By Sanjay Wadhwa
Director, Phenom Services Pvt Ltd
A friend of mine called to ask my opinion on what her daughter should do to build her career further. Her daughter had finished her graduation and was wondering whether or not she should pursue an MBA.
This conversation took me some 20 years back to when I had just graduated. Not knowing what I wanted to do, I had taken up the first job that came to me. It was a sales job. Very soon, I realized that it wasn’t my cup of tea. After meandering from one job to another for six years, I was told by someone that I should attend a personality development course that would help me with my career and possibly with my life.
Very soon, I found myself sitting in one such programme being conducted in a huge auditorium. I distinctly remember enjoying the experience very much and also the fact that this one person – the trainer- had so much charisma that he had most of the 300 people sitting in the audience dancing to his tunes. I was impressed. For a starry-eyed young man, this programme helped me realize that if I put my mind to it, a lot more was possible.
During the programme, I realized that choices in life are not about choosing one thing from another based on pros and cons. Choices in life are about declaring. Declarations decide your future. You declare and then put all your thought, might and action to live from that declaration. You then deal with all challenges and obstacles from the place of having that declaration turn out. Love is a choice. You declare – “I love you” and then put all your thoughts and actions to have the experience of love be present. A few days after the programme, I made my choice, a bold declaration – I wanted to be a trainer. A trainer who could shape human potential. A trainer who would contribute to the growth of others.
When I shared this with people, half of them didn’t understand what I meant by “trainer” and looked at me with blank expressions. The only trainer they had seen was in their gym. The others who knew were amused, because for them, trainers came with 20-25 years of experience in that domain and their argument was that I wasn’t even that age. Nevertheless, my heart was set. I had made my choice. All my thoughts and actions were now spent in the service of that declaration.
I decided to become the kind of person who is fit to be a trainer. I developed the habit of reading. I would read a book on weekdays while travelling to and from my sales job and then put a group of my friends in a room and train them on shaping their careers and their lives on weekends. I started looking for opportunities to meet other trainers and seek guidance. Someone pointed me to training certifications. Since then, I have seven international certifications.
Within 13 months of my declaration, I trained for the first time and got paid for it. I have since trained more than 30,000 people in more than 18 industries from six different countries. I have coached CEOs to take their business to the next level and I have trained other trainers.
So my answer to my friend who was enquiring about the actions her daughter should take is that she should make a choice – declare and then do all that is required to make that declaration come true. Because that’s how futures are shaped.
Feedback: sanjay@phenomindia.com
