I thanked my stars for the fortunate encounter!

About 2 years ago, a friend and I were standing at platform #2 at the New Delhi Railway station. The platform was cold as it was winter season. We reached the station with ample time at hand. As the departure time slowly closed in, I caught two familiar faces among the swelling crowd. I must have met one of them before at our Rajghat Temple and we greeted each other. Like me, he also came to see off his friend. I saw the stranger with his luggage.

We broke the ice by introducing ourselves. The stranger told me that he was a resident of Mizoram and rounding off his trip from New Delhi on that day. He was a polite man and returning with the same train that my friend had booked. Now, who would have thought! Out of my wildest dreams, this stranger took me back straightly to my kindergarten years. When he spoke, it was for me as if I was looking at an old picture held in his hand - a black & white scenery where the sun is shining less bright. He inquired on our family well-being and I gave warm answers to him. He made a special mention that he initiated as a sramanera at Ratnapur under a monk that was none other than my grandfather. Instantly, the distant feeling of talking to a stranger and all my reservation blew away. His revelation effected my heart in a pleasing way.

He also spoke about Mr. Bhattacharya, the primary school head-teacher then. The gentleman is profusely thankful that the head-teacher obliged to admit an overaged student that he was in the early Eighties. A single, bold signature by the teacher made all the difference to his life! As years unfolded, he passed the exams at the end of each school term, jumping from one class to another and thus carved a respectable career. Fast forward 25 years, I was meeting a prideful man in the heart of the country riding on a Rajdhani, Indian Railways' prized passenger trains. I thanked my stars for the fortunate encounter. After meeting him, I needn't worry much about my friend on the train.

Be a Diamond
Take just a quick minute and think about something: what makes gold so great? Or diamonds? What makes a diamond so much more special than a cubic zirconia? Both are shiny. Both are "pretty." So why is a diamond so much more expensive? Why is it so valuable?

BECAUSE IT'S RARE.

People want things that they see as rare. Diamonds are rare. If amethyst was more difficult to find than diamonds, I guarantee people would be getting on one knee with an amethyst engagement ring. Diamonds are rare and therefore, valuable. It's the law of supply and demand.

Be rare. Be a diamond. Be different than the others. Amongst all the other lumps of coal (other guys) you are the diamond. You stand out, above and beyond all the others. Learn to play an instrument, learn comedy, learn a foreign language. Do something that will make people say, "Here's something different."

Ever go to college? If so, you can pick out the ones whose parents are paying for their school versus the kids who are either paying for it themselves or are on scholarships that require good grades. The ones who have things given to them don't appreciate what they have as much as the ones who have to work for what they want.

Remember, to be valuable, you have to be rare. People take for granted the things that are always there. Don't always be there. Be rare. Be a diamond.

(*courtesy Giovanni Casanova - Be a diamond)