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A very good evening to you, ladies and gentlemen. We can do better. A very good evening to you, ladies and gentlemen. Oh, wow. I was a little confused. The introduction was to happen and then I was told you're now next, so I came here. It's a great privilege, pleasure and honor to be here this evening at this very special function: the graduation of class 2023 at DAIS. My sincere gratitude to Mrs. Nita Ambani ji, Mrs. Isha Ambani Piramal ji, Mukesh ji, of course, for having me here. My heartfelt congratulations to the class of 2023 for graduating from here successfully. And my heartfelt congratulations to the parents, the grandparents who are here to celebrate this special occasion. Of course, my gratitude to the management of the school, Mr. Basu, the teachers, the staff here. It's an absolute joy, honor and pleasure to be here this evening. Let me kick this evening off with a favorite story of mine. There was a little boy about six years old who came to a balloon seller who was selling balloons on the street. And he asked the balloon seller, "Uncle, will this red balloon go up in the air?" The balloon seller said, "Of course, it will." He said, "And the blue one?" "A hundred percent it will." "The pink one?" "Most certainly it will." And you know how kids can be. They can ask funny questions and I give funny answers as well. A four-year-old once came to a shopkeeper and said to the shopkeeper, girl, he said, "Uncle, how do I look?" Four-year-old girl. The shopkeeper said, "You look very cute, dear." He said, "Uncle, if I grow up, will you marry my son?" The shopkeeper said, "Of course, dear." He said, "Uncle, will you give me a free dairy milk?" Children, very innocent, charming, clever, smart. They can ask funny questions and they can give funny answers too. A teacher in class asked a six-year-old, "Which state of India are you from?" He said, "I'm from Arunachal Pradesh, madam." She said, "Can you spell it for me?" He said, "I'm from Goa, actually. Who spells Arunachal Pradesh?" Kids are kids, aren't they? This little boy asked, "Will the pink balloon go up? Will the red balloon go up? Will the black balloon go up? Will the blue balloon go up?" The exasperated balloon seller said, "Look, darling, the balloons don't go up in the air based on their colors. The balloons go up in the air based on what's filled inside of them. The gas, the air, that's what takes the balloons to the heights of success." Boys and girls, the class of 2023, we're all different colored balloons with different abilities, different skill sets, different backgrounds, different upbringings, different family cultures, different traditions, different opportunities, different resources, different challenges. We all have a very different outside. But guess what? Everybody who has reached the heights of success and has made a mark in the world hasn't ever done it based on the color of the balloon, hasn't ever done it based on resources, hasn't ever done it based on opportunities, hasn't ever done it based on skills, hasn't ever done it based on what they've just learned in school, college and universities. These are all the colors of the balloons and extremely important. Everybody who has left a mark in the world and has made the world a better place are the ones who had the right kind of gas filled inside their balloons. As we sought our outside, it is very, very crucial and important to fix our inside because only those who have their inside sorted and inside fixed have reached high, high up in the sky,which is why don't they say it's not our aptitude but our attitude that decides our altitude in our life. Yes, yes. That besides our altitude in our life. Yes, yes, we definitely, we definitely need aptitude. Our schools, our universities, our teachers have given us the aptitude, but along with that they've also given us the right attitude by their own example. Our families have given us the right attitude by their own example. When you see an iceberg, you see only the tip of the iceberg on the surface of the water, don't we? The achievements of others, their success, their popularity, their achievements, their accolades, their wealth, their money, their fancy cars, their homes, their fancy vacations and holidays is all the tip of the iceberg what we see. But right underneath that surface is a huge, humongous iceberg which is unseen to the eyes of the world. The world sees the tip of the iceberg, the money, the popularity, the success, the achievements. What we do fail to see is the huge iceberg underneath the surface of the water: - The failures, - The patience, - The determination, - The grit, - The courage, - The troubles, - The struggles, - The resilience, - The tenacity. All of these is what makes that little tip sustainable and seen to the world. As you are now going to embark on your new journey and as you work on achieving that tip of the iceberg, my prayer today is that may you never forget the unseen. Take inspiration from your heroes, from your own models, from your families, from your teachers and learn as a humongous iceberg underneath that surface of the water that's responsible for the tip of the iceberg to remain there. Remember always it takes a lot of sleepless nights to become an overnight success. And therefore, here's the first principle that I want to share with all of you today: If you want to get the seen, focus and work on the unseen. If you want the tip to be up there, focus on the huge iceberg underneath the surface. If you want your balloon, the beautiful colored balloon to soar high up, focus on what's filled inside as well. How many of you love going on a holiday? All of us. How many of you love traveling? Oh, okay, I must put my hand down. I hate traveling because in a year sometimes I end up taking over 300 to 325 flights. That's insanity when it comes to traveling. And you can have all kinds of experiences when you travel. Like I was flying once and the stewardess comes up to me. I'm not going to mention the airline. The stewardess comes up to me and says, "Welcome on board, sir. We guarantee takeoff." I said, "Landing, madam?" She said, "You're a monk, isn't it? It's important to pray." Oh, takeoffs and landings. The three biggest fears people had back in the day were: 1. The fear of public speaking. 2. The fear of death. 3. The fear of flying on an airplane. I guess that's why they call an airport a terminal. Possibly. Possibly. Oh, and those three fears have now been replaced with three biggest fears today: 1. Battery of the smartphone dying. 2. Poor Wi-Fi signal. 3. That we learn your phone, which says still buffering when you're watching a Netflix show. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, in my experience of travel, I hate travel because it's just so much of it. But how long can you keep saying, "I hate it, I hate it, I hate it?" I don't know when do we stop the self-defeating talk. I hate this subject. I hate leaving home. I hate going here. I hate doing this. I hate, I hate, I hate, I hate. The self-defeating talk stops us from reaching where we want to reach in our lives. I have traveled to theUnited States. I said, right, I'm like doing insane stuff. I am an insane guy. I remember going to the US once, flying to New York City and then going to Orlando for a talk. I was in the US for 16 hours. I flew for 22 hours to be in the US for 16 hours and got back to Mumbai for another function. And in six days after that, I flew back to New York City, 17 and a half hours to be there for 48 hours and come back again for a function in Mumbai. Three days after that, I flew back again to Chicago to be there for 36 hours to come back to Mumbai. And at the immigration, there was an Afro-American gentleman sitting there. He said, why don't you just stay, young man? You're just zipping in and out all the time. And guess what I learned? When you're traveling so much, 17 and a half hours of a flight, Mumbai to New York, we're all looking forward to reach the destination when the flight lands. But in looking forward to the destination, very often, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we forget to enjoy the journey. What a sheer waste of 17 and a half hours if I say I hate flying. I don't hate this. I hate being on the flight. I hate this food on the flight. I hate being on the seat. I hate, I hate, I hate. And I'll only be happy when I land and I'm in New York City. I have wasted 17 and a half hours of my precious time. I have wasted my journey. What I want to share with all of you is we move from one point to another point, go from one destination to another. You came here in the kindergarten. You moved to grade one. Destination point A to B, in between the journey was 365 days. And you've been moving from one destination to another. Today, at the school is your final destination. You move out now looking forward to your next destination at Columbia, at NYC, at Yale, at Stanford, at Oxford. And what I do want to share with all of you is destinations are important, but do not forget to enjoy the journey because the journey to the destination is very long. And I've seen a lot of times that we become destination addicts and forget to enjoy. How many of you had a great time at DIS? How many of you had a great time with your friends? How many of you enjoyed the journey? Okay, wow. It looks like I need to take my clothes off and come back, madam, to DIS to experience this beautiful journey. I was sharing with her an interesting story. This is a class in London, seven-year-olds, and the teacher asked all the kids, what do you want to be when you grow up? Some of them said doctors. Some of them said lawyers. Some of them said actors. Some of them said solicitors. One boy was quiet. The teacher turned to the boy and said, does it take that long to answer that question? Very thoughtfully, the boy said, when I grow up, madam, I want to be happy. The teacher said, boy, looks like you haven't got the question right. The seven-year-old said, ma'am, looks like you haven't got life right. Because if you would have gotten life right, you would know that everything that we do is wanting to be happy. And this answer was given by the legendary John Lennon of the Beatles group. It was John Lennon who said this. You didn't get life right. And therefore, as you move from one destination to another, do not forget to enjoy the journey and be happy. How many of you failed in any exam ever in your life? Okay, some courageous souls raising their hands. A boy was once walking with his dad, college-going boy, and his friend messaged him. He said, of course, college results are going to be out very soon. The boy messaged back saying, I'm walking with dad. If he picks the phone upand he sees I've failed in any subjects, I'll be taken for a task. So let's communicate in code language. If I fail in one subject, say good morning to you, I'll understand. If I fail in two, say good morning to you and dad, I'll understand. A couple of minutes back, he got a message saying, good morning to you, dad, family and friends. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we all have had our own failures. We all have had our own disappointments. And as you embark on this new journey, you'll have yours. Life is what it is. With all our dreams, with all our aspirations, with all our ambitions, life does what it does to us. And when failures do come, disappointments do come, we need something very incredible. I remember when I was graduating and I was finishing my diploma in engineering, I stood second in the state of Maharashtra and I missed my first rank by four marks. I was very, very disappointed. I came back home with tears in my eyes. And it is at that time, I remember my father coming and patting on my back and said, look, dear son, people will forget the grades and people will forget the marks. At the end of it all, what matters is to keep that spark alive. We need somebody to help us keep that spark alive. Can I borrow a glass of water? Thank you so much. You know something? All of us in us have the spark. All of us. That spark to do something. That spark to make a difference. That spark to succeed. That spark to soar high. And this is what life does to us. Dunks us in a glass of water. This is what life did to me when I wanted to stand first. I was disappointed. I lost my first rank in the state of Maharashtra for four marks. And what life does to us kills that spark within. This is what life does. Extinguishes the spark. Sometimes we feel I just can't do it. I can't. I feel helpless. It's at those times that we need somebody to trigger that spark back within us. If you don't have this somebody, we'll be lost. For me it was my dad. And I hate saying it. I disagreed with him. I didn't speak to him for two full years. He had to fall on my feet and say sorry son for whatever I did. I didn't say you sorry. My father left in the year 2009. And every single year I felt I'll go and say sorry dad. I shouldn't have put you through this. He was the one who stood by me to light me up. And I in my young zeal and in my young enthusiasm to achieve and be who I was was very rude. Very rude to the same people who light us up. The graduating class of 2023. When life takes the spark off you will need someone. Is it your mom, your dad, your teachers, your mentors, your guides, your friends? Find somebody who will light you up. That is the third thing I would like to share with you this evening. And here's the last little thing. Since I fly so much, if the stewardess doesn't come up for that day, I'd probably end up making the announcements myself. If there be a lack of oxygen supply in the cabin, oxygen masks will deploy from the panel above your head. Pull the mask sharply to activate the flowof oxygen. Secure the mask on your face and nose and breathe normally. Make sure your mask is in place before you help children, infants or others. It is very important to put our mask in place before we can put the mask on somebody else. Mark Twain said something very interesting. He said there are two most important days in life. One is the day when we were born and second is the day we find out why we were born in this world. We were all born to make a difference. We were all born to be change makers. We were all born to be a catalyst of change in the sometimes dark world that we live in. But do remember, if you don't have your mask on, you wouldn't be able to put the mask on anybody else's face at all. And which is why as you achieve, as you grow, as you make your balloon soar high in the sky, as you make sure that the tip of your iceberg is up there, do not forget to care for yourself. You deserve more than what you're giving yourself: more respect, more love, more time, more kindness, more compassion. And when you receive all of that, you will definitely be in a position to share it with others. So graduating class of 2023, here are some lessons: 1. Work on the unseen so that the scene can soar high up. 2. Do not forget to be happy during the journey because the journey can be a long one until we reach our destination. 3. Always have somebody when you lose it to bring that spark back again in you. And my last parting thing, make sure your oxygen mask is in place because you have a bright future to make a difference in this world by being impactful. Once again, I congratulate all of you, parents and grandparents for having achieved this milestone in your life. And thanks to the management, thanks to Mrs. Neeta Ambani, Isha Ambani and all of you. Wishing you all the very best. Thank you very much.