“Congratulations You won a Million Dollar machine”
One morning as the twinkling rays of the sun wake you up, you find a box next to you on the floor. The label reads, “Congratulations, you won a million dollar machine!”
You pick up the box. It feels light. You decide not to shake it.
Whistling softly like a kid whose Christmas has come early, You can’t contain the excitement as you start opening the box
Is this an iPhone with diamonds on it?
Is it a special invitation box for a Tesla car which also doubles a rocket?
As you take it out, its small enough to fit your arm. It has some offshoots and some holes, and it is making some noises. You turn it around and flip it around, and it seems to make some gurgling noises. Its also moving on its own so you put it gently on the bed
You look for the instruction manual.
There is none!
“How am I going to use this machine if I don’t know how to operate it?”
“Let’s see if I can take it apart.”
You examine the machine again. It has no screws, rivets or zips or stitching.
You try pulling the offshoots, and the machine makes some angry noises.
Hmmm, you can’t take it apart, but it is a million dollar machine.
Well, I don’t take apart my iPhone, but I still know how to use it.
By putting it to use.
The thought comes: “If it is a million dollar machine, it must be able to generate at least a million dollars.”
Suddenly, your need to care for the machine increases dramatically.
You wrap the machine in your best wrapper. You make sure it does not fall off from somewhere.
You make a mental list of things you need to do:
1. Google “how to take care of a million dollar machine”
2. Ask others if they have similar experience
3. Must find out what to feed it so that it remains in prime condition
4. Must run it only for specific times and then must rest it
5. Must do periodic maintenance to making sure it runs in optimum condition
6. Must test and find out what can the machine generate. Then only produce that. If it can make soaps, I will not force it to make cars. But I will test what it can do best.
Based on your research and your experience, you also make this resolution:
I will decide what is best for the machine. I will not allow others to run the machine. I will operate it myself, after all, it is a million dollar machine
As time goes by, you realize that the machine learns very fast and left alone it can repeat the same process without your instructions.
You keep testing its limits, a little more every day, knowing that you don’t want it to break down and at the same time, you want to know how far it can go.
Some things you have learned from your testing this machine
1. Start it early in the day as it gives the best output when done so
2. Feed it with resources it needs, you can run it empty, but then it breaks down
3. Run it till it has a gentle hum
4. Stop when it sounds as if the feed is finished, feed again, run again
5. Give it a rest in between, let it cool if it has heated up
6. Run it again and then close it in the evening since it does not seem to give the best output in the evening though it starts vibrating and becomes seemingly very active in evenings
7. You also need to rest managing it through the day
Initially, you are spending a lot of time with it, but over time you realize you have a life of your own. The machine is not everything.
You are not the machine; You own the machine.
You are also conscious that since it is a machine, it will eventually wear out and outlive its purpose. You take care of the machine to lengthen the possibility. You don’t know when it will wear out and stop (again, no instruction manual).
But, you know, one day, it will stop.
It is inevitable.
You tell yourself “I don’t know when it will stop so I will make the most of this opportunity every day.”
Whenever you feel sad thinking about this inevitability, you tell yourself “I am grateful I have got this opportunity”
In fact, you have made this a bedtime ritual.
Every night, before you go to sleep, you tell yourself
“Thank You. I am grateful for this opportunity”
You go to sleep.
The twinkling rays wake you up again. It is a fitful sleep.
As you draw a deep breath in, you look around, and there is no machine.
You frantically look around the room and your house. It’s nowhere.
Realizing its gone just as it had come, you go to the bathroom, splash some water on your face, look up in the mirror to see your reflection
Just above your reflection, it says
“Congratulations you won a million dollar machine.”
Back to You?
What would You do with a million dollar machine?
What are You doing with the million dollar machine you already have?
If you enjoyed this article, please hit those little 👏 below (you can “clap” multiple times!).
You can find my collection of articles on leadership and self development here.
