Successful People 1

Successful People 1 Success can be measured materially and metaphysically. Physical success is being triumphant and victorious. A non-achiever is called a loser. Humans and the human mind always pine to be associated with success and be in the company of successful people. That is the characteristic or nature (chitta) of the mind. Humans aspire and hunger to achieve the pinnacles of glory and success. ‘Success is simple. Do what’s right the right way at the right time,’ writes Arnold H. Glasgow. Metaphysical success is equivalent to spiritual success., Aa state where results do not matter. One is oblivious to the final outcome. A seeker gives his 100 per cent and is satisfied and contented with that, by continuously doing his Sadhana. In case an individual is a practitioner of Yoga, he would unflinchingly follow the path of Ashtanga Yoga (the eight limbs) as laid down by sage Patanjali. These include Yama, Niyama, Aasana, Pranayama, Pratayahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi. It is just not performing the physical exercise but far beyond that. Further, the seeker needs to be disciplined, alert and wakeful. The food he partakes should be Sattvik and not Rajasik or Tamasik. To achieve bliss, the practitioner should be endowed with enormous patience. If a seeker is following the tenets of the Art of Living, he needs to continuously follow the path of Sadhana, Sudarshan Kriya, Satsang, Seva, Meditation, Spiritual Practices, and Silence. This is true of whichever path one adopts without getting distracted and venturing into ‘spiritual shopping’. Then the mind would be in the Present Moment, contented, blissful and happy. ‘Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts,’ wrote Winston Churchill. Successful people enhance their productivity through relentless practice and honing their skills. Skills are augmented through continuously updating knowledge, reading quality literature, evolving with the latest technology, being alert and aware of the rapidly changing environment. The world is truly flat in this age of software, mobiles, apps and cloud (SMAC). Moreover such people maintain good and intelligent company. Good company is like being owners of precious and priceless books which nourish and nurture a person with information and increase the repository of knowledge. Over a period, one can be a proud owner of a library of outstanding friends and books instead of mere acquaintances. Only strong, willing people can become successful. ‘Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough,’ wrote Og Madino. Imagine a person aspiring to open for the Indian cricket team and has no clue about Sunil Gavaskar or Virendra Sehwag among other openers! An achiever should be fully abreast with the culture and history of the environment he inhabits. ‘A people without the knowledge of their past history, origins and culture is like a tree without roots,’ says Marcus Garvey. The individual should be fully adept with the intelligence and emotional quotient of his environment apart from the social and behavioural. An eye for the specifics and details separates the chaff from the grain. An achiever minutely captures in his amazing photographic memory all that is unfolding around him without missing even the minutest detail. You need to know more than your juniors and peers and perhaps more than your seniors. However, one should not be boastful and pompous about knowledge acquired. Humility wins you friends and their loyalty acts as a stepping stone in achieving additional milestones. Never forgetting the family, the inner circle of friends and close relationships is the quintessential hallmark of a successful man. As these were the very individuals who helped the achiever when there were dark clouds hovering and the mind was clouded with doubts and apprehensions. The empathy and bonding of the family transports the individual to a different platform and zone. They were with us, are with us and will be with us, should be the Mantra. Discarding them or abandoning them will be only at the individual’s peril. This should be particularly remembered by artistes and those working in the tinsel world. Arrogant behaviour will never pay. At any cost, a successful person can never outpace, outdistance or outstrip events. There could be periods of conflict and turmoil when we would desperately need the succour and comfort of our family and friends. Most importantly, successful people work in teams. Synergy of teams breed positive thoughts and originality. This infuses fresh ideas and visualization which are extremely useful for the self and the organisation. The symphony and orchestration of a soccer team on the pitch is a celebration to the eyes of cynosure as they play in harmony and unison. Imagine the plight of a football team, where players play an inward-looking game where they do not pass the ball. The car man, Henry Ford, correctly states, ‘Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress, working together is success.’ Successful individuals are synthesizers, like ants, who work to build beautiful anthills.