MONDAY MUSINGS SEASON 2 - EPISODE 319
23rd June 2025
#SetbacksAndFailures
Fight for the sake of duty, treating alike happiness and distress, loss and gain, victory and defeat. Fulfilling your responsibility in this way, you will never incur sin. (Bhagavad Gita 2.38)
This sloka and Walt Disney’s story would have given you the inspiration to treat failures with equanimity and bounce back from setbacks and failures.
#SetbacksAndFailures
Resilience is the ability to cope with the setbacks and bounce back from failures. Are they the same? No, they are different. A setback demands change in the original plan due to an impact not in our control whereas a failure is a change in the expected outcome. You rework your plans in a setback whereas you restart in a failure.
Failures should be seen as steps to success and not as obstacles to success.
Here are a few historical examples of well-known figures who experienced setbacks and failures before achieving success in their life. Setbacks and failures are part of anybody’s life, and it is stupidity to expect not to get exposed to setbacks and failures ever. Nobody is an exception to this rule. Neither Elon Misk nor Mukesh Ambani.
Albert Einstein's Academic Struggles
Albert Einstein is considered one of the greatest scientists of all time, but he struggled in school as a child. He had difficulty with language and was often seen as a slow learner. He was expelled from school and was rejected from the Zurich Polytechnic School, the only school he applied to.
Despite these academic struggles, Einstein continued to pursue his passion for science and went on to develop the theory of relativity, which revolutionized our understanding of the universe. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1921 and is still celebrated for his contributions to science today.
Abraham Lincoln's Political Defeats
Abraham Lincoln is one of the most famous presidents in American history, but he experienced many political defeats before becoming the president. He lost his first race for the Illinois state legislature, his first bid for Congress, and his first bid for the Senate. He also failed in his attempts to become the vice president and was defeated in his first bid for the presidency.
Despite these setbacks, Lincoln persevered and went on to become one of the most celebrated presidents in American history. He led the country through the Civil War, abolished slavery, and delivered the Emancipation Proclamation.
Henry Ford's Initial Failures
Henry Ford is known for revolutionizing the automobile industry, but his path to success was not without failures. Before founding Ford Motor Company, he started two other automobile companies and both failed. He was also forced out of his own company in 1902 due to disagreements with the investors. He used the failures as learning experiences and continued to pursue his passion for automobiles.
Steve Jobs and the Challenges at Apple
Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, faced numerous challenges throughout his life. He dropped out of his graduation because of financial difficulties. He was fired from Apple, the company he co-founded, due to conflicts with the board of directors. However, he returned to Apple two years later and helped turn the company around with the introduction of innovative products such as the iPod, iPhone, and iPad.
Colonel Harland Sanders and the Birth of KFC
Colonel Harland Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), faced numerous rejections before his chicken recipe became a hit. He was rejected by over 1,000 restaurants before finally finding success with his fried chicken recipe. Sanders' persistence and hard work paid off, and KFC became a global fast-food chain.
Vincent Van Gogh's Lack of Recognition
Vincent Van Gogh is now considered one of the greatest artists of all time, but during his lifetime, he could sell only one painting. Despite this lack of recognition, Van Gogh continued to paint and create, producing some of his most famous works during the last two years of his life. Today, his paintings sell for millions of dollars and are admired by people all over the world.
J.K. Rowling's Journey with Harry Potter
J.K. Rowling was a struggling single mother when she began writing the first book in Harry Potter series. The manuscript was rejected by 12 publishers before finally being accepted. Today, the Harry Potter series has sold over 500 million copies and has been adapted into successful films and theme parks.
Oprah Winfrey's Challenging Upbringing
Oprah Winfrey is a well-known media personality who has achieved great success in her career. However, her personal life was not always easy. She faced a challenging upbringing, including poverty and abuse. Despite these obstacles, she was able to turn her life around and become one of the most successful media personalities in the world.
Rishabh Pant’s remarkable resilience
Rishabh Pant made everyone amazed with his century in the ongoing India-England test match. A century in a test match could be a common thing but the way he carried through his fall three years back was the remarkable achievement.
Pant was involved in a near-fatal car crash on 30th December 2022 on the Delhi-Dehradun highway near Roorkee. It was a miraculous recovery. He suffered injuries to his head, back and feet including two cuts on his forehead and a ligament tear to his right knee.
Dr. Dinshaw Pardiwala, who treated him told him initially that it would take minimum 18 months for full recovery, but Pant challenged himself to be back in active cricket within 12 months and he did achieve his goal in just 13 months.
Even after his recovery, he could not practice because of overweight resulting from his medication and lack of practice. He bounced back from all these to become a permanent member of all forms of Indian cricket team.
I got interest in writing very late in the life about 6 years back. I published 3 books and about 350 articles in the last 6 years but could still not get my work accepted by a reputed publisher yet. I am not worried and that would not stop my writing. I continue to publish articles and about to complete and publish my fourth book, #Select&Delete, another fiction.
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#PositiveNewsPage
Today’s positive news is another remarkable story of resilience, perseverance and hard work of a girl with disability from a rural Tamilnadan village.
S Yogeshwari, has beaten all odds to crack the toughest engineering entrance exam in the country — JEE Advanced. Born in a rural village in Virudhunagar and living with dwarfism, Yogeshwari knew nothing about aerospace engineering until she came to Class 12, At a time when students set their sights on JEE from Class 6, Yogeshwari fought hard to compete against well coached JEE aspirants.
“I was drawn to science from class 7, initially leaning towards medical science. In class 12, I discovered aerospace engineering through programmes like the #NaanMudhalvan (I am the leader, an initiative of the state government) scheme," she told.
Yogeshwari’s mother works as a daily wage labourer in a fireworks unit, while her father is employed at a tea shop. She completed her Class 12 from a government school near Sattur. Her parents always encouraged her and her two elder brothers to pursue education.
Coming from a Tamil medium background, she initially found JEE Advanced challenging. To prepare for the IIT entrance exam, Yogeshwari attended a 40-day residential JEE-Advanced coaching camp in Erode.
Although she was never at the top of her class, Yogeshwari was always eager to learn. Inspired by her brothers, one studying BCom and the other in physical education, she decided to appear for the JEE Main after completing Class 12. Her mother initially scolded her for scoring below 450 marks in Class 12, but Yogeshwari accepted the challenge to excel in JEE. She succeeded, turning her mother’s tears of anger into tears of pride.
Virudhunagar district collector promised his full support as she prepares to join IIT-Bombay.
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Conceived, compiled and posted as a weekly motivational newsletter #MondayMusings every Monday consistently for the past 319 mondays by Jaganathan T (www.authorjaganathan.com).
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PROMOTIONS
