The Path Less Travelled

Friends, this is a story aimed at young adults about to start their careers. Thanks.

This is a story about pursuing dreams. Ashok, its central character, has a unique dream of his own. His vision is to help others achieve their dreams in life. Let us join Ashok now.

The Beginning
“And we become,” a resolute voice rasped out, “what we think about.” This voice belonged to Ashok - a slim, bespectacled guy, looking taller than his 5’11” frame. He was quoting from the famous talk, "The Strangest Secret" by Earl Nightingale.
The venue was the central auditorium of the ‘Premier Institute of Technology’ (PIT). This Delhi-based institution is one of the top-rated Engineering colleges in India. The occasion was the monthly “Random Thought” session of this famous college.
The hall, with a seating capacity of 100, was packed with students. Belonging to various engineering disciplines, their eager faces reflected the bright minds within.

A Quick flashback
“Random Thought” session had an interesting origin. Ashok and about 150 other students had joined PIT in the first semester in July 1997, after clearing its tough entrance exam.
Soon, Ashok was found to be a non-conformist in the hostel. Here, seniors often bring intense social pressure upon the new students to conform. An example of such supposed nonconformity was this. Ashok was always found to be absorbed in his pet hobby of reading. Seniors saw it as a sign of his complete disinterest in joining others in things such as all-night partying, boozing etc.
So, the 1st Semester was quite a lonely affair for him.
The tide began to turn in the 2nd semester. Ashok, a model of self-disciplined habits, not only topped his exams but excelled in extra-curricular activities as well. Thanks to his God-given writing ability and a baritone voice, he won prizes in essay writing, recitation, and debate competitions in PIT. And this success story continued for Ashok in the following semesters, too.
Soon, other students began to approach him to teach them his success secrets. All his protests that he was an ordinary student were of no avail. So, one Saturday evening, an informal gathering took place in the hostel dining room. A reluctant Ashok spoke to his friends on the topic “Respecting Time.” This was the foundation stone of his character that made him what he was.
His audience found it very useful. Ashok continued his informal talks on various aspects of self-management. For want of a better name, he called it a “Random thought” session.

Contours of A New Dream
Fast forward to 2001: Three years had passed in a flash: Ashok was now in the 8th Semester. The popularity of his sessions had soared with the participation of more than 100 students. With the permission of the Dean, Ashok shifted the venue to the spacious auditorium. And the duration was increased to 45 minutes with the question-answer session at the end.
Because of all these changes, Ashok had to now prepare for these sessions far more seriously. The whole effort was exhausting for him: it was above and beyond the academic load of his demanding 8th Semester. Yet at the end of each session, Ashok used to feel an afterglow of authentic joy. He was now able to touch the lives of others and help them in meaningful ways. This explained the popularity of his sessions.
So, now we come to the last Saturday of January 2001, when our story opens. Ashok was conducting his 37th ‘Random Thought’ session, and the topic of the day was, “We become what we think about.”
As he concluded his 30-minute talk, he said in an impassioned voice, “It is your duty to keep your dreams alive at all times. All you need to do is keep your dream before you. You will be shown the way to achieve your dream the moment you take the first step toward it.”
“Thus, I urge each of you to nurture your own dreams. Your dreams are your best friends and never desert you. And they will come alive the moment you start walking towards them.”
“That’s all I had to say.”
“Thank you, and God bless you.”

The Unexpected Outcome
The students present in the audience felt moved.
Till now, they had been nursing the “socially approved” dreams. They were earning a lot of money, moving up the corporate ladder, getting married, becoming CEO of a company and all other usual ambitions.
But, in the days to follow, quite a few of them began the tough process of self-introspection. They started getting in touch with their truest longing hiding in the innermost chamber of their hearts.
Thus, after passing out from PIT, Ashok and three of his friends led the way. They defied social norms and joined “Pratham,” a foundation working to spread primary education in villages of India. Two other students opened a startup in the organic farming sector. Another two began to work on launching an app for recycling electronic waste generated by Indian households.
The stories about these brave youngsters spread on Facebook and other platforms fast. Their unconventional career choices began to attract a lot of buzz there. As a result, many other youths in PIT and other engineering colleges in India began to feel inspired to do something different.
These bright boys and girls were earlier fixated on glitzy but meaningless corporate careers. But the role model set by Ashok and others encouraged them to start thinking along a different direction. It was about doing something for society. They now wanted to move along the path less travelled.
Thus, changes for the good had begun!

The Parting Thoughts
Friends, we saw how Ashok picked himself up from the rut of a cushy life and began inspiring others with his dream.
In the same manner, we can also pay heed to the innermost longings of our hearts. If we do so, we begin transforming our lives from the mundane to the sublime.
All we need is self-introspection and then the courage towards taking the plunge in the direction of our dreams. It is, hence, of utmost importance to nurture our truest dreams and keep them alive always.
One day, by God’s grace, we shall succeed.
God bless and thank you.
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