Lemonade…

Life! It is unpredictable, one moment you feel like everything is going your way and the next thing it seems like all odds are against you. We came to the world with our talents but we are groomed to think that education is the gateway to the pleasures of life. The biggest scam in history is “Education is the key to success.” Truth is, it’s not the only key… Everyone has an idea of who they want to be in life, and I also had a picture of what I wanted to do after college. I saw myself landing a job at a top Media Company and earning a decent salary. My dreams heavily depended on the traditional education-to-job system. A contingency plan was never in my mind and the time came when I had to apply for a job. Reality hit me hard, my email is filled with dozens of unanswered applications.

Slowly the dream is fading… Up until that time I realized that the approach of a degree being a guarantee of a job is wrong. A good life means more than just education… but none of us are sure what those other things are or how to get them. Many of us find it easy to focus on getting academic qualifications and say ‘make the number of degree or certificates go up’. Life is not about focusing on one stream of income but rather exploring other options. You cannot put your life on hold waiting for a job, explore your God-given talents. Hustle!!!

I grew to realize that most people are oblivious of how to manipulate their talents and abilities on their own. Rather they prefer working under someone than starting their own thing. But I don’t blame them, that is how the system was designed, it glorifies a person with academic qualifications than one with personal talents. Our potential is hinged on certificates and degrees qualifications, we take pride in our academic prowess rather than in exploring our innate gifts. The time we take ignoring reality is more costly than taking a leap of faith moving towards making most of our lives, talents, and abilities.

It took me time to open my blog, I welcomed opportunities to contribute to other people’s projects. Instead of creating value and my own personal brand I took the route of working for someone. I asked myself, what happens if I actually do the thing I love? It seemed like a pie in the sky and risky but it was and still is a better decision than waiting for a job to come around. This may seem like news to anyone, but take a chance on yourself and do what you love in the process.

It is better than sitting around and being counterproductive. In the words of Denzel Washington, “It doesn’t matter if you flip burgers, bricks or houses. Just don’t sit on your ass all day flipping channels. Hustle.” You just have to go out there & try new things. Don’t just wait for a miracle, be the miracle in your life. Life will throw bricks at you, Build a castle. And when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.