Photo credit - Hippopx
Nachu was on his journey to find the secret sauce of success and happiness.
He had found a great mentor in someone who, for some reason, was called Mr. Ten.
The young man was curious to know who OT was. Ten said, “OT, my childhood, friend is a physician. I call him OT because he does everything On Time.
I must tell you the most striking thing I remember about OT. Every morning he would drive his wife to the railway station. She would get down to catch her train to her workplace everyday at 8:12 AM. Can you believe this? And I have seen this happening for years; until the train timings changed!” Ten had a good laugh remembering his childhood friend.
Ten went to the second board, turned to Nachu and asked, “Let’s write down what you think about my heroes.”
He then turned to the board and waited for Nachu to start.
Nachu said, “They value time.” Ten wrote that down.
“They do not like to be praised.” Ten chuckled when he wrote the second line.
“They compete with themselves. They are very private about their goals and achievements.”
“Great observation.”, Ten said.
Nachu suddenly remembered that each of them had given him a task.
He said, “Mr Ten, each one asked me to ask you something.”
“Did they? Let me write those down so that we can cover them later.” Ten said.
Nachu started turning pages of his notebook and telling Ten what his heroes had asked of him.
“Here’s what they wanted me to ask you.”
“Why are you called Ten?”
“What are the special cards that you carry with you.”
“What is The One minute Celebration?”
“There was some reference to Tarzan. Tell me more about this.”
Ten wrote down all these questions on the last board.
Suddenly Nachu heard the familiar tiny tinkle of a sound. He felt it was some kind of an alarm for him to stop. And he stopped. Ten’s meeting had ended.
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Nachu was now ready to meet Dr. OT.
OT had asked Nachu to meet him at his club at ten past four pm. Nachu knew the value OT attached to time; so he reached the club before time. OT was already in.
After the initial pleasantries, Nachu submitted his pitch to OT, “I am creating my recipe for success and happiness and had a few questions for you.”
“Sure.”, OT said.
“Would you remember how and when your success journey started?”, Nachu asked.
OT laughed and said, “I am not sure what you mean by my success journey. What I remember is that my father would always treat me as if I were going to be a great man. He was always particular that I studied all the time. Academic success was his definition of success and happiness. Later in life, after I met hundreds of my patients, I got to know many many shades of happiness and success that had nothing to do with academic success.”
“Then what would you define as success and happiness?”, the young man asked.
“Oh, I wouldn’t want to rob you of the excitement of finding these definitions for yourself.”, OT said.
Nachu was really sad. These meetings were not helping him define happiness and success.
Nachu may not have got the definitions for success and happiness, yet; but he was definitely getting value out of these meetings.
“Ten told me that you always keep your time. Can you tell me how you manage it?”
“Well, there are things you must do on time. I do them. What’s special about it?”
“You make it sound so simple. I cannot do anything on time. There are a hundred things that come up.”, Nachu said with a long face.
OT had a good laugh. He said, “But doesn’t this happen to everyone? You must surely be saying ‘no’ when you are doing something important.”
OT continued, “When I plan a timeslot for something, I brush aside every other task that is dumped on me. That’s it.”
“But why is it so important what you are doing?”, Nachu asked a genuine query.
OT looked in the young man’s eyes and said, “Because I say so.”
“Let me explain.”, OT continued, “What I have observed in life is that for a viewpoint, there is always a counter viewpoint. It could be a religious viewpoint, it could be a political viewpoint, it could be an opinion in an office or at home, or it could be a scientific viewpoint.
There is always someone who contradicts that viewpoint. Obviously we are confused about what is right and what is wrong. We are always unsure – which one of them is the real truth? I have simplified this confusion once for all for myself. I decided that what I feel as truth is the real truth. The viewpoint that I hold is the right viewpoint. It is the ultimate truth and the ultimate right; only because ‘I say so’.”
“I say so.”, repeated Nachu stressing upon each word, “You really shared something very very important. Thank you for the sharing.”
Nachu wanted to know something more from OT, “Mr Ten told me about how you used to drive your wife to the railway station every day at the exact time for years together. I would actually feel it a great burden on me to do things on time continuously. How do you manage to carry such a burden on you?”
OT liked the way Nachu put across his observation. He nodded and said, “Well, let me give you my quote. It will help you understand how I am able to manage the burden on me. Here it is - When you start doing things on time, you build discipline in you; when you do them on time every time, you build character.”
XX
Nachu met Mr Ten after meeting OT. He told Ten about something that he felt very precious – ‘I say so’.
He said, “These three words from OT opened up something very powerful for me. It was as if I am controlling the whole world around me. I was always confused about what is right and what is wrong, about what is important and what is not. These three words “I say so” simplified so many things for me”.
Ten patted Nachu and said, “I am happy to see your excitement. My good old doctor friend seems to have prescribed a good pill for you.”
Ten went to the board and wrote against OT’s name – “I say so”.
He glanced at the big whiteboards once again.
Against Mr. Speed’s name it was written – Tomorrow starts today
Against Ms. Style’s name, there was nothing
Against Mr. Ka’s name it was written – You are just a store of information for others.
Against Ms. Focus’ name it was written – If you miss a deadline, everything is lost. Whatever you do after that is of little use.
He had yet to identify a tagline for Ms. Style. He was sure he would get one soon.
Nachu turned and looked at Ten and said, “Mr Ten, I have completed the five meetings with your heroes. Now I am all ears to learn from you.”
Mr Ten smiled and looked at the white board where questions for him were noted.
Why are you called Mr Ten?
What do the cards you carry hold?
What has Tarzan’s victory call to do with you?
What is The One Minute Celebration?
“OK young man; let’s start. The first question is why I am called Ten. I will give you ten reasons for that. I live by these ten rules.”
“One mystery solved”, Nacu thought and said, ”Ten rules of Mr. Ten! I think I should call them ‘Ten’s ten commandments’”.
Ten had a good laugh at what Nachu said.
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How did Nachu benefit from meeting Dr. OT? What actions did he put into practice? Did Nachu become successful and happy?.... You will get the answers to all these questions at the end of the book.
XX
Postscript
Impressionism (1860–1890) is a 19th-century art movement. It was started by painters to challenge the then existing style of painting. They re-defined painting as an impression of one’s mind rather than what is seen by the eye. They turned the artistic establishment upside down with their revolutionary new approach to painting.
What is unique about this painting is that it has a painting within the painting. In the central background of the painting you will see a group of dancing figures. This part is similar to another of his paintings called The Dance (1909–10).
