A Journey with 2 Lessons

Lesson 1

Since Inception, I have been running business very casually, though I know personally in my heart, both me and my business has more potential than the way we are performing. In the year 2010, I decided to ramp-up the business and I started working with more seriousness.

This Feb 2011, I decided to travel to Kerala on a business trip for 8 days along with my sales executive, who is from Kerala. This is the first time I’m traveling within India on a long Business trip and traveling to Kerala means walking in to a developed rain forest.

My train was at 3.24 pm from Chennai, as I walked in to my a/c compartment, I could see all keralites and I felt, I'm already in Kerala. I made myself comfortable and opposite to me, a man who was seriously reading a business magazine and had good number of business magazines and news papers with him. I thought he is a big business man in Kerala, maintaining low profile. His wife and child were chatting among themselves. Since I was traveling in business hours, I was receiving phone calls from my clients and it was really disturbing. I tried to keep the call as short as possible.

Around evening, I started a conversation with him, and found him a really interesting person. He has rubber plantations and retail business of pesticides, but I was puzzled why he is reading so many business magazines, I asked him as I really wanted to know, then he said, he has huge investments in Stock market. It was really interesting topic for me, as I have lost lakhs in it and I told the same and he replied, he has never lost a single rupee and rather, he has earned much in it. He started telling some important lessons in financial matters and about his planning of finance to keep himself in peace in his old age. I was really amazed and baffled by his intelligence. He seemed to be a greatest financial adviser, I met in my life. We spoke till midnight and he gave his business card and I was very glad to receive the same, as I wanted to be in touch with him for life. I learned something important from a man and who showed me how important it is to keep savings for a family and which alone can give peace and make you a wise man. Though I have savings, it is wise to save for family in planned manner. I would advise people to start thinking seriously about financial planning and start savings in wise manner

Lesson 2

My destination was cochin and train would reach at 2.40 am, it was most blizzard time, a person can get down at destination and I was worried about getting lodging at this time as even birds would be sleeping and dreaming.

It was around 2am, I was getting disturbed by some very cautious people in life, who would wake-up at 2 am for getting down at 2.40pm and would disturb others to wake them up and serve as free alarm, rather I try to sleep against such disturbing alarms, I decided to wake-up and I came out of my a/c compartment. The train door was opened and few guys were standing enjoying cool breeze. I went to bathroom and came out and suddenly there was some commotion, a tall-guy in around late 30’s, was really tensed and was looking horrified and he was behaving really crazily, he asked a guy near me something in Malayalam and without even listening to his reply he suddenly went inside the a/c compartment and pulled the chain to stop the train, there was huge noise like vapour coming from pressure cooker, I could sense train slowing down and when it was about to halt, he ran inside to his compartment and got his luggage, big covers and a suitcase in his both hands, suddenly he jumped from the train without any support, I guess we were around 8feet above the ground level and there was a big pit all along the track, he fell down and was about to fall in the pit. He left the luggage in his hands and caught the train to gain balance and after few seconds he got up with his broken fist and ran towards the end of the train. I was totally baffled and I thought he was a culprit running away from a police checking in to dark by stopping the train. In another few seconds, police with armed guns came down searching to our compartment and asked who pulled the chain, we explained the whole story to police and showed the guy standing and searching something under our train, few guards, police went toward and we were talking and it was looking the issue is really serious. After 10 minutes, the train guard closed the nozzle to stop the noise coming out due to pulling the chain. I wanted to know why this guy has behaved in such a way, the guard said, “that idiot has dropped his wallet, while in toilet and he is crying to get his wallet searched”. The train started with signal going green.

I was really angry with that crazy man, who has behaved so carelessly by jumping from moving train, for just a wallet! I felt like slapping him. He thought his life is worth only for a wallet? What would happen to his family, if something fatal happens to him by his stupid action? When someone close to us dies, we cry so much and death of that person becomes greatest disaster for us and becomes an irreparable loss. The money he lost, can be earned, but if life? The moment I saw the whole issue, I realised and promised within myself that I should never take risk with my life. We are so causal about our life, we think it’s after all a life. We drive cars so carelessly, we cross roads, when a vehicle passes, wear no helmets and we do so many things and call it adventure, without taking a precaution and realising the risk we are putting on our precious life. Next time when you take a risk, think about your cute children, beloved wife and blessing parents and I'm sure you would never think to take risk.

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The best part of this incident was, “the disturbing alarms” inside my compartment, asked me when I walked in, is there any signal problem? I smiled within myself and replied to keep their luggage ready as destination is about to reach, they again started disturbing....it never ends with them.

-Vajja Vamsi Reddy