Finding your inner inspiration – As children, we look up to people around us for inspiration – in my case, it was my father and uncle, both of whom were self-made despite starting from humble backgrounds. As I grew up, my world view broadened and so did the personalities that inspired me. The common thread among all these stories was people fighting adversity to leave their mark in the world. For instance, I became an unabashed admirer of Barack Obama when he caught everyone’s imagination with his run for the American Presidency with the ‘Yes We Can’ slogan.
While I had a relatively privileged upbringing, I realized early in life that I had to work hard to create my future. My academic record was good and I had a few good career breaks. At the same time, whenever there were hiccups in my career, my past highs motivated me to recover and do even better in my next role. This was the case when I decided to move out of my comfort zone by quitting a secure well paying job in a Fortune company to pursue my second innings. I reasoned that, when I was young, I started my career with little else than a string of academic qualifications. Now, here I was at the start of my second career backed by rich real world experience and a network of friends and well wishers, that I could leverage to pursue my dreams. If I could do it back then, I can surely do it now. This is how I seek inspiration from inside, in my pursuit to help others uncover their ikigai and unleash their potential.
