I have always stayed away from idolising people. I found it an unnecessary inclination. All this while I drew inspiration from books, music, movies, but never, in particular, from people. I was influenced by authors and movie directors but only to the extent of their output.

{{ partial “breadcrumbs.html” . }}

But recently there are three individuals who with their actions have inspired me and change my view to look at them beyond just actions and results. These three individuals are from three different fields - cinema, cricket and philosophy.

The first person that really piqued my curiosity and made me turn into a huge fan is the movie director ‘Christopher Nolan’. I am a great fan of his work, and I love how his movies challenges the human faculty to think. After having watched his creation, one doesn’t go out of the theatre having felt cheated. You always learn something from his movies, even if the movies are based on just pure fantasy and no science. He ensures to give you a solid worth of your time. I love all his movies, but the ones that really stand above are:

  1. The Dark Knight
  2. Interstellar
  3. Inception
  4. The Prestige

The second individual who really inspires me and makes me beleive in the good of humanity is the Indian cricketer ‘M S Dhoni’. MSD as he is fondly called has a certain aura and calmness around him that forces me to retrospect my actions in similar cicrumstances. There is a reason why ‘Mr. Cool’ is MSD’s nick name, and I really wish to imbibe his level of calmness and decision making powers, especially when facing a challenge and a formidable task.

There are many moments of MSD’s cricketing career that will leave you inspired. But the one great moment that inspired me to become his fan is him hitting the last ball beyond the boundary for a six against Sri Lanka. The confidence that MSD showed in that final moment is the stuff legends are made of.

And the third person that I have recently got introduced to, thanks to Twitter now X, is the philosopher and angel investor Naval Ravikant. His book ‘The Almanac of Naval Ravikant’ is a gem and one in which every page, every word is carefully chosen to leave you inspired. The Almanac of Naval Ravikant is the one that makes you think and challenge your perception of life. There are many quotes available in the book, but the ones that really stand out for me are:

  1. If you want the wrong decision, ask everyone
  2. The ability to stay calm during conflict is a superpower
  3. Learn to sell, learn to build. If you can do both, you will be unstoppable
  4. If you can’t decide, the answer is no

That is all for this blog post. Leave me a line on ritesh@thelearningproject.in and share with me people who have or are inspiring you. Or are you your own self inspiration.