Four achievers shared their success stories and anecdotes with students and provided them tips during the two-day Eduquest, eastern India’s largest educational fair, held in association with Anandabazar Patrika, at Netaji Indoor Stadium. Metro listened in.

Sourav Ganguly

Preparation is Sourav Ganguly’s success mantra for students. “You have to prepare yourself for a game, an exam or any other form of test for a long time. Success may be delayed but hard work will pay off in some way,” said the former Indian captain in his talk on Sunday evening.

“One will always be on the edge while building a career. Some will succeed, some will not. The only way to improve your chance is by working hard.”

Sourav stressed the importance of making the most of one’s strengths.

“Try to turn your good days into your best days, because there will be bad days. A batsman once told me that every time he went past 50, he tried to convert it to 100 since there would be days when he would struggle to score. As a student, you will be judged on the basis of your aggregate score. So, if you are good in mathematics, try to score 95 or 97 in the subject. You may not be as good in other subjects.”

When a student asked him how he had prepared to make his second comeback into the national team, Sourav replied: “There will be such phases in everyone’s life. Just work hard. If someone notices you working hard, word will spread. Word of mouth works better than 10 posters.”

On being asked whether he was planning to share such tips with Team India players as their coach, Sourav said: “I have some years of IPL to play. I will decide on coaching after five years.”

Another student asked Sourav how he wanted to contribute to society. He replied: “The best way to do that is by teaching children. I have been trying to do that for a long time but have not been able to.” In an interaction with reporters before the talk, he had said that he was “hopeful” about starting his school.

Harsha Bhogle

Hard work, humility and honesty are the three most important qualities for success, said the sports commentator answering a question after his Sunday talk, which revolved around cricket and was peppered with witty asides.

“Do you realise how much hard work was behind Sourav’s waving of the shirt from the Lord’s balcony? He was so happy because his team had done something great. He later told me that he regretted the incident. I asked him ‘Why? It was a defining moment.’

“I don’t understand Calcutta’s attitude towards Sourav. The city is waiting for him to be made a martyr. You always think of him as a victim. But let me tell you, he is much tougher than you take him to be.”

Bhogle’s advice for youngsters was to build careers, not wealth. “I have never seen a person who has built a career not living comfortably. A lot of young cricketers chase dollars now. For them, runs dry up,” he said.

He stressed the importance of calmness. “Have you ever seen Dhoni behave like Sreesanth? Sreesanth is the most gifted bowler of his generation but why is he not performing on that level?.... Calmness allows space for an idea to get in.”

He had the audience in splits when, while drinking water, he described the break as a strategic time-out without ads.

Harshavardhan Neotia

The industrialist recounted how he started out to explain the importance of learning from all possible sources.

“I started by reading and trying to understand everything about construction. The first person who taught me was a contractor whom we had employed. He was illiterate but he had the experience. We would pore over drawings and he would teach me how to read architectural maps,” said Neotia.

“It was such a paradox: here was a man who had perhaps not studied up to Class IV teaching me, a graduate, how to read maps. This set me off. I could accept with humility the knowledge of that person.”

Neotia also spoke about his proximity with his great grandfather and how he would escort him to various discourses. “I think one of the coolest things I did was to pick up the works of Swami Vivekananda. Many would ask how can reading Vivekananda be cool. It was very, very cool because it helped me to understand life in a substantive way.”

His footnote: “Money is a by-product. It is the result of our success but it cannot and should not be the focus of our activities.”

Chetan Bhagat

“Who all want to be successful?” The Five Point Someone author started with a question, which he answered himself.

“It is a basic human thing, everybody wants to be successful. So how to become successful? I will go through my own journey…. In June 2002, I went to a publisher with a book. He said Indians did not read books. I asked why did you become a publisher. ‘We publish books that win awards abroad.’

“In September 2002, the answer was: ‘We publish a book if we feel it will sell 1,000 copies.' In May 2003, I was told: ‘You are a techie, why don’t you write a textbook.’ I went to nine publishers over two years. It was difficult. I got used to publishers saying no.

“In January 2004, the answer was ‘Ok, we can give it a try’ In May 2004, Rupa published Five Point Someone. It has sold 10 lakh copies till date.

In all the nine rejections, there was one person who believed in the book — that was me. Now I look back and feel that you need talent to write a book but living through nine rejections, having the mental strength to take setbacks in your stride, is something else.”

The final word: “Whatever you are, you can be better”.