Last week I did a road trip from Mumbai to Pune and back. The journey was almost five hours each time, so I got to know the drivers very well:
One of them was a 30-year old who had been driving different vehicles for different companies ever since he got his driving license at the age of 18. He just made enough money to support his old parents and younger brother’s education. He had no ambitions, and believed he was destined to be a low-paid driver. When I asked him whether he had considered saving up to buy his own car or taxi, he gave me many reasons why not. He was unclean, drove recklessly and kept complaining about the government, roads, other reckless drivers and life in general. He bumped his car into another near Pune but didn’t accept his mistake.
The other was a 35-year old who had a similar background – poor parents, no education – but a completely different life. He had done many different jobs in different cities of India: tour guide in his hometown of Banaras, taxi driving in the North, construction work in the East. He had saved enough to buy a house and settle in Pune, where he lives with a wife and son. He owned two cars – he drove one himself and had a driver for the other. He was clean, drove very carefully and was grateful for his life. His ambition was to travel outside India and ‘see the world’ – starting with Pakistan and Dubai. He was collecting coins from his international passengers to remind himself of the places he would like to see.
How can two individuals respond so differently to the same circumstances? How much of our lives are really in our control? What can we learn from these two drivers?
[Photo taken from the car: a female rider in Pune city]
Mush Panjwani 
A diamond is just a hunk of coal responding to earth’s pressure differently. We may not be able to choose our environment, but we can surely choose how we react to it.
Thank you to make us pause and think, Mush! Great job!
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Yes Mush, as Zig Ziglar said, Every choice we make has an end result. Reading your blog has reiterated the feeling within me that
Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.
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Dear Mush – very interesting and yes very much result oriented. The second guy was clear in his mind what he wants and where he wants to be and started working towards that. Same lesson is taught by management experts now and then if u happen to attend management courses and I m sure this can be referred as a very good, practicl and real-life example for that.
Thx for contributing and pls keep on doing so.
Kind regards
HJ
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definetly choice mush! with believe n faith , and then choice become our destinyyyyy yappyyyyyyyy 🙂
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Mush,
Afterall,life is a choice but not destiny !!
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hi mush whenever i m confused and going through some lows in life i vist ur site this one is good again to make me focus on my dreams in life .thank you
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Dear Mush,
It is all about your attitude.Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.The second person has the right attitude towards for his goals.
Thanks
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