Howard Hughes

Suhani Dewra

Rishika was watching a movie titled Aviator on her new TV set. It featured a billionaire named Howard Hughes who was known to be passionate about his work which comprised producing movies, flying planes, and multiplying his wealth. At one point he was the richest man in the United States of America.

As Rishika felt a rush of adrenaline watching the movie with large airplane ports and Hughes assertive attitude, she wondered what it took to be as capable as Hughes.

“It sure must require a lot of talent to carry on multiple activities of this magnitude,” wondered Rishika.

As she finished watching the movie that left her spellbound, she Googled Howard Hughes on her laptop.

What she read about him was even more astounding.  

When Hughes was 11 years old, he built his town’s first wireless radio transmitter.

“That’s an inventor! At such a young age,” said Rishika to herself.

A year later when Hughes was 12, he became the first boy in his town Houston to drive a motorized bicycle that he had invented from parts of his father’s steam engine.

“The more I read about him, the more I am fascinated by Hughes’ aptitude and attitude.”

Having started learning how to fly at the age of 14, Hughes dons the hat of setting several records in the sky. In 1935, he flew a landplane, that his company Hughes Aircraft built, at an airspeed record of 566 km/h consuming nine hours twenty-seven minutes. A year and a half later, Hughes broke his own record by flying from one continent to another without a halt in seven hours twenty-eight minutes.  

Everything that Rishika read about this multi-faceted man, she was inspired to be like him.

Rishika went to her dad and told him about her discovery. “Dad, I saw the movie Aviator and also then read up about the protagonist of the movie who was a real man that lived an ambitious and fulfilling life.”

“How does one gather so many talents, dad?”

“Well, one has to be enterprising and believe in oneself,” answered Rishika’s dad unsure of who Howard Hughes was.

“Would you like to watch Aviator? You will thoroughly enjoy the grand amalgamation of activities in the movie,” insisted Rishika.

“How about I first read up a little about him?” he said.

Her dad looked up the web to land Howard Hughes’ Wikipedia page. As he read about his, he was compelled to watch the movie on his life.

 “Sure, let’s watch the movie. There should be a print on the web,” dad suggested.

He stayed glued for the time the movie played, finding it exciting and feeling the adrenaline rush just as Rishika did.

“That’s good discovery, Rishika,” he looked at his daughter.

“What does it take to be Howard Hughes, dad?” asked a curious Rishika.

“May be the will,” he replied.

“And like Howard Hughes himself quoted – ‘Passion will make you crazy, but is there any other way to live?’ – passion for what you do,” he pondered.