Van Gogh is one of those guys whose value was understood only after he passed away. He was a Post-impressionist Dutch painter. He wasn’t very a famous painter during his lifetime but his paintings are one of the most sought after today. All his life, he is said to have managed to sell just one painting! And that too to a benevolent friend. Van Gogh had no doubts in his abilities and he remained an optimist till death. He kept painting and painting more because that is what he wanted to do with his life. He painted irrespective of whether he sold paintings or not and ended up painting over 800 pieces! Each of them today is worth hundreds of thousands of dollars if not millions. His most expensive painting is today valued at over a $142 million!! The equivalent rupee value is Rs. 852 Crores – For one painting that is.
Van Gogh teaches us an important lesson; the same lesson that Bhagavad Gita also teaches.
Do your work, do not worry about the results or the fruits of the effort. If the effort has been honest and in the right direction you will eventually succeed. What Van Gogh teaches is that, at times, you reap rewards after you have passed away. You will be rewarded for your efforts, make no doubt – sometimes during your lifetime and at others, afterwards. What is important is that the efforts never stop. The moment you stop working, your path to greatness and beyond disappears.
Moreover, the relationship between efforts and reward are very similar to an exponential curve with Efforts plotted on the x-axis and Rewards plotted on the y-axis. For a very long time, you might keep putting a lot of effort and see hardly any results for that effort. But make no doubt, the effort is accumulating. At some threshold value, the curve will take an upward swing and then for every small value of effort, there will be a disproportionate increase in Rewards. This is how the World works. You have to prove yourself to the World and then the World will shower you with all that you deserve. Place trust in yourself and in the World. Work, Love and Enjoy.