Just "Dont Quit"

Do you feel like quitting, giving up, losing steam? Then read below...

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Some attribute Edgar A Guest. Some credit John Greenleaf Whittier. Many credit to the unkown writer. Who exactly wrote the "Dont Quit" poem is something that is unknown and hence is often quoted as "Writer Unknown", but it has served its purpose in motivating many to not leave serving as a beacon of hope.

I came across this poem, from my mentor Sriganesh Subramanian, who runs Dream Chasers in Chennai, a close-cohort, by invite, training centre for competitive exams. As a mentor, Sriganesh sir is very passionate to push the limits of his students and raise the bar whenever they try nearing one. For they say, If a target is achieved, the target is wrong. Thus, while getting bogged down by the pressure and feeling vented out, we sometimes used to stop for a moment and question ourselves as to why the heck are we doing this? It would be an intense emotion that keeps calling inside with a voice - QUIT! QUIT! QUIT! isnt it?

During one such day, as we (Abhinav, Rajesh, Yuvraj and two more whose names I forgot) were having our customary tea break with the tea chacha across the road, I had to listen to that voice and then decided that the calling is true. Nothing yielded results and it was high time, as my mind thought, to determine the future course of action ,without further adeu as that entire effort seemed illogical. Hours of efforts, buckets of sweat, tons of ink, cartels of paper, all seemed pointless. 

As we came back to the small room where we all trained, he saw the exasperation in me and then told his tryst with this poem "DONT QUIT". It was an emotional story on how it helped him during his days while acing CAT and he was introduced to it by his friends and seniors. A snippet of the poem was stuck by people of his times, in their wardrobe to read it everyday when they wake up and remind themselves to aspire continously of what they had in their hearts. That,15 minute candid converstaion was enough, for this poem to stick to me for years together untill now. It stays now in my wardrobe door majestically reminding me of my days :) xP.

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Currently many aspirants have secured marks, some clearing cutoff for their dream colleges, some dejected that they couldnt clear, some eagerly waiting for the GD calls, some completly clueless as to what to do next in life. The list goes on and on and on as life is not a one size fits all for all of us.

Dear Aspirants/ MBA 1st years/ MBA 2nd years/ Early career MBAs, Life is long and if you feel your dash is hitting the roof, trust me and read the below poem. Whatever that you aspire is not easy enough to be secured with a few tries of effort. It is unique and hence demands persistance that it requires. Trust the process and just hang in there!

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When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit -
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns.
As every one of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about when he
Might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow -
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than it seems
To a faint and faltering man;
Often the struggler has given up when he
Might have captured the victor's cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out -
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,
And when you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar;
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit -
It's when things seem worst,
You must not quit.