Why Growth Feels Lonely

Success has a strange way of changing the atmosphere around a person. The climb is crowded, competitive, and loud — but the higher you rise, the quieter it becomes. Many founders who once dreamed of hitting big revenues and building powerful teams are surprised to find that the peak feels more isolating than they ever imagined. They have stability, scale, and status — yet they carry responsibilities, decisions, and pressures that very few people around them can fully understand. And that...

min read

Success has a strange way of changing the atmosphere around a person. The climb is crowded, competitive, and loud — but the higher you rise, the quieter it becomes. Many founders who once dreamed of hitting big revenues and building powerful teams are surprised to find that the peak feels more isolating than they ever imagined. They have stability, scale, and status — yet they carry responsibilities, decisions, and pressures that very few people around them can fully understand. And that isolation doesn’t come from weakness; it comes from leadership. People stay close to successful individuals, but often with expectations — a favour, an introduction, an opportunity, some hidden benefit. Wealth and influence attract attention, but rarely authenticity. And for many business owners, especially those running companies upward of Rs 90 crores, this is where the silent disconnect begins. They are surrounded by people but starved of genuine connection. Yet beneath this loneliness lies a deeper, more strategic issue that most leaders never pause to consider: the brand they project externally no longer matches the identity they need internally. Their success is visible — deals, achievements, awards, numbers. But personal branding isn’t just about visibility. It is about emotional resonance, relational depth, and the quality of the people who enter your space because of who you are, not what you have built. Here’s the truth most high-performing founders overlook: loneliness at the top doesn’t come from success — it comes from the absence of aligned relationships. And that gap is bridged only when leaders intentionally shape their personal brand. When a founder’s personal brand becomes clear, something shifts. People begin to see the human behind the entrepreneur. They understand the leader’s values, personality, and intentions. The communication becomes more meaningful. Teams speak more openly. Partnerships become smoother. Even day-to-day interactions feel less transactional and more genuine. A well-aligned personal brand acts as an emotional filter — drawing in people who resonate with your energy and quietly distancing the ones who don’t. For business owners managing large-scale operations, the need today is not popularity. It is positioning. Presence. Influence. Trust. Because once your personal brand reflects depth, clarity, confidence, and relatability, you stop attracting people who want to take something from you — and start attracting people who want to contribute, collaborate, and grow alongside you. With the right personal brand, authority no longer has to come with isolation. Leadership becomes magnetic rather than demanding. Teams align faster. Networks strengthen naturally. And the circle around you evolves from being crowded to being meaningful. The irony is that most founders think their next stage of growth requires new strategies, new hires, or new markets. But often, what they actually need is a stronger sense of identity — one that the world can see, feel, and connect with. Because expansion doesn’t only happen in revenue charts; it happens in relationships, and relationships are built on perception. The clearer your identity, the stronger your influence. And the stronger your influence, the easier it becomes for people to trust you, align with you, and open doors that were previously inaccessible. So if the world around you has gotten quieter as you’ve risen higher, perhaps it is not a sign of distance — but a sign that it’s time to realign how people experience you. Not just as the owner of a successful business, but as a leader whose presence carries credibility, warmth, and clarity. Success is fulfilling, growth is exciting, but connection is what gives leadership its depth. And only a well-aligned personal brand can create the kind of connection that feels genuine, nourishing, and empowering. If you’ve reached a stage where your achievements speak loudly but your identity feels misunderstood or unseen, then it may be time to reshape the way the world perceives you. Not to impress, not to sell, but to finally be experienced in the way you truly intend to be. If this resonates with your journey, you’re welcome to reach out for a conversation here: https://sprect.com/pro/divyaaadvaani Not for introductions. Not for transactions. For alignment — and perhaps for the first step toward a personal brand that grows with you, not away from you. (The author is a personal branding expert. She has clients from 14+ countries. Views personal.)

No Shot Escapes Scrutiny: Inside Forensic Ballistics

Dr. Keshav Kumar and Dikumoni Bora
Nov 5, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Nov 7, 2024

Forensic ballistics, a branch of forensic science, involves the study and analysis of firearms, bullets, and the effects of their discharge in criminal investigations. As cases involving firearms grow in complexity, forensic ballistics has evolved to provide vital clues that aid law enforcement in connecting the dots between the weapon, crime scene, and suspects. With recent cases like the attempted attack on Donald Trump, forensic ballistics has come under the spotlight yet again. This scientific discipline, which deals with analysing firearms, bullets, and gunshot residues (GSR), provides invaluable insights into solving complex cases.

Forensic ballistics emerged as a specialised field in the early 20th century, with its roots going back to the time when firearms were first invented. However, it gained prominence after the invention of rifling—spiral grooves inside a gun barrel that give bullets a unique spin and leave identifiable marks. One of the earliest and most famous cases involving forensic ballistics was the trial of Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (1925), where ballistic evidence played a critical role in their conviction.

Since the establishment of the nation's first ballistic laboratory in the 1920s, the field has undergone substantial technological advancements like the Integrated Ballistic Information System (IBIS). IBIS is a highly technical, computerised image analysis system that records striated images from bullets and cartridge cases and compares them to a national, and growing international, database of images. Ballistic signature identification is another important criminal investigation technique for detecting gun cases. Just as everyone has a unique fingerprint, there are unique striations marks on a bullet when it passes through the gun barrel.

The use of country-made gun analysis poses a huge challenge in crime investigation. The creation of fresh methods and resources like 3D printing technology to make replicas of weapons and ammo for analysis of ballistic evidence has been the main focus of recent scientific studies in ballistics.

Prominent forensic laboratories worldwide that specialise in ballistics include the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL), Chandigarh, India; the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) Ballistics Lab, USA; and Scotland Yard’s Ballistics Division, UK.

In India, a prominent incident where ballistics technology played a major role was the 2008 Mumbai terror attack. Ballistics specialists studied the bullets and cartridges discovered at the crime scenes following the horrifying assault to determine the kinds of weapons that the terrorists used. Another notable case includes the Jessica Lal murder case, where ballistics evidence was used prominently.

Internationally, the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1963 is perhaps the most famous case involving forensic ballistics. Similarly, the assassination attempt on former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022 highlighted the importance of forensic ballistics in tracking down the weapon used in the attack.

The Supreme Court has acknowledged the value of ballistics technology in the investigation of gun-related crimes. The Supreme Court ruled in the State of Maharashtra v. Raju Rajendra Singh (2018) that ballistic evidence is an essential component in determining an accused person's guilt. The court noted that ballistic evidence could be utilised to determine the type of firearm used in the crime and to establish a connection between the accused and the crime site.

An eminent forensic ballistics expert in India is Mr. B.C. Ravindra is a retired crime-scene investigator and forensic expert from Karnataka. Mr. Ravindra is known for his expertise in ballistics and his work on the Kalburgi murder case (2015).

As technology advances, the role of forensic ballistics in law enforcement will only grow more critical in combating gun-related crimes globally. Every gun has a story to tell in crime investigation.

(Dr. Kumar is a retired IPS and forensic advisor to the Government of Assam. Bora is student of forensic at NFSU, Guwahati. Views personal.)

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