Monday, May 04, 2015

The Gold Coin

Have you ever felt that you do not have the time to do what you love to do? Rajesh was struggling with the same constraint, until he met his mentor friend- Varun - who told him a simple technique to generate time for his passion...Read on..


"I am getting frustrated man." 
Rajesh thumped the glass of drink on the table in front of Varun.

"C'mon Rajesh. You have always been a top performer at your job. You seem to be doing so well. You have grown up the ladder and have been leading big teams at your workplace. You have also been adequately rewarded by your company. I dont see any reason for such a frustration."

"You will never understand Varun. Now that you write books, take seminars, give interviews to magazines, sign copies, go on vacations - you can say all this. You are chasing your passion of life. I am not."

"Oh, I thought you loved what you are doing, but it seems you dont. And whats your passion of life by the way, if you would like to share."

"Thats the whole point. I dont even know that. I dont know why I came to this planet, I have no purpose of life. I am just following the herd. I am doing what everyone else around me is doing, without knowing where are we headed in life. Worse, I dont even have the time to try out anything different in life."

"If you say you do not have the time to try out something new, I can only give you sympathy in that case Rajesh."

Rajesh and Varun picked up their glasses and took the next couple of sips without any further discussion. The music in the room was soft and gentle, but Rajesh's mind was ruffled with thoughts he still wanted to pour out.

Before Rajesh could utter anything, Varun reached out to his bag and took out a handful of silver coins.

"What do you intend to do with this change, buddy? It is not going to be enough to set me financially free...huh..." said a nonchalant Rajesh.

Both of them smiled and then laughed. They gave a high five and recalled their school days and how good they have been as childhood friends. They played and studied together, went to the same school and college, got almost similar grades and also started off well with their respective jobs.

Somewhere a decade back, Varun decided to change his path and follow his passion while Rajesh continued to try and 'win' the 'rat race'. Here they were, at another cross road of life, discussing over their glasses, as Varun extended his hand towards Rajesh and handed over those silver coins to Rajesh. These coins were 24 in all, and all of them were silver colored, of similar size.

"Take these in your hand...hold these coins carefully" explained Varun as he handed over the coins to Rajesh and tried to somehow stuff them all together in his one hand.

"What are you trying to do man? What do I do with these coins?" asked Rajesh, struggling to hold all of them together in one hand.

"Have patience Rajesh. You have become very impatient now a days. You were not like this in your childhood days."

"You may be right Varun. But perhaps this is my frustration."

"May be..anyways, keep these 24 coins intact in your hand..Don't spill them, OK?"

"OK, now what?"

Like a magician, Varun took out another coin from his pocket and stretched it towards Rajesh's hand - a hand which was already full of coins. This new coin was of the same size as the previous ones in Rajesh's hand, just that it was golden in color.

"Here, take this one more, Rajesh."

"I cannot Varun. Can't you see that? My hand is already full. If I try to accommodate one more, many would actually fall."

"But this is a gold coin Rajesh. This is much more important than the silver coins that you are holding. You must take this."

"I do not what you are trying to convey. If my hand is already full with all these coins, how can I take another one - irrespective of the color."

"But this is important. This is golden. You must take this."

"Go to hell..Here you go..." 
Rajesh murmured in frustration and dropped a few silver colored coins from his hand, and picked up the golden coin for which Varun has been so adamant.

"This is what you wanted, right? ... here you go..now you are satisfied."

Varun smiled. And Rajesh was getting even more frustrated.

"Now buddy, don't test my patience once again. What is making you smile? I do not see anything funny in here."

Varun kept his smile and started explaining to Rajesh, 
"Buddy, you have just learnt one of the most powerful concepts of time management. Each of those 24 coins represented the 24 hours of your day. Your hand was all full, with no space to add more hours or more tasks. But you forgot that your golden coin, which is your dream or passion, is still lying outside, and you are getting frustrated because you have no space in your day to accommodate that golden coin."

"And now you know how to create that space. You got to drop a few coins that are not as important as your calling in life. May be take a role in your organisation that does not pay you that much but gives you some time back in your hands, may be change your organisation, may be do something that takes less of your time even if it pays less, but gives you space to pick up the golden coin."

Rajesh had his glass back in his hands. He was resting against the sofa, his eyes staring the revolving fan just above his head. He was thinking. All his life, he thought he did not have time, while the fact was he never set the right priority. He just needed to drop a few coins and yes, then he had time to do what he loved to do, he had the time to think what he actually loved doing. 

"Oh !! beautiful life, where were you till now?" thought Rajesh to himself.

He stood up, and so did Varun as they engulfed in a hug, which was reminiscent of their childhood days - when they used to win a match against an opponent team.
The golden coin had done the trick.

And if you think you dont know what your golden coin is, you got to first drop a few silver coins - which will give you the space to think - think beyond the comfort zone, beyond the realms of your day to day routine. These silver coins could be your job role, the time you spend in reading newspaper, watching television, extra sleeping, unproductive hours in office, commuting time or anything else, which is less important than your passion of life. Drop a few of those silver coins and pick up the golden coin, and for sure, you will end up with an enriched life for yourself and your family.

The book Happiness Unlimited shows you many such lessons to lead a happier, contended life.

Cheers


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