Delivering a speech at a public function in New Delhi Admiral S.N. Kohli (1916-1997), former Navy Chief once said, “Success is wholly a thing of the mind. When one has the will, one will find ways and means to achieve one’s goals, but in its absence, one will simply say, ‘It’s just not possible.’” As an example, he cited an incident which had taken place during the Indo-Pak war of December 1971. An attack had to be made on Karachi harbour and the only war planes the Indian navy had were designed basically for defensive roles. The attack was nevertheless carried out quite successfully – much to the astonish­ment of the enemy. This success was obviously not the result of superior equipment but of the available equipment having been “intel­ligently used.”

The principle so aptly illustrated by Admiral Kohli applies to indi­viduals and nations alike. Success comes to those who firstly have the determination to achieve their ends and who, secondly, put the re­sources at their disposal to the best use. In the process, much care, intelligence, ingenuity and farsightedness are vital. Conversely, failure often results not so much from a lack of resources as from available resources having been underexploited or wrongly used. Take the case of the villager who decided to build himself a brick house in his village. Unmindful of the fact that his resources were severely limited, he dug the foundations of his modest dwelling so deep that people began to wonder if it was a house he was building or a fortress. Friends began to express their doubts about his ability to complete it, and unluckily for him, they proved to be right. So much building material had been used in the base that there was little left for construction above ground­-level. With great difficulty, he managed to build the walls, but then there was nothing left to roof them over with. Finally, he managed somehow or the other to provide a roof for just one room so that he could start living in it, but the rest of the rooms remained forever open to the sky. Had he not squandered precious materials in the founda­tions, he would have had enough material to complete his house. As it was, his bad planning had left him almost without a roof over his head.