ADVERSITY LEADS TO ACHIEVEMENT: Learning to Surmount Difficulties

With a tearful family parting and five dollars in his pocket, the author was asked by his father to make a simple promise: "Never steal from anyone." Contained in the limited family resources represented by the five dollars and the moral promise never to take advantage of others by stealing was the essence of morality for Dr. Ramjattan's life and practice of business. Lessons learned from parents and siblings growing up in a rural village, together with his education, work experience, and interpersonal communications in the wider world, taught him to overcome difficulties: that adversity could ultimately produce achievement. It is such lessons that prepare young men and women to become productive citizens. All the recorded accomplishments of history were the result of such learned lessons used to make achievements in spite of adversities and their accomplishments changed the world for the better. These commonsense lessons became faith-based principles to guide the author's life and profession. They were used to create programs, construct buildings, change the hopes and dreams of disadvantaged children, restore dysfunctional families, provide age-specific education, and practical community service for those willing to learn. Such commonsense lessons are transferrable and reproducible in other venues. By sharing these lessons, Dr. Ramjattan hopes to make a difference in the lives of families, communities, and society.