The Success Story.

We all love a little story sometimes, don’t we? Well, one has grown up listening to all kinds of stories after all. If it is a success story, it is all the more better. We usually are curious to know about the success stories of others so as to find something in theirs that would lead us to our success. We try and follow their path in order to find our own calling. We have all heard of Isaac Newton, Elvis Presley, Socrates, Picasso, Einstein, Nelson Mandela, the list could just go on and on. These were the people who found their true calling and worked for it and the result is that they shall always be remembered for their work in their specific fields. But my question here is, what if we never find our calling?

                               How many times has this happened that you have taken up something and you keep doing it till you can do it almost correctly and then you get bored of it? And then you take up something else, you start it with the same enthusiasm and again you end up wanting to try something else since you have learnt how it works? People like these may often doubt themselves, moreover, they start getting insecure regarding what do they actually intend to do in life!

People may start wondering about their level of commitment towards a particular thing, their interest, their capabilities, even whether they are normal or not. Well, I for one, think that these people are not to be blamed, the society is. We are often made to believe that we should have the right amount of focus and dedication on a particular thing to excel in it, and if done otherwise, the person is condemned of being “Incapable” to live a happy and a successful life. Speaking of a successful life, let me tell you about a person who was a graduate and started studying Mathematics and physics at the Imperial College, London. Later on he became more interested in music and started his own band along with other members, simultaneously studying for a PhD Degree, as he never lost interest in this field as well. Soon after his band got international success, he abandoned his studies and worked for the band. This was about Brian May from the band “Queen”, an English musician, song writer, guitarist and an astrophysicist. One may call him “Multitalented”, but psychologists prefer the term “Multipotentialite”.   

 A Multipotentialite is a person who can do well in more than just one field. Their interests and abilities are not narrowed to just one particular field, unlike the “Specialists”, who devote themselves to just one field. Brian May was a multipotentialite, but we rarely hear about people like these. A prominent person to join this list is Viggo Mortenson, the guy who played the role of Aragorn in the famous Lord of The Rings Trilogy series. He is an actor, singer, poet, musician, photographer and a painter! Now, that is something!  All this coming from a single person seems quite fascinating!  It’s like having all this knowledge up your sleeve, of the different things and how they work that you can choose to use whatever you feel like using at a given point of time. Feels like a “Superpower”, doesn’t it? It can be, if used properly. Just like the two sides of the same coin, Multipotentiality can be a boon or a bane; it all depends on how we deal with it. It is up to us to know what suits us best amongst all these interests. And it is also very important to not lose ourselves in this. Let this be a way for finding creative solutions by applying one's knowledge of various disciplines, since people like these can widen their horizons and help change the world by adapting to its needs. This not only helps them to be Successful but also helps them to change the world in ways we can’t even imagine!

                                        In my opinion everybody has a different success story, we need to create our own. People shouldn’t measure your success, don’t even let them. It’s only you who should. There is no standard way of achieving it; everybody comes through their own ways. What worked for someone else, might not work for you. Create your own way. Define your own terms of a “Successful life”. If only that means a good health, a comfortable home, a passion to follow, a hobby to pursue or as simple as having something worthwhile to share and pass onto others. No one has ever figured out the right way to live life anyway, so why not do all that we can, while we can!

                  I would like to quote a few lines from Robert Frost’s famous poetry, The Road Not Taken.

                                

                       “I shall be telling this with a sigh,

                       Somewhere ages and ages hence,

                       Two roads diverged in the wood and I,

                       I took the one less traveled by,

                       And that has made all the difference.”