1. “Every small experience of your life has the power to cultivate ideas and realizations which can change your life.”

Life is so unpredictable that we don’t even know what’s going to happen the next minute; yet, we dream, plan and hope. Every achiever’s story has very small acts, moves and actions which induce the spirit of change and progress into his/her life. We got to be very conscious and appropriately reason out all that happens to our lives. A short refreshing talk with our pals may uncover huge constructive truths which may change our lives. Very small incidents may introduce wonderful ideas which may become our identities if utilized well. Things which we do every day may seem routine and usual but they may help us take decisions which make the steps of the progressive staircase. You only have to look for them and recognize them with your clear and open heart. 

Pierre Balmain discovered his interest in couture fashion when he met society women. People whom he met did their part to inspire him from doing something different in life. The French fashion designer founded the leading post-war fashion house, Balmain. Diving deep into the layers of his interest he was known for the sophistication and elegance which his skills portrayed. He called the art of dressmaking, the architecture of movement. Looking at the markets and dressing styles, he learnt almost everything just by analyzing the fashion industry.

2. “Along with achievements, responsibilities also grow. It is the life after you achieve that decides your future.”

All of us dream to achieve and become successful in life. But not all of us take care about the after effects of our achievements. Along with bringing happiness, joy and reputation to your life, achievements also increase recognition, responsibilities and duties which lead to better and bigger opportunities to enter your life. You are noticed and followed when you do something different and when you are awarded and appreciated for it. So now, you don’t just represent yourself but you actually represent a typical achiever or a winner. Success can either make you get carried away or open your eyes to open the doors of more success to enter your life. How you handle fame, how you react to your accomplishments and how you live after achieving would all decide the destination which you would be destined to.

Walter Gropius ensured that nothing stopped him from achieving. He wasn’t carried away by success but thought of ways to multiply it. The German architect founded the Bauhaus School. He was considered to be one of the pioneering masters of modernist architecture. The design school that he established brought him a lot of fame and took him to the next level to succeed. The director of Bauhaus in Germany focused on creating ‘modern’ buildings for ‘modern man.’

3. “Beginner has probabilities whereas an expert has a lot of possibilities. Proficiency matters.”

Not all the beginners are confident and clear before they take their first step. They are often confused by mixing up all the advices, guidance, lessons with ideas, plans and decisions. Mind of a beginner is like a white canvas. It has a lot of probabilities than possibilities to predict the outcome of an action. It’s you who must paint the canvas using the colors of possibilities to help bring growth in life and progress up the staircase of hope. However, desired outcomes manifest your life only when the right color of probability (possibility) hits the canvas. This is something to be learnt and not be thought. We can learn it through experience.

Shunryu Suzuki established the very first Buddhist monastery in San Francisco called the ‘San Francisco Zen Center.’ He personally gave importance to turning all the probabilities to possibilities. His book called "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" became best sellers of modern spiritual literature. He started when he was 12 years old, while his family met difficulties and miserable living conditions. Hence, he never hesitated and always hoped to achieve even when his mind was a blank canvas waiting for the possibilities to color it. Though it was very early for him to start his career as a priest, it was indeed a necessity for him to do it.

4. “A ‘better you’ makes the better society. Let the change happen in your life and then spread to the others’ lives.”

If you envision changing the society, chasing the pessimism from the planet and making this world, a better place then, you got to start from yourself. Only when you change, you can think of changing the world. Any development to be found let it happen within you and from you and then the entire universe can unleash the impact of it. You are the miniature, representing the world. Hence, focus on what needs to be changed in you, what needs to be added and what has to be deleted from your mind as many such minds join to form the world’s mind. Start implementing the ways which bring about the change and then you will see the world changing its way to move into the way of positivity to achieve and celebrate success.

Bertrand Russell focused on bettering himself and thought of converting his negatives to positives before he corrected and changed the world. The British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, writer, social critic, political activist and Nobel laureate prolifically in all ways established a ray of hope, improvement and progress in the hearts of the world. Admitting the minuses which his life had, he replaced them with pluses and confidently played a major role in founding analytic philosophy. The most prominent anti-war activist championed anti-imperialism and also made an attempt create a logical basis for mathematics through his book Principia Mathematica.

5. “Everything around you may serve as a lesson and as an opportunity. You got to recognize it through your inner eyes.”

There is no limit for learning and achieving. There is no such training centre or institutions to teach life and winning secrets. Your surroundings, past, experiences, perceptions, thoughts and faults serve as media for you to learn, explore, correct, improvise and achieve. No power teaches you success formulae. It’s you who is supposed to discover it. Configure and reconfigure your thought processes and charge your desires to succeed and your mind will start grasping all that is to be learnt and understood. There is no better teacher than your life alone. Make it a point to make the best use of all that is available to you to welcome grand success into your lives.

Gerda Boyesen, the founder of Biodynamic Psychology which is a branch of Body Psychotherapy, imprinted her desire to learn the life lessons which would directly bring success into her life. She never depended on formal education programs or institutions to learn winning secrets. She was a pioneering Norwegian psychotherapist, who made an influential impact on the society through her ‘body psychotherapy’ movement. Until her last breath, she worked with students, teaching and mentoring them. Her endorsed receipts to delicious outward appearance and gentle presence were all results of implementing her learnings which were gained by her surroundings.

Your achievements would be the best of the best memories which you could leave to the world after your stay ends on this planet. True success is when the planet utters your name and remembers you for your contributions. Make it a point to learn, live and grow. Open you inner eyes and start acting accordingly. (Sources: zen-buddhism.net, biodynamic-bodypsychotherapy.co.uk, wikipedia.org)