GOING BACK TO INNOCENCE..
So yesterday I went to my baby nephews school play where he was an adorable deer. I think the best deer out of the lot…. (but then again thats just a proud aunt talking). While the performance was going on I saw something in the eyes of all of those 700 kids that I haven't seen in such a long time…. INNOCENCE!!!
This wasn't the innocence that was based on the lack of knowledge or maturity. This was the innocence that made them believe that the SKY truly was just the beginning; where anything was possible. Where ambition knew no bounds. Where all your goals were within your grasp and were possible. That belief that when you are older you will be somebody great and achieve success almost instantly. I would give my right arm for that state of mind again.
That state of INNOCENCE hasn't be tainted by office politics or the power of hierarchy in corporate organisations. Being told constantly that any idea isn't possible and won't work. The mind is an unformed and can give shape to unique possibilities each time it sets out to do so. NO, Can't be done, This won't work etc. are phrases that won't exists because of the naivety of the mind they keep trying and keep trying till they get there.
I remember sitting in my classroom in school saying I will start my own company one day….. That thought followed me right through college, university and my professional life. Now finally it has become a reality. The only reason why I didn't take this plunge before is because of the self doubt.
I remember sitting in my friends dorm room in Switzerland having a conversation about our futures. We were so cocky and full of ourselves. But we also had the confidence which made us feel unconquerable. We knew that hard work paid off cause we always saw the unbiased results our tutors gave us. This was in a way self assuring and motivating because you knew if you got a bad grade its because you didn't put in the effort.
Sometimes I would fail and Richard was always there to pick me up and say "Hell have no fury as Zeenia when she is angry…" A sense of pride and bravado would take over and I would get up and get myself back to the drawing board till I got it right.
I carried this attitude with me to my first place of work. After having worked for six months I realised that you had to work within the confined areas of guidelines and protocols with no room for innovation or creativity. My colleagues were frustrated and de motivated and no one took ownership and pride in there work. I left shortly after.
This similar sort of experience replicated itself everywhere I went until I could no longer breath…. I felt suffocated. I didn't want to take orders or direction anymore. In a way I went rogue. I reached a point where no one understood me and that angered me even more. The lack of appreciation and random management decisions drove to breaking point. I felt I had peaked at 21, where one day out of the blue I printed my resignation and handed it over.
That day I was scared. My hands trembled. I did not have a plan B. This was it. I sat alone on the sea front having local chai till I came to grips with everything. Then the next day I got my first small break and I have never looked back. It has given me the opportunity to bring back that innocence and take life ahead with renewed vigour.
This wasn't the innocence that was based on the lack of knowledge or maturity. This was the innocence that made them believe that the SKY truly was just the beginning; where anything was possible. Where ambition knew no bounds. Where all your goals were within your grasp and were possible. That belief that when you are older you will be somebody great and achieve success almost instantly. I would give my right arm for that state of mind again.
That state of INNOCENCE hasn't be tainted by office politics or the power of hierarchy in corporate organisations. Being told constantly that any idea isn't possible and won't work. The mind is an unformed and can give shape to unique possibilities each time it sets out to do so. NO, Can't be done, This won't work etc. are phrases that won't exists because of the naivety of the mind they keep trying and keep trying till they get there.
I remember sitting in my classroom in school saying I will start my own company one day….. That thought followed me right through college, university and my professional life. Now finally it has become a reality. The only reason why I didn't take this plunge before is because of the self doubt.
I remember sitting in my friends dorm room in Switzerland having a conversation about our futures. We were so cocky and full of ourselves. But we also had the confidence which made us feel unconquerable. We knew that hard work paid off cause we always saw the unbiased results our tutors gave us. This was in a way self assuring and motivating because you knew if you got a bad grade its because you didn't put in the effort.
Sometimes I would fail and Richard was always there to pick me up and say "Hell have no fury as Zeenia when she is angry…" A sense of pride and bravado would take over and I would get up and get myself back to the drawing board till I got it right.
I carried this attitude with me to my first place of work. After having worked for six months I realised that you had to work within the confined areas of guidelines and protocols with no room for innovation or creativity. My colleagues were frustrated and de motivated and no one took ownership and pride in there work. I left shortly after.
This similar sort of experience replicated itself everywhere I went until I could no longer breath…. I felt suffocated. I didn't want to take orders or direction anymore. In a way I went rogue. I reached a point where no one understood me and that angered me even more. The lack of appreciation and random management decisions drove to breaking point. I felt I had peaked at 21, where one day out of the blue I printed my resignation and handed it over.
That day I was scared. My hands trembled. I did not have a plan B. This was it. I sat alone on the sea front having local chai till I came to grips with everything. Then the next day I got my first small break and I have never looked back. It has given me the opportunity to bring back that innocence and take life ahead with renewed vigour.
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