[ This is a random article I had written for my office magazine a long time back (of course, it never got published!! :-) ). I am posting it here so that I can save this work. Most of my friends who saw this article liked it, some said I should never take up writing for a living. Anyways, I'm publishing this so that I can clean up my hard drive. If anyone does chance to come upon this, enjoy (or disregard). ]
“I’ll take my chances.” How many times have you come across people say that in course of a conversation?
It is calculated, that the chances of winning a jackpot in the UK National Lottery is 1 in 13,983,816, that is, 1 chance in almost 14 million! Yet, you do find people thronging to the lottery centers trying their luck to make a quick fortune where the odds of winning are miniscule. Taking a chance is not new to mankind. I guess the first game of survival the evolving human ever played would have had to do with was to take chances, yes, a lot of chances. For instance, the chances of survival were extremely low when trying to hunt for food in the wilderness but so were the chances of surviving if he did not hunt. In short, he didn’t have a choice but to venture out.
In this world of uncertainities, there are still some people who love to take that one chance that will give them the thrill of a lifetime. And while taking these chances, many have made a fortune and many have lost. But had not those chances been taken, maybe this world would have been a less interesting place to live in. It is said that many inventions that changed this world happened by chance! Yes, so, the odds of winning the jackpot might be 1 in 14 million but who knows, the first chance you take and you win, your life’s changed. Forever, and how! A renowned astronomer and physicist once stated, “God does not play dice.” But then probably, we lesser mortals can.
Rarely does one gets to do something he or she always desired when given a chance. The question then is, Why not? It is better to have tried at least once and failed than never to have tried at all. Success or Failure should not be a criterion to decide, much unlike in those action movies, where the ramrod straight General states in a typical clipped accent, “Failure, gentlemen, is not an option.” Success and failure should just be the byproducts of the chances that are offered to you. You might win some and you might lose many but do go out and make the most of it while the opportunity knocks.
Why am I talking about all this? Well, I always loved writing but the writer’s block used to hit me even before I used to type “Foreword”. I got this chance to show off and this one time I just didn’t want to let go. So I skipped “Foreword” and went forward. What the heck! Let the creative juices flow! You as a reader may criticize it, laugh at the attempt, pan it, toss it into fire, but at least I have made a start. As the byline of an upstart company ad used to state, “Just do it”, just did it. So the next time, you get to do something you really felt good about, go ahead, take the plunge. Make your world a bit more interesting. So, while you people figure out what you would love to do, I will go ahead and buy that lottery ticket. Chances are…
“I’ll take my chances.” How many times have you come across people say that in course of a conversation?
It is calculated, that the chances of winning a jackpot in the UK National Lottery is 1 in 13,983,816, that is, 1 chance in almost 14 million! Yet, you do find people thronging to the lottery centers trying their luck to make a quick fortune where the odds of winning are miniscule. Taking a chance is not new to mankind. I guess the first game of survival the evolving human ever played would have had to do with was to take chances, yes, a lot of chances. For instance, the chances of survival were extremely low when trying to hunt for food in the wilderness but so were the chances of surviving if he did not hunt. In short, he didn’t have a choice but to venture out.
In this world of uncertainities, there are still some people who love to take that one chance that will give them the thrill of a lifetime. And while taking these chances, many have made a fortune and many have lost. But had not those chances been taken, maybe this world would have been a less interesting place to live in. It is said that many inventions that changed this world happened by chance! Yes, so, the odds of winning the jackpot might be 1 in 14 million but who knows, the first chance you take and you win, your life’s changed. Forever, and how! A renowned astronomer and physicist once stated, “God does not play dice.” But then probably, we lesser mortals can.
Rarely does one gets to do something he or she always desired when given a chance. The question then is, Why not? It is better to have tried at least once and failed than never to have tried at all. Success or Failure should not be a criterion to decide, much unlike in those action movies, where the ramrod straight General states in a typical clipped accent, “Failure, gentlemen, is not an option.” Success and failure should just be the byproducts of the chances that are offered to you. You might win some and you might lose many but do go out and make the most of it while the opportunity knocks.
Why am I talking about all this? Well, I always loved writing but the writer’s block used to hit me even before I used to type “Foreword”. I got this chance to show off and this one time I just didn’t want to let go. So I skipped “Foreword” and went forward. What the heck! Let the creative juices flow! You as a reader may criticize it, laugh at the attempt, pan it, toss it into fire, but at least I have made a start. As the byline of an upstart company ad used to state, “Just do it”, just did it. So the next time, you get to do something you really felt good about, go ahead, take the plunge. Make your world a bit more interesting. So, while you people figure out what you would love to do, I will go ahead and buy that lottery ticket. Chances are…
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