I came back !!!! Yes, I did it

"Success is not final, Failure is not Fatal;

It is the "COURAGE TO CONTINUE" that counts"

It may be a bit long so, grab some snacks and a cup of coffee as it is the essence of my 5 years of Experience and Learning. I hope you will get a lot of value from it.

You will come to know the lessons which I learned through each experience and what nature wants for you. You will also come to know about the "Plans which you have made". What if nature wants you to go somewhere other and you are going to some other direction.

It was August 2016, I finished Pre-Engineering and was preparing to go for ISSB. Yeah, you heard it right. I always wanted to join the army. Since childhood, it was my dream, passion and "Plan". I have put #Plan in inverted commas as this word depicts a special message for you.

I got rejected the first time ( in 138 L/C) because I took it lightly and the reason I assessed from it was that I did not put much effort.

I got disappointed and shaked from inside. Actually, I never wanted to accept it. But soon, I myself realized that I need to put my full efforts again and do it. So, I wrapped up my luggage and moved to another city and joined an academy. I started to attend it regularly since it was the only and last hope for me. It was the time of November 2016. My routine was to attend classes, practice it, hang out with some newly made friends and cut myself completely away from social media and mobile phone. I tried to do most of my work manually by hands and I kept a small mobile " Button wala nokia" just to call at home. You guys won't believe, I was so strong and passionate about it that I never used social media not I talked with any college friend or relative. Even, I missed my cousin's wedding because I know my goal is more important. After 5 months of sacrifice and effort, my call letter came.

By Grace of Almighty, prayers of my parents and well wishes of my teachers, I got highly recommended for 139 L/C to join Pakistan Army. I joined Pakistan Military Academy(PMA) on 10 May 2017 in commission.

But,

Again Allah had a better Plan for me. After passing 7 months, I got some medical issue and again came back to civilian life.

It was December 9 2017.

My family and I myself were completely in shock which my family showed but I knew that I need to show my military training and grooming so, I stayed firm and always gave them hope. They were completely shocked to see me smiling and being normal.

Then, I thought to prepare for LUMS entry test but due to non-seriousness, I could not scored better and application got rejected. It was June 2018.

Now what?

What should I do? Where to go?

I wanted to work/study and do not become a burden upon my parents so, I started to look for different scholarships. I had good scores in matric (91%) and fsc(81%) so, I convinced my father to send me abroad. I also gave IELTS and scored 6.5 bands overall with no bands less than 6. Time was August 2018.

Turing point of my life:

One day I looked at the newspaper with an ad of OGDCL- A fully funded scholarship. It catched me up since, I wanted to study and be a self sufficient guy. I applied for it in a bit non serious way because I believed that the test would be quite tough and I will not be selected.

Then, I gave test. It all went well and guess what?? I topped the test from my province.

Now, there were 2 things going side by side. Either my father had to sell some land to send me abroad and then further support me for few months or I should go to Sukkur and join OGDCL "Zero Semister program".

Yes, you heard it right. Still, my scholarship was not confirmed but I thought to take risk and see what nature has further plans for me. I studied hard and was selected in the top 100 candidates for a fully-funded scholarship.

It's all about taking risks. Army has groomed me a lot and I learned to take risk. I still remember, I always say even now, " Let's try it".

Now it has been February 2019.

I got an offer letter and was told to join it. I said ok.

Now, there lies another challenge. Which program should I opt for? Either BBA or CS?

I thought to pursue CS as it is a technical degree with some skills where BBA is mostly about talking to people which I think I am pretty good at because of my Military Training.

Next, I explored a lot of ways how to make money online.

I explored fiverr. I started to learn Wordpress and I landed my first project of 150$ within first month.

And then the journey continued.

During my first semester summer break, I hunted a project and I know nothing about it but since, I learned some technical skills in first semester, I was able to convince the guy in the first meeting. I had a belief from inside that I will be able to do it. I was having nothing, just self belief and self confidence. In second semester, I just did project management of this project and that's all.

Then third semester started and COVID 19 came.

From March 2020 - April 2021

I learned SEO and generated a good amount of money as a Freelancer during the first lockdown. I diverted myself from studies as it was a process continuing and I was not much habitual to online classes so, it was not that much learning experience for me. I missed

Very soon I realized that SEO requires a team. Made a Team and then contacted the director of Entrepreneurship and leadership at my campus to pitch my idea. Got an office ( where still I am working).

My few months back situation( till September 2021)

It has been a long time since I got away from Linkedin and all social media networks as I went into a serious depression after COVID 19 era.

I lost motivation, I broke up, I felt the life has stopped and I should not put in any effort.

I stopped enjoying myself and thought that this world is an illusion for me.

It just seemed like life hindered and there is no way back to come out of it.

I made a 5 figures agency working day and night without a mentor, investment, team, and resources in a small office. I thought at that time that I must work with the available resources rather than look at the ones which I do not have.

I will write remaining post tomorrow since it became too long and you may start getting bored.

To be continued