What exactly are the parameters to measure the relative term “of being successful”?
In our fast-paced, hectic workaday stressful modern life, success is not handed out on a platter to all and sundry. It is usually a quality or trait possessed by a few individuals who are highly confident, motivated and energised, and who work hard without taking the tempting short-cuts. They have upbeat attitudes, have a flair for public relations and are adept at various skills, like multi-tasking, aptly communicating and managing time efficiently.

Successful people are the “movers and shakers” (as one TV programme called them) who, as the term suggests, are willing to take the initiative and be enterprising in all endeavours. They are keen to learn more and are charged with a ‘fire in the belly’ to seek greener pastures and more ambitious. They are filled with grit and tenacity and they never give up their dreams in spite of surmounting obstacles.They pursue their dreams to fruition without constantly complaining about rivals. They learn to take discrepancies and disappointments in their stride. A person with a warped attitude is not a candidate for success, for he/she is always picking holes in arguments  and is always shirking responsibilities and trying to find fault with others.

Those who do not possess a spontaneous natural talent for success, can develop it and become successful. How? First and foremost, one should be basically a confident person. One should psyche one’s self up with determination to become confident.  Yoga and meditation also help. One should keep one’s mind calm and still and focused without letting it wander. One should look one’s self in the eye in front of the mirror and exclaim: “I can, I can, I can!”

Secondly, to become successful, one should shed all traces of lethargy and being laid back. It would be useful to remember that the dictionary is the only place where ‘success’ comes before ‘work’! Contrary to assumed beliefs, a hard working person’s accomplishments may not be recognised immediately but will be honoured eventually.

As Ralph Waldo Emerson sums up the traits of a successful person’s spirit: “To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and affection of children, to earn appreciation of honest critics, and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better – whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition, to know that one life has breathed easier because you have lived – this is to have succeeded.”