The Accidental Choice

A King wanted to find the best groom for his daughter. A key measure in those days was ability to perform a task of bravery. The King’s minister suggested a dare, in which anyone who wishes to marry the princess would have to swim across a pond which had 10 starving crocodiles. Falling for the princess’ beauty and the wealth of the kingdom, almost everyone wanted to compete. As each man went near the pond, they were terrified by the sight of pond containing hungry crocodiles. The crowed on the banks of the pond grew further but none tried their luck.

In a while, there was a splashy sound and everyone noticed a young man swimming with all his energy. He tried as hard he could and managed to get to the other end. No sooner was he out of the pond, the cheering and celebration began. While he was still catching his breath, the king’s men dragged him to the arena for honoring him. He was honored and asked to speak a few words.

He began by saying, “I have two things to say. The second point first… whose idea was it to have just four real crocodiles and six fake ones. I would like to thank him for inducing greater fear in everyone's mind. I discovered this, when I was already in the water. And now the first one, who the hell pushed me into the pond? I did not jump on my own, but someone wanted to seek amusement by my death. I swam fast to save my life, more than anything else.”

So, here’s my observation  about the story:

• Accidental choices may turn out well, if you execute well.
• If you push someone with a hope to test them, and they end up executing well, they will achieve the highs which you once dreamt of.
• Some fears are exaggerated ones. To verify it, you should be willing to take chances.
• You do your best when it's a question of life and death.
• Finally, if a princess is being offered, it would not be a cakewalk to get her. Along with bravery, use some strategy to make her yours.

What’s your choice?

“It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities” - J. K. Rowling

These days I often get asked about “why I am doing, what I am doing?” I am firm believer that we are all nothing but products of our choices. Also, I have seldom drawn inspiration by what trend the majority is following. Make no mistake; I’m not against the majority, but refuse to accept that majority is always right. I use the below story as an illustration for backing my views.

Long ago, in a small hamlet, there was a rumor about a huge repository of gold at the valley, across the hill. Well, even to verify one had to travel through harsh terrain, cross a river, scale up the mountain, get to the other side, swim across the lake and excavate a little. The minimum time taken for a healthy man for this task was about two years (oh, there was no infrastructure or technology those days). There were some who returned in two years with some gold, while there were some who went missing for years. Human nature is more on the optimistic side and the moment the news that some people did find gold out there, the trend of going for the treasure hunt started to raise. With time, people were almost certain that there was a lot of gold out there and this harsh terrain started getting more and more travelers. Like it always happens, only the fittest survived.

Joe, unlike quite a few successful ones from the hamlet, did not have the endurance to get his hands on to the gold repository. However he too had the same desire to succeed. As he travelled for nearly couple of weeks, he came at a diversion. At this juncture, he saw hundreds of people on the left side while no one on the right. Fully aware of his strengths and weaknesses, he made a counterintuitive decision of taking the right. Guess what? He was back in one month, with some gold. There is hearsay even today in the hamlet that the amount of gold Joe could get his hands on, was the only amount of gold at that site. Almost everyone who wanted emulate him had been unsuccessful since then. As one can imagine, today too, the rush on the left side is very high while the right is mostly empty.

My guess is that there is some more gold available on the path taken by Joe. It’s just that people are unwilling to explore it. Exploring on your own and not trying to emulate someone successful, is the key to scripting a success story. Maybe that’s the reason the rush is more on the tried and successful path. What worked for Joe may not work the rest in reality.

Besides this story, the additional inspiration to make different choices comes from Robert Frost’s, The Road Not Taken. The lines “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I — I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference” have left deep impression in my mind.