Stimuli make human beings act differently; thinking is mere fuzz. That?s what I wrote last week. A few readers have asked me to demonstrate this with personal experiences, if any. All of you, my valuable readers, have plenty of examples of spectacular stimuli in your life too, you just need to open up your past and savour them.

My examples of stimuli are nothing exceptional, but from the beginning of my life they emanated from art and became turning points. In my childhood of extreme poverty in a Bengal village, living just 500 meters from our bamboo-hay-mud house was Subhinoy kaku (uncle in Bengali). A graduate painter and artist, he worked as a clerk in the Electricity Board. Since I was 5-years-old, he had been my biggest attraction as he?d paint and sculpt. I learnt art from him, but he always cautioned me against following his footsteps. Art was his bad addiction, he said, it earned him no money. Incidentally, my father did once mention in passing that he?d seen an English film of a poor Dutch painter whose painting became bright after he migrated to France. He didn?t remember the artist?s name, but knew that his paintings fetched no earnings in his lifetime; he became famous later. Subhinoy kaku?s powerful artistic expression has been my exceptional, propelling stimulus till today. Well-wishers in my neighbourhood could never understand why I entered Kolkata Government Art College, they called it a ?zoo.?

In 1971, our art college professor divided the class into groups for sketching outdoors. My group had a student from an affluent family. I needed mental preparation to converse with her, but her appreciation of my artwork broke the ice. She allowed me to work with her imported Winsor & Newton artist colours, brushes, something unimaginable for a refugee colony resident like me. I owe her generosity a debt. One day, she wanted to take me to the American Library. I refused, saying I couldn?t afford it. She insisted it was free, but I couldn?t make her understand my intimidation to step into such a sophisticated place. In that plush, air-conditioned library, the first glossy art book I picked up had Vincent van Gogh?s gloomy Potato Eaters painted in Holland, 1885. As I turned the page, the brilliant Sunflowers van Gogh painted on reaching Paris, 1888, stared at me. I immediately recalled my father?s words. Witnessing this dramatic change in painting style kicked a big stimulus into me. From that day I became desperate to go to France.

This unreachable dream, with circus-like trapeze and tightrope-walking, somehow materialised with my mother?s help. She also scraped up $8, with which I left India without finishing college. Reaching Paris on a winter day in 1973, I had no idea where I?d spend that night. I knew nobody, spoke no French. My only faint hope was an office address of a Bengali scientist I?d heard of.

Crossing the hurdles of leaving the airport, I arrived at his research laboratory, 103 Boulevard Raspail. The French receptionist didn?t understand my accent, so I wrote PYNE. She squinted at the paper and beamed, ?Ah Pinn..!? When Dr Pyne arrived, I started to narrate my story: I?ve come to be an artist in Paris, I?m ready to work anywhere, how can I stay on after my three-month visitor visa expires? He looked totally at sea, didn?t know how to respond. But first he scurried me away from the reception to his lab. I quickly dipped into the big handbag I was clutching, and pulled out my sketches and paintings. That?s when my art buffeted me with the next big stimulus. The moment he saw my paintings, without hesitation, he announced I could stay with him until I found a job. His spontaneous munificence is my life?s unforgettable stimulus. Looking back, late Pyne da?s (in Bengali da means elder brother) largesse that was prompted by my paintings, has been the stimulus that?s chiseled me today.

After two months I met Jacques Gourdon, and sought a job at his famous lithography printshop 10 km from Paris. But the world oil crisis happened in 1973, and there was no question of immigration. So without a work permit I couldn?t be recruited. By instinct I?d carried my big black bag of sketches, water colours and paintings. When Mr. Gourdon saw my art, he seemed astonished, and wanted to give me an opportunity. Paying 500 francs per month from his own pocket, he hired me as a sweeper. France?s minimum salary then was 3500 francs, but in my dire straits, my art was my savior stimulus. Artists who frequented the lithography studio buoyed me up as a fellow artist, bought my paintings, so I could attend studies in fine art and graphic design schools. In 1976, the printshop closed.

Renowned painter Yves Brayer, whom I?d met at the printshop, gave me the address of Navarre & Associates. My sudden showing up surprised Patrick Navarre as it was unexpected in those days to see an Indian looking for an ad agency job. Giving me no chance to open my art portfolio, he started talking of a cultural gap between India and France. Suddenly the phone rang. As he took the call, I dared to reach for paper and pencil from his desk and drew his sketchy portrait. When he finished, my sketch took him aback. His commented, ?Incredible.? He hired me on-the-spot at 4000 francs. Art as stimulus gave me entry into the communication world, and increased my earning.

Since then art has been my driving stimulus in corporate work projects globally. I?ve used art as a central pattern and stimulus to strategise corporate culture change, brands, industrial design and retailing. I?ve established that execution and activation will make my clients achieve their objectives. Art as stimulant paved my onward path from Shohidnagar refugee colony to Paris. Without thinking, I pursued Subhinoy kaku. It was not thought, but a gentle nudging that made me enter American Library. I didn?t think of where I?ll stay, what I?ll do, flying into Paris equipped with $8.

Dr Pyne didn?t think, but welcomed me with no reference check. Nor did Jacques Gourdon think of legalities when he compensated me. Patrick Navarre gave me a break as a paste-up artist without thinking of my capacity in communication arts. So today, should I think, or should I act on stimulus impact?

?Shombit Sengupta is an international Creative Business Strategy consultant to top management. Reach him at http://www.shiningconsulting.com