Are you a member of the 99 club?
It is an unspoken law that we all want to be happy but the reality is that most of us have not thought about what happiness means for ourselves.
I used to think if only I had the right kind of job, the right group of friends, and the right partner, then I would be happy. I worked so hard chasing these goals. I saw happiness like reaching the peak of a mountain. And that’s exactly what I did. I worked really hard and got to the top of the mountain. But at the top, I didn’t find what I was looking for.
To understand the Real Happiness Just take a story of 99 club.
Don’t Wait for Happy Moments, Just Enjoy Life
There was a king. One day he was walking with his minister then he saw a farmer along with his family- husband, wife, and son. They were buzzing so much life in them, their faces were radiant, they were happy, they were beaming with joy, they were singing. They had so much affection and love for each other.
The king said,” Man, I have a massive palace and I have everything that one could dream for and these guys are happier than me. Why?”
Minister said,” Sir, because this family is not a member of the 99 clubs.”
The king said,” Hey, what is 99 club?”
The minister said, “Give me 99 gold coins, I will tell you.”
The king gave him a bag of 99 gold coins and the minister said,” After 6 months I will tell you, not today.”
The minister took that bag of 99 gold coins and put it right at the doorstep of the farmer.
In the morning when the farmer gets up, he saw a bag right at his doorstep. He picked the bag up, went back into his house, excited as he was, he opened the bag and Gosh! Glittering gold! Gold coins! He had never come across such a stroke of good fortune. He emptied the contents on the floor and started counting. As he saw, they were 99, he said,” I made a mistake in counting. I am too excited. Let me count again.” He counted again and found they were 99.
He said,” Who is that idiot, who forgets to put one more. He should have made it a round figure. Why 99?” Then he called his wife and said,” You count, maybe I made mistake in counting.”
She counted and said,” They are 99.”
The farmer said,” You are not doing it right as well.” So he called his son to count it again. The son counted and found they were 99.
The man said,” God, we can’t live like this. We have to make this 100.” So he started working hard to get that one gold coin and it would take him months and years to get one. His wife was thinking,” My husband is such a nut, we have 99 gold coins and this guy doesn’t spend anything.” So she took 2 gold coins and went for shopping.
Every day the guy would come and in the evening he would count the gold coins. So that day he came and counted the gold coins and said,” Only 97. Initially, only one coin was less, now 2 have gone.” He shouted,” Where did the two gold coins go?”
His wife said,” Well, I am not a nut like you, I thought I will go and do some shopping. So I went and spent the two gold coins.” “Oh God,” the farmer yelled,” I am toiling working hard, putting my blood and sweat to get that one gold coin and you nut, you are going and spending these 2 gold coins away.” Meanwhile, the son spent 2 more, 95 left.
Six months passed by. The king and the minister were walking by and saw the buzz had gone, the life had gone, the song had gone, the love had gone; only arguments, fights, bickering.
The king said,” What happened? How did they change so much in just 6 months?”
The minister said,” Now they are officially members of the 99 club.”
The king said,” Man you took 99 gold coins, what is the 99 club?”
The minister said,”99 club is a club of those who have 99 gold coins, but in running after the one, they don’t use their 99 gold coins.” In running behind the one coin, in trying to reach 100, what's the point if we forget to utilize the 99?
Moral: Don’t wait for the destination, start finding happiness while you are on the journey. Don’t postpone your happiness to a particular moment.
We can be happy, even with very little in our lives, but the minute we’re given something bigger and better, we want even more! We lose our sleep, our happiness, we hurt the people around us; all these as a price for our growing greed and desires. That’s what joining The 99 Club is all about.
