Attitude is Altitude

If you think your life isn't desirable or you've failed, think again. Perhaps you might have everything in it to cherish but just dint realize yet. Life has its ups and downs and everybody experiences success and failure. Society doesn't reward defeat, and you won’t find many failures documented in history books. The exceptions are those failures that become steppingstones to later success. 

If fear of failure or inferiority is the hurdle that's stopping us from moving forward, it is time to look up to these personalities on how they coped up with the so called failures and succeeded in life.  If we fail and never try again, that is the real failure. Many of us avoid the prospect of failure. In fact, we’re so focused on not failing that we don’t aim for success, settling instead for a life of mediocrity. When we do make missteps, we gloss over them, selectively editing out the miscalculations. That is where change is required. Most often we think that success has a different route but fail to realize that failures are just the pivotal junctions along the same route that lead us to success. Those are just the necessary struggles called learning. “Failure and defeat are life’s greatest teachers”, it is said. An open mind to learn is the trick to succeed.

We all have areas in our lives that need improvement – careers, relationships, fitness or just overall mental and emotional state. Making changes to these may seem huge but it all starts with taking that first step and making goals. Like we all have heard, it is always the first step that can lead you to your destination. Of course we need a little bit of inspiration before we can take any steps. That's when real life achievers come to the core. Not just names as big as these, you could as well find a lot of similar personalities around you that could inspire you. Like mentioned earlier you haven’t probably realized yet or just aren't looking closely.

Optimism, hard work, self-belief and above all a “never-say-die” attitude is what makes highly successful persons what they are. Always remember Winners are not people who never fail, but people who never quit.

“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again. Only this time more wisely”

- DC

Leander Adrian Paes: Making Indians proud since 1991

For people who have not yet watched a certain Indian tennis player in action, it can be said without a shadow of a doubt that they have missed out on witnessing one of the greatest tennis ambassadors to have ever graced the court. 

It can be said with utmost certainty that they have missed out on seeing a person who in the true word is an epitome of patriotism. 

And above all, it can be said with paramount inevitability that they have missed out on witnessing the never-say-die attitude of a true fighter who is always willing to give his 100% even when his body does not allow him to. Behold Leander Paes. 

It's not often that the sporting fraternity gets to comprehend such a player. The world has indeed seen its share of tennis legends, but when a phenomenon called Leander Paes walks out, every Indian in the world can stand tall with their heads held up high to cheer a player who has sacrificed his entire life just for the sake of the game. 

He has indeed given his all and there isn't an iota of doubt in the minds of fans about Leander's willpower, dedication and commitment towards his country. 

He's had his share of ups and downs though. Let's face it; things don't come easy for a sportsperson. Just because someone wants something it does not mean that it will be handed to them on a platter. 

One needs to work hard for it and that's exactly what Leander has been doing. Ever since Leander stepped on to the tennis circuit, he's been a name to look out for. 

Paes substantiated his claim to be looked upon as a dominant force in the tennis community when he became the World No. 1 in junior rankings at the age of 18 by winning the Junior US Open and Wimbledon titles. 

This was followed by probably his greatest achievement ever when he clinched the bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, losing to eventual gold medallist Andre Agassi in the semis. Paes has hardly looked back since then and for the sake of tennis in India, let's hope he doesn't ever. 

When Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek won the US Open men's doubles title on Sunday, Paes became only the second tennis player in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam at the age of 40. 

Incidentally the first person to have achieved that feat was Martina Navratilova, who did that partnering Paes in 2003 at the Australian Open. 

Even though it was Navratilova's moment, the fact that Leander was involved in the proceedings was again a truly proud moment for every Indian on this planet. 

Leander's US Open triumph was his third at the Flushing Meadows. To many, it was just another feather in his cap. To his fans, it was his eighth doubles and fourteenth overall major title. 

But to Leander himself, it was an achievement like no other. Not because the win would set him amongst tennis's all-time greats and the finest that India has ever produced, but it was simply the fact that he had emulated Navratilova from whom he draws inspiration. 

He had proved to the world that "age" is indeed just an impediment that needs to be tackled in the mind. And most importantly, he had proved to his critics that his policy of portraying undying allegiance towards tennis is what matters the most to him. 

It is Leander's ruthless desire to win that has helped him overcome things in life that many people shy away from. In 2003 when he was suspected to have a brain tumor, which later turned out to be Neurocysticercosis (parasitic disease of the nervous system), it was this same ruthless desire to win that helped him bounce back. 

And in 2012 when the whole AITA-Olympics controversy broke out, he never compromised with this principle of always keeping his country before his personal needs or betterment. 

Leander Paes is probably India's greatest tennis player till date. There have been arguments in the past and there will definitely be heated debates in the future. 

But what all Indians can agree in unison is that even though a day will come when he will walk off into the sunset to end his glorious career, his legacy will be something that will live on and be cherished by fans not just in India but across the globe.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/tennis/us-open-2013/indian-challenge/Leander-Adrian-Paes-Making-Indians-proud-since-1991/articleshow/22437658.cms