THERE is enough evidence to show that winning and being successful in life has little to do with academic qualifications. So you might be wondering why you need a PhD to achieve you goals in life and be the best you can be. Yes, you read it right. We all need a PhD.
PhD is the new mantra for success. It stands for Passion, Hunger and Discipline! Get them all. And see the difference. Becoming a Passionate, Hungry and Disciplined person can put you on the road to realizing your true greatness.
Passion: Do you enjoy what you are doing? Do you love your work? It’s extremely important that each of us can answer those questions with a resounding ‘Yes!’ Passion helps ensure that you jump out of your bed every morning and get to work on your goals. Not because you have to, but because you love to. Passion makes those long hours spent at work seem worthwhile because you are having fun, enjoying every moment. Outstanding results are achieved not through better resources or bigger budgets.
They are achieved by people madly, wildly, excited by their mission to be the best. Martin Luther King once said: “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets just as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” Would they be saying that about you? Are you aiming to be the best “YOU” in the whole world? It’s nice to be able to do what you love. But it’s important to love what you are doing!
Hunger: How badly do you want to win? Are you really, really hungry for success? It’s when you really want something that you start to go after it, and do all it takes to get it. If you want to win, you must first want to win. Get hungry. And yes, no one else can feel hungry for you. You’ve probably heard the story of the young man who went up to Socrates and said he wanted to get wisdom. “Come with me,” said Socrates and took him along to a river. Without any warning, Socrates pushed the man’s head under water and held it there. The man did not know what was happening. He struggled for air. He moved his head, flailed his hands desperately seeking to get his head above water for some air. Socrates finally let go and asked him “What did you want when your head was under water?” “I wanted air,” said the man. “Right,” said Socrates, “when you want wisdom as badly as you wanted the air – you will get it!” So how badly do you want to win?
Discipline: And once you have the passion and the hunger, you’ll probably see a road emerge in front of you, leading you to your goals. There will be obstacles on the way, there will be roadblocks, but you will need discipline to keep doing the right things, time after time after time. You need the discipline to stick on the path. Nothing of substance was ever achieved without discipline. An Olympic Gold medal-winning gymnast was asked the secret of her success. Her response: “I practised when I felt like it. And also when I didn’t!” Success demands discipline. Slogging and staying the course – particularly when you ‘don’t feel like it’ – is often the key to success.
That’s it then. Never mind what you are doing now, commit yourself to becoming a PhD. A Passionate, Hungry and Disciplined person. Success is calling. Are you ready?
Prakash Iyer is MD, Kimberly-Clark Lever and Executive Coach. For more inspiring life lessons, read Mr Iyer's new book The Habit of Winning.
