Our director, Biswajit Jha, shares valuable life lessons with students, emphasising the importance of choosing the right friends and companions. He reflects on his personal journey, the influence of great thinkers, and how wise choices shape our future.

My dear students,

Today, I have something rather interesting to share with you. In life, the people we surround ourselves with—our companions or friends—are incredibly important. There’s an old saying: We’re known by the company we keep. Motivational speaker and author Jim Rohn once famously said, “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with.” This means that the qualities of those five individuals will likely rub off on you.

Your future is, to a large extent, shaped by those with whom you spend your valuable time. Their mindset, thoughts, ideas, vision, and actions will influence you, often without you even realising it, until you find yourself becoming like them.

As you grow up, it becomes increasingly vital to understand the value of the people around you. The moment you grasp the importance of having the right people in your life, you’ll be able to shape your future in a positive way.

Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m not suggesting you shouldn’t respect everyone. Quite the opposite! We must respect and show empathy towards all, but not everyone should be allowed into your inner circle. You must be wise when choosing your close friends, for if you let anyone and everyone into your life, you’ll inevitably pick up their traits. And if those people have bad habits, negative thoughts, or foul language, you’ll find yourself mirroring them before you know it. If you surround yourself with mediocre minds, your ambitions will soon start to wither.

When I was younger, growing up in my village, I was surrounded by friends who had no real goals or direction in life. Naturally, I was no different—no ambition, no clear objective, no plan for the future. I was simply passing time, like my friends.

There’s a famous quote from the great Chinese philosopher Confucius: “We have two lives, and the second begins when we realise we only have one.” It was when I understood that I had just one life to make something of myself that I sought out people who could guide me, people who could lift me out of the darkness. I began searching for the beacon of knowledge and wisdom to help me change my destiny.

Being born into a not-so-educated family in a small village, there weren’t many around me who could offer guidance. Though I longed to achieve something big in life, there was no one there to point me in the right direction. As I grew frustrated, I turned to books, which became my greatest friends.

I wasn’t fortunate enough to have access to books in my school years, but when I went to college and pursued my master’s, I discovered the joy of reading. Travelling by train during my studies, I spent hours at various bookshops on station platforms. Those bookshops, more than anything else, helped enlighten me.

The first author who made a significant impact on me was Shiv Khera, a motivational speaker and writer. His best-selling book You Can Win transformed my life. His philosophy of achieving success without compromising one’s values resonated with me deeply. His other works—Freedom is Not Free, Living with Honour, and You Can Achieve More—all provided me with a sense of purpose in a world brimming with uncertainties.

Then I delved into the writings of Swami Vivekananda and Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Their visions and ideas shifted my entire outlook on life. I began reading Rabindranath Tagore, Sarat Chandra Chattopadhay, Bankim Chandra, Amitava Ghosh, R K Narayan, Mulk Raj Anand, Khushwant Singh, Vikram Seth, Jhumpa Lahiri, Salman Rushdie, Paulo Coelho, William Dalrymple, Ramachandra Guha, Robin S Sharma, Haruki Murakami, Elif Shafak, Khaled Hosseini, Arvind Adiga, and many others. These authors shaped my understanding of the world.

When the internet arrived, the world quite literally came into our homes. I began listening to lectures by some of the greatest minds. Alongside books, I found inspiration in the words of Gaur Gopal Das of ISKCON, Sadguru, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Swami Sarvapriyananda, Jay Shetty, Buddhist monk Ajahn Brahm, leadership coaches like Simon Sinek, Jim Rohn, Daniel Goleman, Sandeep Maheshwari, Brain Tracy, Deepak Chopra, Tonny Robinson, and many others further enriched my life. The TEDx talks, too, opened my eyes to countless new ideas.

I have embraced these individuals, even though most will never know me. Except for Delhi, where I lived for a time, in the places I grew up—Rajganj and Cooch Behar—I always felt the absence of knowledgeable, wise people. In their place, I adopted these authors and speakers as my mentors from afar. Without them, I wouldn’t have accomplished the things I have today. Without a proper education and without access to quality teachers, I would never have worked for the best newspapers or news websites in the country, nor would I have become the sports editor at Zee News.

I certainly wouldn’t have written two best-selling books in English without their distant yet profound guidance. Nor would I have shaped my vision of putting others before myself. These great minds inspired me to help many poor children in Rajganj and Mendabari. It was their influence that sparked the vision for Epic Public School, one of the most innovative schools in India.

They may not know me, but they’ve helped steer my life. As the saying goes, “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.” So, my dear students, choose your friends and close companions wisely if you wish to make something truly meaningful out of your life.

With lots of love,

Your Director Sir,

Biswajit Jha

What’s your Reaction?