Behind every successful writer are hundred writers whose books don’t sell.
Behind every writer whose books don’t sell there are hundred writers whose manuscripts are lying with publishers
Behind every writer whose manuscript is lying with the publisher there are hundred writers who are searching for a publisher
Behind every writer searching for a publisher there are hundred writers who are writing a manuscript
And behind every writer writing a manuscript there are hundred people wanting to become a writer.
The above few lines have been read in a book called, ‘the art of thinking clearly’.
The concept author wised to elucidate through this example was that most of us don’t succeed in our endeavours because we make the wrong choices. We often select options or ideas which are either popular or observed closely in a friend, family or celeb.
This clouds are senses and leaves us bereft of any clear thinking whatsoever. In the maze of re-creating other people’s success formula we forget to invent our own. And hence despite not having the right skills to be the given choice, we embark on the road more taken and less succeeded upon.
This got me thinking (of course the book was all about art of thinking!) how can we say improve or evolve from this mode of life.
I created my own pointers.
Look at the sacrifices the said person has made to be where he or she is today. Can you do the same in your life? For example, leaving a comfortable job and pass on the big fat cheques each month? Is the strife looking worth the success finally? Define your success point.
Identify your core competencies. Perhaps writing is one side of being you. Have you ever thought what a wonderful businessman you could be? Judge yourself by no standards but your own.
If you have to go by examples in life, then I suggest explore more. Knowing about different kinds of success stories will give you ideas. And this effort I believe will not be a waste.
Behind every successful man there are a hundred failure stories. People who couldn’t make it. Find out about their stories. The funeral pyre of mistakes can help you identify your own skill matrix. Cemeteries of these success stories can often take away the motivation but add the right element of logic.
Last but never the least, do what makes you happy. And remember happiness after a while stops being fame or money.
Now it is your turn. Is leading by example your thing? Or you try to create your own story?
P.S Title of the post has been taken from the book ‘art of thinking clearly’
Doing what makes us happy is important. In his book ‘Art of Happiness’, Dalai Lama talks about the Law of Causality, where a person’s mood is dependent upon what she does. Does she do things which make her unhappy? Or happy? Her mood depends on it.
We should be ready to take the risk of forgoing fat pay cheques to do what we like, because the aim in life is not to make money or brag about our work… it’s to be happy…
And behind every blogger putting thoughts out to the public are a million cloistered authors with their thoughts in a safe, waiting to be “published” 😉 Nice post.
So much hard work! I want so many things or rather I want to do so many things but at the end of the end of the day my laziness wins over everything else
The road to success in never easy, it is curvy and deceptive, your article deals with this struggle in a pragmatic way…
Profound Insights, Richa. Really a thought-provoking. It just triggered a chain of questions in my mind 🙂
Nice words. It is not easy to give up the temptation of regular pay-checks. And many people have come up to me to ask how can I do it in the early 40s. We are not immortal. We have only one life to live. When our time comes to leave this earth, when the key moments of your life comes back as a flash back, you shouldn’t have any regrets of doing differently. So do what gives you happiness.
Leading by example in some places and trying to create my own story in some places. To make a choice between these two itself is difficult hats off to those who give up their paychecks to pursue their inner callings.
I agree. Very few have the courage of conviction to take the plunge. But satisfaction of doing something on your own is immeasurable.
True. Very few have the courage of conviction to give up something that one is trained, for something unknown. But one must burn bridges to devote completely to second love. Satisfaction of doing something on your own is immense.
I clearly don’t want to live someone else’s story. No one can. Many people get themselves into an illusion that they would perfectly fit into someone else’s shoes but the unease always stays. And after sometimes, people get used to that uneasy feeling. And that is never good.
One must try to explore his own self. One must try to find out what he/she is meant for, what he/she is good at. You need not be next wierdo! Maybe you’re just meant to be good at a normal thing like accounting/managing bank accounts. But that need to be your forte. this is all you need to do to live a life full of happiness.
It isn’t that difficult once you recognize it. Just try to recognize it before it is too late!
Inspiring words Richa, really nice post!
For me the answer has been no every time when I tried leaving my not so fat pay check! 😀
The destination,, the success will only matter, if you enjoy, strive, and toil your way up to that in your journey. A journey not enjoyed and loved isn’t worth to travel even if you do reach the destiny. (Heavy? I tried 😉 Good read! )
Awesome post…Loved it !