Caveat
If the story narrated resembles any award function, it’s NOT
intended!
Advice
To enjoy and get the best out of this article, as you read, try visualising being there watching it all. Lessons, you can draw thereafter.
Visuals
The
dancers vanished from the stage after the scintillating sequence and the applause
soon waned. The master of ceremonies took the stage wielding her mike like a
sword. She surveyed the audience attempting to dramatise the occasion and even
more dramatically announced “It is time now for the final award”.
Silence
consumed the crowd.
Stars,
mega, super, budding, fading, fallen and even self-assumed shuffled in their
seats. The churn within notwithstanding, actors all, they put on their most detached
looks as cameras panned. Fans waited to cheer. They create and nourish stars
and celebrate anyway, even as the stars they created were kept safe, from them
and their miserable existence, by bouncers. The fans crowded a real-life planet
and nourished the stars in the celluloid galaxy.
The
guest for the occasion, a star of the yore, took the stage. He wore an air of
authority because he had a ‘sealed cover’. He acknowledged the glitterati in
front and surveyed the world beyond and then dramatically looked at the cover. The
more time he took on the stage, the more attention he earned and though
fleeting, longer the relevance he earned.
Expectations
turned strained patience. It was brimming over bated breaths. The moment of
glory was almost there.
The
Climax
The
special guest pulled out the card and said “This year’s award for the best
actor goes to…”. Then, he laboured
to pause, looked at the card , looked at the crowd and announced, “goes to…”.
He looked at the name printed on the card. “Am I seeing it right?” he thought. He took a closer look and said “This year’s award for the best actor goes to…” and announced the name.
You
could hear a pin drop.
The
Moment of Glory
He knew he was being considered. He longed for it; but…! He thought he heard his name. It was music to his ears, as he struggled to believe.
His
celluloid journey was filled mostly with insignificant roles. An insignificant
speck in a galaxy of stars, he was genuinely unassuming even when visible.
The
crowd broke into a thundering applause. The embodiment of simplicity,
unbelieving still, looked around and slowly walked up to the stage. He belonged
to everyone in the crowd.
Yes;
it was his moment of glory!
The
actor continues to turn out some amazing performances, year after year. His
victory is driven by professionalism. Looks and fan clubs he doesn’t have.
If he could; so, can I!
Few would have
thought then; many later.
Recipe for Success
Who doesn’t want success, recognition and adulation? Who doesn’t long for a moment of glory?
Who doesn’t want that heady feel of walking up the stage, amidst thundering claps and
crowds roaring in adulation?
How do I get my, ‘moment of glory’?
Should I wait for an eternity?
Can I advance it?
Can I master those winning traits and succeed?
or
is it all about destiny?
Yes; there are answers.
Persona
To
be reckoned and recognised as a star one needs to have that looks. Is my
physical appearance good enough to make me a star? Do I have the physical
attributes to succeed?
Often,
we rely on physical attributes to gauge individuals. Physical attributes is not just looks alone. It includes the environment one is lucky to be part of, in the normal course of existence. Tall, short, rich, poor, backing of influential people etc all could be elements of physical attributes. Imposing physical
attributes do provide initial advantages but those seldom carry us through. The attributes naturally associated demand certain quality. but when actions do not match expected quality associated with perceived physical attributes ridicule is the result. As we get to the core of
any activity and when it comes to the crunch, physical attributes are forgotten, persona counts; only persona counts.
Persona
is less about physical attributes and more about character. It is about the
triad of competence, commitment and performance.
Master
the triad and become a star.
The
awardee doesn’t possess physical attributes that we often associate with stars.
His ordinary looks merit not a second look and helps him easily submerge himself
in any crowd.
Competence
If
competence is an ingredient for success, why didn't he get the award earlier?
Was he incompetent before?
Competence
is all about knowledge and the skill to apply it to the demands of the
situation. Many of us, often mistake familiarity with situation as competence even
when our actions scream incompetence. Building competency is a long, arduous
and painful process. Since the world and its ways are changing every instant,
there is so much need to imbibe, calibrate and upgrade knowledge acquired to be
of any relevance. Building competence is a continuous process.
To
be successful, relevance of competencies is only one part. Competencies also need
to grow, to allow us, to move into higher echelons, bigger roles and provide
brighter visibility. Success must prime growth; growth is success and competence
its fodder. Only actions can testify competencies. When one acquires competence
to handle higher roles, even at the lower role it is visible. Brilliance is sensed
and opportunities come calling.
Competency
building starts from within. It takes time to mature. It's like a flower, miniature
as a bud, hung slender on an insignificant stalk and then all of a sudden bloom
to capture attention and overwhelm surroundings with beauty, fragrance and
abundant nectar.
The
awardee played many insignificant roles before he was entrusted with the role
of the protagonist. A review of his body of work clearly shows how his
competency matured over time.
Commitment
If
commitment assured success, wasn’t the actor committed before?
Commitment
is an addiction of sorts. It can neither be forced upon us nor taken away from those
addicted. Persistence is the visible face of
commitment. We have to plant it within, all by ourselves. It grows on us slowly
and with time. Slow to root, it helps us persist, despite innumerable hurdles
encountered in the journey.
Commitment is faith in the process and
one’s own capabilities. It allows us to, identify and acknowledge own shortfalls,
accept challenges, open ourself to receiving knowledge, enhance our
capabilities and reengineer our efforts. It also prepares us for the many falls
we could encounter in the journey and help us relaunch ourselves. Commitment is
actually the power to carry on, regardless.
The awardee’s journey is a classic case of gritty persistence. Anyone one without unshakable commitment would have quit.
Performance
Did
that ‘one’ great performance of the actor get him the coveted award?
How do I get, that one chance?
Most
of us are conditioned to believe that a reward or recognition is the consequence
of ‘one great performance’. There can be no bigger fallacy than that. We forget
the immense sacrifices made, terrible injuries risked and suffered, and the
time and effort that successful people commit themselves to before their moment
of glory on the podium. Immense pain from countless failures, physical and
emotional bruises suffered and hours of anxious loneliness weathered lie hidden
behind the podium as the victor stands smiling on it.
It does us well to remember that ‘the moment
of glory’ under public gaze comes much after many ‘glorious moments’ of
overcoming tribulations and triumphing over hurdles of apathy, anxiety, fear, naysayers,
undermining elements of the environment and consequent hopelessness.
The one great performance others get to
see is often the sum total of many small great performances that others haven’t
seen. Many glorious moments in the journey precedes that ‘one moment of glory’
Though
not the protagonist, the awardee had given some stellar performances even in
insignificant roles.
Opportunity
I
can make myself competent, commit myself and even perform my best, but without
opportunity, how is success possible? How do I find opportunity?
The
loudest and most common lament of people is about lack of opportunity. The successful
seldom lament. They transform every moment into opportunity. They don’t wait
for an opportunity to perform. They perform every moment and thus every moment
is an opportunity.
If
everything is given on a platter, then success is momentary and at best short
lived. One, by the luck of birth, may get an easy shot at success but to
sustain it, the triad is imperative. Every moment at every place is an
opportunity. It depends on us to convert the time-place duo into opportunity.
Most of us reserve our best for the apt opportunity, little realising that it
would have come incognito and gone by.
Many
of us offer the minimum inescapable to meet the minimum expected but expect to
maximise returns and reap success. That formula doesn't work for long. Giving
our best at whatever we are doing, wherever and whenever, actually gravitate
situations into opportunities. Success is the result of linear equation where
minimising anything becomes detrimental.
Critical
review of the body of work reveals that the awardee had essayed each role,
however insignificant, wholeheartedly.
But!
If
he was so good and he gave his best always, why did it take him so long to get
a role of substance?
A
very logical question that does not have answers convincing enough.
It takes time for us to excel at what we are doing. But it takes more time for others to take note of us. It takes much more than time and efforts for them to risk their dreams, life and future investing on our competencies. We may call it their inadequacies, if it offers any solace. Though very reasonable an explanation, our impatience doesn't allow us to accept it as such. Unfortunately, in a very highly connected and inter dependent society as ours, success depends on many elements beyond our control. Patience is a virtue and persistence the key.
Destiny!
Why Sweat and Fret?
If
success has so many imponderables, why should we sweat and fret over it so
much? Destiny!
There
is none in the world compelling us to be successful. If the call to succeed is
from within, we have to labour the pain. The sweat and toil is worth it.
Doesn’t
destiny have a role in ensuring success?
The
answer, irrespective of faith, belief and disposition is ‘Yes’. Fortunately, the
undeniable fact called destiny lies in our hands; not etched as lines in our
palms but as our actions. We tend to mistake destiny with fatalism.
Fatalism
is the hide of the lazy. It helps justify consequences of inaction. It helps
shift responsibility and accountability of failures to the power of the unknown.
It is the perfect excuse for resignation without sweat. But even those, adept
at fatalist resignation, cannot dispute the omnipresence of “cause and effect”.
Call
it by any name, assign divinity of religious dogmas, only action can beget
reward. If at all, inaction brings along something, it is accidental and transient.
Glory
Awaits
Set
sight on the many glorious moments of everyday life and toil, the giant moment
of glory follows.
