Serve Wide, Serve Deep, Serve Often

I am deeply honored and humbled this week. I've had the opportunity to address an international audience in the most exotic of places. This opportunity, I've surmised, was not born from luck, but from a lifetime commitment to service, and the understanding that investment in others bears fruit indefatigably and in perpetuity. 

Soon after I left university with a bachelor's in Electrical Engineering, I offered to serve in the unique capacity as an industrial liaison between my first employer, Analog Devices, and my School, The Rochester Institute of Technology. In this capacity, I served in the role of a corporate recruiter. I hired a young man with a fantastic story. Mr. Baljit Singh. 

What I saw in Mr. Singh has been an inspiration to me throughout the years. In serving him, I've learned to follow his lead in the service of others. We have continued to work together in various capacities. 

This past week I was part of an international delegation formed by Baljit comprised of myself and several other people representing different phases in Baljit's life. This delegation was invited to attend an expo in the growing state of Goa, India, "Vibrant Goa." I was honored to be asked to speak and represent the US amongst a panoply of guests with titles such as "Most Honorable" and "Your Excellency." It was a veritable United Nations of trade. The hundreds of delegates from over 50 countries were each given a student buddy as their ambassador.

My short 5-minute speech to the assembled dignitaries and delegates was given in the spirit of my motto: "Serve Wide, Serve Deep, Serve Often." Through service, I suggested we all think of our time together at Vibrant Goa as a unique opportunity to plant seeds. As I did with Baljit so many years ago, and he in thousands of interactions of service throughout his life, I suggested we give to our student buddies all that we could while there. The next day I had a business meeting with a new potential client and decided to invite Sanket Naik, my student buddy. What happened next was magic as my new potential client and Sanket connected, and committed to serving each other.

Through service, it is my experience that the seeds we plant in the field of our relationships have the highest potential to yield the most. Keep this in mind as you reach out and build your future with the new people you meet.

Seeds planted: Vibrant Goa by the numbers.

12500 footfalls 

6500 business delegates 

1150 crores of business inquiries generated ( US$ 16.4 million ) 

542 international delegates 

550 student buddies 

530 roadside banners in Goa 

450 crores of investments ( US$ 6.4 million ) proposals received

440 newsprint articles 

410 B2B meetings arranged 

365 days of preparations 

275 booths participated 

250 cars & buses on duty 

180 Goan Companies mentored for a year

102 vendors 

83 international speakers 

60 self-help groups trained 

50 core team members 

52 countries participated 

45 international trade organizations as partners 

38 TV shows 

25 knowledge summit sessions 

22 country roadshows 

20 national state roadshows 

20 radio interviews 

19 international delegations met Chief Minister of Goa 

16 states attended 

15 international Goa Desk MOU's signed 

12 student buddies got job offers in foreign companies 

12 sponsors 

12 sectors of Goa 

10 Goan trade associations / Goa chamber of commerce partnered 

10 National trade partners/chambers partnered 

9 Global Network team worked for a year

7 Vibrant Goa Foundation trustees worked 24x7

2 world records created 

1 zero-waste expo 

1 Happy & Vibrant Goa! 

देश प्रथम, वन्दे भारत

Next Vibrant Goa 2020 in Dubai !