DATED – 9th May 2014

I was chatting with one of my friend on the phone. After a few updates, I simply asked him where he had been. He shared that a shocking incident happened in his family, a couple of days ago; that he was trying to overcome. He continued that ‘one of his uncle, about 50 years of age, passed away; all of a sudden. He was very fit; exercised regularly; never took stress; never smoked; never consumed alcohol; never had an abrupt diet; and always slept well.’ It was dreadful to listen to it. I didn’t know what to say.

He further updated that the uncle toiled very hard and made good money in his life. He bought a few properties and saved some money in his bank account. But he never seemed to have enjoyed his life. My friend then put forth a rhetorical question, “Amit, what use is this money and hard work if I am not able to enjoy it? Could he take a single penny with him?”

Through the day, few very interesting rhetorical questions popped up –

• When I can afford a lavish holiday, am I still booking for Bread & Breakfast (B&B) hotels? (Justification – Anyway, how much time will we stay in the hotel?)
• When I can buy a sedan car, am I still stuck onto buying a Nano? (Justification – even a Nano has four wheels and will drive me around.)
• When I can fly business class, do I still look for cheap fares and book economy class? (Justification – Isn’t it still going to take me to the destination, irrespective of where I sit in that flight?)
• When it is possible for me to carry a Mont Blanc pen in my pocket, am I still using a Reynolds? (Justification – After all, both the pens just write, isn’t it?)
• When I can buy branded clothes for myself, do I still end up going to export rejected sale?
• When I can buy original jewellery, do I still stuff my drawers with artificial jewellery?
• When I can choose to cherish a cup of coffee in a romantic ambience with my wife, do I still have coffee at a small restaurant?
• When I have decided to run the 42 kms marathon, shouldn’t I be wearing the shoes that support my legs? (Justification – Anyway, shoes are shoes. P T Usha and Milkha Singh didn’t have them yet they succeeded, didn’t they?)
• When I can use an Apple iPhone, do I still end up buying an ordinary phone? (Justification – I wouldn’t use all the features anyways. It’s just the green button to receive and a red button to hang up.)
• When I can afford to have enough maids, do I still negotiate with them and keep changing them for a few hundred rupees? If she leaves, I need to unnecessarily sweat and complete their work until I find a new one.
• When I can employ enough people to help me in my work and reduce my burden, do I still appoint limited staff? (Justification – We don’t get people who are trustworthy these days, isn’t it?)

My question is very simple – “If we can afford a certain lifestyle, why not?” The lifestyle will vary for each one of us. It is foolish to live a lavish lifestyle, just to show people, that I can’t afford. It is equally pitiful to live below the standard of lifestyle that I can afford. I should neither over-spend nor under-spend.

I vividly remember a small incident when the recession had started, about 2-3 years ago. Dad was sharing about how business had slowed down. Immediately, Mom commented, “Let’s reduce our expenses.” My Dad spoke a few words of wisdom, which I have held on to till date. He said, “Let’s not live and think like a CHINDHI (a miser who thinks absolutely negatively). Instead, let’s focus on how to earn more and continue to enjoy the current lifestyle!” I thought it is learning of a lifetime. After that I have never said – ‘I will not do an expense, because it is recession.’ Instead the thought has been – what can I do to be able to increase my profits?

I feel that it’s worthless compromising on lifestyle just to save a little money. Yes, it is important to save, which I must. But, I must decide on a certain amount that I wish to save every year. Anything over that should be a bonus that I should happily spend. Add to it the thinking that – I must focus on how to increase my income. Somehow I have seen magic happen when I shift my focus from being a CHINDHI to what to do to enhance my lifestyle?

Like that uncle, when I leave this planet (maybe about 100 years from now), I will be able to take nothing with me. But if I have lived a great life, where I have made the best use of what I have earned through my hard work, I will leave awesome memories for my loved ones! Whatever happens in future, I have decided that I want to LEAVE AWESOME MEMORIES FOR MY LOVED ONES ….!