Things we should learn from Wings of Fire by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam

The Wings of Fire is an Autobiographical Book an autobiography of  former Indian President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam with Arun Tiwari who is a missile scientist, author and professor. He worked under Kalam for over a decade in the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL). 

Dr Kalam is familiar to all the people of India, he is the son of a little educated boat owner in Rameshwaram, Tamil Nadu, he had an unparalled career as a defence scientist, culminating in the highest civilian award of India, the Bharat Ratna. In this book, it shows the story of Kalam's own rise from the failures and obscurity and his personal and professional struggles. He really inspires us and shows that how he raised as a sunshine by shrugging off the dark clouds.

Dr Kalam was a Professor of Technology and Societal Transformation at Anna University, Chennai. On 25th July 2002, he was sworn in as the Eleventh President of India. Abdul Kalam is referred to as a spiritual scientist, his visions and contributions to his country.

                                       

    The book emphasizes the importance of family and the achievemet of goals and the qualities to become a better manager in our life. Kalam also tells about the qualities that can strengthen to achieve our dreams.                                                                                                    

How to become a team leader/How to lead a team?

The qualities of a person who is leading a team:-            

Anyone who has taken up the responsibility to lead a team can be successful only if he is sufficiently independent, powerful and influential in his own right to become a person to reckon with. This is perhaps also the path to individual satisfaction in life, for freedom with responsibility is the only sound basis for personal happiness.

How to build up to strengthen personal freedom? 

First, by building your own education and skills. 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. Knowledge cannot be taken away from anyone except by obsolescence.                                                                    

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.                                                           

How to be a successful team leader?

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

The second way is to 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.                                

What is Performance Dimensions?

Performance Dimensions are factors that lead to certain. They go beyond competencies such as skill and knowledge of the individual. Performance dimensions are broader and deeper than what a person must know and he able to do in order to function well in his or her job. They include attitudes, values and characters traits. They exist at various levels of human personality. At the behavioral level-at the counter most of the tree- we can observe skills and measure knowledge.

What is Total Commitment? Is it just a hardwork? 

Total Commitment is not just a hardwork, it is totl investment. Building a rock wall is back-breaking work. There are some people who build rock wall all their lives, and then they die, there are miles of walls, mute testimonial to how hard those people had worked.

If there is no Big Shot ( an important person) in your team, how will we be able to break through?

A Big shot is a little shot who keeps on shooting, so keep trying. To return to the four basic factors that I am convinced are involved in successful outcomes, goal-setting, positive thinking, visualizing and believing.                                                                                         

When a person looks at himself, he is likely to misjudge what he finds, he sees only his intentions. Most people have good intentions and hence conclude that whatever they are doing is good. It is difficult for an individual to objectively judge his actions which may be, and often are contradictory to his good intentions. 

The life is a mixture of unsolved problems, ambiguous victims and amorphous defeats:- The trouble is what we often merely analyse life instead life instead of dealing with it. People dissect their failures for causes and effects, but seldom deal with them and gain experiences to master them and there by avoid their recurrence. 

The belief of Abdul Kalam:- The tough difficulties and problems God gives us the opportunities to grow. so when your hopes and dreams and goals are dashed, search among the wreckage, you may fine a golden opportunities hidden in the ruins. 

A good leader must identify two different sets of environmental  features. One, which satisfies a person's needs and other, which created dis-satisfaction with his work. 

You have to dream before your dream can come true. Some people stride towards whatever it is that they want in life. Others shuffle stride towards their feet and never get started because they do not know how to find it either. Great dreams of great dreamers are always transcended.