A story with moral of strike the iron when it hot
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Everyone wants to succeed but not all achieve success. The reason being that some people are able to understand the circumstances and take the right step at the right moment. Those who do not let the right opportunity pass by them and take the desired action without fear are the ones who achieve success in their endeavours.
Everyone in life wishes to succeed in whatever project he or she undertakes. Success builds confidence failure dejects a person. Success gets one appreciation but failure brands one as incompetent. There are some people who generally succeed while there are others who often fail in their endeavours. It is of course difficult to account for the success and failure in terms of scientific analysis. There are several factors which greatly affects the outcome of an effort. That is taking stock of the situation and acting when the time is appropriate.
The proverb comes from the profession of the iron smith. He strikes the iron when it is red hot because it is then that the iron is the softest and most pliable. By quickly striking it then he is able to mould it into whatever shape he wants. But if on the contrary he misses to strike it when it is hot and soft then any amount of hammering will not have any effect on the iron. Interpreted and applied to daily human existence it means seizing the opportunity when it presents itself. The wise always remain alert and make use of the opportunity (which is a favorable combination of circumstances) and get what they want. Whereas people who are not watchful let the opportunity slip by and then find it extremely difficult to succeed in what they wish to do. It is believed that opportunities seldom repeat themselves. Therefore an opportunity once missed is missed either forever or for long time.