Once you have identified what you want, dedication and direction will take you forward. Some Indian films are inspiring. Movies such as Black&Iqbal(2005), Guru&Chak De India(2007), all have one thing in common — they lead the audience to believe that the only way to lead better and more fulfilling lives is by cultivating the right desires, direction, and dedication.

In the film ‘Iqbal’, the protagonist had desire and dedication, but he lacked direction. Only after another prominent character in the movie agreed to coach him, was Iqbal able to move towards a goal and do well for himself.

The film Black showed us how a teacher first toiled to createdesire in the child, and then, through direction, he instilled dedication in the student. Once we have the right desire, with direction and dedication, we will achieve greatness.

We need to realise that there will be times when we get tempted to move towards an inappropriate goal. These desires need to be identified and replaced with the right choices. Otherwise, we start heading in the wrong direction, and often, by the time we realise our mistake, we’ve already missed the boat.

Job markets in the metro cities, and especially in the service sector, are facing a demand-supply shortage. Some placement companies, through persuasive advertisements that can often be misleading, are tempting job-seekers from smaller towns to these cities.

But don’t fall into that trap. Focus on getting better in the field of your choice, rather than your desire to make more money.

If we focus on improving as professionals, we can make sure that with proper direction, we can also make more money. Sadly, instead of getting better at what we do, most of the time we’re focussing on getting richer.

Reading about, and exposing yourself to writings of people such as Narayana Murthy, Subroto Bagchi, Abdul Kalam, Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Indira Nyooyi, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Naina Kidwai and Sunita Williams, will help you identify the right role models.

There’s more to life than becoming rich. What we need to realise is that while Dhirubhai Ambani did amass a lot of wealth and inspire others to become rich, his greatest contribution to India’s youth was the spirit of entrepreneurship. It’s inspiring to see young success stories such as that of the founders of IndiaBulls, who graduated from the IITs not too long ago.