I love books. I always have a book in my bag whenever I travel.
In the year 2000, I used to travel in a bus to go to my office. I used to board the bus from the starting point and so I would pick up a decent seat and get going with my book.
One day a lady sat next to me. She noticed me reading the book and asked me what the book was about? I told her that it was a self help book- Tough time never last, tough people do.
She asked me to tell me more about the book. I started explaining the main points. She said,” You explain well. Would you like to deliver a lecture at my institute? I will pay you an honorarium.”
I was a little surprised and asked her, “On what topic would you like me to talk about?” She said, “Well, I run an institute for Multimedia. How about a talk on - Career in Multimedia and some personality development tips?” I had recently read a detailed article about ‘Career in Multimedia’ in the Times of India and with lot of confidence I said, “Sure. Let me know when you would like me to talk?”
We exchanged numbers and a Sunday was fixed for my talk. I prepared well and delivered my talk. It went fairly well. Once the talk was over, I had a cup of tea with that lady and she gave me an envelope with a smiley and a thank you written over it.
It was my foray into delivering guest lectures. I delivered a session for ISB Mohali in the year 2017 and while the host was thanking me for the wonderful session, images from my first guest lecture were crossing my mind. On my way to the airport, I was recollecting the amazing journey of my training sessions and workshops.
I got this message today from a student who completed her WhatsApp based course and such messages make me love my profession more and more. I think I know my IKIGAI...
