“Success is not Final; Failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
With this thought, Mr. Birla leads the biggest Indian Multinational Conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Aditya Birla Group operates in more than 34 countries and is spread across a wide portfolio of businesses with more than 120,000 employees. The vision of Aditya Birla Group is to be a premium global conglomerate with a clear focus on each business. With an experience of 16 decades in the industry, Aditya Birla Group has successfully made its stance in each and every sector it ventured into.
I think everyone at some or the other point of their life have come in contact with an ABG product. Almost everyone owns one or the other product offered by ABG. Aditya Birla Group has impacted me the most through their Cement, Retail and Telecom sector. Every time I need to buy clothes or need to shop for any occasion, ABG has been my go-to brand. Pantaloons, Forever 21, People, Van Heusen, Allen Solly have always been the brands on my favorite list. After I cracked CAT, and had to buy formals for my interviews, no other brand other than Van Heusen came to my mind. It was then that I decided to explore the Van Heusen Store in the nearby mall. Formal Suits from Van Heusen offers quality along with keeping it fashionable at the same time. In today’s world, everybody likes to follow the latest fashion trends and people generally like to buy products that are in fashion and make them look good. Forever 21 stocks all the latest fashion be it party, formals or casuals at affordable prices and whenever I went to any of the stores of Forever 21, I have always got to see something new. Low-cost high-quality brands like Pantaloons have changed how the middle-class consumers shop and have enhanced their standard of living. The easy availability and accessibility of ABG brands have also increased the loyalty of consumers towards their brands.
Another big impact ABG has had on me is through its telecom sector. Idea cellular, after the merger with Vodafone India is presently one of the biggest telecom organizations in India. And time and again, with its connectivity, it has proven its quality of service. they have always been present with me by keeping me connected with all my near and dear ones across the globe. The great network and the connection that they offer helps you stay connected to any of your friends, family from any corner of the world.
It is the leading telecom service provider in India and 2nd largest globally. People have access to unlimited calling and web browsing which empowers them to stay connected with the global world.
From getting all suited up for taking admission to IIM Trichy to going for classes and even staying connected to my family in another city, Aditya Birla Group has always stayed with me along my entire journey and is here to stay for years to come. I can say that I learnt leadership skills, creativity, responsibility from the different campaigns of ABG and I wish to be a part of such a multinational Conglomerate where I can hone my existing skills and learn new ones.
Apart from its business products, ABG has also contributed immensely in helping society through various CSR schemes. Over the Years, ABG has helped millions of people by providing them various health, education, skill development, and other opportunities to improve their lives. The group reaches out to 7.5 million people across different geographies through its various CSR activities. Through this, we can definitely say that ABG has a very big role in our lives.
NO PRESSURE, NO DIAMONDS
Back in 2013, I took my first engineering entrance exam, JEE. I couldn’t clear that year. I also had my 12
th boards that year and had performed really badly in my boards as well. I was depressed and later I decided to reattempt the entrance exams. I decided to take a drop and give my best shot the next year. I prepared well that year but my confidence level was too low. I couldn’t make it. Due to my bad 12
th scores and continuous bad results in competitive exams, I was diagnosed with clinical depression and I had started thinking that I could do nothing with my life. I had also started binge eating and gained a lot of weight which led to a lot of health problems. The excess weight led to health problems which required me to eat medicines which were not good for my health. Along with health issues, the thought of competitive exams started to scare me and I had started believing that I could never be able to clear a competitive exam in my life. My parents stood with me. They tried to motivate me and advised me to take some other field as I was no more interested in Engineering. I didn’t want to waste another year. I joined Footwear Design and Development Institute, Noida. Again I couldn’t concentrate on my studies and I slipped into depression. All sorts of negative thoughts were lingering in my mind. It was a dull and monotonous period. After going to college and e=meeting new people, I felt a change in myself. I then started paying attention to myself as I had gained a lot of weight and was continuously warned by doctors to reduce my weight as soon as possible. By the third year, I was slowly moving out of depression and was fully focusing on my studies.
In 2018, after I completed my graduation, I was keen to do an MBA and the only way to get a good college was to get past CAT. The previous experiences started haunting me but I was determined and thought that this time it would be different “I can and will do it”. With this thought, I filled my CAT application form and started preparing for CAT from July. I prepared diligently and wrote the entrances. Results came and I had secured 98.64%ile in CAT. My parents were really proud and had tears in their eyes. Due to their motivation and persuasion, I could do whatever I did.
Is this my achievement?
No.
My real achievement is
- overcoming the fear to face a competitive exam
- rising up after three drastic falls
- coming out of four years of depression
- revitalizing my confidence
- taking control over fear of failure
- acquiring the maturity to learn from failures rather than lamenting over it
Now I have the courage to face anything.
I have the confidence that I can do it.
I will not stagnate if I fail. I know how to maintain a stable mind whether it is a failure. I have the confidence that even if I am in the worst of situations, I can handle that situation and will have a positive attitude towards every situation that I face. I have a self-confidence now that’s even bigger and better than before. I had totally ignored my health by compromising on the food I ate but after bringing about a change in my routine and eating habits, I improved my health and brought my weight back on track.
This challenge has transformed me completely in various ways by giving me a new perspective towards things and giving me courage to face anything and everything. They have shaped me as a person and also made me realize that we are stronger than we think we are.
“Never give up. Today is hard.
Tomorrow will be worse.
But the day after tomorrow will be Sunshine.”
- JACK MA