The Secret of Success

Few people actually do this. They tend rather to diversify their efforts. Their failure to concentrate on a single goal renders all their efforts incomplete and ineffective. Every worthwhile task demands all the strength that an individual can muster. The only way to be successful in one's work is to give it all one has got. The Determination to Achieve In November 1922, a thirty-four year old Spanish priest by the name of Fr. Henry Heras (1889-1956) landed in Bombay Harbour. India fascinated him, and, feeling that it would be fertile ground for Christian missionary work, he decided to settle there and pursue his missionary activities. Being a foreigner, he had to find some base from which he could operate. He decided, therefore, that he would enter the teaching profession, establish himself, and then start preaching both inside and outside the college campus. With this objective in mind, he went to meet the Principal of St. Xavier's College in Bombay. After satisfying himself on the score of his testimonials, for the young priest was a historian with a degree in history from his own country, the Principal asked him what branch of history he would like to teach. "Indian history," was his immediate reply. The Principal then asked him what he knew about the subject. His answer was frank, "Nothing." The Principal was then naturally skeptical about how he was planning to teach the subject, but the young Fr. Heras simply replied, "I shall study it." Obviously there was something in his demeanour which struck the Principal as being sincere and determined, for he gave the young man what for him was going to be a very difficult appointment.