The priceless 100 dollars

Today, it was a special day for me. 26th of August, 2008 is a date to remember. I realized that there are things in life whose value cannot be determined in terms of money. Colleagues from client’s end for whom I have been working for almost 2 years now sent me a good-bye card along with a 100 dollars note. Yes, I am quitting the organization that I have been working for. It was a great experience working for my client with whom I could develop a good rapport.

I know it may seem silly of me to part with such great people. Logically it may seem foolish of me to do so. The fact is that I am not taking a logical decision but just following my heart [refer to my previous post……. :-)]. I am aiming to do something in my life which I would be able to do through the new firm that I am joining.

It definitely was an out of the world experience for me when I opened the goodbye card. Inside the card was a 100 dollars note and words scribbled by 4 of my friends. Words more precious than gold. It was a great moment for me which I am not able to describe through words that I know. I wish I had a very good vocabulary. This day I regret that I didn’t develop a good reading habit. It would definitely have helped to come up with big words to describe this great moment in my life.

This recognition comes solely for the work I have done. There is nothing more worthy than genuine and heart felt recognition for the work you have done. Especially when the people appreciating your work have not met you in person. This 100 dollars note symbolizes all that and more. So, it definitely has something more to it than the value it has in terms of currency.

I wish someday I would be able to meet them in person and express my gratitude towards them for all the help they had extended out to me. It was a great learning experience and the knowledge gained during the process will definitely be useful for my future.

PS: I have not used names of firms or individuals solely because I think it is not appropriate to do so without permission.

Follow your heart

I was contemplating about writing a new post on my blog but I was not sure what to write. Then I asked one of my newly found friend and someone who appreciated my blog to suggest some topics. She said, "Follow your heart". So, here I am writing about my heart felt feelings about following my heart.

Each one of us must have taken some decision in life that seemed illogical and irrational at the onset. Your intelligence may have put a question mark on that decision. Still, you decided to follow your heart. It took lot of courage to do so because friends must have ridiculed you for considering that decision. Yet, you decided that no matter what, you will do it. Then at the end you come out as a winner. You proved everyone wrong. You defied logic and yet you succeeded in achieving what you wanted to.

I strongly believe in taking decisions based on gut feeling rather than logic. Logical thinking is definitely helpful but at times it limits you. Life is full of examples where people have overcome physical disabilities to achieve great things in life. They did it because they had a heart felt desire to do so. If they would have relied on logic they would have held on to their crutches for life.

My personal experience in terms of following my heart has been good. On the work front I joined those companies which appealed to my heart. These firms may not have been well known but they helped me to create a distinct identity for myself. I took up responsibilities that logically would seem foolish but those very responsibilities helped me to learn and explore my intellect. I also realized that when I tried to analyze logically I was restricting myself to take up responsibilities based on what I have done in the past. I became sceptical about venturing into unknown territories. At the same time following my heart helped me to look beyond the horizon. I would compare logical reasoning to gravity. It would help you to keep your feet grounded. Yet, when you have to reach for the sky, you need to have wings that help you fly. Consider your gut feeling as those wings that will take you to greater heights than what you could have imagined.

My advice to everyone would be that don’t rely heavily on logic and reasoning. Yes, you do need to apply your brain in decision making. However, when your heart directs you to take a different path; don’t ignore it. Please be assured that you will not regret the decision taken by following your heart.

Independence Day - time to think and reflect

Do we give any significance to our Independence Day these days? For many of us it is just a holiday. Taking things for granted has become a way of life for many. Have we done anything for the sake of our country other than complaining about the way things are? Have we done anything to bring about a positive change in the society? It is easy to sit back on that chair and whine about things that are wrong in our country. However, it is very difficult to stand up and take action in order to set things right.

We complain about corruption and are used to saying that nothing happens in this country unless you bribe corrupt officials. These days we have got an effective tool to fight corruption. Right to Information (RTI) act is one such tool provided to us which can be used effectively to fight corruption in government offices. Internet is a great tool to connect with like-minded people. Social networking sites and blogs can help you to unite for a common cause and spread awareness. Hey, but who has got the time?

Democracy gives us the right to vote and elect people to manage our country. How many of us step out on Election Day to go out and vote? We do not do that and then complain that the politicians are not good enough. How many of us knows or cares about what happens in the parliament? I do admit that at times the politicians of our country make us feel ashamed by the way they conduct themselves in the parliament. This should not make us think that every politician is bad. Just as every cloud has a silver lining, there may be at least few politicians who do care for the country. Why not glorify them to such an extent that others look within themselves and question their integrity? It is our hard earned money that goes in the form of taxes in running our country. Is it not our duty to ensure that our money is being utilized effectively for the development of the country?

After reading what I have written so far, you may be prompted to question me as well? Has the writer of this blog done anything significant for the country before he started questioning others? The answer is no and I feel guilty about it as well. This blog of mine though is one such platform that I intend to use to change that no into a yes.

This Independence day, let us all take a pledge that we do take some initiative, no matter how small that may be to bring about a positive change in this country. If my blog ends up inspiring even one person to think and reflect, I would consider it as a small but successful initiative in playing my role for this great country.

Can do ATTITUDE!

In life, if you wish to be successful, you should have the can do attitude. I know it is easier said than done. Personal experience has taught me that this is the attitude that will take you places. Saying yes to tasks that I had never done before helped me push myself to the limits. I used to work in a call center and was providing chat and email support to customers of our client. We did have agents who provided voice support also. However, initially neither I nor my superiors thought that I could do it.

One fine day one of the managers did come up with this suggestion that I should give it a shot. I reluctantly agreed only because I was assured of a formal training. The training started and I was enjoying it but destiny had some other plans. The client firm had a call center operating from Canada which had to stop functioning due to heavy snowfall. Prior to this, the voice agents from our office operated only in one shift and that was during our day time. Due to the adverse weather situation that existed in Canada, our voice agents were required to operate 24 hours a day. This meant 2 shifts of 12 hours each and shortage of agents also meant that I had to take up the new responsibility even before my training was completed. I decided to take the plunge with the can do attitude. I managed to do it because I had nothing at stake. Failure would not have gone against me; at the same time success would have renewed the faith in my abilities. First day, nervousness ruled but I persisted. Observing experienced agents go about with calls and trying to gradually implement their tactics helped me to deal with the situation and improve on a daily basis. Finally, I was a regular voice agent. May not be the best but definitely an effective one.

I had another experience similar to this wherein I was required to take up the responsibility for providing technical support via email and phone for a software I had no clue about. I was prompted to say yes by a voice within because of the success I experienced in the previous occasion. Like in my first experience, I started off nervously here too. However, time and patience helped me to overcome my nervousness. Also, support and guidance from my reporting manager and an ever ready to help attitude shown by a gentleman from the client’s end helped me to learn and grow. Again, I was not the best but I definitely was effective in playing the role assigned to me.

So, if negative feelings try to suppress the positive can do attitude within you, put a brave front and scare the life out of it. Believe in yourself and you will be able to do it.