People come, people interact with you, people go away, this has been the situation in today’s fast-paced world. But of all the things that come your way, very few leave a lasting impact, and then you stop and ponder- why and how did they leave an impact on you? You hope to find an answer because you wish to be an impactful person. The things that didn’t impact you, do you remember them in today’s world? Will the world remember you, if you don’t make any impact today?
On a rainy June evening, as I was returning home from office by bus, I contemplated my choices in life, and my future. Do I want to be in this job? Do I belong to this profession? My inner self cried out,” No!”, and yet here I was, slogging in a job I didn’t like, a job that did not pay me for my skills, but for my services. I needed the job though, for I dreaded being unemployed. Hence, there started the search for even the narrowest possible avenue, that would provide a way out.
The only avenue that I had figured out to be feasible, was going for higher studies, and particularly an MBA. But I lacked motivation, and B-School preparation required commitment, if not anything else. Achieving excellence gets rid of one’s sufferings, but sufferings cannot be the motivator to achieve excellence. What I needed was an inspiration, inspiration to bring me out of my comfort zone. As I was going through my phone, messaging over WhatsApp to people who had been in my shoes a year back, and now in B-Schools, I noticed the name of my service provider, “Idea”, on the notification bar, and thus it evoked a chain of thoughts.
The name "Idea" carried me away to its parent organization and its rich legacy. The Aditya Birla Group was not formed overnight, it formed after many trials and tribulations of its founder, Seth Shiv Narayan Birla. And as he had toiled, he had formed an organization that cemented its legacy in the minds of the average Indian. I soon remembered how great an impact the Aditya Birla Group had in my life. I used an Idea Cellular mobile connection that had kept me connected to the world, lived in a house made with Ultratech cement. Even the clothes I was wearing, that made me presentable to the world were from Pantaloons. Everywhere I went, from the tires of the buses I rode to the fuselage of the aircraft I was flying in, had an Aditya Birla Group product, be it from Birla Carbon or Hindalco. As I was in deep thought, my phone notification rang, my mother had sent me the weekly grocery list to be purchased from the neighbourhood More store. I realized that Aditya Birla Group transcends every aspect of human life in India, and what made them one of the most recognizable brands in India was their venture into multiple domains, from metal industry to the fashion and apparel sector.
I got the idea, for me the way out was a holistic self-development exercise. I had to make myself cross-functional rather than being restricted to my domain, just as the Birlas developed themselves into a conglomerate rather than being restricted in the cotton trade. Over the next few months, I volunteered in several CSR projects, and upskilled people from various stature of the society. And whatever free time I could manage, I used to study. As I kept on training more and more people and transformed some of their lives by enabling them to get a job, I realized that I had transformed myself, and taken myself a bit closer to become impactful, both to the community and myself. I cleared the SNAP exam in December that year, confidently and comfortably.
After a brief spell of rain, as the clouds clear, a cool breeze blows over your face, and the rays of the setting sun kiss you, I sat on the SIBM Pune campus, colloquially known as Hilltop heaven, and reflected upon the past couple of years of my life. Those years have surely been tough on me, but what doesn’t break you, makes you stronger. Nothing is sweeter than success, and as I sit in my dream B-School one year later, I realized that one single look at the “Idea” icon on my notifications bar enabled me to create an impact, both for the community and for myself.