Wings of Fire: An Autobiography (Digital Exclusive Edition)

by A.P.J. Abdul Kalam

We are all born with a divine fire in us. Our efforts should be to give wings to this fire and fill the world with the glow of its goodness.

the Holy Book—after God created man, he asked the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam. Everybody prostrated themselves except Iblis, or Satan, who refused. "Why did you not prostrate yourself?" Allah asked. "You created me of fire and him of clay. Does not that make me nobler than Adam?" Satan contended. God said, "Be gone from paradise! This is no place for your contemptuous pride." Satan obeyed, but not before cursing Adam with the same fate. Soon Adam followed suit by becoming a transgressor after eating the forbidden fruit. Allah said, "Go hence and may your descendants live a life of doubt and mistrust."

all reasonable men adapt themselves to the world. Only a few unreasonable ones persist in trying to adapt the world to themselves. All progress in the world depends on these unreasonable men and their innovative and often non-conformist actions.

Knowledge is a tangible asset, quite often the most important tool in your work. The more up-to-date the knowledge you possess, the freer you are. Knowledge cannot be taken away from anyone except by obsolescence.

develop a passion for personal responsibility. The sovereign way to personal freedom is to help determine the forces that determine you. Be active! Take on responsibility! Work for the things you believe in. If you do not, you are surrendering your fate to others.

"SLV-3 is a genuine Indian design and you may be having your own troubles. But you should always remember that we don't just build on successes, we also build on failures."

People are born with different energy reserves and the one who tires first and burns out easily will do well to reorganize his or her life at the earliest.

The youth of today must unlearn this self-defeating way of life. The culture of working only for material possessions and rewards must be discarded.

"Above all things, reverence yourself."