I have to tell you a story to make this point. Some of you have seen Indian movies and some of you have not. Those of you who have seen an Indian movie will smile at this and those of you who have not will want to see an Indian movie ( a mass-market kind of Indian movie ) after this.

Take 1: The College

A boy meets a girl in a college. They both fall in love and they get married. They live happily ever after.

Your verdict please?

Fail.

What do you mean fail? That story can really happen. Ok rather than arguing with you, let me take another shot at it

Take 2: The College

Ravi was fascinated with Bangalore. His dream was to study in a city. This was probably his third trip outside of his village but the last two trips were just one day trips. This time it was going to be for a long time. The first few days in National College were uneventful. But that changed when Priya walked into the class. Ravi could not place what it was that attracted him to her. Probably it was her blue eyes or the way she smiled. Those dimples. They can take anyone’s breath away.

Long story short. They both fell in love and they got married. They lived happily ever after.

Your verdict please?

Fail?

Come on. It was far better than Take 1. Don’t you think?

OK, no more arguments. Here is another attempt

Take 3: The College

Ravi was fascinated with Bangalore. His dream was to study in a city. This was probably his third trip outside of his village but the last two trips were just one day trips. This time it was going to be for a long time. The first few days in National College were uneventful. But that changed when Priya walked into the class. Ravi could not place what it was that attracted him to her. Probably it was her blue eyes or the way she smiled. Those dimples. They can take anyone’s breath away.

Ravi wanted to know everything about Priya. Just by looking at her clothes and the car she used to drive, he knew that she was way above her league when it comes to status and wealth. He was a great student and all but it would really take a miracle to make this match happen. Over the next few days, they met several times. In the library. At the cafe. She was with her friends and he was with his friends. Their eyes met. He watched her closely. She never bothered to look at him.

Ravi was not someone who was going to give up.

Long story short. They both fell in love and they got married. They lived happily ever after.

Your verdict please?

Fail?

Not again. OK here is one more attempt at this.

Take 4: The College

Ravi was fascinated with Bangalore. His dream was to study in a city. This was probably his third trip outside of his village but the last two trips were just one day trips. This time it was going to be for a long time. The first few days in National College were uneventful. But that changed when Priya walked into the class. Ravi could not place what it was that attracted him to her. Probably it was her blue eyes or the way she smiled. Those dimples. They can take anyone’s breath away.

Ravi wanted to know everything about Priya. Just by looking at her clothes and the car she used to drive, he knew that she was way above her league when it comes to status and wealth. He was a great student and all but it would really take a miracle to make this match happen. Over the next few days, they met several times. In the library. At the cafe. She was with her friends and he was with his friends. Their eyes met. He watched her closely. She never bothered to look at him.

Ravi was not someone who was going to give up until that day. He remembers it very clearly. He was walking with his friends back to the hostel. Priya and two of her friends were walking in front of them. It was quite a distance between them. His friends were talking something but Ravi’s attention was totally on Priya. A black BMW approached the girls and immediately Priya’s friends said good-bye and walked away briskly. A person in a blue-suit got down the car and smiled at Priya. It must be Priya’s Dad. Ravi slowed down a bit when he heard one of his friends say, “OMG..that is Shankar.. guys, let’s just walk away quickly..” The other two just dragged Ravi and all of them started walking briskly. Ravi was confused as he was walking away. He tried to look back and see who Shankar was. His friend said, “Don’t do that Ravi..you don’t want any trouble. It’s not worth it.” Ravi nodded and followed his friends.

Long story short. They both fell in love and they got married. They lived happily ever after.

Your verdict please?

OK, let’s get to the point.

I am sure you were able to notice the progressive introduction of “drama” into the story. If you had not read the first three versions, it would be a bit difficult to notice the “drama” in version four.

Most movies are filled with “drama.” If you don’t learn to notice it, you may start believing that “drama” is real and it would hurt you sooner than later.

Good luck and may you have less “drama” in your life.

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Note 1: Here is a Squidoo lens that links to most of the previous articles in this series:
Squidoo: Distinguish Yourself

Note 2: The first 25 entries in the series have been packaged in a ChangeThis manifesto that was published on September 07, 2005. You can download that manifesto here:
ChangeThis Manifesto: 25 Ways to Distinguish Yourself (PDF, Free)

Note 3: My latest manifesto on ChangeThis was published on August 6, 2008. This is a photographic manifesto featuring 15 of my mini sagas (stories in exactly 50 words). Here is the link:
ChangeThis Manifesto: Mini Sagas – Bite Sized Lessons for Life and Business (PDF, Free)

Note 4: Photo Courtesy: Alkelda on Flickr