My Life: An Illustrated Biography: An Illustrated Autobiography

by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

In this way, the days of my earliest childhood went, filled with many moments of happiness and some sad days. I kept the faith in my parents and teachers and looked forward to days of hard work and learning. I realize now that it was a happy and contented time.

‘Let not thy winged days be spent in vain. When once gone, no gold can buy them back.’

I started reading authors like Thomas Hardy, Leo Tolstoy and Walter Scott.

Buddha, Confucius, St Augustine, Califa Omar, Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln and many more.

Even if a task seems impossible, if you grit your teeth and set your mind to completing it by shutting out the entire world, you are sure to achieve what you set out to do.

I realized that if something is at stake, the human mind gets ignited and the working capacity gets enhanced manifold. This is one of the techniques of building talent.

I learnt that dreams should be those that keep us awake, they are ideas that become actions that lead to change.

A leader should give the credit of the success to the team members. But when failure comes, leaders should absorb the failures and protect the team members.

‘You are beautifully clothed in your success.’ Even today I remember those words and I don’t own more than three sets of suits and five or six shirts.

Weapons cannot buy peace, but they can help us to not repeat history.

one formula for my team to follow—goal-setting, positive thinking, visualizing and believing.

Oath for Youth 1.I will have a goal and work hard to achieve that goal. I realize that small aim is a crime. 2.I will work with integrity and succeed with integrity. 3.I will be a good member of my family, a good member of the society, a good member of the nation and a good member of the world. 4.I will always try to save or better someone’s life, without any discrimination of caste, creed, language, religion or state. 5.I will always protect and enhance the dignity of every human life without any bias. 6.I will dream to become a great writer or great poet of the world. 7.I will always work for a clean planet Earth and clean energy. 8.As a youth of my nation, I will work and work with courage to achieve success in all my tasks and enjoy the success of others. 9.My national flag flies in my heart and I will bring glory to my nation.