?? Five Mountains and Valleys - Chapter 1

“If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine; it is lethal.” – Paulo Coelho

Today (14th of June 2024) marks five years since I first published a course on Udemy ; a course called 'A Complete Beginner's Guide to Industry 4.0' where I explore how Industry 4.0 is transforming different Industries in the world around us using cutting-edge tools like Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Robotics, Automation and Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing). Plus, it's been almost 6 months since I became a 'Udemy Instructor Partner' and so I thought it would be great to share my journey with the rest of LinkedIn.

I'm planning to write a personalized experience of my journey; specifically focusing on one component such as fear, purpose, connecting the dots, gratitude, faith and so on; once in 6 months (or even less than that). So, this will be the first chapter of the series.

In this article, we will be focusing on 'Purpose'. So here it goes! ??

?? Purpose

I don't know why but from my young days, I was really fascinated by mountains. There was that mystic beauty in mountains that was really hard to compose in words. Looking back, I can draw comparisons as to why there are so many similarities between mountains and life.

When we look at mountains, we are often awe-struck by the beauty and the scenery of it. Often times, it humbles us and makes us realise that we are just a 'speck' in this ever-growing universe. When we climb a mountain through tough terrain and reach the top, we get to experience the beauty of the valley and the realization that the 'the best views come after the toughest climb'; the same feeling when we look back at our journey and the countless challenges we overcame to get to where we are today.

Another feeling which I've experienced is the fact that just like this mountain has it's own shape, form, scenery, beauty and identity; there must be a unique identity and calling for my life. Maybe God (or the universe or a higher-being - which ever you believe) created something magical and unique; that if we discover it and share it; it will create a sense of awe in people and communities.

Just like most adults in their 20's, I've always struggled with my identity.

• Who am I?
• What am I supposed to do in my life?
• What's my purpose?
• Am I on the right path?
• Everyone seems to be going places. What about me?
• Will I ever do something worthwhile in my life?

These are some of the questions which I faced on a day-to-day basis for so many years. Truth be told, I'm still looking for answers to all of the above questions. The more we grow, read and experience in life, the answer we had for the above questions will also change. Since our perception of reality or what we call 'Our World View' is dynamic in nature, is finding answers to these questions somewhat of like chasing a mirage?

?? Who am I?

Since this is the first step in discovering your purpose or calling or whatever you call it, let's address the elephant in the room. As Aristotle once said:

"Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom."– Aristotle

Self-Awareness is the key that unlocks doors of opportunities. So how do we discover ourselves. Looking back at my life, I've had deeper levels of self-awareness through putting myself into uncomfortable situations and also having setbacks in which you see your future burning in front of your own eyes and there's nothing you can do about it but to watch it burn to the ground.

When I was in school, I was a class-topper. Getting prizes in the Annual Prize Giving and my entire identity as built around the concept 'Deshan is a smart and intelligent person'. At least I thought so, because society labelled me as that, and I had the track record to justify it.

In 2013, when I was doing my G.C.E. (Advanced Level) Examination (which is the university entrance examination here in Sri Lanka), something felt that I was not going to even pass the exam. I was struggling to grasp concepts, answer past paper questions and even struggled to understand the lesson during class.

From being a class topper, I became the last in the class. My entire identity shifted. The fact that I was an intelligent and a smart person was no longer valid. I was devastated and my self-esteem went into a downward spiral. I was depressed. I hated my life. There were so many days I've prayed and asked God to take my life because I didn't want to live anymore. Nothing seems to be going my way. At least that's what it felt and that's what I was experiencing at that time. At a parent-teachers meeting, my Chemistry teacher told my mother 'This is not working for him'. As soon as my mother heard those words, she started crying. It was heartbreaking to watch your mother cry. But I was determined that at least I'm going to try and if not today, someday I was going to make her proud!

I struggled to study but I eventually sat for the examination in August 2013. Every paper was a nightmare. I was done with the exams within about two weeks. I wasn't happy with how the examination went. But I was glad it was over anyway.

In October 2013, I started doing my Bachelor's Degree in Applied Information Technology (AIT) with pending Advanced Level results in which graduates are trained to provide IT solutions to businesses. In December 2013, I got my results. I had failed all three of my compulsory subjects - Chemistry, Physics and Combined Mathematics. I got an A for General English but since I had failed my compulsory subjects, I had failed the entire examination.

Still remember the day when I got my A/L results. I couldn't sleep that day. I was struggling to sleep for almost 3 months. For months, I was wondering how it will all connect and lead to something positive in the future. But during those moments, I felt cornered, my hands tied and that I am powerless.

Since I was doing my bachelor's degree with pending Advanced Level results, I had to instantly drop out from the degree. I had to do a foundation course of around 8 months to resume my degree (actually start again from scratch!). But to my surprise, my degree had been phased out. It felt like a giant pack of dominos falling on me one by one.

After much discussion with the management of my institution, they agreed to resume the degree one last time. I was thrilled and excited. I passed with flying colours and got a First-Class Honors.

After completing my degree, I started working as an intern for a global tech consulting firm. Even though the exposure was great, I knew I had so much value to provide. I was bored with the internship, and I eventually quit.

I started doing my master's degree in Technology Management (which grooms post-graduate students to reach the Chief Information Officer - CIO roles of companies). I love it and I aced it! I got distinctions for every single module which I did, won the Gold Medal for the Best Academic Performance and my final thesis won the '2019 SLASSCOM Innovation Awards' for the category 'Best Technology or Framework Innovation' competing with multiple multi-national companies and winning it.

I was looking for jobs which provide more exposure on cutting-edge technologies, and I found a good match at a multinational billion-dollar apparel company and went straight for it. I liked the exposure; the people and the culture and things were going well for me. But I had a long-term objective of starting something on my own at the end of 2020, but I had no idea what to do, how to do and move forward.

Then came the dreaded Covid-19 Pandemic and the world just paused at the start of 2020. In July 2020, I got an email from my HR manager to come for a meeting. I was a bit surprised as to what the meeting was about. Since office gossip travels faster than the speed of light, I got to know that the entire team had been given VRS (Voluntary Retirement Scheme) and had to move out of the company at the end of July. Just when I thought things were finally taking its form and shape, life hits you in the head with a brick. Here I was in the middle of a Global Pandemic, 26 years old without job!

?? From Passion Project to Entrepreneurship

In May 2019, while working at my full-time corporate job, I was looking for additional ways of growing my skills and sharing my expertise and of course, getting paid for skills. Since photography is also one of my passions, I started sharing the pictures which I've taken on Shutterstock. But I failed to gain any traction.

Accidentally, I came across Udemy, and I decided that I'm going to use that platform to share my knowledge and expertise with the world. I published my first course in June 2019, and I just got paid USD 5.06 and I was over the moon. It seems insignificant but the most important thing for me was taking the first leap of faith. I started utilizing my free time to make more courses and start publishing it on Udemy until I had to leave my corporate career.

When I was given VRS from the company I worked for, I encountered another dilemma. "Am I going to start looking for another job?" or "Am I going to go all-in on becoming a full-time Udemy Instructor and building my business". It was one of the scariest decisions of my life. Finding another job seemed less attractive cause the main thought which was running in my head was 'what if I will have to leave the new company again' and that would mean total instability of my career. So, I choose the latter.

There were so many questions which popped up in my mind with the decision.

• What if this fails?
• Will I be labelled as a failure?
• Will my family and friend who told me to get another job start telling me 'I told you so' if this doesn't work out
• How will I know what the next step is?

The biggest pressure I faced was from my family. Here are some actual comments which I got from my family.

• "Deshan you are wasting the best years of your life. Don't waste it."
• "Deshan what will we tell people when they ask what you are doing?"
• "Deshan get a job. You are wasting your time doing nothing."

But deep down inside, I was convinced that I could make it work. I struggled to build momentum for around 24 months since I left my corporate job. But in July 2022, I finally cracked the code.

Fast forward to today, I'm serving more than 37,700 students in 148 countries and I became a 'Udemy Instructor Partner' (Top 0.45% of more than 77,000+ Udemy Instructors around the world!) as well.

?? Takeaways

1. Start answering the question "Who am I?" when you are at the valley and not at the summit of the mountain. When you are crushing it and winning, your judgement about yourself can be unrealistic. When all the titles, achievements and victories are stripped away from you, who are you and what do you stand for. You need to do a lot of soul searching to accurately answer this question. The more you spend time to answer this question and refine it, the easier it is for you when you face adversities, criticism and challenges in the future.
2. Clarity always comes from action. No matter how much you ponder about doing something or reading about something or go for 100 seminars, you will not get answers. Probably you'll be more confused than before! So, start now. Start with whatever resources and skills you have. When you start small, the cost of failure is greatly reduced. Plus, you can get a more realistic picture of how the market responds to your product or service.
3. As Elon Musk once said, "If you need inspiring words, don't do it." If you yourself aren't convinced about who you are, what you stand for and value, how your product/service will address a need in the marketplace, how can anyone be convinced? Be bold in your convictions. But also, be realistic. You can't be unrealistic and be convinced that banana smoothies are better for monkey than a banana!
4. For you to start something you need 'commitment' and for you to complete it you need 'consistency'. It took me almost 24 months to reach a breakthrough. One thing that kept me going was the consistency. Showing up every day means you've won half of the battle. Consistency doesn't always mean you give an equal effort every day. Sometimes it's more and sometimes it's less. But you have to give some sort of effort that helps you to move forward every single day.
5. If you haven't found the spark or the thing that excites you, keeping looking. As with all matters of the heart, you will know when you find it. Try different things. Understand what are the activities and things that gives me more energy than it takes. What are the things that I can do for hours and hours and not realize that time is passing by. If you have more than one such thing, it's great! You can combine all those things in a creative and meaningful way and offer your gift to the world!

Audacious things are yet to come!

Audacious things are yet to be done!

All Glory be to God! ??

See you in my next article! Feel free to connect!

-- Friday, the 14th of June 2024