BookMarks #106: My Journey

Title: My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions

Author: APJ Abdul Kalam

Genre: Non-fiction, Autobiography

Published: 2013

BookMarks

Dr. Abdul Kalam’s life story in his own words, covering key moments/incidents in his life from his childhood in Rameswaram, to his scientific work and onto becoming the President of India. In simple words he has narrated his life experiences, his influences and the lessons which we as readers could draw from them.

Here are the passages which I bookmarked from his journey

• On Dreams - Dreams are not those that we see in our sleep; they should be the ones that never let us sleep.
• A summary of his life - love poured to the child…struggle…more struggle…bitter tears… then sweet tears…and finally a life as beautiful and fulfilling as seeing the birth of the full moon.'
• On basic human nature - Whenever human beings find themselves alone, as a natural reaction, they start looking for company. Whenever they are in trouble, they look for someone to help them… Every recurrent anguish, longing and desire finds it own special helper.
• The survival instinct - the only way to survive is to face your troubles and rebuild your life.
• On happiness - Joy is fleeting, whereas true happiness and calm can come to us only after intense pain, when we have confronted ourselves in the mirror of our souls and understood the self.
• On success - The best way to win is not to cover a win but to keep a calm and open mind to new challenges
• On the importance of space studies in a developing country like India - on the relevance of such a programme when a vast majority in the country was battling the demons of hunger and poverty….India could only play a meaningful role in the affairs of the world if the country was self-reliant in every manner, and should be able to apply advanced technologies to alleviate real-life problems. Thus our space programme was never simply a desire to be one among an elite group of nations, neither was it a matter of playing catch-up with other countries. Rather, it was an expression of the need for developing indigenous capabilities in telecommunications, meteorology and education.
• On what brings out the best in people - People like me, who are intrinsically shy, with the added quality of coming from a different background than my city-bred colleagues, tend to remain hidden in the shadows unless something or someone pushes us centre stage.
• On things beyond our control - often there are powers greater than yours who dictate the consequences of your work.
• On success & failure - we don't just build on successes, we also build on failures.
• On Work Ethics - Total commitment is not just hard work, it is total involvement. It is also about setting a goal. It is having a goal in front of you that makes a difference to the final outcome of your hard work.
• Life Mantra - That humaneness, generosity and understanding can never let you down.

Fairly simple but thoughts worth their weight in gold from a fascinating human being! Really liked the simplicity of words, the preciseness in thought and the flow of the narrative. This book is great example of the adage "Write to express and not to impress"

Previously on BookMarks: The Great Gatsby