Dr. Prateep V. Philip IPS, is the Director General of Police (CB-CID) Tamil Nadu. A highly creative and driven personality, he is committed to bringing about positive change and has spearheaded many initiatives for the betterment of our community. He shares thoughts and insights with Sameera Fernandes on his journey and the plans that lay ahead.
Your book ‘Fillipisms, 3333 Maxims to Maximize Your Life’ is a great guide for everyone. Do tell us more.
‘Fillipisms’ encompasses unique and original sayings which are simple, pithy, pun-filled, and metaphoric. Everyone on this earth needs encouragement, which is like oxygen for the human being. These maxims are three decades of life learnings, written and compiled over the past ten years. Featured in the Asian Book of Records, the manuscript contains 33 chapters covering all the vital themes of life like leadership, faith, love, attitudes, motivation. The idea is to encourage every human being to do his best and be his best.
You bagged the Queen’s Award for the ‘Friends of Police’ (FOP) movement. What has been its impact on the community
Yes, I received the prestigious British Queen’s Award for Innovation in Police Development and Training in July 2002 and established Friends of Police Documentation and Multimedia Training Centre on July 19, 2003 in Chennai. Since this training was validated through empirical evaluation by experts, the Government of Tamil Nadu decided to extend the programme to the entire state. This initiative is a source of empowerment of ordinary people to partner with the police for problem solving. More than 100000 people have participated in the training programmes, out of which about 50,000 were from the Police department and about 50,000 from FOP.
Equilibrium Thinking and Excenomics are both creative ideas and revolutions in the making. Tell us the purpose behind this.
Emphasizing on the balance, between positive and negative emotions, that one has to strive and develop to truly conquer their mind and create reality out of their thoughts. Reshape your lives with the mantra “BE at it, to BEAT it!” Self-talk determines what kind of person we are and the more precise we are in our communication, the more confidence and charisma we can resonate outwards to help build a progressive nation and society.
Excenomics is a visionary global discipline, with an aim to re-invent education, management, and economics with focus on Human Capital Excellence. It is the emphasis on Training & Achieving Excellence across multiple disciplines – Personal, Inter-personal, Design, Corporate & Quality Standards.
You are the survivor of two near death experiences. How did you manage to survive these ordeals?
The first time I survived death was when I was holidaying with colleagues at a coral island off Tuticorin, as a young trainee IPS officer. Caught at a deeper point in the sea, I literally drowned to death but my boss, the then SP, revived me by performing CPR.
The other unforgettable ghastly experience was when I was injured in the human bomb blast at Sriperambudur, near Chennai, where former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated in 1991. I survived with a hundred steel splinters in my body, multiple fractures and 20 percent burns from my face to the legs. The process of healing took nearly a year.
You say your life represents the acronym FAST. What does it mean?
F represents the spirit of a Founder of several initiatives such as the Friends of Police, EQ Thinking, Excenomics and others. The Social Justice Tea Party was another initiative intended to break barriers and eliminate discrimination through a gathering in thousands of village teashops where such biases were practiced.
Author –My fourth book ‘Fillipisms, 3333 Maxims to Maximize Your Life’ is recognized as a new world record for the world’s largest number of life and management maxims in a single book – all original which has become a best seller and has everything from public relations, marketing, faith, values or the A to Z of success, life and happiness.
Speaker – Over the past 34 years I have engaged in public speaking sessions at various forums including institutions, colleges, schools, clubs and motivated young people to pursue the path of success and happiness through the path of truth and values.
Thinker – I am passionate about creating new ideas and turning them into initiatives that impact lives. The pattern of thinking that I have designed is EQ thinking. Thinking is an ongoing passion and is the source of all our work.
Why is a sound reputation important to you?
Reputation is an extension of yourself. A shadow that does not follow but goes ahead of you. It is something that I always gave a lot of value. Everything we think, speak and do affects our reputation. It is a kind of asset whose value cannot be truly calculated. It cannot be transferred, sold or inherited. Each one to his own reputation and it is a lifetime work. It requires one to be proactive, consistent and diligent.
What is the role of communication in all that you do?
Communication is the lifeblood of relationships where words transform minds. Words are a great source of power for me. From childhood I ventured out to master language and see the inner meaning of words. I do intense meditation on one verse every single day which further triggers fillipisms every single day. I share these on social media to inspire and amuse my readers.
The views and opinions published here belong to the interviewer and the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the publisher.
She was conferred with the Nirbhaya Award and also the ‘Woman of Influence’ Award by Archbishop Dr. Peter Machado.
Her past stints include Sun Microsystems, Nokia (UAE), Jet Airways, Al Ghurair Investments (UAE) and has been a regular contributor to the Friday Magazine of Gulf News.
Wishing you all the best dear Sir in your vision for serving the needy