Born to a small-time timber merchant from Machilipatnam, near Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, Lokkumar with just a 10th-grade certificate under his belt would’ve never dreamt that he would alter his father’s legacy.

Now, Lokkumar in his late 40’s is a doyen of the timber industry in Chennai. He is a successful businessman with zero debt and 5000+ clients. He believes that spirituality and hard work can vault anyone to success; We believe his secret to success is his awesome attitude.

Gomathi Reddy chats with Lokkumar to capture his perspectives.

LokKumar’s Perspective

I come from a very simple family where money was never a problem – Because our needs never revolved around money. We were taught that relationships are important….and that ONLY RELATIONSHIPS mattered. My father was a pious man, who moved to Chennai when he was 16. He worked his way up to set up Sri Murugan Timbers in 1974. We were content with our life.

I had just completed my 10th and was learning the ropes of my father’s business. During that period, my father lost a lot of money because he trusted the wrong people. He needed a trustworthy person in the shop. Despite me topping my school under the ICSE board, I was told to quit school and help dad. So 10th grade is my highest qualification, academically. The treachery of his associates gnawed my father and within 6 months he passed away.

I had to take control of the floundering ship. I did not have time to miss school. I made up for it, by reading a lot. I was crazy about reading and my mother used to get annoyed at the number of spiritual books that were lying all over my room. Spirituality and a commitment to keep my family happy, helped me stay focused on our enterprise. My life’s timeline got exciting and colorful after my marriage to Anitha.

One day she shocked me with her observation that I was not putting enough effort into my business. Of course, I didn’t like what I heard, but I decided to earn her respect by doing something spectacular. But I had no clue as to what I should do. I dusted our roster and found that we had just 300+ contacts in 1996, though our business was 22 years old! Soon, I started networking with family and friends, took pains to learn from successful people, and then took a big leap of faith in 1999. I got into trading premium timber and wood.

Soon, we rose in stature and became the most sought after timber merchant from Chennai. By focusing on quality and by offering competitive rates, we gained a lot of new clients. Today we have over 5000+ clients who’ll not think of sourcing from any other merchant. Our payments are collected against delivery – Because experience taught us that extending a good credit line to customers can turn into a bad relationship in no time. Our clients also benefit because we keep our margins thin.

Yes, hard work and diligence do pay off. Our only son Ramakrishna Prabhu, 23, is a software engineer at Accenture. He lives by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda and Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He has excellent interpersonal skills and I believe that is the key to success for anyone.

The most important trait that’s needed to succeed is to treat everyone with respect and kindness. Quite simply put, BE GOOD TO EVERYONE. When my father passed away and a lot of things at home were baffling, I learned to handle the crisis with a smile. When people advise, “Don’t put up with people who are bad to you; Retaliate,” I respond with, “I don’t even have enough time to love everyone; where is the time to hate anybody?” If someone was bad to me, I used to just ignore them. I used to think, “It’s not for you to get down to their level.”

Truth is, if you just focus on your work with a genuine love for your work, for your clients, and even to those who are against you, THAT GENUINE LOVE generates great energy. Nobody can defeat this energy and it will take you to your destiny’s happy spot. At the end of the day, being happy and joyful is the only goal in life for every being. To me, true success is BEING JOYFUL. Are we as a family, joyful all the time? – Absolutely!

Being joyful is a process and both Anitha and I believe we are bestowed with great success. We show our gratitude to this Universe in our own special ways – One of which is horoscope exchange. We help people find their right partner. It’s just a heartfelt, free service. It is joyful to do your bit to your community.

We follow Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s school of thought. Swami Vivekananda says “What are you going to leave, after your life on this earth?” It’s important to leave only a mark and not a remark. How do you leave a mark? – By living a life of purpose with humility and SINCERE PLEAS TO GOD.

Our prayers should be about introspection. We should introspect all aspects of our lives, including our religion and spirituality. We should question every malady and ritual of our society and be brutally honest about our belief systems. Does God want anything from us? Donations? Tonsured heads? – NO! God simply wants us to have a conversation with Him. He is ready to help every one of us, every moment. You don’t have to be God FEARING, you should only be God LOVING.

LOOK WITHIN YOUR HEART and you will find your God and answers for all your queries. And BELIEVE that you will find a solution for any challenge. When you overcome a challenge, you gain more confidence and you grow in stature as a person. So the next challenge thrown at you is in some way going to be tougher. It happens to everyone; not just to you or me. Truth is, we are all given the strength to surmount those challenges.

With that Lokkumar, Managing Director, Sri Murugan Timber Traders signs off with a bright smile – A smile that instills hope and confidence.

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