I’m halfway through to completing my Master’s Degree. This journey has made me realize that going abroad for higher studies is not only about getting good grades and/or looking for job opportunities but its amalgamation of FOCUS, PERSEVERANCE, and DETERMINATION. The motivation for these 3 things somewhat depends on your surroundings i.e. the people around you. It is therefore very important to choose the right people, the people who talk about visions and ideas, the people who make you keep going and inspires you to do something better.

For this, I would like to share a piece of advice that my dad gave me just a day before I was about to leave for the United States.

“My son, it’s all about people. You value them, they value you. As an individual, you can do something, but with a team or bunch of people you can achieve anything. Just CHOOSE THE RIGHT PEOPLE and carry them with you. Because YOU ARE AS GOOD AS THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU.”

Summing it up, Surround yourself with people you regard and aspire to be like. Growth will only take place in teams having such people. So find them and stick by them, ALWAYS.

A great example of this is Marvel’s The Avengers.

The Avengers’ lesson is that ONE is better than one, meaning that one team is better than one person. It is universally different from five people versus one person. A group of five can probably accomplish more than one person alone, but it’s when those five people work together as a team when the magic happens. When you’re part of a team, a truly cohesive unit that functions with a single purpose, you can accomplish wonders.

Exactly a year has passed by. Many things might have changed but the ideology ‘YOU DECIDE YOUR VIBE‘ has been working for me from Day One. Furthermore, I feel that introspecting yourself at regular intervals and adopting a positive attitude in most of the situations certainly helps while you are away from home. During this 1-year Master’s experience, I met some great people, made some good friends, accumulated good things from everyone, always stood up for my people and corrected few if had to and now moving forward with the same intent to another year ahead.

From the beginning until now, believing myself, trusting the process and focusing on the big picture have been my keys. In any journey, it’s fine to make mistakes but you need to learn from it and ensure that they are never repeated. Lastly, always try to celebrate small milestones, keep learning and exploring, and give yourself time to grow because GREAT THINGS TAKE TIME.

So would I rate this year high with respect to transformation? Hmm, probably or was lucky enough to have good people around that helped me achieve it. Now, I’m gearing up onto another great year that’s waiting for me. Before that, I would just like to thank each one of them that has helped this journey be remembered as a great memory for me.

(Originally posted on LinkedIn on 1st Aug 2019)