The Inside Story of my first ever Award

It all seemed  totally crazy to every one who heard that after submission of my entry in a Business Plan Competition and having passed through semifinal, I was NOT going to attend  the FINAL day of competition.

 Yes, the finals were to be held on 27 & 28 th of June, 2012 and these are the days of final exam results of schools, an industry which I am working in as a teacher.
It seemed impossible for the organisers  GIST (http://www.facebook.com/GISTinitiative ) - Global Innovation Through Science & Technology to alter the dates of competition for only me.
It looked like  I had no choice but to back out from this competition at this critical stage.


Fortunately, the organisers allowed to send other members of my team, so we decided to send other two members, Babar and Rumman. They kept preparing for a whole month, but still were not much confident.
I was getting more and more panicky as the days passed by and the final came closer.


Finally, on 27th June, at 8 am, i was totally lost in thoughts at my work place, as this was the day 1 of the workshop/practice for the competition. At this time, both other members were attending the workshop in Dubai (UAE) and I was 2 hours drive away in Abu Dhabi.


Sitting lazily, as I opened a social network on my cellphone, a quote appeared on the small screen : "Never GIVE UP" ... and so common quote as it looks like, yet it worked as a fast forward push button for me. I could not hold on any more and started calling all senior and helpful colleagues, who could take over my pending work and I could get a way to be off to Dubai for this competition.


And... things started working at the fastest speed I could imagine. Within next 15 minutes, I was called by my head, asking what was I still doing there ? with a  sweet scolding and instruction to be out of the premises within 5 minutes !!!


Being not ready with any material at hand, and of course, without any make up accessories ( I would usually be needing for such a programme ), I was driving at 139 kph ( max limit) to Dubai.
The rest of the day and the next day of FINAL were as much hectic as they could be. The first time in my life I didnt  bother about my dress and make up. Just I  remembered that there was an old dress kept at the back of the car, which could be worn on  the final day.
 All I wanted was to get my hand on notes, presentations and start working in my own way.


Within next few hours, almost everything was in control and smooth going. Everybody was feeling alive and energised again.


Amazingly, with all the worsts, that could happen to a female ( old clothes, worn out sandals, lack of style/make up/ etc), the next day, there I was standing and ..... holding the award for the  "BEST  FEMALE  ENTREPRENEUR" for GIST Business Plan Competition 2012. 


http://gist.crdfglobal.org/about-gist/news/2012/06/28/entrepreneurs-from-bangladesh-malaysia-pakistan-take-top-awards-in-gist-i-dare-business-plan-competition


There was a lesson for me .... that I never needed to learn before.


 "NEVER GIVE UP " :)

Pakistani Kids Deserve Positive News

As kids, we were always told that“children are the makers of the future” …. but as we grew up we were  and are still searching for the guidelines to the future we had to make. Moreover,  the same lesson is frequently repeated to our younger ones too. . We only had newspapers or TV to make up our minds as per some pre-determined agenda by the then leaders of the society.

Today’s children see all what is being said, built, developed and portrayed anywhere in the world within seconds after it happens. They can record it, circulate it, and even modify it to the extent of their own  endless imagination.

What You see, What You Get !!! 

This article made its way to you just because today I tried to juggle through hundreds of links of news about Pakistan. And to my utmost horror, TODAY no newspaper in the world had anything POSITIVE to say !!!

Positivity does not mean to highlight the ACCOMPLISHMENTS or individual awards … it requires an attitude. To THINK about FUTURE and its positive prospects.

Infact, each child is born naturally positive. You can see the wonder and amazement  in the little one’s eyes, as they are keen to learn and experiment everything around them. Its the inputs, sounds and  impressions received, that makes one happy/weak/helpless/ etc.

We need to change our mode of news and information. We have to find positive news for our future. 

Today’s Kids and the grown-ups

Many of today’s kids  already  have a sense  of the tough competition they are facing. They are working hard to get good grades in exams.  Some of them are entering and winning in world wide competitions.  But they are also aware of the bitter reality that no one seems to be sincerely working for their future. 


They are watching  the  selfish individuals who are doing no good to society, making everyone suffer, by hook or by crook, not giving a single thought for the true future makers…and  leaving the  future look bleaker than what we used to see for ourselves.

Indeed we have excelled in some areas of technology, yet  the whole lot of upcoming generation can not be accommodated in such a few sectors of economy. 

We need to introduce the concept of diversity and dynamism in our country.  This means an all round development of the society in various areas like sciences, arts, culture, philosophy, entertainment and social well being.

We have a very powerful and well-invested media in the country, but how many times do we hear any good news about present or future?

Lets expect media to break into “Breaking News”  and help the nation  by working through “Making News”.

Lets Change from Within ...

Three years ago, (in early 2009)  after getting some expertise in several online games and virtual worlds… by chance I bumped on in Twitterverse ( the name given to the world of Twitter, a micro-blogging service).  I found it a completely different concept  and all about  REAL people who were keenly looking for finding real friends and real life discussions.

Being humans, it was natural that they all wanted some one to listen to their every day talks or ideas  ranging from domestic chores to international politics.

The unusual fact about this new forum named Twitter was that, unlike games or role play sims, here in the REAL world,  what was prevalent in almost all types of public talks was “NEGATIVITY”.

International Woes and us :

No doubt, on international front, it was the period of severe global recession. The fall of some strongest brand names in financial world amidst mad attempts like suicides of the CEOs or CFOs of various large organizations  were adding to the misery of a common mind.

 Unemployment was at an all time high. It seemed that every body was going to lose everything, they had ever collected or made to lead a normal life. The whole world looked like going to an end.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Late-2000s_recession

 In Pakistan, for a common man, already suffering from usual security/sectarian/ ethnic problems, coupled with the remnants of “controlled democracy” as well as the sad demise of Benazir Bhutto, (Dec 2007), nothing but uncertainty and hopelessness were the most grieving issues.

Positivity is the answer !

In this situation , I and many like me, knowing that we were just small particles in this huge desert of anguish and desperation, started tweeting about “Thinking Positive”, “Spreading Love and kindness” or "Being Optimistic". A social structure of hope and support was immensely needed and created,  to make people understand how to survive and come out unharmed in such circumstances.

Personally,  I had never known this word “Positive” in a sense to create HOPE for future but  I knew one thing, in my whole  life I had never been so “negative” , as was the general trend . Fortunately, now, we all have been nearly through those gloomy days  … but the life’s most important  lessons are yet to be learnt.  

We need to inculcate this “being optimistic” or “being positive” trait in our daily lives.  We do experience grave situations, when people hurt, insult or betray us.  As a result, we feel distressed, angry, tormented, sometimes even to the extent of  “teaching them a lesson or two”. 
The "Being Positive" concept teaches us that instead of “teaching them" we need to use this energy for “learning to live peacefully and growing ourselves as better human beings”.

“Being Positive" or "Being Optimistic"seems like a very simple notion but it is the real solution to the whole sphere of our ongoing problems of social disrespect, intolerance, violence and extremism.  All the religions and beliefs  in the world (including Islam) teach people to remain hopeful, look forward to a better life and never to despair.
 Lets start a new way of living and teach our youngsters the same.