Victory in Defeat

Laozi was a famous philosopher of ancient China who lived in the 6th century BCE. He wrote a book called ‘The Way of Truth,’ in which he shared deep insights about life. One of his sayings is: “The one who accepts defeat—no one can defeat him.”

At first glance, this may sound strange. Most people think success lies in not accepting defeat. Even when they lose, they blame others, saying the competition was unfair or the opponent cheated. But Laozi’s words reveal a powerful truth: the person who has the courage to accept defeat actually lays the foundation for future success.

When someone is defeated, they are paying the price for some shortcoming—maybe a lack of strength, poor planning, or flawed strategy. If a tyrant succeeds, it’s because he had an advantage at that moment. In such cases, the wisest step is to accept the result, reflect, and work to remove your own weaknesses. By doing this, you’re much more likely to succeed next time.

There was a man who bought land and started building a house. While digging the foundation, his neighbour objected, saying, “You’ve built one foot beyond your boundary. Move it back, or we won’t let you continue.” The owner tried reasoning, but the neighbour refused to listen and grew aggressive. The man thought, “If I argue, this could turn violent. It may lead to a court case, work stoppage, financial loss, and stress. Let me avoid this.” He followed Laozi’s advice. Quietly, he told his workers to move the foundation one foot back. He gave up a little land but saved his peace of mind.

This peaceful decision paid off. A few months later, he earned enough to build a second floor. His children, observing his calm approach, also grew up with a constructive mindset. They focused on working hard. Years later, the family was doing so well that they bought the neighbouring property, tore it down, and built a much larger home.

He had lost one foot of land—but gained thousands of feet in return.

When Nothing Becomes Something

Swami Rama Tirtha (1873–1906) was a great Indian thinker. He was fluent in Urdu, Persian, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Punjabi, German, and French. He held a Master’s degree in Mathematics. One of his powerful quotes is:

“Zero increases the value of any digit ten times if it’s placed to the right of it.”

This means that even when someone appears to have “nothing,” if they understand their potential and use it wisely, they can turn that zero into great value.

At the end of the 19th century, Swami Ram Tirath traveled to America with no money and no contacts. When someone asked him, “Do you have any friends here?” he smiled and said, “Yes, I have one,” and putting his arms around the man, added, “You are that friend.” His warmth and positivity touched people’s hearts. Although he arrived alone, within just 18 months, he had made many genuine friends. He placed his “zero” in the right place—and it became something great.

A young man in India was deeply worried due to unemployment. He had no money to start a business and no reference to get a job. He felt completely helpless—like he was at zero. One day, he read a newspaper article that changed his thinking. It said: The world doesn’t lack work—it lacks workers. Most employers struggle to find people who are both honest and hardworking.

The young man thought, “If I can prove that I’m both, I will definitely find my place.”

He went to a busy shop and said to the owner, “Please let me work for you. I don’t want any salary for one month. Just watch my work. If you’re satisfied, keep me. If not, I’ll leave.” After trying this at several places, one shopkeeper accepted his offer.

The young man worked with such dedication and sincerity that within two weeks, the owner fixed a salary for him. Within months, his income grew. After a few years, the shopkeeper was so impressed with his performance that he made him a partner in the business.

The young man had nothing—just a zero. But he placed that zero wisely. And that zero became his greatest asset.

Delay in Hurry

Winston Churchill (1874–1965) was a famous British leader. During World War II, he served as the Prime Minister of Britain, at a time when the British Empire was much larger than it is today. He led his country with great dedication. One of Churchill’s famous sayings is: “The more you hurry, the more you delay.”

This statement reveals a deep truth about life. Suppose you are on the third floor of a building and need to go downstairs quickly for some urgent reason. No matter how important it is, you will still have to take the stairs. If, in your hurry, you decide to jump directly from the third floor to the ground, surely you will reach faster—but that speed will lead to a long delay. Your arms and legs will break, and instead of reaching your destination, you’ll be taken to the hospital and spend months in recovery.

A man wanted to grow a mango tree in his courtyard. He thought, “If I plant a small mango sapling, it will take at least ten years to grow.” There was already a five-year-old mango tree in his garden. He made a plan to dig it up and replant it in the courtyard. He was happy that this way, he would save five years of waiting, and in just a few years, the tree would bear fruit. He hired workers to dig up the tree. After hours of careful effort, they removed it and replanted it in the courtyard. But the very next day, its leaves started to wither. Within a few weeks, instead of a lush tree, there was only a dry stump in the yard.

Another man wanted to earn money. He opened a grocery shop and ran it for a year. When he saw that the business wasn’t picking up quickly, he decided to start a clothing store. After a year, he again felt dissatisfied and switched to selling stationery. Then, within another year, he changed to a shoe shop. In this way, he kept changing his line of work again and again—and eventually ended up discouraged and unsuccessful.

The reason for his failure was that he didn’t understand a simple truth: success in any work takes time. It’s not possible to open a shop one day and see it succeed the very next day. The time he spent trying different things could have made him successful if he had dedicated it to just one business. Because he was in a hurry, he kept getting delayed. If he had not rushed, he might have succeeded sooner than he expected.

In any field, steadfastness is essential for success. A person should think carefully, consider all aspects, consult others, and then make a thoughtful decision. Such decisions should be made once, not repeatedly.

Once a decision is made, a person should stick to it. If doubts arise later, they should be overcome with determination. One must remain firm on the path that was chosen with wisdom and understanding.

Only such people succeed in this world. In contrast, those who keep changing their paths repeatedly never achieve any significant success in life.

All India Radio, New Delhi,
on 26-28 December 1999.