THE POWER OF ENCOURAGEMENT

I am yet to conclude the part 2 on my last post however today I felt like sharing something which is so basic and mundane, simple and yet we forget how easily it can be the single most important thing that can change the way we view the world and ourselves. The best stories begin with failures...so here's one!

In the not so distant past, I was utterly despair and in immense self-doubt. Not only was a I looking for a job - I wanted to find something wherein I could grow myself and have the opportunity to learn; wherein a failure in my task would not be looked down upon as a personal failure since I am a big advocate that you learn the best from your mistakes and at the same time re-assess my relocation positively rather than "Oh I was at such a good post and why the hell I moved to this little big island". 

Being a recruiter, I do encounter times when you will receive a call from someone looking for a job, or a new contract - most of the times the call is a general enquiry, a little chitter chatter and sometimes you might find someone on the other end with absolutely right set of skills - full of hopes, looking for new roles however somewhat filled with despair and a sense of self-doubt. I do not always have roles wherein I can help them however I try and "encourage" them to hang on and things will eventually get better - and they always do. Maybe not now, or a week after, or a month after however eventually. 

Now, coming back to my saga of job struggles. During the entire phase of me looking for a job, I tried and remained relevant on LinkedIn so prospective employers would know of me and this is when I wrote a post on my job search in New Zealand and my personal experiences. After a few days  - I received a couple of LinkedIn messages and notes that were just the concoction that I needed to continue my job search and try to re-asses my methods and the way I met my interviewers. Those words were not fancy, not exotic but were simple filled with empathy and filled with knowledge that you will make it. I have always been a fan of encouraging quotes, especially when I needed a kick in the butt to get things done and make thing happen in my life and work however to actually receive it from someone who is not even in the same country strikes a different cord altogether.  It does not take much to say I know you will get through or keep on trying and someday you will hit gold. If there is one lesson I took from my personal job search period and I know so many immigrants face this every day, is that it will get better... do not stop doing whatever you are doing and one day this struggle will seem insignificant, a dot, a mere speckle in the life's journey. 

Behind every success story (I hope I will have one) is an embarrassing first effort, a stumble, a setback or a radical change of direction (checked all the boxes here). It’s these first clumsy steps on the road to fame and fortune that even the most successful among us have walked - tech start ups and self-made entrepreneurs are a breed that constantly need encouragement because these people believe they can change the world and rightly they do so as well. 

If you are a fan of horror and gore then the name Stephen King should not be new and if you do not know him - I feel for you :)

Stephen king's inspirational success story: Most people know Stephen king the famous writer but few know about his life story. Stephen's first novel was rejected almost everywhere it was submitted to the extent that he threw it in the garbage!! His wife got the story out of the garbage and insisted that he submits it again and in the end he became the Stephen king we know now!!

There is a very important lesson you must come up with from this inspirational success story which is that rejections should make no sense at all if you believe in yourself. And a huge thank you to all those who believed in me and were kind enough to out of their way and motivate me.

So here is to a glorious tomorrow however all the best with the struggles of the present!!

Happy ANZAC day and keep on encouraging and motivating people - you never know how one line could create a positive change in somebody else's life. Failures do not define me however they are vital life teachers.