CULTIVATE THE X-FACTOR TO BE SUCCESSFUL: MONK GAUR GOPAL DAS TELLS STUDENTS

Bhubaneswar, March 13: Talent and skill are important elements which many feel are needed for achieving success in life but what truly matters is the mindset of the person that makes him stand apart, life coach, motivational speaker, ISKCON monk and author Gaur Gopal Das has said.
The corporate world has been looking for people with talent and skill but individuals who have the required mindset and not obsessed with growth will eventually succeed, Das said while addressing a large number of students, faculty members and corporate leaders at ‘SOA Proxima’, a three-day annual talent engagement event of SOA Deemed to be University here, which began on Friday.
“If asked to hire people, I will not care about talent and skill but look for the person possessing the X-factor,” the monk known for his book ‘You Can Have It All’, said.
Seamlessly mingling with the teeming students, Das explained that colourful balloons didn’t soar into the sky because of their dazzling shades. They fly in the sky because of the gas inside them, he pointed out.

“Skill is critically important but unless you have the mindset you will not succeed”, Das said while drawing a parallel with the Mahabharata story. “Arjuna was highly skilled and had all the weapons but he didn’t have the will to fight”, he added.
Elaborating on the X-factor that students required to have, the monk said children love to chase colourful butterflies. But it is a better option to create a beautiful garden where butterflies of various hues would assemble on their own, he said.
“This is the X-factor which will make you irresistible for the corporate honchos when they are hiring people for their companies. You have to be that person”, Das who qualified as an electrical engineer before turning a monk, said.
Urging the students not to be obsessed with growth or to chase success, he said “you create that garden where butterflies will converge.”
“Everyone who has grown exponentially has not bothered about growth. You need to work hard on the process,” he said.
SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda welcomed and introduced the speaker. Mr. Ripti Ranjan Das, Director (Corporate Affairs and Industry Connect) also spoke.

The monk urged the students not to compare their own growth and progress with others. “Parents often compared the performance of their children with others but they did not understand that success did not come by comparing. They were not wrong as that is what they had understood at that time”, he said.
“I urge you not to worry about what others are doing, rather you worry about what you are doing”, Das said adding “mistakes are our biggest teacher as they teach us more than success.”
“A mistake that makes you humble is better than an achievement that puffs you up”, the monk said.
“The growth mindset is about owning mistakes and the corporates look for it. Growth occurs in a culture where people are allowed to make mistakes”, he said.

Referring to the buzz over Artificial Intelligence, Das said though it threatened to squeeze the job market it could never be able to generate human empathy or creativity. “Human capital is the biggest capital in the world”, he said.
SOA Founder President Prof. (Dr.) Manojranjan Nayak received the monk who presented him one of his books.
In a program titled ‘Celebration of Excellence’ held subsequently, corporate leaders attending the event were presented with awards. Dr. Debahuti Mishra, Professor and Head of Department of Computer Science Engineering of SOA’s faculty of engineering and technology, proposed the vote of thanks.