Nasruddin’s Key

One day, people saw Mullah Nasruddin out in the street searching frantically for something.

The inquisitive nature of man was at work. “What are you searching for, Mullah?,” they enquired.

“I’ve lost my key,” replied Mullah.

The helping nature of mankind was at work. So everyone joined him, trying to help him.

After some searching, someone had the urge to ask the place where exactly, the key was lost, so that a more condensed search could be made. So, the enquiry was made for the same to Nasruddin.

“I lost the key in the house,” replied Mulla, matter-of-factly.

“Then why are you searching for it in the street?,” was the obvious question asked to him.

“Because there is more light here,” replied the Mulla.

Where are you searching for the key?

This short story is symbolic. Everybody is looking for the key. The key to happiness, the key to bliss, the key to freedom, or whatever one may be looking for.

In the health club world, we search for the key to gaining and retaining members. We often put the blame on the customer or the general public. I hear, “People are too lazy to exercise, 85 percent of the population would never join a health club, etc.” Then we search for the key in the same light everyone else has looked. The low cost club searches in the light of low price, or some clubs look in the light of what’s best for them and not the customer. Very few look for the key within themselves. We, as an industry, haven’t made fitness fun, cool, inspiring, or results oriented enough to motivate people to come to us.

Most of us look for the key outside. The key is sought in power, in success, in relationships, in wealth, in others. The key was lost within and so has to be searched within.