Why 3G Matters in the World of Metaverse Rajesh Setty #JeenaIsiKaNaamHain
Rajesh Shetty(Raj) is our JeenaIsiKaNaamHain protagonist today and yes, it’s a trick title. It should have read “Three Gs” — Generosity, Gratitude & Goodness. They are the cornerstones of his life and what got him so far. And what endears him to his fans (like me).
Let’s hear it from him.
He says that the three things that matter and make a difference are IQ, EQ and GQ where G stands for generosity. If you are going on a hike, let’s say, you will probably do it alone without much help. You can do it I can do it and so can a million other people. But what if we have to climb Mount Everest (or Chomolungma in Tibetan)? We would certainly need help, a lot of it. Think of all the generous porters who go along with the crew. Most times they remain nameless and faceless, but their generosity makes the seemingly impossible climb possible, for most mountaineers. Sure, they get paid but you will agree what they get is a pittance compared to their efforts. Now, generosity may not the same thing as philanthropy which is also about contributing generously to a cause. Generosity is a broader idea and there is a distinction between helping and pretending to help. But how can you determine genuineness? He calls it the PGQ Test where P is the percentage. How is that? “They (people whom you have helped generously) should miss you from their past”. Think of all the teachers who taught us. There may be a few hundred if we go back to our kindergarten days, but why do we remember only a few? Are they the ones who helped us generously, meaningfully and shaped our lives? Do we miss them?
Gratitude is the other one. He calls it the “Twin” of generosity. A very big one and it’s about “One Thank You at a Time”. To illustrate this idea, he gives the example of Dr Hogshead, a renowned surgeon and the father of Sally Hogshead who wrote that bestselling book, Fascinate more than a decade back. As the narrative goes, Dr. Hogshead had operated on a young patient some thirty years ago. The boy — at that time — had fallen from a tree and was paralysed waist down. There was little hope. But Dr. Hogshead was able to treat the boy and give him his life back. It’s been more than 30 years, and yet, every year on the date of the operation, this man sends a THANK YOU note, a personalized one, to Dr. Hogshead. And it never fails to move him, including his family. This man had a choice. After recovery, he could have simply thanked the doctor, buy him an expensive present and moved on…It’s almost akin to saying…you treated me…you did a good job… a very good job… I have paid you and more…THANK YOU…and now our score is settled. But he chose to do otherwise. He chose to remember it for life. The point is some “scores” can never be settled. Each one of us must recognize such life-altering and timely help that have come our way and be grateful to those people who helped us. 2 out of 10 people (that Rajesh spoke to in a survey) have said that they regret NOT having shown enough gratitude to people who mattered, and a whopping 8 out of 10 people have expressed being short-changed. They have been taken for granted and it’s been very painful. Are we showing our gratitude while we still can to all those people who have shaped our lives?
The third G is about goodness, says Raj. When you practise the other two, you pivot into the realm of goodness that lingers on and inspires many more people to follow your example. That’s how we help one another and grow as individuals and as a society. This is something that I also firmly believe in and after having spent more than two decades building communities, I too have experienced it.
Raj is from Bangalore but he has been in the Bay Area for the last 35 years or so. Words that I would use to describe him are a very good human being, simple and grounded, respectful and humble, and very very importantly, he is a GIVER. He is an individual who has practised the 3 Gs.
It was more than a decade ago that I met him at the NASSCOM Product Conclave. He was a speaker, an expert marketeer at that. In fact, I haven’t come across many people who have that kind of marketing acumen. He stands out among the best and I have, in my life, met some outstanding marketing professionals. He has also been a prolific writer and has written scores of books. In the early days, I would share (with his permission of course) many of his posts and I have learnt a lot from the articles that he wrote with great frequency.
Then I moved on to iSPIRT and our association continued. He would drop by, give us books to read and share his thoughts freely which helped us shape some of our events. Since he devoured books and wrote with equal fervour, his insights were sharp and always challenged the status quo. He has written a book in 18 hours which should be a record of sorts. They call him the Silicon Valley Spark Plug. He is incredibly connected in the Bay Area and the best part is that if he likes you, he will readily introduce you to his network and see that you have the right platform on which you can build on. I have benefitted from his generosity so many times.
He told me once, “Avinash you are a silent contributor, but people trust you a lot. In your presence, they can open up and speak their minds.” It has stayed with me for a very long time, and also helped me shape up as a community builder.
He is a great host. Sometime in 2015 or ’16 we met him in the Bay Area. He greeted us respectfully with a warm Namaste and showed us around the Stanford campus. Later on, he helped us discover a very good South Indian restaurant so that we could eat Indian food to our heart’s content and feel at home. I recently met him in Bangalore in his house and I can tell you the kind of warm hospitality that I received, left me floored.
The other “point” that I’d like to make is his sense of humour, in fact, self-deprecating humour. He famously said once, “James Bond is 007 and I am .007. You see “the point” makes all the difference.” Unfortunately, he hasn’t been keeping too well lately…But not one to be unfazed, he cuts a joke there as well.” My body wants to be the Statue of Liberty and my mind wants to be Spiderman so there’s a conflict of interest, Avinash, and I am dealing with it one day at a time.”
Raj, my dear friend, you are a superhero no less than James Bond or Spiderman. Here’s wishing you a speedy recovery. The world needs you to perpetuate goodness till it becomes a hygiene factor for human civilization.
