There is a famous story about Alexander the Great. One day King Philip, his father, bought a fine horse called Bucephalus. He was a noble animal but was so savage and wild that no man could mount upon him, or do anything else with him. At last the king bade his servants to take him away. "It is a pity to ruin so fine a horse as that," said Alexander, the king's young son. "Those men do not know how to treat him." "Perhaps you can do better than they," said his father scornfully. "I know," said Alexander, "that, if you would only give me leave to try, I could manage this horse better than anyone else." "And if you fail to do so, what then?" asked Philip. "I will pay you the price of the horse," said the lad. While everybody was laughing, Alexander ran up to Bucephalus, and turned his head toward the sun. He had noticed that the horse was afraid of his own shadow. He then spoke gently to the horse, and patted him with his hand. When he had quieted him a little, he made a quick spring, and leaped upon the horse's back. It was on this horse that he stormed over kingdoms one after the other.
Success is more or less a relative term which might mean a level of social status or achievement of goals. We do not have too many great people like Alexander the Great means that the society as a whole has become a battalion of cowards always trying to drill through the problems, rather than transforming it in favour. Alexander became great, because he always yearned for new experiences (learning) and took on all related challenges in his life. We do not effectively use our talents to face with challenges and grow in for new experiences. According to us, an academic course is the dead end of learning and we assume that the theories we have read is enough to reap success all through life. This shows that we live more in the past relying on the experiences of the losers. At the maximum, we might allow others to think for us, that’s all. If the experience of a man who fell from the third floor of a building was death, need it necessarily be the same fate that awaits a man who happens to fall down today? No, that is why it is said ‘history never repeats’ exactly in strict measures. The world is constantly changing and it is new learning that we require to master the distinct problems that come across. If ever any one earnestly wants to thrive successfully, what he requires is a mindset to grow updated with the latest of knowledge. Positive attitude to risks and chances come only next. A chain is as strong as its weakest link.
