After watching Scam 1992: The Harshad Mehta story, Were you able to conclude whether Harshad Mehta was a genius or the fall guy of the securities scam?
Well, I wasn’t, and I guess he was a bit of both. He was a person with a great business sense but used some wrong methods to excel in the business.
However, after watching the series, I realized that there were a lot of inspiring messages that you might have ignored.
Who was Harshad Mehta?
Harshad Mehta, also known as the Amitabh Bachchan of the stock market, was a person who had a remarkable knowledge of the stock market. He came to Mumbai with Rs.40 in his pocket, developed an interest in the stock markets, and turned himself into a billionaire.
He owned a brokerage firm named Growmore research and asset management, which provided massive profits to its clients by putting their money into the stock markets.
However, he later ended up in jail as he exploited the loopholes of the Indian banking and financial systems.
7 Inspiring Lessons From Harshad Mehta’s Rise
It is no doubt that Harshad Mehta’s story from rags to riches is an exceptional inspiration for us.
Here are the lessons that you can learn from it:-
1. Don’t be afraid to dream big
As I have mentioned earlier, Harshad Mehta came to Mumbai with only Rs.40 in his pocket. However, he wasn’t still scared of dreaming big.
Later on, when he joined Prasann Panjivandas, he was already earning decent money through his job and could’ve worked for him for the rest of his life.
Still, he wanted to achieve immense success and went on to chase his dreams.
2. Learn from your failures instead of giving up
Harshad didn’t give up when the market first crashed in 1982. He went through a financial loss and a loss of his father, but he never gave up. He stood firm on his stock market dream and made it real.
3. Age doesn’t matter, will power does
No matter how old or young you are, you can learn anything at any age only if you really want to.
Harshad was an excellent example of this statement. He was an expert on the stock market and did not know anything about the money market. However, he started to learn about the money market all by himself and mastered that too.
4. Build a strong team
A strong team means good members and a great leader.
Whenever you are trying to make a project big, it is required to have a very strong team, a team that can put in the same efforts and has the same charisma as you.
Harshad’s team is a remarkable example. Maybe he wouldn’t have made it that far without his team.
5. Work until you win
Every big dream comes at a prize of sacrifice.
If you want to achieve something big, your work effort should be the same as well.
Harshad Mehta was highly dedicated to his work. For him, work was even more important than his family. He wasn’t even able to go out on vacation with his wife(Jyoti Mehta) due to his work ethic and tight schedules.
6. Every problem has a solution
No problem in this whole world doesn’t have a solution. It is you whether you want to search for it or not.
Harshad went through a lot of problems in life, such as the financial crisis and market fall. Still, he was able to figure out every solution through his composed nature.
7. There are endless opportunities
If one door closes, the other one opens.
There is no limit to the opportunities in this world. If you missed out on some opportunity, don’t regret it, the other one might be on its way. Just make sure to grab the right one at the right time.
In Harshad Mehta’s story, Harshad waited for the right time to purchase and sell the stocks. There were times when his calculations went wrong, but he considered every end as a new opportunity and kept moving on.
7 Amazing Lessons From Harshad Mehta’s Fall
I was astonished by the rise of this genius and even more by his fall. The way things changed for him and how the owner (Harshad) of a 15000 sq. ft. apartment landed up in jail blew up my mind.
Here are the lessons that we can conclude through his massive fall:-
1. Always Use the right methods
It is much better to use legal ways to earn something instead of using illegal tricks to do so.
Harshad misused the system of BRs, due to which he built his own grave. He was a broker in the ready-forward deals of two banks, and he somehow convinced the banks such as SBI to provide a cheque in his name. He then used to invest the money in stock markets to make profits. Whenever a bank used to ask for its securities, he used to issue the same by involving some other bank making it a whole web.
2. Confidence is best, but over-confidence is worst
It is good to be confident but harmful to be over-confident.
Harshad Mehta initially had confidence in his skill of trading, which soon turned into over-confidence. At this point, he started considering himself as right and everyone else wrong. He even stopped acknowledging Ashwin (Harshad’s brother and partner) whenever he made any big decisions. His pride ultimately led to disgrace.
3. Karma returns
It is well said that Karma returns. You get what you do. If you do something wrong, the same will happen to you too.
Harshad used some wrong methods to earn profits, which ultimately lead to his downfall. It was his Karma that returned to him.
4. Don’t underestimate anyone
Never underestimate anyone. You never know what a person might do.
Harshad underestimated Sucheta Dalal (the reporter of times of India) and thought that she wouldn’t be able to do anything. However, Sucheta became the one who exposed this whole scam, and Harshad Mehta paid off for his arrogance.
5. Be fair with everyone
If you are working with a team, it is better to be fair to everyone.
Harshad promised Bhushan Bhatt for the partnership of the Growmore firm. However, Bhushan never got the position that Harshad promised and was treated more like an employee.
Bhushan took revenge by selling 300 crores worth of shares by himself without consulting Harshad. Then he kept the money for himself and his future. The same might not have happened if Harshad would have kept the promise that he made.
6. Never trust blindly
It is better not to trust anyone blindly, especially when there is a risk involved.
Investors developed a blind trust in Harshad Mehta and invested the amount that Harshad suggested. Thus, they lost all the money as both the Sensex and Harshad went down.
7. Don’t be greedy
Being greedy for anything can lead to a major failure.
Harshad somehow became greedy for the money. It was his greed that led to his wrong actions and the misuse of the system. Also, It was already too late when he realized that “You don’t need anything beyond a few crores for survival.”
Parting thoughts
The Scam 1992 was undoubtedly a great story with a lot of hidden messages and lessons. The story was full of ups and downs, which made it more interesting.
The above are the inspiring lessons that I was able to conclude from it.
Make sure to let us know what you learned through this series in the comments. Also, Let me know if the above points inspired you as well.
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