THE TRUE SKILL LIES IN SUCCEEDING DESPITE THIS DEPRIVATION
Mazhar Müfit Kansu recounts:
During the difficult days of the war of independence, in a
conversation with Atatürk, I said very angrily:
-Here we are, five or six people sitting together, and we are not only dealing with our country, the Sultan, and Grand Vizier Ferit Pasha, but with the whole world. We have no money, no soldiers, no cannons, no rifles—in short, we have no force in our hands to support this war.
Atatürk, smiling, replied:
-My dear Mazhar Müfit, if all the things you mentioned were available, then even my mother could handle this task. The true skill lies in succeeding despite this deprivation. For some reason, you are nervous tonight. Go to bed; by tomorrow you will feel better.
Indeed, the determination,
faith, and strength of will in the Pasha were far above all the
forces whose absence I had listed. I am convinced that one of
the reasons for our success was precisely this determination,
faith, and willpower in the Pasha.