For many students in India, the IIT-JEE exam feels like the biggest turning point of their lives. Ankur Warikoo, now one of the country’s most popular entrepreneurs and content creators, knows that pressure all too well. In a recent LinkedIn post, he looked back on the year 1998, when a trip to the IIT Delhi campus with his father on a Bajaj Super scooter turned into a memory he would never forget.
Warikoo had just finished class 12 and was brimming with confidence that he would land in the top 1000 ranks. But as he scanned the long list of roll numbers pinned to the notice board, reality struck. He rubbed his eyes, checked again, but his roll number was missing. At that moment, he admitted, he felt like that was the end of the road.
The experience wasn’t unique—every year, thousands of students across India feel crushed when they don’t clear exams like IIT-JEE, NEET, CA, CAT, or GMAT. Warikoo shared how the weight of letting his parents down and the uncertainty of what to do next was overwhelming. He thought life was over.
But with the benefit of hindsight, he now sees those rejections differently. According to him, no single exam, job, relationship, or bank balance defines a person. These are just stepping stones, not the final destination. Life, he says, offers countless paths, many of which we don’t even know exist until failure pushes us toward them. Looking back, Warikoo believes that setbacks like his IIT-JEE rejection can open unexpected doors. And for many, what once felt like the worst outcome becomes the very thing that shapes their future.
Internet reacts
Some users reflected that a person’s worth is never tied to what doesn’t work out. Many felt that rejection often opens doors one didn’t even know existed, describing failure as a redirect rather than a dead end. Others pointed out that a single exam, job, or rejection doesn’t define the course of life but simply redirects it, often leading to more meaningful journeys. Several also noted how the feeling of letting parents down is a universal yet unnecessary burden, since love and support ultimately matter more than expectations. Many agreed that walking into life without such baggage allows people to perform more freely, and that parents, too are evolving to place encouragement above pressure. Ankur’s story, they felt, was a timely reminder that one missed result doesn’t end anything—it can lead to an even better path.
Warikoo had just finished class 12 and was brimming with confidence that he would land in the top 1000 ranks. But as he scanned the long list of roll numbers pinned to the notice board, reality struck. He rubbed his eyes, checked again, but his roll number was missing. At that moment, he admitted, he felt like that was the end of the road.
The experience wasn’t unique—every year, thousands of students across India feel crushed when they don’t clear exams like IIT-JEE, NEET, CA, CAT, or GMAT. Warikoo shared how the weight of letting his parents down and the uncertainty of what to do next was overwhelming. He thought life was over.
But with the benefit of hindsight, he now sees those rejections differently. According to him, no single exam, job, relationship, or bank balance defines a person. These are just stepping stones, not the final destination. Life, he says, offers countless paths, many of which we don’t even know exist until failure pushes us toward them. Looking back, Warikoo believes that setbacks like his IIT-JEE rejection can open unexpected doors. And for many, what once felt like the worst outcome becomes the very thing that shapes their future.
Internet reacts
Some users reflected that a person’s worth is never tied to what doesn’t work out. Many felt that rejection often opens doors one didn’t even know existed, describing failure as a redirect rather than a dead end. Others pointed out that a single exam, job, or rejection doesn’t define the course of life but simply redirects it, often leading to more meaningful journeys. Several also noted how the feeling of letting parents down is a universal yet unnecessary burden, since love and support ultimately matter more than expectations. Many agreed that walking into life without such baggage allows people to perform more freely, and that parents, too are evolving to place encouragement above pressure. Ankur’s story, they felt, was a timely reminder that one missed result doesn’t end anything—it can lead to an even better path.
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