Around us, we see both successful and unsuccessful people. But what differentiates the successes from the failures? Even successful people have failed multiple times. But the only difference is that the successful people fell, got up, and tried again. They kept up their zeal and inspiration. They did not give up upon being faced with challenges. They took it as an opportunity for growth and moved ahead with redoubled intensity. When ghee is poured into the fire, it doesn’t get subsided but flares up even higher. Challenges act as the ghee, and it is the fuel that helps one to rush towards their goal. Instead of getting discouraged, they try harder and finally reach the goal.
The Power of Perseverance: Learning from Successful People
Let us learn from world-class sprinters. Often, when a race begins, some take off quickly, but by the end, they become tired and need help to reach the finish line. On the other hand, an athlete who starts slowly increases his speed close to the finish line and wins the race, overtaking everyone and winning the race. Likewise, it does not matter where we are, who we are, or what we are today, but what matters is where we reach. Shree Krishna states in the Bhagavad Gita (7.3)
मनुष्याणां सहस्रेषु कश्चिद्यतति सिद्धये |
यततामपि सिद्धानां कश्चिन्मां वेत्ति तत्त्वत: || 3||
manuṣhyāṇāṁ sahasreṣhu kaśhchid yatati siddhaye
yatatām api siddhānāṁ kaśhchin māṁ vetti tattvataḥ
‘Amongst thousands of people, hardly one strives for perfection, and amongst those who have achieved perfection, hardly one knows Me in truth.’
This statement clearly shows how only one person reaches the Truth out of thousands of spiritual aspirants. Why is this so? Because of the never-give-up attitude that one possesses. Often, a novice spiritualist comes to the path, thinking it is a bed of roses. However, when they realize that even the spiritual path is full of triumph and tribulation, they march back to the world. However, if we can learn to persevere with enthusiasm, we will see every failure as a learning experience. Swami Mukundananda puts it very well, ‘If you want a thousand successes, you will have to go through a thousand failures.’
Overcoming Failures: Lessons from Inspiring Personalities
Rowan Atkinson is one such inspiring personality. He is none other than the one whom we all know as Mr. Bean. Mr. Atkinson struggled to stammer while speaking and was mocked throughout his school and college. Later, he aspired to become an actor. There, too, he was made fun of for his looks. His large eyes and long nose always pulled people to mock him. He was rejected multiple times due to his imperfect dialogue delivery. But he never gave up. He then practised hard and started comedy. While performing on stage as a comedian, his stammering speech would vanish. He would be flawless. This very soon led to the most famous comedy show ever ‘Mr. Bean’ He had dovetailed all his infirmities and turned them positive. This is the perfect example of a never-give-up attitude.
On the spiritual front, Sage Vishwamitra is an exceptional sage. When he started with austerities, he would always lose his spiritual power for one reason or the other. Once, he used all his powers to send a king to heaven, along with the gross body. In another instance, he was disturbed by Menaka. Yet, he continued on the spiritual path. And at last, one day, he became a Brahma Rishi and was blessed with the opportunity to mentor the Supreme Lord, Shree Ram.
As someone said, Success is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Let us all take inspiration from the success stories above and work hard to reach our goal.
