Dear readers,
with reference to the last blog on deferred success and further
encouraging everyone to remain strong and never to yield I want to convey a
peculiar essense in this discourse that defines the successul and defies the conceited,
a little feature that prevents a personal hamartia from happening while riding
on the wave of success, a trait that makes you stay down-to-earth, where you
belong: genuine modesty!
You may wonder how I portray success, how I present the ways
to it, how I promote perseverance, how I proclaim the strong heart and now all
of a sudden decided to write about modesty, for the so often preached confidence seems like a tremendous
opposition to modesty; especially when we, once we are successful, let the
sweet scent of success get to our head and lean towards conceit. Modesty,
however, is a virtue everyone should remain in times of success in order to
keep fortune from distorting who you are, from corrupting your character, from
poisoning your heart. Be modest, but
do not lose your confidence…or maybe the other way around: “Stay confident, but
be modest as well.”
Oliver Herford, whom some consider the American Oscar Wilde,
once said: “Modesty is the gentle
art of enhancing your charm by pretending not to be aware of it.” Well, isn’t
that somewhat funny? What I intend to tell you is that modesty is a great
virtue every successful person is ought to follow, ought to live by, because in
modesty your real heart of success is presented to your fellow people and
everyone else to be around you. Isn’t your success the result of a whole lot of
effort you put into it? Isn’t it the just reward for your hard work, the extra
mile you were going, the minute you invested more than the one who failed? Is
there a need to be conceited? If there is, then you have success only in your
head, but do not have it where it’s supposed to be: in your heart!
How many have we heard of that had success get to their heads
and that way sealing their nemeses…how many made it to the top and were then
destined to fall; you have seen those antiheroes, you have heard of their
fates, their doomed destinies, and their downfall...so be aware! Your
successful drive remains as long as you handle it with care, as long as you are
appreciative, as long as you stay focused—make use of it as long as you
have it, for it may not always be there. The Swiss philosopher Henri-Frédéric
Amiel phrased it perfectly: “Work while you have the light. You are responsible
for the talent that has been entrusted to you.” Make use of it as long as you
have it, while there is still light. And it is you to make something out of it,
and it is you who will, that I am sure of. Keep the drive alive, but withstand
all sorts of conceit, because not only will you ruin your character traits,
your reputation, you will further ruin all you have been building up on your
way to success, you will tear down all the pillars you erected through hard
work. You don’t want that to happen? Then remain modest and refrain from
conceit; if you are successful in your heart, you will be modest, because then
you will see your success as the just reward for all you have been doing to
achieve it, no need to brag about it or to lose grip, the reward for hard work
to be proud of, to enjoy with modesty...you are the one responsible for the
talent and the success that comes with it...that has been entrusted to
noone...but one person: you!
