23 Years down the line

Am 55 and still alive and being a productive member of Society. A father to 4 adult kids and grandfather to 3 most gorgeous Grand-kids

My professional life started in 1984, soon after I completed a MIS Diploma I got a position of Assistant programmer in NFC , Being young and fresh and eager to forge Ahead in the field of Computers, I went about my work with a hunger to learn more and prove to myself that I can achieve. That’s been my motto to date. “my only competitor is myself” I just have to better myself, intellectually and just be a better Human a get good at what I do.

Come 1991, with the onset of De-nationalization in Pakistan I found myself out of a job, but doing small jobs/projects, running a small business I kept the fire in the kitchen going.

2007 I traveled to Karachi for a personal trip, was invited to have a tea with the General Manger of my current company, We sat there had tea and just talked about different things, I left 2 hours later and 3 days later I was on the train back to my home town, half way thru I got a call and was informed that the GM. wanted me to join his marketing team primarily as communications exec. Luckily since I was born and raised abroad and had my early 16 years of school in a convent school gave a slight edge in verbal and written English as compared to other Pakistanis.

Back home my family and friends wanted to know how I could ever handle a job in Marketing and that too in textiles of which I had no formal education or experience.

But I got the offer and I thought to myself. “Worst scenario: would be I won’t get thru the 3 months’ probation period and would be traveling back “. But was eager to enter this alien field with one thought in my mind “Can I do it?” I just had to test myself when it came to me facing up to the unknown. 

Anyways it’s now 10 years down the line and I am still here working as the Market developer and I must say quiet successfully. These 10 years have shown me that I can achieve almost anything and complete any task that I am given. I have done what I had never foreseen in the past of being able to do, build and sustain professional relationships, build a circle of international contacts keeping the circle going with minimum traveling and mostly via telephone, emails and social media.

My life has taught me many important lessons one of which is “Being happy does not mean everything is perfect. It means you have decided to see beyond the imperfection”

I was fortunate to be taught and mentored by my mother and teachers who etched it in my heart and mind that above anything I need to be good human being. I was always encouraged to “Be nice and smile to everyone you meet. You don’t know what they are going through, and they might just need that smile. At least for a moment, it would make a lot of difference to them. Life gives us many such moments to make others feel better. For tomorrow when you feel low, someone might smile and you may feel better.” And it has worked wonders for me, in fact politeness being a gentleman and showing empathy and understating for other has helped to really make and cemented my terms with many people I have interacted with.

I end with each day with this thought “problems of my today are a valuable lesson waiting to be learned tomorrow.