While pondering over the probable reasons for the survival of the human race through the thick and thin of times, it makes me pleasantly surprised to note that humans (and especially men) had an excellent sense of trade. In the prehistoric times, they traded women for security, security for food and food for women. Then the times changed. We became civilized (probably) and invented money or rather discovered it in the form of gold, which to date remains the standard de-facto. Money was certainly the biggest invention of mankind; for in the years to come, it was, by far, the single biggest motivating factor for discoveries, triumphs and innovations. We all need to bow down and accept that it still remains to be the single biggest motivating factor in the current era and would remain to be the same in eras to come.
Lost track, didn't we? Money is such a distraction, you see.
So, once we became civilized, the trading intensified. In came barter and then currency. Men traded goods for money, money for security and security for women. Most of the factors remain the same, except the fact that money became the standard for survival instead of food and women lost out on a little bit of importance. Then came industrialization, the era of processed goods, factories and colonization. The ones who were more adventurous, were more successful. As the mainland Europe became small for the inhabitants, the thieves and criminals were sent to Australia and the modern day USA. The trade never stopped. Industrialization was a result of inventions and trade was a by-product of industrialization. It was also the era of discoveries (for the Europeans at least). Man traded security for fame, fame for money and money for women. Big differences were seen over the past era. Changes they were; for the good or the bad? Only time had the answer.
We next stepped into the modern world, with probably the most powerful of the human discovered tools; Education. What was driven by instincts and experience was now driven by knowledge and estimation. The degree held the key to success. The businessmen were more knowledgeable than before. It became easier to apply knowledge to gain prosperity. The businesses grew in size. In came globalization. In came the era of rules and exceptions.
While most in the modern world love to quote exceptions to nullify an argument, yet many fail to realize that one in a million humans is an unseen jigsaw. What does it take to be a successful businessman? Many disagree with education being a prime consideration quoting entrepreneurs with little formal education. To me, people like Dhirubhai Ambani are an exception and not the rule, for many like him, with similar potential are still selling oil somewhere. The silicon valley giants have built their empire with the help of thousands of trained professionals. The names we never hear about. Look at the government; each one of us know that who are the people making the policies and running the nation; yet the people in prominence are the ministers and not the civil servants. Ever heard a cabinet secretary reading out the budget to you?
Hence, we find ourselves in this world where a man trades life for money and gets traded by women for everything else. Revenge; isn't it?
Yet what essentially defines a successful businessman is the desire to succeed and the right trade at the right time. Many have that click by birth (yes, you can imagine a few communities, but I would refrain from naming), and others learn it by their own mistakes or by the mistakes that others have already made. And yet, success like meteors, is rare to spot and amazingly short-lived. What makes the businessmen successful it the ability to touch the zenith after been pushed to the nadir.
