Bring out the Karoly Takacs in you !!

Yesterday I met an old friend and were chatting over drinks. He had lost his job 5 months ago and was still struggling to get a right profile. He was emotionally down and was on verge of losing hope. We chatted a lot on what all he can do and then I realized as time passes it is difficult for most to keep focus and have that self-determination on. It is about getting your mind game up when you are down.

For him and for many out there I write this article .. Bring out the Karoly Takacs in you.

For most of us losing our main arm (left or right which ever your use is ) will push us into self pity including not being able to work . We would think it is the end of our career , work or earning capacity . In some cases one might go into depression and even reduce their social interactions or go in a shell

Same happens when one loses a job . You work in a given industry for a couple of years or you have specialized in a particular field but that field is losing relevance and you lose your job. Most people of who undergone this face a huge task of coming out of shell .. they get depressed, they wonder why this has happened to them and sometimes call out that the world has been unfair to them.

For them I say Bring out the Karoly Takacs in you

By now you must be wondering who is this Karoly Takacs .. Well I bumped into him on Wikipedia (search for Karoly Takacs) and after reading about him felt compelled to share this with you. It is a story of perseverance, doggedness, focus and ofcouse of self determination. It is the story of mind over physical self.  Infact a full Bollywood movie can be made on this with its ups and downs and masala as you call it.

Takács was a sergeant in the Hungarian Army. By 1936, he was a world-class pistol shooter, but he was denied a place in the Hungarian shooting team for the 1936 Summer Olympics on the grounds that he was a sergeant, and only commissioned offices were allowed to compete.

This prohibition was lifted in Hungary after the Berlin Games, and Takács had expectations of success at the 1940 Summer Olympics, scheduled to be held in Tokyo.

However as luck  OR bad luck as some would call it , during an army training in 1938 , he badly injured his Right hand – his shooting hand , when a grenade exploded in his hand and injured it. He thus could not use his Right hand.

What would you have done ? If you knew shooting only via your Right hand and you lost the use of the same , what would you have done ? In all probability , you would have given up . Same happens when you know a particular skill and the need for that skill has reduced . One gives up and goes into oblivion

So back to the story ..What does Karoly do ?

He was unlike any that I have known or read about . He was so determined to continue his shooting career, he did not give up. When he recovered a little, he switched to shooting with his left hand.

He practiced in secret, surprising his countrymen when he won the Hungarian national pistol shooting championship in the spring of 1939 using his left hand – remember this was just 1 year after his accident.

But his dream was far away. Due to the 2nd world war the Olympic Games scheduled for 1940 and 1944 were canceled. Most of his colleagues thought he would never be able to participate in Olympics. The Next Olympics were scheduled in 1948 in London. Remember 10 years had already passed.

For most, as time passes, it is difficult to keep your ambition alive during adversity and keep the lights on within you.

However this is what differentiates you

But Takács surprised the world by winning the gold medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, aged 38, beating the favorite, Argentine Carlos Enrique Díaz Sáenz Valiente (yes it is the name of one person) , who was the reigning world champion. Legend has it that before the game began, Valiente (used his last name as I did not want to write his full name) had approached him and had asked him what was he doing there (hearing about his accident and loss of the usage of his Right arm).

His reply was that he was there to learn. Valiente later congratulated saying you have learned enough.

Karoly participated again in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki at the age of 42 (for those of you who follow sports and Olympics one knows that by this age most sport’s person retire) . At this event he again won the Gold Medal. After the match Valiente congratulated him again and said "you have learned more than enough now it's time to teach me".

So next time you are down and out and in dumps .. Remember Karoly Takacs .  

Keep the light in yourself glowing !! Keep that tempo up, don’t listen to detractors, keep the determination and focus alive.  Keep going , retool yourself , find your other strengths, never , never, never  give up hope.

Thank you for reading. If you like this please do share this article with any of your friends whom you think Karoly could help or ask them to search on wikipedia or google.

Details Source : Wikipedia

Image Source : https://www.olympic.org/karoly-takacs