Abraham Lincoln's letter to his son's master

Respected Teacher,

My son will have to learn I know that all men are not just, all men are not true. But teach him also that for ever scoundrel there is a hero; that for every selfish politician, there is a dedicated leader. Teach him that for every enemy there is a friend.

It will take time, I know; but teach him, if you can, that a dollar earned is far more valuable than five found.

Teach him to learn to lose and also to enjoy winning.

Steer him away from envy, if you can.

Teach him the secret of quite laughter. Let him learn early that the bullies are the easiest to tick.

Teach him, if you can, the wonder of books.. but also give him quiet time to ponder over the eternal mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun, and flowers on a green hill –side.

In school teach him it is far more honourable to fail than to cheat.

Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if every one tells him they are wrong.

Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and tough with the tough.

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when every one is getting on the bandwagon.

Teach him to listen to all men but teach him also to filter all he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him, if you can, how to laugh when he is sad. Teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him to scoff at cynics and to beware of too much sweetness.

Teach him to sell his brawn and brain to the highest bidders; but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul.

Teach him to close his ears to a howling mob… and to stand and fight if he thinks he’s right.

Treat him gently; but do not cuddle him because only the test of fire makes fine steel.

Let him have the courage to be impatient, let him have the patience to be brave. Teach him always to have sublime faith in himself because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind.

This is a big order; but see what you can do. He is such a fine little fellow, my son.


Abraham Lincoln.

Yesterday Vijay sent me a link to one of the threads on the Pagal Guy. Post number 53 read something like this –

"I've been a little pensive for the last couple of days. Loads of things bearing upon me, but then tonight was at my friend's place who came back after an extended weekend hike and trek. I asked him what he did in the last couple of days. He smiled and answered.

1. 2 x 6 hours treks
2. Drove a car in an empty parking lot
3. Flew an aircraft with the instructor sitting besides him.

Surely no mean feat for a Wharton dude eh .. This friend of mine is completely blind and is attending Wharton. If these people dont inspire you to be a bigger and better person - I doubt nothing else will. I take one look at him and I feel small. My worries are small, my concerns are small and heck my shortcomings are smaller. Run baby .. run.. ”

Hats off to the Guy. Incidents like these just reinforce my faith in a pledge I had taken log back – I had decided never to hand out alms to anyone at any point in time.
Since then I have always tried to help people not by money but by showing them opportunities or encouraging them towards earning a respectable living. A few incidents which I can recall, I would definitely like to share –

1. In 2004, Chandigarh, outside PT - Irrespective of the fact that I had polished my shoes 2 hours back, I get them polished again from a kid who requests to do that for me for 5 Bucks. I happen to be standing with a few friends whom I encourage to do the same.
2. Indore, café Coffe Day – After a hot cup of coffee, as Jassi put his hands in his pocket to hand out alms to a kid, I scold him and make him talk to clean my bike if he want to earn money. And he sincerely does so to my and Ravi’s bike.
3. I buy towels and even balloons on red lights which I always feel are better than handing out 2 bucks to a lady begging in front of your window with a child on her side.

There are two basic reasons for which I feel what I am doing is better than most of the people around me do –

1. It is a outrage (forget insult) to people like my friend in Wharton who overcome all odds to make a carve out a place for themselves in this world. I am not arguing that every specially abled person goes to Wharton. My simple argument is that whatever be the odds every man/woman must earn his/her place in this world. Inspirations are everywhere; we just need to open our eyes to it.
2. Handing out alms discourages people towards working hard.

Incidents and news like these strengthen my belief that I am working in the right direction.

Though this begging population in India is small (according to Indian census beggars are merely half a million) but if people like us can help them realize that their existence can only be realized through hard-work and not by their cries for alms; I am sure we can change the face of India and this world for better.

An Inspiring Story

I found this story posted by Gursharan on the infy's personal blogs. Worth reading.....

A 10-year-old boy decided to study Judo despite the fact that he had losthis left arm in a devastating car accident. The boy began lessons with anold Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move."Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?" "This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied. Not quite understanding,but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament.Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The thirdmatch proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponentbecame impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win thematch. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals. This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched.Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. Hewas about to stop the match when the sensei intervened."No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue." Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament.He was the champion. On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind. "Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?" "You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm."

The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

"Sometimes we feel that we have certain weaknesses and we blame others,the circumstances and our self for it but we never know that our weaknesscan become our strength one day. Each of us is special and important, sonever think you have any weakness, never think of pride or pain, just live your life to its fullest and extract the *best* out of it!"