Success is a Journey
For Entrepreneurs success is journey, not the destination.
Journey of Success: Jamsetji Tata
Whenever we think of the name Jamsetji Tata, we think of the expansive Tata Group of companies which continue to rule the industrial world of India till today. Jamsetji Tata founded the vast industrial empire that has received an identity today all over the world. Jamsetji Tata belonged to a trading family and business ran in his blood, therefore it was quite natural that he chose to be a businessman very early in his life. However, little did anybody know that Jamsetji Tata would be successful in redefining the concept of industries in India and would be listed in the pages of history as the ‘Father of Indian Industry’! Post Jamshetji Tata’s death, The Tata Group was succeeded by his two sons, Dorabji Tata and Ratanji Tata. One of the most affluent, prosperous and well-to-do organizations, the Tata Group is today amongst the largest and most respected companies of the world. A pioneer of his field, the vision and aim of Jamsetji Tata came to life with time as his family gave wings to each of his dream projects. In fact, such was his contribution that the city of Jamshedpur in Jhakhand is today popularly known as Tatanagar, because of the many facilities that the group has endowed the city with. Today, the group boasts of being the founder of projects like Tata Steel, the Indian Institute of Science, the Tata Power Company Limited, the Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and many more.
Success means different things to different people. One of the best definition of success is “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal.” Let’s analyze the above sentence. “Progressive” means that success is a journey, not a destination. After we reach one goal, we go on to the next and the next and so on. “Realization” means it is experience. Outside forces cannot make us feel successful. We have to feel it within ourselves. That’s why what often appears as success externally may be total hollowness within.
“Worthiness” refers to our value system without which goals can be unworthy. Which way are we heading? Is it positive or negative goal? Worthiness determines the quality of the journey. That is what gives meaning and fulfillment. Goals are important because they give us a sense of direction. Success without fulfillment is empty. Goals are the very basis of any success. It means that anyone who’s on course toward the fulfillment of a goal is successful.
Now, success doesn’t lie in the achievement of a goal, although that’s what the world considers success; it lies in the journey toward the goal. We’re successful as long as we’re working toward something we want to bring about in our lives. That’s when the human being is at his or her best. That’s what Cervantes meant when he wrote, “The road is better than the inn.” We’re at our best when we’re climbing, thinking, planning, and working. When we’re on the road toward something we want to bring about.
If you have a goal that you find worthy of you as a person, a goal that fills you with joy at the thought of it, you’ll reach it. But as you draw near and see that the goal will soon be achieved, begin to think ahead to the next goal you’re going to set
Success never comes without struggle. Let’s give a classic example.
“A biology teacher was teaching his students how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. He told the students that in next couple of hours, the butterfly would struggle to come out of the cocoon, but no one should help the butterfly. Then he left.
The students were waiting and it happened. The butterfly struggled to get out of the cocoon and against the advice of the teacher; one of the students took pity on it and decided to help the butterfly so it didn’t have to struggle anymore. But shortly after wards, the butterfly died.
When the teacher returned, he was told what had happened. He explained to the student that it is a law of nature that the struggle to come out of the cocoon actually helps develop and strengthen the butterfly’s wings. By helping the butterfly, the boy had deprived the butterfly of its struggle and the butterfly died.”
Let’s apply the same principle to our lives. Nothing worthwhile in life comes without a struggle. A successful person is one who is constantly striving for growth and as they grow they are able to string together a series of successes. It is so true that a person is either constantly growing or, sad to say, stagnating. There is no static place where you suddenly one day arrive and are considered a success or a failure.
The very basis of personal growth and personal development
is the concept of working towards a worthy ideal or in other words a “purpose”.
A person who has no worthy idealistic purpose, for which he is constantly
striving, really is nothing more than a lost soul who will probably never be
considered to be successful.
So remember that in order to reach the level of the success we should be constantly moving forward or progressing in our lives. Individual successes are stepping stones toward fulfilling our ultimate idealistic purpose.