Here is a concise summary of the text:
**Title:** A Celebrity's Journey to Self-Discovery
**Summary:**
A renowned actor shares his life journey, highlighting two crucial lessons he learned about success. Initially, he was conditioned to believe that **money = happiness**, but after achieving fame and wealth, he felt unfulfilled. He discovered that:
1. **The biggest lie:** Money does not guarantee happiness.
2. **The biggest truth:** True happiness comes from living in the moment, finding excitement, and being alive (for him, through performing arts).
The actor recounts his transformation from a shy, pampered child to a confident performer, overcoming obstacles to achieve success. Ultimately, he reveals that he has found true happiness in the past 5 years, living in the moment, and no longer being driven solely by wealth and fame.
Here are the extracted key facts in short sentences, numbered for reference:
1. The speaker became an actor due to personal problems, not a lifelong passion.
2. They were the youngest in their family and were pampered as a child.
3. The speaker was shy and had difficulty interacting with people outside their home.
4. They come from a middle-class family where money was a significant concern.
5. Their family suggested pursuing a career in engineering or medicine.
6. The speaker initially aimed to become an engineer and later take the civil service exam.
7. They excelled in studies, achieving good marks in their 10th exams.
8. The speaker attended Delhi College of Engineering for a brief period.
9. At 19, they shifted focus from engineering to pursuing a career in the performing arts.
10. They started with dance classes, partly to meet new people, including women.
11. The speaker left engineering just two semesters shy of completing their degree.
12. They moved to Mumbai to learn the skills needed to become an actor.
13. Initially, they lived with six other boys in a single-room kitchen.
14. Their first big break was on a prime-time TV show called "Chocolate".
15. This led to increased earnings and public recognition.
16. The speaker bought their first dream house and car after achieving success.
17. They experienced a high level of female attention, surpassing their engineering college friends' expectations.
18. Despite achieving their dreams, the speaker felt unfulfilled and "cheated" after a short period.
19. They realized that their definition of success and happiness needed reevaluation.
20. The speaker discovered that true happiness for them lies in the excitement of performing, not just wealth or fame.
21. For the past 5 years, they claim to have found a better balance, living in the moment, similar to how they felt in school awaiting playtime.