CHENNAI: Twenty-one-year old debut author Vidhi Mardia’s book Success in Failure an Oxymoron essays the journey of success of failure in the lives of sixachievers namely, Justice Vineet Kothari, Sandeep Sancheti, R Gopalakrishna, Motolal Oswal, Nilesh Vikamsey and Shekhar Mehta. Through the nineteen chapters of the book, Vidhi discusses her own hurdles that taught her lessons in resilience and gratitude.
During this pandemic, people across the globe have lost jobs and businesses. It is difficult to find opportunity in adversity.
Yes, but hard times present us with a chance to rediscover ourselves or find an undiscovered bridge that will get us over these hurdles.
What has failure taught you?
Like every other millennial, I didn’t look at failure with the right attitude. I experienced my first failure when I didn’t clear one group in my Chartered Accountancy course. The first set of failures are hard and there is absolutely no denying that. That was when I got introduced to the importance of having gratitude and resilience. I started reading more about the journey of successful people (and their failures). I realise that the lessons that we learn from failure, we fail to learn from success.
But accepting failures needs a conducive environment.
A conducive atmosphere can work wonders. In many homes, failures are looked down upon and not taken in the right spirit. If we can build an environment that supports the person, he/she would know that failure is not the end but just a small bend in the road of life. Teachers, parents and social circles need to help students and children by building their emotional intelligence to cope with failure without remorse or ridicule.
Does the book focus only on professional failures or personal failures as well?
The book has a generous mixture of both. I believe that every person has their own definition of setbacks. From not clearing a professional exam to being in a relationship that failed, what might be a hurdle for me, may not be one to you.
How long did it take to compile the book?
My first draft was ready within three months. The editing and publishing took a little longer than expected, but all good things take time and the final result was overwhelming. This is something I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.
We are often asked to follow the script of successful people and their formula for our own success. Do you think it works?
Successful people are a huge inspiration and a guiding light who help in paving the way ahead for us. But, we are unique and we must derive our own formulas keeping their journey in mind.
The book is available on Amazon, Flipkart and Kindle.