Get the message to Garcia!

Choose to live a life of excellence- Success- Inspiration- Accomplishment- 

               Get the message to Garcia!

By  Sadia Wali                                                                                       

Many people wonder how success happens and how successful people become more successful. Being persistent leads to success.

In his rise from being the son of a candle maker to a legend among men, Benjamin Franklin became America’s original self-made man.

Abraham Lincoln likewise captured the public imagination when he made the improbable leap from lowly log-cabin to the White House. Yet the concept really took hold in American culture during the post-Civil-War period.

While in India, Alexander met a Jain monk seemingly aloof and lost in his meditation.  Alexander saw the man and thought, “what a waste of time, this man is doing nothing and wasting life”. He asked him, hey what are you doing? The monk replied, I am experiencing nothingness but what are you doing? Alexander then replied, ‘I am conquering the world’. Alexander was taught to be like Achilles, whose presence in any battle meant assured victory.

Elbert Hubbard’s essay, A Message to Garcia 1899, denoted a dedicated soldier who took the initiative to accomplish a daunting and difficult task without questions or objections and graciously accomplishes the task.

Success story of these legends showed their perseverance, dauntless courage, and resolute   towards achieving a goal. As it is mentioned in Bible, “You are going to succeed because you decide to succeed. You are going to succeed because you make the choice that you will not let life choose for you. I will choose for myself. You can choose to live a life of choose a life of excellence.

Reading an excerpt from Elbert Hubbard’s essay, A Message to Garcia made us realize that people haven't changed in the last 100 years; people are not committed to the pursuit of occupational competence. Promotional ambitions lead to depersonalized detachment rather than an honest involvement and association with the work.  

Let us ponder over the consequences of ineffective learning and unsuccessful academic achievements of a teacher in modern times. Education is just impossible without a proper and appropriate teacher; education reformers around the world believe that we need to rethink, reinvent and revive schools and universities.  Teachers need to redefine their roles and responsibilities to meet changing needs and demands.  In the present day world, we are facing a dearth of dedicated  and committed teachers who could shape the society, motivate and inspire students by providing a safe, secure, and loving environment   which builds a foundation for life-long learning) and foster human values and norms .i.e. goodness, benevolence and virtues.

A young teacher entering teaching believes strongly in the importance of cultivating intelligence and creativity in pupils. Nevertheless within a year, she decided to give up teaching because of dissatisfaction, cynicism and career frustration.

Changes in the financing of education and conditions of work often lead to self- estrangement among teachers. They have difficulty in reconciling their actual achievements with their personal expectations. Teachers’ anxiety concerning their professional competence is heightened by a value system that links self- esteem with salary and remuneration. Teachers do not show interest in doing additional work like put up bulletin boards, wall displays, data entry or maintain file of students, after school timings spend some time to set the classroom for the next day.  A teacher while looking up at ten- foot high cupboard of classroom said, ‘I am paid to teach, not to look after this lot “And so mostly groan and wail over their career frustration in the staffroom; being sour, bitter and cynical complain lack of recognition by administrators for hard work and accomplishments. Consequently, they shout or scold at rowdy children to discipline them. They also hesitate to give extra attention to weak students after school. They have formed a negative occupational identity that threatens their self- esteem.

A group of teachers feel isolated due to their powerlessness within the organization i.e. their inability to influence the decision – making process. They think that fellow teachers are working in their little world. “Everybody is doing their own thing; nobody is working with colleagues to make this a whole school.” I have been bullied in my current workspace by other faculty members. After over five years I was finally able to realize it was work place bullying, I face an emotional trauma every day. If your current position causes you so much stress that you fear your mental health is at stake, get out of there fast!” opined an under- stressed teacher

Feeling intellectually starved, there are many teachers who have already opted for alternate profession and there are quite a few on the verge of shifting profession. "Once you stop learning and not growing in your job, it's time to look for something else” you can judge if something is actually a better opportunity "feels like home or fills a deeper need avail the chance.”

It is a sad reality that people haven't changed in the last 100 years, Every time they are given a task they start asking irrelevant questions or make excuses or show dissatisfaction while fulfilling the job. Today our society is degenerating due to lack of direction, intellectual vision, wisdom, intelligence and correct understanding among young people. We are really in search of proactive individuals who realize the significance of collective and individual potential to bring change in society.

There may be a few individuals who are extraordinary like Rowan who is always ready to accomplish the task without asking questions or showing excuses and justifications; those who don't just do what is expected of them; they surpass the expectations of others in their pursuit of excellence without considering any reward, compensation or salary. How chance aids them at every turn! They do not see the trails, failures and struggles, have voluntarily encountered in order to gain experience and realize the vision of their heart. They do not see the long and arduous journey, darkness and heartaches; they only behold present goals and call it a good fortune.

Being strong –minded and innovative teachers, we need to realize our priorities and responsibilities like Rowan who delivered the message to Garcia without asking, "Where is he? What does he look like? Who are his contacts? How do I get there?" He simply took the orders and did what he was asked to do. To put away with aimlessness and weakness and to begin a purposeful life with persistence and strength  is the message conveyed by Rowan; who believed that success is a journey and not a destination; this journey has been has no end.   

 A profound study on the subject of excellence found in ‘The book of Matthew’ tells God does not expect us to do only what comes naturally. He expects us to do far beyond that which is convenient and comfortable. When we have the option to be better than most? Why don’t we make optimum efforts throughout the year to show up the best?

An earnest plea to the teachers of today: Be a Rowan. Do it! Just make a decision. Make a choice. Even if task is challenging, should not give up. Quitting is not even an option. “Keeping firm and persistent, I will accomplish the task that is set before me. I will pursue excellence in every area of my life. Even though if I fall down, I will get back up and keep myself pressing ‘I can do it!”

“Are you willing to make the decision to get the job done with excellence? Are you prepared to carry the message to Garcia?