APTITUDE
AND ATTITUDE FOR ALTITUDE
by S.K.SENGUPTA
by S.K.SENGUPTA
To
rise in life , we need to know two points : point A , that is where we are ,
and point B , that is where we want to reach . If I know that I am in Paris and
I want to reach New York , then I can plan my trip . So , once I know what I
precisely want to achieve in my life , I can begin to take necessary steps to
reach there . I will need tools for my journey , and we all have the same three
tools : tool number one is Time , tool number two is Human Endeavour , and tool
number three is Resources that include money . We must use our resources wisely
, so that with least inputs we can achieve maximum results . For example , let
us suppose that a building is standing on seven pillars , and we have to pull
it down . Now , for that , we don’t need to pull down all the seven pillars .
To be effective , we only need to find out which are the one or two strategic
pillars . If we pull down these strategic pillars , the whole building will
crash and collapse . Therefore , once we know our goal , we have to find out
the central pillars on which our success depends . Then we must focus all our
might and attention to pull down these vital pillars . Once we do that , we
will hit the bull’s eye . This in brief is the formula to make it big in life !
Now
, this recipe for success has two main ingredients . They are Aptitude and
Attitude . We need both to succeed , just like we need both our legs to walk .
Let us understand each of these thoroughly one-by-one .
Let
us take Aptitude first . Aptitudes are the potential abilities with which we
are born . We can practice , develop and hone these inborn abilities over time
. We are naturally good in doing certain things , while we are not really good
in doing certain other things . This is true for all of us . This we must
recognize and acknowledge for suceess .
A
donkey cannot swim like a duck . A zebra cannot fly like a parrot . An elephant
cannot run as fast as a cheetah .
A
boy , who was a brilliant dancer , was forced to join an engineering course by
family and friends . Unable to cope with studies , syllabus , and classes , he began
to lose confidence in himself . Finally he failed and went into a serious
clinical depression .
M.F.Hussein
would not be so good if he were a cricketer . Pandit Ravi Shankar would not be
a world-famous economist . Sachin Tendulkar would not be a celebrity if he were
a banker .
Let
us now look at Attitude . It is a state-of-mind . It makes a man go on and on
through break-downs till he achieves a breakthrough . Attitude is how one works
and proceeds towards his goal . Attitude is a way of looking at things .
As a
story goes , long many years ago , a shoe company sent an employee to an
African country . He was supposed to study the market-potential for the company
in that country . After a thorough survey the employee reported back : “ There is no market-potential here .
Nobody in this country wears shoes .”
After
a gap of a few years , another employee was again sent to the African country
by the shoe-company to check whether any market-potential had developed in the
meanwhile . The second employee carried out a detailed survey again and
reported back : “ I have surveyed very carefully . Nobody here wears shoes ,
nor do they know anything about it . It is a virgin land for our company .
There is no competition . Once we demonstrate the benefits of wearing a shoe to
these people , there is a full hundred percent potential for our company to
market and sell our foot-wear . ” A difference in attitude could spell the
difference between success and failure !
In
his celebrated autobiography Babarnama , Mughal Emperor Babar says : “ Wars are
not won by weapons , wars are won by indomitable courage . ” Netaji Subhash
Chandra Bose was working twenty hours a day while he was leading Indian
National Army for India’s independence . In those times , once he said : “ I must die , so that India
may live ! ”
To
scale great heights in life , we need both aptitude and attitude . We need to
know what we love to do , what we can do well , and what we want to become in
our life . Once we have decided that point B of our life , we need to back it
up with a bull-dog determination and with full-blooded strategic action .
Aptitudes and talents blossom to their full potential under a winning and
unyielding attitude !
Wright
brothers invented the aeroplane . They knew what they were doing , what they
wanted to do , and they knew that they were competent . Besides , they were
burning with a passion to achieve that could not be extinguished . Einstein’s
aptitude for his work was beyond any question . Moreover , he applied himself ceaselessly
and single-mindedly to whatever he was doing . Once he said : “ The stuff that genius is made of is the
ability to stake and focus everything that one has on one point . ”
Altitude
in life is made of aptitude and attitude . Choose a goal that you would love to
attain . Choose an activity that you are good at and that you love to do . Now
go all out to acquire the great altitudes of life and the world will be yours .
Our aptitudes are God’s gift to us . What we do with that will be our gift to
God ! Let us not forget that we are The Almighty’s greatest creation . There is
nothing that we cannot do . Great Altitudes are achieved when true aptitudes
are backed by ‘never-say-die’ attitude . The greatest weapon on earth is the
human soul on fire !
( 1090 words ) .
