'Charity given to a worthy person simply because it is right to give, without consideration of anything in return, at the proper time and in the proper place, is stated to be in the mode of goodness. {Bhagwat Geeta (20)}

If we are familiar to the term 'Philanthropy', we must be aware of its very perfect living example too; Mr. Ratan Naval Tata. Ratan Naval Tata (born 28 December 1937) is an Indian industrialist, philanthropist, and a former chairman of Tata Sons.

He was also chairman of Tata Group, from 1990 to 2012, and again, he served as the interim chairman, from October 2016 through February 2017. As of today, he continues to head its charitable trusts.

He is also the chairman of major Tata companies such as Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Teleservices, Tata Power Limited, Tata Consultancy Services, Tata Tea, Tata Chemicals, and The Indian Hotels Company.

Some of the popular ventures of Tata include TCS (Tata Consultancy Services), TISCO Ltd (Tata Iron & Steel Company Limited), Tata Motors Cars, Titan, Tanishq, and Tata Starbucks (a joint venture with Starbucks US).

Inspiring, isn’t it? Ratan Tata is one name that has a lot of popularity in the startup ecosystem for the same reason. Youngsters and aspiring entrepreneurs look upon him as an exemplary business leader and some even consider him a person who leads by example.

Ratan N Tata Background

Ratan Tata’s great grandfather, Jamshedji Tata is the founder of the Tata group. As a young boy, Tata had a disturbed childhood due to his parents' split. He was raised by his grandmother, Lady Navajbai in the lap of luxury at Tata Palace.

America held a special fascination for the Tata scion and he went to Cornell University to study architecture and structural engineering. Later he pursued a management course from Harvard University.

So, let’s tighten our seat belts and get ready to fly into the most inspiring & motivational quotes of the extraordinary Ratan Tata to enlighten our minds.

24 Ratan Tata Quotes On Life, Determination & Kindness

1. Don’t just have career or academic goals. Set goals to give you a balanced, successful life. Balanced means ensuring your health, relationship, and mental peace are all in good order. There is no point of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup.

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These are golden words by Ratan Tata that hit right at the hustle we have created in our lives during this long run of earning money and becoming successful. He demands a pause in the chaos we have created in our lives and asks us to ensure a balance between the academics, career, personal relationships and health as well.

The balance Tata created in his life can be very well seen in his achievements and success and the Government of India honoured the second and third highest civilian honours - Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan - to Tata in 2008 and 2000, respectively.

2. There are many things that, if I have to relive, maybe I will do it another way. But I would not like to look back and think what I have not been able to do.

This Ratan Tata quote has a great message hiding in it. People of today’s generation are often hesitant to take risks because they fear losing or are unwilling to do something with unknown results. Breaking that comfort zone and believing in one’s ability is what is needed to do such miraculous deeds like Tata did.

Ratan Tata stated in his quotes that there are few things he wished to alter in another way, if he had the chance to relive those moments, although he never wants to look back and repent about the things he didn’t do. Trying and gaining experience is the fruit of the risks gone wrong.

3. Take the stones people throw at you. And use them to build a monument.

In this Ratan Tata quotes, you learn that if you are not open to constructive criticism, then you are not truly growing as a person. People are going to judge you anyway; whether you do something or not.

Criticism actually provides us the goals which should be set to achieve & prove everyone wrong. Ratan Tata believes in supporting the seedlings of new generations rather than judging their ability.

This is why Ratan Tata started to invest in startups much before they had become mainstream. After his retirement from the salt-to-steel conglomerate in 2012, Ratan Tata started actively investing in startups, and till now has invested in over two dozen startups, including Paytm, Ola, Urban Ladder, Snapdeal, FirstCry, Zivame, CureFit, etc.

4. If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk far, walk together.

A deep message is hiding in this Ratan Tata Quote. An individual is the powerful divine light of its own. When these lights work together, it illuminates the whole world.

Ratan Tata believes in unity. He states that while alone you might walk fast and achieve more, there are a lot of things one can achieve when they have a solid support system and people around them upon whom they can trust and rely on.

When a group of people are working for a common passion, they can achieve stars, which perhaps even one brilliant mind can’t do alone.

5. Wo insaan jo dusaro ki nakal karta hai thode time ke liye safal ho sakta hai but jiwan me bahut aage nahi badh sakta.

Ratan Tata is a man with great experience and the above quote by Ratan Tata speaks volumes about it. A new idea inculcated in one’s mind is a boon for future’s miracle.

Ratan Tata is himself the greatest example of innovation. He believes that innovation is the key ingredient to success, as those who imitate others might get ahead for sometime but that be for long and innovators will always have an edge which will propel them forward sooner or later.

Every individual has a unique IQ level and so has different ways to look forward to a common subject. So, one should trust his own ability to move forward and probe his own identity.

6. None can destroy iron, but its own rust can. Likewise, none can destroy a person but his own mindset can.

A ship never sinks due to the water around it, but because of the water that enters into it. A very deep lesson is hiding in this Ratan Tata quote.

The business tycoon Ratan Tata is always praised for his business ethics & generosity to mankind. He strongly believes that ideology and mindset can decide fate to progression or retrogression.

A genius or hard working guy can lose it all if he doesn’t acquire the right attitude towards his life. Even, Ayurveda Science believes that a healthy diet & proper routine or lifestyle fuels up good health. Most of the diseases can be cured not by medicine & surgery, but just by positive attitude towards lifestyle and the food we ingest.

7. Ups and downs in life are very important to keep us going because a straight line even in an ECG means we are not alive.

Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. Every failure has something to teach. But why state our own efforts as a failed attempt? We always focus on the desirable outcome, but if it happens, we get upset & rank the effort as failure.

By the above Ratan Tata quotes, we learn that is always a charm in every effort you put. As a stagnant water body putrefies, a person with no efforts destroys his own abilities. Success & failure are kin to life.

Success doesn’t make a person invincible & one failure doesn’t mean that there is no hope anymore. One should always keep moving; although bringing changes is uncomfortable, they are required to move forward in life.

8. All of us do not have equal talent. Yet all of us have an equal opportunity to develop our talents.

Ratan Tata believes in sharpening the talent and skills by seeking opportunities and utilising them well enough to get ourselves able to achieve the goals we wish to. He even gave opportunity to many entrepreneurs whom he realized are worth uplifted.

In these very challenging times of pandemic, he saluted the spirits of entrepreneurs and exhorted them to start with a clean sheet of paper. In a tweet post, Rata Tata said, “I won’t downplay the challenges and the difficulties embedded in these current times. But my confidence remains high in the inventive nature and the creativity of entrepreneurs today who will find ways to enable new or modified enterprises that would be the benchmarks of tomorrow.”

9. Don’t be serious, enjoy life as it comes.

A bachelor in real life, Ratan Tata loves privacy and shuns media spotlight. He has only CDs, books and dogs for company. The business baron drives himself to work in an unremarkable Tata sedan.

10. If there are challenges thrown across, then some interesting, innovative solutions are found. Without challenges, the tendency is to go on the same way.

11. If a founder has passion and innovation, he needs to be supported. I am more intuitive than a numbers person, and I recognise that not all investments are going to be positive. Some may fail, and some may have problems for other reasons. That is life.

12. A founder who is in for the short run or has no passion for the sector he is in, doesn't give me a great deal of comfort.

13. I have been telling people to encourage people, to question the unquestioned and not to be ashamed to bring up new ideas and new processes to get things done.

14. The day I am not able to fly will be a sad day for me.

15. Apart from values and ethics which I have tried to live by, the legacy I would like to leave behind is a very simple one - that I have always stood up for what I consider to be the right thing, and I have tried to be as fair and equitable as I could be.

16. People still believe what they read is necessarily the truth.

A Ratan Tata quote which is universally true. Just as all that glitters in not gold, all that you read is not the truth. Sometimes there are deeper meanings hiding and sometimes there is no substance in what you read. Mostly false things are wrapped in good words and fed to the readers. So be careful while reading!

17. The government should do its job. The government's job is, in fact, to run the country, to manage the country, to govern the country. And governance is an important thing, not application where it suits one so, to micro control where it suits them on the other hand.

18. I may have hurt some people along the way, but I would like to be seen as somebody who has done his best to do the right thing for any situation and not compromised.

19. Power and wealth are not two main stakes.

RatanTata set a perfect example of generosity and leadership during the 26/11 attacks. Unarmed he stood all alone outside the Taj hotel and supervised the activities to help the victims.

He showcased his humane gesture by personally visiting the families of all the 80 employees who were killed or injured. He left no stone unturned to provide relief to the victims and even asked the families and dependents as to what they wanted him to do.

20. I will certainly not join politics. I would like to be remembered as a clean businessman who has not partaken in any twists and turns beneath the surface, and one who has been reasonably successful.

21. I have always been very confident and very upbeat about the future potential of India. I think it is a great country with great potential.

22. When you see in places like Africa and parts of Asia abject poverty, hungry children and malnutrition around you, and you look at yourself as being people who have well being and comforts, I think it takes a very insensitive, tough person not to feel they need to do something.

Ratan Tata feels responsible towards the social evils persisting in the society and thereby shows the value of kindness in his life. One seriously cannot pretend to be unaffected by the sufferings of others.

And if one is seriously affected by it, one cannot miss out finding the solution to get rid of it. A good human being is one who believes and works towards the progress of the whole society.

23. I admire people who are very successful. But if that success has been achieved through too much ruthlessness, then I may admire that person, but I can't respect him.

Standing tall with his contemporaries with a staggering fortune and world recognition, Ratan Tata has amazingly never featured in the ‘Forbes billionaires list’. The honesty and the hardwork are the keys of success and respect for Tata.

Success gained by the person with his good deeds, will be sustained by that person for longer than the one who gains it by his ill-deeds.

24. I am proud of my country. But we need to unite to make a unified India, free of communalism and casteism. We need to build India into a land of equal opportunity for all. We can be a truly great nation if we set our sights high and deliver to the people the fruits of continued growth, prosperity and equal opportunity.

Tata said he is surprised that his fellow tycoon Mukesh Ambani wants to live in the opulence of a billion-dollar home in south Mumbai.

"It makes me wonder why someone would do that," Tata said in an interview published in The Times newspaper of London.

"The person who lives there should be concerned about what he sees around him and (ask) can he make a difference," Tata said when asked about Antilla, the 27-storey Ambani home on Altamount Road.

"If he is not, then it is sad because India needs people to allocate some of their enormous wealth to finding ways to mitigate the hardship that people have." Expressing concern about the rich-poor gap, Tata said, "We are doing so little about the disparity. We are allowing it to be there and wishing it away.”

Ratan N. Tata is a world famous personality and his success story inspires a lot of people. These were some of the inspiring quotes by Ratan Tata, to lead a better life, to stay determined towards a better goal and to be kind to others.

Let us learn from his experiences and look upon a better future. And as startups, these are million dollar lessons.

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24 Ratan Tata Quotes on Life, Determination & Kindness For All-age Learners