Keep dreams alive, says well-known author Chetan Bhagat in Mysuru

Mysore/Mysuru: A fine balance between career, health and relationship is what leads to one’s success and not being able to manage any one of them, disturbs this balance and success becomes elusive, opined well-known author Chetan Bhagat.

Delivering a motivational talk on “Definition of Success” at the Karnataka State Open University Convocation Hall last evening, an event organised by Event Mitra, Chetan said, “All of us constantly seek approval from others and do not realise that we are not living for ourselves. Most of the time, our behaviour depends on how others react and we lose focus on what we actually want.”

Sharing his own experience, Chetan said a simple comment by his friend on how much he earned as a writer, made him lose focus on what he set out to do and in the rat race for earning money, he lost the balance needed for success and by the time he got back on track, it took a toll on him.

“When the balance is lost, not only does success elude you, it also makes you unhappy. An unhappy person can never make others happy, so it is imperative to keep ourselves happy by doing what we want. Living for ourselves doesn’t mean we are selfish but just that it helps us focus better, leading to what we understand as success and eventually making us happy. Happy people attract a lot of good and help them keep their dreams alive,” he told the audience.

Engaging the audience with questions, anecdotes and humorous incidents, Chetan was at the same time entertaining the audience who sat with rapt attention. His humour-laced speech left the crowd in splits on many occasions. His talk was also interspersed with motivational incidents and stories.

“Success of course comes only when you want to succeed, as there is an infinite landscape of excuses for us not to pursue success,” he said and stressed on how specific goals are imperative to be successful. Long-term efforts are what pay off and there aren’t any hacks to take one there, he added.

Chetan strongly felt that in the present times, there isn’t any competition for those who are focussed on their goals, simply because most of their peers are so distracted with social media and their phones. He advised students to strictly cut down on their screen time, as this is designed to drain productivity.

“Distractions are like pani puri, just a side dish to be relished once in a while. Goals are like staple food that helps us keep going. We generally believe that a happy life is one that has no pains, but joy and pain are interrelated and the pains we endure in our pursuit of success lead to positive productivity. When our tolerance to pain is zero, our achievements too are zero and hence we need to choose our pains,” he advised.

Chetan also asked the youth not to let their romantic dreams overtake their goals. This was his first live programme post-COVID he said and added that he was delighted to be in the town to which R.K. Narayan, one of his greatest inspirations, belonged to.

‘Icons of Mysore’

Sudhanva Dhananjaya, Founder and CEO, Excelsoft Technologies, Mysuru and Arjun Ranga, Managing Director, Cycle Pure Agarbathi, Mysuru and the Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry’s (CII) Karnataka State Council were felicitated as the ‘Icons of Mysore’.

Accepting the felicitation, Sudhanva expressed his happiness at how Mysuru has come a long way in different fields and is a big name today after Bengaluru.

Arjun Ranga said that Cycle Pure Agarbathi will be the first FMCG company to offset the use of plastics by 2025.

Shreya, General Manager, Events Mitra introduced Chetan Bhagat. Before Chetan spoke, Chowchowbath, a music group from Mysuru, entertained the audience with popular film songs.

KSOU Vice-Chancellor Prof. S. Vidyashankar, Founder-Editor of Star of Mysore and Mysuru Mithra K.B. Ganapathy, Managing Editor, Chairman and Managing Director K.G. Vikram Muthanna, STG Group of Institutions CEO and MD C.P. Shivaraj, CEO of Plutus Property Management and event partner Girish Baga and Manjunath were present.

Chetan’s advice to guys on getting back girlfriends

What kind of a relationship can you build with a person you have to run behind so much? There are a lot more girls of your age. Go find someone else and don’t waste time pursuing someone who doesn’t want you. My advice to all the young men: Build muscles, make money. Everything else will come to you.” This was in response to a question by a youth asking Chetan how to get his girlfriend back (referring to his novel ‘Half Girlfriend’)

Chetan wondered why there were only Saas-Bahu (mother-in-law and daughter-in-law) serials on TV and nothing on Saas-Damaad. “Sons-in-law too have their share of grouses to share and must be heard. My mother-in-law is from Karnataka and I have failed to impress her. But today as I am in Mysuru, she will be impressed,” he said.

“Don’t ever get involved in politics. Make money, pay your taxes and serve the nation” was Chetan’s reply to a question on how to overcome political distractions.

How does he overcome failures? “Stay focussed on what I want and what I have learnt.  I started my YouTube channel during the COVID time. Some talks have done well, some haven’t. It has become very popular but I’ve also learnt from them.”