The Big Switch: It's never too late

by John Thomas

Unlike his friend, he wasn’t serious about his job. He went into work every day with the sole intention of having fun.

his spare time, he played cricket. It was his only source of entertainment.

Life works in cycles and for Keith, one such cycle was completed.

Keith saw Maya as the gift that the city had given him.

grateful to the city for introducing him to Maya.

noise the crowd generated was deafening. The atmosphere was electrifying.

With the famous number 10 on his jersey and that typical baby smile on his face, Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar walked with the excitement of a child.

The first ball was about to be bowled but Keith hadn’t taken his eyes off Sachin. The hero whom he had admired all throughout his childhood was playing right in front of him.

This is just another day at the office for him. But look at that excitement on his face! Look at his body language! It feels as if he is playing for the first time. Remarkable!

Life had shown him a mirror and he didn’t like what he saw in the mirror.

He touched the ground, closed his eyes and looked up into the heavens — a gesture that he did every time he came out to bat.

He had invested his entire life to become an engineer and to be where he was.

The ball went flying into the stands as Dhoni stood watching it — a sight that would forever be etched in the memory of every Indian cricket fan.

It felt as if they had lost their minds. Joy can do that to you.

Seeing his idol crying on the big screen, even Keith broke into tears.

He had just one thought lapping through his mind. What am I doing with my life?

thought of continuing with the mediocre life he had lived so far choked him.

just an average guy, living just another average life.

Without the required motivation to do a good job, he was missing his deadlines on a consistent basis.

mind was busy thinking of ways to transform his life.

wanted to do good work but he lacked the required motivation. Money was the only reason why he was still at the company.

He knew he couldn’t afford to lose his job. His salary paid for almost all of his family’s expenses back home.

very first sight of the aircraft had left Keith spellbound. He was amazed by the sheer size of the structure. It was an engineering beauty.

enormous structure was going to fly with a few hundred people in it.

new manager didn’t just look fit. He was fit.

Keith was amazed seeing Ramesh’s enthusiasm. It felt as if he was going to have a masala dosa for the first time.

The food was served promptly and the same could be said of the way it was consumed.

Ramesh had no intentions of deviating from being the perfect host.

don’t know, Keith. But I know one thing. These waiters, they don’t have great salaries.

But I feel good when I offer a decent tip.

The fear of getting allocated a difficult task was always obvious on their faces.

Keith was surprised seeing their morning energy.

Ramesh, on the other hand, believed in facilitating his team’s work.

more than willing to help

He was not their manager. He was ...

This means he had planned for the breakfast beforehand.

They say out of sight is out of mind.

Yes, work is important. But it is not everything.

There was a time when I was so passionate about the game. Now, I don’t even feel like playing.”

Money is the only reason I am still doing this job.”

problem is that we — on a daily basis — bombard ourselves with a number of such negative questions.

negative questions result in negative answers and negative answers take us into a negative state of mind.”

question calls for some positive action. Hence, it is a positive question.

Whenever you ask yourself a positive question, the problem-solving thought process begins in your mind.

when you don’t get what you want, you get something which is far more precious.”

treated his team like his own family.

why Ramesh was so happy doing his work. He wanted to know what the secret of his joy was.

everyone has 24 hours in a day. You have to make time for the things that matter to you.

didn’t spend even an extra hour in there.

am not saying it was easy. In fact, when I think of it now, it looks...