Motivation From Deprivation

 

Edson Arantes do Nascimento, better known as Pelé was born in 1940 in Brazil. From his childhood days he showed a keen interest in playing football. However, Pelé grew up in abject poverty and could not purchase a proper football. His father was a footballer too but he could never earn enough to feed his family. Pelé’s first football was made of socks filled with rags. Sometimes the stuffing was old newspapers, with a string used to tie the ball together. In this way, Pelé continued to play football as a child and in his youth, later adopting it as a professional career. Today, he is widely regarded to be the greatest football player of all time.

 

It is not accidental that a person unable to afford a football, reaches such an acclaimed position in the game. There are thousands of such cases in history. The law of nature helps explain this phenomenon in a rationally understandable manner.

 

The fact is that every human being is born with great potential. One aspect of this potential is the urge to achieve one’s goal. If a person is born in unfavourable circumstances, then this urge gets activated more intensely and becomes a source of great motivation. Self-motivation is so strong a quality that it can make a person achieve great heights without any external help.

 

Poverty is not deprivation. Rather, it is a challenge. The challenge then becomes greater than everything else, as it activates one’s mind. It makes a person capable of concentrating all of one's energies on the achievement of one’s goal. Pelé’s case was not a miracle, instead it was a well-explained phenomenon of challenge.

 

In his autobiography, Pelé writes:

“Poverty is a curse that depresses the mind, drains the spirit and poisons life. It is, being robbed of selfrespect and self-reliance. Poverty is fear.”

 

It is very strange that Pelé failed to draw a lesson from his own experience. He was born in poverty, but in terms of results, his poverty proved to be a blessing in disguise. It became a supporting factor for him as it motivated him, unfolded his potential and enabled him to work very hard. This was a natural supporting mechanism for him in life. Had it not been for this initial condition of his, he would never have been able to become the champion he was. Pelé should have said: Although I inherited nothing from my family, the law of nature gave me something much more than what one’s family can give.

 

Deprivation is a great motivator for achievement. The experience of Pelé’s life shows that hard work can overcome the problem of poverty. Poverty is an external problem; it is not an internal problem. Deprivation is a great motivator for achievement. One’s inner reservoir has a huge amount of energy which can compensate every kind of disadvantage.