Six Important Things To Learn From Scam 1992
Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta story, has been one of the most successful web series of the year 2020. The execution of the series has been so apt that it has influenced many people. It takes us through the life of Harshad Mehta and teaches us many things. I have tried to summarise 6 things to learn from Scam 1992.
Before listing down those six things, I would commend the efforts that the whole team have put in. In the era where nudity, alcohol, and using abusive language have become part of the OTT media, Scam 1992 came out as a family friendly series. The series gets exciting right from the title track and holds viewer’s attention till the last scene of the series.
The actors and director have put lot of work to blend the real life facts in a cinematic experience. Making sure that the information gets delivered even to them who have no idea of stock markets. The case study has been taught in many Business Schools to understand its impact on various aspects of the country.
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Here Are The Six Important Things To Learn From Scam 1992
Not Taking Risk Is Also A Risk
The first thing to learn from Scam 1992 is ‘not taking a risk is also a risk’. This was one of those dialogues which makes you think. We often hear that high risk rewards higher returns. But, what about those who do not want to take risks? they may get lower returns or no returns at all. After giving it a second thought we can realise how the concept of opportunity cost kicks in.
Let’s understand this by a basic example. Consider, I have only 2 options, either to invest in a scheme or not invest in the scheme. If I want to take risk, I will go ahead and invest. After 6 months the scheme generates unexpected return of 50% that means my investment turned 1.5x in mere 6 months. I took a risk and I could have lost my money.
On the contrary, what would have happened if I had chosen not to invest? The inflation would go up by 7% which means the value of my money would anyway reduce over the period. Another scenario could be, I kept the money stored in my wallet and I lost it, losing other items like cards, ID proofs with the money. Anything can happen to that money which is kept idle.
By investing in the scheme I was ready to lose the money if it came to that (calculated risk) but when you lose the money which was kept idle, it hurts more because you were never ready for that loss.
Therefore, to succeed in work or any aspect of life one should always be ready to take risk. The level of risk can be low, medium or high but taking the risk is what matters.
No Idea Is Small If Executed Perfectly
No idea is small if executed perfectly — Image by
‘Necessity is the mother of invention’ but to invent you need to have an idea of how things are supposed to be done. Ideas are the driving force of change. To understand that we need something we should first have an idea of what we have and what we lack. For me, ideas run the world. On a daily basis one comes across many ideas, some of which they put in to action and the rest of them gets discarded because they seem too small to be executed.
If it was so, then the person who had the small idea of attaching wheels to the suitcases/travel bag would have never executed it and we would still be carrying our heavy luggage the old fashioned way.
So, the next thing that I learnt from Scam 1992 was that never discard an idea thinking its too small. If you have the passion, dedication and plan to execute it perfectly then no idea is small. The success or failure does not depend upon how big or small the idea is but how it was executed.
How It Turns Out In Scam 1992?
In the series, Harshad starts with a small position of a jobber like hundred others. Doing the same thing again and again he becomes better and discusses the idea of starting his own hedge fund. This way, he will not have to share the profit generated by him with an employer. He tells it to his friend and brother, at the first thought they ask him to discard it but then they get along.
In life, we all get ideas, some small some big. Out of those ideas we tend to discard because we do not have a follow up plan for execution. But, if you can come up with a plan, devote your time and efforts to successfully execute it, your small idea can turn out to be the biggest one you could have ever executed.
Don’t Succeed Alone, Include Others Too
Till now, we have understood taking risk and relying on our idea. But, what happens when we start succeeding? How should we react? Shall we go on bragging about it or keep everything to ourselves? All these questions started piling up in my head as the series progressed.
Then came scenes where Harshad started helping others by giving them stock tips and assisting small businesses to grow big at least on the stock exchange. So I got the answers to my questions, while succeeding there is no need to step over each other, you can include others in your success. In a scene where a person asks Harshad to give him a stock tip he casually takes the name of a reputed stock. If he wanted, he could have declined or ignored the request to gain the profits for himself. Just like that, he helped many people in the process to make good amount of money.
So this is what Scam 1992 taught me, to include others in our success. This has been a common theme in the Wolf of Wall Street and Scam 1992, where both the characters don’t succeed alone they include their friends and family in the success.
If One Gate Closes, Break Open The Next One
As the story progresses in the series we see different phases of Harshad’s life. Some them very good and some not so good but he always find way to overcome the situation. Every time he is faced with a challenge he finds a way and that got me thinking how much it relates to our life.
Everyday we are faced with choices, challenges and situations to deal with. We handle some of them with ease, let go some of them which are out of our hands. But what about the ones which we can’t solve and can’t let go either? We start looking for ways to tackle it and even start asking the almighty why are all the doors closed.
At certain places in the series where things are not going in Harshad’s favour he is faced with similar situations. His brother asks him what will we do? We don’t have money, our assets are frozen, our licence is suspended, and all the gates are closed. Harshad simply says if one door is closed we should break open the next one and the next one till we find a solution. We see him starting consultancy firm where he does not directly transact but still manages to make profits.
This is the forth thing to learn from Scam 1992, if we are faced with a problem and unable to find solution then rather than going on defensive stance, go big, go bold and face the problems with an aggressive attitude.
Stay Informed And Educate Yourself
Throughout the journey of Harshad Mehta’s life depicted through Scam 1992. We see all the ups and downs but one thing remains constant which is his ability to stay informed and educate himself. He is seen reading one magazine or the other to learn about global affairs. Since the beginning he relied on the information and then went ahead with the intuition. Also, that was the time when technology was rapidly progressing and financial sector was adopting new measures to reduce the risks of frauds.
It was essential for Harshad to stay informed so that he can remain on top of his game. Moreover, he was dealing in the financial market which moves on the sentiments. He was aware of the fact that how one thing in international market or a particular country can start the ripple effect throwing other economies of the balance.
This brings me to the next thing that we can learn from Scam 1992. We need to stay informed and keep educating ourselves. This is essential for everyone regardless of the age or sector they are working in. As human being gifted with brain and having all the relative information available at finger tips one should utilize these resources.
Why Staying Informed Is Essential In Life?
At times we feel like we have gathered all the information required to perform a task or live life but things change faster than we estimate. If it something regarding work, even if you are an expert at what you to, machines will do it faster with more accuracy and you will be replaced by machine. This will happen unless you are updating yourself with new information and stay up to date.
Though some of us hated going to school but the truth is we need to keep that student alive in ourselves. Life teaches us lessons throughout our journey, they can be helpful only if you learn them as a student. Learning is not only important but also essential to stay relevant. Therefore, this is the fifth thing to learn from Scam 1992.
Demise Is Inevitable
While we are taken through the roller coaster life story of Harshad Mehta in Scam 1992, it had to end at some place. Even the fairy tales have to end at some place. So what happens in the end? After taking all the risks, implementing ideas, constantly learning new things and boldly facing problems when they arrive, what is the outcome? The answer is simple, the story ends with an ill Harshad clinging on to his life, fighting with death and loosing it all at the end.
What it teaches us? No matter what we do, whatever we achieve in life, everything comes to an end. Death is the harsh but ultimate truth one must face. The demise is inevitable and therefore, keeping that in mind before taking any decision becomes important.
I got to learn a lot from Scam 1992, how the actions caused certain effects, how some of the decisions he took changed the course of his life. How everything came to a stand still upon the last moments of his existence.
Feel free to use the comment section to suggest what are the things you learnt from Scam 1992.
