One day, a man asked the great philosopher Socrates, “What is the secret of success?”

Socrates told the man to meet him by the river the next morning, where he would get the answer to his question.

The next morning, when the man met Socrates by the river, Socrates asked him to step into the river and measure its depth.

The man entered the river and moved forward. As soon as the water reached his nose, Socrates suddenly came from behind and pushed the man's head underwater. The man began to struggle and tried to get out, but Socrates was stronger. He held the man's head underwater for a long time.

After some time, Socrates released him. The man quickly lifted his head out of the water and began gasping for air.

Socrates asked him, “What did you want when you were underwater?”
The man replied, “I wanted to come out quickly and breathe.”

Socrates said, “That is the answer to your question. When you desire success as intensely as you desire to breathe, you will certainly achieve it.”