Rise in life and stay down to earth

I take one thing into account: "I could lose everything I have in a second, and all I'll be left with is a hurt ego, which in term will make me unwanted everywhere else." I believe that if you've achieved something, you could lose it the next second, whether it be the title or proof that you achieved it. The ego which one tends to develop upon achieving something is what gives you a bad name. When you lose it, all you'll have left is that hurt ego and zero friends because you thought you were too good for them.

Well, for one, I don't think I've achieved anything in life. Literally nothing, zero. Here, 13 year old's are inventing Braille printers and opening up their own startups, and I'm having a hard tough time finding my second slipper in the morning. However, I've known a few well accomplished men who remain grounded and a lot of obnoxious ones who think they have cured cancer after striking a job at some MNC. Here's the difference. Know your roots.

The basic thing that people seem to forget when they reach some height is the fact that they once started pretty low. Take for example the Quora platform. Unless you are the founder of Wikipedia or the President of the United States of America, you can't expect people to follow you right from the day you join it. We all have our dirty pasts. The cringing for credits, the sharing of answers on other social media, the desperate tries to bring ourselves to limelight by mentioning the name of power users in our answers. I've done that. So, once you reach somewhere, don't forget who you once were. You made it, some didn't. Doesn't mean you sneer at them. This is key, some highly successful people never forget their humble roots, and some are too ashamed of it.

Handle instant fame. There is an old saying in Bengali which goes something like "Angul fule kola gaach", which basically translates to "Finger swelling to banana tree". Ah, well, it sounds a lot more catchy in Bengali. You see, thing is, instant fame and stardom is always risky. Most people don't know how to handle it. It's really necessary for your family and your parents to remind you time and again that some basic things are expected of you quite naturally. I've known people who have not done anything their whole life, and then when they suddenly achieve something, they can't keep themselves grounded. Always aim high, look up. It's better to be disappointed than to act like a snobbish. Always aim for the student who gets a 98 in class. Don't be getting a 80 and then insult the one who has a 78.

Differentiate between narcissism and arrogance. Contrary to popular belief, I am highly narcissistic. To the extent that I used to keep screenshots of my stats page on Quora. Nonetheless, it's necessary to know the difference between narcissism and arrogance. Being a narcissist implies that you can't get over yourself , you exhibit your own achievements, and when no one's around, you smell your own farts (pardon my french, just a manner of speech). But, being arrogant implies that you undermine anyone else's achievements, you make them smell your farts. I am a narcissist, but, I can appreciate other people's achievements, I can take a slap on the face pretty well if the other person beats me fair and square. If you have to choose between the two, choose narcissism, any day over arrogance. It's okay to smell your own farts.

Pay the iron price. There are only two ways to success. Taking a got reference, the gold price or the iron price. Achieving something by paying the iron price means you actually deserve it. You worked for it, you dreamed of it, and you sweat for it. Paying the golden price would include you either buying it, manipulating it, cheating it, or purely winning it on luck. My experience tells me that it's usually the second kind who can't remain grounded. The branches which bear fruit always bow down. So, if you are faced with a choice of paying the gold or the iron price, always choose the tougher way. The spoils are sweeter and you won't be acting like you have your head so far up your action figure that you can smoke through your belly button. Denounce achievements which you don't deserve.

Consider the futility of your achievements. Hair today, gone tomorrow. So, when you do have hair, don't look down on those who don't, because if you don't have it the next day, no one will even lend you a freaking cap to cover that piece of fine estate. You climb the rungs of the ladder step by step, throwing down opponents one by one, and pretty soon, if and when you slip, there will be no one down there to catch you. I get it, you have to pull people down in order to get up. In today's world you do, but the least you can do is treat them nice when you're on top.

Stay busy. This one's not so philosophical and this is what I would do if I do achieve something someday (highly unlikely). Simply stay busy. Don't keep celebrating the same checkpoint over and over. I remember friends who topped the board examination and were so full of themselves, that they celebrated it for so long that finally when they started preparing for the entrance exams, the others were already far ahead of them. Always undermine your own achievements, and then move on to the next. It's like they say, instead of measuring your own dick, worry about the fact that you aren't getting any use out of it. Just kidding, they don't say that, never measure you dick, under any circumstance. That's just weird.

I imagine myself as a Roman general, having just conquered a great land for the glory of Rome. There I am, being paraded through Rome, cheered on by the crowds. Fame, wealth and its trappings are mine! And amidst the cheers, a common slave would stand right behind me, constantly whispering in my ear: "Memento mori." Which, for those of us who don't speak Latin, roughly means: "Remember, you too will die." You are grounded!' his mother shouted outraged, and behind the bars of closed doors he was put for a week.

To stay grounded reminds of 'being punished' for rebellion, a twisted version of 'to get back on track-to stay on the right path-to not let fame get into our head-to avoid getting swayed by the evil. "I have a 100 floor building, but I like being grounded, and hence, I choose to put my office on the 1st floor!" ~Equality. It rests on you to know that the first floor is equally important as to the 100th floor, every step has importance in your life just the way every person has their own worth. Treating everyone as equals keeps you on the track; the moment you consider yourself higher than others in any respect-yes, you can, to an extent- you are no longer grounded.

Mingle with people below your caliber. Have conversations and relations with people who don't have the same interests as you. Reach out to people in other expertise, who are comfortably doing well, and learn their success stories. When you know you are not the only person on the top, and when you can learn to relate yourself to others in general, being grounded comes naturally. "I can settle for my old piece rather than spend 1000 bucks for a new one. Why do I need a new suit when all I going to do is to roll in mud and stay grounded?~Simplicity.

Success gives you access to various other opportunities, money being one of it and fame included. It isn't hard to sway away with the luxuries presented, and one of the best tricks to not let it get into head is to cut down or minimize the ways you are reach out to it. Money issues: Savings before Expenditure. Save your income, and spend with the rest. Travel in all types of means-1st class to general. Stay in touch with the hardships of life. Every month have a new goal to give up one luxury- SPA, or Car, or Movies, whatever it may be. One for a month, you can always recycle it. Avoid taking loans; loans bury you under the ground.

Minimalism. If you buy a pair of new clothes, give away another pair of old clothes to poor or charity. (works for other materialistic things too ) Employ an adviser, for Indians, probably it would be a family member-father, mother or life partner. Fame issues: Once in a while, go anonymous-without your name-your trade mark-roam free-so that people don't recognize you. Keep the newspaper clippings, or published interviews in a deep cupboard, so that they don't stare into your face everyday and remind you of your achievements. Conduct interactive sessions in your field to reach out to people-this gives the opportunity to appreciate the talent that hasn't come out. Hang out with your friends-in real-not through virtual conversations.

"I am floating on the clouds, well above from the reaches of the ground, and staying grounded is next to impossible, unless I fall---down." ~Failures Life is considered to be a pulley system, success and failure are two weights which can drag you in the direction on its power force. If you are overwhelmed with success, it isn't a balance; at the same time, if you are overshadowed with failure, it isn't a balance either. The only natural force to keep you grounded while you enjoy the sips of success is to taste failure simultaneously.

Take risks, because success isn't constant, and one time failure will add more value to your life than a life devoid of failure. Once in a week, listen to others problems and try to solve them. Empathy, not sympathy will keep your head clear. Have a journal to make entries of sad days, and failures. Everyone remembers success, but people push the failures into the abyss of unconsciousness. Once in a week, sit down and write what you have achieved in that whole week . If you are on the wrong track, the lack of productivity which stares straight into your face, will bring back your senses. Maintain a day to day to-do list and in it include three columns- for self, for family and friends, and for the society.

Every time you are successful, make sure to relate it to an uneventful incident in your life, so that you will never take advantage of the success. Do new things-things that you haven't done before. So that you know you are not invincible! "To stay grounded is to stay in touch with life-lose differentiation between reality and falsehood, consider yourself gone." Failures are what makes us what we are. Success is only a candy that dissolves.

My targets were to surpass the last failure, not achieve success, and in a way both turned out to be same, the difference being in the mentality of approach towards the situation. I scored way beyond what I targeted for, and did get into medical degree! Now when I tell people, there was a time I seriously considered I would fail, they laugh at me, but only I, and my family knows how much I suffered and made them suffer too!

I clearly remember that day when I cried tons before my father telling I was going to fail, bad. All he said was, "So what? Fail. If not this year, we have another year. If not that year, there is another year waiting. And, even if that doesn't work, your father will always be there for you. So, fail. Okay?" The things I mentioned here are purely from what I have applied in my life. Carpe Diem! Cheers!