27th July, 2015 was a sad day in Indian history. We lost our most celebrated and respected President ever. Dr. Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam a.k.a. Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam descended to the heavenly abode this Monday. He died doing what he did the best, motivating people. He had a heart attack while delivering a speech in IIM Shillong and died soon after.
Image source: http://www.galaxyreporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/apj-2Babdul-2Bkalam.jpgHe ignited the minds of the Indian youth and was truly a “missile man”. Nobody could do what he did. He dared to be different and became a hero.
He was the 11th President of India. We have not seen anybody in power being modest. He was the most affable person one could ever come across. His demeanor was so pleasant and motivating that even a small talk with him could inspire anybody.
His demise is a great loss to our country and he would be deeply missed.
Here is a list of some of his quotes that would encourage you to be a better person and make a better world :
1. “Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.”
Those who dream can reach great heights and Dr. Kalam was a dreamer. He was an average student in his school but he dreamed of achieving something big. He dreamed and he worked towards it. He therefore became the most loved President of all times.
2. “Let me define a leader. He must have vision and passion and not be afraid of any problem. Instead, he should know how to defeat it. Most importantly, he must work with integrity.”
His father was a fisherman. But Dr. Kalam was a visionary. He wanted to study and achieve great heights. There were many obstacles in his way but he never lost hope. His wings were on fire till he reached his destination. He was a leader in true sense.
3. “Great dreams of great dreamers are always transcended.”
He surpassed the dreams of the great people before him yet he was very humble. There is always a possibility to do something great.Even the great weren’t born great. They worked for it.
4. “One of the very important characteristics of a student is to question. Let the students ask questions.”
He was the most friendly politician ever. He delivered speeches in numerous institutes and functions. He was always open for questions. In fact, he encouraged students to ask questions. Those who were shy could email their queries to him and he would personally answer as many as possible. He always said that students should be inquisitive. Their curiosity would lead them to great paths.
5. “Don’t take rest after your first victory because if you fail in second, more lips are waiting to say that your first victory was just luck.”
He did not believe in the concept of ‘luck’. He always encouraged students to work hard. It is not very difficult to be successful. What is more difficult is the consistency. If you become too proud of your victory and do not keep working hard then you would fall or pulled down by the people around you.
6. “Man needs difficulties in life because they are necessary to enjoy the success.”
If everyone is successful then no one is successful. If you really want to enjoy rains then you must know what summer feels like. Similarly, he believed that if a man wants to enjoy his success then he must know the value of the struggle undergone to achieve it. Difficulties only arise to make us realize the true value of success.
7. “When we tackle obstacles, we find hidden reserves of courage and resilience we did not know we had. And it is only when we are faced with failure do we realise that these resources were always there within us. We only need to find them and move on with our lives.”
It is very necessary to find your inner hero to be successful. Failures are the building blocks of success. It is said that we do not realize the value of something until it is lost. We do not realize our inner strengths until we face failures. They only bring out the best in us.
8. “Without your involvement you can’t succeed. With your involvement you can’t fail. ”
Only YOU matter. Nobody can spoon feed success to you. You have to get involved to achieve your goals. Nobody causes your failure. Only you are responsible for whatever happens in your life. Dr. Kalam urged the students to e self-dependent. He wanted students to learn to take responsibility instead of playing the blame game.
9. “We will be remembered only if we give to our younger generation a prosperous and safe India, resulting out of economic prosperity coupled with civilizational heritage.”
Dr. Kalam always took great pride in India’s heritage. Under his presidency, India’s economy bolstered. He believed that we are the ones that should be responsible enough to be concerned about our future generations. He always emphasized on sustainable development. He wanted India to become one of the most powerful nations and motivated the whole country to work for it.
10. “My message, especially to young people is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work towards. This is my message to the young people.”
Dr. Kalam had every quality that he wanted students to have and rightly so. He was a great man who always kept the child alive inside him.