Dare to follow your heart
TEDx is a mega global platform that invites motivational speakers from different walks of life. Here, each of the speakers narrate their personal accounts, which enable the audience to see the bigger picture of life, and make them realise that the glass is always half full and not the other way around. This year, Amity International School Gurugram 43 organised their second installment of TEDx in an endeavour to encourage and prepare its young minds for all the challenges that they might encounter in their life ahead. Here are some noteworthy expressions from entrepreneurs who didn’t shy away from following their passion and succeeding through sheer hard-work, dedication, and undying passion.
Keep growing
Dr Shivin Chaudhary, assistant commissioner, Indian Revenue Service (Income tax)
“Many of us have prepared for a competitive exam at some point in time. In life we will always be faced with competition, no matter the place we’re in. While preparing for UPSC, I realised that lakhs of students sit for competitive exams like NEET, JEE, UPSC etc. However, the number of seats is very limited, and their selection ratios are less than 1%. That is the fight most of us are in. You might fail or succeed, but the measure of success or failure lies in our choices. Every day you will be faced with a gamut of choices. Some of these choices would be right, while some would be wrong. But every day you must try to improve just a little bit more. If you can improve by 1%, 0.1%, or even 0.01% every day, you will succeed in life. To thrive is to excel and to grow every day. So, don't settle once you pass an exam, earn a degree, attend college, or achieve success. True contentment in life is attained at the stage you’re currently in, in your own respective country, only if you continue to evolve”
Don’t be afraid of mistakes
Maya Ramesh, corporate lawyer
“How many of us have our lives figured out? How many of us know what we want to do in life? In ninth grade, I thought I had my life figured out, I’d study law after school, and everything would be perfect. But here’s the breaking news, life might not be what you imagined. Life is mostly about taking risks, it can be scary, and sometimes things don't work out as planned. But it's important to have a support system around you, a network of people who will help you take calculated risks and be there for you when things go south. The important thing is to keep trying. It's okay to not know what you want to do, and it's okay to make mistakes. You might end up somewhere completely different from where you planned, but the journey is what matters. Now, I'm an insurance lawyer after three legal detours, and I love my job! If I ended up here right after school, I may have questioned a lot of my choices. But when you look back at your past, I think the path itself is so beautiful, that it's okay to be a little uncertain and a little clueless. And most importantly, it's okay to make mistakes. So don't be afraid to take risks; you might just surprise yourself.”
Build resilience
Abhirath Batra, software engineer, Microsoft Azure
“Failure is unavoidable and struggle is never-ending. So, we need to build resilience to deal with inevitable hardships; both internally and externally. Internal resilience means we need to be emotionally strong to understand that failure eventually and inevitably happens in life. We need to build confidence and rely on our friends and family to succeed. Thus, one must invest in finding the right people in life; people one can rely on and with whom one can share constructive knowledge. It’s also necessary to take breaks whenever needed to work on mental health as well as physical well-being. No amount of wealth can buy you a healthy body and a peaceful mind. It is something one has to work for on a daily basis. In order to build external resilience, we need to enhance skills that are universal and versatile. Most importantly, one must learn the simple lesson of how to learn. One has to learn to get their hands dirty and experiment to build and create things in life. Whether it's preparing for competitive exams, running a marathon, earning one’s livelihood, or whether it's making an exquisite piece of art, if you train yourself to do difficult things, you’ll definitely prosper. Ultimately, the world is going to be divided into people who talk and people who do. Choose to be the latter.”
Circle of competence
Divij Chopra, senior software
engineer, GoDaddy
“It's incredibly important for everyone to find their circle of competence. And that is what I have also been trying to do all my life. It’s necessary to figure out what you are actually good at, what is your field of expertise, and what can you do to improve. It’s definitely not an overnight process; it requires time and effort just to find out where your strengths lie. But once you do, it will help you a lot in deciding which path to take. Moreover, circle of competence doesn't have to be something that you are absolutely good at or something you can do perfectly. But if you have an inkling that you have acumen for a particular subject, or a topic even, and if you work hard to polish it, you can develop your competence. The journey won't be easy, but if you make sure that you work hard towards it and be consistent, you will become unstoppable. And this applies to almost everything in life. Every time you make a decision, I think it is good to see if it fits in your circle of competence. If you take that first step, and make a decision, I think, after that, the journey becomes slightly easier.”
Risk it for the biscuit
Chirag Deipakk, architect
“Sometimes, when there are things right in front of one’s eyes that is when one can't see what it is. In the past, I often found myself flipping through architectural digests, admiring buildings and new offices in and around Gurugram, but I never realised that is where my true passion lay. As Harshad Mehta says in Scam 1992, “Risk hai to ishq hai.” That’s exactly what happened with me. Once I graduated from school, I asked myself, “Do I want to go down the same route and follow the world? Or just take a risk in life and maybe, just maybe, find out what actually excites me.” And I must tell you, the feeling you get when your project is admired and appreciated is utterly unmatched. Often, what may seem like the end of the journey is actually just the beginning. And if there is one thing that you have to imbibe from my journey, it is that there is no right way to choose between a business and a job, whether something pays you more or less, it is about what fuels your passion. It is about what motivates you enough to get out of the bed. It is about what can make you and keep you happy. Afterall, the definition of happiness and success is different for everybody.
Know your potential
Rhytham Dabas, commercial pilot
“My journey into the world of aviation wasn’t a straight one. It began in a completely different direction, with a foundation in commerce, and a bachelor's in journalism and mass communication. Yet, I was yearning for something more; a sense of adventure, maybe? Fuelled by a thirst for knowledge, I pursued my dream of becoming a pilot and re-started my journey at 23. I want you to know that each of these experiences has played a pivotal role in my learning and growth as a professional, but more importantly as a human being. It's okay to not know what you want to do right now, to try new things, fail at them, and try all over again, or try different things altogether. We will all get there as long as we want to get there. And as I reflect on my journey from being a commerce student, to journalism, and now being a pilot, I'm reminded of the words of Joseph Campbell, “Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors for you where there were only walls.” Remember, that you are the pilot of your life. So, spread your wings, dance to your rhythm, and most importantly, never stop believing in yourself. The sky is just the beginning for you.”