What is common between Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, Sachin Tendulkar, Aamir Khan and Mukesh Ambani? They are all successful people. They have achieved their ambitions and made their families proud of them. We all want our children to do as well in life as these success stories that we have witnessed. We want our kids to achieve what we may or may not have achieved ourselves.

What defines success? How are successful people different from others? Success is when you achieve what you desired to achieve. A person is successful when he fulfills his dreams and is happy with his efforts. Thus, the first step towards success is to be able to dream. When we have a dream it helps in goal-setting. Working towards that goal or dream in life gives us happiness and finally when the dream becomes a reality do we label the person as successful.

As parents it is our responsibility to nurture that dream of our child which will give him success. It is not easy to identify that dream early in life. Sometimes, we impose our unfulfilled dreams on to our children. At other times we expect too much from the little ones. When a child shows unnatural interest and talent in any particular field, it is obvious that he is interested in pursuing his talent as his road map to success. Today’s parents are keen to know more about their children’s ambitions. It is wonderful to see a six-year-old playing the Mozart tune flawlessly on the piano. The parents’ interest in bringing out the six-year-old’s talent is equally heartening. Millions of parents today spend a lot of time trying to bring out the talent in their child. Several others are attentive to the dreams and aspirations of their children. All these efforts by the parents bear fruit as they churn out a generation of successful people.

When a person dreams with passion and works towards making that dream reality, his efforts pay off when he has the loving support of his family. Positive encouragement from the parents is the road to success. Encourage your child to develop passion and integrity with his talent. Help him gain confidence in his dream and you will have a winner at hand.

Jyotsna, for example, has exhibited love for fine arts at an early age. Her parents hunted for an art teacher for her at the tender age of 3. Today, at 11 Jyotsna has her art exhibitions in the town. There is a roadmap for child prodigies to develop their skills and exhibit their talents. However, how do average people attain success? When the whole family supports the goals of a member and gives him their love and care that acts like a catalyst in taking that individual to dizzy heights.

Success comes naturally to one who is at the right place at the right time. Harsh had displayed amazing talent with numbers from a young age. At 4 years of age he could rattle table of 12. His parents put him in Kumon classes, especially designed to teach math in a simple way. By the time he was 10 years old Harsh had completed class 12 math syllabus in Kumon. Today, Harsh is confident in Math and though he is only in class 5 his success in the subject gives him a winning edge over his classmates.

While it is simpler for children of middle class and upper class families to have a dream and turn it into a reality, it is a tough challenge for children of economically weaker sections of society to aspire for success. But, there are exceptions and today we see more and more children with less financial means clearing the top professional courses like the IIT and the IAS examinations. Take the example of the 12-year old child prodigy from Kota, Rajasthan who cleared the IIT examination in 2012. He belongs to a family of farmers and his parents are semi-literate. It takes a spark from a bright kid to kindle a fire of success. However limited the resources might be, the family of a talented individual reaches out to nurture the talent and create a winner.

There are no set rules to measure success. If we are satisfied with what we have done in life, we have a success story. This satisfaction comes from deep within. As parents we have to develop a fine balance between our ambition to see our children succeed in the game of life and our children’s talents and abilities. Excessive expectation can damage the dreams of our children. We have to support our children and nurture their dreams. Let them grow like branches of a Banyan tree. They will rise high for their roots are firmly in the ground.