The world knows him as Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Avul Pakir Jainulabeen Abdul Kalam was an Aeronautical Engineer from South India. He was born in the small town of Rameshwaram in Madras. It was because of Dr. Kalam that India entered the Space Club.

APJ Abdul Kalam was one of the revolutionary members that helped launch ISRO. The Indian Space Research Organisation. Dr. Kalam also served as the Scientific Advisor to the Government of India in the early 200s. He piloted the Indian Millennium Mission of 2020.

Dr. Kalam is an author of several books and compilation of poems as well. Some titles of his work include “You are born to blossom”, “Life Tree”, “Guiding Soul” to name a few. The books have been translated in numerous languages.

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam was also the 11^th President of India. Here are some thought-provoking quotes from the man himself.

Table of Contents

Abdul Kalam on Failure:

“Failure will never overtake me if my determination to succeed is strong enough.”
“If you fail, never give up. Because FAIL means “First attempt in learning”.
“Don’t read success stories, you will only get a message. Read failure stories, you will get some ideas to get success.”
“Confidence and Hard work are the best medicine to kill the disease called failure. It will make you a successful person.”
“Difficulties in your life do not come to destroy you, but to help you realise your hidden potential and power, let difficulties know that you to are difficult.”
“End is not the end, in fact E.N.D means Effort Dies.”
“If you get No as an answer, remember N.O means Next Opportunity.”

Abdul Kalam on Dreams:

“You have to dream before your dreams come true.”
“Great dreams of great dreamers are always transcended.”
“Look at the sky. We are not alone. The whole universe is friendly to us and conspires only to give the best to those who dream and work.”
“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.”
“Be active! Take on responsibility! Work for the things you believe in. If you do not, you are surrendering your fate to others.”
“Dream is not that which you see while sleeping it is something that does not let you sleep.”
“Dream dream dream. Dreams transform into thoughts and thoughts result in action.”
“Life is a difficult game. You can win it only by retaining your birth right to be a person.”

Abdul Kalam on Self Love:

“Speak 5 lines to yourself, every morning:

I am the best.
I can do it.
God is always with me.
I am a winner.
Today is my day.”

“Don’t compare your life to others. There is no comparison between the sun and the moon. They shine when it is their time.”
“If you stand for a reason, be prepared to stand alone, like a tree. If you fall on the ground, fall as a seed that grows back to fight again.”
“All the problems are stuck between “Mind and Matter”. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.
“If you want to shine like a sun. First burn like a sun.”
“Forget who hurt you yesterday, but don’t forget those who love you every day. Forget the past that makes you cry and focus on the present that makes you smile. Forget the pain but never the lessons you gained.”
“All of us do not have equal talent. But, all of us have an equal opportunity to develop our talents.”
“Never win people with arguments, rather defeat them with your smile! Because people who always wish to Argue with you, cannot bear your silence.”
“Rivers never go in reverse. Try to live like a river. Forget the past and focus on the future.”

Abdul Kalam on Education:

“Knowledge without action is useless and irrelevant. Knowledge with action converts adversity into prosperity.”
“Sometimes its better to bunk a class and enjoy with friends. Because today when I look back, marks never make me laugh, memories do.”
“Science is a beautiful Gift to humanity; We should not distort it.”
“Education gives you wings to fly. Achievement comes out of fire in our subconscious mind that “I will win”.
“Your best teacher is your last mistake.”
“Learning gives creativity. Creativity leads to thinking. Thinking provides knowledge. Knowledge makes you great.”
“While children are struggling to be unique, the world around them is trying all means to make them look like everybody else.”
“One best book is equal to hundred good friends but one good friend is equal to a library.”
“Black colour is some time sentimentally bad, but every black board makes the students life bright.”
“Life and time are the worlds best teachers. Life teaches us to make good use of Time and Time teaches us the value of Life.”
“The best brains of the nation may be found at the last benches of the classroom.”

Abdul Kalam on Success:

“Excellence is a continuous process and not an accident.”
“Don’t take rest after your first victory because if you fail in second, more lips are waiting to say that your first victory was just luck.”
“Is to reach the summit requires strength whether it is the peak of mount Everest or your profession.”
“Let me define a leader. He must have vision and passion and not be afraid of any problem. Instead, he should know how to defeat it. Most importantly, he must work with integrity.”
“If you salute your work, you do not have to salute anybody. If you pollute your work, you have to salute everybody.”
“Work with integrity and succeed with integrity.”
“To succeed in your mission, you must have single-minded devotion to your goal.”
“Success is when your signature changes to an Autograph.”
“You cannot change your future, but you can change your habits and surely your habits will change your future.”
“Without your involvement you can’t succeed. With your involvement you can’t fail.”
“Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.”
“A leader must have a “Vision” for an organization, ‘Passion’ to work for achieving the goals, ‘Curiosity to travel an unexplored path and ‘Courage’ to take decisions.”
“Don’t believe in luck, believe in hard work.”
“What is the secret of success? Right decisions. How do you make right decisions? Experience. How do you gain experience? Wrong decisions.
“If you are born with fame, it is an accident. If you die with fame, it is an achievement.”
“Thinking is the capital, an enterprise is a way, and hard work is the solution.”

Dr. Kalam on Motivation:

“Creativity is seeing the same thing but thinking differently.”
“A fool can become a Genius when he understands he is a Fool but A genius can become a fool when he understands he is a Genius.”
“We should not give up and we should not allow the problem to defeat us.”
“All birds find shelter during a rain. But the Eagle avoids rain flying above the Clouds. Problems are common, but attitude makes the difference.”
“Love your job but don’t love your company, because you may not know when your company stops loving you.”
“thinking should become your capital asset, no matter whatever ups and downs you come across in life.”
“You were born with wings. Don’t crawl. Learn to use them to fly and fly.”
“It is Easy to Defeat someone, but it is very hard to win someone.”
“Every pain gives a lesson and every lesson changes a person.”
“Life always offers you a second chance. It’s called tomorrow.”
“The bird is powered by its own life and by its motivation.”
“We have no ability to be equal to all. All have opportunities equal to their ability lane.”

APJ Abdul’s messages to the Society:

“The essence of a happy life and a peaceful society lies in one sentence- What can I give?”
“I am not a handsome guy but I can give my hand to some on who needs help. Beauty is in the heart not in the face.”
“When you speak, speak the truth; perform when you promise; discharge your trust. Without your hands from striking, and from taking that which is unlawful and bad.”
“For a great man religion is way of making friends; small people make religion a fighting tool.”
“The world today is integrally connected through four rapid connectivity’s. They are, environment, people, economy and ideas.”
“Let us sacrifice our today so that our children can have a better tomorrow.”
“For me, there are two types of people the young and the experienced.”
“My message, especially to young people is to have courage to think differently, courage to invent, to travel the unexplored path, courage to discover the impossible and to conquer the problems and succeed. These are great qualities that they must work towards. This is my message to the young people.”

There you have it! These were the list of Apj Abdul Kalam’s thoughts on everything.

Comment and tell us your favourite quote below!

Apj Abdul Kalam Thoughts on Life, Failure and Dreams