THE DEAR DEPARTED BY WILLIAM STANLEY HOUGHTOR

THE DEAR DEPARTED BY WILLIAM STANLEY HOUGHTON

CHARACTERS:

SISTERS : Mrs. Amelia Slater / Mrs. Elizabeth Jordan

HUSBANDS OF AMELIA AND ELIZABETH : Henry Slater / Ben Jordan

Victoria Slater - a girl of ten (Amelia's daughter)

Abel Merry weather - (father of Amelia and Elizabeth)

(When the curtain rises Mrs. Slater is seen laying the table. She is a vigorous, plump, red-faced, vulgar woman prepared to do any amount of straight talking to get her own way. She is in black. She goes to the window, opens it and calls into the street)

Mrs. Slater: (sharply) Victoria, Victoria! D'ye hear? Come in, will you? 

Mrs. Slater: I'm amazed at you, Victoria. I really am. Be off now, and change your dress before your Aunt Elizabeth and your Uncle Ben come. It would never do for them to find you in colours with grandfather lying dead, upstairs. 

Victoria: What are they coming for? They haven't been here for ages.

Mrs. Slater: They're coming to talk over poor grandpa's affairs. Your father sent them a telegram as soon as we found he was dead. (A noise is heard) 

(Henry Slater, a stooping, heavy man with a drooping moustache, enters. He is wearing a black tailcoat, grey trousers, a black tie and a bowler hat.) 

Henry: I'm wondering if they'll come at all. When you and Elizabeth quarreled she said she'd never set foot in your house again.

Mrs. Slater: She'll come fast enough after her share of what our father's left. You know how hard she can be when she likes. Where she gets it from I can't tell.

Henry: I suppose it's in the family. (pause) Where are my slippers? 

Mrs. Slater: In the kitchen; but you want a new pair, those old ones are nearly worn out. (Nearly breaking down) You don't seem to realize what it's costing me to bear up like I am doing. My heart's fit to break when I see the little trifles that belonged to father lying around, and think he'll never use them again. (Briskly) here! You'd better wear these slippers of my father's now. It's lucky he'd just got a new pair.

Henry: They'll be very small for me, my dear. 

Mrs. Slater: They'll stretch, won't they? I'm not going to have them wasted. (She has finished laying the table.) Henry, I've been thinking about that bureau of my father's that's in his bedroom. You know I always wanted to have it after he died. 

Henry: You must arrange with Elizabeth when you're dividing things up.

Mrs. Slater: Elizabeth's that sharp she'll see I'm after it, and we'll drive a hard bargain over it.

Henry: Perhaps she's got her eye on the bureau as well. 

Mrs. Slater: She's got her eye on the bureau as well. 

Mrs. Slater: She's never been here since father bought it. If it was only down here instead of in his room, she'd never guess it wasn't our own.

Henry: (startled): Amelia! (He rises) Mrs. Slater : Henry, why shouldn't we bring that bureau down here now? We can do it before they come.

Henry: (stupefied) I wouldn't care to. 

Mrs. Slater: Don't look so daft. Why not?

Henry: It doesn't seem delicate, somehow. 

Mrs. Slater: We could put that shabby old chest of drawers upstairs where the bureau is now. Elizabeth could have that and welcome. I've always wanted to get rid of it. (She points to the drawers.)

Henry: Suppose they come when we're doing it. 

Mrs. Slater: I'll fasten the front door. Get your coat off, Henry. We'll change it. 

(Mrs. Slater goes out to fasten the front door. Henry takes his coat off. Mrs. Slater reappears.)

Mrs. Slater: I'll run up and move the chairs out of the way. 

(Victoria appears, dressed according to her mother's (instructions) 

Victoria: What have you got your coat off for, father? 

Henry: Mother and I are going to bring grandfather's bureau down here. 

Victoria: Are you planning to pinch it?

Henry: (Shocked) No, my child. Grandpa gave it to your mother before he died. 

Victoria: This morning?

Henry: Yes. 

Victoria: Ah! He was drunk this morning. 

(Mrs. Slater appears carrying a handsome clock under her arm.)

Mrs. Slater: I thought I'd fetch this down as well. (She puts it on the mantelpiece) Ourclock's worth nothing and this always appealed to me.

Victoria: That's grandpa's clock. 

Mrs. Slater: Be quiet! It's ours now. Come, Henry, lift your end.

(Henry and Mrs. Slater, very hot and flushed, stagger in with a pretty old fashioned bureau containing a locked desk. They put it where the chest of drawers was, and straighten the ornaments, etc. There is a knock at the door. The knocking is repeated.) 

(Victoria ushers in Ben and Mrs. Jordan. The latter is a stout, complacent woman with an irritating air of being always right. She is wearing an outfit of new mourning. Ben is also in complete new mourning. He is rather a jolly little man, but at present trying to adapt himself to the regrettable occasion. Mrs. Jordan sails into the room and solemnly goes straight to Mrs. Slater and kisses her. The men shake hands.)

Mrs. Jordan: Well, Amelia, and so he's gone at last. 

Mrs. Slater: Yes, he's gone. He was seventy-two a fortnight last Sunday. (She sniffs back a tear.) 

Ben (chirpily): Now, Amelia, you mustn't give way. We've all got to die some time or other.

Mrs. Jordan: And now perhaps you'll tell us all about it. 

Mrs. Slater: Father had been merry this morning. He went out soon after breakfast to pay his insurance. 

Ben: My word, it's a good thing he did.

Mrs. Jordan: He always was thoughtful in that way. He was too honourable to have 'gone' without paying his premium. 

Henry: And when I came in I found him undressed sure enough and snug in bed.

Mrs. Slater: And when we'd finished dinner I thought I'd take up a bit of something on a tray. He was lying there for all the world as if he was asleep, so I put the tray down on the bureau-(correcting herself) on the chest of drawers - and went to waken him. (A pause) He was quite cold.

(A pause. They wipe their eyes and sniff back tears.) 

Mrs. Slater: (Rising briskly at length; in a business-like tone) Well, will you go up and look at him now, or shall we have tea?

Mrs. Jordan: What do you say, Ben? 

Ben : I'm not particular. 

Mrs. Jordan: (surveying the table) Well, then, if the kettle's ready, we may as well have tea first. (Mrs. Slater puts the kettle on the fire and gets tea ready.)

Henry: One thing we may as well decide now is the announcement in the papers. 

Mrs. Jordan: I was thinking of that. What would you put? (A pause) 

Mrs. Jordan: Well, we'll think about it after tea, and then we'll look through his bits of things and make a list of them. There's all the furniture in his room.

Henry: There's no jewellery or valuables of that sort. 

Mrs. Jordan: Except his gold watch. He promised that to our Jimmy. 

Mrs. Slater: Promised your Jimmy! I never heard of that. 

Mrs. Jordan: Oh, but he did, Amelia, when he was living with us. He was very fond of Jimmy

Mrs. Slater: Well, (Amazed) I don't know! 

Ben: Anyhow, there's his insurance money. Have you got the receipt for the premium he paid this morning? 

Mrs. Slater: I've not seen it. (Victoria jumps up from the sofa and comes behind the table.)

Victoria: Mother, I don't think Grandpa went to pay his insurance this morning. 

Mrs. Slater: He went out. 

Victoria: Yes, but he didn't go into the town. He met old Mr. Tatters all down the street, and they went off past St. Philip's Church.

Ben: Do you think he hasn't paid it? Was it overdue? 

Mrs. Slater: I should think it was overdue. 

Mrs. Jordan: Something tells me he's not paid it. 

Ben: The drunken old beggar.

Mrs. Jordan: He's done it on purpose, just to annoy us. 

Mrs. Slater: After all I've done for him, having to put up with him in the house these three years. It's nothing short of swindling. 

Mrs. Jordan: I had to put up with him for five years.

Mrs. Slater: And you were trying to turn him over to us all the time. 

Henry: But we don't know for certain that he's not paid the premium. 

Mrs. Slater: Victoria, run upstairs and fetch that bunch of keys that's on your Grandpa's dressing-table.

Victoria: (timidly) In Grandpa's room? 

Mrs. Slater: Yes. 

Victoria: I - I don't like to. 

Mrs. Slater: Don't talk so silly. There's no one can hurt you. (Victoria goes out reluctantly) We'll see if he's locked the receipt up in the bureau.

Ben: In where? In this thing? (He rises and examines it.) 

Mrs. Jordan: (also rising) Where did you pick that up, Amelia? It's new since last I was here. (They examine it closely.) 

Mrs. Slater: Oh - Henry picked it up one day. (Victoria returns, very scared. She closes the door after her.)

Victoria: Mother! Mother! 

Mrs. Slater: What is it, child? 

Victoria: Grandpa's getting up. 

Ben: What? 

Mrs. Slater: What do you say?

Victoria: Grandpa's getting up. 

Mrs. Jordan: The child's crazy. 

Mrs. Slater: Don't talk so silly. Don't you know your grandpa's dead?

Victoria: No, no; he's getting up. I saw him. (They are transfixed with amazement; Victoria clings to Mrs. Slater.) 

Ben: (Suddenly) Hist! Listen.

(They look at the door. A slight chuckling is heard from upstairs. The door opens, revealing an old man clad in a faded but gay dressing-gown. He is in his stocking feet. Although over seventy, he is vigorous and well coloured. His bright, malicious eyes twinkle under his heavy, reddish-gray eye brows. He is obviously either the old man ABEL MERRYWEATHER or else his ghost.)

Abel: What’s the matter with little Vicky? 

(He sees Ben and Mrs. Jordan) Hello! What brings you here? How’s yourself, Ben? 

(Abel thrusts his hand at Ben who skips back smartly and retreats with Mrs. Jordan to a safe distance below the sofa.) 

Mrs. Slater: (approaching Abel gingerly)Father, is that you? (She pokes him with her hand to see if he is solid.)

Abel: Of course it’s me. Don’t do that, Melia. What the devil do you mean by this tomfoolery? 

Mrs. Jordan: You took us by surprise, father. Are you keeping quite well?

Abel: (trying to catch the words) Eh? What? 

Mrs. Jordan: Are you quite well? 

Abel: Aye, I’m right enough but for a bit of a headache. (Looking at Melia) Melia, what the dickens did I do with my new slippers?

Mrs. Slater: (confused) Aren’t they by the hearth, father? 

Abel: I don’t see them. (Observing Henry trying to remove the slippers) Why, you’ve got ‘em on, Henry

Mrs. Slater: (promptly) I told him to put them on to stretch them; they were that new and hard. Now, Henry. 

(Mrs. Slater snatches the slippers from Henry and gives them to Abel, who puts them on and sits in armchair.) 

Mrs. Jordan: (to Ben) Well, I don’t call that delicate, stepping into a dead man’s shoes in such haste.

(Victoria runs across to Abel and sits on the floor at his feet.)

Victoria: Oh, Grandpa, I’m so glad you’re not dead. 

Mrs. Slater: (in a vindictive whisper) Hold your tongue, Victoria. 

Abel: Eh? What’s that? Who’s gone dead?

Mrs. Slater: (loudly) Victoria says she’s sorry about your head. 

Abel: Ah, thank you, Vicky, but I’m feeling better. 

Abel: Why, Ben, you are in mourning! And Lizzie too. And Melia, and Henry and little Vicky! Who‘s gone dead? It’s someone in the family. 

(He chuckles.)

Mrs. Slater: No one you know, father. A relation of Ben’s. 

Abel: And what relation of Ben’s? 

Mrs. Slater: His brother. 

Ben: (to Mrs. Slater) Damn it, I never had one.

Abel: Dear, dear. And what was his name, Ben? 

Ben: (at a loss) Er-er. (He crosses to front of table.) 

Mrs. Slater: (Right side of table, prompting) Frederick. 

Mrs. Jordan: (Left side of table, prompting) Albert. 

Ben: Er-Fred –Alb-Isaac

Abel: Isaac? And where did your brother Isaac die? 

Ben: In-er-in Australia. 

Abel (rising): Well, I suppose you’ve only been waiting for me to begin tea. I’m feeling hungry.

Mrs. Slater: (taking up the kettle) I’ll make tea. 

Abel: Come along, now, sit you down and let’s be jolly. 

(Abel sits at the head of the table, facing spectators.)

Abel: (suddenly recollecting) Ay, ‘Melia and Henry, what the devil did you mean by shifting my bureau out of my bedroom? (Henry and Mrs. Slater are speechless.) D’you hear me? Henry! Melia!’ 

Mrs. Jordan: What bureau was that, father? 

Abel: Why, my bureau, the one I bought –

Mrs. Jordan: (pointing to the bureau) was it the one, father? 

Abel: Ah, that’s it. What’s it doing there? Eh? 

(A pause… The clock on the mantelpiece strikes six. Everyone looks at it.) 

Drat me if that isn’t my clock, too. What the devil’s been going on in this house? 

(A slight pause)

Ben: well, I’ll be hanged. 

Mrs. Jordan: (rising) I’ll tell you what’s been going on in this house, father. Nothing short of robbery. 

Mrs. Slater: Be quiet, Elizabeth. Mrs. Jordan : I’ll not be quiet. Oh, I call it double-faced. 

Henry: Now, now, Elizabeth

Mrs. Jordan: And you, too. Are you such a poor creature that you must do every dirty thing she tells you? 

Abel: (rising; thumping the table) Damn it all, will someone tell me what’s been going on? 

Mrs. Jordan: Yes, I will. I’ll not see you robbed. 

Abel: Who’s been robbing me?

Mrs. Jordan: Amelia and Henry. They’ve stolen your clock and bureau. 

(Working herself up) 

They sneaked into your room like thieves in the night and stole them after you were dead. 

Henry and Mrs. Slater: Hush! Quiet, Elizabeth! 

Mrs. Jordan: I’ll not be stopped. After you were dead, I say.

Abel: After who was dead? 

Mrs. Jordan: You. 

Abel: But I’m not dead. 

Mrs. Jordan: No, but they thought you were. 

(A pause... Abel gazes round at them.) 

Abel: Oho! So that’s why you’re all in black to-day. You thought I was dead. (He chuckles.) That was a big mistake. (He sits and resumes his tea.) 

Mrs. Slater: (sobbing) Father

Abel: It didn’t take you long to start dividing my things between you. I’ll tell you what I’m going to do. Since your mother died, I’ve lived part of the time with you, Amelia, and part with you, Lizzie. Well, I shall make a new will, leaving all my bits of things to whoever I’m living with when I die. How does that strike you? 

Mrs. Jordan: You know, father, it’s quite time you came to live with us again. We’d make you very comfortable.

Mrs. Slater: No, he’s not been with us as long as he was with you. 

Mrs. Jordan: I may be wrong, but I don’t think father will fancy living on with you after what’s happened today. 

Abel: It seems to me that neither of you has any cause to feel proud about the way you’ve treated me.

Mrs. Slater: If I’ve done anything wrong, I’m sure I’m sorry for it. 

Mrs. Jordan: And I can’t say more than that, too. 

Abel: It’s a bit late to say it, now. Neither of you cared to put up with me. 

Mrs. Slater and Mrs. Jordan: No, no, father.

Abel: Aye, you both say that because of what I’ve told you about leaving my money. Well, since you don’t want me I’ll go to someone that does. 

Ben: Come, Mr. Merry weather, you’ve got to live with one of your daughters.

Abel: I’ll tell you what I’ve got to do. On Monday next I’ve got to do three things. I’ve got to go to the lawyer and alter my will; and I’ve got to go to the insurance office and pay my premium and I’ve got to go to St Philip’s Church and get married.

Ben and Henry: What! 

Mrs. Jordan: Get married! 

Mrs. Slater: He’s out of his senses. (General consternation)

Abel: I say I’m going to get married. 

Mrs. Slater: Who to?

Abel: To Mrs. John Shorrocks who keeps the ‘Ring-o-Bells’. We’ve had it fixed up a good while now, but I was keeping it for a pleasant surprise. (He rises.) I felt I was a bit of a burden to you, so I found someone who’d think it a pleasure to look after me. We shall be very glad to see you at the ceremony. (He gets to the door.) Till Monday, then. Twelve o’ clock at St. Philip’s Church. (Opening the door) It’s a good thing you brought that bureau downstairs, Amelia. It’ll be handier to carry it across to the ‘Ring-o-Bells’ on Monday. (He goes out.)

THE CURTAIN FALLS……………….

BY WILLIAM STANLEY HOUGHTON

William Stanley Houghton (1881 - 1913) was a famous English dramatist. He was one of the best of a group of realistic playwrights often called the Manchester School. In every play he sought to present an idea. He had a remarkable gift for dialogue that is evident in 'The Dear Departed'. The Dear Departed was first produced in Manchester in 1908. Here Houghton satirizes the degradation of moral values in the British middle-class.

I WILL DO IT BY SUDHA MURTHY

I WILL DO IT BY SUDHA MURTHY 

I WILL DO IT BY SUDHA MURTHY 

He was short. He was sharp. He was the brightest boy in his class. His seniors used to ask him to solve their difficulties in science. He could have gone unnoticed in a crowd, but once you asked him a question related to Physics or Maths, there was a spark in his eyes. He could grasp theories of science faster than the speed of light.

He came from a poor but educated family. His father was a high-school teacher and an avid reader of English literature. He, like all the boys in his class, was trying to get admission into some engineering college. The brighter ones wanted to study in the Indian Institutes of Technology, or the IITs. There was an entrance test for IIT. This boy, along with his friends, applied to appear for the test. They did not have any special books or coaching. All these IIT aspirants would sit below the shade of a stone mandap close to Chamundi Hills in the sleepy town of Mysore. He was the guide for the others. While the others struggled to solve the problems in the question paper, he would smile shyly and solve them in no time. He sat alone below a tree and dreamt of studying at IIT. It was the ultimate aim for any bright boy at that age, as it still is today. He was then only sixteen years old.

D-Day came. He came to Bangalore, stayed with some relatives and appeared for the entrance test. He did very well but would only say 'ok' when asked. It was the opposite when it came to food. When he said 'ok' it implied 'bad', when he said 'good' it implied 'ok', when he said 'excellent' it implied 'good'. His principle was never to hurt anyone. 

The IIT entrance results came. He had passed with a high rank. What a delight for any student! He was thrilled. He went to his father who was reading a newspaper. 

‘Anna, I have passed the exam.’

‘Well done, my boy.’ ‘I want to join IIT.’

His father stopped reading the paper. He lifted his head, looked at the boy and said with a heavy voice, 'My son, you are a bright boy. You know our financial position. I have five daughters to be married off and three sons to educate. I am a salaried person. I cannot afford your expenses at IIT. You can stay in Mysore and study as much as you want.'

Indeed it was a difficult situation for any father to say 'no' to his bright son. But circumstances were like that. It was common then for the man to be the single earning member with a large family dependent on him.

His father was sad that he had to tell the bitter truth to his son. But it could not be helped. The boy had to understand reality. 

The teenager was disappointed. It seemed his dreams had burnt to ashes. He was so near to fulfilling his fondest hope, yet so far. His heart sank in sorrow. 

He did not reply. He never shared his unhappiness or helplessness with anybody. He was an introvert by nature. His heart was bleeding but he did not get angry with anybody.

The day came. His classmates were leaving for Madras (now Chennai). They were taking a train from Mysore to Madras. They have shared good years in school and college together. He went to the station to say goodbye and good luck to them for their future life. 

At the station, his friends were already there. They were excited and talking loudly. The noise was like the chirping of birds. They were all excited and discussing their new hostels, new courses etc. He was not part of it. So he stood there silently. One of them noticed and said, 'You should have made it.'

He did not reply. He only wished all of them. They waved at him as the train slowly left the platform.

He stood there even after he could no longer see the train or the waving hands. It was the June of 1962 in Mysore city. Monsoon had set in and it was getting dark. It had started to drizzle. Yet he stood there motionless. 

He said to himself, without anger or jealousy, 'All students from the IITs study well and do big things in life. But it is not the institution; ultimately it is you and you alone who can change your life by hard work.'

Probably he was not aware that he was following the philosophy of the Bhagavath Gita: 'Your best friend is yourself and your worst enemy is yourself.' 

Later he worked very hard, and focused on one thing, never bothering about his personal life or comforts. He shared his wealth with others. He never used the help of any caste, community or political connections to go up in life. 

A son of a school teacher showed other Indians it was possible to earn wealth legally and ethically. He built a team of people who were equally good.

He became a pioneer of India's software industry and started the Information Technology wave. Today he has become an icon of simplicity, uncompromising quality and fairness, apart from being a philanthropist. He really believes in the motto, 'Powered by intellect and driven by values'. 

He is none other than NAGAVARA RAMARAO NARAYANA MURTHY, the founder of Infosys, a leading IT company in the world.

BY SUDHA MURTHY

Sudha Murthy, wife of N.R. Narayana Murthy, is an Indian social worker and author. Murthy began her professional career as a computer scientist and engineer. She is the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation. She has founded several orphanages, participated in rural development efforts, supported the movement to provide all Karnataka government schools with computer and library facilities, and established the 'The Murthy Classical Library of India' at Harvard University. Murthy also teaches Computer Science and composed fiction. Dollar Sose. The present story is an extract from one of her most successful stories 'How I Taught my Grandmother to Read & Other Stories.'

EVERY SUCCESS STORY IS ALSO A STORY OF GREAT FAILURES BY SHIV KHERA

EVERY SUCCESS STORY IS ALSO A STORY OF GREAT FAILURES BY SHIV KHERA

Failure is the highway to success. Tom Watson Sr. said, “If you want to succeed, double your failure rate.

” If you study history, you will find that all stories of success are also stories of great failures. But people don’t see the failures. They only see one side of the picture and they say that person got lucky: “He must have been at the right place at the right time.”

Let me share someone’s life history with you. This was a man who failed in business at the age of 21; was defeated in a legislative race at age 22; failed again in business at age 24; overcame the death of his sweetheart at age 26; had a nervous breakdown at age 27; lost a congressional race at age 34; lost a senatorial race at age 45; failed in an effort to become vice-president at age 47; lost a senatorial race at age 49; and was elected president of the United States at age 52.

This man was Abraham Lincoln.

Would you call him a failure? He could have quit. But to Lincoln, defeat was a detour and not a dead end. 

In 1913, Lee De Forest, inventor of the triodes tube, was charged by the district attorney for using fraudulent means to mislead the public into buying stocks of his company by claiming that he could transmit the human voice across the Atlantic. He was publicly humiliated. Can you imagine where we would be without his invention?

A New York Times editorial on December 10, 1903, questioned the wisdom of the Wright Brothers who were trying to invent a machine, heavier than air that would fly. One week later, at Kitty Hawk, the Wright Brothers took their famous flight.

Colonel Sanders, at age 65, with a beat-up car and a $100 check from social Security, realized he had to do something. He remembered his mother's recipe and went out selling. How many doors did he have to knock on before he got his first order? It is estimated that he had knocked on more than a thousand doors before he got his first order. How many of us quit after three tries, ten tries, a hundred tries, and then we say we tried as hard as we could?

As a young cartoonist, Walt Disney faced many rejections from newspaper editors, who said he had no talent. One day a minister at a church hired him to draw some cartoons. Disney was working out of a small mouse infested shed near the church. After seeing a small mouse, he was inspired. That was the start of Mickey Mouse. 

Successful people don't do great things; they only do small things in a great way.

One day a partially deaf four year old kid came home with a note in his pocket from his teacher, "Your Tommy is too stupid to learn, get him out of the school." His mother read the note and answered, "My Tommy is not stupid to learn, I will teach him myself." And that Tommy grew up to be the great Thomas Edison. Thomas Edison had only three months of formal schooling and he was partially deaf.

Henry Ford forgot to put the reverse gear in the first car he made.

Do you consider these people failures? They succeeded in spite of problems, not in the absence of them. But to the outside world, it appears as though they just got lucky. 

All success stories are stories of great failures. The only difference is that every time they failed, they bounced back. This is called failing forward, rather than backward. You learn and move forward. Learn from your failure and keep moving. 

In 1914, Thomas Edison, at age 67, lost his factory, which was worth a few million dollars, to fire. It had very little insurance. No longer had a young man, Edison watched his lifetime effort go up in smoke and said, "There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burnt up. Thank God we can start anew." In spite of disaster, three weeks later, he invented the phonograph. What an attitude!

Below are more examples of the failures of successful people: 

1. Thomas Edison failed approximately 10,000 times while he was working on the light bulb. 

2. Henry Ford was broke at the age of 40. 

3. Lee Iacocca was fired by Henry Ford II at the age of 54. 

4. Young Beethoven was told that he had no talent for music, but he gave some of the best music to the world.

Setbacks are inevitable in life. A setback can act as a driving force and also teach us humility. In grief you will find courage and faith to overcome the setback. We need to learn to become victors, not victims. Fear and doubt short-circuit the mind. 

Ask yourself after every setback: What did I learn from this experience? Only then will you be able to turn a stumbling block into a stepping stone.

The motivation to succeed comes from the burning desire to achieve a purpose. Napoleon Hill wrote, "Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe the mind can achieve."

A young man asked Socrates the secret to success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue. Socrates pulled his head out of the water and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air. Socrates asked, 'What did you want the most when you were there?" The boy replied, "Air." Socrates said, "That is the secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted the air, then you will get it." There is no other secret.

A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment. Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results.

IF YOU THINK

If you think you are beaten, you are.

If you think you dare not, you don't!

If you like to win, but think you can't,

It's almost a cinch you won't.

You think you'll lose, you're lost;

For out in the world we find

Success begins with a fellow's will;

It's all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are,

You've got to think high to rise,

You've got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life's battles don't always go

To the stronger and faster man,

But sooner or later the man who wins

Is the man who thinks he can.

BY SHIV KHERA

Shiv Khera is an Indian author of self-help books and activist. While working in the United States, he was inspired by a lecture delivered by Norman Vincent Peale and followed his motivational teachings. Khera has written several books including You Can Win. His mission is "to ensure freedom through education and justice." Shiv Khera was born in a business family who used to have coal mines Kendua in Dhanbad, India. Soon after the nationalisation of coal mines by the Indian government, he had to search for his own living. In his early years he worked as a car washer, a life insurance agent, and a franchise operator before he became a motivational speaker

ATTITUDE IS ALTITUDE

ATTITUDE IS ALTITUDE 

Imagine having no arms to stretch in the morning, to help you scratch that itch, to allow you to wrap your arms around your loved ones. Imagine having no legs to kick pebbles down the street, to walk or run, to bicycle or skateboard, or get you from point A to point B. Then imagine both at once, which is what Nick Vujicic has faced his whole life. Have you heard something like this before? 

Nick Vujicic was born with no arms or legs - but he doesn’t let the details stop him. The brave 26-year-old - who is mainly torso - plays football and golf, swims, and surfs, despite having no limbs. 

Nick has a small foot on his left hip which helps him balance and enables him to kick. He uses his one foot to type, write with a pen and pick things up between his toes. 

‘I call it my chicken drumstick,’ joked Nick, who was born in Melbourne, Australia, but now lives in Los Angeles. ‘I’d be lost without it.

"If you can't get a miracle, become one." ? Nick Vujicic 

Due to his faith as an Evangelical Christian, Nick has chosen to remain a virgin until marriage although he has had long-term girlfriends in the past. 

'He's very modest but he gets marriage proposals from women all the time,' said Nick's friend and publicist Steve Appel, from Los Angeles. 

'He would love to get married and start a family but he's waiting for the right girl to come along.'

Water sports aren't Nick's only thing - he also plays golf with a club tucked under his chin, and is a huge fan of the English Premier League.

His parents decided not to send him to a special school - a decision he said was very hard for him, but which may have been the best decision they could have made for him. 

When Nick was born his father was so shocked that he left the hospital room to vomit. His distraught mother couldn't bring herself to hold him until he was four months old. 

His disability came without any medical explanation - a rare occurrence called Phocomelia - and Nick and his parents spent many years asking why this cruel trick would happen to them. 'My mother was a nurse and she did everything right during pregnancy but she still blamed herself,' he said.

'It was so hard for them but right from the start they did their best to make me independent. 

'My dad put me in the water at 18 months and gave the courage to learn how to swim. 

'I also got really into football and skateboarding. I totally love the English Premier League.' 

Nick's father was a computer programmer and accountant and he taught his little son how to type with his toe at just 6 years old. His mum invented a special plastic device that meant he could hold a pen and pencil.

Despite the risk of bullying, his parents insisted Nick attended mainstream school. 'It was the best decision they could have made for me,' adds Nick, who later achieved a degree in Financial Planning and Real Estate. 'It was very hard but it gave me independence.

' Nick, who was teased and bullied, had an electric wheelchair for mobility, and a team of carers to help him. 

'I was deeply depressed when I was eight years old,' he said. 'I went to my mum crying and told her I wanted to kill myself.

'I felt cold and bitter. I hated God for doing this to me and was terrified of what would happen when my parents weren't there to look after me.

'I could brush my own teeth with a wall mounted brush and wash my own hair with pump action soap, but there was so much that was impossible for me.'

At age ten Nick tried to drown himself in the bath but luckily the attempt was unsuccessful. 'I felt there was no purpose when you lack purpose and strength it is hard to hold on,' he said. But with the help of his religion, friends and family, Nick managed to pull through to become an international symbol of triumph over adversity.

'When I was 13 I read a newspaper article about a disabled man who had managed to achieve great things and help others,' said Nick.

'I realised why God had made us like this - to give hope to others. It was so inspirational to me that I decided to use my life to encourage other people and give them the courage that the article had given me.

'I decided to be thankful for what I do have, not get angry about what I don't. 

'I looked at myself in the mirror and said: 'You know what the world is right that I have no arms or legs, but they'll never take away the beauty of my eyes.' I wanted to concentrate on something good that I had.'

"The challenges in our lives are there to strengthen our convictions. They are not there to run us over", said Nick. In 1990 Nick won the Australian Young Citizen of the Year award for his bravery and perseverance.

'When kids run up to me and ask 'what happened?' I just lean over and whisper 'cigarettes', he laughed.

'And once I was in a car and a girl at traffic lights was giving me the eye. She could only see my head so I decided to do a 360 in the car seat to freak her out. 'Her face was like wooah what is going on? She sped off really quickly.'

Nick began travelling the world and in 2008 he went to Hawaii and met surfing master Bethany Hamilton, who had her arm bitten off by a shark when he was 12. 

'She was amazing, said Nick. 'She taught me how to surf and I was terrified at first, but once I got up there it felt absolutely fantastic and I caught some waves pretty well.' Nick quickly learned how to do the 360 degree spins on his board - a feat that got him on the cover of Surfer magazine within 48 hours. 'No one has ever done that in the history of surfing,' he said.' But I have a very low centre of gravity so I've got pretty good balance.

He has visited different countries all over the world. The football fan is now a motivational speaker and has travelled to over 24 countries speaking to groups of up to 110,000 people. 

He moved to Los Angeles two years ago and plans to continue to travel the world - this year he will visit South America and the Middle East. 

"If I fail, I try again, and again, and again. If you fail, are you going to try again? The human spirit can handle much worse than we realize. It matters how you are going to finish. Are you going to finish strong?" said Nick 

'I tell people to keep on getting up when they fall and to always love themselves,' he said. 

'If I can encourage just one person then my job in this life is done.'