I always wondered what the term “Fire in the belly” meant. I mean it signifies ambition and drive, but why specifically such incoherent choice of words to express this idea?
When I started working, I and my friends used to visit a local tea-vendor during work breaks. The tea-seller was a young fellow who used to study whole day in his 2 ft. x 2 ft. wooden cabinet shop, selling tea on the sidelines. He used to attend a school at night and study whole day while he sold tea. I used to ask him how he could focus on his studies in this chaos and he would shrug and carry on his reading. One day, a friend of mine teased him for his studying routine and he felt compelled to explain his position.
Out of the total money he earned selling tea, close to half of it went to his parents in Orissa and a substantial part was invested in his school and books. When I inquired how did he manage to eat, he said he ate little. “And how do you sleep then?” I asked puzzled. “With a burning stomach!” he laughed.
I remember realizing how fortunate I was. I never had to worry about “trivial” things like food, school fees, books. I didn’t study as much as I would have liked back then, but here was a guy with his back against the wall and yet counter attacking his circumstances fiercely. While he slept literally with a fire in his belly, his ambitions were higher than merely quenching this fire. He wanted to succeed unwaveringly, and he derived a ruthless drive from this fire.
While I lost touch with him and don’t know if he indeed succeeded in his life, but there are some people you silently root for. Because you know that people with raging fire in their bellies never accept defeat!
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