Why the reading of books like "Wings of Fire" is a must?

My brief below may appear not connected directly to the CA students or the profession and it is not directly related to subject also. But, I believe that it is very important to have a proper vision, plan and right thinking to achieve anything in life and it applies even for the CA students aspiring to become professionals and achieve bigger positions in life. CA students normally, as I hear, concentrate much on getting their subject material, time-schedule for reading and they will be tensed at their deadlines and completion of the course. It is very difficult to keep on focusing only on the subject and you may need to divert your thinking and views slightly and that diversion or relaxation from the schedules may be very useful for you if you enjoy reading the biographies or the experience of successful people. The positive words and encouraging stories or the real time stories keeps you motivated and finally you will come to a situation that ?nothing is impossible? and you tend to do extraordinary things. Only with that thinking, I am presenting this small brief for students and you are not children anymore as you advise corporate and take part in corporate word as soon as you finish your course subject to other requirements. I may not be able to write frequently and there can be big gap soon due to my personal and professional commitments and as such I thought I should say something useful for the students as many needs to come-out of their emotional feelings at their failure in the recent exams and need to focus on their next attempt.

The growth of this country depends on the abilities of younger generation and our contribution to the society in one way or other. Our education is important not only for our happiness and well-being, but, important for the growth of this country. Today, you may be a student pursuing CA or CS and may be struggling to make balance between your family commitments and your personal growth.? But, you should remember that many from you may change the direction this country goes and make this country as a powerful nation challenging even developed countries like USA and UK.? In a dramatic turn of events in your life, you may become a finance minister of this country, may become a member in planning commission, may become a CEO of a company like Infosys and even become Prime Minister one day. It is all very much possible and for that your education and your mind-set towards facing and pursuing your chosen path and overcome struggles is important. You need to have the right thinking or right-mindset to make it big and eventually you will reach greater heights and this country also will prosper. I would like to just extract the powerful statement of Barrack Obama while addressing the American students and emphasizing at the need of their education and it is as follows:

"You got to train for it and work for it and learn for it. And this isn't important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. The future of America depends on you. What you are learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future. You will need the knowledge and problem solving skills you learn in science and math to cure deceases like cancer and AIDS and to develop new energy technologies and to protect our environment. You will need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination and make our nation more fair and free."

Many in this country may criticize the actions of Barrack Obama for his consistent reference to cut outsourcing to the countries like India, but, we should remember that he is thinking about his country and the welfare of people of his country. Many must be knowing the background of Barrack Obama and how he has become the president of United States of America. He has a problem with his colour, he has problem with his name, he has a problem with his complicated background, he has a problem with his education initially, he has a problem to continue his education in Harvard University to pursue law and he had to face so many politics before being senator and later the President of United States of America. One incident in his life has changed his destiny. I think you must be knowing that there are two political parties in USA viz., Democrats and Republicans. There will be presidential election in each four years between the presidential candidates nominated from the two parties and the competition for getting the presidential nomination is not a joke in America. Despite his complications, Barrack Obama, has focused in his abilities and was doing continuous work for achieving bigger things in life. In Democratic Party, there will be a national convention or a meeting in support of the presidential candidate before elections. It is not easy to get an opportunity to speak at the Democratic National Convention. During 2004, when Barrack Obama was speaking at a fund raising ceremony, the presidential candidate of Democratic Party during 2004 elections, got impressed at Barrack Obama and that led to giving an opportunity to Barrack Obama to speak at Democratic National Convention during 2004 and that has changed his life completely and given exposure to him to the people of America and to the world. Though the later story of Barrack Obama and how he had to overcome petty politics is interesting, I am not referring that and what I say is that:

?if you are fully prepared and continues to work hard, one occasion or opportunity will change your life and you can become very big in this society?.

Barrack Obama has inspired many people in America and also in the world and he has proved again that even ordinary people can do extraordinary things if they put their minds to.

In India, though, we are not hearing now-a-days very frequently about Dr.A.P.J.Abudl Kalam, it is a fact that he has touched the minds of many young minds in this country. He is a firm believer in the fact that ?strength respects strength? and also believer in the youth power in this great country. As I said, human being can imagine the things not seen and you can experience the things not seen and that depends upon your learning capacity and learning from the past and the successful personalities. The advantage of listening to experienced and successful people is that you may not do the mistakes they have done and you may get the tips as to how to face the society, your colleagues and as to how to succeed. The reading of autobiographies and good books apart from your academic books will help you a lot in getting the right mind-set which is important for all the success in life. I would like take this opportunity to extract certain statements or the references from the book ?Wings of Fire? and I would do my level best as to how we can make use of those references or the statements. He has written his autobiography ?Wings of Fire? for the younger generation and for the younger brigade who are not privileged and his intention behind writing his autobiography has been sated like:

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?The biggest problem Indian youth faced, I felt, was a lack of clarity of vision, a lack of direction. It was then that I decided to write about the circumstances and the people who made me what I am today; the idea was not merely to pay tribute to some individuals or highlight certain aspects of my life. What I wanted to say was that no one, however poor, under privileged or small, need feel disheartened about life. Problems are a part of life. Suffering is the essence of success.

I will not be presumptuous enough to say that my life can be a role model of anybody; but some poor child living in an obscure place, in an underprivileged social setting may find a little solace in the way of my destiny has been shaped. It could perhaps help such children liberate themselves from the bondage of their illusory backwardness and hopelessness. Irrespective of where they are right now, they should be aware that God is with them and when he is with them, who can be against them?

It has been my observation that most Indians suffer unnecessary misery all their lives because they do not know how to manage their emotions. They are paralyzed by some sort of a psychological inertia. Phrases like ?the next best alternative?, ?the only feasible option or solution?, and ?till things take a turn for the better? are commonplace in our business conversations. Why not write about the deep-rooted character traits which manifest themselves in such widespread, self-defeatist thought patterns and negative behavior? I have worked with many people and organizations and have had to deal with people who were so full of their own limitations that they had no other way to prove their self-worth than by intimidating me. Why not write about the victimization which is a hallmark of the tragedy of Indian science and technology? And about the pathways to organizational success? Let the latest fire in the heart of every Indian acquire wings, and the glory of this country light up the sky.? --- page 166 to 168.

What we can learn from the above reference:

He is telling in his powerful words as to how our thoughts should be, the petty politics in the society and in the organization and making it loud and clear that ?nothing is impossible? if we have the right mind-set and determination to succeed.

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?I only wondered whether Jallaluddin had any other special connection to God. Jallaludddin?s schooling had been limited, principally because of his family?s straitened circumstances. This may have been the reason why he always encouraged me to excel in my studies and enjoyed my success vicariously. Never did I find the slightest trace of resentment in Jallaluddin for his deprivation. Rather he was always full of gratitude for whatever life had chosen to give him.

Jalaluddin always spoke to me about educated people, of scientific discoveries, of contemporary literature, and of the achievements of medical science. It was he who made me aware of a ?brave, new world? beyond our narrow confines? ----- at page 6 and 7.

What we can learn from the above reference:

In the above statement, Dr.Kalam is referring to his association with a close relative of him when he was a child. It tells the importance of maintaining association with good people and people with positive thoughts. Your environment matters you and it will definitely influence you.

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?My teacher, Iyadurai Soloman, was an ideal guide for an eager young mind that was yet uncertain of the possibilities and alternatives that lay before it. He made his students feel very comfortable in class with his warm and open-minded attitude. He used to say that a good student could learn more from a bad teacher than a poor student from even a skilled teacher.

During my stay at Ramanathapuram, my relationship with him grew beyond that of a teacher and pupil. In his company, I learnt that one could exercise enormous influence over the events of one?s own life. Iyadurai Solomon used to say, ?To succeed in life and achieve results, you must understand and master three mighty forces ? desire, belief, and expectation.? Iyadurai Solomon, who later became a Reverend, taught me that before anything I wanted could happen, I had to desire it intensely and be absolutely certain it would happen.?.page 12.

What we can learn from the above reference:

There are many references like this in his book. It tells that it is very important to listen to good counsel and good teachers. Even after achieving so much and being regarded as a great scientist in India, he proudly mentions about the greatness of his teachers and as to how he has benefited from them. It makes it clear that we should respect our teachers and be simple irrespective of our achievements.

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?There is always the danger that a person with my kind of background ? rural or small-town, middle-class, whose parents had limited education ? will retreat into a corner and remain there struggling for bare existence, unless some great turn of circumstance propels him into a more favorable environment. I new I had to create my own opportunities.

Part by part, subsystem by subsystem, stage by stage, things started moving. Working on this project, I learned that once your mind stretches to a new level it never goes back to its original dimension.? ---- page 27 and 28.

What we can learn from the above reference:

Irrespective of our respective backgrounds, we can do anything and everything by creating opportunities on our own. But, we need to be realistic as to where we stand and how hard we should work in achieving our goals.

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?What makes life in Indian organizations difficult is the widespread prevalence of this very contemptuous pride. It stops us from listening to our juniors, subordinates and people down the line. You can not expect a person to deliver results if you humiliate him nor can you expect him to be creative if you abuse him or despise him. The line between firmness and harshness, between strong leadership and bullying, between discipline and vindictiveness is very fine, but it has to be drawn. Unfortunately, the only line prominently drawn in our country today is between the line ?heros? and the ?zeros?. On one side are the few hundred ?heros? keeping nine hundred and fifty million people down on the other side. This situation has to be changed.

As the process of confronting and solving problems often requires hard work and is painful, we have endless procrastination. Actually, problems can be the cutting edge that actually distinguish between success and failure. They draw out innate courage and wisdom.? ----- page 39.

What we can learn from the above reference:

There can be people to bully us always, but, we should learn that these people tend to be there everywhere and we should handle them properly rather loosing temper and getting diverted from the chosen path.

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We can never say that we do not have time for useful things. Many students pursuing CA may have very tight schedules and still, I feel that spending some time in getting required motivation is not wastage of time at all. I am sure that if you really want to succeed in life, the reading of autobiography of Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam ?Wing of Fire? will definitely provide the required fire and it is likely that the reading can change your destiny too. The book is full of motivation and facts of life which are useful to face life and the society better.

Note: I say sorry if I have wasted the time of the reader with the brief and I have presented the brief with good intention and believing that the younger generation should aim big and achieve what they wanted to achieve at any cost. I could only mention only references from the book while each line in the book contains a golden statement.