Instead of following the ‘normal’ highway. Blaze a new path and leave a trail for others to follow.
One of the great enigmas of life is ‘being normal” or “reasonable”, often means settling for ordinary results, while success demands from us to step out of these conventional and ordinary boundaries, and experience extraordinary with our unique abilities and power. Highly successful people are, by definition, not average people! All of us have been pressured to conform at one time or another. We’ve been told to “sit still” in school, to “stop interrupting” or “not make a scene. We’ve been crticized for dressing. speaking. acting or thinking or being “different.” The subtle and not-so-subtle pressures to accept conventional norms are powerful. To get along, you have to go along.”
Abraham Lincoln is widely regarded as the greatest American president. yet the thing he was most known for among his friends was his repulsive refusal to quit running for office. even after he lost thirty-two elections! That is not normal, but a belief was so powerful within him that he didn’t care about what is normal or what isn’t. He did not compromised with his failures, but he challenged those failures again and again and finally achieved his deep desire, with his not so normal decisions of life. The Wright brothers thought they could fly, Henry Ford thought he could put a car it every garage.
Narendra Modi while selling tea on his small tea stall thought he could be Prime Minister someday. Dhirubhai Ambani thought he could be a great business tycoon and the owner of Reliance Industry no matter if he has brought up from such a small village, no matter if even his father did not support him and did not find his decision “normal”. He had a belief that he can do it and left behind all the conventional boundaries of being normal or reasonable. To achieve anything in life you must have a belief and then the entire cosmic force energy will be gathered to make you achieve your desire. A lot of crazy ideas really are crazy. We’ve all had brilliant ideas in the middle of the night, only to find that in the clear light of day they weren’t worth pursuing. Many great ideas have been lost because the genirs who thought it up was shy. Or lacked courage. Or was intimidated by someone’s comments that, “YOU CAN’T DO THAT”! All great ideas were crazy before they were brilliant. Alexander Bell thought he could talk over copper wires. and even worse, Marconi thought he could send messages through thin air! When David Sarnoff warted to launch the first radio network (now NBC), one investor ridiculed him by asking, ‘Who would pay to send a message to no one in particular? “How crazy was that!? If you can read this. you are a genius.
You have had thousands of wonderful, creative, brilliant ideas—most of which you’ve never pursued. because you let your fear come in between your brain power. your ideas. Success is not achieved by being “ordinary.’ It is achieved by following your own path and trusting your own instincts. No two people have the same DNA or the same fingerprints. No two parents (not even spouses) raise their children quite the same way. Everyone is unique in their own ways. Everyone has different taste, likes and thought process. Only the brain power is same, equal. But the thought process is different. So why let others judge your thoughts or decision, why let others comment on your dreams, even if the dreams are not normal. If you feel it’s normal for you. if your feel you can do it, GO FOR IT! Yes, you made for that, and you discovered it. You have discovered the reason behind your birth.
Now time to Take charge of Life. Don’t let anyone come and again keep you away from the real motive of yours to be born. To achieve your unique version of success, follow your heart. Yes. you II want to learn from others, have a great strategy and superb execution. Yes, you’ll want to obey the law and regulations, and you’ll need a great team. But primarily, you become great by being exactly, and uniquely yourself. This is a call for more eccentrics, more individuals. more creative. shameless adventurers. Go where your heart and your instincts lead.
Written by AK Mishra Director, Chanakya IAS Academy