English book · The Secret of Success

An Economic Pearl Harbour

English book, p. 263

By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

its walls. A roof put up in this way is eventually bound to collapse on one's head. In much the same way, any steps taken before individuals have been properly prepared for them will lead inevitably to failure and chaos—even death and destruction. They will be found to lead one further and further away from the true objectives. Perseverance and Will Power A thinker once observed that people are not so much lacking in power as they are lacking in will power. It is a fact that usually people possess capabilities, but are unable to utilize them just because they are not capable of unflagging perseverance. And for any achievement, long-term struggle is indispensable. If you want to see a solid result for your efforts, you must first of all be prepared to exert yourself over long periods of time. If you do not have the ability to do this, you should not hope for any long lasting success. The secret of a successful life is simply this: “The more time you invest the more you progress.” The establishment of a national life is sometimes possible within a short time, but sometimes it also requires a longer time period. It depends on which type of national establishment you want. If your aim is to arouse a temporary passion in people, and if you think of simply gathering a crowd by shouting slogans such as will appeal to mass psychology, that is all very well. But this, in reality, is establishment of leadership rather than the establishment of a nation. There are leaders who, by engaging in clamorous activities, can definitely gain a temporary advantage. But if we really want to build a nation, we should understand that it is like planting a chestnut tree rather than a

The printed page

‹ Previous page Next page › About this book Open in the reader

Printed page