YOU don't want to miss MY story - A Story of Making Conscious Choices

Youngest among all my cousins, I belonged to a business family with sufficiently good means to lead a comfortable life. Busy leading a life of a sportsman, I never really looked at things which were slowly changing the fiber of relationships in the family. It was too late to understand when suddenly, at 20, things changed.

It was August, 1980. I lost my mother. (Intuition had made me feel the tragedy as I was playing a tournament away from home in another city.) That's when I realised that business disputes with millions involved had enhanced the gulf between families. My old father, who was 70, fell sick and went to live with a cousin. I seemed to have lost everything. I had become a ZERO. I struggled to survive with the help of few kind souls but the destiny had something else in store.

It was February, 1982. I knew it was time to say good bye to all and embark upon a journey into the unknown. My choice was clear – No to unhappy money in favour of a happy normal life of an ordinary. Yet, I knew that one needed to be very lucky to be Extra-Ordinary and that didn’t appear to be the case. So, I made a commitment with myself:

I would strive to live a life of A Little More Than Ordinary.

Here’s how life moved forward:

• March 5th, 1982. Started afresh, from a zero in an Industrial Township thousands of KMs away from home.
• 07 long years without even a single promotion or change in work. None cared or believed that I would continue after knowing my back-ground. I was assigned the most avoided work of sifting through incoming letters for their onward movement to the concerned sections. I took the assignment positively and found a way to make it all interesting. Reading those letters over the years helped me with information and I learned to write well. Seeds were being sown for my future as a Published Writer and a Story-teller
• 1989. A gift from a friend, the book Tough Times Never Last Tough People Do changed things. Suddenly filled with the energy of Possibility Thinking, I was able to put up my case for getting my talents used. A poem written about 3.00 a.m. after waking up suddenly did the trick. I had sent it to my MD for his reading who didn't waste even a day to call me for a 1:1 to understand my dilemma and predicament. I succeeded in getting myself transferred to Materials Function.
• As a trouble shooter to Head (Materials) I was given some very tough assignments. My special ability to resolve difficult situations while interacting with people helped me take more interest in observing human behaviour closely.
• Reading regularly since the age of nine had made me read some useful literature. Deep observation and some awesome experiences and my urge to write them down made me come face to face with the poet and story-teller in me.
• Getting published in Indian Express and then the House Journal made me get noticed. However, I was failing in developing rapport with people. Constant support of super bosses due to my extra-ordinary all round achievement had got me highest corporate recognition. And it only generated different kind of perceptions in the minds around. I was failing to handle my success. I attracted kind of personal attacks and very soon, I found life a total mess. I was not tuned up to stay in that environment for long.
• About 1991-92, I read 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, a book that gave me deep insights. I lived that book to the core for one full year and with my heart and mind pretty clear in what I wanted to do, I offered myself for Learning and Development. I had written my mission statement after reading 7 Habits which stated that I wanted to be a Top Trainer/ Coach and sent it to Mr. Stephen Covey who blessed my mission with a personal letter, a treasure with me.

• 1993. Magic happened and I finally took charge of L&D as a Training Officer. I had simply let my 11 years in Accounts and Materials go. Dream was more important. It was time to prove myself.
• There was a lot of initial struggle as I didn't have any experience yet, next 17 years saw me rising up the ladder to become an AGM HR – involved in Transformation Work. Ups and downs in relationships with superiors and colleagues always kept me on my toes. Bites followed by balm felt soothing and soon, I was in a trap without realizing it. Good thing was that in spite of emotional turmoil I kept doing some meaningful logical work which included my having conceptualized and developed a Competency Matrix for Managers.
• Life got filled with fascinating experiences. There were rewards, recognition, attention, success and a lot of popularity along with my failure to handle all these gratifying drivers of behaviour. I learned that the moment you attract recognition and appreciation, you also attract hostility. I failed to handle it all. Instead of responding, I started reacting. What a messy mix the life had become! Just two years had changed things. It was the lowest phase of my life.
• From someone who never ever had failed to smile in any adverse circumstance I had become deeply stressed, angry, upset, disgruntled, rude and arrogant.
• Life STOPPED. I deeply contemplated. Got in touch with my inner ‘Self’.
• It wasn’t long before I had to make another tough call. My deteriorating health required that I stayed with my family who had moved to the city. I left my job at 50, in the year 2010, exactly the way I had left my home. It was second uprooting.

This is the experience I shared in a poem on my blog that became the turning point of my life:

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"I Heard Icarus Laughing…" from my blog https://rameshsood.blogspot.com

Absolutely on the edge , I was ready t o fly ; Flapping my wings of confidence grown over years of struggle and effort as the vast space beckoned to take a plunge. Yet, innocent in me waited for a push, a blessing, from a debonair when suddenly hit by an unseen force I found myself swallowed by complete darkness with my feet tied, wings clipped I was left on the cliff to deteriorate, rust and slowly become part of the dust but then, whatever those forces had missed snuffing out the light that burnt brightly in my inner space. Thankfully, the draconian had failed to recognize the glow..

And the luminosity that stemmed helped me lift my spirits emboldening me to grow & nurture stronger indestructible wings this one time, one last time. Yes, I was being reborn to renew my long stretched struggle far deeper so as to carve a destiny studded by a brighter future.. Yet a lingering thought stayed only if I were Icarus and had a Daedalus to bestow me once more with wings and feathers I would have flown keeping distance from the blazing Sun but mind rebuked and reminded, "Hey, aren’t you reborn.. Haven’t you learnt your lessons?”

And I knew...I had already embarked upon the journey…And after years of rebuilding o,f rejuvenation I moved forward, took a plunge this time without waiting. As I flew, I heard Icarus laughing. Perhaps he thought, I would meet his fate. Alas! He was unaware that. No Sun could ever burn my wings any more. No unseen draconian force could clip them for I had grown stronger and imperishable WINGS OF THOUGHTS, as the endless space awaited to get explored.. and somewhere at a distance I could see my destiny smiling cuddled in smooth hands of a happier future…

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And that space was #LINKEDIN. Lucky me! Serendipity worked and my presence on Linkedin made me get noticed by the reputed trainers in Neuro Linguistic Programming who invited me to attend their sessions. “You have deep knowledge and experience however, some rough edges need to be polished…” I attended 15 days course (120 hours) and learned a lot. To learn that I was ‘Away Motivation’ oriented, helped me made better choices. Life was on.

I LEARNED that all that had happened in my life was primarily due to the choices I had been making all the time. Fresh experimentation in living brought me back to what I always was - A confident person, hungry to learn more. I had got the clarity about what I needed to do and with the help of my course and practice of NLP , I picked up the ability to understand myself a lot better while understanding others too.

Today, after 38 years of happy struggle, here I am living my calling as a Mindset, Behaviour, Relationships & Communication Trainer and a Coach. I draw from my practice of 7 Habits and NLP and Lessons from a life-time in corporate world. I understand what actually "difficult" really is.

Having practiced happiness for past so many years, coming out of limiting beliefs, doubts, stress, and negativity, I can be trusted to help you and/or yours to get back to life and feel good.

I redefined my concerns to make them positive, I can help you do the same. I can get you to a state of positivity through happy conversation in a matter of about 2-3 hours. Doesn't matter what is your age group. It's OK. Life is magical if you let it be. Simple, it's very simple to lead a stress-free happy life of success. My stories of keeping it all simple and shared on Linkedin were changing lives and that's how I was given this HASHTAG #simpySOOD by a generous reader in 2019.

Leadership is all about Self Awareness, Understanding Beliefs and Values, Relationships, Building Rapport, Adopt Outcome Based Thinking, Attaining Mastery of Communication and Managing Internal and External Conflicts. Oh, yes, I went on to develop my own Trademarked Coaching Process

Well, something inside seemed to have kept me going because I was able to get back in touch with it and that’s how today with confidence I can claim myself to be a SUPER COACH who is able to make things simple. Many a client vouch for that.

So get in touch NOW to learn, to transform, to change, to achieve through conversations with someone who has shown you, told you and made you feel about the super rich experience of life and work here in the NOW. Get in touch

[email protected] or DM me in this space.. What are you waiting for?? Life slips..

Practicing Happiness; Delivering Effectiveness, I am?.