Have You Found Your Purpose Yet ?

By the time a teenager enters the much-awaited “twenties” the societal and parental pressure is generally at a peak by then..

What are you up to next..?

What are your subjects, which college, which degree.. and what profession are you going to be in ?

?Though on Linkedin here every other story is about achievements, awards and cracking the code by many young millennials.. but believe you me, these are still rare species.. 70-80% of individuals and young adults on the other side are still clueless about what they would be best at and they would love doing for the rest of their life (alongwith paying the bills too)..

Or are they even thinking as much as society and relatives ?

A Small Town Girl With Big Dreams !

?Until the digital explosion or even up to a decade back, the obvious choice for most people used to be to become a Doctor or Engineer as the safest and luring professions.. My story was no different, in the late 90’s, coming from a small town I also thought I would become a Doctor. But we all know it’s the population that is to be blamed for the tough competition, I failed getting into it and just got into graduation with no clear goal..

?Then owing to my creative side, thought I could do fashion technology and cleared the entrance for #NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology) ! But BOOM.. couldn’t get through the final interview..

?Now even though luckily my parents were always supportive of education for me (inspite of being the third daughter in the family), my father was hesitant to send me to a metro town unless it was for an “A” college..

?So I settled for an MBA as that was the only visible option available to me then..

?There comes a twist which most girls had to go through atleast in that era.. MARRIAGE..

Even though I was ambitious, I settled in for marriage while yet in my last semester of MBA, as my husband was settled in Delhi then.. so there couldn’t be a better chance to move to a metro city to build a career and settle with a life partner of own choice too !

?From there started a new life in the year 2000, my first job at Dabur and EUREKA.. after landing into Brand management quite adventurously, I realized at once that “this was actually my calling…” and I loved it from day one..

?And since then, there was no looking back.. I discovered my interests, potential and above all myself along the journey.

?The ups and downs of the corporate world for another day.. but the highlight for today is that I made it all along to the leadership levels and the corner offices managing all the daily struggles of professional and personal life !

The Journey along a bumpy road.. discovering self

?As no one can learn to swim or drive without actually ‘doing it”.. there’s no way one can explore the full potential without trying and experimenting.. I discovered my passion and strengths in the marketing field working on creative aspects of it and getting into the media industry with the Zee group and later The Times Of India group..

When you do what you love, you don’t worry about the hurdles, you find ways to overcome those.. Without much support on the family side and childcare front in those days, I feel proud of surviving all the odds and yet making it this far.. I always chose to work for my passion and not for just paying the bills.. inspite of all the corporate pressures I still loved every day of my job and always looked forward to it.. as I was learning and growing too.. along with financial independence.

?The biggest sense of achievement for a woman is when she feels independent, can take her own decisions and pay her bills too.. I was doing it all and never wanted to loose it

?And the Eureka moment..

?What can one ask for more than having a fulfilling #career journey for more than two decades, raising two kids alongwith and having own #financial independence with settled life.

After achieving almost everything that any middle-class individual aspires for, I had this WHY bothering me.. Especially during the pandemic when we all evidenced reality of life.. I also got an opportunity to look inside and discover the ME

As I started supporting and helping some women in need during the #Pandemic, I realized the need and that started a new chapter in my life.

I started The-HER-Tribe , a Women only social community, with a vision to help those women who wish to restart their careers for financial independence. The volunteers support and enable participants with #SkillDevelopment, #FinancialLiteracy, #Emotional well-being and Overall #Wellness. The reward, satisfaction and sense of gratification that I got with this passion project are much more invaluable than all past successes and achievements..

I’m so glad I did it !!

?I believe #feminism isn't about making #Women strong, Women are already strong, it’s about changing the way the world perceives that strength !!

?No matter where you are in life, Inspire and support the women around you. #Success is never reached alone.. and wisdom is sweeter when shared.

?And with this new chapter in life, it’s a Work-In-Progress and I’m loving every bit of it…

?Stay tuned and #BeEmpowered #BeYou

Aditi Verma