There are some who inspired few and there are very rare who inspired an entire

generation, Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam was one of the very rare ones.

1. His greatest quality was his humbleness! despite being the president of India he
was very humble!

There were about 70 scientists working on a very hectic project. All of them were
really frustrated due to the pressure of work and the demands of their boss but
everyone was loyal to him and did not think of quitting the job.
One day, one scientist came to his boss and told him – Sir, I have promised to my
children that I will take them to the exhibition going on in our township. So, I want to
leave the office at 5 30 pm. His boss replied “OK, you’re permitted to leave the office
early today”. The Scientist started working. He continued his work after lunch. As
usual he got involved to such an extent that he looked at his watch when he felt he
was close to completion. The time was 8.30 PM. Suddenly he remembered of the
promise he had given to his children.
He looked for his boss, He was not there. Having told him in the morning itself, he
closed everything and left for home.
Deep within himself, he was feeling guilty for having disappointed his children. He
reached home. Children were not there. His wife alone was sitting in the hall and
reading magazines.
The situation was explosive; any talk would boomerang on him. His wife asked him
“Would you like to have coffee, or shall I straight away serve dinner if you are
hungry.
The man replied, “If you would like to have coffee, I too will have but what about
Children ??”. Wife replied “You don’t know??, Your manager came here at 5.15 PM
and has taken the children to the exhibition “.
What had really happened was …. The boss who granted him permission was
observing him working seriously at 5.00 PM. He thought to himself, this person will
not leave the work, but if he has promised his children, they should enjoy the visit to
exhibition. So, he took the lead in taking them to exhibition The boss does not have
to do it every time. But once it is done, loyalty is established.
That is why all the scientists at Thumba continued to work under their boss even
though the stress was tremendous.
By the way,
His boss was none other than Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
2. Jainulabdeen used to lead a very simple life and he didn’t believe in luxuries and
by observing him, he too avoided all the luxuries even after becoming the
President of India.
3. Ahmed Jalaluddin, close friend who later became his brother-in-law was Abdul
Kalam’s mentor, philosopher and guide who taught him the importance of
positive thinking and advised him to control his thoughts and mind. Thoughts
possess the power to shape your future, so controlling the thoughts and mind is
important.
4. Kalam was born in Rameshwaram in Tamil Nadu. His father was a boatman
whose earnings were hardly enough to take care of the entire family. Dr kalam
always had the thirst for knowledge and to fullfill this thirst and to supplement
the family’s income in addition to going to school, Kalam often took up odd jobs
in his spare time. In his school years, Kalam had average grades but was
described as a bright and hardworking student who had a strong desire to learn.
5. Dr. Kalam strongly believes in treating everyone as equal, APJ Abdul Kalam never
cared too much about status or designations.

At a student’s convocation at IIT Varanasi, where APJ Abdul Kalam was invited as
the chief guest, he refused to sit on the chair that was offered to him, since it
was bigger in size than the rest of the chairs nearby.

6. Even at the age of 83, APJ Abdul Kalam never gave up on his dream of making a
better India. In his last moments too, he was addressing students at IIM Shillong;
telling them that chasing success is not important but creating more paths to
open new avenues of opportunities and aiming high to achieve one’s goals is
what matters the most.
7. Abdul Kalam’s father was a very wise, generous, and disciplined person who used
to daily wake up at 4 a.m. in the early morning and he inherited all these
qualities from his father which later helped him to become a great scientist and
leader.
8. Kalam was an institution-builder and a team-builder, a visionary and a dreamer,
who always wanted to build a strong and self-reliant India.

Kalam’s views on dreams- “You have to dream before your dreams can come
true. A 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.”