ACCORDING to a survey, out of the world’s hundred richest people today, 27 are heirs and 73 are self-made. Of these self-made, 18 have no college degree and 36 are children of poor parents, but some billionaires had neither a degree nor wealthy parents.
In other words, super-achievers are not born, they are self-made people. It is not external favor that makes one a super-achiever, but one’s own struggle. Super-achievement is not achieved through inheritance, but is a self-acquired success.
It is a fact that no one is a born billionaire, but it is also a fact that everyone is a potential billionaire. It is the unfolding of one’s own potential that makes one a billionaire or super-achiever. Nature does not discriminate between one person and another. Nature’s gifts come to everyone on an equal basis. It is the receiver himself who either utilizes them or fails to do so.
The so-called deprived persons are in fact privileged persons. Their state of deprivation serves as an inner motivation. When they see others are progressing, it creates a strong incentive in their minds. It is this incentive that makes man a superman. It inculcates in him a strong urge to be successful.
Their state of deprivation brings about a kind of brainstorming which enhances their inner spirit. They enter the world of competition working to their full capacity. They develop the spirit of do or die. It is this great spirit that leads them to great success.
There is a saying that ‘a person was born with a silver spoon in his mouth’. This kind of birth creates a kind of contentment in the concerned person, and contentment is the killer of motivation. While one who was born in a poor family without a silver or golden spoon, develops a kind of discontent. And it is a psychological fact that discontent activates one’s mind and triggers a fire within one to do hard work.
You can seldom find a family that started its history with a treasure of gold and diamonds. For every family, the treasure of gold is a phenomenon of the future, not of the present. Every family initially started its history from rags, and not from riches. The story of rags to riches is not the story of some exceptional persons, but is common to all. In fact, the story of rags to riches is the story of every successful family or successful person.
There are numerous examples of people rising to a high position through their own struggle, while their children turned out to be dull. The reason is very simple. The father started his life with the spirit of discontent, while his children started their lives with the spirit of contentment. It was this reason that was responsible for the difference between father and sons.
A person who is born into a poor family and achieves success by way of struggle achieves an additional thing which is more important than wealth—that is, intellectual development.
His circumstances automatically develop an intellectual struggle in his mind. This struggle unfolds his inner capacity, and consequently he emerges as an intellectually developed person.
Nature does not discriminate between one person and another. Nature’s gifts come to everyone on an equal basis. It is the receiver himself who either utilizes them or fails to do so.
One who is born in a state of affluence might become intellectually dwarfed, while one who is born in poor circumstances might emerge as an intellectual giant. The laws of nature are greater than everything else. They are eternal: they cannot be changed. The law of nature in this regard tells that it is not ease but effort, not facility but difficulty that makes men.
