The Story Of A Man Who Dreamt Big And Made It A Reality

What does it take to make a dream come true? The answer to this question is not easy. Neither is the actual realization of a dream. But you know what is easy though? Dreaming. The beauty of dreaming is that even a small child with a humble upbringing can do it. In fact, one child even did. But it’s what he turned his dream into, large-scale projects aligned with the nation’s interest, that makes this story even more special.

The story begins four decades ago, in Gujarat’s Kandla port, during a school trip. And the child was none other than billionaire and business icon, Gautam Adani.

Gautam belonged to a modest Jain family from Ahmedabad, with seven other siblings and only his father as the sole breadwinner. But he had his dreams, and they were quite big enough for a little kid like him. The educational school trip to the bustling port of Kandla gave young Gautam the mission of his life: he wanted to build something similar.

And so it began, the journey to turn that dream into a reality. And like I’ve said before, it wasn’t easy.

If there’s one thing many great men have in common, it’s the fact that they’re school/college dropouts. Sachin Tendulkar, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and the list goes on. When Gautam was 18, he dropped out of college and landed in the city of dreams, Mumbai.

He didn’t have a lot of money in his pocket, but he was ready to earn some as he took up the job of a diamond sorter with a company called Mahindra Brothers. Two years later, he had already managed to open his own diamond brokerage firm in the jewellery hub of Mumbai—Zaveri Bazaar!

But fate had other plans for him….

A year later, elder brother Mahasukh Adani summoned him back home to Ahmedabad. He had recently purchased a plastic factory and wanted Gautam to handle it. This was the stepping stone young Gautam needed to begin his own foray into global trade.

Gautam opened his own trading firm that imported polyvinyl chloride (PVC), which is a key material used in the manufacturing of plastic.

With the then Finance Minister Manmohan Singh’s announcement of liberalisation and FDI, the Adani Group flourished like an orchard in spring.

But the crowning glory for Adani Group and Gautam himself was yet to come.

In 1995, Adani Group succeeded in securing the contract for privately running the Mundra Port in Gujarat. Gautam was finally within grasping distance of his childhood dream and he managed to turn it into the largest private commercial port of India!

You can be privy to his rags to riches journey with this video.

Not one to limit his exploits, he soon ventured into several other sectors, such as power, agriculture, mining and so on. But business isn’t the only thing on his mind.

Gautam Adani is a man with a vision. And in this vision, his country plays a major role. India is burgeoning in every sphere and he wants his work to supplement the nation’s rise as the largest player in sustainable energy, food security and the job industry. His key philosophy? Go global or go home!

The Adani Mundra Port can be called Gautam Adani’s swansong. But it was still only the beginning. After having built one of India’s leading infrastructure conglomerate, Gautam Adani’s success story still has more chapters to add. Which, in turn, is sure to further the nation’s glory and inspire millions in more ways than one!