Define Your Own Success

 “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” Albert Schweitzer

With board exams at hand, the expectations of the parents and teachers are touching new heights. In this world of never ending competition, good scores and academic excellence play a key role in determining an individual’s success. It cannot be denied that parenting as well as education system has evolved with time but intellect and academic caliber is still judged through marks which creates a lot of pressure on students during exam time. I have discussed this issue time and again that, although good academic performance is not something wrong to expect but it should not be the only criteria to measure success. Academic scores, degrees and qualifications are a good proxy for the skills and knowledge that young people need but we should think of them as stepping stones to a bright and successful future for those who achieve them. But they do not and never will define the holistic development which a good education ought to provide. “Of course exams are important hurdle to get over. But odd as it may sound, the best way to do that may be to see them for what they are; a good indicator for your knowledge at one point in time, rather than the final word. Resilience, creativity, ethical values and an ability to work effectively with others are the vital outcomes of a rounded education and they enable success in life.” A brilliant academic score and an elite degree might not ensure these qualities. These are inculcated by a healthy, value based environment.

I would like to share a few examples that I came across recently, which prove that if you are happy doing something in life and it is constructive and humanitarian then you are successful even if doesn’t include a college degree or professional qualification. Let’s talk about K Rajeev in this context.

Originally from Palakkad (Kerala), Rajeev came to Chennai as an aspiring medical student at the age of 17, in 1997. After having to drop out of college, he began his first tea stall at the hostel of Madras Medical College, with the encouragement of the students there — who often themselves preferred simple natural concoctions over tablets to cure their common colds. “Doctors do so much for us, and so I wanted to give back,” he says. His tea stall, ‘Diya Snacks’ thrives in the bustling midst of city life. Located near Chennai Central Station, the shack-like ‘chai’ stall is a welcoming gateway into the city. Rajeev cites his grandmother as his biggest inspiration. He says, “My interest in herbal tea as medicine started at an early age when I would help my grandmother, who often provided people with home remedies and herbal cures for mild ailments like coughs and colds.” His dedication to the art of serving tea is impressive, which is why Diya Snacks transcends much beyond a tea stall. To choose, handle and serve varieties of tea regularly can be a demanding task, but years of practice have given him a level of expertise, to the extent that he says he is now working on a book detailing the recipes and health benefits of herbal teas.

“For providing 100 varieties of tea, which are not normal, but an amalgamation of taste and health, I was constantly working on finding more herbs that could help with common ailments,” informs Rajeev. He adds that he also provides training to people interested in starting similar ventures, guiding them with recipes. The stall is next to the railway office, making it a popular hangout among railway employees, particularly post lunch. “The choice of this location wasn’t my decision. In 2012, the corporation had to move my stall from Medical College to this place due to space constraints,” he says, adding, “This stall is registered under the Municipal Corporation and I pay rent. I feel the move that happened in 2012 to this place today is for the better. I have more customers here because of the Government office, railway station and bus stand.” The tea stall, on an average, uses 50 to 60 litres of milk a day and herbs are used judiciously. Although Rajeev earns around ₹20,000 to ₹30,000 a day on an average, he says that he still does not make a profit as he keeps prices low so his tea is accessible to everyone. (SOURCE: THE HINDU)

Another example of success which comes from the nontraditional form of education is that of Rahul Sankrityayan (9 April 1893 – 14 April 1963), who is called the Father of Hindi Travelogue Travel literature because he is the one who played a pivotal role to give travelogue a 'literature form', was one of the most widely travelled scholars of India, spending forty-five years of his life on travels away from his home. He travelled many places and wrote many travelogues approximately in the same ratio. He is also famously known for his authentic description about his travels experiences. Interestingly, he received formal schooling at a local primary school, though he later studied and mastered numerous (36) languages independently, as well as the art of photography. His self study added a sense of originality and uniqueness to his works.

Another example is that of the IT Tycoon Azim Premji, the 3rd richest man in India. He is the chairperson of Wipro with a net worth of $11 billion. He dropped out of college because of the sudden loss of his father. He left Stanford and became the Chairperson of Wipro at the age of 21. He has successfully led the company, which has emerged as one of the biggest software industries in India. Therefore, we realize that success is not something that can be gifted to you wrapped up in a box. Education tends to give you reasonably predictive environment for you to learn and achieve solutions to formulated problems. That’s why academia spends an enormous amount time and resources trying to make learning predictable because results can be controlled. In a nutshell, you’d never be eager to take risks when you grow up in a cocooned environment. You won’t think beyond restraints that academics set up for you. You are always growing in the box and with the box, and it’s not always a good thing. Success is all about exploring yourself outside the box.

Now let’s take up a few examples of the people who have mastered the field of formal education and attained the highest of qualifications and doing extremely well in professional life. Satya Narayana Nadella (born 19 August 1967) is an Indian American business executive. He is the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microsoft, succeeding Steve Ballmer in 2014. Before becoming CEO, he was Executive Vice President of Microsoft's cloud and enterprise group, responsible for building and running the company's computing platforms, developer tools and cloud computing services. Nadella attended the Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet before attaining Bachelor of Engineering degree in electrical engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology (then part of Mangalore University) in 1988. Nadella subsequently traveled to the U.S. to study for a Master of Science in Computer Science at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, receiving his degree in 1990. Later he received his MBA degree from the University of Chicago. Nadella said he "always wanted to build things" and that "electrical engineering was a great way for me to go discover what turned out to become a passion."

Pichai Sundararajan (born 12 July 1972), also known as Sundar Pichai, is an Indian American business executive. Pichai is the chief executive officer (CEO) of Google Inc. Formerly the Product Chief of Google, Pichai's current role was announced on 10 August 2015, as part of the restructuring process that made Alphabet Inc. into Google's parent company, and he assumed the position on 2 October 2015. Pichai earned his degree from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur in Metallurgical Engineering.  He holds an M.S. from Stanford University in Material Sciences and Engineering, and an MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

It goes without saying that formal education is important. However, if it will just ruin the privileges of a person to build his/her career through the skills and gifts given by God, then one could not vote for having complete formal education in building one’s lifetime vocation. Personalities like Nadella and Pichai set an example for us that it’s not just degrees which take you far but the values that you adhere to while moving ahead towards your goals.  Formal education is not the ultimate way to success; it depends on the person, whether he/she will be passionate in building his/her lifetime career, according to the skills, talents and adherence to values and teachings of the parents and teachers. “Success depends on the passion and diligence of an individual. Anyone can build his/her career, but only those who will labour for it will surely find success. Mere gifts and talents are not enough; these will be useless, if the person is lazy in executing his/her talents.”

Just think, when you look at a goal and see only the obstacles preventing you from accomplishing it, you’ll fail to give thought to the options that could help you achieve what you’d otherwise count as being impossible. But when you give proper thought to the number of choices that could support you in your efforts to reach a goal, you’ll grow in hope. And guess what? Your chances of succeeding will increase!

In the end I wish all the students best of learning and good performance in their examination.

“We all have possibilities we don’t know about. We can do things we don’t even dream we can do.”