First 6 years of my career were a total failure. I was laid off just a couple of years after I started working. I started a business that never took off. I endured for 6 years trying different things from coding to web development, from graphic design to copywriting. I even tried my hand at selling IT services, with only modest success. 

I thought 6 precious and formative years were lost. It is only after I started my corporate career again in 2004 that I started realizing the value of all that struggle. 

At work, I could do many things and that was my super-power. I could write code, decipher code written by others, I could write about it, I could communicate well, I could sell my ideas, I could deliver trainings, I could learn rapidly. Because those years of struggle prepared me for it. The diversity of experiences gained in those tough years propelled me into trajectory of growth. I could take on cross-functional assignments and challenges, learn at the speed of change and never take anything for granted. 

In the hindsight, those 6 years were the most fruitful years of my life. 

It is only when we are lost and clueless that we are introduced to our real powers as human beings. It’s only when a spring is pressed that we know how much it can bounce back. 

I read this beautiful couplet that resonated:  

“भटकनों में अर्थ होता है, 
टूटना कब व्यर्थ होता है
शक्ति की खोई हुई पहचान जगती है, 
आदमी जब बेतरह असमर्थ होता है।”

Loosely translated, it says..

“There is a meaning in getting lost,
It is not in vain to have a broken-heart,
A new-found recognition of hidden strength emerges, 
When one is totally trapped and helpless.”

Bob Riley said,

“Hard times don’t create heroes. It is during the hard times when the “hero” within us is revealed.”