I like reading about what well know business leaders have to say. I like to understand their thought process; I like to understand their philosophy on which they have built their business empires. However, I do not get inspired by each and everybody. I do know why? It is just that sometime I strike a chord with certain leader’s thought process.

Sometime back, I came across few words of wisdom from Azim Premji (CEO Wipro Technologies). He narrated a small donkey story which goes like this (quoting directly):

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and begin to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he became quiet.

A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that fell on his back, the donkey was doing some thing amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick is to not to get bogged down by it.

We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping. And by never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

It is no wonder that when everybody is crying horse on outsourcing, this company is happily shaking of dirt and stepping up. He is not only employing thousands of workers, but also helps companies in developed world reduce their operational expenses. You clap with two hands! Outsourcing exists because somebody wants it!

It’s all about one’s perception and how an individual looks at various aspects. A glass can be half empty or half full. While most of us look at shovel of dirt as an insult, this donkey looked at as a life line.

In the same way, I look at dividends as small building blocks of my portfolio. I will continue to shake off the tag of non glamorous investor and tag of pennywise pound foolish investor. I plan on accumulating my dividends (dirt to financial engineers!) and someday I will also trot off the financial pit. Like all stocks traded on an exchange are not good, similarly, all dividend paying companies are not good.

Azim Premji, life