My Thoughts on the Secret of Success according to Socrates

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The Pupil's Desire for His Teacher's Knowledge _Source

One day, Socrates and his pupil were walking down the beach. The teacher asked the boy to come along with him to the sea to which the latter obliged. When the water was about the pupil's shoulder height, Socrates ducked him into the water as if he was drowning him. The boy struggled to get his head above water so he could breathe. He fought very hard to get free from his teacher whilst wondering what lesson was he trying to teach him. He wouldn't do such a thing if there's no purpose to it.

Socrates still held the boy's head under the water until the boy turned blue. He stopped and pulled the boy out of the water and resuscitated him. When the boy recovered, he gasped and took a breath of air. He got so mad at his teacher and accused him of trying to drown him. Socrates explained, "That was not my intention. If it were, then I would not have pulled you out of the water." The boy asked, "Why, then, did you do it?"

Socrates answered his pupil with a question, "What did you want most when you were struggling back there?" The boy replied, "Air." Socrates then calmly replied,

"That is the secret to success. When you want success or desire my knowledge as badly as you wanted air, then only you will get it." _Source

My Thoughts on the Anecdote and its Lesson

No person can become successful overnight. It takes faith coupled with the right attitude to achieve success in life. The attitude is how you show determination, hard work, and perseverance despite your circumstances in life. If you have the right attitude, you deal with things and cope with uncertainties no matter how difficult life can be. Socrates' pupil must have faith in his teacher that for whatever he did, there sure was a reason behind it, but it didn't stop him from fighting for his life, to get that breath of air.

So in saying that, your faith is also nothing if you only rely on prayers, and yet you do nothing. It's like you just expect apples to land on your mouth whilst you lay on the ground all day, and because of that, you remain stagnant and you find yourself going nowhere. You're just stuck and unproductive. But God wants you to work hard as well and love and respect other people around you the same way you would like to be treated, and you will flourish in your family, your business, in your work environment, and in your relationships with people.

Success is also not dependent on your knowledge and set of skills. You may have all of these to become successful in whatever field, but if you have the wrong attitude, such as giving up so easily or lacking interpersonal and social skills, then you will never find success.

Like what Socrates said, if you really desire to be good at what you're doing, or to increase your knowledge and skills so badly, then you will do everything to the best of your ability in order to get what you want. You will fight hard, work hard - that means, blood and sweat - and have the right attitude.

If you really want to succeed in life, you will do whatever it takes, so long as it is fair and just and you're not taking advantage of other people, to keep moving forward. When you recognise opportunities as they present themselves, you must pursue it, which means having the inner strength as well to go through difficulties and hardships.

I was browsing Facebook earlier and stumbled upon this post and I think it's also important that we have this kind of positive attitude if we want to achieve something in life, such as success.

Therefore, the power of optimism is also important. The more you radiate positivity, the bigger the chances you will find joy and success, because you can see the reason to be joyful despite what life throws at you.

Reference:

Klemmer & Associates (2010). Lesson #2 - The Desire for Air. Retrieved from http://blog.klemmer.com/lesson-2-the-desire-for-air/

What is your formula for success? Please leave your reply, feedback, suggestion, or any comment in general. I would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you for reading and I hope you have a Merry Christmas and blessed New Year! God bless you all!

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