5 Inspirational Stories Of Successful Indians

“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life – think of it, dream of it, live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves, every part of your body, be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success.”

Swami Vivekananda

Success, much like other variables in life, has a relative definition. Depending on the situation one is in, achieving daily life goals could mean a bigger success than someone who is deemed to be conventionally successful. Although a generic and distorted understanding of what entails success is prevalent in our world, the truth is, that there are no fixed parameters to decide the rate of success.

But one thing is certain, success doesn’t come easy. It requires rigorous and consistent efforts, to step out of the comfort zone, and not giving up until we achieve what we want. In order to be successful, don’t be scared to fail instead learn from it. The world is full of such inspirational stories of success, of which, failure is an integral part.

Keep moving and each time you will learn something new; Stop and you will become dead. As traditional wisdom correctly states, moving forward is the only way to ensure that the journey goes on and that failure is not an alternative to success; it is just a temporary setback.

It can very well be an opportunity to explore one more path towards your destination. Humans have a tendency to belittle, or disown, their failures in the face of success, and that is a big folly. Even the most successful people achieved what they wanted, surpassing the hurdles on their path.

Everybody knows the story of Einstein, Walt Disney, Gandhi, Ratan Tata, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs and their meteoric rise to success despite all odds. These inspirational stories of success are a source of motivation for all of us. They keep us going on the way to our destination, irrespective of the problems we face.

We have put together a list of similar people, who aren’t as popular or successful as the ones named above, but are inspiring individuals who prove that success is a concerted effort of hard work, perseverance, commitment, and talent.

Patricia  Narayan

Patricia Narayan‘s journey is a stark tale of survival. It is a story of a woman who whittled her way from an abusive married life to a successful entrepreneur. Tenacity and faith in her skills helped her go a long way on the road to success. Once a small tea stall vendor Patricia is now the owner of Sandheepa Group of restaurants. She was awarded the FICCI Women Entrepreneur of the Year in 2010. Patricia’s life journey is a role model for all those women who are trapped in the vicious circle of their abusive married life and have lost their identity, confidence and talent somewhere amidst their relations and married life.

Manish Paul

Manish Paul is a familiar name in the entertainment industry. His work as an actor, entertainer, VJ, RJ, and comedian has won him universal applause. He has been adored a lot by everyone, especially as a host. Though Manish Paul has a great fan following now, his journey was not a cakewalk. This Delhi boy came to Mumbai with only dreams in his eyes. Struggles, heartbreaks, and disappointments couldn’t alter his aspirations. His will to fulfill his dreams and persistent efforts paved his way to success. Indeed, success came to him gradually. Patience and faith in his talent and skills are the key takeaways from his voyage.

Srikanth Bolla

Facing the odds of life, community, and our education system, Bolla proved that sky is the limit for those who are not afraid to dream. Rejected from one of India’s most prestigious engineering college (IIT), because of his visual disability, Bolla pursued his education from MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Cambridge. He was the first visually impaired international student at MIT (one among the 120 selected international students). Born in a low-resource family, Bolla now runs his own company that has three branches located in different cities with an annual turnover of Rs. 50 crores. The majority of the people employed in his companies are physically disabled.

Srikanth proved that there is nothing like impossible, one can achieve what he/she wants with faith, hope, and a strong mindset.

Kalpana Saroj

The tale of Kalpana Saroj is a story of another woman who stood high while encountering the odds of life. A victim of child marriage and facing discrimination for being Dalit, she was thrashed with the vulnerabilities of life.  In spite of these problems Kalpana decided to fight back and contrived her way to a better life. Brave and determined, Kalpana is now a successful entrepreneur running Kamani Tubes Limited, a company worth $112 million. She has also been awarded Padam Shri for Trade and Industry in the year 2013. Undoubtedly, Kalpana has set an example for all those who dream to fly high breaking the clutches of society, culture, and destiny.

Ritesh Agarwal

The founder and CEO of OYO Rooms, Ritesh Agarwal, is among the youngest entrepreneurs in the country. Since childhood Ritesh was fascinated about software and gradually developed an interest in programming and coding. But this wasn’t his true calling; in fact, destiny had planned something bigger for him. He was just 18 years old when he started his company “OravelStay,” which in spite of his several efforts was not performing well. Ritesh decided to fight back and after some modifications named his company as “OYO Rooms;” an online booking website for affordable hotel rooms. Now, the company is booming in the market and is a hit among the users. Ritesh followed his dreams, traveled extensively and didn’t give up in the face of odds.

The bottom-line is that one should not hold themselves and their dreams back because of how the society, family, or the world, in general, might react. Until and unless it doesn’t directly harm somebody, never give up on your dreams. Remember, the decision you make at this junction will brand you for life as an optimist or a pessimist. Are you the one who believes ‘now is the right time’ or ‘no time is the right time’?

The trick is, no matter how hard you may wish, no one else can make this choice for you. Go with your instincts, choose what you feel is right, and if your heart and efforts are in the right place, you will eventually reach your destination. And what’s the worst that could happen? You could end up learning a lot, meeting new people and having a better understanding of life right? You can always use all of these to give it a shot again, eh? It is inevitable to reach the highs without facing the lows, and it is up to you to decide how to get up and give it another shot.