In this Toastmasters humorous speech, Haritosh Srivastav recounts three personal “traps” where he felt unable to refuse a challenge: learning to ride a bicycle, a motorbike, and a car. Each story follows a pattern – a tempting opportunity, a moment of doubt expressed by others, his confident reply “Yes, I’ll figure it out,” and the ensuing mishap or learning experience. The bike episode ends with a crash into a rickshaw; the motorbike episode shows self‑teaching and solitary rides; the car episode involves practicing with his wife Roli and finally taking her on a long drive. He ties these anecdotes to a professional scenario where his boss asks him to lead a complex project, concluding that the mantra “Yes, I’ll figure it out” can turn uncertainty into achievement. The speech blends humor, self‑deprecation, and motivational advice, encouraging the audience to embrace new opportunities with a proactive mindset.
Chapters
You sure you can handle this, Haritosh Srivastav? The conference room was filled with tension. Everyone was really anxious to know who will volunteer for this new project. I raised my hand. The boss looked at me. Haritosh Srivastav, it's a complex project. You have to try multiple initiatives. Can you handle this? Have you ever been trapped into a situation where you couldn't refuse? Contest chair, friends, this was one such situation. So I remembered all those where I was trapped I couldn't refuse. The first trap was just after graduating high school. I'd been desperately trying to learn to ride bike. Pleased with my good grades, my happy father took me out for a surprise. Guess what? It was a bike store! You could see all colors, sizes, and brands of bike— red, green, blue, small, medium, Extra large. And there it was, the blue Hercules MTB, the best bike of the store. Sai, can you handle this? What do you say when you are offered something you truly desire That too as a gift from your dad, even though it's way too high for you. Yes, I'll figure it out. The very first trip of 2.3 kilometers from shop to home took only 2 hours. Eventually, I learned to ride the bike. I actually became overconfident. One fine afternoon, Sunita, the heartthrob of every boy in the class, was struggling with her bike's flat tire. I offered help. Would you mind if I drop you home? You can sit on the crossbar. You sure you can handle that? Yes, I'll figure it out. She agreed and sat on the crossbar. After 2 minutes 47 seconds of this beautiful journey, I looked at her, I looked at my bike, I looked at her, and then I looked at the oncoming rickshaw. Before I knew it, my bike hit the rickshaw. I was thrown on road, Sunita on the rickshaw, and the rickshaw puller was yelling, 'Can't you look straight? Give me 500 bucks!' I'll figure it out. Never talk to me again. And she never did. So I learned, never be overconfident. My next trap was riding motorbike. I wanted to have liberty, freedom, and a girlfriend. There was a minor problem though. Most of the motorbikes had a kickstart where if you kick slow, motorbike won't start. If you kick fast, it will take off without you. Few years into my first job, I took the big step. My roommate Shiva knew how to ride the motorbike, so I scheduled him to come to a motorbike agency and bought the motorbike of the year, a black Honda CB Shine, the one with the self-start. Shiva dropped the motorbike home. Thanks, Shiva. Would you mind teaching me how to write? Yeah, absolutely, man. Shiva taught me for full long 3 days, and then Haritosh Srivastav, I've got a lot of work. You know the basics, can you handle this? I was trapped again. So I said, "Yes, I'll figure it out." Then I took the motorbike to a deserted place for weeks and learned by myself. After a month, I was riding all over Bangalore in the company of the best person— myself. Never got a girlfriend. The third trap came When I got married, like all married couple, I wanted to take my wife Roli on a long drive in a green valley with Hollywood music in background. Ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta ta. How do wives know everything about husbands? After finishing the driving course twice, I was still not confident. Next morning, 5 AM, when I was sneaking out to practice car driving, she shouted, "You sure you can handle this?" "Yes, I'll figure it out." "No, I'm coming with you. I'm sure you can't handle alone." For next few weeks, we practiced together as I perfected my driving skills, and then I took her on that long drive. So on that day, when the boss said, "It's a complex project, you need to drive multiple initiatives," I heard only one word: drive. And remembered all my vehicles. Every time I said, "Yes, I'll figure it out," I was actually able to figure that out. Friends, in life, when you get an opportunity you are not sure to handle, say, "Yes, I'll figure it out," and you may be able to figure that out. Contest Master.
