Dearest Darling Friends,

“u know whats ur speciality….
u think for others standing in their position….n for urself standing in ur own position.
so simple….n beautiful.
lesson learnt …thank u….
luvvvv uuuu”

I received the words presented above, in a mail from the incredibly talented and stylish, Pallavi Savla. My first response was, ‘Is it so?’.

I asked three of them at office, ‘Is it so?’. ‘Yes’ said one. ‘Perfect’ said another. One smiled as if saying, ‘You knew it all along, isn’t it’?

I was pleasantly surprised. And then came the words, ‘Wow’. In sharing about my speciality, Pallavi made me feel special. It gave me much strength. It made me grow in love with myself all over again.

Pallavi could see my ‘speciality’ and express it so eloquently. This talent and style is what makes her special.

In moments that followed, various specialities came alive in my memory. My wife Bharathi is vivacious. She is highly energetic and very self-driven. People wonder how she manages to do so many things at the same time. This makes her special. She inspires many people.

My colleague Dr Ashish studied to be a doctor of medicine. His passion made him a music composer. He set up a recording studio too. His sense of duty coupled with an incredible drive to make a difference made him take a detour from music to Life School. The ease with which he switched careers is amazing. He has excelled in every career of his. Excelling in three different fields, each unrelated to the previous one, makes him ‘special’. He inspires many people.

To begin the week on a positive note, a friend Shailesh requested me to write weekly messages. ‘Why not?’ was my answer. The first Life School Message (LSM) went to about 6 people. This was about 165 weeks ago. Today LSM is subscribed by nearly 2,50,000 subscribers.

It has been released consistently, week after week, without a single break. It focuses on insights drawn from simple incidents, stories and inspirations. It is written in a conversational language that is easy to read and understand. The opinion of many readers is that the message from LSMs are absolutely practical, relevant, easy to implement, with immediate visible results. In our understanding, this is what makes LSM special to our darling readers. ( If it interests you, we would love to know from you, your point of view on what makes LSM special to you).

For me, even though we have never met, we have made so many friends and got connected to people across the globe through LSMs. Every week this gives us absolute fulfillment and thrill. Reading the impact LSM creates in the life of our readers, is humbling. To me, these are what makes LSM special.

Let me mention here the speciality of a few people very close to me. I can claim to have authority in knowing them very well.
My brother Ashok’s speciality is his large heart. He is one of the most incredibly loving person I have ever met in my life.
My friend Nandu’s speciality is his clarity on standing by the right, irrespective of the opposition and the price he has to pay.

My elder daughter Jo’s speciality is her subtle unobtrusive style through which she has created a giant impact in the lives of hundreds of people. While it was she who was pushing people, people thought it is their own power.

The speciality of Google for me is speed and relevant results.

The speciality of BMW, AUDI, Mercedes for me is quality, design and workmanship.

The speciality of Walmart for me is low cost and range.

The speciality of Louis Vuitton for me is luxury.

The speciality of the Lion for me is its majesty.

The speciality of beloved India for me is its ancient knowledge and spirituality.

The speciality of the human species for me is its imagination.

Now lets play fill in the blanks. Answering all the questions below is optional. Answering the last question is compulsory.

The speciality of US of A is ________________ ?

The speciality of Olympics is _________________?

The speciality of sports is ___________________?

The speciality of books is ___________________?

The speciality of internet is __________________?

The speciality of friends is ___________________?

Your speciality is __________________ , ______________________ , _______________________ and ___________________ ?

We sincerely believe, each creation has its speciality. YOU have your own speciality. Maybe you have discovered it, developed it, maybe you haven’t. Maybe others have discovered it, helped you to develop it, maybe they haven’t.

You MUST identify and develop your speciality. This is what makes you unique and special. This is what gives you direction.
In this crowded world, this makes you STAND OUT. It brackets you as ‘premium’.

Haven’t you noticed, Special Tea in the menu commands a premium over regular tea. Special Dosa is always costlier than the regular one. Special seats in a theatre commands a premium over other seats. Arre, forget all this. Even in places of worship, Special Darshan commands premium rates. (Dear God, in case you are reading this, do forgive us mortals for our follies. What to do? We are like this only !!!

Ordinary is in abundance. Ordinary is taken for granted. Ordinary is ignored. If you have not identified and developed your speciality, get ready to be taken for granted and to be ignored.

So, the question is not why people take you for granted or ignore you? The question is how long will you allow people to take you for granted or ignore you?

Three suggestions.

Firstly, ask people who are smart and who care about you, what is your speciality. Trust their answer. Work on it. Or, identify it yourself and make the world see it.

Secondly, make as many people as possible, aware of their speciality. That may be all they need to fly. Give it a shot. It will be worth it. You may not benefit at all. They will. Good human beings do this all the time. Just like Pallavi did to me…Don’t wait. Do it now…

Thirdly, don’t stop with one speciality. Never !!! Keep exploring. Keep discovering. Keep developing. Keep Moving. The more specialities you have, the more this world will respect you, reward you. What else do you need?

With loads of love, prayers and best wishes,
Narendra Goidani
As I Live…I Learn

Author's Bio: 

Narendra Goidani, the founder of Life School, has been conducting inspirational training programs for people from all walks of life, for more than 11 years. People who have attended his training programs vouch for the impact it created enriching their life.

In 2010, he has authored a masterpiece on life christened as “Keep Moving”. Each chapter of “Keep Moving” is life transforming. It covers topics and concepts from real life situations. It contains answers to the most common issues that people face in their day to day lives. It’s a book for anyone and everyone who believes in growing and living an inspirational life.

He endeavors to fill this world with ‘Forces of Goodness’. With this intention every Tuesday he writes an inspirational article named as LIFE SCHOOL MESSAGE (LSM) which has the power to transform lives. He believes a good human being can use this wisdom to transform his life as well as the lives of his loved ones, family and friends. At present more than 2,50,000 subscribers derive growth from LSM.

His call to every good human being is – “Together, lets create a place where we can and we will Explore, Expand and Enrich our lives. Lets create a place where we will lift ourselves and our loved ones.