The Secret of Success Lies in Self

The Secret of Success Lies in Self

Journey of success takes full circle – it starts from Self and ends in Self

By Mukesh Sharma

 

“What is the secret of success Sir”, asked one of the disciples of the great teacher and philosopher Socrates. ‘Come tomorrow’, answered Socrates. “I will let you know the secret of success.” The next day, the disciple presented himself again. Socrates took him to a river nearby. Both stepped into the river water and started wading through the water towards the middle. When both were in neck-deep water, Socrates halted and put his hand on the head of the disciple and pushed it inside the water. After holding it for two minutes inside the water, Socrates released the head. Gasping for breath, the disciple popped up his head and was panting heavily. “Are you okay” asked Socrates. “How did you feel inside the water”. “I” the disciple stuttered. “I was dying for breath sir”. “So” said Socrates with a smile. “Here is the answer to your question”. “If one dies for success in the same way as you were for breath inside the water, one must get success.”

The Secret of Success Lies in Self

It’s a fact when success becomes the sole purpose of life, it doesn’t keep away from its aspirant longer. Sooner or later, it embraces him/her.

Mind you, there is no ‘road’ to success. Each success-seeker has to make his/her own road. There are no set rules to win success. Each candidate has to make own rules and observe it. There is no teacher to teach success. One has to be one’s own teacher.

The size, shape and form of success are different for different people. To a young love-sick man, his love-lady may be a success; to a woman, being an independent career woman may be a success; to lesser souls, a secured government service may be a success; to enterprising people, own flourishing business may be a success; to likes of Amitabh Bachchan acting may be a success; to likes of Sachin Tendulkar, being a top cricketer may be a success; to a neta, CM/PM chair may be a success, and the story of success goes on differently for different people.

Like hunger and sex, success is also insatiable. Success succeeds success -  fulfillment of one success creates  hunger for the another.

The road to success may be long or even endless depending upon the form of success and the success- seeker. Nevertheless, all types of success, inevitably, begin from Self and essentially through Society and ones Country, reach the World. Out of millions, a few like Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking reach at the threshold of universe. And in ages, a few blessed like Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad and Nank Jump all the barriers and reach the depth of the universe and become one with the universe – the inexplicable and incomprehensible regime of God.

Since journey of success starts from Self only, it is imperative to know thyself  -  all the aspects of self:

1.      Know your material

A potter knows his stuff very well and gives it different shapes and size accordingly. If one inherently feels that one is IAS/IPS material, go for it without hesitation. At an early age,Virat Kholi knew he was cricket material, and today he is a skipper of Indian team. Jeff Bozos knew he was business material, and today he is the richest man in the world. None can guide better than natural instincts and traits. A rat knows it can make hole in the mountain. Listen to inner voice. Follow it passionately. One succeeds like success in the field of one’s choice. Tragedy with the unsuccessful people is the most of them are misplaced.

 

2.      Know your weakness and strength

Make weakness your strength and your strength an asset. Arnold Schwarzenegger says he made his good physics an asset – succeeded as Mr. Universe, shot to fame with many successful movies and later joined politics too, and ended up as an Hon’ble Governor of California (US).

 

3.      Set your goal dream

With an eye on your stuff and your strength and weakness, capabilities and abilities, set a goal of your dream. Caution: don’t be a day-dreamer who dreams during day time to have fulfilled his dream with no effort. Such people are a failure. Don’t be a night-dreamer either who forgets the dream at the break of the day. Be a goal dreamer who stays up wide awake day and night. And at last realizes the success of his dream.

 

4.      Construct Success

Castle of success is not built in air. It needs a layout plan. It needs skilled hands to do foundation work, erect walls brick by brick and further lock walls with a roof. Construction of castle of success is a team work of Self, Strategic planning, Hard work, Patience and Perseverance.

  

5.      Don’t listen to ‘nay’ sayers

On the way to success, one is likely to come across scores of people who would discourage one. Don’t heed on their mischievous advice. Commenting on such people, Mark Twain says:

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambition. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you too can become great.

 

6.      Don’t be afraid of failures

Fear of failures deters success-seeker the most. No one is born  learned or perfect. Before learning to ride bicycle, a learner falls many times. But after each falls, he stands up again with a strong will to ride. This will power teaches him to ride bicycle. Don’t be scared of failures. Look at the causes of failures. Nothing happens without a cause. Commenting on failures, Winston Churchill says:

Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm

Yet another writer Clement Stone says:

Failure is a lesson, a learning experience – a rung on the ladder

 

7.      Trust Yourself

All successful people trust themselves like anything. They know well before doing something that they can do it. Nothing can stop you except you. Tom Broadley rightly says:

The only thing that will stop you from fulfilling your dream is you

 

8.      Don’t wait for ‘auspicious’ time

You can reach nowhere without walking. The time when you feel like starting something is the most auspicious time. Arthur Ashe puts it rightly:

Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can

Martin Luther King Jr, elucidates further:

You don’t have to see the whole stair case, just take the first step

 

9.      Don’t entertain negative thoughts

Weeds do grow with crops. Unsteady mind keeps hoping between negativity and positivity. Problem starts when it gets stuck in negativity and starts creating negative scenes/thoughts – one imaginary bad situation leads to worse and further to the worst. Best way to tackle negativity is to counter it with positivity. If plan A fails, there is plan B. If B fails, there is plan C. Don’t let the mind wander in the failure of plan A. The stubborn are often found ‘third time lucky’.

The celebrated writer Christopher Reeve rightly says:

So many of our dream at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable and then when we summon the will they soon become inevitable.

 

10.  Discover winner in you

There is always a hidden winner in every one. It often comes to front in the ‘game’ of its choice where the winner is supported by strong Will, intense Desire that unleash the potential of par excellence needed to win the game. Discover the winner. James Dean puts this in his touching words:

The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach . . . there are the keys that unlock the door to personal excellence.

 

11.  Don’t imitate

Successful people don’t copy, don’t use the hackneyed path. They make their own path to success. Kapil Sharma, the renowned stand-up comedian has created his own style of comedy. While interviewing celebs, he uses witty remarks and  petty jokes.  He is a roaring success. All successful people have unique and unparallel identity in their field. Ralph Waldo Emerson comments:

Don’t follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

 

However high building, there is always room at the top. This world is your oyster, your El-dorado. Success signifies achieving the impossibilities. Stage is yours. Act on the stage in such a way that people can take notice of you, can recognize your talent, can count you as successful. Enforce and expand your success through social skills, and extend it through society, country to the world. All successful people follow this strategy. The journey of success is full circle – it begins from Self and ends in Self.

HARD WORK SPEAKS VOLUMES

HARD WORK SPEAKS VOLUMES 

Learn lesson from Sanjive. Never lose heart. Don't fear failures. You can make yourself what you wish to make

By Mukesh Sharma

This blogger has great pleasure to introduce his valued readers to one of his students Sanjive Sikarwar who  has been promoted to the coveted post of  'Inspector' with Delhi police and is posted with a special department, a few days ago.

Inspector Sanjive Sikarwar

Sanjive has been very promising  and hardworking from the very beginning. He joined  prestigious Delhi police as a Constable. And it was this time when he joined the classes of this blogger for the improvement of his English.  This blogger can  recollect his words: "sir my father has spread the words in the village that I have become 'thanedaar'. I have not told him the truth. But I must become somebody in life." Keeping in view his hardwork and devotion to duty, the department promoted him as a Head Constable. With the patience, perseverance and incessant hardwork, the luck smiled on him and Sanjive cleared the departmental exam of Delhi Police and stood first as the best sub inspector cadet a few years ago only. And today he has been  promoted to the post of inspector with 3 stars on his shoulder. Frankly speaking, this blogger feels  these three stars on his shoulders too. 

You see Sanjive comes from a nondescript village of UP where knowledge of English is abysmally poor. He never lost heart and worked hard to brush up his English. Today, he not only speaks well but also writes well. His knowledge of law is excellent. He wanted to appear for UPSC exam but couldn't because of age restrictions. Surprisingly enough, UPSC doesn't give any age relaxation even to in-service police officials.

Sanjive is an honest officer. He performs his duty religiously. He is fired with the desire to work for  the country and countrymen. He never compromises his principles.

Sanjive knows how to have dreams and live them. In response to my blessings, he says : Sir I will continue my  journey  to north with your blessings."

Learn lesson from Sanjive. Never lose heart. Don't fear failures. You can make yourself what you wish to make.

Of Precis-writing

Of Precis-writing

All kinds of writings need practice. It is like swimming; more you swim, more you learn to keep yourself afloat; more you write, more you learn to be prolific. Practice whets the skill

By Mukesh Sharma

A goldsmith knows how to make alluring ornaments using pure gold and other metals, and he also knows how to separate pure gold from the other metals to work out the price of an ornament. In the same way, a well articulated and balanced write-up is also an amalgamation of main idea or skeletal idea and the supporting details, endorsing it. And of course the art of précis-writing lies in separating main ideas from inconsequential or ornamental details and get to the crux of the matter.

Precis-writing is an important and compulsory question in English paper at academic level as well as in competitive exams for A & B categories of government services. However, it appears rather a tough question to answer correctly and confidently for the students from Hindi medium with poor knowledge of English language.

Mind you, such question can’t be attempted with rote-learning – sheer knowledge of grammar rules, translation and so-called mugged up vocabulary. It requires good understanding of English language  -  English syntax and practical use of standardized phrases (English is a language of phrases) i.e. which ‘verb’ collocates with which noun. In other words, only a well-read man can write well; reading leads to writing, and hearing leads to speaking in the acquisition of a language. Here this blogger seeks to suggest the students the easiest way to attempt the questions on précis-writing.

Of Precis-writing

What is a précis? Précis is a French word which is pronounced as ‘precees’ and it means ‘summary’, and précis-writing is summarizing. Grammatically speaking, it is an exercise in comprehension and compression; it is an ability to grasp quickly and accurately what is read or heard, and reproduce it quickly and concisely.

Before, précis-writing is discussed practically, it is necessary for the students to know certain ground rules:

1.    A student is supposed to compress the given passage to one third. It means, if there are twenty lines, it must be reduced to six lines.

2.   A précis should be written in own words. It should not be a patch work, a usual pitfall for the students.

3.   It must be self-contained and completed. In other words, it must convey the main idea or message fully and clearly. If one reads it, one should not feel that something is amiss or need to refer to the original.

4.   There is no need to follow the original order of thought as described in the original passage. One can come up with one’s own thought sequence provided there is no digression from original context.

5.   Indirect speech is preferred to direct speech – no inverted coma statement/sentences.

6.   If possible, make use of one-word substitution to shrink a detailed thought.

7.   Look for the leading sentences or outline of paras to summarize the passage.

8.   While writing a précis, omit examples, comparisons, contrast, digression and other inconsequential details given in original passage.

9.   Read and re-read and suggest a suitable title asked to your drafted précis.

Specimen:

Passage

To majority of UPSC aspirants, the exam which is rated as toughest, remains a mystery. Despite firm determination, and incessant hard work, the candidates are not able to crack the exam, and usually the buck is passed on the failed aspirants for their unpreparedness and incomplete studies.

“A thorough study of past years papers and its format, helps one to work out a probable trend for the next paper, and it means 30% preparation has been completed” says a successful candidate. “Next 20% count for your ability and capability to answer question to the point with good time management and rest 40% depends on tactical acquirement of special knowledge related to the particular subject, and of course 10% is left for luck,” adds a successful candidate.

Success is 90% perspiration and 10% inspiration. Nothing is impossible. Hope never dies and possibilities never end.

Précis

Secret of Success

Despite hard work, majority of candidates are not able to crack UPSC and the success remains a mystery, and the cause of failure is attributed to unpreparedness of candidates. One of the successful candidates says that right knowledge of question paper's format, ability to answer quickly to the point and acquirement of special knowledge related to subject, matter a lot. Further success is 90% hard work and 10% luck.

Taking clue from the example, students may try précis-writing on the questions asked in previous years of exams.

It is not only in exams but also in practical life, the art of précis-writing is of great value. Lawyers use it for taking briefings from client. Businessmen use it for jotting down important points. Government official use it for taking notes. Journalists use it to ink interviews/press meetings.

All kind of writings need practice. It is like swimming; more you swim, more you learn to keep yourself afloat; more you write, more you learn to be prolific. Practice whets your skill.