Noodles and Eggs

“We get what we put out into the world”

-     Capt. Shoukat Mukherjee

A Chinese leader once told a story; He said:

“When I was a Small child, I was very selfish, always wanted to grab the best for myself.

Slowly, everyone left me and I had no friends. I didn’t think it was my fault and I criticized others.

My father gave me 3 sentences to help me in life.

One day, my father cooked 2 bowls of noodles and put the 2 bowls on the table. One bowl had one egg on top and the other bowl did not have any egg on top. He said, ”My child, You choose. Which bowl do you want.” Eggs were hard to come by those days! We only got to eat eggs during festivals or New Year. Of Course I choose the bowl with egg!

As we started eating, I was congratulating myself on my wise choice / decision while I devoured the egg. Then to my surprise as my father ate his noodles, there were TWO eggs at the bottom of his bowl beneath the noodles! I regretted so much! And scolded myself for being too hasty in my decision.

My father smiled and said to me, “My child. You must remember what your eyes see may not be true. Note if you intent on taking advantage of people, you will end up losing!”

The next day, my father again cooked 2 bowls of noodles: one bowl with an egg on top and the other bowl with no egg on top.

Again, he put the two bowls on the table and said to me, “My child. You choose.

Which bowl do you want?” 

This time I was smarter, I chose the bowl without any egg on top.

To my surprise, as I separated the noodles on top, there was not even a single egg at the bottom of the bowl!

Again my father smiled and said to me, “My child. You must not always rely on experiences because sometimes, life can cheat you or play tricks on you. But you must not be too annoyed or sad, just treat this as learning a lesson. You cannot learn this from textbooks.

The third day, my father again cooked 2 bowls of noodles, again one bowl with an egg on top and the other bowl with no egg on top. He put the 2 bowls on the table and said to me, ”My child. You choose. Which bowl do you want?” This time , I told my father, “Dad, you choose first. You are the head of the family and it is you who has contributed to this family the most.”

My father did not decline and chose the bowl with one egg on top. 

As I ate my bowl of noodles, I was sure in my heart that there were no eggs inside the bowl. To my surprise! There were TWO eggs at the bottom of the bowl.

My father smiled at me with love in his eyes, “My child, you must remember!

When you think for the good of others, good things will always naturally happen to you!”

I always remember these 3 sentences of my father and lived and do my business accordingly.

True Enough, my business was a roaring success.

-     Chinese Leader”

A couple of things which I liked from this story are:

Firstly, about learning; Most of us have distorted visions of how we learn. We are too much dependent on books to provide us with knowledge. However, most of the life’s best and choicest of lessons do not come from text books. They come through mentors. I have always said that each one of us should have a mentor to fall back on. No matter how good a player is, s/he would always need a coach. I have nothing against schools and text books. In fact, I do not see a future without books. But on the other hand, our academic excellence is overrated!

Being top of your class does not necessarily guarantee that you will be at the top of life. Coming first does not guarantee success. You could graduate as the best student in economics but it doesn't mean you will become what you want to become if you do not do what you have to do. Similarly, the best graduating Law student does not necessarily become the best lawyer. The fact is, life requires more than the ability to understand a concept, memorise it and reproduce it in an exam.

‘Jack Ma’, of Ali Baba fame says these things about success;

“School rewards people for their memory. Life rewards people for their imagination.

Schools impart knowledge while mentors impart wisdom

School hails those who live by the rules. Life exalts those who break the rules and set new ones.

So, do I mean people shouldn't study hard in school? Oh, no, you should. But don't sacrifice every other thing on the altar of First Class.

Don't limit yourself to the classroom. 

Do something practical. 

Take a leadership position.

Start a business and fail. 

That's better Entrepreneurship.

Join or start a club. 

Contest an election and lose. It will teach you something Political Science will not teach you.

Attend a seminar.

Read books outside the scope of your course.

Go on missions and win a soul for eternal rewards...

Do something you believe in!

Think less of becoming an excellent student but think more of becoming an excellent person.

Don't make the classroom to be your world but Make the world your classroom.

Step forward, try politics, try farming, try business, try an extra thing. ."

The second thing which I liked in the noodle story is about thinking good of others.

During one of my lectures, a participant shared a story about himself. He said that a colleague in office had said something bad to him and it had affected him badly. He could not sleep at night. He though over it again and again. The next day he went to office with a bad hangover due to lack of sleep. If affected him to an extent that he wished ill of his colleague. Later during the day h learnt that his colleague had actually been sacked from office due to incompetence. He felt bad for him and his family. He was ashamed at having thought bad things about him. While exiting, the colleague came and apologised for his behaviour. It was evident that he was not in a right state of mind and was fighting his own battle.

When we think ill of others, we bring ill to ourselves. It is a catalytic emotion. If we think good about others, good will happen to us. We may or may not get pots of money, we may or may not win the lottery, may or may not always get the results we want – but surely, and this I say with conviction; Surely, somewhere in the soup - the egg will emerge; if you think good of others, the goodness shall come back to you in many forms. You will have a mind which is pure and a heart which is not broken by bad intentions.

I am reminded of a few lines from Tagore’s ‘Where the Mind is without Fear’,

“Where the mind is without fear

and the head is held high,

where knowledge is free.

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls……..”

Indeed, goodness is a force which can break the walls…………

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Capt. Shoukat Mukherjee is an international award winning global trainer, public speaker and Leadership exponent. He is the author of the best-selling book ‘Mind Over Water’, a treatise into leadership development and team building.

You can connect with Shoukat at: Email: ‘[email protected] Twitter: @shoukat1971 Fb: @shoukatsmindoverwater