Story: The Secret of Success

CA. Tanvi Joshi (Chartered Accountant) (2729 Points)

30 May 2013  

A young man asked Socrates, an ancient Greek philosopher, the secret of Success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met.

 

Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river.

 

When the water got up to their necks, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The man struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him under water until he started turning blue.

 

The young man struggled hard and finally managed to get up. The first thing he did was to gasp and take a deep breath.

 

Socrates asked, “What did you want the most when you were under the water?”

 

The man replied “Air”.

 

Socrates said: “That’s the most secret to success. When you want success as badly as you want air, you will get it. There is no other secret”.

 

 

 

Reflection:

A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishments. Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results…

 

More about Socrates:

 

Socrates is a famous ancient Greek philosopher. He was born in Athens in 469 BC and was killed (by poison) in 399 BC (about 71 years old) because the government didn’t agree with his teaching. Socrates is widely credited for laying the foundation for Western philosophy.