The Secret of Progress

To succeed in anything, it is not favourable external conditions
that are crucial; it is the inner motivation that matters the
most.

According to a report published in The Times of India, a survey of the world’s 100 richest people today reveals that the vast majority of them did not inherit their economic fortunes. 73% of them were ‘self-made’. Of these, 18% had no college education, and 36% were children of poor parents. (August 18, 2013, p.12)

How is it that people who were born into poor families, many of whom did not receive any higher formal education, were able to amass such wealth, and that, too, with no help from the Government or any organization? The answer is that it was because of their own efforts.

This illustrates a basic principle of nature. And that is that deprivation is not just a lack of something. Rather, it is, at the same time, also possession of something else—a strength and an incentive to overcome the sense of lack. Impelled by the law of nature itself, a person who considers himself to be deprived of or lacking something develops a strength or urge to make efforts to acquire that which he thinks he is deprived of or lacks. This inner urge keeps him active until he reaches his goal. A feeling of being deprived creates within him a strong motivation for making efforts.

To succeed in anything, it is not favourable external conditions that are crucial; it is the inner motivation that matters the most. In fact, it is often the case that favourable external conditions make people complacent and inactive. On the other hand, someone who faces unfavourable external conditions develops a certain discontentment, which, in turn, can provide him the incentive to make active efforts to change things for himself for the better.