‘Struggle for existence.’ In the world today success seems to be very important. Everyone embraces their own ideas and has their own perspectives. Triumphs are mostly measured in terms of economy. In my view, it is only hardship that leads us to victory. Optimism, moral values, love and belongingness add charm to man’s life and makes him perfect in every way. Courage and motivation are the only principles to reach summit. Silliness and risk taking behaviour may head us towards success but it is never steady. It comes by chance and goes away the same way. He who takes the wrong way ends in despair. Success is not just wealth but also self-esteem, self-respect and ethics. Stupidity and risk taking are never the mantras for great achievers.

Samana Tuladhar

Obviously, a person needs considerably high levels of courage to be successful. But sometimes courage alone is not sufficient to achieve what we are made for as it always requires some kind of risk and bravery. It is said that the higher the amount of risk, the higher will be the benefits. It applies to individuals, businesses and others as well. Being motivated and courageous is a positive part, but until we take some risks, reaching the summit of success in life will be very difficult. Hence, the combination of courage and risk constitutes the mantra for achieving sky touching goals.

Bishnu Prasad Pokharel

Yes, I agree that taking risks and sometimes even stupidity have been the mantra for success of great achievers. As we know that human beings, however intelligent or wise, s//he does stupid things knowingly or unknowingly and the most strange thing is that this unknown stupidity makes him/her popular. S/He earns name and fame. Sometimes the same stupidity makes impossible things happen which may even change people’s lives. Same thing applies to when we take risks. Risk itself means dating with danger which requires a great amount of courage. It makes life interesting and adventurous. Only courage may not help us reach the summit of success. Success in life does not only require to be daring but it needs a mixture of risks, humour, adventure and many more elements. To reach the height, we need to think high and taking risks become an obvious step.

Priyanka Chand

‘No risk, no gain.’ But I don’t think this saying applies to everyone. Many great achievers may have taken risks and even stupidity as a mantra for success. However, at the same time there are many who have experienced awful failures by adopting risky methods and being stupid. Taking a courageous step is a more rational way of reaching the summit of success. However, success that has been achieved via risk and stupidity is more remarkable and exciting in one’s life as it often happens radically. Anyway, taking risk does not always lead towards greater heights, rather it is like gambling and one may win or lose the game.

Hem Raj Paneru,

Kirtipur

n Courage is one of the secrets to reach the summit of success. Taking risks does increase chances of being successful as well as that of being unsuccessful. Personally, I discourage stupidity to achieve success. Hard work, determination, interests and passion are the key factors needed to be successful. On the other hand, risk-seekers will not mind opting for risky situations to gain success. I would say that if someone succeeds by just being stupid, it is simply a co-incidence. Besides, trying to kiss success by being stupid can sometimes be suicidal.

A person clad in jeans and tee-shirt somehow manages to get into a cocktail party where the dress code is formal. If he follows this stupidity again, he might not be allowed in. Ditto for a student who passes his exams cheating (taking risks), and then being caught the next time.

Careful analysis is to be done while taking risks and acting stupidly has to be avoided. To sum up, it would be unreasonable to recommend taking risks and acting stupidly to everyone as people are in different situations, and there isn’t any universal mantra that is applicable to all the people in all situations.

Cool Cristofer, Lake Side

I don’t believe anybody really does a foolhardy thing on purpose hoping it would turn out right and actually revolutionise his life. Unless you have that lucky stroke, I doubt stupidity mantra is the one for you. It is like lottery, a few out of hundreds win. I think that ‘just-do-it’ phase happens to everybody. It is probable that some may succeed, but it is obvious that the rest return home with regrets. Such things are to be opted for only when everything else fails, when it is something like do-or-die situation. Even then, there are times when you need to forsake the results and take the risk. Then I think it is best to do what you think is right. It isn’t written anywhere that you are not one of the few lucky ones. The remorse of not getting to see what could have happened is worse than regretting what has happened. Therefore, I think a person should rely on doing what he thinks is right and not rely on random decisions.

Rhea Gurung

Different people adopt different approaches to reach their goals and aims. We acknowledge that the journey of life is full of hardships and risk lies in each step we take to reach our destination. Those who have courage to take risks definitely achieve what they desire. Thus, risk can be taken as a necessary component and normal phenomena for those who wish to stand out from others and excel in life.

However, there are many instances where great people have adopted stupidity as a tool to achieve something extraordinary and do marvellously in life. But such instances are exceptions and thus do not fall under regular phenomena. In my belief, when a person feels all other doors have closed, then s/he resorts to stupidity. So, it is not wise to apply the same in normal course of life. I prefer risks over stupidity as the earlier symbolises positive attitude and outlook while the later signifies a nature of negative energy and aggressiveness.

Ambika Pandey,

Chitwan

n As it is said that, ‘Success is not measured by how high we go up in life, but how many times we bounce back when we fall down.’ Success is not always winning but also accepting failures and learning from them. Each person wants to be successful despite lack of effort and courage. It is also true that hard work and courage can definitely take us on the path of success. But when we turn the pages of successful personalities’ lives, we find they have not always been successful in every step, but have taken risks and faced obstacles to reach their goals. So, taking risks and accepting them as a challenge would surely take us to the summit of success.

Sushma Itani, Balaju

Every successful person states the reason behind their success as courage and determination. But exceptions, who dared to jump into the ocean of risk, reveal the reason behind their success as their ability to take risks. Since, everyone wishes to be successful, either a person should be destined for success, or should create destiny to be successful.

Many useful results have come from stupid experiments. In the field of economics, share markets or investment in business can be taken as examples. We cannot forget that,

‘taking risks may not

always lead to success,

but dormancy sure

enough will to lead one to be unsuccessful.’

Dilip Dachhepati, Bhaktapur

To achieve something, we must have courage. This valour and the audacity to think beyond and out of the box is courage. Courage is the starting point of reaching the summit of success in life. There are usually three groups of people. Some have courage while others have either ability or good human relationships. But at the end of the day, people with courage are the ones who succeed. Sometimes taking risks and even stupidity might have worked for some great achievers, but it is a miracle. It does not happen always and to everyone.

Our life is a medley of happiness and sorrows. Reaching the acme of success in life requires diligence, dedication and determination. These are all in one way or the other linked with courage. Thus, courage is the gist of our success.

Saroj Nepal,

Goldhunga

To achieve success, one needs to have brains, courage and last but not the least luck. Brain is necessary for making the right decision, whereas courage is to take risks and bear losses with no regret. People say that one must create their own luck. It is true that we should write our own luck with our own effort and hard work but it is not always the case. A candidate with all the required qualifications is without a job, because his fortune did not support him. In today’s world full of competitors, everyone is well qualified but only few enjoy the realm of success as they have luck and rest are devoid of it. It does not mean that unfortunate people cannot get success, rather the unfortunate can transform themselves into fortunate ones. We just have to ‘keep our patience and not give up hope.’ The mantra of great achievers is nothing other than being an optimist.

— Mani Raj Lama,

Kapan

n Courage is an essential ingredient for success. Even ordinary people have dared to dream of the unachievable and have scaled the greatest heights of adversities to achieve their goals. But I am also convinced that life requires much more than courage to tackle complexities. Sometimes even an act of stupidity can take us to glory. We may come across incidents where brave people may falter and tumble, while risk takers somehow manage to overcome all hindrances and outrun others. For instance, investors or share-holders are staking all their money at all times, but somehow, some risk takers eventually manage to do incredibly well and emerge prosperous. But it is not always safe and logical to take risks blindly. A perfect example could be gambling. Building over-confidence and setting high stakes cannot serve as the best mantra for winning billions of dollars overnight. Such risks could even lead us lose everything we possess, even our confidence.

Nisha Puri

There are many ways to succeed in life besides being courageous. In many cases people have definitely achieved success not just by usual strategies of working hard and all but also by their stupid acts. Sometimes funny ideas also help in generating new ideas to achieve success. People sometimes do not even realise that their stupidity/idiotic ideas also work well time and again. But I feel this cannot work well all the time. Once we achieve success in this way we should not be stupid enough to think we can always get help like this to reach our destiny, but should be more careful that we do not make these mantras a habit for succeeding in life.

Hima, Kumaripati

Devotion, passion and courage are the core factors to reach the summit of success. I believe we must not step back to take risks in whatever way we can as it is an integral part of success. Yes, even stupidity blended with desire to succeed works a lot for one to achieve success. Taking risks always warns you as it perpetually strikes your mind and helps you keep on the right track. Stupidity, filled with dreams help you focus on your desired goal. If you just have courage and have dreams but fear to take risks, it is certain that you will not succeed at all. Therefore, for dreams to materialise, you must jump into the fire of risks with courage.

— Sanjay Shrestha

n I agree there is a co-relation between risks individuals take and success. Risks can bring a crash or a reward. Some of the most successful people in today’s context are above average people and the reason behind is that they are good at taking risks. There would be no innovation if people did not take risks. There would be no cell phones, computers if people had not taken risks. But mainly people do not risk chances because they believe they will fail. For instance, I have a large amount of skills because I took the risk of being self-employed. If I had not risked it, I would be depressed, socially inept and a very unhappy person. I have crashed many times but I have learned a lot.

Sheela Bhandari,

Maharajgunj