8
In her typical style, Professor Ismat placed her bag to the side and turned her full attention to the class. There was a fierceness and resolve in her eyes that was unmistakable. It was going to be a long lecture, I thought to myself.
“Just by taking this class you have proven that you are different than over 90% of the people who inhabit this earth,” she began.
“There are millions of people who refuse to learn and grow. You, on the other hand, are searching for more from your life instead of settling for a life of mediocrity. You, it seems, are searching for something more from life!” she exclaimed as the class buzzed with energy.
“However, as you embark on this journey, recognize that this is just the start. There is no successful person who hasn’t faced countless barriers to become who and where they are today. They had an inner drive, a passion that forced them to keep going regardless of what they faced. They kept at it despite their perceived limitations. They kept pushing. Look at what Mark Twain says,” continued Professor Ismat as she pressed the clicker and the projector screen lit up.
“There is nothing training cannot do. Nothing is above its reach. It can turn bad morals to good; it can destroy bad principles and recreate good ones; it can lift men to angelship.”
“Nothing else mattered to these individuals,” she continued.
“They took risks and went beyond their comfort zone. They knew that if they kept at it, they would eventually accomplish their goals. They understood that progress equals happiness; for them to realize true happiness, they have to continue making progress day in and day out. Remember, often, with enough persistence, most things that initially seem impossible become possible,” said Professor Ismat as she pressed the clicker again.
“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men 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 will always solve the problems of the human race.”
Calvin Coolidge (1872 - 1933)
30th President of the United States
Once she was satisfied that the students were done taking notes, she continued. “I also brought a few more quotes from your favorite actor,” she added with a soft chuckle.
Greatness is not this wonderful, esoteric, elusive, god-like feature that only the special among us will ever taste - you know it’s something that truly exists in all of us. It’s very simple, this is what I believe and I’m willing to die for it. Period. It’s that simple. The first step, before anybody else in the world believes it is you have to believe it. There’s no reason to have a plan B because it distracts from plan A. I think that there’s a certain delusional quality that all successful people have to have. You have to believe that something different than what has happened for the past 50 million years of history, you have to believe that something different can happen. Don’t ever let somebody tell you you can’t do something. Not even me. You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves they wanna tell you you can’t do it. You want something, go get it, period.”
Will Smith
Actor
“And now, it’s time for one of my all-time favorites,” she continued as the students leaned forward in their seats.
“When I was your age a couple of decades ago,” she laughed before continuing. “I came across a poem by Berton Braley that gave me strength time and time again. It helped me get back up after every defeat. I hope it will do the same for you,” she continued as she pulled up another slide.
If you want a thing bad enough
To go out and fight for it,
Work day and night for it,
Give up your time and your peace and your sleep for it
If only desire of it
Makes you quite mad enough
Never to tire of it,
Makes you hold all other things tawdry and cheap for it
If life seems all empty and useless without it
And all that you scheme and you dream is about it,
If gladly you’ll sweat for it,
Fret for it,
Plan for it,
Lose all your terror of God or man for it,
If you’ll simply go after that thing that you want.
With all your capacity,
Strength and sagacity,
Faith, hope and confidence, stern pertinacity,
If neither cold poverty, famished and gaunt,
Nor sickness nor pain
Of body or brain
Can turn you away from the thing that you want,
If dogged and grim you besiege and beset it,
You’ll get it!”
Berton Braley
American Poet
Professor Ismat raised her mug to take a few sips of coffee as the students read intently. I scanned through the poem quickly a couple of times. I knew I would get the slides later, but I tried to copy as much as I could.
Just as Professor Ismat was about to continue, there was a loud sob from the front of the class. A girl in the front row began crying upon reading the poem.
Professor Ismat put down her mug immediately and made her way over to where the girl was sitting. She signaled the student to stand up and after wiping her tears, Professor Ismat gave her a tight hug.
As she pulled back from the embrace, she looked straight in the girl’s eyes and emphasized, “Child, things will get hard. They will get very hard. But you must never, and I repeat never, lose faith! It is easy to have faith when things are going your way; however, it is when everything is tearing you down that you must search for the inner strength to keep going,” she continued.
The girl responded with a sad smile and sat down. The girls sitting next to her began to console her as Professor Ismat walked back to the front.
“You are all very special, children. Never forget that,” said Professor Ismat, as she wiped a tear off her cheek. “I want you to keep dreaming despite how hard life hits you,” she continued. “Having a dream gives you something to look forward to; a dream gives you the motivation to wake up in the morning and get out of bed.”
A student raised his hand and Professor Ismat signaled him to continue.
“Professor, how do I know what my dream is? There’s a lot of things I want to do” said the student.
“Sure, great question. Let’s talk about that for a bit,” said Professor Ismat as the students got their pens ready.
“In my experience, it boils down to asking yourself what gives your life meaning and value. What, if anything, could you accomplish in life that would give you satisfaction on your deathbed? What would make your sacrifices of time, energy, and commitment worth making? What would justify your priceless tears?” stressed Professor Ismat in an empathetic tone.
“As director Steven Spielberg says, your dream always whispers. It never really shouts. He says that ‘Dreams come from behind you, not right behind your eyes.’ Therefore, you’ll find that you’ll have to listen very hard to figure out what gives your life meaning. However, once you find what it is, go after it with all you’ve got. You only have one life,” emphasized Professor Ismat.
“Now, as you said,” continued Professor Ismat pointing in the direction of the student who had asked the question, “you may find that there are a couple of things that inspire you and that’s alright. At this point, you may benefit from using the regret minimization concept,” said Professor Ismat.
The students studiously gazed at her.
“What are some things that you would regret not doing at age 80? As the American business magnate Steve Jobs said, ‘Remembering that you are going to die is the best way to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart’” stressed Professor Ismat.
“This approach and mindset allows you to cut off unimportant things from your life,” she continued, as she took another sip.
“We’re not going to be here forever so we might as well do the things that truly matter, don’t you think?” she asked the student.
The student nodded his head and Professor Ismat continued.
“Now, we’ve talked a lot about persistence and how to figure out what gives your life meaning and value. Let’s talk a bit now about success and what constitutes success,” said Professor Ismat as I picked up my pen.
What does success mean? According to Dad, success meant having a secure and high paying job, a nice car, a big house, and at least one vacation every year.
“The best definition of success I have come across so far was shared by Earl Nightingale in one of his rare recordings and now I want to share it with you,” said Professor Ismat.
“Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal,” she added before taking a pause and putting down her mug. Sensing the dumbfounded expression on our faces, Professor Ismat continued.
“Children, success is nothing more than the progressive realization of a worthy ideal. What this means is that any person who knows what they are doing and where they are going is a success. Any person with a goal towards which they are working is a successful person. And I want to emphasize the word progressive,” said Professor Ismat with added emphasis.
“It doesn’t matter how much you work towards your dream as long as you keep working on it. In my personal experience, I have found that the best way to start working on a goal or dream is to start small and gradually build on it. You don’t have to necessarily make a lot of progress in the first few days, weeks, months, or even years - all you have to do is commit to the process and convince yourself that you will accomplish that dream no matter what. Nothing can be accomplished without fully committing and dedicating yourself. You may be lucky at times but more often than not, the harder you work, the luckier you’re going to be!” she exclaimed.
“Jim Rohn, who we came across before, used to say that success is looking for a good place to stay. He used to say that if someone gives you a million dollars, it was best that you became a millionaire quickly!” gushed Professor Ismat which got a few laughs from the students.
“I think what he meant to say was that everything you get in life, you must deserve. It’s never about what you want but what you’re willing to give in order to achieve. The next time you’re upset at your current situation in life, ask yourself what you can do to develop yourself and give more value to the world. The more valuable you can be to the marketplace, the more rewards you will reap,” declared Professor Ismat.
She paused to take a sip.
“A related concept when it comes to value is suggested by leadership coach John Maxwell who suggests that every morning before you get out of bed, you should ask yourself –
‘Who you can add value to today and how?’. He further goes on to say that you should end your day by asking - ‘Who did I add value to today and how?’, which allows you to evaluate the value you are bringing to the world,” continued Professor Ismat.
“Now, if I was to ask you what the most valuable currency is, most of you would come up with different currencies. But my dear children, in reality, you are the most valuable currency that you will ever have!” she exclaimed.
“Regardless of wherever you take this currency in the world, you will be able to reap rewards in accordance with how much you’ve invested in yourself,” continued Professor Ismat with a smile.
“Tell me something, if you are pursuing this degree and know where you’re headed, wouldn’t you consider yourself a success?” asked Professor Ismat.
The students nodded their heads in unison.
“Correct! As long as you know where you’re going and you’re making daily progress in that direction, you are a success in my dictionary. If you know that your job is helping you move in the direction of your dreams, you are a success. Now, the goals and direction you set for yourself depend on what you believe is possible for you and what gives your life meaning and value,” she continued.
“I have a lot of faith in you all. As I said, the reason you are here today is that you don’t want to wake up one day and realize that you let the opinions of others and your indifference stop you from doing what truly mattered most to you. As you go about setting your dreams, keep the timeless words of Thomas Paine in mind,” added Professor Ismat before picking up the clicker and pressing it.
I do not choose to be a common man.
It is my right to be uncommon … if I can.
I seek opportunity … not security.
I do not wish to be a kept citizen,
Humbled and dulled by having the State look after me.
I want to take the calculated risk,
To dream and to build. To fail and to succeed.
I refuse to barter incentive for a dole;
I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence;
The thrill of fulfillment to the stale calm of Utopia.
I will not trade freedom for beneficence
Nor my dignity for a handout
I will never cower before any master
Nor bend to any threat.
It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid;
To think and act for myself,
To enjoy the benefit of my creations
And to face the world boldly and say:
This, with God’s help, I have done.
All this is what it means to be an Entrepreneur.
Professor Ismat took a few more sips of her coffee before continuing.
“It might not be abundantly clear what it is that you want, but you will never find out unless you throw some bricks against the wall and find out for yourself. Just go ahead and do it, and more importantly, stick to it instead of immediately moving on to the next thing the moment you encounter resistance!” she stressed.
“Go back to these wonderful authors and personalities to remind yourself in the darkest hours that you are not alone in what you feel. The problems you faced have plagued civilization for thousands of years. Draw inspiration from these women and men who chose to become great despite all the obstacles that they encountered. Here’s some more inspiration by the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,” continued the professor as she pressed the clicker again.
“The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.”
“All of this is nothing new,” said the professor as she turned towards the class.
“As I said, these principles have worked for people for over 6 thousand years of recorded history and will work for you if you let them,” stressed Professor Ismat before continuing.
“Many decades ago, these individuals inspired me to overcome my own boundaries and challenge my way of life. They gave my life meaning and value and I sincerely hope they will do the same for you,” said Professor Ismat as she stopped to take another sip.
Part of me was hoping that she would talk more about her past, but she swiftly moved on.
“Throughout our time together I share quotations and sayings from across the globe. However, you are free to attribute your own interpretation to all of them or build on the ones reflected in our discussions,” she said.
Be a student and not a follower, I recalled.
“We discuss stories because I personally believe that we learn best by examples. You’ll see that these individuals are no different than you are, or I am, or anybody else. As you listen to their stories and learn about these principles, mark what you like and come back to it often. Take what works for you and discard what doesn’t. These stories are in no way perfect and never will be. Success is often a compilation of multiple factors intermingling with one another, but I hope these stories will inspire you to recognize the greatness that is inside you,” said Professor Ismat as she put down her mug.
“Someday, I sincerely hope, these stories might include you. However, I must emphasize that you have to be willing to change your ways if you want your life to change. Remember, for things to change, you must change. No one can do the hard work for you. The onus of responsibility is on you and you alone,” she declared.
“As William Ernest Henley put it, you must be the captain of your fate and the master of your soul!” she maintained with a smile.
“Now, next week we’ll talk about the art of setting goals and the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people. It might be another long session so come prepared!” she remarked before picking up her bag and sliding it over her frail shoulder.