We Grow Up Competing & Not Collaborating: Prakash Iyer

Individuals go to school and learn about different subjects such as biology, physics, and mathematics, but no one really tells them to become the kind of kid other kids want to play with. And they grow up competing, striving for extra marks and top colleges, but no one tells them to stop, said Prakash Iyer, Founder and CEO of Leadership Works and author of "How Come No One Told Me That," at the IBLF conclave.

“Maybe you need to collaborate, and learning to collaborate can actually open a lot more doors for you,” added Iyer.

While speaking at the Gurugram chapter of the 4th Edition of the India Business Literature Festival (IBLF), Iyer said one needs to make some very common changes to one’s life that nobody dares to tell us. He says his book compiles the simple lessons learned from simple tales he has witnessed over time that can turn around the way we see and perceive things. 

“Stories are very powerful, and they are all around us in simple things. If we care to see them, we can learn a lot from them, and they can make us do things differently,” said Iyer. 

Enumerating the changes that are taking place in the modern world, Iyer highlighted that caring for oneself is not selfish, and the world will see a lot of care where people will put forward their interests first, and a lot of the care will be for the environment and the way we all live our lives. 

People are now living by the famous quote that we only have two lives, and the second begins when we realise we only have one. Iyer claimed that he is forcing people to do what they want now rather than waiting a decade.

Lastly, Iyer shared that one needs to be comfortable in one's own shoes, and not try to be like others or care what others are doing. He says that “being yourself is the only chance you have to get success in this life.”