By admin 
Achievers are not born, but shaped by their ability to develop their natural talents over time
Jack Croushore was a charismatic leader, a successful steel magnate and an achiever, who never quit no matter the situation he faced. He was also equally adept at employing the strategy of using kid gloves when the situation required it. Over time, his mind learned that situational factors influence leadership effectiveness. Successful leaders are top performers, those who don’t give up. They are blessed with peaceful days in life, which bring them joyful moments, and there may be sad events that happen not to paralyze their passion to climb the ladder of prosperity. Nancy Gibbs says, “We can imagine that high achievers are primed for greatness from birth. But then you have to wonder why, over time, natural talent seems to ignite in some people and diminish in others.’ Think of the talismanic film 3 Idiots. Aamir Khan, Sharman Joshi and R. Madhavan played the lead roles.
They were euphemistically called the 3 idiots by the director of the institute. Among them, Rancho (Aamir Khan) was an achiever who was blessed with natural talent, out-of-the-box thinking and revolutionary ideas. There is a poignant scene in the film where Ali Fazal, who played the role of Joy Lobo, goes all out. his life, as he could not meet the deadline for completing the assigned project work and thus became a laggard. He worked on a battery-operated ‘flying machine’, which could record various events through its magical eyes and features. Unfortunately, his efforts failed, while the perfect Rancho was successful in designing the machine… and during a test flight, he and the entire college witnessed the shocking tragedy in which Joy Lobo took his life. Appalled by the turn of events, Lobo wrote prominently on the walls of his room: I STOP.
The scene graphically recorded the miscarriage of the project and the abject subjugation of the non-achiever character. Once, some superiors decided to punish an employee for poor performance. He decided to give up all relationships and his spirituality, and in sheer desperation he let God know that he had decided to leave his life behind. God asked him to look around 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 the weather. Within a year the ferns became brilliant and iridescent and covered the entire floor area, while the bamboo seeds showed no growth.
Over the next four years the forest grew green with ever-growing 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 germinate. Within the next six months, the bamboo shoots rose to a height of thirty meters and ruled the fern plantation. God smiled at the man and said that he had never given up bamboo seeds in the past five years. During this period, the roots of the bamboo tree grew. Our period of struggle is like the development of the roots of the bamboo tree. Both the fern and the bamboo grew at their own pace, as desired by the universe and nature. They complemented each other’s growth and were not competitors. Happiness sweetens us and trials strengthen us; When we encounter sadness, we should make ourselves strong and success should make us grateful and radiant. Ultimately, it is only a positive attitude and thoughts that keep us moving so that achievers do not lower their guard and therefore do not give up.
(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; opinions are personal)