November 17th 2012 marked the 3rd anniversary of my venture. And while I wanted to write my this years experience – I ended up finishing 2 drafts, sharing the first one here! So, lets explore –

How first lessons of life matter?

Ever thought about winning – the feeling! Not really, yes. And if I ask – Ever thought about being a winner? Yes. But!

I have always thought about winning. My parents never forced me into it – but they always insisted that we do – what we want to do, to do what makes us happy! After all, winning is never complete without happiness. In a way we were always encouraged to participate & explore.

I always believed- winning is about being happy ~ it is about doing what we want to do. Now that doesn’t mean – that we were free to do whatever we wanted; instead we were well told about our limitations, explained the rights & wrongs – and we were left to take our decisions.

 

For me – this was always the case ~ for my siblings, at times I had to intervene as a facilitator.

In a way, I was brought up with a straight message – Stay happy, know your limits, follow your conscience and WIN.

Values that build Confidence for the walk of life!

Schooling >>College>>Professional Education, feared or confident, I always followed my heart. What course, which co-curricular activity, the certifications, my friends and everything – I had the freedom to choose. During adolescence- I had my freedom to choose. And that’s where I learnt my lessons of decision making & trust. My parents stood by me through thick & thin. Believe me today when I see sit & think – I am sure I had one of the most amazing growing up years. And all this was made possible because of the trust they instilled & showed in me. Why is this important?

Because when we are trusted upon – we learn responsibility, we re-evaluate our choices & we take charge and we learn to decide. Today – I believe, this was very important, with this I learned the lesson of equality. The trust they showed in me- made me believe that there is no gender bias or difference. It is only the limitation or we can say precautions.

I feel blessed ~ that we were not told to do certain bits and not to do any because of being a girl or a boy. It was always about right or wrong and if it makes us happy!

Why we need God Fathers?

I did my masters in marketing and decided to pursue a job in media & advertising. So it’s like when my batch mates were getting offers for 4 to 5 lakh p.a., I was fine with a 1.8p.a package because for me doing what I want to was more important. Not to forget – for this reason I was also one of the last 15 which were to be placed! Huh…I remember it turned scary when I realized this 15 also included those with re-appearance, opting out of placements etc, giving up to the pressure I decided to go for pre-placement offer!

20 Days of work and I was feeling restless already – yes! I had doubts, I wasn’t Happy because I wasn’t getting to do the work I wished to, I felt trapped in negative thoughts – package difference was becoming an issue, peers were earning 2-3 times higher and we were just churning. And given the kind of jobs we were told to do – growth seemed too far and since I had taken the job – college won’t help anymore. I remember, that time the only problem I had was with my short time goal – I wanted to be a Brand Manager in 2 years and phew! I started working on the agency side! Today I wonder – why people need God Fathers! The faculty I could have turned to in such a situation had already moved to another city!

Why your first Boss Matters?

While I was on a look out for a new job, I was also trying to learn to the best of my capabilities. The hunt was on and my phone rang – while I was still in my office. The next day – I was ready to face the interview in a newly opened branch of a Mumbai based company. Honestly, they were just setting up the branch and the friend who accompanied me suggested me to drop the idea of that meeting. But I was looking forward to the right start and here comes that – I met the Business Head, who still happens to be my first boss, as per hierarchy he wasn’t but practically I worked with him. Interview went well and Bingo, within the next 3 days I had the offer letter and in a week I was in Mumbai for my formal induction. Life was rolling and I was kicked & happy. For me this was a win, I can see a sea of opportunities and a boss who believed in listening to juniors and who had faith in his delegating powers. I had the hope and the faith. That day, I silently thanked my faculty who had mentored one of my research project, he had said, “You Decide what you deserve and Demand it.”

The job was challenging, inspiring, encouraging and competitive. Overall, I rate it as a Learning Experience which established my professional being. It took me out of the loving family & friends world, it gave me a peek outside that. The entire Mumbai chapter is still so cherished!

Why sharing what you have learned is Super Amazing!

Yes, my next two jobs were only about sharing. I loved the experience, it was like practicing what we have learnt and implementing it was great fun. This experience gave a boost to my professional self. My proactive work attitude helped me learn the business tactics quicker, the management showed great faith and I was put into decisions. I happened to touch the Strategy, Change management, I launched verticals and life was one and all – happy! Each day was a learning experience and I was enjoying every bit.

These small win-win situations were actually turning to be the stepping stones of my future and I was unaware. This was bringing me closer to my dream*. Yes, a dream of turning Entrepreneur and here I am with 3 years of Entrepreneurial Experience. More on my 3^rdyear of experience – in the next post.

[*Dream: While in MBA, after I interned from an advertising agency, I had a plan to start mine. I remember how 3 of us – had the plan and we even worked for sometime in mails on the plan. That it was a b’day coffee when we ended up drawing the blue-print on a table tissue-paper. As life rolled, everybody got busy with their lives and the plan was just in-boxed. But I kept re-looking at it – I remember I had shared it once with my first boss as well.]