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.

"Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself. They come through you but not from you. You may give them your love but not your thoughts. For they have their own thoughts."

a good student could learn more from a bad teacher than a poor student from even a skilled teacher.

"To succeed in life and achieve results, you must understand and master three mighty forces— desire, belief, and expectation."

"Let not thy winged days be spent in vain. When once gone no gold can buy them back again."

should never worry about one's future prospects: instead, it was more important to lay sound foundations, to have sufficient enthusiasm and an accompanying passion for one's chosen field of study.

I myself would like to tell all novitiate engineering students that when they choose their specialization, the essential point to consider is whether

the choice articulates their inner feelings and aspirations.

The great difference between freedom and escape, between motion and movement, between slide and flow are the secrets of this science.

true reality lay beyond the material world in

the spiritual realm, and that knowledge could be obtained only through inner experience.

Desire, when it stems from the heart and spirit, when it is pure and

intense, possesses awesome electromagnetic energy. This energy is released into the ether each night, as the mind falls into the sleep state. Each morning it returns to the conscious state reinforced with the cosmic currents. That which has been imaged will surely and certainly be manifested.

You can rely, young man, upon this ageless promise as sur...

"Bread baked without love is a bitter bread that feeds but half a man's hunger,"—those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all around.

The gist of the quote was that 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.

it is essential for a project manager to learn to live with uncertainty and ambiguity.

If you want to leave your footprints On the sands of time Do not drag your feet.

It is very important to realise that communication is a two-party affair which aims at passing on or receiving a specific piece of information.

Knowledge is a tangible asset,

A leader can only be free to lead his team if he keeps abreast of all that is happening around him—in real time.

To lead, in a way, is to engage in continuing education.

To be a successful team leader, one has to stay back after the din and clutter of a working day to emerge better-equi...

The sovereign way to personal freedom is to help determine the force...

Be active! Take on responsibility! Work for the thing...

Being human, ignorance has always been with us, and always will be.

We learned the hard way that the biggest problem of project management is to achieve a regular and efficient interfacing between the different individuals and work centres.

Hard work can be set at nought in the absence of proper coordination.

"Your wealth and children are only a temptation whereas: Allah! with Him is an eternal award."

But you should always remember that we don't just build on successes, we also build on failures."

"Hard work is not enough in rocketry. It is not a sport where mere hard work can fetch you honours. Here, not only do you have to have a goal but you have to have strategies to achieve it as fast as possible."

"But there are other men who while placing one rock on top of another have a vision in their minds, a goal. It may be a terrace with roses climbing over the rock walls and chairs set out for lazy summer days. Or the rock wall may enclose an apple orchard or mark a boundary. When they finish, they have more than a wall. It is the goal that makes the difference. Do not make rocketry your profession, your livelihood—make it your religion, your mission."

Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.

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.

"Big scientific projects are like mountains, which should be climbed with as little effort as possible and without urgency. The reality of your own nature should determine your speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become tense and high-strung, slow down. You should climb the mountain in a state of equilibrium.

"You are beautifully clothed in your success,"

Awesome complement so far.

Day after day, day after day, We stuck, nor breath, nor motion; As idle as a painted ship Upon a painted ocean.

"The sweetness we taste in a piece of sugar is neither a property of the sugar nor a property of ourselves. We are producing the experience of sweetness in the process of interacting with the sugar."

Perhaps the main motive behind my isolation was my desire to escape from the demands of relationships,

He should give appropriate credit where it is due; praise publicly, but criticize privately.

Ironically, all through school, we were taught to read, write and speak, but never to listen, and the situation remains much the same today.

Often people seek to satisfy their social, egoistic, and self-actualization needs at their workplaces.

"Be more dedicated to making solid achievements than in running after swift but synthetic happiness,"

Impossible timeframes, PERT charts to boot Are driving me almost crazy as a coot; Presentations to MC add to one's woes, If they solve anything, Heaven only knows. Meetings on holidays, even at night, The family is fed up, And all ready to fight. My hands are itching to tear my hair — But alas! I haven't any more to tear ...

A crucial aspect of the team leader's role is to negotiate with these key people for their requirements, and to ensure that the dialogue continues on a regular basis as the situation develops or changes.

A project team member must in fact act like a detective.

On the coast of Coromandel Where the earthy shells blow, In the middle of the sands Lived some really rich souls. One cotton lungi and half a candle - One old jug without a handle These were all the worldly possessions Of these kings in the middle of the sands.

"Above all things, reverence yourself."

My worthiness is all my doubt — His merit — all my fear — Contrasting which my quality Does however — appear.

This story will end with me, for I have no belongings in the worldly sense. I have acquired nothing, built nothing, possess nothing—no family, sons, daughters.