While you paint a picture of the dream, you start realizing the enormity of it. It scares you. You let your mind be filled with doubts and suddenly the dream is too big to achieve. You don’t find a path to make it possible but you start counting the hurdles that may greet you on the way; all this from the start line itself. While some dreams die in the course of life, others change their form and nature. But there is at least one dream for all of us, which as a poet would say, appears before you. It entices you. It charms you into falling in love with it. Like a hidden treasure. You don’t know how will you ever achieve it, all the while you are mesmerized by it.
If this was a movie script, this would be a perfect time for our hero to stumble upon a map or a guide. Then the movie would get interesting as our hero embarks on the adventurous journey towards the unknown. It reminds me of a famous quote
“Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.”
by Mark Twain
and how beautifully I have experienced this in recent times.
The dream that appeared before me, was to do something for disabled individuals in India. It started with some contributions during the weekend teaching initiative at a local disabled school but I was sure I could do more. But without knowing “what more I could do”, I had no way to worry about “the how” part. As the law of attraction would have it, a mail flashed before me which had two elements that got me hooked. A wheelchair sport and a story. I attended the session to hear the story of Sakshi Chauhan, a national-level wheelchair basketball player. While her story was simply amazing and inspiring, there was a clue in it. During the course of the talk, she mentioned how she was mentored by Infosys HR which helped her spread her story.
I was so happy to have heard this as if I had just found a holy grail.
Not only did I understand what more I do, but I have also found “the how” part. And there I met my mentor- Sujith Kumar, who helped Sakshi and countless others, to achieve their dream.
I was in the Gurukul with my mentor, though the Gurukul was virtual, our discussions were as alive and interactive as if we were sitting under a banyan tree. It was in these discussions, that I realized that I wanted to share my story with the world, motivating someone not to give up and fight the odds; even if that meant fighting against the entire world. The world can be a very cruel space when you are a disabled person. My mentor made me realize that it is my responsibility to share lessons learned in my arduous life so that someone in a wheelchair doesn’t give up their journey. He improved my talk content by doing countless sessions, countless writing, reviews, and rewrites. He reviewed my recordings and provided invaluable feedback.
And after all these calls, he told me that I was ready. I was ready for my first talk. The audience was none other than “the entire HR department of Infosys along with the man himself who had signed my offer letter – Mr. Richard Lobo” (no pressure, he said)
Knowing the audience of my first-ever public speaking talk, send a shiver down the spine. My mentor instilled confidence in me. And he said, “Remember to have fun”
Is there any other beautiful feeling, then when your mentor believes in you?
The momentous day of 25th Sept arrived. He called me half an hour before the talk. I told him how badly nervous I was. After hearing me out, all he said was to have fun. Though we are miles apart; (he is nested in Chennai and me in Pune) his calm voice and joyful nature, made me feel as if he was really patting me on my back.
Those 25 mins. I spoke with my heart. And when it was over, boy was it fun! Around 260+ folks had tuned in. My talk ended with a thundering sound of claps roaring over the WebEx, giving me goosebumps. Countless reactions, many thanking notes over the mail, and then there was a mail from Mr. Richard Lobo, EVP, head of HR Infosys Ltd.
Can you imagine my joy?
After all was over, there was a call from my mentor. His appreciative words were the cherry on the cake. While we celebrated for a weekend, from next week, we were back to our drawing boards – improving.
This was a great milestone, something I am truly proud of in my journey.
And who knows one day, I may end up on the TED platform, inspiring millions of disabled individuals across the globe to fight their battles, to chase their impossible dreams.