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THE LEAGUE OF EXTRAORDINARY
GENTLEMEN (AND WOMEN)
He was overhearing my conversation on phone. I always noticed him
listening patiently whenever I was coaching a client on phone regarding
‘How to become a member of ‘The League’?’ One day his curiosity crossed
the threshold, and during a martial arts practice he asked me, “Big
Brother, what is that you do on phone? And what does the word ‘The League’
that you use so regularly on phone really means?” At that time, I advised
him to focus his attention on the practice. When we were going back to
home, he asked the same question again. I guess it was about time he knew
more about this topic. I started explaining him about the research I had
done on really understanding what is that separates the students who top
in school, college and competitive examinations, and the years spent in
demystifying the Science of Achievement.
And now, I spent a considerable
amount of time with students, helping them excel in studies as a
professional coach. “Is the Science of Achievement the same for
students of all ages?” asked my brother. That set me thinking. I
coached students all over the world from 3rd Grade onwards all the way up
to graduate students even older than myself in helping them achieve their
goals in studies and life. Every one had a different goal, most students
wanted to come first in their class, be it at the school or university
level. Some of them wanted to win international competitions like the
Olympiads. Many X and XII grade students in India wanted to get over 90%
in their Board examination. A huge chunk had ambitions of clearing
competitive exams like IIT-JEE, AIEEE, Medical, PMT, CA, CBSE, IAS, CAT,
GRE and a huge bunch of other exams that had the potential of changing the
whole course of their careers. Internationally, students wanted 99% score
in their SAT’s. The list was endless. I had given a single unique name to
each of the goals these students had, and the goal was to be a member of
‘The League’. In essence, ‘The League’ refers to a group of extraordinary
students who have excelled in their fields and achieved goals they had set
for themselves in studies. And that is what I coached people for, to be a
part of ‘The League’. Reflecting back at all the people I coached
independent of their age, nationality, background and even goals, the
Science of Achievement was the same for all! Actually, the goals were
different for each student only in appearance, as in reality all of them
wanted to a member of ‘The League’. His curiosity made me smile. “But why
would anyone want to be a member of ‘The League’?” asked my brother. I
smiled because I thought that everyone in the whole world knew the answer
to the above question , as, without a shadow of doubt, its known that
Success in Studies and Examination is a source of everlasting success and
joy to many, but at that time, simultaneously I began thinking how
membership to ‘The League’ had transformed the lives of millions.
The first name that came to my mind
was of the President of India, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Politics was
supposed to be miles away from education, but this one man, an
aeronautical engineer and scientist by profession and a distinguished
member of ‘The League’ proved that even reaching the highest level of
position is made possible via the education route. If success in education
can make one the President of India, then is there anything else that’s
impossible. Another name that comes to ones mind is Dr Deepak Chopra, a
graduate of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) who has made a
place for India at an international level through his various books on the
subject of medicine, healing and spirituality. Having cleared the
prestigious AIIMS entrance exam, he would definitely be an honorary member
of ‘The league.’ Or think about Mr TN Seshan, Chief Election Commissioner
and a well known name in Indian household who had a Bachelors in Physics,
cleared the All India Civil Services examination and underwent the IAS
Officer training. Well known IPS officers include KPS Gill and Kiran Bedi
who also cleared the Civil services examination. Membership to ‘The
League’ and exemplary success in life via the IIT route is a well known
phenomenon and a few well known people include Y.C. (Yogi) Deveshwar (ITC
President), Deepak Satwalekar (Managing Director, HDFC),Rajendra Singh
Pawar and Vijay Thadani (Founder’s NIIT), Rajat Gupta (CEO, Mckinsey) and
Vinod Khosla (Co-founder, Sun Microsystems). Many of the above successful
people had also cleared the CAT entrance exams and joined IIM’s or cleared
the GMAT exam and did their MBA from universities like Harvard that
contributed largely to their success. Let alone the so called top
institutes, even membership to ‘The League’ via achievement of their
career goals through other colleges is also an exemplary example.
See Vinod Dham, designer of the
Pentium Chip from Delhi College of Engineering who would have cleared
AIEEE equivalent at that that time and Sabeer Bhatia, founder of Hotmail
and a graduate from BITS Pilani for example. A number of Doctors from
institutes like Maulana Azad Medical College among others who would have
cleared the tough Medical entrance exams figure among the top level
doctors in institutes like Escorts and Appolo and would be earning
salaries imaginable by a few. Definitely, it takes effort to clear
competitive exams in any field, but the effort is definitely worth it, as
we saw above. Let alone competitive exams, being a member of ‘The League’
at school and college level, be it coming first in your class or your
board exams is a rewarding experience in itself. I may not have names
here, but we all know that such students are liked and preferred in all
areas, by teachers and students alike! I am sure you would like to be one
of them!
Can I be a member of ‘The League’?
If my previous paragraphs have completely overwhelmed you, you may have
begun to wonder, “Is ‘The League’ some sort of an Ivory Tower for the
Prima Donnas of the academic world?” Let me assure you that “No, it is
not.” Even an average or below average student in academics can aspire to
nurture this dream, provided he or she decides to commit himself to this
goal, and approaches studies and examination in a strategic and careful
manner, as I will shortly explain in this book. Students who excel in
studies come from all backgrounds and geographical areas, from cities and
rural countryside. They are sometimes toppers and at other times not.
Their socio-economic background is also varied. In fact, there are no
common variables that can define the DNA of a member of ‘The League.’ So
to answer your question, “Is ‘The League’ for me?” is not that simple. And
I can’t help you answer the question either. Preparing for ‘The League’ is
a personal decision and you have to commit efforts to that decision. My
role is simply to inspire and make you aspire, which is what I am set out
to do through the medium of this book. Remember, the only meaning that
life carries is the meaning that we ascribe to it. This means, that if you
feel limited in any sense, you are feeling limited only by your own
thoughts. If you allow yourself into believing (even subconsciously) that
you cannot make it to ‘The League’, I would agree whole-heartedly with
you. You definitely cannot and this book cannot help you either. Perhaps
you should put it aside and engage yourself with something less taxing.
But if you have a small spark glowing in some corner of your heart that
says “I can do it” or rather “I will do it” --- my sincere advice to you
is: Don’t let that spark die. It is my 100 per cent guarantee that this
spark will make you do it. Once you choose to believe that you can; you
will. Actually, it is nothing but our belief systems that eventually
manifest themselves into reality. (We will discuss more about this
phenomenon in a later chapter on Subliminal Conditioning)
by Rajat Khare
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Writer
Profile
Rajat Khare (www.rajatkhare.com)
Co-founder Appin Knowledge Solutions(www.appinonline.com)
Author of book "Science of Achievment with Anuj Khare(www.anujkhare.com)
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