Personal Development Passion

Let me share with you how I was initiated into the journey of personal development using success principles.

“When the student is ready, the teacher appears”, says Robin Sharma, the author of “The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”.

The year was 1986. The classroom was filled with students of first-year law course. Majority of the students ranged in the age group of 16-17, in their late teens. In the corner of the classroom was sitting a boy. Because of his poor performance in the recent qualifying examination he was dejected, disappointed and depressed. The examination was important and had the power to decide the future course of the boy’s life.

The teacher was telling the class of 150 or so number of students with great conviction and emphasis, “each one of you has one or the other extraordinary quality. The unfortunate thing is that you don’t know it. I have studied psychology well. I have been observing you and I can tell at least one extraordinary quality each of you is possessing. But I will not spoon-feed you. I will leave it for you to discover your own unique extraordinary potential. The only thing I can assure you is that each one of you possesses at least one extraordinary quality”.

The teacher’s words strongly hit the boy, who having been left with no other option, had joined law course. He was completely filled with feelings of inferiority, low self-esteem, hopelessness and negativity. He felt completely lost. To him future seemed gloomy. He was a rank failure in his own eyes.

And the teacher was telling that the boy had an extraordinary quality. How could that be? The boy silently questioned with disbelief. But at the same time he could not disbelieve his teacher. His teacher was a very eminent, honest and respectable personality. His previous experience with the teacher was that whatever the teacher preached, had substance, and was worthy of serious consideration.

If what the teacher was saying was true, it was actually a matter of great respite for the boy. “Do I possess extraordinary quality too? Am I worthy of being accepted? Which is the unique and extraordinary quality which I possess? How can I find it? Can I overcome my past? Can I do better?…” the boys started pondering.

One day, the teacher gave a list of books to the whole class, with a recommendation to read all the books on the list. The teacher said that the books were not just books, but priceless jewels. Fortunately, one of the good qualities the boy possessed was the habit of reading. He loved to read. Seeing the list, the boy quickly sensed the importance of each and every book on the list. He had developed a vision to understand that the books on the list had immense power to change his life (or anyone’s life, for that matter) for the better.

Three things, however, stood in the boy’s way. The books were in English language. Till then the boy had not read many books in English, and therefore had no command over the language. The boy had no money to buy the books. The boy did not know where the books were available. What the boy had was a strong urge and longing to change his life for the better; to find out the wisdom of the gurus and to apply the wisdom in his own life. The books on the list had intensified his longing more and more.

It is rightly said by one of the gurus that if you have a dream, the universe conspires to fulfill your dream. One day the boy was wandering through the secondhand books market in his town. The boy had the yearning to raise himself above his prevailing state of affairs and he knew that the books contained the key to what he wanted. Suddenly he spotted one of the books on his list. The book lay there, in the stack of books, ignored by people. It didn’t seem to attract anyone’s attention. Moreover it was in very old condition. However, it was still readable. And what’s more! It was very cheaply priced. No wonder, the boy grabbed the book and purchased it with his saved money.

Though poor in English then, the boy somehow managed to read and understand the book. (Side by side the boy was also on a self undertaken English improvement program). In the course of time, the book greatly changed the boy. It taught him lessons of immense importance. It taught him the power of thought. It offered practical suggestions and methods by applying which he could transform himself and his life from failure to that of success. The boy took full advantage of his new-found guru, the book and greatly changed his life from failure to success.

Today, the boy is successful. He is happily married to a charming woman of his choice and has a lovely kid of six. He has risen to become one of the successful lawyers of his town. He is deeply indebted to his teacher as well as to the new-found guru, that is his book, which he still possesses and continues to draw guidance from time to time even today.

With the reading of the book, began a personal development journey of the boy, way back in the late eighties. In the beginning, the journey was slow and steady, and gradually increased. The journey still continues, and the boy still grows. During his journey, the boy read a lot. He applied the success principles, the success techniques, the suggestions, tips and tricks for personal development to his life. During his success journey, sometimes he succeeded, sometimes he fine tuned the application of the success principles taught by the his gurus, the books to his own peculiar situation. In the process of application of success principles for his personal development, the boy realized that there is always something new to gain and nothing to lose. There was always inner growth inside.

The self growth journey, however, continues. and the boy knows that it will never be completed till the end of his life. While traveling this journey of self-development, on more occasions than one, the boy felt a strong inner urge to share the wisdom of his gurus, the success mantras which he tested and applied to his own life. This first post which you are now reading is the result of that strong inner urge of that boy to share.

Yes you have rightly guessed by now that the boy was none else than the author of this post.

I do not claim to have achieved perfection. I do not assume “I-have-succeeded-let-me-tell-you-how-to-succeed” posture in starting this blog. What has motivated me to start this blog on success mantras for sharing success principles for personal development is the strong inner urge to share the account of marvelous and interesting journey of my personal development with a strong hope and belief that just as I have benefited from the distilled wisdom of success principles, so may you. When I look back in retrospect and think over what I would have been without learning these success principles, the feeling is uncomfortable. There is a vast difference between what I would have been without the success principles and what I am today with, and because of, success principles.

Let me be honest. One of my selfish motives in starting this blog on success principles for personal development is to deepen my own learning and understanding; to gain new insights for success, personal development and self growth, in the process of sharing. Till now I traveled this journey by myself. From now onwards I welcome you to join me as my companion. This is my first post. I look forward to a great companionship with you, and hope that we will have great time in this process of sharing.

Oh yes! Before finishing this first post, I must break your long held suspense by telling you the book which initiated me into my journey of personal development by application of success principles. The name of the book is Think and Grow Rich, a famous timeless classic by Napoleon Hill. More on that later….