“The question isn't who is going to let me; it's who is going to stop me.”
- Ayn Rand
If I ever win any award for the achievements in my life (yes, I am sure I will!), it would be appropriate if I contribute it to this one line pasted above. When I read “The Fountainhead” for the first time (I have read it many times over after that),I thought this was the most significant one and it awakened in me the real person who continues to stare at one question since then…Who is the real me??
I wouldn’t say I have found the answer to it completely, but in this quest for a meaningful life, I have stumbled upon many facets of me which were, hitherto, unknown to my inner self. For example, after almost 20 years of religious belief that “I am nothing but an average Indian girl”, I now strongly believe, it would be an insult to my life if I die without showcasing the best in me to the world. I do not know what is that best thing about me that I am trying to get it in the open, but I have observed that from the day I pledged to do so, I often hear a knock on my otherwise closed doors of my mind. I would call it life and it urges me to throw them open forever!
When the first time life knocked, I was shocked! I couldn’t believe there was a world outside who can be my visitors. I was scared to think how it would be, rather should I open the doors to a knock that introduces itself as life, but still threatens to change everything in me forever? I was hard pressed for answers. As usual, I tried to seek it outside. In other words, I tried everything to ignore the knock. Then came the defining moment. I can’t define whether it was the book that shook the foundations of my thought process or the culture that my parents ingrained in me, but I found the courage to name the exact thought in my mind: I am craving for the change. I am craving for a more fulfilling life. To be more precise, I am craving to convert myself to the real me! I understood, that the world outside may be different and scary but how would I ever know if I would never try it!! That moment when I shed all inhibitions and welcomed life in open arms, I realized what warmth it brought with it. Since then, it has allowed me to do nothing but identify the best in me and give to the world. Two years back, I was a girl who would let average pass by as acceptable. Today, when I write for my quickly multiplying clients, I would give them nothing short of the best. If this change amazes me, what astounds me most is the fact that I no more want my life to be spent as an unknown face. I am now determined to mark my steps to the top. As my inspiration (who ranks the second after Ayn Rand in my inspiration list) says, “Success has to be exponential, not step by step”, I am focused now to turn it to reality.
Life is now a regular visitor. It brings with it many gifts for me…my favourite gift, though, is Happiness..Life says it always gets that for me because I was one of the few who let it in!! Well, why don’t you let it in???
