?????, ????, ????- A Maker's escapade! Chapter 6: Getting #Fired

TL;DR and Spoiler Alert:

A story of how I got #Fired in 2015 and joined a ????????? a.k.a Scrapyard (father's read of a #Makerspace) in 2016. Concludes with some #Hope.

Music recommendations while reading: Indigo, Rising Sun

July 1, 2023 -

Well! It's been a while since the last article! After the commencement day at 美国哈佛大学 , I looked at my #Harvard #Masters degree and asked felt empty and dissatisfied (reminds me of in a nutshell – kurzgesagt 's video on Dissatisfaction. When my 美国哈佛商学院 login stopped working the next day, I felt fired off again, this time from being a #Student.

When was I fired the first time, you ask? Let me take you back to 2015.

The Chase

June 2015 -

My father is a #RealEstate broker, and although I could pursue #MechanicalEngineering, like many Indian boys and my cousins, a son is supposed to take care of all the properties and shops, run the establishment, and take the family name ahead. This was the definition of a 'Perfect Son.'

I, too, started working with my father drafting legal paperwork for different properties in my teenage years. Full disclosure: those skills have helped me immensely. If you do the work, you get good pocket money, and that fed my passion - tinkering and making.

After working for one year in a job making light and kinetic art installations for a top media firm, I bickered to go into real estate. And I joined a Dubai-based Real Estate firm trying to expand into India as a Sales representative. I was put into a marketing kiosk at the #Mumbai International Airport. My job was to collect leads from traveling passengers and get them interested in investing in Dubai Hotel Properties. At that Kiosk, I had never felt so insignificant, so powerless. Still, I did it - working in real estate was still acceptable. Money was better. The commissions were good. Father was happy. I was not.

I met with a girl at work and covering shifts with her made work bearable. We tinkered with the lead collection process and gamified it. Commissions got better. I was not sad.

The airport was full of people from different #cultures and #experiences, walks of life, and outstanding professional and personal life. An excellent opportunity to engage in exciting conversations. People wanted to kill time, and I could listen.

Excel Entertainment released Zoya Akhtar's movie - Dil Dhadakne Do. I watched that movie one day just before my night shift. At the airport, I met a couple from #Turkiye, and #Istanbul became that one place I wanted to go. The city where #Asia and #Europe connect.

Regular ordinary travel dream - save some money every month and go for a cross-country trip to Turkiye. I started saving up and simultaneously continued to work on our establishment.

The Sacked

February 2016 -

A few months went well. One did not. I was called to the office in Lower Parel, being told that my performance was not good this month, and they wanted to understand and help me. And I was fired within the hour. Getting fired sucks, and there was weeping, crying, and begging. I let go of the dream of visiting Istanbul and locked myself to the fate of a regular real estate broker in the suburbs of Mumbai.

Every day was a punishment and was frustrating. I couldn't find a way to tinker, to make. I heard of a maker space near my home, ending with 'Asylum.' I interviewed for the position of Manager at Maker's Asylum . The salary offer was too low, and I decided not to take the offer.

"Ronak has gone crazy, he is going to an Asylum!"

Call it fate, or call it luck. Call it bravery or stupidity - I opened my computer at the last hour, accepted the offer, and perhaps, narrowly escaped the death of the Maker in me.

It is said and believed that the antidote to Dissatisfaction is Gratitude. In hindsight, I am thankful to the guy who fired me, to Vaibhav for offering me a job, and that #Cosmic power that drove me to accept the offer.

We made a plane. And look, I am on TV!

The Depart

July 1, 2022 -

1 year ago, the deed of establishing 10,000 #AtalTinkeringLabs was done; it was my last day at NITI Aayog Official .

7:15 pm, desk C-28 and an empty 5th floor. The feeling of emptiness and dissatisfaction lurks in when you are about to get off your chair for the last time. I had planned to 'Fire' myself when we hit the 10K milestone. The burden of that responsibility was off these shoulders, and this Dobby got his sock. Still, the same feeling of loss lurked in, like I was fired yet again.

Being alone during your final hour at work allows you to do things. And that uncontrollable weep may have been the loudest sound across those corridors.

The new chapter of life began! With luggage, boxes of my #Maker stuff, and a #bouquet of #memories, I took a #Rajdhani train from #Delhi to #Mumbai.

One Alphabet from my #Home #Airport would change - from BOM to BOS! 美国哈佛大学 was finally happening. I finished my 'How People Learn' assignment and was set to join Harvard Graduate School of Education !

#Bombay to #Boston flight is a long journey, and one needs a layover. Mine was slightly long - a fortnight of a cross-country trip in #Turkiye, starting from and ending with Istanbul!

The Hope

Earlier this Spring, I attended 美国哈佛商学院 's hallmark class - Building and Sustaining a Succesful Enterprise (BSSE) by Prof. Derek van Bever , which captures the #Theory of #Disruptive #innovation by Prof. Clayton Christensen. As a part of the class, we participated in a simulation activity to run a battery company for 10 years. I was fired in year 8. Getting fired in a #HBS class is even more daunting because you fail in front of your potential cofounders, investors, clients, partners, and professional contacts. However, this time, it was okay. Failure was acceptable, perhaps because I finally understood it doesn't come empty-handed.

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Like many from the #DevelopingWorld, I do not come from privilege. Today, a #FirstGen student could earn enough to support his #Harvard education without any scholarship. And a happy father brags about his son studying in one of the best schools in the world.

Last week, the US Supreme Court struck down Affirmative Action and canceled Biden's Loan forgiveness program. A few things are bleak in my country, too, like Manipur distress and violence. Many have lost jobs, and almost all are worried about losing theirs. Let's persist. We will rise, and we will win. My intention in writing this is to share some hope. And if even one of you smiles reading this, sharing my failure story would be worth it.

To all of those who are coming to 美国哈佛大学 this fall, #Welcome! This ecosystem is going to give you more than you can ever imagine. And let me pass on one piece of advice by my mentor -

"Harvard is not going to be a test of expertise and excellence, but a test of character and perseverance!"

So now what? What will I do with this conflicted passion for tinkering, education, public policy, and business? What should I 'Fire' myself next from?

#HappyTinkering

#MakersGonnaMake

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