The Secret of Success

and there was a hollow there. The pot was made of earth, he thought, but when it was placed on the same spot over and over again, it had worn away the stone which was a far harder substance. The strong element had given way to the weak just through constant action. “Then why should I not succeed in my examinations if I too persevere? I can surely overcome my shortcomings by putting greater effort into my studies!” Such thoughts brought him to a halt. He immediately decided to go back home and start working hard on his studies once again. The following year he appeared for the fourth time in his high school examinations. This time the result, astonishingly, was the opposite of the previous year. He had done his papers so well this time that he had first class marks. After having failed three times, he had finally distinguished himself. The lesson of the stone had worked like a miracle and this had altered his attitude altogether. The same student who had run away from home, unable to face defeat, had come to stand first in all the examinations in which he had appeared. When he topped in his M.A. examination, he was given a scholarship to study abroad and from there he earned his doctorate. This may be a solitary instance that occurred in a certain village, but, indeed, everywhere there exists such a “stone” as can teach a lesson to man which can point to his shortcomings and failures, provided he is sufficiently receptive to the message it conveys. If he only cares to look, he will find around him some such “stone” or the other, which he needs to set him on the right course again. The Advantage of Prior Knowledge In 1970 a certain Indian politician went to France, where he met with a French politician who was associated with the ruling Gaullist party. An extract from their conversation appeared in The Times of India, July 18, 1983: