Introspection & Positive thinking?

I have observed my friends in Law College and I am still in touch with many of them.  As I like and respect education and talent, whenever time permits, I used to discuss with students and wants to know his planning and thoughts. When I realize that some of my friends did not do well in life and when I realize that some talented student is not planning properly and proceeding in a wrong direction, I really feel sad. With my own experience and the observation, I found that many of my friends and the students lack the quality of ‘thorough & frank introspection’.  Atleast, in life, we should be very frank to ourselves.  I can say that a person lacking ‘frank introspection’ will definitely fail in life or there can not be any progress in life as expected.  I have seen many friends and students who try to act as if they know everything even if they know nothing. I always believe that there is so much to learn in life and even a great scientist keep focusing on the advancements in the real time and will have the quest for learning. Learning should be a continuous process if someone wants to progress in life and aim to get good name and fame in life.  Now with the rise of private sector in India, our GDP growth and policy towards liberalization and privatization, there tend to be tremendous competition.  With the competition for jobs increasing in Private Sector, there can not be any excuse for not learning continually and for not possessing the required abilities. 

The first requisite for learning is to have a thorough and frank introspection. Only when you are frank to yourself, you will know what to do in life and how to proceed further. In my personal life, I was a very poor student till complete my graduation and having no plans to progress academically. However, in a dramatic turn of events, I had to focus on my goal and decided to pursue Law. When I first met my college principal, my principal asked me to write a letter and I could not even write a letter to the Principal in English at that time. I felt very bad about me and I was thinking very seriously at the required basic skills. After getting admission into Law College, I have started attending classes. Even in class room, I was not in a position to understand the lecture in English. It was a horrible experience and I have decided to drop out of the course. I was absent to the college for 10 days, then, after deep thinking I have realized that I have no option except to excel in studies in order to achieve my goal. My first focus was on language. I know a student in my locality who studies Xth standard at that time and I know that he is good in English and he knows English grammar. I have decided to spend much time with him after attending the college. I used to pose lot of questions to him about ‘past tense’, ‘present tense’ and ‘future tense’ etc. I have also decided to attend an English tuition attended by this Xth Student without revealing to the ‘Teacher’ as to what I am pursuing at that time. Looking at my personality, many could have thought that I was also a student pursuing ‘Xth Standard’ or ‘Intermediate’. I have joined this tuition saying that I want to learn ‘English’ and nothing more. I have also followed the advice of my ‘Xth Student friend’ and bought an English grammar Book and have also obtained his notes.  Simultaneous to this ‘Xth Student friend’, I have found another junior friend in my law college who is so brilliant in English and also knowledge. This ‘junior friend’ in college used to come to college very early and he is very eager to learn everything. While I have joined the college after graduation, he has joined the course after completing Intermediate and as such he is junior to me. As I am senior, this ‘junior friend’ used to give some respect to me and when I ask him doubts and respect him, he used to feel very proud at that. This ‘junior friend’ advised me to read ‘Hindu News Paper’ everyday and wanted to me to focus on vocabulary. He has also advised me to listen to ‘English News’ regularly. I have followed the advice of my friends. After six months of my Law course, I found that I have remarkably improved my language and I have secured top marks in the 1^st Semester. Thus, it was a big story and finally, I have graduated from an ordinary Law College with some ability. Now in life, when I think about the position of that ‘Xth Class Student friend’ and ‘junior friend’, I feel very bad at their progress in life and their chosen profession. It is not that I have done great things, but, I have done much better than both of them and they are supposed to achieve bigger things considering their talent at that time.  I wanted to share this experience to my student friends to say that there is nothing to feel shy about ignorance and we should always be frank while introspecting ourselves. Only because, I had the courage to introspect myself very frankly, there was a scope for improvement in my life and on the contrary, my friends did not do so and they failed in life or did not do as expected.  That is why; I always feel that the important things for success is to be simple, frankness in introspection, quest for knowledge, and a focused mind. 

We should be frank to ourselves atleast. 

My first interview: 

Another thing is about positive thinking. Even when I have entered into the legal profession, I do not know any prominent people in profession and I did find it difficult to get a placement with some advocate or Law Firm initially. I have met one noted Senior Advocate in Madras in the beginning and he has told me that I may not be able to come-up in profession and refused to take-me as his junior. Then, I have met the management people at another prominent Law Firm in Madras. They asked me to wait for 10 days before confirming a place to me as an ‘Assistant’. Finally, I have received a call from them and I had to meet the ‘Boss’ of the firm. The ‘Boss’ told me that he is not convinced at my academic qualifications, but, he said that he is sympathetically providing a placement to me. I felt so bad at these observations, but, what can I do?. Then, he enquired about my expectation of salary. I have replied forcibly that I do not want any salary, but, work in the firm without any salary for some time and till I convince them with my work and ability. But, they said that they will give me 2,500/- initially while other fresher’ were getting good salary. As I did not have any financial support, properties and people to support me, it was very difficult for me to survive in a city like Chennai with 2,500/-.  But, I had to adjust with that money. I was always a man of principles and never like to request people for charity. I have never done this in my life so far despite severe financial burden and problems initially in my life. Within 3 months, I have proved my ability in the office and it was also recognized by the management. However, I have decided to learn and grow further and had to resign from my first Law Firm on my own though I was not aware of my future at that time. I wanted to learn more and I felt that I can not learn more with the existing work exposure. Though I was struggling for money, I have taken a courageous decision. 

My subsequent offices & experience:

Despite doing good work and despite having good ability, none has recognized me and everyone tried to bully me. It was really very hurting. I had to face this humiliation without loosing self-confidence. Whatever people say about me, I was very frank to myself and believed at my ability and capacity to grow further. Within a span of 3 years, I had to change 5 different offices for work and this gave me lot of exposure and finally, I could establish my ability on my own.  No one encouraged me in my journey despite me being hard-working, loyal, sincere and obedient. Till today, I do not know the reason as to why I was not encouraged or guided by the so-called prominent people I have met and worked in my life.  I have decided in life that I should not commit the same mistake and that is why, I am writing this article and I have guided few friends in profession to the extent possible. 

In between, I have taken some courageous decisions and no one has backed my decisions and everyone discouraged me. But, I have kept the belief in me intact and was thinking positively. I had to motivate myself by reading the autobiographies of successful personalities like Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam. I have read the book written by Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam for about 50 times and I have read other biographies too equally. I also used to listen to the biography of ‘Barrack Obama’, ‘Steve Jobs’, ‘J.K.Rowling’ and ‘Dr.Jayaprakash Narayan of Loksatta’. In this way, I have kept myself positive without bothering at the comments being made by my friends, so-called seniors in the profession and also the so-called big people I have met in my life. My experience in profession prompted me to fight with the noted lawyers and senior lawyers in profession at a very early age. I have done everything successfully and I feel proud at my professional journey though I believe that I have a very long way to go in achieving my goals or what I wanted to achieve in life. 

Unfortunately, I had to meet and accompany all bad people in life and many tried to bully me, hurt me and hamper my growth. There were set-backs, but, I have kept moving to the extent possible and with positive approach in life. I have learned as to how to deal with these situations by reading the experience of founder of Central Bank ‘Sir Sorabji’ and many others. This is what the reading of autobiographies of successful people can give us. J.K.Rowling says that ‘a human being can imagine the things not seen’. I have learnt the meaning of these kinds of statements through my own experience and only because of that; I am able to connect the things well. 

You may also face the same kind of experience in life. You must be prepared to face any eventuality in your journey and you should over-come all hurdles. You should always be positive in your thinking. It is good to spend more time with the people who are positive than the people who always think negative. It is also important to motivate ourselves frequently on our own. 

I have just shared my experience and views. I have not shared my experience to say that I am big. I know that I have done nothing in life and the road ahead is so long. 

Fortunately, I could handle many hurdles in life and could overcome those. You may also be struggling with some hurdles and you should not fail in life due to those hurdles. Success may not be instant, but, you should be focused at the goal and keep working. Barrack Obama has focused on his goal for several years despite his weak background, and he has now become world’s most powerful person and the President of United States of America. He has the courage to dream big and pursue his goal. With very poor background and struggles, Steve Jobs could come back to Apple and you must know about him now. J.K.Rowling has struggled for several years for survival even and now, she is very successful celebrity. 

Success may not come suddenly despite your qualifications and ability. You should have the required patience in life, should be positive in your approach and keep working towards your goal if you have any big goal in life. But, many proved that ‘nothing is impossible’ and I believe that you will also prove the same truth to your next generation. 

These kinds of articles I have also written before and you may feel bored to read this article. I say very sorry if it is boring to you. I would like to provide some useful links to you and I would be extremely happy if these links are useful to you in one way or other. 

Please listen to: 

Biography of Barrack Obama through ‘You tube’ using following links: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNBpe87yEqg&playnext=1&list=PL4D024083812BB4CC 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JgvXncbvQk&feature=related 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og6UaZY9Hgs&feature=related 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KfTJ_rLeB0&feature=related 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8PehPZGWwY&feature=related 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=READiPAFid8&feature=related 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNiKudT4jRA&feature=related 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5dFwu0NIB3A&feature=related 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbDKCk-Eqdg&feature=related 

Barrack Obama’s address to School Children: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47c6z2mrTEM 

J.K.Rowling’s address to Harvard through ‘You tube’ using the following link: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkREt4ZB-ck 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nm28K-Dgfxs 

Steve Jobs address to Stanford through ‘You tube’ using the following link: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd_ptbiPoXM 

Note: The views expressed are my personal and do not represent anyone. I know that this article must be boring to you. But, my intention is that no one should fail in life due to his background and problems. Irrespective of where you are today and what you are today, you are capable of reaching your goals. I will not bother you with any more articles for some considerable time from now. Thank you.