I think it was about 25 years ago when my first cousin – Gaurav Seksaria narrated this story to me.
It was about 2 men on a beach and a lesson that the story contained.
I am sure most of you have heard it before, but I will describe the story after a couple of paragraphs.
What’s the point of this post?
It’s about the moral of the story, the way my cousin described it, that never really went down with me.
Yesterday, while presenting a keynote at the SP Jain Institute of Management, a student asked me a question about why had I launched an Internet business in India in 1998 – when the Internet barely existed here… and how futile it is to start up early… While answering her question, I had an Epiphany that solved the moral of the 2 men on the beach story that I personally had not accepted 25 years ago.
First the story:
There are 2 men on a beach.
One man is really relaxed, the other man, a bit distracted.
The easy going man asks his friend, “What’s distracting you?”
The friend says, “I have to leave soon since I have work to do.”
The easy guy says, “What work? What do you wanna do?”
The friend says, “I want to go out into the world and work really hard. I wanna start a Company and make it very successful.”
The other guy says, “Ok, and then?”
The friend says, “Then, I will become rich and successful. I will have created lots of Capital.”
The easy guys says, “Ok, and then?”
The friend says, “Then, I will create more Companies. I will own a Conglomerate of Businesses.”
The other guy says, “Ok, wow. Then?”
The friend says, “Then, I will make so much money that I will be able to hire the best managers in the world to run my businesses.”
The other says, “Hmmmm! And?”
The friend says, “Then, I will buy an Island with a fabulous beach.”
The easy going friend gets very excited. He says, “Oh Man, and then???”
The friend says, “Then, I will relax all day long on the beach.”
This is probably what the other guy was hoping to hear. He tells his friend, “Dude, aren’t we DOING THAT right now…??! So why bother?”
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Now, when Gaurav told me the story, I had kinda heard it and parked it away somewhere in my mind. BUT something just didn’t seem right TO ME.
YESTERDAY, that missing piece of the JIGSAW came out of nowhere and completed the story.
THE MORAL OF THE STORY, as I think, is that the Friend who went out in the world, fought, created value and Won, had something AMAZING that his beach bum friend DID NOT HAVE.
HE HAD A STORY TO TELL !
A REAL, AMAZING STORY.
To me, THAT’s the real KICKER for entrepreneurs. The money, the fame, the glory is all fine. BUT THE HONOR TO TELL A STORY is granted to a select few!
When the student asked me yesterday why I had started so early and suffered so much etc. etc., I answered her in questions in a single line.
I said, “That’s why I am here, standing and speaking on this stage…. and addressing all of you.”
GO OUT THERE AND WRITE YOUR STORY…!
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