Link some glory

I have had emotions stacking up for this post for some while. Banjo da's note 'Legends and Oaths' finally prompted me.

At one point, he says 'I love watching movies'.
When I was growing up, 'going to' movies was not much reason for applause. Not just because I was a kid, and I could do better than wasting hours at cinema halls. It was an 'indulgence' which was best avoided. With least critical eye, it was something men and women did when they could not muster enough will to engage in anything productive.

When I moved to Pilani, with in a short while I experienced a 'revolutionary' thought. Men of honor, men of taste, men of intellect watched movies! Suddenly there was glory in announcing 'I love movies'. For one, I had never used the word love for whatever I felt about movies. In fact I had not seen many before Pilani.
How many? A dozen! Two dozen. Definitely not more.

Soon, the world of cinema hooked me. I was talking about movies, reading about them, looking for certain 'kinds' of them. And there was this dawning sense of connection with another 'love' I had always had- novels! I realized it was all about stories. I enjoyed reading stories. I enjoyed how different people told different stories and often quite differently. And movies offered all the more options with subjects, characters, styles. Most often in less than 3 hours. Any novel would take me no less than 2 weeks of mad reading to finish. I always enjoyed detail and never skimped through even the most pumping mysteries.

Anyway this post is not about my fascination for movies.

Let's talk about entrepreneurship.

When I was growing up, I always hated the idea of doing 'business'. I thought businessmen were men who wanted nothing in life but money. Simple.
Around 2nd or 3rd year of college, the word 'entrepreneurship' started making a buzz. I clung on to my faith in science and engineering and literature. Business was business. Business was to mint money. And money was not what I wanted in life.
Suddenly, best brains were talking about their entrepreneurial dreams!
People were talking about the concept of 'lending' financial 'worth' to their projects (ventures). I held on for a while.
But it was a strong wave. Steve Jobs was becoming a hero. Albert Einstein was losing.
Smart people were quoting the Steve's of the world and and not Albert's.
And then social ramifications got associated with it, and hence was born 'Social Entrepreneurship'. Glory!

I saw myself getting pulled to 'Conquest' more than 'APOGEE'. (Only BITSians will make sense of this)
I saw myself growing keen to talk to and learn about people of Steve's clan.
I saw myself talking to friends about entrepreneurship and the social variant more so.

But this post isn't about entrepreneurship. (btw do you know how difficult it is to spell this word! I err nearly every time)

Let's talk about biking. Or we can talk about meditation. Or should we talk about youth in politics? Photography?
There's so much to talk about. This is why I was so muddled when I sat down to write this post.

Ok I'll jump to the point.
Glory is a brilliant thing.
It can be maddening. It can be fueling. It can be your life. It can be your death.
I say- nothing moves man more than desire for glory.
Not money. Not sex. Glory. Maybe every desire is but a variant of the innate desire for glory.

Why does anybody seek to climb a mountain? Why would anyone want to swim at the North Pole?
Why do I fancy rafting in Amazon! Why do I fancy cycling to Lahore!
Glory!

I'll leave you with a quote I recently read somewhere. Sums up everything I have tried to convey via this post. Everything I have managed or failed to say.

"If you want to build great ships, do not gather people and teach them about nuts and bolts and wood and metal and wind and waves. Entice them about the sea!"
------ Link some glory! -------

What glory are you after?
WHAT GLORY ARE YOU AFTER?