The power of communication

I never thought I would be writing about this topic but to this day when I think, I feel good writing about it. Really communication and networking are the two core foundations on top of which success is built. With the same view in my mind, I have joined LA1924 toastmasters club. Last week I gave my first speech which they call it Icebreaker. It was a great feeling and I got a standing ovation :). Just wanted to share my speech with all. So enjoy....

Icebreaker

It was 3 AM and the night could not have been any darker. It was the time of militancy and there was a curfew declared in the town. The silence was so intense that you could hear a leaf rolling on the road. In one tiny corner of a small workshop there was a person working with full concentration and focus. He was working on his sewing machine stitching clothes for people. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Thee DIG of police entered the workshop and asked the person “what are you doing here on a curfew night”. The person replied politely “I am working hard so that my child can have a decent education and a better life”. The person in the workshop was talking about ME and of course he was my father. He made sure that there was no obstacles in my path to get that better life. But he was not alone, behind him was his real strength,.My mom . She is a home-maker and she there was literally always one thing on her mind, that her children that is me and my younger brother who is in his B.Com first year, should have human values and ethics. Thanks to these very special people in my life, I am standing here in front of you.
You always have imprints of some special days in your life. I can still see that day right in front of me. I was studying in Chandigarh, preparing for my engineering entrance exam. It was only 2 months back that to this place. We had a test in our class. I finished the test before everyone and went out running to call my parents. I called them and said I will score the highest amongst the class. They were so proud of me. The next day I got my evaluated exam paper. I thought I was dead. I had made some silly mistake and scored only 69/100. I could not believe it. It felt as if I had betrayed everyone, as if I was not worth anything. I went out called my parents and holding my tears, told them about my marks. Not saying anything else, I went back to my hostel and tried to hide myself in a blanket so that no one can see me. After couple of hours, there was a knock on my hostel door. I had a strange feeling in my heart that I cannot describe. I opened that door and my parents were standing there. I could not hold anymore, I started crying like a small baby and just ran and hugged them hard. To this day, I can feel that hug of my mom and my fathers hand on my head saying, “Don’t worry kid, we are there”.
There was no looking back after that day. I worked hard, very hard. I had that confidence that I can achieve everything. I cleared my exams successfully and got into a good college. I even became the topper of my college. Life was beautiful and I was really happy.
But then a funny thing happened. During my college days, somebody asked me “So Vikas, what do you want to become in life”. I had no clue!!! How many you you remember a very old TV show “Samandar” ? I do. I used to watch it when I was in school. It was about the life in merchant navy and all throughout my school days I wanted to get into navy. Now I thought it was just a child fantasy. But still, I had to find out what I REALLY wanted to do in life. It was around this time when I saw a movie by the name of “Apollo13”. And guess I wanted to become in life now J. Yes I wanted to be a scientist at NASA. I had a mental picture of a scientist and I started behaving like that. I started talking less to people, always sitting in library and reading pretty much about every book on technology J

It didn’t take me long to realize that is not what I wanted and this time there was no movie or show that made me realize. It was life itself. It was through my experience working in Cisco. I wanted to become and businessman. And really once that was clear, every move of mine has been in that direction only and toastmasters is another step in that. What I really feel passionate about, is meeting people, talking to them, understanding them, learning from them and if possible help them. This is what makes me feel alive and always charged up. And that is the reason I joined LA1924. It’s a unique platform that gives me an opportunity to enhance my strengths and work on my weak areas. And while doing so, always giving me a chance to meet so many wonderful people.


In Egyptian culture, they don’t write obituaries, they just ask one question when the person dies. “Did he have passion?”. For my life, I want the answer to be YES.