Be like a Pencil

(Reflections on the lessons learned over the last 11 years)

This has been a long weekend for me and fellow Muslims all over the world as we celebrated Eid ul Azha (Festival of Sacrifice) to commemorate the trials and triumphs of the Prophet Abraham. We usually travel on this Eid to our home-towns and spend time with their family, extended families, friends and loved ones, just like my friends and colleagues around the world do on Christmas and Deevali.

This week, while visiting my parents in my home-town (Multan), I stumbled on some old books, diaries, newspaper and a book someone gifted me on first day at my first job as R&D engineer at Dancom (Pvt) Ltd. It then dawned upon me that it’s been nearly 11 years since I graduated from engineering school and have been working continuously since then in the field of electronics. I have learned a lot, taught a lot, saw a lot and told a lot.

But what have I learned as a human being?? – I must say that I can divide my last 11 years as 5 years (pre-Powersoft19 era) and the last 6 years to date. The last 6 years have been very special and I feel like I have traveled several light years, if I compare myself with my six years back version!!

To summarize, what I have learned is the path to true success and peace is in being just like a pencil! I read about being like a pencil at start of my career 11 years ago in a book “Like the Flowing River” by Paulo Coelho. At that time I didn't paid much attention to the wisdom hidden in it. But now after 11 years and specially the great last 6 years, I can really appreciate and finally can share it with everyone.

A pencil has five qualities – yes, the same pencil you have been using for years…. It depends on how you look a things. If you manage to hang on to them, they would make you a person who is always at peace with the world.

#1 – You are capable of great things, but you must never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand GOD, and He always guides us according to His will.

#2 – Now and Then, you have to stop writing and use a sharpener. That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, its much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

#3 – The pencil always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did not necessarily a bad thing, it helps to keep us on the road to justice.

#4 – What really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.

#5 – The pencil always leaves a mark, In just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of that in your every action.

Can you relate your experiences with the way of the pencil?
Share your stories! I would love to hear from you.

The contributor is Director of Hardware Engineering at Powersoft19.
Powersoft19's hardware engineering team (www.powersoft19.com/hardware) turns visions into winning products by embedding future trends in design. 

Powersoft19 (www.powersoft19.com) specializes in engineering consultancy of hardware, firmware, software, web-applications and interactive media development along with automated testing and independent quality assurance as a service. Powersoft19 has delivered multiple safety-critical embedded systems in several industries comprising Rail, Material Handling, Mining, Gas Detection and Smart Grid.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any team, division or business unit, subsidiaries and technology partners of the Powersoft19.