Get Out
“Rajesh (shout in anger!)… Get out of the house. Get out of
your comfort zone?” <a short
pause>… these words from my mom were constantly ringing in my ears… as I was
on the train from Tanjore to Chennai. That was my most unplanned trip in my
life… ever. I was clueless. I did not know where I’m going in Chennai… I did
not know what I’m going to do in Chennai… but, I knew only one thing. I should
prove to my mom that I can stand on my legs…
Dear TMOD, my dear follow and future toastmasters, good
evening.
It was 2nd
May 1993. Celebration, Chaos and Commotion were the order of the day. It was my
college farewell day. I finished my final year engineering exam and I was
having fun with my friends. After the college I came back to my village. I felt
victorious on having finished my degree without any arrears. I spent the next
30 days by relishing Thalaivar movies and chatting with friends. Simply said, I
was TOO busy … <pause> doing nothing.
My mother got very upset When our parents get mad at us… the
first thing they say was “When I was in your age… “ and start to give a gyan.
My mother was no exception.
She started narrating her childhood story. “Rajesh… I lost my
father at the age of 10. Turn of events turned our family upside down. I was
forced to take control of the family at the tender age of 10, for being the
eldest child. I had to support my widow mother and 2 younger sisters. Hardship
in life had become our daily events. I became a teacher at the age of 18 and
made sure that my family settled well”
After the quick flashback, she said, “You are jobless and
wasting your time” I shouted back with top of my ego, it’s your fate you
suffered. I do not have to suffer like you. My strong and adamant mom took a
deep breath and looked into my eyes and said “Get out of the house”
“What’s the big deal ma. I have an engineering degree and I
am a college topper” Like our superstar… I will go to Chennai and get a job and
take care of our family”.
I angrily boarded train to Chennai on that day itself. While
I spoke like superstar to my mom… I didn’t know “how to get rich in just one
song”.
First 100 days of Chennai life made me from a hero (“comb
your hair with hand like Rajinikanth”) to zero (bring both of your hands close
to your heart & chin as if you are afraid… the gesture we do when we want
to control cold… or shiver in cold). I was penniless, jobless and homeless. At
times, I used to stay in Central station and Parry’s bus stand as I did not
have any place to stay in “Singara Chennai”.
That was when; I realized the reel life was different from
real life. Man, it was tough. There were many days when I did not even know
whether I would get money for next meal. That was when; I realized the value of
money and price of hunger. I attended interviews left & right. Finally, I got
a job as a CNC programmer for a meager amount of Rs.800 in the same Guindy
industrial estate. That used to be my pocket money during my college days for a
month. However, I had to work for 8 hours a day to earn that money. That is
when I realized, how tough is to earn money. I worked hard for a year… but,
life didn’t change much.
After a year of working in Chennai, I decided to move to Gujarat
for a better pay with a company accommodation. Being a hardcore Tamilian, I was
scared to death as I did not know Hindi except a line “Ek Gauy Mein, Ek kissan
Raghu thatha. But, I followed my mother’s words. I decided to get out of my
comfort zone of home state. I left the comfort of my village, of Tamil Nadu and
left for a land where I had to learn everything, right from the language of the
soil.
Like our friend, Diksha who came all the way from Simla to
Chennai I went all way from Chennai to Rajkot. Eventually I learned the new
language after the initial hiccups.
I was settled in that job and spent 4 years in Gujarat. I started
settling in my comfort zone again when I was shaken. This time it was
technology. I was working in age old technologies like DBase, Foxpro whereas
the whole world was working in dotnet and other latest technologies. My dream
was to work in latest technology. I kicked my comfort zone again and was back
at Chennai trying hard to get a job in latest technologies. Did I succeed? A
guy like Sampath conducted my technical interview, He asked all tough questions
on the earth for which I was sure, and he did not have the right answer, Not
you sampath. He rejected me. I was
frustrated, furious and frantic I had quit my job in Gujarat to come to Chennai
in pursuit of a dream job in latest technology. But here I was, on crossroads
again. I didn’t give up; I joined a training institute in Chennai in adayar to
learn the latest asp.net and Microsoft technologies. I ran from pillar to post
to seek a job. I worked twice harder than anybody because I was jobless again and
I was running my expenditure on my hard earned PF money.
After a lot of hard work, I got a job in Chennai in web
technologies. That was a welcome break for me. After I joined this job, I
worked twice as harder. In fact, I had a lot of similarities with our company’s
security guard. The only difference between us was… I worked inside the
building and he worked outside the building. We both worked for 18 hours a day;
I was literally living in the company. I did 3 projects simultaneously in 6
months’ time.
I totally ignored the world around me and passionately spent
my time to learn software programmingI even sacrificed my favorite movie watching
habit for 2 years. I stayed away from social gatherings as well.. That is when
I learnt the most. It was sheer focus and concentrated efforts. In two words,
Ishtapattu Kashtapadu.
After 24 months of persisted struggle, I delivered the
project successfully. I went to US for project implementation <pause>from
… Adayar to Atlanta.
I am a normal, average, mamool guy from a small village. If
I can become so successful in life, you can too. Whenever I came out of my
comfort zone, I had to struggle; but… in the end I learnt new things and
experienced a new world. That is right; Necessity is the mother of invention.
However, in 7 years of magerial experience, I see a lot of employees
gave up by a poor performance rating, or broken love or by a reorg and started setting for
comfort zone.
Friends… Life throws you out of balance with a number of experiences
and opportunities. In order to experience something new, you have to get out of
your comfort zone. Are you leading an ordinary life… are you giving ordinary
speeches at our club… are you doing an ordinary job at work… it means that you
are operating within your comfort zone. If you want to be extraordinary, you’ll
have to come out of comfort zone. What takes you to extraordinary? Always Do Your Best. If you touch it, you own it.
I always remember this song whenever I am struggling “Unnakulle
Sakthi irrukke, athai usipita vazhi paru..The power lies with us to do
extraordinary things. Get out of your comfort zone to do extraordinary things,
Rajesh has learned to come out of his comfort zone… Will
you?
Over to you TMOD.
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