Akash was surging ahead quickly towards the realisation of his dreams, not knowing what was going to happen ahead. Man can dream and work hard towards their fulfillment, but can never control the circumstances. It seemed that destiny was always one step ahead of Akash. In a tragic year of heart breaking events, Akash lost his mother, his only and the most powerful source of inspiration. Before he could come out of this trauma, Akash lost his left eye. He was standing in the street where a few kids were playing cricket. The cricket ball hit Akash’s left eye and his retina was permanently damaged. This was even a bigger tragedy because Akash failed in the physical fitness test and could never ever join the Indian Armed Forces. He was able to see all his dreams shattered in bits and pieces. He was at a dead end, absolutely lost not knowing what to do ahead. He was clueless. Since Akash was a second class graduate, he had very limited job options left. So, he came to this semi-metro town where I studied and a common friend introduced me to Akash. He searched for a job and ended up being Auto-Rickshaw Driver carrying bread packets to different shops in the city. He could manage to get barely 1200 Rupees a month, but he was determined to come out of the crisis and face the situation boldly. He synergised with all the people he worked with, and was a good communicator. He soon changed his job from a driver to an ad-hoc door-to-door salesman, selling cosmetic products, just because he was getting a couple of hundred rupees more. As he started selling, he soon realised his potential as a good salesman and so he went on, synergised, worked hard, created relationships to become a sales executive for a cosmetics company. This appointment was like a ray of hope for him to succeed in the new career he was in. His priorities of life changed in a short time from playing cricket and NCC to being more formal and an able salesman. He groomed himself, trained himself and adapted to the situation. He emulated the good qualities from all the people around to ensure a continuous self-development process. But adversities never left Akash alone, and resilient Akash never lost his hope and determination. The company for which Akash was working closed down and Akash lost his job. He got a few job offers from pharmaceutical companies but he wanted to sell the product he knew best. So, Akash decided to take a break for three month, and then look for better and suitable job prospects. During these days, he did a lot of self-introspection, organised his priorities, assessed his abilities and defined a plan-of-action. Accordingly, he made a resume and started posting it in the companies he felt suitable for him. He also moved around to some of the placement agencies.
At the end of the third month, Akash finally struck the gold when he was appointed as a Marketing Executive in a Multinational Cosmetics and FMCG company. This appointment was the launch pad for him to march ahead on the road of skillful sales. He was appointed on the condition that he would learn to communicate in English fluently. This was a difficult task for Akash since he never studied in English medium. But Akash knew that he had to prove his mettle to stay in the company. Hardwork was never a problem with Akash, neither was enthusiasm. He concentrated well on his job, moved around and achieved excellent results. His first three months performance showed that he had achieved an average of 135% targets, which was outstanding. Akash never learned English, but his sales figures were enough to narrate his abilities as sales professional. The company was really impressed with his performance and at the end of first year, he had achieved the highest sales figures in entire India! Company appreciated his work and awarded him Gold-Medals. But as they say, once the process of achievements start, it goes on. Akash never stopped learning and innovating. He sought my help in learning MS-Excel for computerised reporting. He also introduced innovative concept of community based sales. As he went on with his hardwork and determination, the company awarded him with an excellent pay packet. He is financially independent now, married to Tabassum, and works in a metro city.
With all the directed efforts, self-discipline and in-place priorities, Akash now has everything he wanted from financial independence to a happy family life.The story of Akash is a fine example of the fact that resilience and determination are the traits that can lead a person to the path of success. It also teaches us that we should never deviate from our path towards the achievement of the ultimate purpose of our life, whatever the circumstances. When in trouble, we have to take time, think, prioritise, plan and most importantly execute. The measure of ones success is based on his/her abilities to cope up with adversities, think positively, think constantly and putting directed efforts. Sitting back and looking back at the face of the situation has never helped anybody.
And finally, a quote I’d like to share with all of you:
“The heights by great men reached and kept
were not attained by sudden flight;
But they, while their companions slept,
were upward toiling in the night.“
- HW Longfellow
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