Light A Candle
One way to expand our personality is to read success stories. When we get fired and inspired, our strength increases; our enthusiasm becomes intense and we outstrip our own expectations. We see people going to a hospital and helping patients, while expecting nothing in return. We see workers going to slums and making children literate. We see people working to increase the sub-soil water level to decrease water scarcity. We see volunteers coming and helping when somebody dies in the house. Remember, that there are good people in this world cherishing their ideals.
I know of a woman, who became a widow at an early age with 4 children to be brought up. She started as a hawker, then a waitress, attended night schools, became a graduate, became a writer whose books were rejected at first, but were sold like hot cake once they were published. One of the books was made into a movie.
Jason Blume was utterly poor, with nothing to eat, grew up on a footpath and after struggle and facing adversity, became a songwriter and later a billionaire.
Self-promotion is critical in every area of our career. Unless we develop skills and competence, there can’t be any selfpromotion. For each of us there are open roads to the interior self. So, choose a strategic point and begin your journey. Pick a route and enjoy the journey till you reach the inner core, where the skill lies. Self-promotion does not come in one ‘big jump’ or one ‘big bang’.
For example, eskimos can differentiate between hundreds of types of snow. Desert dwellers can differentiate between different stages of the pregnancy of a camel. Slum-dwellers know about different types of poverty. Constant analysis and repeated modifications help to differentiate between the extremes.
It is therefore apparent that to reach the breakthrough state, we have to make a fundamental shift in consciously, or unconsciously-held beliefs we all hold about our own limitations. Through probe, search and experiment, we all come to know what to do and what not to do. For example, a sculptor should know which part of the rock be retained and a householder should know what to say at the opportune time to keep the family together. It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness. Greatness consists not in soaring high but knowing how to adapt and press forward!