Things that matter
A small goal that becomes a big motivation!
Many times, specific, small motivating goals drive us to reach a significant milestone. These goals can be very personal; it may have high emotional value to you but may not make sense to others. This article is about one such goal that I recently achieved.
~10 years ago, when my friends and I were doing our undergrad studies, we used to fantasize about the business cards that corporate personnel used to carry. I loved the swag of exchanging contact details by this crisp, entirely rectangle piece of thick paper with a clearly defined logo of an organization and a professional title. As a college kid, these cards with successful titles always fascinated me — a title you could only envision achieving after graduating with flying colors. Sheer imagination of exchanging business cards with clients, along with a firm shake of a hand, and a statement saying, “It was a pleasure doing business with you”, had motivated me to perform better in college.
I was so eager to get a business card that I printed one of my own at one point in time. However, the absence of a company’s brand name and a title never really satisfied the urge. It was clear to me that I would need to be patient and diligent towards achieving this goal.
As time flew, technology took over the world! Now, most of the people were connecting on-the-go with just a click on LinkedIn. Of course, LinkedIn is a logical solution to many of the networking challenges. These days no one would want to maintain a pile of business cards and search for it when they need to connect with that person. LinkedIn makes sense. But somehow, over the years, I still evaluated my career progression on a simple fact — would I be able to get a business card of my own? So far in my career, I never got an option to get a business card because of my work’s nature.
A recent job change allowed me to join a reputed biotech company as a full-time employee. I was pumped for several reasons — a good work profile, great culture, growth, and learning opportunities. Having realized all the perks, I also knew that, finally, having a business card was also one of the key reasons for my happiness.
I know that the generation has shifted to technology, and paper is too old school. But still, in my first week at work, I got my business card! It was one of the most satisfying moments of my career. I could feel that all my hard work has paid its due, and I have finally achieved my goal.
I am very excited to share this story with you. Please share your thoughts on this article. Was it motivating? Were you able to connect with this story? What are such motivational fantasies that drive you forward?
Thank you for reading.
Regards,
Ananya