In India, we celebrate Engineer’s Day on September 15th, the birth anniversary of Sir M. Visvesvaraya, popularly known as Sir MV. He’s undoubtedly a genius and one of the greatest engineers the world has ever seen. He built one of the best dams in the country, which is an engineering spectacle in itself. Here the question is not about how he designed and implemented this mega project successfully, but why was he successful in doing so?
There were multiple reasons behind his success like his intelligence, perseverance and hard work. But what drove him to strive for success was his passion. What he did made him very happy and that was why he pushed his limits to work harder, but he did that happily.
If you recall my last week’s article on Monday Truclusions, I wrote about happiness and how even though it is a very basic need of everyone’s existence, it is one of the most important things in life. The question that arises now is whether it is enough to just celebrate this great man’s birth anniversary annually and leave it to that? Or could we be doing something more?
I think as a true ode to Sir MV, we should…
Pursue Our Passions
…even if we cannot make it our professions. I agree that we are under constant pressure to live up to various expectations, where just following our passions may not suffice. But it doesn’t mean we completely shy away from doing what we love!
Many of us do not, for which we have N number of excuses. Having a busy schedule is the most often used excuse. Today most of our lives have become mechanical; we have become breathing robots. In search of big moments of happiness, we have forgotten the small instants of joy that could be much more memorable to us.
According to a survey report on the world happiness index released by the UN this year…
India Stands 118th In The List Of Happiest Countries
There are many key factors based on which these numbers are derived- one of which is inequality. But one key factor which remains in the background is the inability to follow one’s passion.
When I talk about following your passion, I don’t mean that you wake up one fine day and decide to blindly jump into something you like doing full time. No, that’s not the point! If you are confident of making your passion your profession, don’t rush. Take your time to learn your craft and take the plunge when you’re comfortable.
A mechanical life might fulfill our materialistic needs, but it can never quench our intellectual thirst. What we fail to realize is that usually when we work or do something without enjoying or believing in it, we don’t give it our best, which translates to difficulty in excelling it.
These discussions almost always invite a big daunting question mark asking…
What If You Fail In Your Pursuit Of Achieving What You Seek?
Each time you fail, it only means you are one step closer to your goal. What is required is just to hold on to your nerve and not quit. We only need to remember that we become losers only when we opt to quit. The decision of whether we want to stay put with our efforts or to give in to the pressures we go through is always ours.
Let me now talk to you about…
5 Iconic Personalities Who Never Gave Up On Their Passions
…and grew to iconic statures in my view. Out of the five, three have been my all-time heroes. I grew up looking up to them every step of my life. Starting from my mother, who had only one passion in life and that was me! If today I have had a mark of my own that is because of her. To enable me to live a dignified life was and is the only ambition in her life.
The second hero I have as my role model is a national icon, a man who has earned himself the status of being the God of Cricket in India- Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. His journey from a boy living next door to being this amazing cricketer was not a stroll in the park. Life threw bouncers at him, but he never gave up his passion to play for the country at any point in time.
The third is a world renowned genius in the field of astrophysics- Stephen Hawkings. Science is his passion, and he was even able to defy death to live his love for science. Doctors predicted that he would not see his 25th birthday; he’s going to turn 77 soon! This was possible only because he wanted to live life to the fullest.
One of the other two by whom I am deeply inspired is Asia’s fastest speed painter and a very good friend- Vilas Nayak. Born in a middle-class family, he worked in an MNC after graduation. Life was going on smoothly for him, but he quit his job to follow his passion for colours. Today Vilas has an iconic stature across the world!
The other inspiration I was talking about is this small group working at our very own KnowYourStar. It is not easy to quit high paying jobs and start a company like KYS. It takes a lot of nerves and is truly inspiring to people like me who want to follow our heart.
So the point I’m trying to drive here is that common factors in all the above-mentioned people and their success stories are…
Hard Work, Skill And Passion
But we need to remember that success cannot be achieved with just passion for anything we want to do. Such a dream for success can be achieved only with hard work, discipline and skill. But the absence of passion in a job lacks the glow and luster that makes one’s talent shine like a star!
Stop staring at the darkness of the night
Look at the stars that make it bright
From within they are so brightly lit
Read the inspiring story they do knit
Do not think of the salt in the sea
But feel the oyster you could be
Every second the sun does burn
For the universe hope he does churn
Each time you do fall
You are a step closer to grow tall
So never ever should you give in
Because deep within you know you will win
Are you curious now what it is that I want to do? Well, for that, wait for my next article on Monday Truclusions! Bye for now.