Striving Towards Excellence

-Karthik Gurumurthy

My grandfather was a distinguished high school mathematics teacher at PS High School, Mylapore who dedicated several decades to nurturing and inspiring students toward greatness. Among those who flourished under his guidance were notable figures including Actor Cho Ramaswamy, IGCAR director Subramanian, Director AVM Saravanan, and industrialist TT Krishnamachari—a testament to his profound impact on diverse fields of excellence. Had he still been with us, today would mark his 123rd birthday—a milestone that speaks to the enduring nature of his influence, which continues to shape lives long after his passing.

Though I was never blessed with the opportunity to meet my grandfather in person, his legacy lives on through the countless individuals whose lives he touched. Many of his former students, including close friends of my father, have observed striking similarities between us—seeing in me echoes of the great man’s character and calling.

Teaching and helping students realize their potential has always been more than a profession for me; it’s a passion that seems to flow through my very being. Perhaps this deep-seated drive to guide others toward their goals is not merely coincidence, but rather the inheritance of a noble tradition—a continuation of the transformative work my grandfather began decades ago.

In choosing to dedicate my life to education and mentorship, I feel I am honoring both his memory and the countless students whose futures he helped shape. It’s as if his spirit of service continues through me, reaching new generations who might never know his name but will benefit from the ripple effects of his influence.

The most profound question we can ask ourselves isn’t “What do I want to achieve?” but rather “Why does any of this matter?” This inquiry cuts through the surface ambitions and cultural expectations to reveal something deeper—the fundamental purpose that gives shape and meaning to existence itself.

I’ve come to understand that I carry bold aspirations within me. These dreams may appear illegible to others, impossible to measure by conventional metrics, or incomprehensible when viewed through society’s standard frameworks of success. Yet they possess something far more valuable than external validation: they provide my life with genuine direction and authentic purpose.

This realization represents a fundamental shift from pursuing goals that can be easily explained and socially approved to embracing aspirations that emerge from the deepest wells of personal meaning. It’s the difference between living according to external scorecards and living according to internal compass—between performing success and embodying purpose.

The path I’ve chosen centers around a singular, overarching vision: reaching a state of being where I can dedicate almost all my time to helping, supporting, and inspiring others to create extraordinary things with their lives. This isn’t merely a career objective or philanthropic hobby—it’s a way of existing that transforms both giver and receiver, creating ripples of positive change that extend far beyond any individual interaction.

This aspiration reflects what I believe to be the highest form of human purpose: the cultivation and sharing of potential. When we help others discover their capabilities, support them through their struggles, and inspire them to pursue greatness, we participate in something larger than ourselves. We become catalysts for human flourishing, architects of possibility, gardeners tending to the infinite potential that exists within every person we encounter.

The beauty of this vision lies not in its measurability but in its immeasurability. How do you quantify the moment when someone discovers their true calling? How do you measure the ripple effects of inspiration that flow through generations? These outcomes transcend traditional metrics precisely because they touch the most essential aspects of human experience—meaning, purpose, and the realization of potential.

Living toward this goal requires a fundamental reimagining of success itself. Instead of accumulating wealth, status, or possessions for their own sake, these resources become tools in service of a larger mission. Financial freedom becomes valuable not as an end but as a means to focus entirely on human development. Professional achievements matter not for the recognition they bring but for the platforms they create to reach and influence more lives.

This approach to existence also demands a different relationship with time. Rather than treating time as something to be optimized for personal gain, it becomes something to be invested in others’ growth and potential. The hours spent in conversation with someone struggling to find their path, the energy devoted to encouraging someone’s creative pursuits, the attention given to helping others navigate their challenges—these investments compound in ways that purely personal achievements never could.

What emerges from this philosophy is the creation of what might be called a “personal culture”—a way of being that influences everything around it. When your primary focus becomes helping others do great things with their lives, you inevitably create environments where excellence, growth, and possibility flourish. You become a source of what the world desperately needs: genuine encouragement, thoughtful guidance, and unwavering belief in human potential.

This vision also acknowledges a profound truth about fulfillment: we find our deepest satisfaction not in what we accomplish for ourselves but in what we enable others to accomplish. The teacher finds joy in the student’s breakthrough, the mentor celebrates the mentee’s success, the supporter thrives when those they’ve encouraged surpass their own achievements. This reversal of typical ego-driven motivation creates a sustainable source of meaning that grows stronger rather than weaker over time.

The path toward this state of being requires both inner work and outer preparation. Internally, it demands cultivating the wisdom, patience, and emotional capacity to serve as a genuine resource for others. Externally, it requires building the freedom and flexibility to respond to opportunities for service as they arise, without the constraints of conventional career obligations or financial pressures.

Perhaps most importantly, this aspiration recognizes that greatness is not scarce but abundant—that helping others achieve extraordinary things doesn’t diminish our own potential but expands it. When we dedicate ourselves to elevating others, we participate in the multiplication of human excellence rather than its hoarding.

In the end, this philosophy transforms the question “What do I want from life?” into “What does life want from me?” And increasingly, the answer becomes clear: to serve as a catalyst for others’ greatness, to help reveal and nurture the extraordinary potential that exists within every human being, and to spend my finite time on earth expanding the possibilities for those who will continue long after I’m gone.

This is what it means to create your own culture—to live according to principles that may not be universally understood but that create authentic meaning and lasting impact. It’s choosing to be remembered not for what you accumulated but for what you helped others become.