THE PRINCES OF SERENDIP

THE THREE PRINCES OF SERENDIP

English version of Peregrinaggio di tre giovani

figliuoli del re di

Serendippo

Published by Michele Tramezzino in Venice in

1557

Serendip is the Persian and Urdu name of Sri

Lanka

SERENDIP

A former name for Sri Lanka. A word coined

by Horace Walpole, who says (Let. to Mann, 28 Jan.

1754) that he had formed it upon the title of the

fairy-tale `The Three Princes of Serendip', the

heroes of which `were always making

discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of

things they were not in quest of'.

THE STORY

"In ancient times, a great and powerful king by the

name of Giaffer had three sons. And being a good

father and very concerned about their education, he

decided that he had to leave them endowed not

only with great power, but also with all kinds of

virtues of which princes are particularly in need."

The king searches out the best tutors to teach

them in such a way that they could be

immediately recognized as his very own.

When the tutors are pleased with the progress that

the three princes make in the arts and sciences they

report it to the king.

However, the king still doubts their training,

he declares that he will retire leaving them as king.

Each politely declines, affirming the father's superior

wisdom and fitness to rule.

The king is pleased, but fearing that his sons'

education may have been too sheltered and privileged,

he pretend to be anger at them for refusing the throne

and sends them away from the land.

The lost Camel

THE LOST CAMEL

No sooner do the three princes arrive abroad than they trace

clues to identify precisely a camel they have never seen. They

conclude that the camel is lame, blind in one eye, missing a

tooth, carrying a pregnant woman, and bearing honey on one

side and butter on the other. When they later encounter the

merchant who has lost the camel, they report their

observations to him. He accuses them of stealing the camel and

takes them to the Emperor Beramo, where he demands

punishment.

Beramo asks how they are able to give such an accurate

description of the camel if they have never seen it. It is

clear from the princes' replies that they have used small

clues to infer cleverly the nature of the camel.

At this moment a traveller enters the scene to say that he

has just found a missing camel wandering in the desert.

Beramo spares the lives of the Three Princes, lavishes rich

rewards on them and appoints them to be his advisors.

ARE ENTREPRENEURS BORN OR MADE?

Character of an entrepreneur: Initiator, willingness

to take risks, embodies the leadership to bring

together the capital and resources for the

organization, pursue their goal.

BILL GATES - MICROSOFT

Bill Gates was brought up in a

family with an entrepreneurial

spirit.  He saw the example set

by his parents and was

encouraged by them to set up

his own business.

According to research by Vivek Wadhwa at UC Berkeley, the average

age when an entrepreneur starts a high-tech company is 40 – after

15-20 years of work experience.

This work experience gives them enough time to learn essential

functional and management skills including how to build products,

how to market and sell them, and how to build, grow and manage

teams.

And finally, it is time that allows you to formulate ideas and get to

know people who you trust implicitly that can help you turn those

ideas into a company.

We can’t pick our parents nor our

upbringing. We can, however, choose

how hard we work,

what skills we develop and

how we can be our best self. 

RESOURES:

http://

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Princes_of_Serendi

p

http://livingheritage.org/three_princes.htm

http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurayecies/2012/01/0

6/are-entrepreneurs-born-or-made-views-from-the-l

ife-of-a-made-entrepreneur/