Few thoughts shared by Chetan Bhagat. How justifiable....

"There are four storms in life that will threaten to completely put out the flame.
These must be guarded against. These are disappointment, frustration,
unfairness and loneliness of purpose.

Disappointment will come when your effort does not give you the
expected return. If things don't go as planned or if you face failure.
Failure is extremely difficult to handle, but those that do come out
stronger. What did this failure teach me? is the question you will
need to ask. You will feel miserable. You will want to quit, like I
wanted to when nine publishers rejected my first book. Some IITians
kill themselves over low grades - how silly is that? But that is how
much failure can hurt you. But it's life. If challenges could always
be overcome, they would cease to be a challenge. And remember - if you
are failing at something, that means you are at your limit or
potential. And that's where you want to be.

Disappointment's cousin is frustration, the second storm. Have you
ever been frustrated? It happens when things are stuck. This is
especially relevant in India. From traffic jams to getting that job
you deserve, sometimes things take so long that you don't know if you
chose the right goal. After books, I set the goal of writing for
Bollywood, as I thought they needed writers. I am called extremely
lucky, but it took me five years to get close to a release.
Frustration saps excitement, and turns your initial energy into
something negative, making you a bitter person. How did I deal with
it? A realistic assessment of the time involved - movies take a long
time to make even though they are watched quickly, seeking a certain
enjoyment in the process rather than the end result - at least I was
learning how to write scripts, having a side plan - I had my third
book to write and even something as simple as pleasurable distractions
in your life - friends, food, travel can help you overcome it.
Remember, nothing is to be taken seriously. Frustration is a sign
somewhere, you took it too seriously.

Unfairness - this is hardest to deal with, but unfortunately that is
how our country works. People with connections, rich dads, beautiful
faces, pedigree find it easier to make it - not just in Bollywood, but
everywhere. And sometimes it is just plain luck. There are so few
opportunities in India, so many stars need to be aligned for you to
make it happen. Merit and hard work is not always linked to
achievement in the short term, but the long term correlation is high,
and ultimately things do work out. But realize, there will be some
people luckier than you. In fact, to have an opportunity to go to
college and understand this speech in English means you are pretty
damm lucky by Indian standards. Let's be grateful for what we have and
get the strength to accept what we don't. I have so much love from my
readers that other writers cannot even imagine it. However, I don't
get literary praise. It's ok. I don't look like Aishwarya Rai, but I
have two boys who I think are more beautiful than her. It's ok. Don't
let unfairness kill your spark.

Finally, the last point that can kill your spark is isolation. As you
grow older you will realize you are unique. When you are little, all
kids want Ice cream and Spiderman. As you grow older to college, you
still are a lot like your friends. But ten years later and you realize
you are unique. What you want, what you believe in, what makes you
feel, may be different from even the people closest to you. This can
create conflict as your goals may not match with others. . And you may
drop some of them. Basketball captains in college invariably stop
playing basketball by the time they have their second child. They give
up something that meant so much to them. They do it for their family.
But in doing that, the spark dies. Never, ever make that compromise.
Love yourself first, and then others.

There you go. I've told you the four thunderstorms - disappointment,
frustration, unfairness and isolation. You cannot avoid them, as like
the monsoon they will come into your life at regular intervals. You
just need to keep the raincoat handy to not let the spark die."