Four Traits Of Successful People

What is it that takes you to the heights of greatness? Here’s something to think about.

- Om Swami

“Opportunity has never knocked on my door, Swami,” an entrepreneur said to me the other day.

“I read somewhere,” I replied, “that if opportunity doesn’t knock, create a door.”

“Well, that hasn’t worked in my case. Indeed, anything guised as opportunity has only blown away my door and knocked me down.”

I meet brilliant people all the time who could do a lot more in their life. But they are stuck, they feel. Life hasn’t been fair to them or they are waiting for the right opportunity, they tell me.

Such conversations at times remind me of Prof. Sharma (my English teacher), who would always say that good people don’t sit and wait for opportunities, they create them. “No matter at what stage of life you are at, if you are up for it, you can do it,” he would contend and tell me this story.

A man built a fortune manufacturing and selling combs. When he had been growing up, combs were made of wood and ivory and couldn’t be mass produced. He figured that not only plastic combs could be made at a fraction of the cost, but they would also last longer. As he grew old, he decided to hand the reins of his business to his most capable child. So, he called them — two sons and a daughter — and assigned a task.

“There’s a Buddhist monastery in Bodh Gaya,” he said. “It has hundreds of monks. Get me a wholesale order from that monastery.”

“But father” the elder son retorted, “monks are bald. What use do they have for a comb?”

“That’s for you to find out,” the father said, giving them a fortnight. “Whoever gets me the biggest order will head my company.”

Two weeks later they got together to report on their progress.