Discovering our IKIGAI through personal definition of success and spirit of enterprise
I felt a personal obligation to do something bigger……. To me success means a good night’s sleep with malice towards none. All you need to do is make a choice. Just take the decision. Because if you don’t, someone else will.
It was November 2013. I was gearing up to celebrate a decade as a working professional. And the likelihood of being jobless was staring at me. I had just completed a two-year stint at the world’s number one PR firm in their co-headquarters, Chicago. I was to come back and join the Gurgaon office. However, the vacancy they had for me was in Mumbai and I had sold my apartment in Mumbai and purchased one in Gurgaon in 2011. Also, while I had could have a joined a competing PR firm, I felt a personal obligation to do something bigger. To give back to the professional community in India because I had got so much in the two years. And I had got so much just by living in an American city and exposing myself to tens of opportunities.
So, 2014 was a particularly interesting year. With not much of savings I was looking at embracing the consultant mode. I had always imagined I would be in a structured job. This was not to be. I took up three assignments of varying duration throughout the year. My first stint at saving had begun. While in the US every dollar I saved was spent to visit over 25 cities in as many states. I had a great time. The time to make some sacrifices and save was upon me. Three things happened. First, PRAXIS had begun to pick up steam. This annual event that had been created as a one-off was now in its third year. Completely crowd funded it had become a signature summit in the calendar of several professionals. Second, a portal that had launched as a news outlet for the fraternity began dabbling in events. My regular partners were nudging me to create a respectable home-grown media outlet. Third, a real need for an academy that trains entry-level PR practitioners was being felt. All these three were connected. A training academy, a media outlet and a learning conference.
I decided to bell these cats because someone had to do them. They came with considerable amount of reputational and financial risk. Reputational risk because they had to be launched with fanfare and had the potential to fail. Financial risk because there is no major revenue for a media outlet that does not do news. And a training academy has a lot of costs in the initial years. Fortunately, for all these three I found half a dozen anchors in the form of lead sponsors, lead investors and lead patrons. There was no turning back. The one-man army needed help. So, I reached out to two people whom I had barely known and invited them to join the #PRSchool venture. They agreed. I then waited a year and invited two other friends who were looking for a change to join the content and event venture. After three editions of PRAXIS and three weeks of running Reputation Today in beta, we had a secretariat where three people could comfortably sit and three more if we squeezed ourselves in.
Well, the joy of being on one’s own and running an enterprise however tiny it maybe comes with an air of joy and happiness that one will never experience in a salaried job. So, the three of us took a decision that we will always run like a start-up and be a social enterprise at the core. Money won’t be our primary motive, but we will ensure there will not be a financial strain. On us as individuals and on the enterprise. Everyone has the freedom to make responsible choices. We ensure the office is shut for two weeks each year and over and above that the team members can take time off twice for a week each at other times thus ensuring a great work-life balance. At 39, I feel like I have retired because I have no encumbrances, a decent amount of savings compared to five years ago, zero EMIs which can be burdensome however well to do one is. And most of all I make sure I take one week of time off every quarter.
All this was possible because of a dedicated team (led by Roshan, Hemant, Anubhuti; supported by Gurbani, Ameeta, Vineeta, Shreya Doshi; and in the past with Radhika, Julia, Ratnanjali, Amani). As I turn 40 this year, I plan to give back even more — by mentoring four organisations/individuals to bring their event ideas to life. To write 52 chapters of personal and professional thoughts. And to support individuals/organisations with grants for a better tomorrow.
I was fortunate to find my purpose early on. To me success means a good night’s sleep with malice towards none. It’s easy. All you need to do is make a choice. Just take the decision. Because if you don’t, someone else will.
