What came first?

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What came first?

“Success is the measure of efforts, not calibre.”

What comes first; aim to be achieved or motivation to achieve? An interesting paradox it is, for without a motivation to achieve something in life it’s hard to find an aim, and without an aim it is hard to find motivation to achieve anything. Perhaps we should delve on a question whose answer will not only satisfy both the scenarios, but also give direction to life; how to find an aim in life?

Schooling begins the moment you step outside your parent’s home. The community you live in is your first school that teaches you all the valuable lessons of life. Life however begins the moment you pass out of your school. This point forward, your every decision, action or inaction determines not only your future and that of your dependents, but it impacts the community you are a member of. Before this point you are a society’s responsibility, from this point the society becomes your responsibility. Scary it may sound, but should you be worried if passing out of the school one of your friends’ is discussing Harvard School of Law, another is talking Cambridge University, but you are there worried whether your boyfriend/girlfriend cheated on you last weekend? Maybe your friends were born with some genetic condition, like ‘Nerdism’; after all you cannot achieve anything in a day. So a day here and a day there won’t make a difference if you ultimately find your aim somehow strolling down the mean streets of life one day, will it?

Perhaps a day here or there won’t make a difference to what you will ultimately end up doing in life, but a directionless pursuit is more likely to lead you into doing something you are either not interested in, or something that won’t lead you to the point in life where you want and need to be. So even though you may not be inclined to think about your long term goals just today, for you may be having the hottest date in town tonight, but here’s a simple trick to determine your aim the first thing tomorrow morning after hangover, for that’s when you’ll find your conscience kicking you. Ask yourself then, “How do you want to see yourself when you are forty five years old”?

But why forty five years of age, you may ask. There are two reasons:

Firstly, forty five years of age is the time when a person’s eldest kid is about fifteen years of age, assuming they had their first child at the age of thirty. Fifteen years of age represents what you were two or three years ago before this point. This age frame of fifteen-eighteen years is the time when everyone looks up to their parents and determines if they like what their parents are doing for their living. You compare your parents to their peers and see where they stand in life. And this analysis of your parent’s working life should help you determine whether you want to be in a similar position as your parents, or something more or something lesser will do. You will know whether you like your parents work and living standard, and what they have provided you, and whether you want to provide something similar to your kids. This critical analysis will help you determine what sort of career path you need to choose for yourself, and this choice will automatically come with the pathways to take for its’ achievement. Once you pick a path, all you will need after that is to walk it. Your success will depend upon the efforts you will put in, and the efforts you need to put in will be determined by the calibre you have. I will talk about these in a bit, so hold on!

Secondly, forty five years of age is a time when one is still young, and will have a drive to either succeed further, or settle self beautifully for launching their kids’ careers, and securing their own retirement. Forty five years of age is the time when you finally have the resources and a family to enjoy your life with as well. How and how much can one enjoy, is determined by their career realities. The comparison between your parents and their peers, in conjunction with your own desires and dreams should help you make a career choice that will see you achieve that life at forty five. The future you want will give you the motivation to walk the path you need to.

So now comes the question; what is more important, efforts or calibre? One word answer: efforts. A brilliant mind is worthless if put to no use, and a simpleton can succeed if he continues practicing what he is failing in again and again. The more you repeat your efforts, the better you get at them, ultimately mastering what you are doing.

To give you an example; my best friend from childhood used to struggle with mathematics, barely managing average grades throughout. I on the other hand was a magician with mathematics, solving most complex of the problems, and my high school grades bear a testimony to it. But my friend wanted to be a Mechanical Engineer, something that involves extensive mathematics. The quickest way was to do year twelve with Science and Mathematics as subjects, and then clear a state wide entrance exam to study engineering. He picked the longer way. He did diploma in engineering first, something where he didn’t have to compete with the top mathematical geniuses for a place state wide as they all went for the quickest route. After his diploma, he competed with his peers’ state wide for a hard-fought seat in the top engineering college in the state, second year of degree. He fought a war with mathematics all through his degree, but always finished with decent grades. He mastered it through his efforts! Post degree he got a well paid job in the R&D department of a highly reputed multinational company. Today he is a high ranking official in another multi-national. Compared to him yours truly is sitting here writing this worthless piece. So what’s on top; efforts or calibre?

One final thing I would like to say is; seek excellence and success will come on its’ own. You achieve in life what you strive for. If you strive for success, all your efforts will be like a trial and error experiment where you will get one shot in bullseye and that will be your flash in the pan. However, if you strive for excellence in your field, success will become your shadow, for everything you will do will have the class, grace and finesse.

Fatal Urge Carefree Kiss “Amanpreet Singh Rai”

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