Who want crumpled 500 Rupee Note??

Prakash Iyer, MD, Kimberly-Clark Lever and Executive Coach Shares two important management lessons he learnt from a 500-rupee note. Read on…..

It happened some years ago but I can recall the evening like it happened just last week.
I was in an audience listening to a motivational guru.

The speaker whipped out his wallet and pulled out a five hundred-rupee note.
Holding it up, he asked, "Who wants this five hundred rupee note?"
Lots of hands went up. Including myself.

A slow chorus began to build as people began to shout "Me!" "Me!"
I began to wonder who the lucky one would be who the speaker would choose. And I also secretly wondered -- and I am sure others did too -- why he would simply give away five hundred rupees.

Even as the shouts of "I want it" grew louder, I noticed a young woman running down the aisle.

She ran up onto the stage, went up to the speaker, and grabbed the five hundred-rupee note from his hand. "Well done, young lady," said the speaker into the microphone.

"Most of us just wait for good things to happen. That's of no use. You've got to make things happen."

The speaker's words have stayed with me ever since.

'Simply thinking about doing something is of no use'

our lives are like that. We all see opportunities around us. We all want the good things.
But the problem is we don't take action.
We all want the five hundred rupee notes on offer. But we don't make the move. We look at it longingly. Get up, and do something about it. Don't worry about what other people might think. Take action.

2. Several years later, it was another day, another time. And another motivational guru.

As I watched him pull out a five hundred rupee note and hold it up for all to see, I thought I knew what he was going to do next. But he just asked a simple question. "How much is this worth?"

"Five Hundred rupees!" the crowd yelled in unison.

"Right," said the speaker. He then took the note and crumpled it into a ball and asked "How much is it worth now?"

"Five Hundred rupees!" screamed the audience.

He then threw the note on the ground, stamped all over it and picked up the note and asked one more time: "And how much is it worth now?"

"Five Hundred rupees!" was the response.

"I want you to remember this," said the speaker.

"Just because someone crumples it, or stamps on it, the value of the note does not diminish.

We should all be like the five hundred rupee note. In our lives, there will be times when we feel crushed, stamped over, beaten. But never let your self-worth diminish. Just because someone chooses to crush you -- that doesn't change your worth one bit! “

“Don't allow your self-worth to diminish because someone says something nasty -- or does something dirty -- to you."

'Never let your self-worth diminish'

The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.

                                RESPONSE VS REACTION

                      
At a Restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a lady. She started screaming out of fear. With a panic stricken face and trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as everyone in her group also got panicky.

The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but it landed on another lady in the group. Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to continue the drama.

The waiter rushed forward to their rescue. In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter.

The waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.

Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach responsible for their histrionic behavior? If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed?

He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos.

It is not the cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.

I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife that disturbs me, but it’s my inability to handle the disturbances caused by their shouting that disturbs me. It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that disturbs me.

More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that creates chaos in my life.

Lessons learnt from the story:
I understood, I should not react in life. I should always respond.

The women reacted, whereas the waiter responded.

Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought of, just and right to save a situation from going out of hands, to avoid cracks in relationship, to avoid taking decisions in anger, anxiety, stress or hurry.

                                                                                                               

---Author Un-Known