Step #1 to conquering 'Space & Time'​

Before my travel back to US from India, we (my Lowe's India team & me) wanted to plan a team outing. We chose a weekend with minimum work commitments, and decided to start "early" to beat Bangalore traffic. The "early" time I was told was 3 to 3:30 AM to assemble near our 1st pick up point (Manyata) so that we can leave by 3:30 AM. I was one of the luckiest ones as I had to take 27 km journey to reach the first pickup point. As usual I planned in reverse to pack everything the previous evening, wake up at 2 AM, leave from my condo (near Doddaballapura) by 2:30 AM, reach office by 3:05 AM & take the ~1 km walk to the pickup point. Due to a sprain in my leg, I was completely incapacitated 2 days back & I wasn't sure if I can make it to the trip we have been planning few a months. With Ultracet (most powerful analgesic yet - for me), I was able to drive 27 kms and take the ~1 km walk to reach the finish line by 3:30 AM, on time! I was expecting to see 10 of our associates (all but me) so that we can start; I was greeted by 2. Then the scrambling started to find where the rest were. While some where untraceable (on the way and couldn't pick phone or update location), some were still at home waiting for their Cab. One of the key planners of the trip surprised me at 3:45 AM by saying, "I booked the Cab for 3:30 AM & still waiting". Despite the 10 minute journey for him, I couldn't understand how he can plan for all of us to leave by 3:30 AM without accounting for unforeseen delays & travel time.

• Space & Time are the 2 most inspiring & impactful constraints in our physical world.
• Though many lives (including that of Einstein, Hawking Et. al) were dedicated to study & demystify them, in simple terms we know that "Despite being the right person, we also have to be in the right place at the right time to be successful".
• The whole world is tightly connected by space & time despite the spatial & time zone differences. Our every action (proactive or reactive) has a domino effect on this world.
• Where we stand now in our life is a summary of our choices (we made & didn't make).
• The only way to beat these constraints of 'Space & Time', is to take control of them instead of being controlled by them.
• Step #1 to conquering 'Space & Time' is to be on time.

As we left the first pickup point by 4:30 AM, the key planner sighed in relief, "on-time!". Yes, you read it right. Looks like the planned ETD was 4:30 AM & conveyed time was 3:30 AM. How I wish this notion of "Indian Standard Time" can be banished forever!

I was glad this happened as I took this opportunity to talk to team about this most important aspect in life. Nevertheless, this is one of the best trips yet - Coorg, October 2019!