It may sound unusual but like charity, management too begins at home. But in this case “home” refers to our mind. CAT preparation is like an iceberg floating along; the visible part of the iceberg is all the problem solving, late nights or early mornings spent in preparation and the books, newspapers and magazines that you run through. What the eye cannot see, the mind has to take charge of. The majority of the iceberg which remains invisible is the mental strength that you have to go through with your effort. This was the opening of a spellbinding presentation on CAT preparation by Abhishek Thakore, an IIM Bangalore alumnus and a student par excellence.

The minute Thakore got on stage at Saturday’s management event in Ville Parle, one got a sense of the energy and attitude that he carries with himself. He opened with the iceberg slide and then listed some tips to improve mental makeup. There should be complete clarity about why you are writing the CAT. You should identify your skills and not crib and say that you won’t be able to make it. Take responsibility for your decisions and stand by them. An interesting exercise he suggested was to take a piece of paper, keep on writing your reasons for writing CAT and stop only when you find a big enough reason. Look at yourself in the mirror and ask what is it that you really want and then think how you can get there.

These are issues which people do not really concentrate on while preparing for CAT. Simply having formula on your tips or tons of test papers under your belt will not get you to your dream institute. You must have a very good idea of the techniques which you will follow in various situations. One of the techniques that Thakore suggested is what he calls the Frequent Revision Technique where you revise a topic after every class, at the end of the day, then every week and every fortnight. Once you have a clear idea of your reasons for writing CAT, try your best and on God leave the rest. However, one must keep in mind that there will always be some issues which you just can’t make sense of. Thakore had very wittily displayed this issue in Chinese script which he said wasn’t meant to be deciphered.

Thakore’s sister had conducted the previous session which was on life at IIM Ahmedabad and had said that the next session would touch upon what one must do to crack the CAT and get to an IIM. There are three simple steps needed to get into IIM-B; take a flight to Bangalore International Airport, an auto to the IIM-B campus and walk inside the institute. Of course, you’ll be there as a visitor and not a student,” was Thakore’s tongue-in-cheek remark.

I think this was the most useful session to be conducted at the event. Other speakers gave information about admissions and life at b-school. But mental strength and clarity are qualities that every applicant should strive to get. And while gathering all the information, keep one thing in mind – Thakore pointed out, Apply and don’t just listen.” A great presentation, lots of insights, some good jokes and wit also but when you sleep, some of these ideas should be under the pillow and not keep wandering in your dreams. That’s what will make the difference.