Every one of us loves watching movies. And indubitably, we like the ones where there’s this guy who looks so sad and terrified that the sky might just fall on his head, loses at something over and over again till he finally gets the inspiration to work extremely hard and manages to succeed.
But, reality is far from what these movies show. In real life, if you try and try and try and try and don’t succeed, it probably means that it is not your cup of tea. As a kid, I had friends who were deemed intelligent by everyone around because they had real impressive report cards. My story, well, was just the opposite. As a kid, this wreaked havoc on my self esteem. Believe me, I tried. I read books, and did all the stuff they did. The only reason I passed the exams was because I had an eidetic memory.One day, a friend suggested that I pursue my hobby of painting and sketching. Taking this advice seriously, I went ahead with it, and got really good!
Underdogs like me exist. They are not fiction. But what is unreal is the winning. Look at Rocky. He fails the first time. The second time round, he and his adversary come ready. And then he finally wins. More often than not, underdogs don’t win.
In fact, you become classified an underdog only if you fail at something. When incessant trials result in failure, it does not mean you are not smart enough or you did not work hard enough. It just means there is something else you are good at. It just means your strengths lie elsewhere. If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it’ll always fail.
You will face challenges. How you deal with them is what counts. Challenges are not to be tackled like a raging bull. They are to be managed. You have to play your strengths. Every person is different. As is every startup. If you are planning on starting a new company, remember one thing - it will not be like any other on this planet.
Your products might be similar to some in the market. But your company will be unique in that it will have its own distinct pulse. It will have unique growth and will have its own personality. Don’t be sad if your company does not work like your competitor. Everything’s fine as long as the work gets done. Your company might start working at 11 am and stop by 6 pm, but you end up completing twice as much work as your competitor, you really have no reason to feel low.
There is only one mantra to success, and it is neither hard work nor smart work – you just have to play your strengths the way it would prove advantageous for you!
