What vs Why

“Every time I am unhappy with the work scene, Raichand calls me and gives me some pep talk,” Swami told me and Jigneshbhai over his coffee the other day. We thought maybe he was telling us how he felt like a wanted employee due to that. But it turned out that he was not happy but complaining.

When Jigneshbhai said, “Good for you,” Swami frowned and howled back, “What’s good about it? I get upset.”

Jigneshbhai and I were surprised with that.

“Why is that?” I asked.

“All that he does is provide me some carrot of some raise or bonus or promotion next year,” Swami explained. “I am fed up with those promises. And anyway, I don’t work for them.”

Jigneshbhai continued sipping his coffee with amusement.

“You may be surprised that people who work in the same profession may not have much in common,” Jigneshbhai said while sipping his coffee. “Like you and Raichand.”

“Common? We are miles apart,” Swami said in an instant.

“Birds of a feather don’t often flock together. Especially if that feather is the work they do,” he added.

Swami got interested in another one this of Jigneshbhai’s theories. Both he and I wondered why, but Swami asked it.

“Why do you think is that?” Swami asked.

Jigneshbhai broke into a smile and replied. “Because of Why.”

“Why?” Swami repeated.

“Exactly why. Because of the why,” Jigneshbhai repeated too.

Swami and I looked at each other unable to get what our wise friend was trying to say. He saw the confusion on our blank faces and explained.

“That’s because though they may be doing the same thing, why they do it is very different,” he clarified. “Their motivations are not the same.”

Swami and I pondered over what Jigneshbhai said. He continued. “If the Why are different, there is not much connect even if what they do is the same.”

“Doctors fight with each other. Lawyers can’t find anything in common. Entrepreneurs from the same industry find nothing similar in each other,” Jigneshbhai said.

“I met a lawyer last week who was more like Raichand, full of ideas extracting every penny from his client to pursue his dreams of wealth,” he added.

“I think Raichand would hire him,” Swami continued.

“Maybe they will connect better,” Jigneshbhai remarked.

“Of course, anything will be better than my connection with him,” Swami remarked and all of us broke into a loud guffaw.

“An entrepreneur I met last month ran his travel business mainly for the freedom it offered. Another entrepreneur I met at the same meet wanted to grow and sell his start-up,” he said, while Swami and I listened in.

Swami and I munched on the muffin and pondered over it.

“Don’t confuse what someone does with why they are doing it,” Jigneshbhai said.

Swami and I learned that people with a common Why may have more in common, irrespective of What they do.

I saw the wealthy old man creep up to us from the adjoining table. For a moment, I wondered why. But it was clear soon enough, when he came close to us and whispered, “What you do is your profession; Why you do it is your purpose.”

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