Following your Passions through Opportunities
Transcriber:
What if. How many times have
you imagined your life with
an entirely different story?
An alternate story where you chased
your wildest dreams.
That you pursued your unbridled
aspirations.
An alternate story which almost always
starts with a tantalizing, what if?
What if I tell you
that such an alternate story to your
life really exists?
What if I tell you that the decision
to grab the first opportunity
opens the door to new possibilities?
Just like many children from a
middle class family in India,
I do follow the failsafe recipe of
an engineering and an MBA degree.
During my MBA for the campus placements
by Amazon, I wanted to stand out.
An online course, a project or anything
that would set me apart from
the rest of the applicants and
give me a chance to crack it.
The search got me into a different
space altogether
of international leadership programs
and fellowships.
Trust me, I was surprised at a number of
avenues that existed for you down there.
Why didn’t I even know about this before?
After a few unsuccessful applications
for various programs,
I finally got into the initial phase of
the Kectil Youth Leadership Program
based out of Atlanta, USA.
I was so happy I could put such
a differentiating factor into
my resume for Amazon.
And I did crack my dream job at Amazon,
but I pursued the year long online
leadership program for “Kectil” as well.
After one year, I was one of the
27 youth selected from across the world
to be part of a week long
leadership conference at Atlanta.
Even at this point, I was not able to
understand how can this opportunity
create any difference in my life?
Through visa processing, explaining
the situation at work,
convincing my family about the travel,
there were these moments where I felt,
is it even worth all the trouble?
But I let the dominoes take its course
and finally take me to Atlanta.
This was my first ever
international event.
It was a fully funded program and all I
had to do was travel over to Atlanta.
It felt surreal and the experience I got
there was beyond what I had imagined.
I met leaders like Martin
Luther King III.
I met his young daughter, who already had
a vision to make a change in this world.
I met other youth leaders came in from
different parts of the world just like me.
I was interacting with
colleagues who are change makers:
an Entrepreneur of the Year from,
South Africa, Peace Corps
advocates of hygiene, mental health,
humanity and inclusion, global policy.
There’s this moment while I was sharing
room with these young leaders when I felt
What am I even doing here?
How did I get here?
And then a second thought came.
What if?
What if I could do something
beyond my corporate work?
What if I could aspire to make
a dent in this universe?
Until then, the terms change making
and social impact was just fancy
words meant for someone else.
But sitting in that room with
highly driven young people,
I started to believe that maybe it is
possible to aspire and dream beyond
the realities I had set for myself.
One thing led to the other,
I returned with a clarity to
step out of my comfort zone
and pursue social entrepreneurship.
I cofounded an organization Avasarshala,
which connects thousands of
children with aspirational
opportunities that may potentially
change their life.
Kectil Youth Leadership Program was
just the beginning for me.
Today, I have been part of
numerous fellowships
and international leadership programs like
Vital Voices GROW Fellowship,
Wedu Changemakers Asian Rising Star.
I am an Indian ambassador for
Digital Grassroots Program,
Youth Internet Governance Forum
India fellow,
recipient of Easter Bhoomika
Iconic Women of 2020 Award,
Topped in Social Innovators and
People’s Choice Awardee at Youth Co: Lab.
My work has been recognized as one of
the top 10 technology driven innovation
trends of 2020 by Bridge for Billions
and among top 30 most inspiring digital
innovations at Partos Netherlands.
From a person who was satisfied to live
within a self constructed bubble,
Now, I totally wiped away all
boundaries for myself.
And it all started with one
single opportunity.
That single decision to try a new
experience has opened the door to
an alternate story of my life.
I realize that many of us
are too busy designing
a life following fail proof parts
right from our childhood.
Seeing how much an opportunity
has changed my life,
I try to make sure children around me get
access to their first opportunities.
We connected a classic student to
her first international STEM
and Innovations program where
she became a finalist.
Now she’s actively participating
in various similar programs,
gaining immense exposure and picking up
lessons on design thinking and whatnot.
We have been able to connect many
children with such aspirational
opportunities like international
essay competitions,
national level music competitions,
dance fellowships.
Junior football league expediencies,
quizzes, Olympiads
international arts exhibitions and so on.
Recently, we could also function
as India Outreach Partners
for Youth Forum,
Switzerland Global Change Makers Project.
We could ensure more than four thousand
children were given awareness on youth
as these goals and selected children
across India also get to be part of this
international leadership program.
What started as an attempt to help 10
or 20 children has now gone up to
the scale of thousands. I feel it
is important to pave the way
for children to grab on to their first
opportunity early on in life.
To make it a practice, to dream What-If
and strive to make it a reality.
This opportunity can be anything.
It was a stepping stone into change making
and social leadership for me.
It could be your first step into
arts or dramatics or sports,
it could help you advance in science
or innovation, philanthropy,
community management, entrepreneurship,
anything.
Quoting my professor at college,
I am that idiot who decided to leave
a very comfortable job to pursue
a road not taken. If I hadn’t taken
that leap to experience what
an international leadership program holds,
nothing would have changed in my life.
Letting go of an opportunity is so easy,
you may not even realize
what you just did.
But mastering the courage to grab one and
follow through with conviction makes
a huge difference. If you would take
back anything from my story,
it should be that motivation to
step in and take charge of
the story of your life, stop being a
spectator and be the scriptwriter.
Now, I will leave you with my secret
recipe to make most of
the opportunities that come your way.
It is tried and tested, and I promise
this formula will not fail you.
I simply call it the ABC of Opportunities.
“A” be authentic, no matter what you do,
let your original self shine through.
I started getting through to many
avenues I aspired for, only when
I shed all inhibitions to bare my real
self and let people see my authentic self.
I am who I am.
“B,” start from the base.
Small opportunities lead you to big ones.
No expereicne is negligible.
Your presence in smaller avenue
builds your credibility
to be part of bigger opportunites.
“C,” consistency is the key.
For my personal and professional
growth opportunities
I count more than 187 attempts
and applications in the last year.
I was successful only in a few.
But I consistently keep trying.
Now you have my secret recipe.
But, let me tell you the biggest secret
when it comes to opportunites.
Not many dare to give it a try.
When opportunity knocks,
a huge majority believes
it is a waste of time
and moves on with their lives.
The biggest difference your story
and the alternate story you imagined
lies within the decision to take the leap
and open doors to new possibilities,
given to the tantalizing
possibilities of a “What if.”
Thank you!