A problem can either make you or break you.The hammer that breaks glass can shape steel. It’s up to us to be Glass or Steel.
We’ve all had our fair share of problems, failures and hardships. We’ve succeeded at some, lost some but hopefully never failed to learn from them. They say it’s easier to learn from a failure than from a success. It would be strikingly evident what went wrong. So here are a few of the lessons I learnt from my failures- the HARD way. Some were due to the lack of focus, some were due to the lack of foresight and the like.
No Deal is Better Than a Bad Deal
I’ve truly understood the relevance of this famous American quote recently. Its simple- if you don’t like it, don’t take it. People would try to push things through the way they want but if you feel it’s not what you’re looking for, let it pass. Don’t settle for anything less than what you want as you’re bound to repent it later on. It’s common to find Russian negotiating tactics to get things through. The Russian style of deal making relies on making you believe that their’s is THE ONLY way out. Even when you’re cornered with your back against the wall, settle for nothing less!
Similarly, unemployment is Half as Bad as an Awful Job
I’ve been there and I can very confidently tell you that no matter what people tell you about being unemployed, it’s not as bad. Its atleast not half as bad as keeping a job that you don’t want to do, a job that gives you nothing more than money. If keeping yourself occupied throughout the day is your excuse to hold on to such a job, you should be looking for something called a hobby. It’s perfectly fine to take up a job and then realize that you’re misfit and then move on to another. But again, if your next move is purely based on the compensation then, we can confidently radio ‘Houston, we’ve a problem’. Unless you’ve compelling reasons to stay, I would suggest that you NOT waste time. If you feel that you’ve stayed on the job for a significant while and you’ve started to stagnate, move on! It’s unfair to operate on a reduced effectiveness and penalize the team for the same. Once you feel that your best days in the job have past, it’s the best to move on rather than spend time and effort simply dragging your feet just for the sake of keeping yourself occupied.

Chasing Money Can Be an Epic Disaster
Unless chasing money is your profession, don’t try to chase a profession for the sake of money. It’s a fad to opt for higher paying jobs turning a blind eye to the functions of the job itself. Many commit this fallacy, few rise above it, the others sink in this destructive sea. Don’t take up any job that comes your way. Take up only what you really want to do. Those were the words of wisdom from a relative of mine. But alas! It failed to make a significant impression on me back then. I’ve learnt that if you’re passionate and sincere about what you do, money, success and power WILL automatically follow you.
People Can Say What They Want To
You’re the one living your life and not others. I’ve reached a stage where I don’t care being judged by the society. They can say what they want and I’ll do what I want. I truly don’t care. It has been my observation that when you’re truly in trouble, very few lend you a helping hand while the so-called society stands by and does nothing more than pass comments. Personally, I feel that its more than enough to stand by these people. But let that not stop you from helping anyone who needs your help. Just don’t expect them to reciprocate. Keep it that way. There has to be a difference between ‘the others’ and you. Society exists purely to add fun, glitter and glamour to parties, weddings and other functions and for sociologists to study their behaviours and make money out of it (NOM to Sociologists here).
Be Ambitious!
Have a dream and wake up to make it a reality. Too often people succumb to societal pressures to stay normal, like them, to be ordinary. If you’ve a burning ambition, protect it with all you have and work tirelessly to achieve it at any cost- no matter how foolishly expensive it might seem to others.Its YOURS and not theirs. Accept no compromise and don’t be mediocre. And above all, make sure that what you’re living for is worth dying for. Remember, only the toughest steel goes through the hottest fire!
And Finally…
Never be afraid to fail as if you have to succeed, failure is a pre-requisite- in one form or the other. Failure is never final. True failure is when you give up or fail to learn. As Albert Einstein puts it “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new” and “Try and fail, but don’t fail to try”. Every successful person has a painful story. Every painful story has a successful ending. Accept the pain, And get ready for success. Be a dreamer, stand out of the crowd, stand tall and rise above the ordinary! Have will power of Steel & vision of Glass and surge ahead! You only get one chance at life, live it to the fullest!
I leave you guys with a great response to an epic failure. Here’s Eugene Francis “Gene” Kranz’s (he was also the flight director for Apollo 13) response to the Apollo 1 launch pad fire. This is also popularly called ‘The Kranz Dictum’. From Wikipedia:
Kranz called a meeting of his branch and flight control team on the Monday morning following the Apollo 1 disaster that killed Gus Grissom, Ed White, and Roger Chaffee. Kranz made the following address to the gathering (The Kranz Dictum), in which his expression of values and admonishments for future spaceflight are his legacy to NASA:
Spaceflight will never tolerate carelessness, incapacity, and neglect. Somewhere, somehow, we screwed up. It could have been in design, build, or test. Whatever it was, we should have caught it. We were too gung ho about the schedule and we locked out all of the problems we saw each day in our work. Every element of the program was in trouble and so were we. The simulators were not working, Mission Control was behind in virtually every area, and the flight and test procedures changed daily. Nothing we did had any shelf life. Not one of us stood up and said, ‘Dammit, stop!’ I don’t know what Thompson’s committee will find as the cause, but I know what I find. We are the cause! We were not ready! We did not do our job. We were rolling the dice, hoping that things would come together by launch day, when in our hearts we knew it would take a miracle. We were pushing the schedule and betting that the Cape would slip before we did. From this day forward, Flight Control will be known by two words: ‘Tough’ and ‘Competent.’ Tough means we are forever accountable for what we do or what we fail to do. We will never again compromise our responsibilities. Every time we walk into Mission Control we will know what we stand for. Competent means we will never take anything for granted. We will never be found short in our knowledge and in our skills. Mission Control will be perfect. When you leave this meeting today you will go to your office and the first thing you will do there is to write ‘Tough and Competent’ on your blackboards. It will never be erased. Each day when you enter the room these words will remind you of the price paid by Grissom, White, and Chaffee. These words are the price of admission to the ranks of Mission Control.
Have similar stories? Have other words of wisdom? disagree to any of my learnings? Feel free to use the comments section!



