When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?

Success is like a sweet fruit which results by ripening it under the sun and hard work. Dedicated and focused hard work yields in the sweet fruit with gives happiness and satisfaction. Geeta describes deeds (Karma) without waiting for result as “Niskaam Karma”. Dedicated solo missionary work of great souls like Dashrath Manjhi and Jadav Molai transformed the social perspective and served humanity. Dr APJ Abdul Kalam is a beacon of struggle, unifocal efforts and love for humanity. Following passages try to discuss it in depth.

Success: Blissful stage

Success! What a word!! It fills a sense of achievement and accomplishment. A blissful stage that brings satisfaction and achievement and ideally makes a person humble and inclusive. A successful person is honest, hardworking, dedicated and committed to the issue close to their heart. What is Success?

There is no such definition of success. It is an abstract thing that manifests itself in a person’s intangible behaviour. A fulfilled longing for a thing or goal gives deep self-satisfaction and joy. The recognition and public attention of an accomplished task give immense happiness.

“Karm Yogi”

There are persons, nonetheless, who do not care for success. They do their duty without waiting for positive results or gains, following the voice of their inner conscious. The There are persons, nonetheless, who do not care for success. They do their duty without waiting for positive results or gains, following the voice of their inner conscious. They are the “Karm Yogi” (Dedicated selfless doers), revered by society and people.

Mountain Man

Dashrath Manjhi was an impoverished man. His wife suffered serious injuries while trying to cross a hill. Sadly, due to a lack of access to medical treatment, she could not be saved. There was no road as it was blocked by the hillock, and no nearby hospital. No one, not even the callous government machinery, bothered to take up the initiative to build a road. Heartbroken, Dashrath decided to undertake the task of cutting through the hill himself and make a path.

Solo Effort

The solo effort of Dashrath Manjhi was phenomenal. It shows his determination, grit and perseverance. He sold his goats to buy a chisel and hammer and started his mammoth task without getting help. He was harassed by avaricious government functionaries, his men ridiculed him. Yet he refused to deter. Working for twenty-two years, he carved out a 110-meter-long and 30-meter-wide road by cutting through the hillock. Manjhi did not do it for media glare or for fame. He did it on the call of his inner conscience (Source: Bihar Tourism). He became an icon. Wasn’t he a successful man? He was.

Forest Man of India

Here is another inspiring story of a solo effort. Jadav Molai Payeng is a resident of Jorhat, Assam. He was deeply moved to see snakes losing their lives on a barren patch of land. This land had been washed out by frequent floods. In response, this Padma Shri awardee began planting trees and caring for them. Through his dedication and determination, he transformed a 550-acre sandbar into a lush, green forest, teeming with life. Facing various adversities and challenges, his unwavering commitment turned what was once a desolate area into a thriving ecosystem. Once a sandbar, the patch is now known as the “Molai Reserve,” which is twice the size of Central Park in New York. (Input: NDTV).

Missile Man of India

The stories of successes would be incomplete without mentioning a frail but blazing boy from Dhanushkoti. This is the southernmost tip of peninsular India. He was none other than the great scientist and “Missile Man of India”, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Dr Kalam became the  11th. President of India. He doesn’t need any introduction. Dr Kalam belonged to a poor family. He was a determined luminary. His contribution to making India a powerful nation with its own missile power is phenomenal. 

Bittu Tabahi

Recently, a 20-year-old man of 20 from Madhya Pradesh is in the headlines for cleaning a polluted Ajnar river on his own. The poor youth even invested his personal savings to purchase the necessary utensils and tools and cleaned the river alone, ignoring the potential health hazards due to exposure to the polluted and toxic water of the river. His efforts were widely recognised, so much so that he got an offer from the founder of the Ocean Cleanup Organisation to join. Bittu’s efforts and his selfless zeal are a message to society that if a poor youth can take initiative to do impactful work, others can also take responsibility to keep the environment clean.

Serving Humanity by hard work and dedication

The illustrious personalities stand out. They are but a few among the plethora of luminaries. These individuals shine like stars ablaze on the global horizon. Their saga are not only the stories of dreams that came true. These are stories about belligerence, grit and determination. They did not seek position and power but wanted to serve humanity without having any wish for success’s glare. They didn’t chase success, but success came chasing them. It came because of their determined hard work and dedication. Success had no other choice.

Honest hard work

Success is hard to achieve. Those who strive for it truly consign themselves to the cause they believe in. They work tirelessly without thinking about anything in return. Their entitlement to success is clear. People born with a silver spoon in their mouth can’t realise the hardships. They can’t understand the impediments of struggle or what it means to swim against the water.

Also Read: The Impact of Childhood Treatment on Adult Success

Two sides of the same coin

A student preparing for an examination gives their full dedication and works hard. Those who clear their examinations succeed, and those who secure excellent marks are meritorious. Nonetheless, amongst the crowd of enthusiastic and curious students, there are a few whose faces are wet with tears. They look gloomy and exasperated. They were among the few who could not succeed in their examinations, but they are not failures. Success and failure are two sides of the same coin. Those who try can also fail. Giving up is not a solution. Learning from mistakes and concerted effort leads to success.

Sir Winston S. Churchill had said,  “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts”. The message is loud and clear. Failure doesn’t negate the utility and intellect of a person or thing. Nature took billions of years to evolve modern man, whom we call Homo sapiens. It repeatedly experimented and evolved until humans came into existence. It is not yet perfect. The experimentation is an ongoing process that never stops.

Deeds without expectations

Lord Krishna preached to his friend Arjuna between the two huge armies of the Kauravas and the Pandavas. The war was about to start, and Arjuna was losing his confidence. Lord Krishna told him to do his duty without expecting results. Success and failure are the two aspects of the same coin. Without one, the other is irrelevant. It exists only when the other is there. Lord says it is the deeds which we can control. Forgetting everything, one must do one’s duty. With a rightful duty done with a positive mindset, honest and earnest work, success is inevitable.

Fruits of success are sweet. A farmer feels it better than anyone else. He takes care of his crops, irrigating them with his sweat and blood. Those who worked have a rightful claim on the success. There is no short cut to success.

Hard work, not deceit

Hoodwinkers, obsequious and avaricious often override genuine and honest hard work. Like the hare in the famous fable, “The Tortoise and the Hare,” they try to win the race. They use illegitimate “smart” but deceitful abilities. This is unfair in a game. Healthy competition must be among equals. Taking to unfairness may ostensibly give a temporary leverage, but ultimately the just and honest win. Lew Wallace, in his iconic book Ben-Hur, has vividly described it. Judah Ben Hur won the one-on-one race against Messala, who was trying to resort to treachery and illegal means. Despite it, he miserably failed.

Tough Competition and success

As mentioned earlier, success is subjective and abstract. Comparing the two successful people is like chasing the best among the best. In a competitive examination or in an international sports competition like the Olympics, success is not based only on the best performance. Success is about competing against the best of the best. The contest is not among the mediocres vs the best. It is a competition among the best, having almost equal calibre. Even though the calibre is the same, the results are very precise. The marks or timings are measured in decimals up to four digits. The choice range is very narrow. It is determined by a very thin margin. So, judging a person on the basis of success would not be proper. Yet, as the saying goes, nothing succeeds like success. Success has its own aura and glamour.

Contribution towards nation-building

Successful individuals contribute their positive share to nation-building and serve humanity. It is good and it must be appreciated. One must strive for betterment through hard work and ingenuity.

Further read:

• Valuing Personal Traits: Self-Critique vs. Self-Praise
• The Myth of Guaranteed Success
• Happiness or Bliss: Which one is Better
• The Price of Memories: Investing in Life’s Essentials
• Celebrating Hard Work: Joy in the Harvest

-END-