Unfulfilled dream of APJ Abdul Kalam: He failed but he overcame, here's how

New Delhi, July 27: He was known as "Missile Man", one of the most successful Presidents of India. But he too had experienced the taste of failure.

Yes, APJ Abdul Kalam once had failed, but he overcame and left an inspirational message for all. He showed everyone how to learn from each and every failure.

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Dr Kalam once had said that becoming a fighter pilot was a "dearest dream". However, he failed by a whisker as he bagged the ninth position when only eight slots were available in the Indian Air Force (IAF).

In his new book "My Journey: Transforming Dreams into Actions", Dr Kalam claimed that he was desperate to pursue a career in flying.

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"Over the years I had nurtured the hope to be able to fly to handle a machine as it rose higher and higher in the stratosphere was my dearest dream," he wrote.

Finally, Dr Kalam had received two interview calls, one was from the Indian Air Force in Dehradun and the other from the Directorate of Technical Development and Production (DTDP) at the Ministry of Defence in Delhi.

While the interview at DTDP was "easy" he recounted that for the Air Force Selection Board, he realised that along with qualifications and engineering knowledge, they were also looking for a certain kind of "smartness" in the candidate.

Dr. Kalam bagged the ninth position out of 25 candidates and was not recruited as only eight slots were available.

"I had failed to realise my dream of becoming an air force pilot," he wrote.

Finally, he said what he had done to overcome his failure. He wrote, "I walked around for a while till I reached the edge of a cliff, before deciding to go to Rishikesh and seek a new way forward."

"It is only when we are faced with failure do we realise that these resources were always there within us. We only need to find them and move on with our lives," said Dr Kalam who went on to put his "heart and soul" at his job as the senior scientific assistant at DTDP.

In the book, he also He recounted "staring into the pit of despair" when he failed to make it as an IAF pilot and how he pulled himself up and rose to become the man who headed India's missile programme and occupy highest office in the country.

At the end in the book, he also mentioned, "I hope these stories will help all my readers understand their dreams and compel them to work on these dreams that keep them awake."

A message for Dr Kalam:

Yes sir, each and every word from you will continue to inspire people across the world. The country will truly miss you.

OneIndia News
(With agency inputs)