Perseverance, Patience & Hard work always pays off
Deepika C A, Senior Engineering Manager
At Palo Alto Networks in my experience of leading and managing a quality team is, “You don’t have to be waiting to be heard, you can pick up any problem to solve, and the solution is always acknowledged and appreciated. You have the freedom to create your own impact on the product and the customers.”
My Story
I am one of the lucky ones. I grew up with a family who pampered and showered me with so much love and support. There are three great women in my life whom I cannot thank enough for leading and shaping me. My grandmother’s agenda of making the next-gen in the family to be great humans first and the need for discipline and hard work is never directly known. My mother taught me patience and encouraged me to never give up. My friend and colleague who showed me support and guidance in times of need. All these were narrated to me with their moral life stories and instances, which guided me through some tough situations. I still remember those stories which helps me in decision-making and doing the right thing. The values I learned through my role models shaped me to who I am today.
My grandmother taught me perseverance as an ingredient to success. It’s the failures which teaches you the most and is the stepping stone to success. Through my grandmother, I learned that you always succeed by not committing the errors while you failed, but never giving up until you reach what you want. This may come with a cost of self-doubt. My grandmother was a homemaker- a 24/7, full-time, unpaid job. It’s not an easy job, but I never heard her complain once. Her time management skills amazes me even today. Although I am not even 1% of who she is in my calculation, she has been a role model for me to never give up and never complain.
My mother showed me patience and strength. My mother is the primary reason why I am in the software industry. She is the reason I continue to learn and contribute whenever and whatever I can. There was a time in my life when I needed to decide if I had to continue to acquire my engineering degree or switch to any small-time job. It was a difficult time in my life, when we lost my father. At the time, he was the only breadwinner in our household. It was my parent’s dream for me to become an engineer. My mother wanted this dream to become reality and so with zero support from anyone, my mother decided to raise my brother & me with whatever was left. It was not an easy path for us, financially speaking — it was very tough. There were many odds that came her way, but watching both of us succeed in our lives was worth it for her. My brother practices medicine, while I became an engineer. Patience is what I learned from her. She also teaches giving back is when we earn more in terms of satisfaction and sense of accomplishment. Measures for success are not always in terms of money. Whatever I do out of work is an inspiration by her.
My mentor, friend, well-wisher, Bhavani Ganapathy, is the one whom I fortunately met at work in 2004. She has been a guiding guru for me, mentoring me in all areas of opportunity and is available any time, as much time as I need. She is a role model for hard work and as they say there is never a shortcut for success. She has demonstrated it all the way in her career as well as her personal experiences. The importance of acquiring skills and that learning never stops till we breath the last is the inspiration I take from her. Her belief is, “There is always a solution to a problem as long as it’s done right. Do not try to take a shortcut to find a short term quick fix right away.” I am reminded of this so many times during decision making
Beyond Work
A passion of mine has always been sharing learnings from my experiences. I spent some time visiting colleges to understand what the current generation is facing. I enjoy spending time with the students helping them code and ensuring they are having fun with it.
Back then information was not that easy to obtain with a click of a button. Can you believe I spent nearly a month constructing a very simple code snippet, which can now be done in minutes, just by googling? Owning a textbook was a costly affair and google was not an option. Trial and error were the only way. Never stop attempting because if you fail you will find another way to solve. Helping students on this also brings in new perspectives and thoughts for me too.
I was as well fortunate to stumble across a group of folks who worked towards helping lesser privileged girls by raising money to provide them with basic necessities of school supplies and adopting them to finish their education. Encouraging them to dream and achieve whatever they wish for. Visiting a school in Gudibande, a place near Bangalore for this purpose always energizes and motivates me and also imbibes such positivity in self.
People say, “It takes a village to raise a child”. I believe for one to be successful in any aspect is possible because there are driving forces behind the scenes which make it happen for one to own the taste of success. Yes, there are so many men and women who have contributed to my success in terms of support and drive that I could achieve and do. My brother, my teacher and special friends and colleagues all these men have showered support when needed. This is why it is important for me to give back to those who aren’t as lucky to have a strong support system around. It is my turn to mentor those who are not as privileged as I and pay it forward.
