Indra Nooyi, CEO of PepsiCo

Worked night-shifts and as a part-time receptionist to pay for college and even to buy herself a dress for her first job interview.

Nooyi rose from her humble beginnings to become the CEO of PepsiCo. Now one of the highest paid women in America, she draws an annual salary of about 18 million dollars.

(refer to for more inspiring entrepreneurs http://bit.ly/1YeBGHm)

The Story of Boris Veldhuijzen Van Zanten, Founder of The Next Web

"As a kid I was dyslexic and had bad eyesight. That meant I often couldn't see the writing on the blackboard and even when I could, I still couldn't read it.

Unfortunately it took a long time before either problem was recognized. Before that I was simply labeled lazy, unwilling or stupid. By the time I was fifteen I was three years behind and very unhappy. Then one day I decided to drop out of school and apply to the circus school. Officially I was too young but I was determined and had talent for juggling so my parents supported my decision.

The teachers at my school weren't so supportive. They took turns trying to persuade me to stay and all said the same thing: "If you drop out now you will never amount to anything."

They tried to persuade me by threatening me but their strategy had the opposite effect: I felt liberated and even more determined to choose my own destiny. I figured if leaving meant starting from zero and being labeled as an outcast, than everything I would accomplish from now would be to my own credit. I felt empowered and excited at the opportunity to design my own life without someone else telling what I could and couldn't do.

For me that was a defining moment. I've always felt like the rules didn't apply to me and I could do what I wanted. After I graduated circus school I applied to an art academy, graduated cum laude, and then started my first Internet business, one I sold three years later.

Although you never start a company alone and I had many partners to thank, I did feel I truly earned my success as a self-made man when we signed those contracts, and I definitely thought back to those teachers who told me I would never amount to anything."  

(taken from http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden)

'Neerja' - Inspirational & Awesome

NEERJA BHANOT: Sep 7, 1963 - Sep 5, 1986 

I saw the movie Neerja yesterday. It about the life of Neerja Bhanot. Neerja Bhanot AC was a purser for Pan Am, based in Mumbai, India, who was shot while saving passengers from terrorists on board the hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 on 5 September 1986.

The film brings to light a lot of the exceptional qualities this young girl possessed at the time, which we all can learn from.

Commitment: Neerja was extremely committed to her job and duty and was willing to give up her life for it. This is the kind of passion we should possess for all our endeavors in our daily life. To save the lives of as many passengers as she could, she decided to leave the aircraft last and ended up getting shot because of this.

Learning from Experience: Neerja had gone through a traumatic marriage and as shown in the film, had learnt and applied a lot of the learnings from it as her life went on. This included never giving up, mustering up courage in times of hardship, not doing bad to others nor accepting the same and so on.

Courage: She was bold in her actions despite having armed terrorists on board and consistently tried to make well thought out moves to take control of the situation.

Human Kindness & Understanding: A quality I feel is important for a good leader to have. She not only overcame her own emotions, but also helped all other passengers stay calm and guided them during that distress situation.

I really enjoyed the movie and would advise all to go and watch the story of this brave and courageous girl who was committed to her duty till the very end and who reinstils the value of human kindness in mankind.