The Purposefulness Behind Calamities - 2

In 2005, soon after Rafael Nadal had risen to world number two, he suffered an injury on a bone at the bridge of his foot. He was no longer able to play tennis. The injury was due a congenital defect in the tarsal scaphoid, and he (and his doctor) thought his tennis career was over. Nadal, who had hopes of winning the world's most prestigious tennis championship someday, was emotionally devastated. It took time and patience to figure out a solution (which is till today not a permanent solution), and to get back to professional tennis.

After this event in his life, Nadal had to change many things about the way he trained. And that, in turn, improved his game much more. “I am more measured; I economize more on my moments, and I have worked to improve my serve,” says the champion in his autobiography RAFA. Recovering from the setback, he went straight to the French Open in 2005, and beat Federer in the final.

The take-away from all this is that if you regard Nadal’s tarsal scaphoid injury as a mere setback of his life, you miss seeing how it actually matured his game further. The injury was actually a 'fortunate misfortune.' In 2008, he finally achieved the dream of his life - the Wimbledon championship title - after defeating Federer in five sets. The universe brings to you your wishes in ways you can not possibly imagine, provided you hold them in your head and heart long enough.

The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner


If there is a perfect live example of someone who lived every principle stated in Rhonda Byrne's book 'The Secret' without ever having read it, it is Christopher Gardner. The other perfect example is Shahrukh Khan, of course.

Accepted, I was motivated to read this book after having seen the movie by the same name. Like many other good movies made out of great books, reading this book created a movie in my mind that could not be compared to the original motion picture. This was surprising considering that Gardner is not a writer himself.

Now, how many people do you know who would give up a career they have invested in for more than a decade to take up something completely new? Takes guts to make this very unusual turn to pursue what seems like a wild dream. Gardner wasn't doing great in his earlier profession. He set his eyes on learning stock broking, and he started at zero salary just because he was getting to try his hand on it. Bit by bit, he mastered the subject over years, and did so well that he started his own firm Gardner Rich. His unflinching eye on the experience of affluence he wanted to have in the future - especially at a time when he was homeless and sleeping in lavatories at nights - is just so inspiring! When he was penniless, he could see the millions coming.

Poignant. Heart-rending!


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