In every person's life, there probably comes a time when all success feels hollow; probably because they don't have anybody to share it with. Success is a self-correcting mechanism - the more one succeeds, the more indifferent friends one acquires, and hence the more humane one would tend to become; because the sparkle in your true friends' eyes when you succeed is truly priceless. My happiest moment in life was when after my CAT result, some of the juniors wore badges that said that they are proud of me. That moment will probably never return; and that moment was priceless. I felt so special, because I felt that I had made good relations in College. Success is a one-man game, it is easier. Relations are multi-player games, they are the real deal. Ask a consultant!
I have felt quite privileged in life - going to one of the best schools in the country, arguably the best undergraduate College in the country; having parents who were able and willing to buy me any educational material that I needed, who also gave me freedom to go out there and explore the world, make wrong decisions, fall and get back up; having seniors and peers who guided me so brilliantly and stood up for me at any fora. There is simply too much to be thankful for; and with that always comes the realisation that whatever success I have seen might be because of factors that are exogenous. It is true that I worked hard, very hard, for every single moment (sometimes it felt like fighting a battle); but I was fortunate to have that opportunity to fight the battle. Many people don't - either they go to inferior schools, have very interfering parents who are still caught up in a time warp or simply are not aware.
However, every time that I take a step in 'giving back' to this world, I am given two reasons not to. First is that I am too young and am not in a secure position. The argument is that one should give back only when one is in a strong enough position to do so. The second is that I should only attempt to give back if it is impactful enough, i.e. helps the neediest of people.
After much thought, I have come to the conclusion that I strongly disagree. As an economics student, opportunity cost is my God. To the first argument, I would say that my career progression need not always be hampered by things that I do for the 'larger goal'. A junior has taught me the difference between hard work and smart work. I can always work smartly and efficiently to maximise the impact I have, without affecting my work. To the second argument, I would invoke the Ricardian theory of comparative advantage. There would only be certain things that I am good at. Work for the 'neediest' is better left to huge organisations that have achieved great economies of scale. I should try to make a difference only in that space where I might be better off.
With that in mind, here is a start to this journey. It is a series of video lectures on Econometrics that I prepared. I hope they are useful!
