THE PRINCES OF

SERENDIP

T H E T H R E E P R I N C E S O F S E R E N D I P

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'.

T H E S T O RY

"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

T H E L O S T C A M E L

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.

A R E E N T R E P R E N E U R S B O R N O R M A D E ?

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.

B I L L G AT E S - M I C RO S O F T

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.

R E S O U R E S :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Princes_of_Serendip

http://livingheritage.org/three_princes.htm

http://www.forbes.com/sites/laurayecies/2012/01/06/are-

entrepreneurs-born-or-made-views-from-the-life-of-a-made-

entrepreneur/