Sikh Channel (SC) interviewed Harjit Singh Sajjan (HS) about the Komagata Maru apology given by P.M. Justin Trudeau. His responses are very inspiring especially as he gives a message to the youth.
SC: "What is your message to the Sikh youth?"
HS: "I would say that anything is possible. Be proud of who you are. Be confident with who you are. Confidence is one thing that I think is extremely important. If you have confidence inside, you can achieve anything.
Full Interview:
It's something that's easy to say but it's hard to develop. But if you work at it, look at a goal that you want to achieve... don't pick a goal that you know you can achieve, or you might achieve. Go beyond that. I think if the history of Komagata Maru has taught us anything, it's just that. Pick goals beyond.
We talk about the story of Komagata Maru from when the ship arrived, but let's go back to when they actually started to make this choice, that journey. People thought it was impossible but they found a way. That's the real story: Even though the ship was turned back, look at what they went through, at what they had to figure out. Where others couldn't go that distance, they did.
It wasn't a failure that they went back, it was a success that they got there."
"As tragic as that was, that sacrifice, everything that they did, has inspired.
I think a powerful message we need to be looking at is: When we go through adversity, we can let it bring us down, or we can let it empower us. That's what that incident is about.
So use those times of adversity and learn. Every time there's a challenge, pick a higher goal. If anybody tries to prevent you from achieving your goal.... I have this very stubborn rule, 'You try to prevent me from reaching a goal I will then pick a higher goal.
To be honest, because of that, I think there are certain goals that were being prevented, and the reason I stayed in the military longer and why I'm even in politics...
My goal is to do the best job that I can. What I really want to do is inspire Canadians, regardless of culture, to look beyond our borders. Since I graduated from high school all I've been doing is dealing with conflict. When we're asked the question of why, the answer has to be beyond Canada's borders. It's about making a difference for the rest of the world because the rest of the world needs more of Canada.
I really believe from the bottom of my heart that the generation that's coming after us are far smarter, far wiser, and they are innovative. The reason I say this is because of technology, they're connected. They don't have to wait for the newsaper to tell them what's happening in the world, they already know.
My only challenge to them is, 'What are you going to do with this gift? It's up to you now to make something of it.'
I strongly believe that every human being has a gift, a gift that contributes to the rest of the world. Some will find it on their own, some will need mentorship to find it. But once you find it, it's, 'What are you going to do with this gift to contribute to others? Because if you do that, your success is almost automatic and the paycheck just shows up, because you love what you do. If it becomes work, than you need to go out and find something else.'
And we need to help the unfortunate. There are a lot of people who are dealing with far more difficult situations than we are. Regardless of difficult out lives must have been in the past, or what we have gone through, we need to be able to do more. When you go out and help others, you will find that automatic success."
SC: "What is your message to the Sikh youth?"
HS: "I would say that anything is possible. Be proud of who you are. Be confident with who you are. Confidence is one thing that I think is extremely important. If you have confidence inside, you can achieve anything.
Full Interview:
It's something that's easy to say but it's hard to develop. But if you work at it, look at a goal that you want to achieve... don't pick a goal that you know you can achieve, or you might achieve. Go beyond that. I think if the history of Komagata Maru has taught us anything, it's just that. Pick goals beyond.
We talk about the story of Komagata Maru from when the ship arrived, but let's go back to when they actually started to make this choice, that journey. People thought it was impossible but they found a way. That's the real story: Even though the ship was turned back, look at what they went through, at what they had to figure out. Where others couldn't go that distance, they did.
It wasn't a failure that they went back, it was a success that they got there."
"As tragic as that was, that sacrifice, everything that they did, has inspired.
I think a powerful message we need to be looking at is: When we go through adversity, we can let it bring us down, or we can let it empower us. That's what that incident is about.
So use those times of adversity and learn. Every time there's a challenge, pick a higher goal. If anybody tries to prevent you from achieving your goal.... I have this very stubborn rule, 'You try to prevent me from reaching a goal I will then pick a higher goal.
To be honest, because of that, I think there are certain goals that were being prevented, and the reason I stayed in the military longer and why I'm even in politics...
My goal is to do the best job that I can. What I really want to do is inspire Canadians, regardless of culture, to look beyond our borders. Since I graduated from high school all I've been doing is dealing with conflict. When we're asked the question of why, the answer has to be beyond Canada's borders. It's about making a difference for the rest of the world because the rest of the world needs more of Canada.
I really believe from the bottom of my heart that the generation that's coming after us are far smarter, far wiser, and they are innovative. The reason I say this is because of technology, they're connected. They don't have to wait for the newsaper to tell them what's happening in the world, they already know.
My only challenge to them is, 'What are you going to do with this gift? It's up to you now to make something of it.'
I strongly believe that every human being has a gift, a gift that contributes to the rest of the world. Some will find it on their own, some will need mentorship to find it. But once you find it, it's, 'What are you going to do with this gift to contribute to others? Because if you do that, your success is almost automatic and the paycheck just shows up, because you love what you do. If it becomes work, than you need to go out and find something else.'
And we need to help the unfortunate. There are a lot of people who are dealing with far more difficult situations than we are. Regardless of difficult out lives must have been in the past, or what we have gone through, we need to be able to do more. When you go out and help others, you will find that automatic success."
