Never say never again!

When does life begin to function in a meaningful way for us? When we start tasting the fruits of success, connoisseurs will retort. When does success appear?  Thesaurus defines success as an accomplishment of an aim. If we go by this definition, we need to have an aim to start with. But how would we figure out what our aim will be? Connoisseurs are a divided lot now! The first set believes that aim is relative. For a class 10 student, success may be defined by passing the board exam with flying colors. For another student of the same class, success can only come by topping the chart in the same exam. Nothing else will do for him! Whereas, another one may think of success as publishing his first article in the kid's section of a local newspaper. He is content with somehow passing in the board exam. The other set of connoisseurs believe that one should identify something he is good at. Thereafter he should focus only on that for a long period of time and be a master of it. This will ensure a sure shot way to success. Chanakya is said to have studied economics for 10 years at the dawn of his career and shifted to studying politics for the next 10 years. So, there are ample examples where people persisted with something for long leaving everything aside before attaining success. But how would one know his strength? As an example, one may be a good swimmer. He thinks participating swimming competition more can bring him laurels. In reality, he may be very adept in crunching numbers and his skills in data science are overwhelming and have the potential to bring more success. So, what would be termed as a success? His trophies in swimming or the data science prowess showed by him! This, dear friends, does not have a categorical answer. Because success till now is identified mostly with trophies, positions, monetary benefits among others. Include mental, emotional and spiritual aspect in it and we will be in a different realm altogether! Success is something that helps reach a person in a mental and emotional and spiritual state desired by him at that point in time. We may be successful in something now. But the definition may change and we might find peace in doing something else in future that will define our new aim and success. Usain Bolt has started playing football after retiring from an illustrious career of running. Aditya Ghosh, ex-president of Indigo airlines has joined Oyo rooms as its first CEO after rejecting an offer from Tata sons to lead Jet Airways, which would have been a much bigger opportunity for him in terms of pay and position. But he has chosen to work with a startup. Oyo clearly has more chance to provide him with the stimulus that he is looking at. Maybe he is getting more mental, emotional and spiritual connection in nature and choosing a position in the hospitality industry and a brand like Oyo may work as a stimulus for him in this regard. Thereafter comes the last set of people who gets to taste success at the middle or end of their career simply because they couldn’t define their interest level at any particular subject early enough! Boman Irani started is Bollywood career at the age of 41. The dyslexic Irani had a tough time recovering from his disorder. From being a waiter in Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai to a boxing photographer to a career in theatre, Boman has moved up in the age ladder quietly. Munna Bhai happened in 2003 and he never looked back! I will wind up with an inspirational story of Mrs. N. Saroja Ramchandran, who cleared the prestigious Chartered Accountancy exam at the age of 59 in July 2017! She was a branch manager in a private sector bank and took up the course just to create an environment in the house to support his son, who took up the course at the first place. So, you see, success can emerge at any stage, in any form. It is good if we get hold of the success mantra in an early stage. If not, we should never give up because success may just be around the corner. In the meantime, let's not forget to enjoy life to the fullest!