Life Lessons from the Game of Chess… #2

MONEY… The most dangerous thing in this world…. People can kill for it, people can give themselves up for it… People can basically do anything and everything to achieve money.
I sometimes feel that some people are so so poor that all they have is money. If you really want to know how rich and important you are, then drop a tear, and see how many people raise their hands to help you.
I had a friend who was extremely talented. He started his own business and after a while, his business grew tremendously. One day I went to his office to meet him. He was so eager to meet me and greeted me very well.
We were meeting after many years and I was shocked too see that even after his success he was so down to earth. He had a meeting and he pleaded me to wait until he finished his meeting so that later we could go out for a drive. I readily agreed to it.
In the meantime, he told one of his employees, Rajesh, to take care of me and accompany me so that I wasn’t bored. While chatting with Rajesh I gathered some really amazing stories about my friend which made me immensely proud of him.
There was a time when his company was not as successful as it is now. It was barely struggling to survive in the market. The company was under debts and my friend was under a lot of pressure. That time his few employees used to work day and night to achieve what they are now. One of those old employees was this man Rajesh. In those days Rajesh’s mother was not doing well. She was very sick and needed an emergency bypass surgery to survive. The operation was too costly and Rajesh could not afford that money.
Rajesh had no other options but to turn to his boss for help. He begged his boss, my friend, to give him some loan from the company’s fund which he would return in a few years. My friend was very upset for not being able to do much but he promised him to do as much as possible for his mother.
Next day Rajesh received a call from the hospital stating that his mother’s operation was successful, and he could come and visit her. He was shocked and after reaching the hospital he gathered that my friend, his boss, paid all the hospital bills and charges from the companies’ small profit and his own monthly salary.
From that day onward till this day Rajesh had been extremely committed to doing his work. He gave his heart and soul in the upbringing the company. He even told me that this was just his story, but there were a few other old employees whom he helped at that time financially as well as physically.
Since he did so much for his employees, he got back the dedication and hard work of his employees which made him so successful in life. Even today if anyone approaches him with distress, he helps them with all that he could offer.
Yes! Our true happiness and wealth is measured by the good people surrounding us. Our connection with people; our interpersonal relationships with people is what defines our true wealth.
Many a times it is said that our NET-WORTH = NET-WORK…
But when it comes to networking and connecting with others we believe in friendships and relations with the “big guys”, the more important ones. We do not really want to rub our shoulders with the less important or the “smaller guys”.
In the game of chess as well, if we keep on connecting with the King, or the queen, or the Bishop or the Knight or the Rook, and we do not pay attention in networking with the little pawns, then who is going to play the role of the pawns. They too have their individual roles in bringing victory to the player who is playing the game of chess.
So, whether it is the game of life or the game of chess, we must connect to people at all levels — from big to small; from President to Resident — We have to create the bond with everybody.Treat all the people in your lives with respect, dignity and integrity. All of them are your people, your friends, your relatives — so they are all equal.
Stay tuned to read the lesson number 3 that we get to learn from the game of chess. Also do not forget to read lesson 1 if you haven’t already. If you liked the life lesson, then do not forget to click the clap button as many times as you want, and share it with others. Also follow me for more such motivational thoughts and encouraging ideas in the future.

