The Happiest Moment in my last start-up journey, and what it taught me about Life.
As a father of 2 young children, I’ve experienced the sheer wonder — of being presented with unexpected delights.
They often come in the middle of a very ordinary conversation, and are — most of the time — unnoticed by the casual observer.
“Papa, I saved my last 3 blueberries for you.”
“Papa, the best thing about my day — is playing with you this morning.”
Such unexpected delights — are the sprouting of a seed in the fertile soil of relationships. Few can tell when it happens. But with time, roots form… and in time, a tree is anchored forever.
Sometimes… Life itself — presents the unexpected delight.
Last week, I met an old teammate for dinner. He was the lead developer in my previous start-up. And was recently helping me make some key decisions for my new venture.
Our conversation soon trailed to the topic of ‘start-up life’ (the risks and rewards, the joy and challenges)… and we asked each other — what was the happiest moment in our journey.
When it came for me to answer — I realised that my moment was at a team offsite. In the day, we planned and worked on the product and the business model. At night, we played Monopoly Deal, and laughed uncontrollably at the most ridiculous things. My co-founder and I were losing badly at one point, and we consoled ourselves by remarking that it was a good thing the engineers in the team were winning at a game of chance and logic. We laughed and lost. But we laughed more than we lost.
While as a start-up, we experienced several ‘lows’, but in that journey, we also experienced many ‘highs’. And yet my happiest moment was found in what seemed like an ordinary game of cards. My wondrous, unexpected delight.
After I answered that question, it dawned on me — that even if I had experienced the greatest of success, it would not follow me to the grave; and even if I experienced the greatest of failures, it too, would leave me in time. But when life does flash before my eyes, I would have the memories of friendships in those final moments.
And so — with those who’ve I’ve had the privilege of truly working with… …Thank you… for being part of my life’s journey… for allowing me to understand you, for taking time to understand me… for being human together.
