Has your life been hard so far?

Anyone can rise up from the depths of defeat, depths of gloom. You need to desire to overcome it and you need to understand that you can. Great achievements always have come after bitter defeats. The more are the defeats the better. The reason is simple. Those who succeed have to face more failures than those who fail. Nature does not allow one to savor true success without having put him/her through a real test of defeats and failures. Success does not come in a silver platter. Yes, there are people who are born rich and powerful or who acquire success easily.  But then the world does not acclaim anyone unless personal merit has been vindicated.                                                                                                        

Has your life been hard so far? Have you toiled hard and reached nowhere? If you stick your finger in the fire, it gets burnt. This is really easy as the effect comes immediately after the cause. But it is not easy to figure out what has caused your present.                                                                                                                          At the end of a winding, long, dark tunnel there is always light and plenty of it. If the tunnel is long and difficult the whole world would be aligned to receive you as a hero when you emerge. You can never get such an acclaim if the going has been rather easy.   You can see light ahead of the darkness now surrounding you, and walk confidently forward. You can also curse it and accept defeat.  The freedom is yours. 

There is no defeat however hard the situation may be.  

I was reading about Oscar Pistorius the other day, a double amputee who is the  fastest man on 'no legs' He is the world record holder in the 100, 200, and 400 meters events (sport Class T44)) He was born on Nov.22, 1986 and  is a South African sprint runner.   A man running on artificial legs can be faster than all of use!  Stephen Hawkins cannot even lift a finger, talk, walk, stand, sit or eat.  He is all paralysed with Neuron Motor Deficiency. Only his brain is intact. But he is the greatest scientist living. He is occupying Newton’s Chair in Oxford University! He has turned into flood light the darkness that surrounds his life. 

A Little Inspiring Story- Legless Legend

Mark Joseph Inglis, born on 27 Septemeber 1959, is best known legless mountaineer of the world, He is also an established  wine-maker, cyclist and motivational speaker.  He, had persistent dreams since his boyhood to stand at the top of Mount Everest. He started climbing mountains in right earnest since he was a little more than a boy. But in 1982  a great  tragedy struck. He got stuck in an ice cave near the peak of New Zealand’s majestic Mount Cook. As a result, both his legs had to be amputated below the knees due to frostbite. 

He did not give in. He redoubled his efforts on artificial metal legs and in 2006 his dream came true and he stood on the roof of the world- the summit of Mount Everest. He was the first double amputee to do so. Through this indomitable courage  he not only proved that anything is possible for anybody regardless of insurmountable obstacles  but he also collected thousands of dollars for the double amputees of the world.

He has a degree in human biochemistry and worked as a wine maker for more 10 years. After the accident  he was active as a cyclist and  was an ardent skier. He got several medals in the Sydney 2000 Paralympic  Games . Later the mountains beckoned him back and he scaled Aoraki Mount Cook in January 2002.  In 2004, he was at the summit of Cho Oyu, the 6^th highest peak in the world. From this summit he looked straight out at what people had told him impossible, Mount Everest.  And h made history by conquering it without legs!

He wants to make a difference in life and is not satisfied just being a voyeur. He pursues lifelong learning. He takes challenges head on and overcomes every stumbling block that comes his way. And his wife Anne, and  their  three children Amanda, Jeremy and Lucy are all a constant sources of inspiration and support for him.

Of late he has been inspiring people to excel through presentations to corporatations, schools and community groups.  He uses the lessons he has learnt to push the limits further. He is out there to support a lot of people who are in dire need of help. He wants to help the 400 million disabled people of the world! He has established in New Zeeland  a charitable trust, Limbs4all, with this in mind. He has also arranged artificial legs for the Sherpas who lost theirs just as he did.  To raise funds he conducts a number of activities including risky trekking adventures in the mountains of Nepal. Mark Inglis is a remarkable person of indomitable courage and is role model for all who want to achieve success in this life.   .