Happiness can lead to innovation: Rekha Shetty

Corporate doctor Rekha Shetty has a PHD in innovation from Madras University. She has also written several books on innovation and happiness. She spoke to The Times of India on her latest book, “Innovation Sutra”.
What is "Innovation Sutra" all about?
There are two themes. One is making innovation simple and user-friendly and bringing them into our daily lives.The second theme is that there is no such thing as instant fame and instant money. Money and fame are a result of consistent long-term efforts. My book is about a boy named Dharam who wants to impress everyone. He gains instant fame and money but after going on a Buddhist trail he realizes there is no instant fame or money.
How do you define innovation?
Innovation is having creative ideas and turning them into innovative actions. It is out of the box thinking, turning ideas into actual action, being solution oriented. It is also a blissful happy state of mind.
What interested you to write books on innovation?
Of late, there were a huge number of successful people with a rotten core. They used corrupt practices to succeed. They didn't bother about the environment. Ground water was destroyed due to the chemicals released from factories. I wanted to bring about awareness and make use of Buddhist ethics as Buddhism enchants me to spread the message of innovation.
Did you face any difficulties while writing your books or Innovation Sutra in particular?
I didn't face any difficulty as such. But I had to travel and research a lot. Unless I went to places, I could not have written this book. In one of my books, Happy Quotient, I didn't travel at all as I had to put in the essence of what I had learnt from Buddhism.
Does innovation lead to positivity? Or positivity leads to innovation?
Innovation is a science, according to me. There are 47 thinking tools which one can come up with a solution to a problem. Being positive is a very light hearted thing. Happiness can lead to innovation. Unless people are happy, they don't like doing new things. We can build happy communities through innovation as it improves safety.
Buddha plays an important role in your recent book “Thoughts”. What can today's entrepreneur learn from the Buddha?
Today the entrepreneur can learn sound ethical practices. There is a five-way test that one can consider. This test asks questions like: will it be beneficial to all concerned? Is it the truth? By taking this test, one can be sure whether he or she is doing well. One should think about what imprint he or she is going to leave on this world and what happiness he will gain rather than just thinking about money and wealth.
What do you mean when you say in your book, “if the purpose is flawed, profit is the road to hell”?
For instance, if one is selling drugs for profit then the purpose is flawed as selling drugs destroys lives. Similarly, if a person makes a lot of money but doesn't care about other people's lives then the purpose is flawed and can his life can lead him to hell.
Can one just leave everything behind and go on an adventure to find something new or gain a new insight into the world as illustrated in your book?
We can take these journeys, take a sabbatical. We should stop and think what we are doing with our lives even if it is for a day or three weeks.
What are your next projects?
I am writing a book called "Happy Streets".