Before the world noticed me, 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. And a few stinging failures too.
My first performance on stage was at age 8. My first income was 20 rupees. Before turning 20, I had worked across seven cities and was already a manager. Not because my parents were rich. 𝐁𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬. I trained engineers from HFCL, Bharti, Pentasoft, Infosys, Mahindra British Telecom (MBT), BSNL, and others.
But it wasn’t until 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟒 𝐭𝐨 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟒 that my journey truly shifted. That decade didn’t just test me. It redefined me.
In Australia, I was juggling what looked impossible on paper.
✅ Full-time job
✅ Running a business
✅ Fourth Master’s degree
✅ Projects across time zones and industries
Then came a call: 𝘞𝘦 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘢 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘯𝘴.
The logical part of me said: wait, say no.
Something deeper said: 𝒚𝒐𝒖’𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔, 𝒔𝒂𝒚 𝒚𝒆𝒔.
So I did. I worked when others slept. I delivered what others doubted.
✨ LinkedIn 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟏% 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐞 in 2012 and 2013, and LinkedIn Top Voice in Education
✨ 𝐊𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝟖𝟐, 𝐏𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐱 𝟗𝟗/𝟏𝟎𝟎, 𝐊𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝟗𝟗 (Klout measured global social influence 1 to 100; above 63 placed you in the world’s top 5%)
✨ Top 1% Global Digital Influencer and among the 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝’𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟓𝟎 𝐌𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 alongside Malala Yousafzai and Richard Branson
✨ Trended on Twitter 𝟕𝟖+ 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬, India’s first Twitter Jockey (DWTS, Bigg Boss), 𝟐𝟎 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐬 on Facebook
✨ Best Blogger (Internet Choice Awards 2013), Top Social Media Expert 2006 to 2016, projects worth billions with global leaders and policymakers
But here is what mattered more.
𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬. I did not sell my soul for money. I did not overstep where I was not comfortable. Every yes was genuine. Every boundary was conscious.
The grit I found in myself. My Mamma through every sleepless night. The mentors who saw not just my work, but my worth.
I did not arrive in the 1% by chance. When opportunity knocked, I didn’t say “I’m too busy.”
𝐈 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐝: 𝐋𝐞𝐭’𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧.
𝐓𝐎 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝟏%, 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐃𝐎 𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝟗𝟗% 𝐑𝐄𝐅𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐓𝐎.
Not once. Not for a month. Over and over. With courage. With sacrifice. With consistency.
The decade that tests you is often the one that transforms you. Show up. Say yes. Write the story you will be proud to tell.
𝐒𝐮𝐤𝐡 𝐒𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐡𝐮
Director, CAQA | Editor-in-Chief | ISO Auditor | Poet and Writer
Forbes Business Council Member | United Nations Speaker
Top 100 Global Educator | RTO/AI/HE/ISO Expert
Global Advisory Board Member, Forttuna Education Council
