Some Success Stories off the beaten path

There are no set paths, no fixed formulas, to success. You can find your own way to success. Here are a few delightful examples of how three humble people overnight became unimaginably rich (names changed to protect the privacy of the concerned):

• Raju was an autorickshaw driver for whom life was one long, never ending struggle. He lived near the Sai Baba Ashram, Whitefield which attracts a lot of foreigners. One day he dropped an Italian customer near the Baba ashram, and helped him find an appropriate place of boarding. The thankful Italian gave him a generous tip. A surprised Raju thus discovered one way of making money through giving good service to the foreigners, and further built upon this idea. He learnt a few foreign languages, like Italian, German, French, Spanish, apart from English, and became a sort of a professional guide for the foreigners. The foreign tourists were very much appreciative of his services rendered and many of them kept in touch with him. Raju struck up a friendship with some of the regular foreigners. When Raju wanted to build a house, he approached some of his foreign friends who helped him to raise lakhs of rupees. Today, he owns a boarding house in Whitfield where he rents out rooms to foreigners and today is the "millionaire next door".

• A retired defense personnel lived in a huge bungalow in posh Defence Colony, Indiranagar. He had six sons, but all of them were well settled abroad, and the old man lived a lonely life in his house. His sons gave their father an ultimatum: "Come and stay with us, or spend your last days alone." He chose to stay back, and his children virtually told him "to go to hell along with his money". They were not even interested in his money. The old man's only contact with the outside world was a bank official whom he used to meet whenever he used to go to his bank. The bank official seized this opportunity and became a sort of a multi-purpose helper for the old man. The old man used to call up his bank and place an order for soaps, cosmetics, loaf of bread, grocery items, etc with this official and the latter would deliver it to his house and meet up with him in the evenings. To cut the story short, the old man bequeathed his property, valuable artifacts and antique items worth a few crores to his bank friend!