Failure to Launch

Failing first, then succeeding - that's been quite a tried-and-tested formula for many success stories. It's only when you falter and lose your footing that you muster up the wherewithal - and the determination - to pursue success.

A s a child, I was fascinated by the story of King Bruce of Scotland, who is credited with "If at first you don't succeed try, try and try again". It all happened because Bruce was hiding in a cave (the English were after him), and he observed a spider (in one corner of the cave) trying to spin a web; the spider failed many times but, undeterred, continued to try, and finally did it. This 'heroic' spider act inspired King Bruce so much that he put his defeat (against the English) behind him, picked up the pieces of his life, revived the Scottish troops, and walloped the English army at Bannockburn in 1314. And yes, before the historic battle was won by the Scots, he did relay an important message to his army-men - the one he learnt while he was hiding in a damp cave: "If at first you don't succeed try, try and try again". Failing first, then succeeding - that's been quite a tried-and-tested formula for many success stories. It's only when you falter and lose your footing that you muster up the wherewithal - and the determination - to pursue success. Failure also makes you a more grounded person because it recognises you are human and, therefore, vulnerable; this is a valuable lesson that holds you in good stead as you climb the career summit. In this issue, we bring you some entrepreneurs who (initially) failed, but didn't let it come in the way of the success they found eventually and with great aplomb; in fact, the failure was instrumental in helping them introspect and realise what they were best at...
A few years ago, I had an episode of sleep paralysis - when you feel you are being held down by some maleficent force, unable to speak or talk, almost paralysed, in a twilight of zone of sleep and wakefulness. It's a terrifying experience, and they say everyone of us will have at least one encounter with sleep paralysis in his or her lifetime. We get to the bottom of this Scary Thing, which is, actually, nothing more than a REM (rapid eye movement) disorder.
The gateway to Narnia is somewhere on the Coromandel Coast. off Auckland in New Zealand; in Travel this time, be part of this enchanted journey. Bollywood looks at the most popular Muslim roles played on the silver screen; many times, the religious tag is purely incidental. and many times it's deliberate (because the cultural context is drawn out accordingly). Kitchen Classics celebrates the upcoming festive season with "cheers": some of the best mocktails are on offer. All this and much more.
 Enjoy reading wknd. and have a great weekend!