Achievers never quit
Achievers are not born but forged by their ability to ignite their natural talents over time
Jack Croushore was a charismatic leader, a successful steel magnate and an achiever, who never called it quits, regardless of the situation that confronted him. He was also equally adept in adopting the strategy of using kid gloves when situations so required. Over a period, his mind learnt that situational factors influence leadership effectiveness.Successful leaders are high-end achievers, those who do not quit. They are blessed with halcyon days in life, which provide them with joyful moments, and there may be woebegone incidences that fortuitously do not cripple their passion to climb the ladder of prosperity. Nancy Gibbs says, “High achievers, we imagine, were wired for greatness from birth. But then you must wonder why, over time, natural talent seems to ignite in some people and dim in others.”Recall the talismanic movie 3 Idiots. Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi and R. Madhavan essayed the principal roles.
They were euphemistically called the 3 idiots by the director of the institute. Among them, Rancho (Aamir Khan) was an achiever blessed with natural talent, out-of-the-box thinking and revolutionary ideas.There is a poignant scene in the movie where Ali Fazal, who played the role of Joy Lobo, snuffs out his life as he was unable to meet the deadline for completing the assigned project work and thus became a laggard. He was working on a battery-operated ‘flying machine’, which could capture various events through its magical eyes and features. Alas, his attempts were abortive, while the consummate Rancho was successful in designing the machine…and during a test flight, he and the entire college were witnesses to the shocking tragedy of Joy Lobo taking his life. Dismayed at the turn of events, Lobo prominently wrote on the walls of his room – I QUIT.
The scene graphically recorded the miscarriage of the project and the abject subjugation of the character who was not an achiever. Once, some superiors decided to cashier an employee for a lacklustre performance. He decided to quit all relationships and his spirituality, and in sheer desperation informed God that he had decided to abandon his life. God asked him to look around in a forest for ferns and bamboo. When God planted ferns and bamboo seeds, he took special care of them and protected them from all the vagaries of weather. Within a year the ferns became resplendent and iridescent, covering the entire floor space, while the bamboo seeds showed no growth.
Over the following four years, the forest became verdant with the ever-expanding ferns and yet there was no sign of the bamboo growing or developing into a tree. In the fifth year, the bamboo seeds began to sprout. Within the next six months, the bamboo shoots rose to a height of a hundred feet, lording over the fern plantation. God smiled at the man and said that he never gave up on the bamboo seeds over five years. During this timeframe, the roots of the bamboo tree were growing. Our period of struggle is akin to the development of the roots of the bamboo tree. Both the fern and the bamboo grew at their own pace, as willed by the universe and nature. They complemented each other’s growth and were not competitors. Happiness makes us sweet and trials fortify us; sorrows when encountered should make us strong and success ought to make us grateful and radiant. In the ultimate analysis, it is only a positive disposition and thoughts that keep us ticking so that achievers do not lower their guard and thereby do not quit.
(The writer is the CEO of Chhattisgarh East Railway Ltd. and Chhattisgarh East West Railway Ltd. He is a faculty of the Art of Living; views are personal)
