Remember that the happiest people are not those getting more, but those giving more.- Jackson Brown
I have always believed that entrepreneurship is a calling; it is a passion that drives a person to achieve greatness in his or her chosen field of entrepreneurial activity.
However, it is truly the unique who turn this passion into a social cause and bring about revolutionary changes. Their business is not about sampatti (selfish wealth) – rather, it is about sampada (selfless wealth). To put it differently, they are into the business of making people happy or bringing a cognizable change that improves the lives of people. They invest in feelings and the “dua economy”, and their return on investment is in terms of social change and blessings.
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| Anurag Batra |
Take Arvind Kejriwal as a case in point. He took a sabbatical from being a senior civil servant to bring about a social change of epic proportions – by founding Parivartan, a Delhi-based citizens’ movement that works on ensuring a just, transparent and accountable governance. Together with Aruna Roy and others, he was instrumental in bringing about the Right to Information Act.
It was selfless work; it was an initiative for the benefit of people; it was a noble cause. Not that he would have ever made large amounts of money from it – in fact, that was not even
the objective of this initiative. But it will make a lasting change and improve the lives of millions by empowering them.
Which brings me to a fundamental question – should entrepreneurial success be measured only in financial terms? I think every real entrepreneur will disagree with that statement. All leading entrepreneurs that I know of started their businesses to create something of lasting value, and not just to make money. True, one needs to earn one’s livelihood, but as Abraham Maslow said in his model of hierarchy of needs, once the basic needs (physiological, safety, etc.) are taken care of, a person yearns to fulfill his need of self-actualization (morality, creativity, etc.).
How much financial success does one need? A friend of mine once told me that he reached a certain figure, he realized that he had enough to meet his “needs” – everything beyond that was for “wants”. That, too, would come to an end at some point in time – beyond that, it would just be a figure growing in a bank account. People at the pinnacle of success realize this. Take the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to which Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have given away a large portion of their fortune. At smaller levels all organizations of a certain size recognize their role in the world, and make financial and other contributions towards making the world better for others.
Social entrepreneurship coexists with financial entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurs, who are agents of change in any economy, must shoulder social responsibilities as well. I sincerely believe that every entrepreneur, no matter how big or small, should make a social contribution, not just financially, but also in terms of time and effort. An entrepreneur takes risks and makes investment for his own financial well-being and that of his enterprise; but some investment also needs to be made for one’s own soul.
Anurag Batra is real life, first generation entrepreneur who is Much Below Average (MBA) from the prestigious Management Development Institute, MDI. When he is not busy writing such columns, he can be reached at anuragbatrayo@gmail.com.
Anurag is the co founder and editor-in-chief of exchange4media group which includes exchange4media.com.
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