The Secret of Attaining Greatness

The Secret of Attaining Greatness

What is the secret of attaining greatness I our life? We all desire to become great, to attain high positions. Great goals and aspirations can lead a person to success.

Once the disciples of Jesus Christ argued among themselves as to who was the greatest of them. Do you know what Jesus told them? ‘Whoever wants to be first must place himself the last of all’. Greatness does not lie in power, position or wealth but in one’s character and behavior.
I am reminded of a little girl Vimala who in a dream saw herself in a shop, with God at the counter. She was surprised at this and wanted to know what all things were sold there. God told her that whatever she desired was available there. Then Vimala said, “I want to have love, joy, knowledge, courage and strength”. Then God answered, “Child! I don’t sell fruits here. I sell only seeds. But if you plant these seeds, they will grow into big plants and trees yielding useful fruits. I can give you the seeds, but it is your duty to sow them and tend the plants and trees, which will yield fruits of good quality. You must share them with others.”

It is true that we should have role models to guide us. But whom do we consider as our heroes- film stars, sports persons, politicians, models? What are the qualities that we appreciate in others? Is it beauty, pride, power, position? Think of the ordinary people we meet in our daily life- our parents who are loving and airing, sincere and devoted teachers who strive to mould us into responsible citizens, the postman who is punctual and systematic in bringing our letters, the honest clerk in an office- shouldn’t we appreciate their virtues?

We should emulate and imbibe all these noble qualities to become worthy citizens who can shoulder the responsibility of leading our nation to success and glory.

Article by: Ann Abraham, St Teresa’s College

The Formula For Sucess

The Formula For Sucess

What is the secret of attaining success? To attain success you should have desire, direction, dedication, determination and discipline. The other things come easy. That is, a person should have the desire to attain his goal or aim, dedication to his work, determination to succeed and the discipline required to put in hard work. In short, the formula for success is
Aim+Determination+ Dedication+ Hard work=Success

A young man once asked Socrates, the great Greek philosopher, the secret of success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. As they met, Socrates asked the young man to walk with him towards the river. When the water reached up to their neck Socrates took the young man by surprise ducked him under the water. The man struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until he started turning blue. Socrates pulled his head out of the water and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air. Socrates asked him, “What did you want the most when you were there?” “Air” came the reply. Socrates said, “That is the secret of success. When you want success as badly as you want air, then you will get it. 
A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishments. Success is not something that you run into my accident. It requires great effort and a lot of preparation. Without hard work, there is no success. Nature gives birds their food but does not put it in their nests.They have to work hard for it. Nothing comes easy. Milton, the famous English poet rose everyday at 4 a.m. to write his great work, ‘Paradise Lost.’ It took Noah Webster 36 years to compile webster’s dictionary.
These instances encourage us to work hard, be self confident and leave the rest to God. The frame of success is waiting to hold your picture, just get focused.

By: Ann Abraham