Mike and Will were out camping for the long weekend and decided that fine morning to go on a long hike. Will was pretty “on-the-track” guy and was sure that he would stay on the trail all the time. “There’s no use taking unnecessary risks”, he’d always tell Mike; knowing Mike who was on the adventurous side. As you would expect from this statement, Mike decided to take the road less travelled; but armed himself well with a compass, map, food, axe, first aid and cell phone. But he missed on something; you’ll soon find out what. Oh no, it’s not what you think! Control your curiosity.
While making way to get to the other side of the trail, Mike found himself in a heavily wooded area and thrashed through the heavy vegetation to find his way to the stream that gurgled somewhere close by. All along his struggle he was getting stung by the pesky mosquitoes and their number seemed to grow by every step he took. His mind was getting numbed by the strong buzz of the tiny stingers, his face and fingers were swelling faster than a soaking sponge. He had almost given up when suddenly the buzzing almost stopped and though there were enough greenery but there were no bugs or mosquitoes around. Mike sent out a huge loud sigh and just made his way away from the loud buzz that was sounding more distant now with his senses numbing off as a result of the painful itchy stings on the exposed areas of his body.
He stood there for a good 5 minutes before his mind was alert again. The first thing that struck him was, “Why are there no bugs and mosquitoes around here?” He could see the ‘cloud’ of mosquitoes just a few feet away but none around where he stood now. He looked around and compared the trees and shrubs in that area as opposed to the ones with the cloud of blood sucking flies and bugs. Hmm.. it was quite different, there were quite a few large and thicker leaves shrubs where he stood now. “Could these be repelling the mosquitoes?” Mike thought aloud, just to check on his hunch, Mike plucked some the juicy leaves and squished to smear the juice on his arms and hands, he also squeezed more juice out of these leaves and patted on his clothes; there was a pungent smell to it all and perhaps that was what it was all about.
Now bravely enough he stepped back from where he came. Well, you guessed it; he was right. These leaves really repelled the bugs and mosquitoes. Mike smiled and he knew that he would not miss this opportunity. He plucked several leaves from the area and also uprooted a small shrub and packed it in his backpack. His heart was beating fast and mind racing faster; he just had to get back and do what he planned.
Mike and Will are still friends but Will still regrets the day he missed out on a chance of a lifetime – to be a billionaire as Mike is today. He wishes he would have also taken the road less travelled and perhaps would be out of the 9 to 5 job he does only because that is what he has been doing.
After returning from the trek that day, Mike went straight to a friend at the lab and together they studied the plant and its characteristics. They found out to be one of nature’s best bug repellent and with the “going green” buzz around, they easily found investors who were ready to get them in production in weeks. Now Mike is the world’s largest manufacturer and supplier of the “All Natural” Bug and Mosquito Repellent Spray which he discovered that day when he took the road less travelled (literally!)
Take a minute and think about your routes; when was the last time you took a road less travelled and what if you did……..
The above story is entirely a figment of my imagination; but think about it .. what if it was true and who knows for someone it could be true!