The Truth About Success That Today’s Youth Often Ignore [ENG-URDU]

The Young Man and the Question of Success

Yesterday a young man came to me. His eyes were filled with dreams, his hands held degrees, and he was ready to jump into the field of action.
There was only one question on his lips:
"Sir, what is the secret of success?"

I looked into his eyes and carefully asked:
"Before you learn the secret, tell me what you imagine success to be. Tell me what you think success really means."

He replied quickly:
"A good job, a reasonable salary, a car, a place to live, and a wife and children. What else?"

I smiled at his answer and asked another question:
"My child, tell me something. Do you know Thomas Edison?"

"Yes, of course. The great scientist who invented the bulb?"

"Yes, him. But my question is, what do you think, how many times did he fail before that invention?"

The young man said:
"Maybe around a hundred times."

I said:
"No, my child. He failed more than a thousand times. And when a journalist asked him how he failed a thousand times, Edison replied:
I did not fail. I discovered nine hundred and ninety nine ways that do not work."

This is the real meaning of hard work.

The Illusion of Shortcuts

Dear readers, the story above does not belong to one person alone. It is the story of almost every person today.
Young people are searching for some magic trick to become rich overnight. They think there is a magic pill that can turn them into a success in a single night. But the truth of this world is that there is no shortcut to success.
Success is a long, difficult journey that can only be completed with hard work, and hardships can only be endured with patience. So tell me, where does the idea of shortcuts even fit in?

Have you ever seen a blacksmith working on a hot summer afternoon?
He strikes the iron again and again. The first strike does nothing. The second strike does nothing. But he keeps striking until the iron becomes soft and takes the shape he desires.
Hard work is exactly the same. These continuous strikes shape even the most difficult goals into the picture you want. But making those continuous efforts in the burning heat of struggle is your responsibility.

What We See and What We Ignore

Dear readers, the tragedy of our society is that we only see the shining results. We overlook the hard work behind them.
We see Bill Gates who is among the richest people in the world, but we do not see how he wandered at night learning computers after leaving college.
We see Abdul Sattar Edhi who established the largest ambulance service in the world, but we do not see that he started with a single cot.
Or maybe we do know, yet we deliberately avoid looking at these facts because they involve too much effort.

Hard work and passion are like two wings of a bird. No bird can fly with one wing.
Hard work is the physical effort while passion is the inner burning desire.
Today the biggest crisis in our society is that we have forgotten the value of hard work.
We want everything, but we do not want to work for it.
We want to be rich, but we avoid effort.
We want to be successful, but we do not want to sacrifice.
So how can it work?

Why is our generation running away from hard work?
Because we changed the meaning of success.
For today's youth, success means going viral.
Success means gaining fame overnight.
We have connected success to tricks and shortcuts.
But history proves that only consistent people change the world.
The ones who sacrifice sleep.
The ones who leave gatherings.
The ones who endure every bitter word of the world.
Only such people.

Success has never been a quick reward.
It is like a mango tree.
You do not get fruit right after planting the seed.
It takes years.
Seed, sprout, plant, water, fertilizer, seasons, days, months, years and many years.
During all this time you must care for it.
Only then does it bear fruit.
And when the fruit comes, it is so sweet that it makes you forget all the waiting and all the hard work.

So what should you do?
Only one thing.
Make hard work, passion, and consistency your way of life.
Every morning ask yourself:
"Am I one step ahead of yesterday?"
Every night before sleeping ask:
"Did I do today what successful people do?"

Remember, the world runs on continuous effort.
This journey passes through the narrow paths of hard work.
So make a promise today that you will work for your dreams the way a mother works for her child.
You will show passion like a lover does for the beloved.
You will show consistency like a river that cuts through mountains to make its way.

Because after choosing the path of success, only courage and effort take you to the destination.
And success only comes to the one who is used to hard work.
Neither the one who keeps wishing, nor the one who keeps looking for shortcuts ever succeeds.