Until the age of 33, I struggled to find the right career path.
I engaged in various pursuits such as working as a sales representative, participating in network marketing with companies like Amway, launching a small FMCG business, handling front office duties at a hotel, buying coffee powder wholesale from a friend and selling it in the retail market, and even selling grants programs to the U.S market in an international call center.
I found myself being a jack of all trades but a master of none, feeling lost and drowning in self-pity due to my inability to focus on a specific direction.
My mind constantly pulled me in different directions, and I lacked self-awareness of my strengths and innate talents, making my early career days a nightmare.
At the age of 33, I decided to take a break and reflect on my situation. I sought guidance from mentors and eventually landed a steady job in marketing, where I dedicated six years of my life.
In 2014, I enrolled in an executive program in marketing at IIM Lucknow, emerging as the batch topper. It was the first time in my life that I received an award of this magnitude, marking an epiphany moment.
Subsequently, I became a published author, speaker, and launched my own boutique strategy consulting firm.
I call this The Late Mover Advantage, a philosophy where we convert all the sufferings into meaningful experiences.
This concept can be applied to entrepreneurship as well.
We might face failures in various ventures, but the key is to connect the dots and transmute those experiences into building something significant.
As Buddha said, there is no lotus without mud, and there is no saddhana without vedhana.
Let’s transmute all the negative experiences into something useful.
Upon looking back at our life, we might realize that all our seemingly unrelated experiences were interconnected and meaningful.
They contributed to shaping our unique path, and what we once considered useless experiences now held significant meaning for us.
