Hidden Lessons in Life

January 31, 2025
Denver Stutler, Jr., P.E.
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Thought leadership from Denver J. Stutler, PE, founder of US Submergent Technologies, and SediVision.

Do you remember the movie “Slumdog Millionaire?” 

Recently, I was talking to friends of mine, Roy Reid and his wife, Kim, and was reminded of a popular 2008 film. 

Roy is one of my closest friends, dating back to our college days. The couple has had their share of challenges. Three years ago, Roy had a heart-related, near-death experience. After raising their four children, Kim decided to go back to college, earn her second degree, and become a therapist, helping people during their own times of trauma. 

As we were talking and I was listening to their story, I was reminded of the powerful message of the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

As the Academy Award-winning story goes, 18-year-old Jamal Malik is answering questions on the Indian version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” as flashbacks show how he got to that particular moment. After their mother died, Jamal and his brother Salim survived as part of a stable of young thieves on the streets of Mumbai. While Salim found the life of crime agreeable, Jamal scraped by until landing a spot on the game show, ultimately winning the grand prize. The movie reflects how his life, through its adversities, had prepared him with the answers to the game show’s questions.

I saw that same story reflected in my friends’ lives and in my own life and journey. When I look at where I am today, I find that I have gotten to a point where I understand that some of life’s most difficult moments were actually preparing me for life down the road, though I could not see it at the time. 

In other words, while we are enduring life one day at a time, we may not always be able to see how today’s hardships will help us solve tomorrow’s problems.

For example, we might find ourselves taken advantage of by someone we trust, though years later that difficult lesson may teach us to listen and watch those around us more closely. It’s true that we so want to believe everything we hear. But ultimately, it is not what we hear, but what we get done, that is important in our daily lives.

As I listened to Roy and Kim’s experiences as a couple, I could see how the difficulties in their lives had brought them closer together and brought Kim to the point where she can now help others have the resources they need when difficulties arise. 

At some level, the lessons of Slumdog Millionaire apply to all of us who are working toward a goal. For example, if I want to be a better parent, then all my experiences as a parent – both good and bad – will help me reach that goal. Same thing if I want to be the best employee or employer that I can possibly be. By using all my past experiences in the workplace – both good and bad – it will help me reach that goal. Each business, it seems, is on its own Slumdog Millionaire journey.

If we allow it, life equips us to deal with the adversities that come along, if we are simply open to life’s hidden lessons.

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