Dhirubai Ambani was born as the son of a primary school teacher in Gujarath a western state of India The family managed to pull on with the meager income of an school teacher who could not educate his children properly. They were even hungry often.
The young Dhrubhai wanted to put an end to the poverty. He vowed to make better conditions for himself and others. He started thinking of ways to realize his dream. And off he went to Yemen in search of a job. He worked there as a petrol pump attendant for years. He started saving every penny he could after sending something for his emaciated parents and other family members. He even collated the Yemeni one rupee coins, melted them and sold the same in the London bullion market to make a few bucks!
When he made some money he returned to India and started trade in spices in the 1950s.. As he walked through the streets of Mumbai his thoughts were that of a king. He started Reliance with a few thousand rupees with one of his cousins. Later he parted company and was on his own. In a few years he set up a textile factory near Ahmadabad, in Gujarath and marketed the textile brand so aggressively that his competitors were eclipsed. With his regular savings and honest ways he earned the goodwill of the bankers. They were willing to lend him any money he wanted. But the bank loans were insufficient to realize his dreams. He was dreaming big. With his indomitable will he influenced the central government and to pass legislation to import chemicals without much taxes for his industrial use.
Further, he went public and made an appeal to the people to invest money in his enterprise. He had already earned a name for honesty, hard work and trust worthiness. Whoever who knew him or heard about him came forward to invest. Money stated to pour in millions. He built the Jamnagar refinery against all odds,( the biggest in India) and soon Reliance became the largest corporation in the country. Every share holder was rewarded tenfold or hundred fold.
Before he died, in 2002 Reliance had become one of the biggest companies in the world. Today it employees 85,000 people and pays more than 5% of the entire tax the central government collects.
He simply dreamt and became rich; his life is an excellent example of 'rags to riches' story He once said, “24 hours of the day, 7 days of a week, 30 days of a month and 12 months of an year I think about only one thing: Reliance.” Anyone can succeed in a similar way. Like Ambani, dream big, keep dreaming only that, build trust with the people, banks, your business associates, government and shareholders and reach dizzy heights.
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