Success

Before you start reading, list down five to ten people whom you think are successful... Have you done it - atleast in your mind, if not in a paper? Now, see if they fall under any of these categories… scientists who changed the world, rich businessmen, well-known politicians/freedom fighters, sports persons, spiritual saints, peace-makers, cinema artists or famous writers. Are there people in your list whom you have been around with atleast during a part of your lifetime? If no, then I would say that you do not have a correct definition for success. Many of us think that money and fame is what success is all about and so our list of successful persons contains people who fall under one of the above mentioned categories. But success is not simply making money or becoming famous… and here are my views on success - in the following paragraphs.

I have many a time heard people talking about success and most of the time they come up with examples of people who are either rich or famous. And, one day I began to wonder is it all fame and money that decides success. Should I have to invent something new or built a million dollar industry to become successful? – was the question. After thinking about this deeply, I came to a conclusion that many of us don’t have a proper definition for success.

"We have an illusion that success is synonymous to money and fame. So, we miss out the ordinary – yet successful – people whom we meet daily."

Many a time when we think of success, we take examples of the rich and the famous – say, Bill Gates or Dhirubhai Ambani or Dr.Abdul Kalam. Now, have we ever met them? Most of us haven’t. But, we speak about them from what we have heard about them. I do not say that they are not successful. Also, I do not say that we should not get inspirations from them. But, I do believe that we should also look at people around us – people who are not rich and famous – but can be taken as examples to be followed; people whom we have been meeting daily, speaking with and are known to us. We have an illusion that success is synonymous to money and fame. So, we miss out the ordinary – yet successful – people whom we meet daily. Probably, some of us have thought in these lines… but even those who have done so are not ready to discuss it – fearing that the society might not agree with what they think.

If I were to explain what success is – in a single sentence – I would say,

“Given the set of constraints one has by birth (money, education, circumstances under which one is brought up) and given one’s interests/goals, if he/she is able to make the most of what is given to him/her - trying to reach his/her goal - then, he/she is successful in life.”

Here are some successful people I have come across in my life… these examples of people I give here should drive home my point…

After six years of passing out of school, still I make it a point to meet my teachers atleast once in a year. They had an interest in teaching. They considered teaching not as a job but more of a service. They are not rich. They are not known world-wide. Yet, given their circumstances and interest, they are successful. They didn’t build industries but they did make good humans.

And, then there was a person in my college mess - who worked as a server. When every other worker used to brood over the lower wages and worked with insincerity, he used to do his work with dedication. He used to serve the food just the way we serve food for relatives who pay a visit to our home. The instant he spots someone’s plate getting empty, he would be there asking if that student would like to have some more rice. There was something that people around him could learn from him – sincerity and dedication at work. Given his circumstances, I would say – he is successful in life.

Here is one final example to reiterate my point - my paternal grandfather. Though he has had very less of formal education, he educated his children and there is a lot one can learn from him – which no formal education can impart in you and me. How can I not say that he is successful?

"Life is like a game of chess. Just like every coin on the board is unique by its position and allowed movements, everyone of us are unique with respect to our talents. But the problem is that everyone of us wants to be the king or the queen (the rich and famous)."

Often people compare themselves with the famous personalities and the rich people and start to believe that they are not successful. Life is like a game of chess. Just like every coin on the board is unique by its position and allowed movements, everyone of us are unique with respect to our talents. But the problem is that everyone of us wants to be the king or the queen (the rich and famous). By wanting to be the king/queen, we forget our talents as a pawn or a bishop or a horse or a rook. Remember – just like the fact that a pawn, bishop, horse and the rook are indispensable for a game of chess, we need people of different talents in the game of life. Imagine a chessboard full of king/queen alone. It is what would happen if all humans were to be rich and famous. Don’t hesitate to be a pawn – if that is what your circumstances and interests dictate you to be. Think how you can make the best use of your talents. Be yourself and don’t ever compare yourself with anyone. You can learn from other’s lives but never should you want to be just like others. The day you start wanting to be others, you lose your identity and you are not towards success!

Now, you might have a question lingering in your mind. By what I have said till now, do I mean to say that everyone is successful as they are? Can we attribute everything to the circumstances/fate? No, certainly not. I just mean that we should have a clear definition for success and we should understand that success is not money/fame. Everyone of us should ask ourselves, “Am I successful?”. We should be true to ourselves when we answer to this question. If our conscience says that we are doing our best to reach our goals – given the circumstances under which we live, then, we are successful. If we think there is something more we can do – we have to try improving ourselves.

WISHING YOU SUCCESS!