For most of us, each day starts and ends with an insubstantial struggle to exist. We rely on that inner voice which guides us to take the path which might help us to get our passion off the ground and help us to manifest what we really want in our lives. Unfortunately or, fortunately, sometimes we ignore that voice and then the truth becomes the best joke!
Disclaimer: I didn't work with a brand during my internship.
The above statement which I have made is not to get sympathy as this is something which I can't bear on my expense, it's not that I don't like it, but the context should be different.
It is written just to make u aware of my intentions, desires and expectations which I failed to achieve. Sorry for being so straightforward. You will have to bear with me for another 3 minutes.
Oh, yes I worked with a start-up which I choose not to disclose (of course due to obvious reasons).
The updates from my friends on Facebook and LinkedIn regarding the hotshot companies in which they were working were enough to give me jitters and motivation at the same time. How weird?! I know you might feel that it's too much philosophy to take in, but sorry that's me!
Initially, when I reached that place I had this awkward feeling; I thought I have kind of hit a wall. I felt worthless. Days started melting into weeks. I got involved in the mundane work of the office and then one day I felt I would squander the day on self-pity. I took a cup of coffee. The coffee refused to go down my throat and at the same instant a thought made an indelible imprint on my mind, I realised that a routine is the enemy of time and I will have to do something out of my comfort zone to really make up for the things that I had messed up!
I found it interesting to think that deep inside I still felt that I am not worthless, I am innately talented (pardon the oxymoron), it's not the beginning that matters so much, and I can still turn the tables.
To compound things further I was laid up with viral fever, in the second week of my Internship period and to aggravate things more the medicine which I took reacted and I got rashes all over my body.
You know, I have read many quotes and for each and every situation one or two quote pops up in my mind. Every time I felt bad this quote inspired me to pick the pieces from the rubble to use it in my next dream edifice. It goes like this: "Adversities cause some men to break, but some men to break records".
After I recovered from my Illness I made it a point to prove myself that I can stand by my convictions and protect them under the heaviest odds. I started hoping against hope. I promised myself I will make an impact in the company, so started working on the projects as if it is was my own company.
My Job profile was Business Development. First things first, I learned about the business that we were in, thoroughly and trust me, I learned the ropes quickly. I asked my boss (anyway, who asks for more work, huh?) that instead of cold calling people I will go out and reach out to people in person to make better relationships with the potential clients. I asked the CEO of the company to send me to the networking events to catch up with people from diverse backgrounds so that we have a better chance of gaining more visibility; it all worked well.
Layers of experience and exposure equipped me with both the depth and the width of the plurality and the challenges of marketing.
Just for the record, I am pretty good at all the run-of-the-mill stuff and I was able to close the deals with one of the biggest brands out there and sometimes I think it was because of sheer hard work and sometimes I think it was by the stroke of luck, whichever strikes my fancy. I helped my company to generate a significant amount of revenue, as it was a bootstrapped company it did not have a good year, but at least it was in the black.
I never wanted to be a part of the earn-pay-earn-some-more hamster wheel, but I never imagined myself working so hard to achieve something in my life. Every experience has been a learning curve. I learnt how to survive a fall and come again for the things that matter. This is what matters.
At the end, I was able to control my negative emotions and achieve some success because we don’t conquer the mountains, but ourselves, right?
So, this internship I found myself!
Now as cliché as it is to end an article with a quote, I simply couldn't resist. I have problems. Anyway, it goes like this:
“Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want, and the best is yet to come!”