101 Invisible Hands: The People Who Quietly Built Me (And Whom I Never Properly Thanked Until Today)

 #708

Karthik 1966. Karaikudi. 

Context: 30/11/2025 I will complete 62. A look back at life and 101 people who made me what I am today. (No names). I worked an excel file and extracted a summary. Thank you so much everyone who made me who I am. 

“No one succeeds alone. My life is living proof that success is never a solo act – it is a relay race run by hundreds of people who passed the baton to me, often without knowing it.” Across six decades, my journey from a small town in Tamil Nadu to global roles and independent consulting wasn’t powered by my talent alone. It was shaped by an army of invisible hands – some for a few minutes, some for decades – who corrected, pushed, believed, fed, financed, healed, challenged, and loved me into the person I am today.

1. The Foundation Layers (Childhood & Early Education – 1960s–1970s) Teachers who demanded excellence when I was too young to demand it from myself, a postman who literally pulled toddler-me from under a bus, a librarian who slipped me forbidden novels, a deputy director who forced the school to shift me to English medium in 24 hours, uncles who warned and sheltered – these were the people who built the base coat of discipline, curiosity, and survival instinct.
2. The Opportunity Creators (First Breaks & Courage Givers – 1980s) The dad's colleague who told a small-town boy, (endorsing Mom's thoughts too) to leave Tamil Nadu because “there is no scope here,” the Gujarati cooks who overfed me and I gained 40 Kgs (Shed 25 of them since), the friend who bluntly said “shape up or disaster,” the HR head who moved me back South India from Gujarat, for a better quality life and education, the banker (Colleague of mine from Palakkad) who quietly financed a young family in crisis – they took risks on me when I was too scared to take risks on myself.
3. The Skill Sharpeners & Mirror Holders (Professional Growth – 1985–2012) Bosses who threw me into the deep end (global roles, 23 countries, fatality investigations, leaders in St. Louis), mentors who taught me auditing, process safety, delegation, computer literacy in 1993, how to dress sharply, how to speak and think English in my head, (The biggest success) how to keep ego out of leadership – and a few glorious villains whose toxic behavior forced me to grow faster than comfort ever would have.
4. The Body & Soul Keepers (Health & Emotional Anchors) Doctors who have kept a battered body running for 25+ years, a surgeon with magic hands, an aunt whose life at age 12 showed me exactly what kind of wife I wanted (and I found her), a no-nonsense Australian colleague who taught me what women actually want, three Cancerian women who mothered me at my lowest, and authors/podcasters who rewired my mind about possibility, positivity, and longevity.
5. The Quiet Everyday Angels (Logistics of Life) Cooks, priests, medicine suppliers, apartment committee members, hairdressers at Heathrow who refused payment because I was going to her hometown, a tenant who looked after my widowed mother – people who made the background systems of life work smoothly so I could focus on the foreground.
6. The North Star & Ultimate Co-Pilot And finally, the girl from Trichy who looked at my eccentric, James-Bond-wannabe profile, heard the warnings from my father and grandfather, and still said “Yes.” Everything that came after – children, homes, travel, health battles, victories – stands on her quiet, daily courage for 34 years. Now a grandson, who is always in my mind, blowing me over like no one has ever done before. 
   
   Lalitha 24/6/1990. She said yes to me, travelled 1000 miles to see me for that.

“Tomorrow I turn 62. I have awards, passports full of stamps, a consulting practice, and a body that still (mostly) works. None of it is truly mine. It belongs to these 101 people who, in ways big and small, refused to let me stay small. This list is my way of finally saying: I saw you, I remember you, and I am because you were. Thank you for lending me your shoulders so I could see a little further.”

Happy 62nd birthday to myself. May the next lap be lighter because I now carry all this gratitude instead of carrying it alone.

Karthik

29/11/2025 10am. Foster City CA.

27/11/25 Cupertino, CA. With Samarth.