Welcome, everyone, to yet another Monday Truclusions! First off, let me wish all of you a very Happy 67th Republic Day. This week, while I was pondering over a story to narrate to you, I found myself wanting to tell you a story that would resonate with you – like the occasion we are celebrating. Fortunately, I stumbled upon one such story and an equally awe-inspiring personality to introduce to you.
I would like to share with you the power of storytelling – the kind of strength that can motivate ordinary people to achieve greatness and the kind of inspiration that can change lives for good.
From Zero To Hero
Now let me tell you the story of how nothing turned itself to something huge. A story of how Zero transformed itself into Infinity. It goes like this:
Once upon a time in the world of numbers, a new number was born. His name was Zero. He was an orphan. Nobody in the number world valued Zero’s existence, though they all knew that if Zero was placed at the right spot, any number’s value would increase. Throughout his childhood Zero was humiliated by his denomination.
Some numbers feared him as they would lose their value if they got too close to Zero. So no one wanted to be friends with him. Imagine the multiplication of a number with Zero! Hence he had to spend most of his time alone. There was no one to hold his hand and walk through life with him. But Zero was a very strong character, and he knew his potential from within.
Finding A Strong Partner
Finally, Zero found a friend with whom he could travel the path of life with. Someone who had faced similar challenges – another Zero! That is when he decided to create something so huge that it would be respected all over the number world. That is how infinity was born – a number of unimaginable value.
This story might not make much sense to you, but just read the real world examples that I will quote now, and I promise you will understand what I’m trying to convey.
Being Better Together
Here’s my favourite example, which involves my role model, Sachin Tendulkar. People who follow Indian cricket will know that Navjot Singh Sidhu, in one of his most popular speeches, said, “Kharbooza, Kharbooze ko dekh kar rang pakadta hai”. This means “a watermelon ripens in the company of another watermelon.”
He said this because during Sachin’s debut test series against arch-rivals Pakistan, India was tottering on the edge with 5 wickets down. That is when Sachin stepped out to bat, and watching him play despite his broken nose gave confidence to Sidhu. He went on to score a 97 during that game.
Adapting To Change, Securing Success
Now, let me introduce to you a man I call India’s Nick Vijucic. A resident of Bellari, born in 1979, Thamanna lived a simple yet satisfying life. He was a lineman for the Karnataka electricity board. However, in 2010 an accident occurred while he was fixing an issue with an electric pole, and he was hit with the power of 11,000 volts. It changed his life forever.
He came to his senses in a hospital bed only to realise that he had lost both his legs and one of his arms in the accident. After he was discharged from the hospital in 2013, Thamanna decided that he had to do something great with his life. Not for one moment did he doubt his own abilities. But what could he do? What were the options available to him? He knew he had to become a believer first in order to become an achiever.
Finding A New Path
Blade running wasn’t a feasible option because of his financial limitations (a single blade costs around 6 lakhs). He found wheelchair tennis difficult as manoeuvring the chair and handling the racket simultaneously was tough. That is when Thammanna drew inspiration from the story of a legend, a person who has been described as the man with no arms, no legs, and no worries – Nick Vijucic.
He decided to pour water over the dreams of his burnt life by getting into the swimming pool. Within just two years professional swimming, he proved his mettle by winning a bronze medal for his breaststroke at the World Championships held in Sochi, Russia. He made the nation proud. And that is not all, he is now gunning for the gold at the World Swimming Championships, Asian games, and the Commonwealth Games in 2017-18.
Now, what connection is there between the story of the Zero, Sidhu, Nick and Thammanna? The answer is one common factor, i.e., their confidence and self-esteem, which helped them prove themselves. It’s unsure if such inspirational journeys and achievements would be possible if the persons concerned hadn’t experienced what they did, and followed the same avenues and paths.
Hence I present a few lines about the value lane:
All of us have a wound or a scar,
But we still want to walk far.
Every time we fall we shall raise the bar.
Let’s walk hand in hand,
For each other, we do stand.
The trust in us is our magic wand.
We need to believe,
In every dream, we conceive.
The more we give the more we receive.
There is never any gain,
Without the stain of pain;
Hence in life, we walk the value lane.
Liked reading this? Then you might also like to read Monday Truclusions – Rebuilding Your Life, One Block At A Time.
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