5 Powerful Life Lessons from Gautam Adani on his 60th Birthday

Word on the street is, the reason he doesn't have a single white hair, even at 60... Fortune ne kiya kamaal!

The few names that come to our mind when we talk about India's top conglomerates are TATA, Reliance, and Adani. Lately, Adani Group and its founder Gautam Adani are all over the news because of the things they are doing and the immense growth they have achieved to date.

Gautam Adani is an Indian billionaire, a first-generation entrepreneur, and an industrialist from Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

His father was in the textile business, but it wasn't successful. So, Instead of joining his father's business, Gautam moved to Mumbai as a teenager and worked as a diamond sorter for the Mahindra brothers after dropping out of college.

He founded The Adani Group in 1988 as a commodity trading firm, but soon after, the turning point came when he won the contract to build the Mundra port. He scaled it up and made it India's most significant cargo port.

Today, Adani is the largest port owner in India and continues to build more ports globally.

Top 5 lessons to learn from Gautam Adani

"If you are the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room." This wise line has been attributed to many great minds through time and quoted by many too. The line exhibits how exposure to people better than oneself is a great way to improve.

The need to improve is very intrinsic to every human, but exposure to these better people cannot always be achieved in person. So, what can one do?

Read, that's what anyone can do. Reading exposes the mind to worlds way beyond what the eyes capture, people who are far away and ideas unknown. So, if you cannot be in a room full of greats to learn from them, you can always read about them and emulate a similar experience.

This is why today, we are bringing you an opportunity to meet the great Gautam Adani himself, or some of the greatest lessons from his life, on his 60th birthday.

Lesson 1: Train Yourself To Find & Seize Opportunities Constantly

Some people say that they are waiting for the right opportunity to come to their doors, and others believe that opportunity doesn't come to you; you have to go and knock on its doors. Well, Gautam Adani and most successful people belong to the latter category.

If you think you are just going to sit and wait for the right opportunity, then you will not reach anywhere. The truth is, opportunities are always there; it's just that most of us don't have the eyes to see them. It requires practice and training.

When you train yourself to take hold of the opportunities at the right time and place, it becomes second nature for you to find opportunities even in the tiniest things. 

Gautam Adani has portrayed this ability throughout his career. For example, he realised how essential ports are for trade, and there was space for him to get into this business. So, he took the opportunity and eventually established a monopoly on seaports. 

Even when he was young, he saw the scope in diamonds, ran a diamond trading business for a while, and became a millionaire when he was just 20.

He understands the market and economy very well. That's why whenever there's a change in the market or economy, he quickly seizes the opportunities in it.

Lesson 2: Negotiation & Sales Skills Are A Must

Gautam Adani is known for his sales skills. Once, when he visited the then railway minister, Nitish Kumar, he successfully persuaded him to see the importance of integrating ports into the railways and how it will benefit the country and the port owners.

This led to the formulation of the first national port-rail linkage policy. Because of this, the ports could link their terminals to the national highway grid and run their railway line to the nearest railheads.

Effective skills come in handy if you want to succeed in any aspect of your life, be it business, job, or even relationships. It is a tool that, if acquired, can give you immense benefits in life.

Lesson 3: Learn To Stay Young

Henry Ford once said, "Anyone who stops learning is old, whether 20 or 80. Anyone who keeps learning stays young".

All the influential people resonate with this thought. They never stop learning because your mind is your greatest asset, and knowledge is the food it needs to grow.

Adani never went to any big business school to study; he even dropped out of college. Instead, he learned by interacting with people, constantly observing the market or trade tricks, and making mistakes.

Yes, mistakes are one of the best ways to learn. This learning mindset gave him whatever he has today. 

Whatever you do in your life, you should always keep learning because it keeps you humble, prepares you for better opportunities, broadens your perspective, and eventually skyrockets your growth. It's real wealth.

Lesson 4: Payback To Society & Remember Your Values

Whenever we see successful people, we notice one similarity: they all give back to society in one way or the other and possess a robust value system. Society is where they belong; that's where they grew. Helping society gives life more significant meaning.

If you want to be successful, stick to your value system, and give back to society whenever possible. Adani is a man of an unbending attitude and strong ethics. This system is what keeps you on the right track when the wrong ways seem to lure you.

Adani is involved in many philanthropic activities with his wife through his foundation. Recently, Adani and his family even pledged to donate ₹60,000 crores for social causes. Adani firmly believes in his core philosophy of infusing "Growth with Goodness".

Lesson 5: Diversification Is The Secret Ingredient

From the beginning, Adani knew that diversification was necessary, and it will give him immense growth. That's why he diversified his business according to the market situation. 

He started by exporting agricultural and power products but built businesses ranging from oil and gas exploration, power generation and distribution, logistics, and port development. He is also one of the most prominent green energy players. 

This is what made Adani Group India's 3rd largest conglomerate that crossed $150 Billion market capitalisation. Now you know why all the financial advisors, and even us, ask you to diversify your investment portfolio. It gives you more growth, helps you build a stable income, helps minimise losses, etc.

The Bottom Line

Focusing on the green energy sector helped the Adani group grow exponentially. According to the Forbes real-time billionaire list, Adani is currently the world's 6th richest man (June 23, 2022). He was able to do it because he knows his game!

Gautam Adani's business acumen, hard work, learning mindset, and ability to capture opportunities are the main reasons behind his success. And no one is born with these skills or capabilities. These things are developed over time by constantly putting time and effort into them. If you have the spirit and hunger to do it just like Gautam Adani, you can do it too. 

There are plenty of resources available for you to get started. You can achieve anything if you believe in learning and persistently taking action.