I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.
- Vince Lombardi
This week I read Dinakar Sosale’s exceptional (semi-fictional) autobiography, A Boat Reincarnated,andit left me with looming, lingering thoughts about things we don’t talk much about –the obstacles we face in life. In this age of self-help guru-ism and motivational coaches who superficially chant out the ‘Just do it’ and ‘be hungry for success’ mottos, I feel like not enough attention goes to the pessimism one feels in life, especially after the start of a humongous venture, something life-changing.
Sometimes, we embark on a journey where we place everything on the line – think about books where the characters take on a difficult journey: like Conference of the Birds or The Hobbit. When we set off for something big, it’s realistic to imagine we would be met with at least little disappointments and micro-failures. And which life is complete without (overcoming) disappointments and failures?
If you are at a place in life where you started something huge and the challenges that came with it are hitting you hard, read on. This blog is for you. Think of this as an ode to your failures but also as a beacon to help you progress toward your dreams and goal.
Below are some tips to uplift you if you’re faced with difficult challenges in life.
What is failure, if not part of the process?
It’s important for us to learn to see successes within failures. I know how difficult it can be. It takes a huge amount of courage, but the lessons contained within failures can sometimes outweigh the development that victories bring.
Michael Jordan, arguably the greatest basketballer of all time is celebrated for his 2 double-peats (3 consecutive NBA championship wins) from ‘91-‘93 & ‘95-’98 (famously called The Last Dance) with Chicago Bulls. But note that Jordan had been part of the Chicago Bulls team since 1984. Translation: he had to fail for 7 straight years with a team that had never won anything before he went on to win 6 championships.
Stories like these remind me that Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was onto something when he said,
“There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”
Read inspirational stories based on real life
I’ve already mentioned Conference of the Birds, The Hobbit and Michael Jordan. Majority of you have probably heard these buzz-stories already, so let’s take a different route and talk about a new one, of A Boat Reincarnated that I mentioned in the beginning.
It’s a story of Kris Kalle from Miami, who is your average telecommunications engineer; a family man in his ‘funny fifties’, not the richest, not the most accomplished. He chances upon an ad for a houseboat and he can’t just stop daydreaming about. Though the boathouse requiring renovation is not in the best of state, Kris goes on to purchase it. A sense of newness and excitement for doing something daring urges him.
He conjures up plans in his head for upgrades and do-overs. But once it comes to implementing, Kris finds himself filled with uncertainty and regret. None of the boaters have good news for him regarding his boat renovation project. Financial constraints, Coronavirus, the great bipolar U.S. Political Divide, and the ensuing election drama, all fall in Kris’s path as huge obstacles.
Eighteen months later, there he is though, lying on the battlefield – victorious. In Dinakar Sosale’s own words:
“The many events and struggles associated with boat had changed Kris. A Quest-to-do-something had thrown him off his comfort zone and taken him on a personal journey through others’ lives and the unprecedented challenges they faced during testing times. It generated a sense of empathy and kinship with all those who were involved in the reconstruction… The avatar of the boat – was truly held together by the resolute will of its workers and the stories of their souls. It was truly A Boat Reincarnated!”
Remember your why
Left your job to start a company of your own? Dropped out of college to start a travel vlog? Spent all your life savings on a huge gambit? Good.
If you made such a huge decision, you probably did it for a reason. If you started off with a reason, why not sustain that reason all the way through?
As Kahlil Gibran said:
“Your reason and your passion are the rudder and the sails of your seafaring soul.”
So many of our favorite protagonists make it through to the finish line because they keep their whys in mind. So, if you feel stuck along your journey, always think back to why you started it in the first place. Place reminders all around you, on your phone screen, your vision board; frame it in your room or your car. It would help a lot with the negative self-talk too.
Parting Words
Obstacles are part of the journey, and if they arrive in your pathway, know that you have it in you to conquer them. It’s okay to be hit with a setback, to get down and stay down for a while. Just remember to learn from the failures, find inspiration from stories, and remember why you started the journey with so much heart.
