Hi Pallavi
If you have got time in hand, I highly recommend 'The Fountainhead' by Ayn Rand.
This book happened to me during the break when I had just appeared for my school finals. I was at crossroads, stuck between the warmth of home and an inherent feeling of breaking free and exploring the world.
It was the time when I was constantly looking for a foothold, questioning my beliefs, seeking a philosophy, which would serve in good stead for the exciting life ahead, harbouring dreams, which seemed impossible and relentlessly wanting to defy the world and its rules.
Fountainhead provided all the above and much more. It revolutionised my life and rendered a very important objective meaning to it. I can even go out on a limb and say it has shaped my life and helped me achieve what I have today: a wonderful relationship, high self-esteem, immense confidence, a go-getter attitude, an unrelenting will to excel and a quest for nothing but the best. It has provided the ammunition to go for what I believe in and not be swayed by others’ opinions or feel constricted by conventional wisdom. It has made me the sole shaper of my destiny.
Since then, I have been reading this book on and off, sometimes the entire content, sometimes excerpts and it has only become better, unfolding its meaning and richness, without losing the strong message.
The integrity and selfishness of Howard Roark, the steel grit of Dominique Francon and her love for Howard, the sole wish of Peter Keating to be successful, the psychological swaying of masses by Elseworth Toohey and the rise and fall of Gail Wynand has superbly captured the different types of people who inhabit this world and their subtle yet strong interactions. It always pays to understand how people behave, which category one fits in and where one’s beliefs are rooted.
Understanding oneself goes a long way in trying to understand others.
Ayn Rand has portrayed the strength of the human spirit and the inherent capability of every individual to succeed while pursuing his / her dream and not overlapping with another individual’s aspirations.
The sum of individual successes is inevitably a bigger success. This philosophy is in stark contrast to the selflessness that is embedded in our culture and can be misinterpreted as an objective, egoistic and selfish means of achieving success but then every aspect has a thin line separating the use and abuse of the same. It takes a discerning eye to see the right learning in the right context.
I am an avid reader and have read a wide range of topics by a wide range of authors, but nothing can equal the influence of Fountainhead on me and perhaps on millions of others.
We have all imbibed the concept of personal freedom, expression of one’s desires and free market in the true sense of the words and not just textbook jargon.
I am indebted to Ayn Rand and this is just a small tribute to the excellent piece she created for all of us to cherish. And I am sure you will love it too.
Thanks n regards, Suparn@
Answered by
Suparn@
, an ibibo Master,
at
11:15 PM on April 06, 2008
