Chetan Bhagat addresses the audience at SK Memorial Hall in Patna on Friday. Picture by Jai Prakash

Patna, Nov. 25: Nine publishers rejected the manuscript of his first book. He was down, but chose not to give up. Today, he is the author of many bestsellers.

Meet Chetan Bhagat, who today cast a spell on a packed SK Memorial Hall with his words of motivation.

“When I was young, I didn’t know what to do in life. At that time we did not have access to the kind of technology as you have today. It was the faith I had in myself that took me ahead and helped me achieve whatever I have,” he said.

“Publishers rejected my first work nine times. A time came when I was frustrated but I always had faith in myself. If you want to be successful you have to work hard and at the same time you need to work in the right direction with proper planning and avoid taking the shortcut,” he said.

He also spoke about the turnaround of the life of Team India captain M.S. Dhoni. “Even Dhoni did not get success overnight. He used to play football in school when one day he was asked to keep wickets for the school team. That is where his journey of cricket began. Even in his first One-Day International, he was dismissed for a duck. This year, he won India its second World Cup,” he said.