House magazine for the associates of Gopast. This is the 22nd quarterly issue. Inscriptions made on stone seldom fade, this is the core of the tag line of this magazine. Truth Stays Forever. This magazine will be of interest for people engaged in the financial services industry

1. HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS ISSUE:
1) Oh God send some “STRESS” my way by Mr R Gopinath
2) Forecasting by Mr R Gopinath
3) The Inquest final by Mr Nayan Bhowmick
4) The power of networking by Mr S Veerarajkumar
INSCRIPTIONS 23 OCT2018
TRUTH NEVER FADES

2. Oh God, send some “STRESS” my way.
R.GOPINATH
gopinathr@go-past.com
The good news: In structure and capacity I have the same brain that Albert Einstein had. In structure
and capacity I have the same brain that the Mathematics genius Srinivasa Ramanujan had. In structure
and capacity I have the same brain that Padmabushan, Padmavibushan, Bharat Ratna, People’s
President, the Missile man Dr A P J Abdul Kalam had. Even if I replace the word “I” by we, it will still be
true. Meaning that all of humans have it the same way.
The results we produce in life are directly proportionate to our actions. All our actions are designed,
controlled, directed, and regulated by our Brain. Our brain controls every single action, breathing,
pumping of blood to our heart, perspiration, holding a glass of water in our hand, typing letters of this
article and so on..
If that is the case then we must be producing results equivalent to those that the great people had
produced. Then why don’t we?
Brain is the hardware. But the way in which we make it functional is called our “Mind”. Even though we
are all equivalent in the structure and the capacity of our brain, we differ at the “MIND” level.
Let me explain this taking one aspect of Life: “STRESS MANAGEMENT”
If I ask this question that if you have at anytime undergone stress, the answer is invariably yes.
Sometimes just hearing the word stress makes us shiver.
Let us start by understanding the birthplace of Stress.
We have certain expectations (F- in this picture), and we start working towards them.
As we proceed we undergo a certain experience (C- in this picture). The gap in between these two is
the birthplace of “Stress”. F-C. We must note that F is the expectation of future and C is our current
experience.

3. Examples:
1) A Life insurance agent, who has on hand the names and phone numbers of 20 prospects. He starts
calling them to seek their appointment to meet them in person and explain to them his offerings. He
just finished calling 3 people and all the calls failed. One says he is not interested in insurance, next
person says he has a good friend as his agent and would not be interested in seeing him and the other
one says that he is too busy and can not see him now. So the Current experience is 100% rejection.
2) An young man applying for jobs expects that for his qualifications he must get jobs offering good
salaries and perks, but so far either his applications were not answered or he got offerings of salaries
far lower that what he thought. So Current experience is disappointing
3) A father expects his son to live by certain culture which can get the praises of relatives but what he
sees now is that son is behaving differently earning the disapproval of some relatives. So the Current
experience is almost opposite of what he expected.
So the stress is the result of a situation of a negative variation between the expected and the current
experience.
But during this situation how do people act? If during this situation a person’s mind is confident about
himself then:
When the person facing this situation is confident about himself, the stress makes him more
“Determined”. He starts putting in more efforts to win from the balance period available to him.
F
c
F C
F C F

4. The agent becomes more determined, he re-reads his scripts, practices and rehearses before placing
further calls.
The young man increases his efforts, files more applications, increases his footwork.
The father decides to try again to counsel his son. Spends more time with the boy.
A young man by name Mr Alexis Leon, working as an engineer in TCS, who was about to be married,
and the life was almost what was expected at that age, he met with an accident that resulted into T5
paraplegia. From hip down he became paralytic. For many this situation would have made them feel as
if a thunder lightning landed on the roof of their house. But quickly Leon, gathered himself from this
disaster. He quit his job and started his own software consultancy company. He started writing books
on computer science. Ranging from introductory computing to books of reference. He has written 34
books that got published. According to his publisher this is the largest in such a short time by any
Indian author. Mr Leon who quit his job because of his condition, is now employing tens of people in
his software company. He says when he was thrown off his bike, he fell on the road and his head hit a
pavement stone and his spinal cord got crushed. Everybody was there, the parents, friends and
relatives and every body cried. But he did not cry. He said to himself, “What has happened has
happened and now from here on what?”
His contributions to the society are so valuable that in 2004 he was awarded “The most valuable
challenged person of the year’. The president of India handed this award to Alexis Leon in public
function in Cochin.
Another fall-out of stress (When faced by a confident mind) is “Creativity”. The person starts thinking
differently. Tries out things that were never tried earlier. A trio of chemical engineers who made a
polythene tank to store and transport a certain type of chemical used in the textile industry, suddenly
faced a situation where they can not sell the first 100 tanks they manufactured, as the import of the
chemical that it intended to store, got banned. What should these entrepreneurs do now? Their current
experience is heavily falling short of their expectations. They decided to market these tanks as tanks to
store water at houses and apartments. The idea clicked and today these water tanks have majorly
replaced the overhead cement tanks in the houses.
One another outcome of stress (When faced by a confident mind) is “Learning”. The person facing this
situation becomes eager to learn and to equip himself to be better able to handle it. Many of the Life
insurance agents pay from their income to attend training sessions. Facing objections from the
prospects/clients while selling triggers a hunger for learning and to be better equipped.

5. But look at the left hemisphere. The gap between the expectations and the current experiences are the
same as that in the right hemisphere. The situation is the same. But this time you see in the picture that
the mind is not so confident about self, then the first response to the stress is “Frustration”. People feel
helpless. Many times they even shift jobs and projects. They start blaming the Governments, societies,
their teachers and many others for their predicament.
At a still deeper stage of no confidence people “Crumble” inside. They feel shattered. They break down
emotionally.
And at a further deeper stage of no confidence people shut themselves down. They are so stunned,
that they don’t even move. They are frozen. They cut themselves from the outer world. Just like a
tortoise that pulls itself inside, they are unto themselves now.
So on examination of the above picture we see that the gap between the expectations and the current
experiences is the same, but people act differently because of the way they have trained their mind.
What is the use of knowing this theory?
Whenever the mind is exposed to a new knowledge, at a cognitive level, it becomes aware of the
theory. When this awareness is allowed to soak inside, it becomes aware of its own state. The mind
develops sensitivity alarms. While nearing the threshold it starts warning us. Red, Amber and Green

6. lights start glowing. And when this knowledge soaks further, it shows us way of correcting ourselves.
The mind chooses amongst multiple options the correct answer to correct the situation. As the
knowledge soaks inside it moves into the zone of subconscious that is when the knowledge governs
us in an auto-pilot style, where the corrections are instant. Within fraction of a second, the situation is
assessed, the signals flare up and the corrections effected, because now the play field is subconscious
zone.
For example the first time I read this article I become aware of the birth place of stress, I become aware
that it not the situation but my state of mind that triggers my actions. If I read this article over and over
again, start thinking about this concept, my mind develops barometer, seismometer, thermometer like
things inside that rings alarm while I am reaching the threshold or even tells me that I am on the wrong
side of the fence. As I allow this knowledge to soak in, meaning that I read this again, I even teach this
to others, my mind shows me how to correct. It shows me how can I shift from the “No Confidence’
state to the “Confidence” state. The mind selects a book for me to read, that can make this shift
possible. The mind even suggests songs that will move me from one side to the other. It even orders
meeting a wise man in my circle and taking his help. As this keeps repeating, now the knowledge gets
embedded at the subconscious level, where the awareness, sensitivity and correction takes place
instantly.
This is only one aspect of our mind that I have dealt with. We will see more of the functions of our mind
in the coming issues.
The good news: In structure and capacity I have the same brain that Albert Einstein had. In
structure and capacity I have the same brain that the mathematics genius Srinivasa Ramanujan
had. In structure and capacity i have the same brain that Padmabushan, Padmavibushan, Bharat
Ratna, People’s President, the Missile man Dr A P J Abdul Kalam had. Even if I replace the word
“I” by we, it will still be true. Meaning that all of humans have it the same way.

7. Forecasting - The Truths and the Myths
PART 2
R. Gopinath
gopinathr@go-past.com
Weather forecasting is useful to everybody. Rich or poor, young or old, Corporates or individuals . In
the same way Financial forecasting also is useful to everybody. The primary benefit of forecasting is “If
we are fully prepared then the bad effects due to the bad weather can be minimised or even nullified
and in the same way the good effects of the good weather can be multiplied”
During the floods in Chennai a few years before, A rich artist in cinema industry faced lots of difficulty.
Her house was marooned and she was stuck in the house for 2 days before fire brigade could rescue
her and take her to a relief camp in a government school building. For those two days she suffered a
lot, no telephone connection, no power supply, no drinking water supply. While some of her neighbours
escaped from this ordeal, because they had evacuated a few hours before the flood water started
rising alarmingly. In a interview with the media, she said that she did not expect so much of a flood,
even though she though there could be some amount of water flowing in the streets due to the
incessant rains forecasted, She also could not hear the announcements made by the local government
agencies over PA. Flood does not spare the rich.
Losses in businesses, A crash in the stock market, An asset bubble, The death of a key man are
examples of such floods in the world of finance. The well being of the individual or the institution
depends upon how well prepared are they to face such situations. The statement “Did not expect so
much of flood” is what many times we hear after a financial debacle. While bad weather can not be
avoided, bad effects of the bad weather can be minimised, if we are fully prepared.
Changes in government policies affect businesses. It is also possible that a change in government
policies become an opportunity in businesses. When Indian Government announced demonetisation of
500 and 1000 rupees it impacted millions of individuals and thousands of corporate houses. The new
currency notes got printed and supplied to the banking channels and then they flowed into to economy
and then into the hands of the individuals. In the gap of time before the cash availability became
normal, some corporates and some individuals were chocking. But some individuals and some
institutions who had even before demonetisation had taken initiatives to transact on E-Commerce
platforms had minimal disturbance, while the non-availability of cash had upset many. After all these
issues related to demonetisation have settled down one-by-one, the country is likely to reap the rich
benefits of such a historic economic decision that the government had taken. In the meanwhile the
companies that were providing E-Commerce platforms had a big boom. But even during this
opportunity phase, such e-commerce service providers who were not prepared for such growth could
not reap the full benefit and got sold or merged into other institutions. Demonetisation became an orbit
changer for some whereas it was just a growth driver for some institutions in the same industry of E-
commerce.

8. Recently one of the states in India had declared a total ban on the use of plastic covers and some
other plastic products that are not recyclable. The Government had given prior warnings to expect that
this ban would happen. Some got prepared for this, some did not. Some institutions that developed
capacity to produce jute bags, cloth bags large-scale are having their best times now and companies
that did not increase capacity are now not getting the fullest benefit of this order.
On the negative side, one plastic cover merchant who has been trading in plastic covers whole scale
and in retail for over thirty years, ended his life with a note that he is not able to fulfil his financial
commitments. Our sympathies are with him and his family. At the same time we are also thinking about
a situation wherein thirty years of business life but does not have a back-up for even six months of
survival.
Thirukural was scripted 2000 years before by a great saint Thiruvalluvar. Thirukural is presented ing the
form of 1330 couplets on a variety of subjects that are relevant to humans. Some these Kurals (Short in
length statements) deal with aspects of finance. In that I am presenting a few that relate to forecasting,
risk management and economic prudence.:
Does these sayings stay relevant now also in the modern era? Yes, they are very much relevant. Let us
do an estimation of how long can a family sustain a dip in their income by 90% due to business losses.

9. We are considering two businessmen
Mr Cautious and Mr Casual. Both
are similar in many ways. They are of
the same age, same experience,
same in family size, same industry
same in earnings.
Mr Cautious saves 40% of his income for future
needs and spends 60% on his family’s current
needs. While Mr casual saves 10% and spends
90%
Mr Cautious and Mr Casual, while the business is on a
growth track

10. The income from business dips by 90%
leaving a residual income of 10% due
to some sudden changes in the market
conditions
The number of years that Mr Cautious and his
family can sustain their life style expenses
even after a dip in their income by 90% after
running the business for 10 years is shown in
the last column
The number of years that Mr Casual and his
family can sustain their life style expenses
after a dip in their income by 90% is shown
in the last column

11. This shows clearly that Mr Cautious and his family are well prepared for any future eventuality that is
beyond their control and that can cause a dip of 90% in their income. Whereas Mr Casual and his
family is not prepared for such and eventuality. God Forbid, but if that eventuality happens as in the
case of the plastic cover merchant referred above, they may feel devastated.
Weather forecasting is useful to everybody. Rich or poor, young or old, Corporates or
individuals . In the same way Financial forecasting also is useful to everybody. The primary
benefit of forecasting is “If we are fully prepared then the bad effects due to the bad weather can
be minimised or even nullified and in the same way the good effects of the good weather can be
multiplied”

12. The Inquest
Mr Nayan Bowmick
In the course of 2018 MDRT Experience and Global Conference in Bangkok, Thailand, the economist,
retirement expert, author Sir Tom Hegna opined that “Telling is not selling. Get better at asking
questions and your sells will go up.”
I call to mind a Hindi movie song locus, where the hero and heroine put a sequence of questions to
each other. The response to each question had to be rejoined in a form of question itself. “Ek
sawal(question) main karoon, ek sawal tum karo, har sawal ka sawal hee jawab (answer) ho.”
Children catechize countless questions. Special children ask too-too propositions to be responded
intelligently by elderly persons. But it is unquestionably a pronounced and significant characteristic trait
of a child, and it would be advisable to parents and others to answer the questions enduringly.
Re migrating to our affirmation rather say our profession Sir Tom Hegna opined that, “This is not a
knowledge business any more, but a question and stories.” Sir Tom Hegna recommends the following
questions to ask clients:-
Tell me your understanding of life insurance and how it works, what’s your philosophy on Life
Insurance?
If you know you are going to die tomorrow, how much would you buy today?
If life insurance was free, how much life insurance would you need?
If you were hit by a drunken driver, how much would your family sue for?
“Questions are the keys to buying success.” Says Brian Tracy, the author of “Advanced Selling
Strategies.” Every time we unfastened our mouth to speak, we have two options. Make a statement or
put a question. In fact it is the act of questioning that grounds us to go in-depth and explore or analyze
our ecstatic persona, also to call that stimulates us to take actions and push our life in all directions.
Human progression on numerous occasions has been interpreted in terms of the manner we set forth
our expressions and get our messages across. We are provocative to assemble our world more
efficiently, owing to advances in technology; nevertheless it is utmost important to us as personages
and organisations to make the technology work. It is not ample precisely to skilfully operate a computer
or take advantage of technology. As Picaso said, “Computers are useless. They can only give
answers.”
Resuming to our profession it is vitally important for us and for clients additionally to put a right
question to our clients correlating to their identical status and divergent situations in life. Because
“Question is the Answer.” According to me to achieve success personally and professionally, we must
harness the potentiality of questions. In contemporary management science the momentousness of
asking questions has been emphasized in complication and problem solving techniques, we are

13. recommended not so much to round for solutions but to opt for queries.
Teachers and trainers deploy the question-answer method to response to the questions made by the
students and to illuminate the subject matters as well.
In history and mythology we are commonly informed of Kings asking questions to their courtiers and
handing out reward for accurate errorless replies.
People habitually edge nearer to astrologers with questions referring to their future. Will I be moneyed
and propertied? Will I be in a position to come in for accomplished companion in life? So on and so
forth.
The Yaksha Prashna additionally noted as the Dharma Baka Upakhyan, is the narrative of the riddle
combat between Yuddisthira and Yaksha in the Mahabharata. Before rendering the questions to
Yuddhisthira, the crane revealed itself as Yaksah. The Yaksha asked 18 questions with philosophical
and mythological ramifications.
Furthermore in Bhagavad-Gita too the conversation between Partha and Lord Krishna is in the
configuration of questions and answers. We see Partha asking intense questions to which Krishna
offers forbearing, elaborate and intricate explanations.
Moreover in Law, questions have a predominant role in arriving at the truth of the occurrences. The
police practice the question method to detect the wrongdoer.
Immediately upon grasping an adulteress the people asked to prescribe punishment for her. He coolly
asked “What does your law say?” when they said their law decreed the punishment of stoning the
women to death, Jesus said, “Well, then, let the man who has not committed any sin cast the first
stone.” Jesus Christ had a special method of answering questions and educating values.
Around six-seven years back I was on a joint call with one of my team members. The client was a
substantial coal exporter and I accumulated information from my team member that few days back the
prospect narrowly escaped a bullet injury in a dense forest. Until now, I remember, on that day I was
reading a book on selling, I fixed in my mind the five questions from the book and placed the same five
questions in front of the prospect.
Mr. Rahul if you go out of station for one week, how much will you leave for your family?
Mr Rahul if you go away for a month?
Mr Rahul, if you go away for one year, how much would you leave for your family?
How much do you have now?
What will happen to your family if you go outstation and never return? How much do you think they
need?
He was thoroughly attentive answered all my five questions with utmost sincerely. He recalled the
situation and how he escaped the bullet injury. We closed a very big deal that day.
Why should we ask questions to our prospect? It is only because; every invention and discovery is the
stimulated response to a question. As for the reason that question stimulates reasoning and rational
line of thought.
“If birds can fly, why can’t I?” Invention is AIRPLANE.
“What makes one human being distinctly unique from any other human being?” Invention is DNA.

14. Achievers’ Gallery
I Jaishankar feel happy to say that my brother's daughter Ms.Vijaya Saye Padmavathy RK doing her
first year in the MOP Vaishnav college for women, Nungambakkam. She has taken B.Com Accounting
and Finance and recently participated in the 'Abilasha', a cultural event of the college. She
participated in the Carnatic music competition. It took place between 17 departments and she got the
first prize in it. She did her higher secondary education in Sir Siva Swami Kalalaya Higher Sec School,
Mandaveli. She belong to the Commerce department. She is a commerce group topper with a total of
1165. She got the first mark in Economics, French and Commerce and also the overall Third in the
School. She goes to her music class during the weekends and also doing good in Academics. Gopast
appreciates this girl for her efforts and accomplishments and wishes her the best for her future.
Ms Vijaya is the niece of Mr Jaishankar who is a member of our Gopast team.
Ms Vijaya with
her certificate
and the award
Ms Vijaya receiving
the award

15. Power of Networking
According to Collins Dictionary, Networking is the process of
trying to meet new people who might be useful to you in
your job, forming business connections and contacts often
through social activities. It is the process of developing and
activating your relationships to increase your business,
enhance your knowledge and expand your sphere of
influence.”
The keyword here is "relationships". Successful networking of
any kind starts with the genuine desire to build relationships
for the purpose of giving and receiving business. If you are
only networking to gain and not to give, you’ll never be
successful.
“Remember business networking is more about FARMING
than it is about HUNTING. Since there are so many different
platforms for people to market themselves these days, you
have to find ways to cut through the white noise and get
noticed,” says Dr. Ivan Misner PhD., author of “Networking
Like a Pro.” It takes time and energy to help them grow and
flourish.
7 Tips for successful Business Networking
1. Be ready to give before you receive - Givers gain.
When you meet a potential contact ask this question, “How
can I help you ?”. Always give before you can get.
2. Ask for a strategic introduction.
Tell that you’re a huge fan of the company and wish to build
a strategic relationship with a key player — and then ask if
the person might be able to introduce you to him or her at an
S Veerarajakumarby

16. upcoming event.
3. Don't just focus on collecting business cards.
It is not about quantity but quality. Be focussed on cultivating
deep personal connections instead of throwing a big net.
4. Keep in touch and follow up regularly.
Message your contact on a regular basis – draw up a
schedule for keeping in touch by setting aside fixed time to
network, or reaching out to so many number of people every
week.
5. Research your contact's hobbies / passions
Do an online search and go through Facebook / Twitter /
LinkedIn / Instagram page of your contact before meeting
them and know more about them. This shows we have
sincere interest in that person.
6. Find what is in common between you and your contact
Example find out if both of you went to the same school /
college or both love trekking / running in marathon etc. it
helps you to open up easily.
7. Be energetic – Show a Positive Attitude
Always be positive and it is your attitude that determines
your altitude. In a get together or meeting no one wants to
go and talk to a person who is brooding / disinterested /
indifferent.
S. Veera Rajkumar FChFP 9884836524 hiveera@gmail.com