Living in distorted houses on narrow streets, walking long hours to get to work, traveling in crowded buses and trains, having dinner with insufficient food reminds us sharply of the tormenting days that people experience at some point in their lives. Days go by, time changes, life moves on but what remains is the thought and experience collected in the memory pages of history that we call ‘the past’. Essentially, these past events attach certain valuable aspects to people traveling the path of difficulty. The famous saying “hard times never last, tough people do” by Robert Schuller holds true here.
It is never the intensity of the situation, what matters is the psychology of the individual facing the situation. Some fight and overcome the barriers on the path to success, while others succumb to the pain and difficulties of the thorny paths. Fighting against such strange times awakens a sense of courage, tolerance, and patience, which are some of the important qualities required to survive.
Now we can understand the meaning of the word ‘struggle’ as it relates to all living beings on this planet. It doesn’t matter if it’s a sapling that sprouts from the surface of the earth to become a plant and grow or a baby that is born by ripping out the mother’s womb to face the world. Generally speaking, life has two unavoidable phases, one full of pleasure and happiness, while the other seems to be very onerous, hard and exhausting. Both have the same relevance as far as the totality of one is concerned. Only good times without tears make a person immature, dependent and crippled. On the other hand, only difficulties make a man hard, apathetic and cruel. Therefore, a balance of both elements makes an individual complete. Furthermore, one can enjoy happiness only when he understands the pain of suffering.
The struggle gives us the opportunity to grow and advance in life. Most of the famous people have tough fight stories under their success. Success has great value because it requires effort, perseverance, conviction and ambition to achieve it.
There have been many books and movies about the lives of great men that highlight their struggle. One of the books is ‘The Long Chase’ by Roy Morris, which chronicles Abraham Lincoln’s thirty-year struggle with his political rival Stephen Douglas, which shaped and impacted the future of the country. A Marathi film by Paresh Mokashi, ‘Harishchandrachi Factory’, recently came to the cinema, which involved Dadasaheb Phalke’s struggle to make Raja Harishchandra in 1913, India’s first feature film. The film had been nominated for an Oscar.
Likewise, there are people who have climbed the ladder of success, leaving bitter stories behind. I would cite the names of some notable individuals who through their skill, effort and entrepreneurial spirit have enhanced the nation’s vision and proven themselves in every wake of life. He would start with a personality that he believed in “Life is growth”, is considered the most entrepreneurial businessman in India and is the founder of the largest private sector company, The Reliance Group. Yes, the name is not difficult to remember ‘The Guru’ Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani, a rewound journey of his life would bring to light certain aspects of the struggle he did before being called ‘Dhirubhai’. He was the son of a schoolteacher, his business career started by selling ‘bhajias’ to pilgrims on weekends, then he worked as a gas station attendant and an oil company clerk in Yemen. Ten years later, he established Reliance Commercial Corporation, which was his first office in an area of only 350 m2. He lived with his wife and his children in a small apartment in Mumbai during this period. Dhirubhai opened his first textile factory in Naroda, Ahmedabad; this was in the year 1977. The popular brand ‘Vimal’ was the product of him. Over time, he branched out into telecommunications, information technology, energy, power, retail, capital markets and more. He started the ‘cult of fairness’ in India. It was from 1977 to 2007 that the business tycoon topped the list of the world’s second richest. Today, the Group’s annual revenues exceed US$28 billion. Reliance started from scratch and is a famous name today related to almost all business sectors. To succeed in life one needs education, wealth, family background, he had none of these but yet he rose from rags to riches with his courage, daring and initiative. Dhirubhai Ambani is a unique person and truly an entrepreneur par excellence.
The fighting sagas when fed with examples, become easy to connect to the pain and stress these people have been through in their lives. The next important person is Brijmohan Lal Munjal, Chairman of Hero Group, a name synonymous with two-wheelers in India, he comes from a simple middle-class family who, feeling the pain of partition, came to Amritsar, he and his brothers started a small business selling bicycle components to manufacturers, slowly and steadily, together they expanded their business to various parts of the nation. They gradually became one of the largest suppliers of bicycle parts in the country. Later in the year 1952 they entered the manufacturing segment, with the support of the government Hero Cycles was started and dominated the market. Then he collaborated with Honda of Japan and the famous Hero Honda was launched. Today, the Hero Group stands as a leader in motorcycles and manufactures the largest number of motorcycles in the world.
This is not about a few names, but about many of us who work hard to excel in our respective fields and thus can better define our fighting psychology. Here is another similar definition from Dr. Karsanbhai Kodidas Patel, a Padmashri Award-winning industrialist (2010), founder of Nirma Group, a well-known name associated with detergents, soaps and cosmetics. Reminiscing about his story of struggle, it begins how, at the age of 21 after completing his B.Sc he started working as a lab technician, his creative interests led him to start a business where he would cycle around neighborhood places selling handmade detergent packets at a very low price. Cost, little by little his product was liked and preferred to other brands, he also ventured into his new business without fear of failure. In no time he popularized his product in Gujarat and Maharashtra further penetrated the domestic market. Karsanbhai refuted old business theories and formulated new ones, making Nirma available at a lower competitive price. With his innovative strategies, eco-friendly method and labor-intensive manufacturing techniques; he conquered the household detergent market segment for a long time leaving behind larger and more established brands.
The number would grow to be a huge number if he enlisted, but one thing is certain: each name leaves a message below that it is to walk without stopping until you reach the goal. Finally, it is exactly like looking at the glass half full of water, for some it is half empty and for others the glass is half full. In other words, one can approach a situation in a positive way where one learns, understands, and grows. Enriched with experience, he reaches unattainable goals and becomes another Dhirubhai, Dadasaheb or Lincoln. Fighting requires attitude and nothing else.