By: Professor M.S. Rao

“I rose from humble origins with a toxic family background. When I was 18, I dropped out of college to support my parents financially and joined the Indian Air Force. I had to struggle hard to earn my livelihood. I sacrificed my personal time, invested a portion of my monthly salary and resources, and acquired several qualifications including DME, BSc, MA, MBA, PGDCLL, and PGDBM. I earned my Ph.D. in 2011. I understand the pain of life. I am a self-made man. I have learned that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” ―Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D.—21st-Century Philosopher & The Father of “Soft Leadership”

My daily routine: In the morning, I create knowledge. In the afternoon, I acquire knowledge. In the evening, I eliminate unwanted information. In the night, I prepare for the next day.

I served in the Indian Air Force and learned several lessons. I will outline some of my exciting experiences and the lessons I learned from them to become a healthy citizen, professor, award-winning author, and keynote speaker globally. 

When I was 15 years old, I dreamed of joining the Indian Air Force. But I was short in height with an asthma problem. I went to the gym every day to exercise and increase my height. I joined the Indian Air Force when I was 19 years old by discontinuing my graduation. My family was not in a position to provide me with an education. After I joined the Indian Air Force, I acquired several qualifications including BSc, DME, MA, PGDCLL, PGDBM, and MBA. After completing my duties, I utilized my personal time for education and learning. I invested my annual leave and casual leave to study hard and acquire qualifications. Thanks to the Indian Air Force for giving me the salary, food, and accommodation to serve my nation, acquire an education, and support my family financially.  

Indian Air Force (IAF) is such an amazing organization that anyone can join irrespective of their family background. For instance, I was in a tea stall assisting my father who was from a poor family background. After coming home from school, I supported my father in the tea stall by collecting cash, serving food to the customers, and washing dishes. IAF allowed me to serve my nation. There is no discrimination in recruitment, training, and treatment in IAF. It is an ethical and noble organization offering equal opportunities to all.

The Indian Air Force is my most admired organization. It is an honor to serve this prestigious organization. I have gratitude for it. I am what I am because of it. It pulled me out of my toxic family and toxic environment. It converted me from a boy into a man and made me a healthy citizen and leader. It removed negative thoughts from my mind and improved my positive attitude towards life and leadership. I was born in a small village and was like a frog in the well. I came out of it because I was associated with other people across India during the training. It inculcated in me discipline and dedication. It developed in me a national mindset and inculcated patriotism. I became flexible, adaptable, and agile. It taught me to take risks and lead a challenging and exciting life. It taught me to embrace uncertainty. It taught me to bounce back from failures and become resilient. It taught me to excel as an ethical and mindful leader. It set my morning routine to get up at 4 AM every day morning and sleep at 10 PM. It made me a leader with a universal mindset.

Make Decisions with Spine

I lived in Jodhpur, India from 1986 to 1991.When I served in the IAF I was involved in various routine duties and exciting adventures. They have become sweet memories and I enjoy recalling them even today. I would like to share some of them.

When I was posted in Jodhpur, India from 1986 to 1991, I had many experiences where I was called suddenly to move along with others. When I was sleeping in my billet on holiday, my officer came and woke up all of us and ordered us to dress up with overhauls and carry our luggage on temporary duty to an unknown destination. We all got up from the bed and acted swiftly. We all dressed up and got baggage ready. We were taken to the Air Force Transport aircraft by a military vehicle and flew to an unknown destination. After we landed, we realized that we were in the Gujarat state. We were asked to check the civilian transport aircraft of a foreign nation. We came to know that these foreign transport aircraft flew over the military bases in Jodhpur and were landed forcibly by Indian Air Force fighter aircraft. The IAF suspected that the foreign transport aircraft flew deliberately over our military bases and photographed the images of our Jodhpur military bases. We checked them and found nothing was photographed and our security was not breached. The pilots of foreign civil aircraft informed us that they had lost their way and flown over our military bases by mistake. After checking the foreign transport aircraft and giving them clearance to fly further to their destination, we stayed the night in the Gujarat state and returned by IAF transport aircraft the next day to Jodhpur. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life.

I lived in North-Eastern India from 1991 to 1993. When I was posted between  1991 to 1993 in North-Eastern India, I was part of the evacuation process several times. I was involved in evacuating people who were stranded in hills and other places because I was trained in the MI-17 helicopter which was also meant for carrying VIPs (Very Important Person) in India. I had the privilege of traveling with many celebrities and top politicians during the period. It was a great life only the soldiers who served in the Indian Air Force could enjoy it. There were many more such interesting and exciting experiences I had when I worked in the MiG21 between 1983 to 1985 in Chandigarh. In a nutshell, it is a great honor to serve in the IAF. Only a few people are blessed with such experiences and I am proud that I was blessed to live and lead such a challenging and exciting life.

Good leaders do the best thing in the prevailing situation whereas the great leaders do the right thing in any situation irrespective of the effects and outcomes.

With gratitude to the Indian Air Force! Jai Hind. 

Note: Adapted excerpt from my upcoming memoir “Survivor: Turn Your Scars Into Stars” URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ht6DB70BMyE&ab_channel=ProfessorM.S.Rao%2CPh.D

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Professor M.S. Rao, Ph.D., is renowned as a philosopher of the 21st century and is recognized as the progenitor of the concept of “soft leadership.” He serves as an esteemed international leadership authority. With an extensive breadth of forty-four years of experience across various domains, including military service, he has authored fifty-four books, including the bestselling title, “See the Light in You.” He is a columnist and an author-at-large at Entrepreneur. He has published over 300 papers and articles in prestigious international publications including Leader to Leader, Thunderbird International Business Review, Strategic HR Review, Development and Learning in Organizations, Industrial and Commercial Training, On the Horizon, and Entrepreneur magazine. He is a soldier, entrepreneur, editor, educator, author, explorer, enlightener, thinker, writer, researcher, mentor, motivator, professor, reformer, traveler, blogger, storyteller, volunteer, activist, futurist,  analyst, strategist, and coach.He is a C-Suite advisor and global keynote speaker.