I am Thankful - An Inspiring Story

14-Feb-2014 | Friday | 7.30 PM | Company Bus

I entered my Office bus and occupied a comfortable front seat. I have opened the book "Think and Grow Rich" written by Napoleon Hill and started reading it. It is the seventh time I am reading this book. Each and every time I read this book, I learn something new.

Within couple of minutes Sundar came near me and asked pointing the empty seat near me "Prem, can I take this seat?"

"Sure. I have secured this seat only for you" I said with a mischievous smile on my face. 

He burst out laughing, as the timing was good.Before you hit the face on the wall, wondering what is the Joke, I will clarify it. In our company, Sundar is working on fourth floor in Television division. However, I am working in Mobile Division in the third floor. We have worked together on a project before a decade and rarely do we meet each other in the 7.30 PM evening bus. He usually goes home by 5.00 PM Office bus daily and today he is late, might be due to some important work. I hope now you could digest the joke.

"Prem, I want to meet you personally for a long time" he kick started the conversation.

"Really. Please let me know how can I help you?" I asked him as if I am the Aladdin’s Genie.

"I am totally depressed due to poor appraisal this year and my marriage life is also not good and I am worried a lot about money, as I have lakhs of home and car loan and my health is also derogating" he said emotionally with a gloomy face.

"I completely understand your problem. You are not alone. Almost 80 percent of the Software engineers have the same problems" I replied.

"I have attended one of your motivational sessions in our office and found it useful. So I thought you can give some good advice" Sundar asked, inquisitively.

“Sundar, I stopped giving free advice" I giggled and winked my eyes.

"Prem, I am ready to give half of my assets to you, if you help me to overcome the current situation" he said, concerned.

"Half of the Assets ? I will write it in my Dairy" I laughed.

“I Swear. Please help” he said concerned.

I usually use my mentalist skills to check whether the person is really serious about what he is asking. I could read from his Voice tone, eye movements and the body language that he is true. I started giving the wisdom, which I have gathered from my beloved masters.

"You are seeing only the things that you don't have in your life. Instead, you should be thankful for all the things that you have in life" I said.  

"What do I have, other than the loan, not good appraisal, not good health and a complaining wife ?" he asked frustrated.

"You have food on your plate, roof on your head and colorful dress on your wardrobe and loving friends and parents. I know that you love your daughter more than anything else in this world" I cleverly touched his positive emotions.

If you are wondering how I know that he loves his daughter, I will give you the clue. He usually keeps his daughter photo in the office desktop wallpaper. I have observed it multiple times, while we are working together in the project, before a decade.

"Yes, you are right" he answered

"It is normal human nature to compare with others and complaint about the things that we don't have, you need to shift your focus and start appreciating the things you have" I said positively.

"You said it very easily. But how can I do it ?" he questioned.

"It is a good question Sundar. In your Smartphone notepad, start writing the things that you are Thankful. For example, next time when you have a cup of freshly brewed coffee, you need to write as "I am thankful for my Coffee" in the notepad. You need to write even the small things that you like about your wife, health, finance and work. Moreover if someone does a favor or help, express it to them with gratitude” I said.

“Does this really work ?” he asked, with a question mark on his face.

“It works, if you work on it.People always underestimate the things that are simple and easy. Give this a try for 90 days and stop following it, if you don’t get any positive results. Anyway, you are not going to lose even a single penny by following this” I said

“Yes, you are right. I will give it a try” he said with little hope on his face.

“I need to get down, as the bus have reached my stop. It was nice talking to you. Good Luck” I said with a smile on my face.

I have deboarded the bus and started walking towards my home with the earphone on my ears, hearing the "Attitude of Gratitude" Gyan from my beloved master Gaur Gopal Das with the support of LG G2 Smartphone.

I have never met Sundar afterwards in my company. 

24-Mar-2019 | 9.00 PM | Bhagini Suites Marathahalli

Let's fast forward five years, me along with my wife and son was attending Sakthi’s, my colleague Hari’s daughter, first Birthday party. We are sitting in a table and enjoying the tasty Dinner. Sundar came to our table, along with his wife and daughter with a beaming smile on his face . He introduced me, as his Mentor, to his wife and daughter.  

Sundar is completely changed now. He is radiating with full of positive energy and enthusiasm. I have taken him to corner of the room to know the secret for his positive transformation. 

“Sundar, I haven’t seen you after our meeting at the office bus. Where are you? ” I questioned.

“I got a good offer from Qualcomm within 3 months of our meeting and I have resigned our company. I came to meet you on the last day. But I heard from your teammate that you have gone to France for a business trip” he said.

 “How is your life going on?” I came straight to the point without wasting time.

“I am appreciating each and every moment of my life” he said with a sense of pride and achievement.

“That sounds good” I replied.

“Meeting you in the office bus have transformed my life positively” he said.

“Really, Can you please explain me how ?”

“I started appreciating all the good things in my life"

“Awesome. So you have followed what I told ?”

“Yes, Exactly like a baby duck follows their mother”

“How is your corporate life ?”

“I am working as a successful program manager and I got the Best Employee Award last Year”

“How is your marriage life ?”

“It is Awesome. After our meeting, once I thanked my wife for the tasty chapatti she have prepared for me. On hearing this, her eyes become moist and she hugged me tightly. I have understood that she was craving for my appreciation until now. After knowing this secret, I started hitting sixes all over the ground like MS Dhoni” he smiled.

“What about your home and car loan?”

“Daily, I thanked the universe for the money I have. Like a magic, my father and father-in-law came forward and gave their PF amount to close my pending  loans. I have closed my car and home loan last year. I am currently in the path of achieving Financial freedom”

“What about your health ?”

“I have thanked all my body parts whole heartedly daily for functioning effectively. Like a miracle, my health improved a lot and I a glowing with good health.”

“Wow. I am glad to hear your story”

“I came to this party to personally thank you for the wonderful piece of advice, you gave me on thee bus, about the attitude of gratitude” he said.

“I don’t want your thanks. As promised, please give half of your assets” I said jokingly.

“Sure. You deserve it” he said seriously.

“I am just kidding. You need to do me a favor” I requested.

“Please tell. I am waiting to pay you back in some way” he said in a serious tone. 

“Next time when you see a person who is depressed, please request him to be grateful for all the good things in his life” I requested.

“I will do it for sure” Sundar said and hugged me for the help. He left the party after bidding a warm Good bye.

On seeing the sky, I thanked the God and my masters for giving me the opportunity and wisdom to change Sundar’s life positively.

I was still sitting in the table with my wife and son enjoying the Amul Butterscotch Ice-cream. During that time, Praveen, one of my office colleagues came to me.

"Prem, I want to meet you personally for a long time" Praveen kick started the conversation. 

"Really. Please let me know how can I help you?" I asked him as if I am the Aladdin’s Genie.

Author Speaks :

"Being Grateful" is the Aladdin Genie within everyone of us, that can do magics and Miracles. Be thankful for all the good things in your life.  If you like this article, please share it with your family and friends. It might help them to awaken the Aladdin Genie, that is sleeping within them. 

If you like this article, You are kindly requested to join my mission of Donate a Meal to start making a positive difference is someone's life. You are born with the ability to change someone life positively, please give your life a chance.