Of Dravids and Armstrongs

The equivalent of Dravid in an MBA world would be a high profile consultant from McKenzie. Meticulous, structured and extremely focused. Excellent in any assignment he undertakes and with an increased hunger to excel in any assignment at any stage of career. So while the entire Indian team was struggling in the series with England, the wall stood firm , as meticulously in his last as he would have in the first test. What makes him a more admirable character is the fact that he is more of an unsung hero. We all aspire for awards and accolades. This is what we say ‘Keeps us going’ . And than there is a breed of ‘Dravid’ , who would keep fighting undeterred, the same passion aggression and focus each and every time. The behavior is so mechanical, so devoid of the human element, that it won’t be wrong to compare such characters with programmed robots. That is why probably they say ‘Men with Nerves of steel’
Ivansevic, when he won the Wimbledon in the year 2001 said ‘ He has no regrets left in his life’.That was the only time he won a Wimbledon title . Federer ,after winning some 15 grandslams , fighting for his Australian open title in 2009, against Nadal , lost, and cried like a baby . After 15 grand slams !!!….Such hunger , such professionalism and discipline is what separates a winner from a champion.
And then there are Zephyrs, men who were written off and they bounced back , stronger and harder .’Its not about the bike’ an autobiography by Lance Armstrong’ is certainly not about the bike, its about the grit and determination of an incredible human being who rode that bike. Lance was a wonderful cyclist and he had won many tough races . What eluded him was ‘the toughest race on earth, ‘The tour de france’… Lance was diagnosed with cancer. The book talks about his incredible fight with cancer and how he eventually won the Tour de france post his recovery from cancer.
Perseverance , I suppose is the strongest trait a man can possess. It defies any other trait eventually. People like Dravid and Armstrong define this trait. I would end this blog with the famous words of Kahn , the german goalkeeper ,which he said when germany lost to Brazil in a football worldcup . He said ‘ You never win a silver , you always lose a gold’… ..keep fighting!!!