In 1989, more than three decades ago, the professional journey of a man who had ambitious dreams and a go-getter attitude began. He had seen hardships since childhood as his father was the only earning member and only earned just enough to fulfill the family’s basic needs. As a result, the boy grew in scarcity throughout his childhood, and all resources needed for his growth were never sufficient. As a child, he saw only scarcity but was very confident and positive; he always aimed for abundance and prosperity, he had a never say die attitude, he was deeply ambitious, he took initiative in all the extracurricular and sports activities, and emerged victorious. He was vigilant of every opportunity to earn some money. He was conscious of his responsibilities towards his family and constantly in the search of making a fast buck here and there.
Identify strengths and develop them for achieving excellence
Competition was his main strength. In order to prove his mettle and also emerge victorious, he used to identify one person equal to him in all aspects and an inch better than him in certain qualities and acceptability. Now, the only aim was to ensure that the person he competed against was overtaken and a new benchmark set, along with making money. He used to give all his might by way of strategy, hard work, and discipline to ensure that he would be better than the identified competitor and emerge a winner. This used to happen and he saw the win coming every time. This wasn’t harming anyone but it created a win-win situation, which allowed everyone to grow. Therefore, he could sustain and maintain his prosperity.
Inward journey is better and rewarding
The victories soon became a habit, and he recognized that if he kept the momentum going, the competition wouldn’t exist at all. And then, there wouldn’t be any progress. There was a need for continuous progress; therefore he started donning an alternate to external competition and started looking within. He wanted to be better than what he was yesterday, and this new path was a more soothing option and didn’t create any displeasure among others! This discovery was truly an interesting one, and he thought of sticking to the same. That year onwards, the growth multiplied and so did prosperity. He became a fan of the inward journey and finding competition within. Growth multiplied with internal gratification and caused no hard feelings or strained relations.
Thirst for more
He realised that progress ceases when satisfaction is achieved. So, keeping ambition and growth alive, he kept taking consistent and dedicated efforts! While the struggle and efforts for achieving material pleasure and amassing wealth was at its peak, the fear of losing all that is earned also remained owing to his childhood conditioning that money is a scarce and important resource and should be used properly.
The fear of losing everything was pervasive, and the possibility that all can be lost gripped him. By this time, he had everything that indicated material success: a decent house, car, sizable bank balance, gold, and several investments.
The inner calling for growing to the next level
In his current profession, only monetary growth was happening, while self-gratification and self-actualisation remained a big dream. So, he took an impulsive decision of quitting a cozy, comfortable, and secured job where he was performing at his peak. His calculations went wrong ,he also lost a sizable amount, by way of losing his life long pension as he had not completed the qualifying conditions ,he had to pay for his impulsive decision and his impulsive behaviour,this in no way hindered the determination of growing to the next level. And, thus, the first-generation Entrepreneur was born.
The journey was not easy as the basic mindset of doing business did not exist, and challenges existed everywhere. However, questioning the decision was not an option and there was no point of return. The struggle phase started, months went by without any income, and whenever the personal savings were used, the insecurity used to trigger and the stress used to prolong. This continued for long and the comfort and luxury he previously enjoyed was missing.
If you observe in detail, you’ll realize there is no zone of comfort when you’re an entrepreneur. And, the enemy of success and desired results is the comfort zone.
Training , Coaching, and Consulting
This came as a boon, and it was his area of passion! The different training programs were launched and executed. Extensive travel and delivery kept him busy and also the efforts were rewarded by a handsome professional fee. The command on the training and coaching was truly well received and was appreciated by all! The teacher in him was recognised and he was giving his best! The day he delivered training, he slept very well.
Comfort was left far away in the bay and pure dedicated professional calling was the need of the hour. Nothing, absolutely nothing, comes free. Everything that is worthwhile has to come at a price, not on monetary terms alone but also the products, committed delivery, integrity, honesty, dedication and last but not the least constant look out for new clients.
This was both rewarding and satisfying for him! If you want progress, remember you need to move out of your comfort zone. The opportunities are on the other side of the door of your comfort zone. We just have to open it respectfully and continue the journey.
The journey at the top is always lonely and as an entrepreneur one has to keep busy and take baby steps to reach the desired goals.
By now you might be keen to know who this person is, isn’t it ?
The above is a journey of the author of this article.
It is my story.