The Ladder of Success

By Mahesh Jethmalani

Few people know that the Ladder of success is crowded at the bottom, but it is not so at the top. Why? The reasons, thereof, and nine rules to check whether the ladder you are climbing is leaning against the right wall or not have been discussed in the book. This is necessary to check before climbing because there have been people who climbed the ladder and on reaching the destination, they found that the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall. They had to start from scratch.

Procrastination is "the natural assassin of an opportunity." It is "the slow death" because it starves action to death, rather than dealing it one fatal blow.  This book also discusses how to beat the procrastination and do things now.

In nature, the homing pigeon is a remarkable bird. It has an uncanny instinct that enables it to fly back to its home roost, no matter how far away it starts or in what direction it must go. Our body also has such system which helps us achieving success once we write our goals and start working for our goals. The book discusses specifically that success system of our body.

Most people do what they don't love because many of them don't know what they love to do. This is known as one's Passion. If you do what you love, then chances of your mega success increase and those of failure decrease. This book has detailed coverage on how to find one's passion, which will be very useful for all the readers.

 The book also discusses in details the prioritization of the activities to save time so that more work can be done in less time.

Besides, the book highlights many other essential topics like how we are conditioned since our childhood which damages our belief system severely, attitude and its development, visualization of success even before you realize it, how to avoid failures in your life and take failures as opportunities, delayed gratification and many more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mahesh
• Release date: Jun 23, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393398592

Book preview

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my wife Nikita and sons Pranshu and Aniruddha who have always stood by me and supported me in my all endeavors. 

THE Ladder of Success

First edition. 2019.

Copyright © 2019 Mahesh Jethmalani.

Written by Mahesh Jethmalani.

Preface  

This book starts with all about success. How we are conditioned since our childhood for mediocrity and how our belief system is completely damaged by our peers before we are twelve. How mediocrity grips us completely from this age and continues to control us until we take steps to come out of this. Most people are not able to break its grip during their life time. Thirteen common habits of mediocre people have been identified and discussed in this book.

Dreams and their achievement process has been discussed in detail in this book. Perhaps this is the most interesting chapter of this book because it shows to the readers how people miss the simplicity and embrace complicity of life by not following their inner voice and not using their inbuilt success system for realization of a life of their dreams. It is unfortunate that most human beings, considered as the most intelligent and wise among all living beings, lead a life which they themselves hate and can’t control. We will see all these things and learn how to have control on life in this book. 

Few people know that the Ladder of success is crowded at the bottom, but it is not so at the top. Why? The reasons, thereof, and nine rules to check whether the ladder you are climbing is leaning against the right wall or not have been discussed in the book. This is necessary to check before climbing because many people climbed the ladder and on reaching the destination, they found that the ladder was leaning against the wrong wall.

Procrastination is the natural assassin of an opportunity. It is the slow death to action because it starves action to death, rather than dealing it one fatal blow.  This book discusses how to beat the procrastination and do things now.

In nature, the homing pigeon is a remarkable bird. It has an uncanny instinct that enables it to fly back to its home roost, no matter how far away it starts or in what direction it must go. Our body also has such system which helps us achieving success once we write our goals and start working for our goals. The book discusses specifically this uncanny success system of our body.

Most people do what they don't love because many of them don't know what they love to do. This is known as one's Passion. If you do what you love, then chances of your mega success increase and those of failure decrease. This book has a special coverage on how to find one's passion, which will enable all the readers to find their passion, if they have not found it yet and do more in their life.

On time front, people talk about time management which is a misnomer because time cannot be managed. We have to manage ourselves and use 24 hours in best possible way. The book discusses this in detail.

Besides, this book highlights many other essential topics like attitude and its development, mediocrity and how to get out of it, what is mindset and how to have a mindset for success, visualization of success even before you realize it, how to avoid failures in your life and take failures as opportunities, delayed gratification and many more.

After reading this book you will be more conversant with yourself and the miracles you can do in your life to make it significant.

Chapter 1

The Success

Success is getting many things

money can buy and all the things

money can't buy. — Zig-Ziglar

Nothing succeeds like success.

Every one of us has to climb the ladder of success in life to be successful. Everyone in this world wants to receive recognition and be successful; that’s not a secret. Few have achieved it, and few are on their way to achieve it. Many people fear to climb this ladder or want to remain at the bottom with their hands in their pocket, perhaps they wait for somebody who will tell them the way to the top of the ladder of success without the use of their hands.

You can usually find them standing there only because there is no way in which you can climb the ladder without working your way up to the top.

What is Success?

There are as many different definitions of success as there are human beings, and there are those who claim, with considerable proof, that the greatest failure of our times is success since we have come, more and more, to equate success solely with material possessions.

You can’t climb ladder of success

with dressed in the costume of

failure.–Zig-Ziglar

Everybody has a different definition of success, but a general definition by Napoleon Hill is;

The ongoing realization of a worthwhile goal or ideal.

Why ongoing? Success is never-ending, and it is a journey. You do not stop after achieving one goal. You fix another goal after achieving the first and so on.

Why worthwhile? Because your goal should be such that it benefits people and is not destructive like Hitler's.

Success is both a journey as well as a destination. It is making your life what you want it to be. The road to success is always under construction. People come and go, but the road always remains open for everybody 24x7 without any ‘NO ENTRY’ sign anywhere on the road.

It is something that every cognitive and proactive person strives to attain. If you are breathing and thinking, then you, like most people, are probably interested in succeeding. Whether a word, a concept, an ideal or a reality; success is arguably one of the most important and enduring things to obtain. No one deliberately wants to fail, follows path that lead to failure.

A weirdly definition of success is, creating anything that sells. If obtaining wealth, power, possessions and game is the definition of success then why there are so many unhappy and lost rich and famous people. The most logical and honest of heart people are capable of choosing to pursue transformational, meaningful and personal paths to success including following.

Success is dependent on glands;

yes, the sweat glands.

–Mahesh Jethmalani

Raising a family and teaching them to live in a moral way and to have love and respect for others.

Achieving sustaining happiness and joy in one's personal life. Learn to live an abundant life.

Gaining the ability to live in a provident manner and living a well balanced life.

Achieving the character, the mental capacity, and the wherewithal to respond and cope up with each and every struggle and trial in life in a positive manner.

No one sets out in life to fail. However, the reality is that far too many do fail. Why do some prosper while others struggle to exist? There is no simple answer to that question.

Recently a Salesman met me who wanted to sell me an MLM product. He wanted me to see his scheme. I was a bit reluctant from my posture. So he started questioning me what is success, did I know about success? I kept quiet. He began to tell me about big dreams Mercedes, Big Bungalow, World tour and all.  I, asked him, a counter question, Tell me what is success for a lion in the forest? And he was dumbfounded.

For several minutes, he was perplexed and thinking about the answer. Finally, I realized that he was a novice in his business and had not been appropriately trained. I had to tell him that Success for a lion in the forest is to find food regularly for himself and his cubs; feed the cubs regularly; keep the cubs protected from predators; get a shelter in the woods for rainy season and last but not the least being a Jungle King keep his subjects satisfied and informed about the definition of the Success.

Success does not necessarily mean achieving wealth only. Of course, wealth may be one of the things, but it may be different for different people. For a successful mother, it may be to give values to her children, make them tolerant, educated, and lovable to society. For a minister, it may be to expand the activities of a church, its boundaries, its membership, and attendance. For a hospital, it is to render the best medical services to the patients at affordable rates, providing free medicines to the downtrodden, to provide the latest technology in treatment. For a disabled person to stand up properly is a success. For a mediocre student getting 60% marks in the exam is a success. For an unemployed youth, to get a small job is a success. For a lady to get the household chores done is a success. For a businessperson to run the business, profitably is a success, and for a doctor to operate a patient well is a success.

The price of success is hard work,

dedication to the job at hand, and

the determination that whether we

win or lose, we have applied the best

of ourselves to the task at hand.

—Vince Lombardi

So success wears different coats for everyone. Everybody in the world is after success. Success is the most elusive thing in the world.

Billions of people have been left yearning for this. The reason is that people who want success but have failed are not aware of the path to success. Merely getting ready with baggage on the path to success does not lead to success because the road to success is not straight and, but it is the most tortuous and full of many challenges. People who start their journey on the road to success are not prepared to face those detours, challenges, and failures along the road. They do not give their all to achieve success. Most of them stop halfway before they reach their destination.

A Balloon seller

There was a balloon seller who regularly came into villages to sell his balloons.

There were balloons of all colors, Red, Pink, Blue, Green, Violet....all colors and other shaded also. Children loved him, and they came running to him, and crowded him, surrounded him, till he gave them the balloons, color of their choice.

One child,  handed  the coin to   Seller,  and said : I want Red one...:, I want red...., suddenly before the balloon seller,  pulled  the thread tied to the balloon from the bunch,  immediately, the child...I want green.. green..I want green.... jumping on both the legs. So he pulled green after making choice, and confirmed the color. The child happily holding the long thread tied to the balloon ran to show it to his friends.

One small boy was watching all this from a distance came to the balloon seller. Small boy came and pulled the vest of the seller, and asked him,

if I take (Dark) Black color, will it also fly like the other colored balloons, what other children took, red blue, green....?

Balloon seller was surprised to hear it for the first time from a small boy's curiosity. Balloon seller, convinced the small boy smilingly, saying, my dear , it is not the color, that make the balloon, fly high, but it is the content of the balloon,  that makes it fly.

In the same way, every one of us is conditioned with beliefs in our minds which either make us successful or failures. All this is done by our conditioning in our childhood.

Success is no accident.

It is hard work, perseverance,

learning, studying, sacrifice

and most of all, love of what

you are doing or learning

to do.— Pele, Footballer

The ladder of success is crowded at the bottom with all types of people but not at the top because all the people standing at the bottom are still not ready for climbing up the ladder. They are mulling over the proposition to climb up. Many of them still have their hands in their pockets and those who want to reach the top have to take out their hands from their pockets. They have to work hard constantly, incessantly and resiliently to reach the top.

Somebody has rightly said that the only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary. The word failure, in dictionary also, comes before success so be prepared in real life also to face it repeatedly before you succeed. This is the only hurdle in your way if crossed then you will succeed.

Success in life is not easy. It requires constant effort to plough through the continuous obstacles in achieving success or happiness in life. For this reason only failure people quit the quest.

You keep on overcoming, one after the other, obstacles in the quest. Success is not how high you reach in life or what you get in life but success is how many times you overcome the obstacles and get one more time up to fight back without excuses.

The lion in the jungle, the alligator in the sea and eagle in the sky never complain of predators who eat up their offspring. The ant never complains about obstacles on the way. It moves under, over or around the big brick in its way and crosses the obstacle. There will always be an excuse to quit the quest everywhere in life because there are disappointments, failures & obstacles everywhere, on the road to success. There cannot be survival of life on Earth if these excuses are taken into account.

History shows whenever anybody has been out to do something new, something non-contemporary, he has been attacked from all sides. Be it Einstein, Edison, Galileo or a Bill Gates, all were laughed at, scoffed at and booed. This has become, now, like a test by success itself, to check whether they are capable of success or not.

The obstacles along the road to success are actually the price to be paid for success. You cannot blame obstacles, weather or weeds for your failure in life. The successful people don't waste their time in giving excuses for these natural causes, obstacles coming in their way. On the other hand, they empower themselves inwardly for such external obstacles to be tackled by inner understanding that no external obstacles in their way can be too big to defeat their determination and resolve to achieve their dreams and success.

Self-belief and hard work will

always earn you success.

—Virat Kohli, Indian Cricketer

Actually whatever you focus yourself on or whatever you think most of the time it expands. If you concentrate on the success you will definitely get it. You should fill yourself with the idea of your success, whatever it is—wealth, fame, lifestyle, big business, or some art— whatever. Your every minute, second should show you film of your success, live to you, in the eyes of your mind. Your mind will convert the same film in physical reality when first you see this film in your visualization.

So visualize your success having achieved, even when you have not achieved it. Fake it till you make it. Your subconscious mind can’t differentiate between actual and fake. Learn to deceive your subconscious. Create your success in your thoughts and it will be created in reality for you. Everything is created twice– says Stephen R Covey– first in your mind and then in reality. If you reach this level of obsession for your dreams and goals  then you will succeed without any doubt.

Happiness, true happiness,

is an inner quality.

It is a state of mind. If your

mind is at peace,you are happy.

If your mind is at peace, but

you have nothing else, you can