Secret to Success by Amber Sahu (IIM Sirmaur)

Secret to Success by Amber Sahu

What is it that fetched success for me in CAT? What did I do to reach there? Did I do something extraordinary? Did I take any magical pill?

Answer is No. I am very fond of this question. Even at one point in my life, I used to ask this question to numerous successful people. I got only one response in return: “Hard work”. But believe me there is nothing such as ultimate secret to success following which you will succeed anyway. You will have to prepare your recipe of success by yourself.

Goals and Objective

Do you really want to crack CAT? Or Do you want to succeed in whatever you are doing? If answer is yes, then I assume you must be having goals towards achieving it. Goals and objectives are important to strategic planning (which I will talk about in next point) because they turn the mission and vision into specific measurable targets. Goals and objectives are concrete and help one to attain their purpose. If you are preparing for CAT your objective should be to get 100%ile in CAT. So that your efforts are directed into that direction. Your goals should be smart. To make your goal S.M.A.R.T., it needs to conform to the following criteria: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timely.

Habits

“How to succeed is no secret. It’s all in your daily habits.” – Harry Hoover

All people have different secret to success. A habit is something we do regularly without consciously thinking much about it Habits make it possible for us to do things without spending exorbitant mental effort. They make everyday life possible – for good or bad. Build a habit of making good habits. When you are preparing for competitive examination, you are not only competing with others knowledge or talent but habits also. Successful person possesses productive habits. I understood the importance of it after reading a powerful book written on it – “Power of Habit” by Charles Duhigg. It is a wonderful book written on how habits can change our life in better way or bad way. So my point is to build productive habits. It could be reading newspaper daily, going for a walk daily, sleeping and waking up at right time and so on.

‘If you develop the habits of success, you will make success a habit.’ — Michael E. Angier

Secret to success teaches us to do our best.

Reading

Someone once asked Buffet about keys to success, and he said “Read 500 pages every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will do it.”

This is what influenced me to the core. I decide to read every day. And now I am glad that I took that decision. Reading can have profound impact on one’s ability to think and express. It also facilitates building perspective around issues.

It is undoubtedly the best thing you can start now and thank me later.

 

Basics

I believe that success in life is the refinement sound basic principles that never change. You might say, “Wait a minute, everything is changing.” Well that may be true, but not the basics and fundamentals. In the same way, basics are the core of any great happenings. If you don’t know the basics don’t expect to expertise in advance.

When I began my preparation for CAT, the only thing in my mind was to clear all the basics first. Because I had already learnt from the mistakes committed in past. Strengthen your fundamentals and conquer the rest.

‘Success is neither magical nor mysterious. Success is the natural consequence of consistently applying the basic fundamentals’ – Jim Rohn

 

Strategic Planning

Success does not come just by making things done. It always demands a detailed thought process behind your every step. It is a systematic process of envisioning a desired future, and translating this vision into broadly defined goals or objectives and a sequence of steps to achieve them.

It won’t be an overstatement when I say that I also had strategy to achieve my desired target which was excelling in CAT. It always starts with basic questions. You will have to answer few what, why, when, how and where type of question before building a concrete strategy. I prepared a full 11 months’ strategy to ace CAT. And result is actually what I had desired. Strategic planning is important because it provides a sense of direction and outlines measurable goals. It is useful for guiding day-to-day decisions such as which section of CAT to cover in the day and also for evaluating progress and changing approaches when moving forward.

Practice

Practice, Practice and Practice. There is no other way to attain excellence. You can say it hard work, smart work or whatever. In the end, if you are not putting efforts into practising you are not going anywhere.

‘Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice.’ – Anton Chekhov

Enjoy the Journey

At the end, I would say enjoy your journey. Rome was not built in a day. It will take time. Till you reach there, enjoy your enriching journey. Because you are learning everyday after all and you must be proud about it. Go and unwind yourself.

“Success is not a destination, it’s a journey.” — Zig Ziglar

About the Author:

 An active listener and learner, Amber is a consistent performer since the outset of his academic career. He got Academic Excellence Award for his remarkable performance in BBA. He cracked CAT in first attempt and secured admission in esteemed IIM Sirmaur. He has been carrying out his responsibility dutifully as an organizer, campus ambassador, volunteer and class prefect. He possesses impressive skill in Stock Trading, Drawing and Badminton as well.