Before participating in Landmark forum I was very limited in what to ask and what not to ask for. I was being very safe in asking from people where I know I would get what I want or be very resigned about asking from those people where I have already made a decision that it will be no. There was a third dimension of not being able to deal with a no and leaving others with respect if there were a no to my request.

Since participating in Landmark forum asking from people has become obvious to me if I am interested in producing expanded results. One such area is my committment to make India a country free of open defecation. I have been successful in raising funds (are you kidding! asking money from people!! a clear no no) for construction for a water and sanitation scheme for a village of 150 families in India.

The first project raised $6,000 to supply a safe drinking water scheme free of excessive fluoride through two tube wells. The second project was an entertainment evenning attended by almost 225 people and we raised $3,000 for construction of 30 toilets including a sanitation block for primary school of 53 children. The access for me was clearly asking and being unstoppable in the face of no and the bonus – no resentment from people who were a no at the time. What next! – my games have become bigger and better. I am creating an event to ride bicycle from Mumbai to Delhi in Oct 2012.

The goal is 100 people pledging 100 villages to be free of open defecation. My vision of India – a country free of open defecation will be reality in the next 10 years.

What a great future to live into!

Viral Tripathi
Mumbai

To learn more about the impact of open defication see: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?sid=aErNiP_V4RLc&pid=newsarchive