You think you have the right attitude?
You think you have the right attitude?
I write today to recapitulate on a series of events and
stories. Read all of this.
A couple of weeks back I was taking a flight from Mumbai
to Delhi. At the Jet Airways counter while I was waiting my turn, this unruly
passenger in front of me was giving a hard time to the lady behind the counter.
This for no real reason as such, he was just plain rude. Probably had a bad day
and is now arguing about wanting 2A and not 3A. Doesn’t want to walk may be!
Anyway my turn came after about five minutes. The lady looked exasperated – I
was irritated myself. I asked her very enthusiastically and with a big smile to
change the mood, “How are you today?” Obviously someone who is in that mood is
not wanting another ‘five minute’ passenger. She says with a stern voice,
“Compared to WHAT?”
I don’t do this often, in fact not at all. I am quite
uncomfortable talking to strangers but for some reason that day, I decided to
say something and very passionately. I said to her, “Compared to the people who
unlike you do not have a magnificent job with a great company, a company who
doesn’t layoff people, living and born in India full of opportunity where you
can enjoy almost anything that life has to offer, mostly freely, and a
marvelous opportunity to excel in the job you have, serving people like right
now and bringing a smile to their faces, a moment they like, a moment they like
you for, a moment they like your company for…. You are young , you also enjoy
great health the world awaits you
- compared to people who have none of this - ‘how are you?”
She was a bit surprised and silent but as she was entering
my ticket into the system, she said, “I am doing a whole lot better than I was
one minute ago!”
Interestingly enough my ticket was upgraded to business
class. I must say I really liked that a lot!
The point is this: You must change your attitude from
something you got to do to something you get to do. When you realize that there
are millions who don’t get to do a job, it’s much easier to understand.
When you change your attitude about a job, it makes a
dramatic difference about your performance on it. Coach John Wooden, a
basketball coach for UCLA, the most successful basketball coach in history,
never had a losing season in 30 years, Wooden said that there is no great fun
derived from doing something that is easy. He says that failure is not fatal
but failure to change might be. He says a player’s morals are just as important
as his fitness. Effort is key but direction is paramount. It makes no sense to
do a super job on what you should not be doing anyway.
Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing
the right things efficiently.
UCLA management school did a study of 1361 most successful
vice-presidents in America. The most successful ones had been on the job for
about fifteen years and they only ever held two jobs in lifetime. 87% were still married to their first
wife. 89% had more than two
children. 71% said integrity was their most important asset. AND 100% said hard-work
was the key to their success.
Combine Coach Wooden and UCLA survey and you get this –
Hard-work + Traditional Morals or Values is the answer..
I was very fortunate recently to have access to a research
report dated 1986 about a million millionaires. It took them an average of
20-30 years to accumulate wealth. We are talking obviously about self made
millionaires. They earned their money by supplying basic human needs. Less than
one percent of millionaires, and read this carefully, earned their millions in
music, radio, TV, movies, entertainment or athletics. All of these combines is
less than 1%. The report concluded
that odds are 1000 times higher that you will become a millionaire persisting
with what you are currently doing, with a change in attitude, than by chasing
something else. The report also
concluded that almost all the million people had a common attribute. They were
very clear, absolutely clear of their goals very early in life. I think we will
all do our country a great favor, if we can help more and more youngsters
figure, just figure their goals.
Something more interesting than this was that in 1987
names at random from this list of millionaires were read out to people. These
people had an average income of 140 thousand USD and a net worth of half a
million dollars excluding their house. These aspiring millionaires described
the most successful people on Earth as unexciting, middle-aged, and over
stressing on family values and ethics
From the list of millionaires, 83% were married. 96%
acquired their millions through HARD WORK. 80% are politically conservative and for 85% the major
objective was to provide for their families. Only 11% said their objective was
owning an expensive car or an expensive house or flying first class or anything
materialistic.
Not much excitement is it? But lots of happiness.
Good standard of living. But more importantly a great
quality of life.
Persistent and disciplined hard work is the difference.
I’ll narrate a story about Thomas Edison. He is regarded
as the greatest inventor in our history. He has a long list of successful
inventions. Some that changed the world forever.
The story goes that a young reporter comes to meet him and
says that Mr. Edison I understand that you have been working one experiment for
over 10,000 times. How does it feel to have failed 10000 times?
The question was regarding Edison’s efforts to invent the
incandescent light.
Edison looked at the young man and said, “You are just
getting started in life and am going to tell you something once. Don’t ever
forget it in life. I have not failed 10000 times. I have successfully found
10000 ways which will not work.”
It’s a difference in attitude.
One of the all time great basketball players in the NBA(I
can’t remember the name … Jerry something) was not allowed to practice with his
friends because he was so poor at it.
He was not even allowed to play in school. He was so bad. So he used to
stay back in school, wait for the evening and practice in the dark. He could
not turn the lights on because they would throw him out. So he used to practice
for hours in the dark just hitting the outline of the basket. He developed that
touch for hitting the basket even in the dark. Jerry is the all time great
shooting guard in the history of NBA.
Again the difference is attitude. Also it takes a lot
of effort.
One of the most intriguing stories I ever heard is of
Demosthenes. Demosthenes is recognized as one of the greatest orators in Greek
history. He scaled to oratory
heights never equaled before or after. What people came to realize much later
was at the time he was brought up, there was a law in the family – that the
inheritance left by the father, if it were challenged by anyone else in public
debate – the winner gets the fortune too.
Demosthenes had a speech difficulty. He was very shy and
hesitant as a result. He was embarrassed and humiliated in the debate. Not only
did he lose his self respect, he also lost his family fortune. But he did not
lose his will. He worked hard. He
practiced. He practiced standing on the ocean front for hours and hours a day.
He wanted to be louder and more heard than the waves.
History recalls Demosthenes as going on to become the
greatest orator in the world at the time. History does not recall the name of
the man who literally stole his fortune. They certainly keep Demosthenes alive
since they last saw him in the year 384.
Nothing can replace persistence. Callvin Coolidge, America’s 30th
President said, “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the
world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are
omnipotent. The slogan "press on" has solved and always will solve
the problems of the human race”
The opportunity for greatness doesn’t have to knock. It
doesn’t have to appear. It is inside us. We have to take it out. It’s
hard-work. There is a common saying ‘Strike when the Iron is hot’ – I got a
very precious advice long back in a training program – Someone explained to me
– Make the Iron hot and strike.
Persistence pays off.
It’s not easy. No where has anyone, whether or not, he or
she has tasted success or not, has claimed it to be easy. It’s hard-work and
very difficult.
I remember long back from School, we had been taken to a
cricket camp for three days. The camp was held just outside of the city. It was
a secluded village area. We were mostly to stay in tents and just experience a
rough life. The last day of this
practice camp – we played cricket under a very hot ‘June’ Sun close to Delhi.
After four hours when we were done, we were thirsty. Our coach, however,
informed us that we were out of water. There was this old styled hand pump
(remember those grey looking things connected to an underground water source?).
So we and the coach walked and that was almost another kilometer. We reached
the pump. So we started priming the pump. One after another, taking turns. The
water wouldn’t appear. Not even a trickle. We kept at it. And at it. Kept
pumping. One of my friends said,
“this well must be really deep.” We might have to work a lot harder. The coach
who was simply observing us said, “That’s great. The deeper the well, the
clearer, the cleaner, the better tasting and sweeter the water.”
That’s life isn’t it? Isn’t it true that the things that
are harder to get are sweeter? Isn’t it true that the promotion that keeps
eluding you, means the most to you? Isn’t it true that the subject that is most
difficult to learn, is the most appreciated in another person? Isn’t it true
that the girl or the guy that is most prized, most difficult one to get, is the
one that we are most excited about?
We wanted water. After listening to the coach. We carried
on. Pumping away at the pump. Sucking out of us the last bit of energy left.
One after another we kept on and on.
The question that was on everybody’s mind was that just how much work
were we willing to put in to get water.
So finally all of us threw our hands in the air and said, “There is no
water down there. Lets go back.”
Then came the most exciting truth from my coach. He yelled
at us and said, “Don’t stop. If you stop. The water goes all the way back down.
And you will have start all over again.”
Do you get it? Do you know what am talking about?
There are magnificent lessons in this story.
In order to get the water out, you got to prime the pump.
You are no one to decide for how long!
You can’t tell the stove to give you the heat first and
you’ll put the wood later.
So many times the employee thinks – I’ll work harder and
smarter and come on time after the employer gives me a raise.
So many times I saw in school, students pleading with
teachers. I know I haven’t done well but if I take these remarks home I’ll be
locked up. Please give me a good remark teacher and if you do, I promise you
I’ll start putting in the hard work.
What we really keep saying is ‘Reward me and then I’ll
perform’
But it doesn’t work that way. If it did the farmer would
get fruit before the seeds. Without any hard work. It will be like – “God give me a really good crop and if you
do, I promise, I’ll plant some seeds next year.”
That’s not the way it works. You got to prime the pump
before you can have the water.
You have to put something in to get something out. You
have to do a whole lot of pumping. And if you ever stop the pumping, what
happens? - the water in
there goes all the way back down.
We miss out on a good effort, plenty of times, because we
don’t extend ourselves a little bit more.
What am really saying is his, once you get started you got to keep
pumping. You cannot give up because once the water starts to come, there is
going to more than you may ever need or consume. There will be plenty. Then you only need very easy pressure
for it to keep flowing.
A lot of times people will start a project and say to
themselves, I’ll go easy and if it works fine, I’ll plunge in. You see they
never plunge in because it doesn’t work like that. When you start you need to
go on pumping and hard and fast. You can be easy only after water appears.
Have you ever noticed that when things are good they get
better. When things are bad they get worse. It has nothing to do with what is going
on outside. Its always about what
is going on between your ears. And that is in your control!
It doesn’t matter whether you are Asian or American, black
or white, educated or uneducated, male or female, extroverted or introverted, young or old, working at a small
company or a large company or not working – the thing I admire about this is
that as free people it is our right
to work as hard as we wish and as enthusiastically as we wish to
accomplish what we wish for.
And this is what achievement is all about.
Keep working. Keep persisting. Keep pumping.
Yours,
Chetan Walia
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