RICH(43)Tales

In 2019 I had read three Robin Sharma books (5AM Club, Who will cry when you die and Man who sold his Ferrari). I was watching one of his sessions over the last couple of days and in that, he makes a mention of this phrase “memento quia pulvis es”.  This Latin phrase means Remember, man, that you are dust. And unto dust, you shall return. In my 2020 pursuit, I will work on resetting this credo on how I need to build more humility in my rich life.

Microstory# 44  RICH Da’s’d

The other day my coach asked me, “what is your focus for 2020?”. I told him that I have bought a key chain from the US with No.1 Dad hanging from the chain. I showed it to my kids, they smiled coyly. I need to unchain that mystery. I could sense the lines behind the smile. A couple of days back I was in the grocery shop and I asked my younger one to pick up some mugs for the new year. She went and first picked a Dad mug and later one more for her mother.  I am glad that she checked me in. As someone said, ” Parenting is about raising a parent ( no1 Dad)“

Microstory# 45 – RICH Friend

She asked me if I want to be added to the Gratitude WA group. Without blinking for a moment I said, ” Yes”. But later I told her that because of my travel and work I will not be able to add more value to the group. I still continued in the group. I noticed how everyone contributed towards spreading this message of gratitude. I would like to thank Kavitha and the entire participants in the group for taking the time and energy to help and support each other. I learned a simple lesson from my RICH friend Kavitha.

Microstory# 46  RICH Gift

So we walked into Pepe jeans and my wife and kids picked their stuff under half an hour. By then I had modeled quite a few flannels. Encouraged by the music which was being played I purchased 2 flannels, one pair of jeans, and 2 t-shirts. All I cared about at that moment, was knowing about the band as I had heard those songs in CCD. I loved it when the guys at the store gave me the details of the group.

It so happened that I was devoured in that music that I did not know how much I purchased only to receive the shock later after the SMS hit me outside the shop. Inside I thrilled myself, outside I grilled myself. The group was When Chai met Toast and that was my Santa moment. Sometimes you pay a heavy price for momentary enlightenment. 

Microstory# 47 RICH Movie 

When I recollected my RICH movie of the year, it was undoubtedly ” The Art of Racing in the Rain”. In fact, today when we were in the park, I told my wife and kids again that the dog which was playing around the park reminds me of Enzo. When I was watching that movie in the long flight, there were moments that made me feel so good about dogs’ love for humans. In fact, there is a great line in the movie towards the end which is ” A dog after its death would like to be reborn as a human being”. I found the dialogues in the movie to be so nice and through the dog character, there were a lot of lessons which I learned.

Microstory#48  RICH Writers

I had their books but had never read it. That was good enough reason to say hello to them when I met Prakash Aiyer in a seminar and  Ronnie Screwala at the airport. Both times I opened my conversation with the book premise and I enjoyed those short conversations with them. I made it a point to read their books and it was a very good experience ( await this post in po10shall). I had RICH learning and po10shall tips. By reading “The Secrets of Leadership” and ” Dream With Your Eyes Open” after meeting the two writers gave me a good target to complete the book. I might have picked those two books randomly. But after randomly meeting people this year I learned that you can “learn a lot from randomness”.

Microstory #49  RICH Songs 

The year has been filled with a lot of songs. Whenever I travel I used to hear a lot of songs and I usually try to list them down in my notes and then come home and play them with the family. As we are welcoming 2020, I would like to go with these two songs which I must have played many times and the best part is that my younger one has also started sharing these songs with her friends. When I saw all her friends hearing and enjoying those songs, that moment was very pleasing. Joy multiplies when shared.

Microstory# 50  RICH Stories 

That day I opened the book and I read the story of the elephant and stick. That was a story from  Prakash  Aiyer’s book “The Secrets of Leadership“. I was utterly surprised. I had heard the exact same story from my coach the day before. Calm your mind and focus on the objective was the moral of the story.   I could experience every emotion in the story that I heard as compared to the story I read.  The biggest difference between the two mediums? Engagement.

2019 has been a year when I heard and read a lot. Today, I would like to thank each and every one of you who has helped me become the person that I am.