'You are not going to make it.'
I ran down the unending corridors of the Paris airport, dodging people from around the world, lugging a suitcase with one loose wheel, tripping over my own shoelaces... one sentence kept running through my head on a loop, 'I'm going to make it. I'm going to make it.'
The gates were minutes from closing... I still had to go through immigration, take the inter-terminal train, go through security check, and find my gates before the plane doors closed.
Everyone, from the guy sitting next to me on the delayed airport bus, to the airline check-in staff, had said with pitying eyes, 'doesn't look like you will make it.'
But I was determined. So I jogged through the confused corridors of the surly airport... wishing I was in better shape and not running out of precious breath.
And as I ran I began to ponder.
Why am I running? Success sounds impossible. Everyone thinks so. So why don't I just give up, stop panting and tripping, and just sit tight and read my book until the next flight ten hours later?
One school of thought believes that whatever you ask the universe for, it will give you. It's called the law of attraction. I'm sure you are all familiar with 'the secret' by now, since it's no longer a secret thanks to the wildly successful book.
If you ask for success you will get it. If you think you will fail, you will, it says.
My friend/philosopher/guide at university used to say something similar, 'Your thoughts are a self-fulfilling prophecy, Anisa... so think positive'. And I know he didn't believe in god, or in the power of the universe to bestow gifts (like the secret).
I wasn't so sure I did either. So why was it that both these schools of thought, and probably others, were convinced about the power of thinking?
I decided I needed my own philosophy, so here's what I chose to believe: If you want something so badly that you refuse to accept an alternative, you will do everything in your power to make it come true. We are more powerful than we know.
Because I so badly wanted to get home I decided to follow a three-step plan for getting what I want: think positive, take positive action, and hope for good luck, and keep doing this till you have what you want.
That, I believed, would make what seemed impossible, possible. And so I kept running.
Step 1: Think Positive...Your Thoughts are Self-Fulfilling
This is important because it sets you up for success. It compels you to plan and prepare and strategise for it. So you simply have no choice but to put all your effort into making sure you can get what you want.
I had planned ahead because I was determined to make it... I wore comfortable running shoes, kept all my documents handy, and mapped out and studied the possible routes through the airport even before I got there.
And I believed, 'I'm going to make it.'
If you think you can't, then you simply can't. But why are you even thinking that? If you think you can't, you won't even give it an honest shot. So don't tell me that you can't. Believe that you can.
This is the crux of the strategy. Positive thinking drives you towards action. But actually taking action is everything. Without action all the good thoughts in the world, all the dreams and goals and aspirations come to naught... If I just jog half-heartedly toward the gate thinking 'please god let me make it, please god I hope I make it' I'm quite sure I will not.
If I had wavered in my determination I probably would have walked just a little bit slower, pushed myself just a little bit less, maybe stopped to catch my breath. And that little bit could have been the difference between success and failure.
I know that once the gates shut, they simply won't open again, because it's against security protocol. If I run up even as the gates were shutting I would likely be left behind. If I let myself slack off just that little bit I will not make it.
A scene from the movie, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, flashed through my mind where the hero Aamir Khan's brother finished the bicycle race just a few seconds late, losing to the boy from the rival school. His dad said:
| 'Aakhri chand second hi toh haar aur jeet ka faisla karte hai' 'The last few seconds determine who wins and who loses' |
So I don't even let failure be an option... And just keep running till the end.
Step 3: Luck Has to Be a Lady, Too
I will do everything in my power to get where I want. But everything else...? That is a matter for my fickle friend, luck.
I can run as fast as I want but if I drop my boarding pass on the way and only realize it as I reach the gates where a mean-looking French lady shouts, 'You are the last person on this flight we cannot wait any longer Mademoiselle we must leave now!', then that's out of my hands, isn't it?
There's a verse in the King James version of the Bible that says:
| The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding... but time and chance happeneth to them all. |
The key is to not let luck or chance get you down. Don't believe in bad luck, believe in delayed luck.
Repeat the 3 Steps Until Success Is Yours
As I scrambled around my papers I had a terrible sinking feeling in my stomach... my boarding pass was no longer with me... I must have dropped it somewhere between the last security checkpoint and the gates.
I looked in distress at the lady who had one hand about to pull the doors shut, another on her hip, tapping one foot while repeating the words 'Alors Mademoiselle... Come on!'
This was it. It was over. I could barely catch my breath anymore. I should throw my hands up in the air and say, 'oh well, it happens', right? Then go find a place to rest my head for the night and make my way to a morning flight.
This is what life is like ... sometimes there are setbacks, even significant ones, long delays and relentless hurdles. You feel like you put in a hundred percent, and just when you see your destination, it's pulled out of reach again.
But then I remembered that 'think positive, take action, and wish for luck' wasn't the end of my plan. I was supposed to do one more thing... repeat until success.
A surge of adrenalin pumped through my body and I yelled 'No!" I wasn't giving up, I would run again.
"Please wait! Attendez sil-vous-plait" I yelled in uncertain French, "I am getting on that plane and don't you DARE shut that door".
Then I turned around and ran for my life to look for my boarding pass. Until halfway to security I saw someone running towards me waving a pass. I couldn't believe my eyes! Lady Luck herself was coming to me. I had thought my luck was bad, but it was merely delayed.
I grabbed the card, shouted thanks, ran back to the gates, and this time the French lady didn't look so mean. She looked exasperated, yes, but I had shocked her into waiting for me by my frantic yelling and mad running, and she seemed almost amused at my persistence.
So I made it home - by following the magic formula:
This may seem like a trivial incident, after all I was just going home. But whatever your journey, and wherever your destination, this approach holds true. Whether it takes you a day, a week, or a year, remember this magic to get to your goal. When your plans get messed up, stick to your guns and try again. If it happens again, then try again, even harder than before. If a one-armed, one-legged man can ride a bicycle, then 'don't tell me that you can't'.
The above is from the newsletter "Common Sense Living" I receive from Equitymaster.
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