belongs to those who continue learning, remain humble and are willing to reinvent themselves.
Before founding POSSIBLE in 1999, I spent sixteen years as an intrapreneur.
Those years became my real management school.
They taught me accountability before authority.
Ownership before designation.
Responsibility before recognition.
Most importantly, they taught me what it truly means to carry someone else's dream as though it were your own.
When I founded POSSIBLE, I never wanted to build just another consulting organisation.
I wanted to build relationships founded on trust, where every entrepreneur felt that someone genuinely cared about their business, their people and their future.
Over the years, many entrepreneurs have given me the privilege of becoming their friend, philosopher and, whenever needed, their guide.
That privilege has always meant more to me than any designation or achievement.
I have never believed that consulting is about giving advice from across the table.
For me, it begins the moment an entrepreneur says, "Treat this business as your own."
From that moment onwards, I don't merely advise the business.
I live it.
I breathe it.
I celebrate its victories.
I stand beside it during its difficult times.
Because businesses are built by people.
And people are held together by trust.
If the twelve-year-old Rajiv were to meet me today, I hope he would not be impressed by my profession, my experience or the organisations I have worked with.
I hope he would simply smile and say,
"You remembered what they taught you."
If these few pages resonate with you, perhaps we should have a conversation.
I would be happy to learn about your business, understand the journey you are on and explore how we can write the next few successful pages together.