Raju wiped the sweat from his forehead as he looked at the green hills of Assam. The tea gardens stretched as far as his eyes could see. At seventeen, he had already failed his class 10 exams twice. Everyone in his village called him a failure.

"Raju will never make anything of himself," the elders would whisper. His own father had stopped believing in him after the second failure.

But Raju had a dream. He wanted to start his own small business. Not a big one – just something that would help his family and maybe a few others in the village.

His friend Amit was different. Amit topped every exam, got admission to a good college in Guwahati, and everyone praised him. Amit was scared of getting even one wrong answer. He would spend sleepless nights if he scored 98% instead of 100%.

"You should study like Amit," Raju's mother would say. "Look how successful he is."

Raju tried to explain his business ideas to his parents, but they just shook their heads. "First pass your exams, then think about all this," his father would say.

One day, Raju decided to start small anyway. He began selling tea and snacks near the local bus stand. He had saved 500 rupees from doing odd jobs. He bought a small stove, some cups, tea leaves, and biscuits.

The first day, he sold tea worth 50 rupees. The second day, only 30 rupees. Some days, he didn't sell anything at all. People laughed at him.

"Look at the failure boy trying to be a businessman," they said.

But Raju didn't mind being called a failure anymore. He had already failed so many times that one more failure didn't scare him. He kept trying new things. He added boiled eggs to his menu. Then he started selling local fruits. When that didn't work well, he tried making momos – those delicious dumplings that people loved.

Meanwhile, Amit was doing well in college but was terrified of anything that wasn't guaranteed. When his friends talked about starting something new, Amit would say, "What if it fails? What if I lose money? What if people laugh at me?"

Amit was so afraid of losing his perfect record that he never tried anything risky.

After six months, Raju's small tea stall was doing okay. Not great, but okay. He was earning enough to help his family a little. But he wanted to do something bigger.

He heard that the government was giving loans to young people for small businesses. Raju decided to apply. His application was rejected. He applied again. Rejected again. The third time, he got 20,000 rupees as a loan.

With this money, he bought a small cart and started selling fresh vegetables in different villages. Sometimes he would come back with unsold vegetables that would rot. His neighbors would shake their heads and say, "We told you this boy is hopeless."

But Raju learned from each mistake. He noticed which vegetables sold better in which villages. He learned when to buy and when not to buy. Slowly, he started making a small profit.

One year later, Raju had saved enough money to buy a second-hand motorcycle. Now he could reach more villages and sell more things. He started buying vegetables directly from farmers and selling them in the town market.

The farmers liked Raju because he gave them fair prices. The customers liked him because his vegetables were fresh and cheap. His business grew little by little.

Amit finished his degree and got a good job in a bank. He earned a steady salary, and everyone was proud of him. But Amit was still scared. Scared of making mistakes at work. Scared of trying anything new. Scared of losing his job.

Two years passed. Raju's business had grown into a small shop. He employed two people from his village. He was making more money than many college graduates. But more importantly, he was happy.

One day, Amit came to visit Raju's shop. He was surprised to see how well his old friend was doing.

"How did you do this?" Amit asked. "I have a degree, a good job, but I feel stuck. I keep thinking about starting my own business, but what if I fail?"

Raju smiled and served Amit some tea. "You know what, my friend? I learned something important. Everyone called me a loser, and maybe I was. But being a loser taught me that failing is not the end of the world."

"I don't understand," Amit said.

"See, you've always been a winner. You're scared of becoming a loser like me. But I was already a loser, so I had nothing more to lose. When you have nothing to lose, you try everything. When you try everything, you learn everything. And when you learn everything, you eventually succeed."

Raju continued, "Every time my business failed, I learned something new. Every time someone called me stupid, I tried harder. I wasn't afraid of people laughing at me because they were already laughing at me."

Amit listened carefully. "But what about security? What about a steady income?"

"There's no real security in this world," Raju said. "Your job can end tomorrow. But if you know how to try new things, how to fail and get up again, that's real security. That's something no one can take away from you.

That evening, Amit went home thinking about what Raju had said. Here was his friend, who had failed in school but had succeeded in life. Amit, who had never failed in school, was too scared to take any real risks in life.

A few months later, Amit quit his job and started a small computer training center in their town. The first few months were hard. He lost money. Some days, no students came. But he remembered Raju's words and kept trying.

Today, five years later, both friends are successful in their own ways. Raju has a chain of three shops and employs fifteen people. Amit runs a successful computer institute and also does online training.

They often meet at Raju's original tea stall, which he still keeps running for old times' sake.

"You taught me something important," Amit tells Raju. "Being afraid of losing makes you lose the biggest opportunities in life."

Raju nods. "Sometimes, being a loser is the best thing that can happen to you. It sets you free."

The two friends sit on plastic chairs, drinking tea and watching the sun set behind the tea gardens. They learned that in life, it's not about never falling. It's about getting up every time you fall.

And sometimes, the biggest winners are those who were once the biggest losers – because they're not afraid to lose anymore.

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