The Flip of Legacy
Many years ago, a man woke up and picked up his morning newspaper from the doorstep. As he opened the newspaper, much to his horror and distress, he read his name in the obituary column. The newspaper had reported his demise by mistake. His initial instinct was that of shock. But as he regained his equilibrium, he became curious as to how society viewed his contribution, “Dynamite King Died. He was the merchant of death.”
The man had invented dynamite. After reading the obituary, he introspected, “Is this how I want to be remembered?” He found the proposition repulsive and wanted to do something about it. So from that day on, he started working for peace.
The man was Alfred Nobel. Today he is remembered for the most prestigious prize that is given only to extraordinary contributors whohave worked towards global peace: the Nobel Peace prize!
Morals? Two.
First: Believe in self! Regardless of our past, we have the potential to change for the better. It is never too late to transform the way society is going to perceive our legacy.
Second: Believe in others! Reverse feedback is of paramount importance to evolve. If we are closed, we will not be in a position to leave our legacy behind.
The twin morals are the coexisting wheels of our professional drive. All wheels need load balancing. There are times when we know we are on the right side, and the opposite person may not have the insights or acumen to give us corrective feedback. Then, there are times where everybody around us knows we are in the wrong, but our personality is so intimidating that nobody dares to give us any feedback for fear of reproach.
A person or an organization with ill-balanced wheels will tend to swerve off-road when the ride gets bumpy. On the other hand, an entity with well-balanced wheels may encounter bumps in the journey but will stay the course and not lose focus…
So much to absorb from this blog…amazing
Thank you Arun for another great read. It is a coincidence that your blog came at a time when I was pondering over people’s ability to accept or be open to taking feedback after crossing a certain stage in life.
You are model of success
for the generations to come.
Every (positive and more importantly negative) Feedback is crucial for growth of an individual. But it also takes guts to accept negative feedback.. And those who can do it and later change themselves positively always achieve greatness.. just like Mr Nobel.. Love the wonderful intertwined story with a deeply meaningful message..
Yet again an amazing piece of advice, Thank you. Believe in self! mantra is beautifully define in a novel “A Man Named Dave” by Dave Pelzer. Thank you again !
Have loved your writings. Being a ex-Cybagian got opportunities to read some of your motivational articles. Was always mesmerized by the story and the way it was put forward. Creating a sense of suspense … as if we don’t know what is going to come in the later part and then end with best of advices for all.
Two of the most basic and very important Morals so beautifully conveyed in this article.
Anything is possible if we believe in it, self & others.
Thank you Sir.
Nice blog Sir, I am agree with you and it is important to revolve our self and observe our self regularly.