Fatal One-liners

In this age of self-help books and personality development courses, certain one-liners have played havoc in the contented lives of the masses. These one-liners are sustenance unto millions who suffer from lack of self-worth. They are charged, as it were, with divine potency, making the repetitioner of them surmount incompetency.

"Believe in yourself", "You have it in you", "You can do it" and many more such tug at the human gullibility for self-belief. You will agree with me when you see girls of all sizes and shapes flocking to air hostess training institutes. Girls, regardless of their vital statistics, seek admission into these institutes on the strength of that woeful one-liner, "Believe in yourself." And, none of these girls wants to work for a domestic airline. They want to be on the aircrew of either Kingfisher or Lufthansa or some renowned international airlines. Hats off to the counsellors who convince these girls into dreaming such sky-high dreams and liberate them from the grim reality that stares at them in the mirror each day. 

During my long academic career, I met boys who had severed their connection with books for years and,  after a 12-hour sleep, some inspirational article in the newspaper and a deep puff of cigarette opens their eyes to the invincibility of human effort. Instantly, their destiny becomes clear to them: Pursuing an MS in electronics or UPSC, a bit of confusion there but definitely not something that can be called average aspiration. But, in the semester exams they not only flunk in basic electronics but also haven't sat through a single day's session in the entire semester. Having seen how fast inspiration whishes past, now when someone articulates such fantastic plans, I know the impulse at work: 'Sky is the limit'. You see, there are words to live by and there are words of inspiration!

Then, there are MBAs and MBA colleges of which there is no dearth these days. MBA colleges have mushroomed everywhere. These colleges have an infinite capacity to impart education. Many bumpkins lacking basic communication skills make into these institutions and sit through campus interviews. And, you would be aghast when they sneer at a package of 3 lacs p.a., offered to them. Only the likes of JP Morgan and Merrill Lynch can satisfy them and they are very sure that it's only a question of time when the world shall recognize their talent and companies will wait on them hand and foot; because, they were told, "believe in yourself, you have it in you, you can win!"