“Opportunity knocks only once at your door step.”
I encounter this phrase quite often in our society, but is not one I believe in! How I look at life can be well compared to a game of cricket, but with a twist! This game of cricket has no fielders, stumps or wicket keepers. You are the batsman and the life is constantly throwing bouncers, yorkers, googlies and what not, right at you!
It’s quite natural that you or anyone might miss hitting the ball. But there’s no way you will lose a wicket unless you call it quits! Well, I’m not saying we must not be ready for opportunities that come our way, but it isn’t the end of the road if we miss some. All that matters is whether we are ready to take the next one that comes by and make the most of it.
It comes down to whether we are going to hang in during the tough times or going to chicken out and quit from the fight. They say,
“When one door closes, another one opens!”,
and that is a phrase I prefer. For those who want to win, they have a keen eye for the smallest of opportunities!
Now, let me tell you a couple of stories!
Nurturing Dreams With Passion And Perseverance
Once there was a kid who never took his academics seriously. Other kids with average intelligence surpassed him when it came to marks scored. He was always found with a toy plane that he had built on his own. When he finished college, no company hired him for a job.
But he never felt dejected. A few years later, he attended his college reunion and heard his fellow students brag about their new bungalow, expensive sports car, a promotion etc. But he wasn’t ashamed of telling them that he hadn’t made it big with his start up. The fact was that he had never given up on his dream of owning an airplane company! Years later, eventually, he did end up owning his own successful aviation company.
Thinking Out Of The Box To Make Doors Through Walls
The second story I am talking about again involves a kid. It was rainy season and the roads were filled with ankle deep waters. There were many who walked by the road, some folded there trousers till the knee to avoid the pant getting dirty. Some who thought their shoes were too expensive took them off and walked where the water was shallow.
Then came along this kid, who was returning from school. That’s an age when we would have enjoyed splashing the pool of water on the road. But this kid thought differently. He picked up the stones and bricks lying around and started placing them in the stagnant water. Then he crossed the slush, walking on those stones and bricks! By doing this not only did he cross the slush with ease but also created a path for others to walk too.
Real Life Heroes Who Created Their Own Opportunity
The people you are going to be introduced now did something very similar. Many people in India believe sports is only for the so-called “able bodied”. Though awareness has been created by some people in individual sports, the gentleman’s game, the world of cricket is still far from any awareness about the differently abled.
That is where the Divyang Mytri Sports Academy took a brave initiative, of bringing together the aspiring and talented, but wheelchair-bound athletes to form the first of its kind team in the nation – the Karnataka Wheelchair Cricket Team. Fifteen more teams were formed pan India taking inspiration from this team.
Imagine the zeal of these special athletes to play a high level skill-based sport with the leather ball and no special rules. Despite having loads of trouble in finding sponsors and funds, they have managed to keep the initiative alive. The love for sports and the passion to make India proud in the field of sports has moved this team to never give up on their dream. They took pains to pool in money from their own pockets to not only participate in the tournament but also organize it.
The Karnataka Cricket Team won the runner-up trophy in the recently concluded inaugural national level wheelchair cricket tournament. There is no doubt that this team will achieve greater feats if they are supported and encouraged well. It makes me immensely proud that I could play a mentor to this immensely talented team.
Food For Thought
If the team had thought about all the difficulties they had to overcome, the opportunities they had lost, or the difficulty in finding sponsors, would they have ever built a team? Could they still nurture a dream of playing international cricket? I am sure they will make this dream a reality soon too! What do you think?
Liked reading this? Then you might also like to read Monday Truclusions – Three Gems, Three Lives, Three Fights, One Love!
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