Sometimes one single line can make a huge difference to your life. It could be something you’ve read somewhere. Or a line someone said to you. And it seems to stay on in your mind and become a guiding force. Has that happened to you? Just the other day, a dear friend of mine – a retired Brigadier – was narrating the story of how a line he heard many, many years ago impacted him deeply and shaped his life. Here’s his story.

It was his first week in the army. He had just completed his engineering and amongst his colleagues in the army were a host of young men who had come through the National Defence Academy. Not engineers, but men who had been exposed to the physical conditioning so essential for success in the armed forces. It was a Sunday morning. The task ahead was rather simple. They had to run ten miles.

My friend recalls starting enthusiastically, and then quickly tiring out. After running half the distance, he felt he couldn’t continue any longer. He felt his legs would fold up and he’d collapse. And just as he was about to give up and stop, he heard his commanding officer say to him: “Come on, young man. Up till now you’ve been running with your legs. Now run with your mind!”

And those words seemed to work like magic. While my friend doesn’t quite recall what happened thereafter, all he remembers is that he kept running. And finished the entire ten mile run. And to this day, he often hears the officer’s words echoing in his mind. ‘Don’t just run with your legs. Run with your mind.’ It’s been the motto that’s inspired him through everything he’s done in his life ever since.

And it’s a line we would all do well to remember. Success in life is not defined by talent and physical ability – but by the mental strength to stay the course, and run the extra mile. When you run with your legs, you allow the pressures to weigh you down. You allow obstacles to come in the way of your progress. You find yourself saying “I can’t!” But when you run with your mind, you become unstoppable. Your mind says “I can!”

And if you look around, you will find several examples of people who didn’t give up.

People who didn’t just run with their legs, but who kept running with their minds.

Take Soichiro for instance. He was a Japanese engineer who dreamt of a career in the automobile industry. He applied for a job with the Toyota Motor Corporation, but was rejected. He remained jobless for a long time – and the temptation to give up on the automotive dream and take up a non-automotive job – any job – was huge. He then tried making scooters at home. But he had no money. His caring neighbours contributed their mite to fund his enterprise. And thus was born the billion-dollar Honda Motor Company. Had Soichiro (Honda was his surname) merely run with his legs, he’d have given up long ago. And a Honda may have never hit the roads.

And then there’s the story of Colonel Sanders. He ran a modestly successful restaurant serving some chicken dishes – until the construction of a new road put him out of business. He decided to try and sell his unique chicken recipes to other restaurants. He met over a thousand restaurant-owners and they all turned him down. But the Colonel didn’t give up. On his 1009th call, one restaurant owner agreed to buy his recipe. And thus was born the world’s first Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet.

Soon KFC’s were opening up across America, and all over the world. Just seven years after he started the first KFC, Colonel Sanders sold his business for over 15million dollars. Clearly, running on your mind can be rewarding!

The Pencil and the Eraser

omeone told me an interesting story the other day of an imaginary conversation between a pencil and an eraser.

“I am sorry,” said the pencil to the eraser.

“Whatever for?” asked the eraser.

“I am sorry because you get hurt because of me,” continued the pencil. “Every time I make a mistake, you are there to erase it. And every time you make ache one of my mistakes vanish, you lose a bit of yourself. You become smaller and smaller. And a bit dirty too.”

“You shouldn’t really worry,” responded the eraser. “I was meant to help you whenever you made a mistake, and I am happy doing my job. And I know one day I’ll be gone and you will find someone else to do my job – but while I am around, I take pride in knowing I did my bit to help erase your mistakes. Keep writing. And remember, never be scared to make a mistake. There will always be an eraser around to set it right!”

If you think about it, you’ll probably recognize that our teachers were the erasers in our lives. We were the pencils, sharp, pointed and colourful. And every time we made a mistake, the teachers were there to correct us. They gave a bit of themselves – so that we could emerge looking just a bit better. And then as we moved from school to college and then to work, we found new teachers. But there is no mistaking the fact that we are what we are today, because of those teachers, those wonderful, magical erasers. And so in this month when the world celebrates.

Let’s thank those men and women – all those teachers – who happily got a little dirtier to keep us clean, who didn’t mind losing a bit of themselves to make our work error-free. And who were happy to fade away and watch our work with pride as we moved on to newer worlds, and newer teachers. The pencils might get all the glory and acclaim, but it’s good to remember that it’s the erasers who made it all possible.

And there’s something else about teachers that makes them truly special. Their ability to look at every student, every child, and see the genius inside. They know that each child is different – and that there is a unique skill or strength inside each and every one. I recall a friend telling me about an interaction she had with her children’s school teacher several years ago. The teacher’s words remain etched in her mind even to this day.

My friend was worried about her second son – who didn’t seem to be getting the kind of grades that his elder brother had been getting in school. He didn’t seem to be studying too much, his grades were poor, his math skills were weak and like any parent, she was worried for her son’s future. When she raised the issue of the son’s performance, here’s what the teacher told her: Don’t worry about his grades. He’s an extremely popular, well-adjusted kid. You can’t expect mangoes to grow on a guava tree. Different trees bear different fruits. Enjoy each fruit. Parents and teachers – we are just the gardeners.

Our job is to water the plant, give it nourishment – and allow it to grow into a healthy tree.” And guess what? Both those boys have grown up into fine young men. Different folks, different fields, but good human beings, and successful in their own right.

We would all do well to remember those lessons. Never be afraid to make mistakes – there will always be an eraser at hand. And don’t worry if you couldn’t become an engineer or a doctor – just be the best you can be. Mangoes don’t grow on guava trees.