EMPTY POCKETS NEVER HELD ANYONE BACK



“Empty pockets never held anyone back.

Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.”

Norman Vincent Peale

 

I was lucky to have found at a young age, among many other authors, these three self-help authors: Napolean Hill, Dale Carnegie and Norman Vincent Peale. All three of them were dead by the time I picked their books – sometime in 1979-1980 – on the footpaths of Bombay (It hadn’t become Mumbai yet). The copies I had picked on the footpaths were over-used copies… And, because I was jobless and restlessly dreaming to find my way in this big city – where I wandered as a stranger – the ‘How-to books’ came very handy for me… I needed the inspiration very, very badly – and quickly. Yes, I was lucky to get it when my heart and mind were hungry for it…

It's about forty-five years since then… I found my way, thanks the self-help philosophy. But, despite being massively influenced by Napoleon Hill’s ‘Think and Grow Rich’, I haven’t amassed wealth in all these years. I will be 67 this Thursday… and, often, the question does pop up: “Have I been wealthy or poor in my life?”

I have taught thousands of students, both academically as well as in building up their self-confidence and communication skills… I have published more than 35 inspirational books and published motivational magazines for several years… I have written thousands of blogs, and they keep coming every day…

Yet, no money in my bank!

How is it possible, Sir?

Probably, the answer is provided by the beneficiaries of my work, my students in particular. “We are your real wealth, Sir,” one of them said while sending a substantial financial contribution for the two new books we published lately…

Just some sugar-coated words?

No Sir… Some of us make this choice to be ‘wealthy’ without amassing a lot of material wealth. It’s difficult to understand this mystery – as to why some of us walk that path!





“You aren’t wealthy until you have something money can’t buy.” Garth Brooks’ words reaffirm the faith I had placed in my choices. Money is a huge thing; but, it’s not ‘everything’… Without having a lot of it, I have been still able to do a lot – give a lot… and yes, yes, create a lot of ‘real wealth’ around me…

Yes, as a young migrant in this big city in 1979-80, I thank my stars to have found amazing self-help books on the footpaths of this city… They were books used and discarded by other people. But, they were destined to fall in my hungry, dreaming hands… They helped me discover the ‘treasure’ within me. Forty-five years later, today, the words of one of those authors - Norman Vincent Peale – come back to remind me:

Empty pockets never held anyone back.

Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.”


In Life, what else does one long to hear?



GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic’s: Pixabay

Video: Isla Grant/Dale Qickle


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