Success is not for the Lazy People!

The famous and successful Football player quoted “Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.” 

The road of success is not for the lazy people. Shri Gyaneshwar, a saint from Maharashtra, beautifully decode this success mantra by analogy of honey bee, lotus and frog. He says lotus and frog both live in mud and it is honey bee that gets the sweet nectar of lotus. However mud and insects is what lies in the hands of a lazy frog. Why? The answer is evident- A honey bee knows the benefit of hard work. In order to collect 1 kg of honey, it travels a distance equal to the circumference of the earth. Likewise, what falls in our lot is dependent on whether we wish to be a sincere and hard working honey bee or a lazy frog that gets only insects and mud.

Kamal kadaa aani darduri naanuk eke chiyaa
Dhari paraag seweeje bhramaraa year chikhlachi ure

Saint Gyaneshwar, who wrote this statement, himself represented a wonderful inspiration for mankind in regard to making this choice between a hardworking honey bee and a lazy frog. By the age of 8, he had mastered the entire Vedanta and had developed miraculous powers such that he made a buffalo recite Vedas. He completed the commentary on the Bhagawad Gita through a dead man whom he made alive at the age of 15. After contributing few more literary works at the age of 21, he finally took to seclusion in an underground room for 300 years. Then he called Saint Eknath and interacted with him for 3 days, after which he handed over to him the original commentary. 

History is replete with such examples, where people chose to adopt the pattern of life studded with the traits of sincerity, dedication, and hard work. And, this approach brought them great success and honour in life. For instance, Ramanujan had solved the entire book of Trigonometry by the age of 12. At that young age, he had discovered the relation between exponential and trigonometric functions. He had gone through 6,000 theorems in pure and applied mathematics by George Carr. With such dedication, he ultimately turned out to be the greatest genius in Mathematics ever born!

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the second President of India, had studied the entire Hindu philosophy by the age of 12. Besides being laborious, he was also wise in assessing the situations. One day, at that tender age, he questioned his teacher at the Mission School– “Does your religion teach only to criticise other religions?” Certainly, such analysis reflects his mental maturity.

Dr. C. V. Raman and Dr. Chandra Shekhar Subramaniam graduated by the age of 15. Dr. Chandra Shekhar Subramaniam remained busy with mathematics most of the time and his uncle Dr. C. V. Raman used to assist him whenever he came across any difficulty. It was the outcome of his true dedication that he attained a doctorate in Physics by the age of 19 and won Nobel Prizes.

Verily, great personalities, who choose to become like honey bees, harbour great aims from early childhood itself. Maria Golda Mayer used to dream of receiving a gold medal from the Queen as a child. By dint of her hard work and perseverance, she grew up to become a Nobel Prize winner in Physics, which she received from the hands of the Queen of England.

Such personalities are receptive to inspirations from all directions. These inspirations then act as a catalyst, which kick-starts their hidden potential. Heisenberg, who read the book on atomic concepts by Pluto, got interested in reading books and gaining more knowledge on the subject. He made a very wide study and contemplated deeply on atomic structure. After that, he wrote the book 'Atomic and Nuclear Spectra' contributing articles to the journals that ultimately yielded him Nobel Prize in Physics.

Harrison Dillard became an Olympic gold medallist after having received the inspiration as a child from none other than Jessi Owens who won three gold medals in a span of 10 minutes in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. In total, Jessi Owens had won 4 gold medals garlanded by Adolf Hitler, who did not shake hands with him. However, such things do not dispirit the real enthusiasts. In the Press Conference, Jessi Owens responded wittily– 'I have not come to shake hands with Hitler, but to win gold medals for the honour of my country, America.' Deriving motivation from Jessi Owens, Harrison Dillard also sidelined all those factors, which could discourage him in realising his dream. It was the result of this inspiration that, in spite of being from a very poor background, he decided to make it into Olympics. He worked hard during his preparation to the extent that he remained in sports gear 24 hours a day! He practiced relentlessly and lived his dream until he won the Olympic gold medals.

Many researchers have also attempted to find out as to what makes great personalities really great. In a study on the best and the greatest personalities in the world, it has been revealed that they put in at least 10,000 hours more than other people. Certainly, it is not an impossible thing! If one starts working 3 hours more every day, right from early age, then, by the time he passes out from the university, he will have completed more than 10,000 hours of additional study or efforts put in.

One important aspect needs to be highlighted here. No doubt that by following the codes of hard work and dedication, one can accomplish even those targets, which otherwise seem impossible. However, it is utmost essential to ascertain that the direction chosen for putting in that hard work is correct. Else, the results may turn out to be utterly disastrous! Oppenheimer became the President of the American Geological Society at the age of 11. He became the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of America and was responsible for the creation of the first atomic bomb. However, due to the absence of wisdom in his approach, when the atomic bomb was tested on Bikini Islands, he saw the flames and smoke rising in the sky causing great devastation. As a result, before dropping the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, his conscience compelled him to utter a statement in Sanskrit from the Rigveda, which meant – 'I have become death', reflecting how catastrophic his action was! Therefore, be hardworking and sincere like honeybees; but, at the same time, also be wise in your approach.

According to the documentary 'The Secret', anyone can attain what he desires as if sitting under the wish tree. Indeed, it's true! But, there are some essential requisites for it to happen, which are: dream early, make that dream your determination, and then, prove the statement of the movie Iqbal, “When men set their minds to it, they can kick a mountain to dust!”