St Gallen essay

I wrote an essay with the title of ‘Economic Globalization: End of Inevitability’ for the St Gallen symposium. It will be exciting to discuss politics and business this year with the financial crisis and Obama as the new American President.

The file link is http://abhishake.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/gallen1.pdf (warning: first page is empty)

Comments on the essay are welcomed.

Why I don’t blog much here.

I don’t blog much here, because I hate writing stuff that’s only adding more noise to our world. And recently I’ve started appreciating how important it is to shut up and just listen. Our world would be a better place if most of us did that.

Of course my mundane thoughts are streamed through twitter. Its mostly pointless banter, so please don’t follow me.
So no, I don’t write my thoughts or opinions anywhere on the web. I’m not qualified to write breakthrough lines and words on any topic (other than myself of course). And I find writing anything else an utter waste of time, and too much noise(blog posts take time to write. You wouldn’t think so reading most blogs, but yes they do take time!). And like a wiseguy once said, “The day I stop thinking and talking about myself, is the day I will start thinking”.

The only thing interesting and original I’ve written in 2009 is this essay on Globalization for St Gallen Symposium. Took me about 3-4 days to write it and 10 days of research and reading. I wish I could have published the drafts which had about 12,000 words. I had to cruelly cut down to 2000 for the competition.

Happy.

I realized today that perhaps I am happy. I can’t describe it well enough; but its a light headed feeling, a feeling of being alive, a feeling that you’ll be feeling like this even in the next moment.

I can’t recollect feeling like this in a long time. Maybe when I was much younger and too innocent to differentiate between unhappiness and happiness, pursuit of which defines adult lives.

I can’t believe how much good taking a semester off has done for me. Right now, I’m doing something that I chose to do. Something that wasn’t enforced on me by societal pressure or by lack of other opportunities. I chose to do this.

And this feeling of happiness is not rooted in a victory over competitors or in the act of rebellion of dropping a semester or in the feeling that life’s perfect. Thankfully not.

I think the day that I realized all the following, I finally started doing things that I really really want to.
1. I have very limited needs. I can live on minimum money.
2. I’m not applying for higher education for the next 5-6 years.
3. My parents are super cool.

Realizing all that took all the pressure off my back. Phew!

So when last semester in Pilani, I was unhappy with everything that was going on with me, taking a semester off to explore just seemed right. And by explore I didn’t intend to travel around, meet new people, and live a bohemian life. I’m pretty sure I want to run world changing businesses. What I needed was a direction to move forward in, not a plan, but a direction.

Renewable energy  was something that had been giving me quite a few sleepless nights ever since I spoke to Alexis from Indian Youth Climate Network and Devin, my summer internship boss and dear friend. So I decided to take the semester off to work in an organization that would give me a panaromic view of the entire renewable energy sector in India. New Energy Finance seemed like a perfect fit and it sure is!

So right now I’m doing what I love. Getting paid enough to live well. And there’s no pressure. Finally.

Yes, I am happy.

I hope all of you can feel this, at least once.