Gratitude Is All It Takes.

This was such a beautiful story that I couldn't resist myself from sharing it. It's such a motivator!

(Image Credit Google)

Republished from The Secret

I was successful in getting admission in two of India’s best colleges. I had obtained 99.5 percentile in the entrance exams to get into these colleges and that is no easy task. The competition is immense; after all, India is the world’s second most populous nation! After engineering, I got the chance to work with Deloitte. As part of my MBA curriculum, I interned with Tata Sons, a $100 billion company.

In short, I had never faced failure. It also meant that I had grown to become an arrogant, ungrateful atheist. When I got selected in Deloitte, I was more disappointed at not having cracked the Goldman Sachs interview than being happy about getting into one of the “Big Four”. Same was the case when I got admission in NIT Calicut and SIBM Pune. I was always restless, always wanting more, never satisfied.

“Whoever has gratitude will be given more, and he or she will have an abundance. Whoever does not have gratitude, even what he or she has will be taken from him or her.”

In December of 2013 it was placement season. I was sure of getting placed in the first couple of days, like had always happened for me. What followed was 3 months of a nightmare. I was one of the last students in my batch to get placed, in a company that paid less than half of what my friends were being offered. This was hell and then 100 feet under. This episode humbled me and brought me back to earth. Little did I know back then, that it was I who had brought this upon myself, through my sustained negative thoughts and emotions. Thankfully, my family stood like a rock behind me and supported me during this extremely tough phase of my life.

I was 3 months into my job at my new company. I was browsing on Amazon.in. I don’t know why, or how, I stumbled upon The Magic. I decided to buy it immediately. My eyes welled up when I read the first few pages. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. It explained my whole life thus far.

“Whoever has gratitude will be given more, and he or she will have an abundance. Whoever does not have gratitude, even what he or she has will be taken from him or her.” This sentence struck a special chord with me.

I practiced the 30-day exercise, to the best of my ability. Within a month, I hadn’t even completed the 30-day exercise yet, I got selected in my current company. This was huge!

I had applied to any and every company in the 6 months prior to that; all I had to show for all that effort was 1 unsuccessful interview. Just to emphasize this fact, I had practiced The Magic Check exercise on 17th September 2014. I joined my current company on 22nd September 2014 at a 50% salary hike! I love travelling; my current job enables me to travel every other week. I couldn’t have asked for a better manager. I am working with an excellent brand. I have got 2 appreciation mails in just 10 months from my stakeholders, without me even asking them for it!

This is not all. As part of the 30-day exercise, I had compiled my ‘Book of Dreams’. Two of my dreams, that I have illustrated with pictures in the book, were to become a certified scuba diver and to learn new dances.

In December 2014, I became a PADI-certified Open Water Diver. I went diving again in March 2015. Sixty feet below the ocean, I was staring, mesmerized by the sight of the beautiful clown fish, when, suddenly, I realized that the fish swimming in front of me was the same fish as in the picture in my ‘Book of Dreams’. The joy I felt in that moment is hard to describe in words. I said a silent ‘Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!’ to the Universe.

Last month, I participated in my company’s annual cultural event. We had practiced for three months for this show. In order to ensure that everyone in the team got a fair chance, a person was allowed to dance in a maximum of three sequences. I was among the lucky few to do so. This was the first time I was performing on stage. A 2000-strong audience cheered us all the way. It was certainly one of the best experiences of my life!

I am writing this story, again, to express my gratitude to you, Rhonda Byrne. Your book literally brought me back from the brink. I have bought the Hindi version of The Secret and The Magic, just so that my father can benefit from them as well.

I’ve written a poem that describes my dreams. I had written it about two years ago. I have shared it so far with only a few people. It is titled, “The Dreams I dream”. Here’s how it goes:

“There are dreams I dream
I close my eyes and they make me beam

I have my grand bucket list
Which I’d like to share in a gist

I want to gift my parents everything they secretly crave
As a small way of saying ‘Thank You’ for all that they gave

I want a girl to call my own
For whose smile I’d give up the world’s biggest throne

‘Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer’, they say
It is the best education for which you pay
To travel extensively is what I yearn
New people, history and cultures I’ll learn
More adaptable and easy-going I’ll become
New music and songs I’ll learn to hum
I’ll open my heart and eyes and learn more
Sleep beneath the stars, get tanned on the beach, and hear the lion roar
Dance with the Hulis
Eat the spiciest chilies
Camp in a forest, navigate an unknown city, climb a mountain peak and cross a gorge
Lasting relationships I’ll forge
I’ll find my true self as I lose my way
In the sea, crystal-clear and blue, I’ll play
A new perspective is what I’ll gain
And become a child once again

Out of the plane I’d like to jump and fly
Tie a rope to my legs and hurl myself to kiss the air, is what I want to try
I wanna go scuba diving and see majestic, golden fish glide
On the ski mountains of Innsbruck I wanna slide
I’ve heard Western Cape in South Africa is a kite surfer’s paradise
A date to swim with white sharks should till then suffice

These are the things I want most
And upon achieving them I’ll raise myself a toast”

I know that all my dreams are coming my way. I just know so.

Thank you! Rhonda.