Sorry for the long post. Please read it till the last.
Can you recall exactly when you first thought about preparing for the coveted Civil Services Examination? How exactly did you feel when you first bought Laxmikant and read the first page?
You know the feeling. We all know. You were so full of hope. You felt that you had the ability to ace this examination. You told yourself,
“Come whatever may, I will give my best shot." Definitely you would have heard that only
0.1% of people clear this examination, and blah! blah!. But did that deter you from not entering this competitive exam preparation?
No,
right. The success rate did frighten you, but
your hope and courage made you believe that you can do it. You were brave,
you saw hope, and you trusted yourself. And, then you took a
Leap of Faith by entering this preparation journey.
Do you recall all those moments of hope?
Flash forward to today. For some of you, it’s been just a few days, a few months or even a few years, since you started preparing.
The fire in you is still burning, and the hope is still alive. You have read static books, made some notes, devoured current affairs magazines, and what not. Still somewhere you feel that you are lacking in some aspects. We must admit that the pile of never ending books, bulky notes, and very difficult mock tests MCQs brings us some anxiety. I have felt that. You did too. But you want to carry on.
You still carry that courage within you.
But at times, you hit rock bottom. You feel clueless, misguided, and misdirected.
Everyone around you seems to know more than you, and that gives you FOMO. You go on an endless
pursuit of buying new books, new materials, watching new toppers’ strategies and what not. Am I right?
I have been in this journey for some time, so
I know exactly how frustrating it can become, especially if you are someone in whose family nobody knew even an iota about how to prepare for the IAS, nor had any friends or bhaiya or didi who could provide solutions to the problems. To make it even worse, preparing from home brings a whole new set of challenges.
You desperately look for someone who can guide you, and whether you find the right person is a complete matter of luck.
I was once in that same situation.
I was desperately looking for some help and guidance. But there’s another side to it.
It gets easier.
Eventually you will figure out how to do, and what to do.
Sometimes that may take time, but you will reach where you need to go. It gets easier when you have someone by your side who guides you where you need to go. In this regard i always recall the quote of
Oprah Winfrey “A great friend is someone who allows you to see the hope inside yourself.”
I want to help you in that. In the
3 Prelims, I have scored
107, 124 and 115!. I have
gained significant insights about the Mains exam as well.
Some of my bigger problems were made easier, because I met and took help from those who knew more than me. Today I want to be that person for you.
Over the next few days, you will see my messages in this group quite often. They would mostly be
practical advice related to the exam as well posts to help you maintain sanity during the exam.
What’s my motive ?
To help you see the hope within you once again.
Right after this message there will be an announcement about our upcoming initiative that would be the first of many that we planned for our community.
Lastly,
I want to thank Shubham Bhai for letting me share my message with the
beautiful community he has built dedicatedly over the last few months.
If anyone wants to reach out to me personally, feel free to DM
@prashantgupta23
Thank you, Prashant.