“Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big goals and win big success”
- David Joseph Schwartz
An apt quote for the
BIG Aditya Birla Group (“ABG”). If not for thinking big goals, the success wouldn’t be this significant. Why is Aditya Birla Group big in my life? Well, Racheal Zoe’s famous quote “Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak” answers this question because what better way to style myself than wearing the trendy apparels of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (“ABFRL”). From spending childhood shopping outings at the retail outlets like Pantaloons to purchasing all my formal attires from inhouse brands like Van Heusen, Allen Solly, Louis Phillipe and Peter England, ABG has made a significant impact in my life. Thinking BIG and getting Premium brands like Hackett, American Eagle, etc ABFRL has made purchasing apparels of international brands very feasible as earlier the same would be purchased on an online platform only. Secondly, ever since I moved to India in 2014, I have been using the telecom provider ‘ Idea Cellular Ltd’ (now Vodafone Idea Ltd). Another initiative of ABG, allowing me to connect to my family and friends across thousands of miles, without having a single complaint till date. What bigger impact can one have in someone’s life than making it easy and smooth. It would be an honour to have ABG on campus and even further getting a chance to serve them in achieving even more success in future. I would like to conclude by quoting “Big success does not come without Big challenges”.
“The bigger your dreams, the tougher your challenge, the more ambitious your goals, the more likely it is that you will face difficulties on your way towards it.”
Although, one of the goals before embarking on my long term career to get admission to a top B-school for MBA has been accomplished, I would like to highlight the prior challenges faced in achieving my past goals / ambitions. Being born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, living with the harsh realities there was in itself a challenge. Being exposed to unwanted conditions, made me tougher and sustainable human in general. I’d firstly write about my passion for dancing. Ever since I was a kid, the emotion I exhibited the most was that of dance. Moving to India in 2014, I was admitted to Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies where I took up the course of Bachelors of Business Administration (“BBA”). Being surrounded by talent from all around the country and world, I made it through the interviews and auditions to be a part of the dance crew representing the college. Having injured my foot severely, I was bed ridden for a long period. However, that did not make me lose out on anything. As I began recovering, I would watch the dance videos and make up for the lost time and eventually return back to the crew despite the odds, and represent and secure accolades in several dance competitions in different competitions of different colleges in India. Yes, indeed one of the challenges I faced. Secondly, I’d write about my first job. It was during the fifth semester of BBA that recruiters came to our college for placements. The first company I sat for was KPMG India for the Global Mobility Services Department. I was the first one among many to give the interview. The biggest challenge at that moment was to ace the interview. However, according to me, my interview didn’t go so well. Hence, I was disheartened and disappointed with myself and went back home instead of staying in college till evening and waiting for the results. By the end of the day, I got a couple of phone calls from my peers congratulating me and I was astonished. I wasn’t expecting it a bit. It was then that I began to think that I must believe in myself, as the interviewers would have seen something in me that I couldn’t. Once again, in spite of being surrounded by talented people, I was one of the two people to get selected for the role. Who knew that I would get a jump start by being engaged with one of the BIG FOUR Financial Consultancy firms of the world. However, The real challenge was thrown at me once I began working. I was brand new in the industry and had no prior experience in the corporate world. I expected a regular 9 hours working Monday to Friday and having the weekend off. But those were just mere unknown expectations. The biggest challenge I faced was working 20 hours a day during the month of July to meet tax filing deadlines. A success story of my life, as it was far far away from my imagination. I would like to conclude by saying one should never view challenges as disadvantages.