Love what you do or do what you love?

They say if you want to excel in life, love what you do. But how many of us actually love what we do? For that matter, how many of us actually know what they should do. Interestingly, the common answer is not many. I still remember when I was a kid I had such fancy ambitions for my grown up days. The normal ones ranged from being a movie Hero to a Cricketer and on some rather outrageous phases it also ranged from being a Terrorist (for being able to use the gun at will) to being a cashier at a bank (who can take home whatever sum he wants at will). Unfortunately, none of this happened and the ambitions transitioned to some rather boring alternatives.

Engineer or Doctor was the decision to be made, dad being a surgeon stakes were high to opt for the medico route but common sense prevailed and I smartly opted for the engineering route. Not because I was exceptional in maths but more so because I was smart enough to gauge that I don’t have the dedication and the appetite to slog for at least 10 more years to be a professional doctor J. But in this age being an engineer hardly secures you a blooming career, unless of course if you have been a high flyer all along, which not-so-surprisingly I was not. So it was again the time to be at the cross roads, MBA or MS (M Tech)? I opted for the former as I found the latter to be too technical and former as the key to the supposedly wonderful management world. So once again it was a case of opting for what not to do rather than what I should do. And where on one hand I could have been a cricketer probably playing IPL for one of the franchises, here I am not so glamorously donning the hat of a pre-sales consultant. Not that I hate what I do, but I would be lying if I say I love what I do J. But I certainly envy what few people are doing in their lives.

I envy Harsha Bhogle. I envy him for being able to make a living out of what has been his love of his life from his childhood. I wish I could sit back, relax and enjoy commentating on my favorite sport for ever and make a living out of it. He is neither a professional cricketer nor a certified sport journalist but he excels in what he is doing and is seemingly enjoying it to the core. Not discounting his hard work or his elite academic credentials, nevertheless I still envy what he does J.

I envy Taran Adarsh. How could you not envy someone who makes a living out of watching every damn movie that hits the theaters and then rates it based on his views on the movie. Agree, it takes a degree in journalism and lot of insight to be in that position to critique a piece of art. But compare your daily monotony with this rather exciting avenue, do you need anything more to envy this arrangement? Certainly not J.

I envy Sanjeev Kapoor. He comes, he cooks, he tastes and in turn teaches you on how to cook an exotic dish and earns a bomb out of it. And in cases his work day just involves critiquing  a bunch of amateur chefs on how they have cooked. Who wouldn't yearn for such a fancy life. Being a hotel management graduate or a God gifted person could be some probable arguments behind this success story but that hardly lessens the imminent envy J.

I envy Chetan Bhagat. His English is probably as good as most of us and he writes simple, no brainer stories (some rightly call them as soft porn too) that even you or me could write but his popularity and craze in the commercial Indian literary circuit  is unparalleled. And with all his books being made into Bollywood movies he is certainly among the all-time best selling Indian authors. Now people may credit his IIT-IIM academic combo as the key contributor to his success but I still envy his work life more than his academic prowess J.

I envy Arnab Goswami. He hogs the prime time limelight every night and bashes and screams over the top politicians like nobody does. He may be a laughing stock for his over the top theatrical mannerisms but who wouldn't cherish doing what he has been doing for some years now.

I envy Miss Malini. Yes, Miss Malini, the elegant Bollywood grapevine queen. How about making a career out of gossiping? I mean can there be anything more exciting than that J. Not many around mind a dose of gossip here and there, I for that matter love it day in day out, so how can you not envy someone who makes a living out of it. That’s so damn fancy J.

In hindsight, it might seem I envy all those who sit back and merrily advocate or profess gyaan in some way or the other and make a flourishing career out of it. But probably these guys would also be lamenting about their respective trade suits. How I wish there was an option to pick and choose and adapt to a career of your choice anytime in your life and seamlessly transition to another favorite career choice of yours once you are done with the previous one J. But that couldn't be a possibility, so for those like me who couldn't do what they love, love what you do is the only enforced option left J.

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kin…

P S- For now, if not for ever, if I can just don the hat of a travel junkie who does nothing but trots the globe year long and makes a living out of it, I wouldn't complain for anything else in life J.