More Kung fu

No more fundas from me though. Here are two true tales that were emailed across to me in response to the original post. Only the names have been changed, on request. Rest is as is, from my mailbox to you.

Experience 1: From XXX, in Europe

I strongly believe in "If you want something really bad, you will get it". I first came across this philosophy 3-4 years ago while reading Alchemist (Paul Coelho) and then spent a lot of time thinking about my life and if this saying was applicable to me. I could think of only one thing that I had wanted really bad - an MBA from a top school.

It hadn't materialized 4 yrs ago but I hadn't given hope. In fact, when I finished my engineering in 2003, I had admits from some good Indian b-schools but wanted to make it to IIMs. To cut the long story short, for some or other reason I couldn't get into a top school by 2006 end. Till then, I had never thought of MBA abroad thinking that I could never afford it.

At the start of 2007, I started thinking about int'l MBA seriously and decided to go for it in March. Took GMAT in June and got a decent score of 740. Even then, when I decided to apply to YYY (top European bschool), I wasn't sure of an admit. In November, I got the admit and was mighty relieved - finally I had an admit from a school which I was prepared to join.

My story did not end there. The journey from getting an admit to actually joining the school was full of ups and downs. Because of funding constraints, at one time I had almost dropped the plan to join the school. But somehow, things started working out and finally I joined YYY in Sep last year.

Cool, I say! And this next one goes out to the engineer who wanted to know about courses in finance. This could the way forward for you...

Experience 2: from YYY, in Mumbai

...your latest post reminded me of my experiences 6 years back. I was in the final semester of my engineering at Ahmedabad and like a lot of people, I had discovered through those 4 years that I definitely did not want to pursue a further degree in engineering.

Through chance, I happened to read a book on Warren Buffet and was instantly hooked on. I did some more research on my own and with great difficulty managed to complete security analysis bibles like 'Security Analysis - Graham & Dodd' and ' Intelligent Investor - Graham'.

Obviously, being an engineer, I had no clue about finance and economics. But I would ask my queries to a few people who understood finance. At 21, with no formal education in finance, I decided to pursue being a security analyst. Although I did secure an IT job through campus recruitment, thankfully I had no financial compulsion to take up a job immediately ( I realize not many people have this luxury).

So, back to the pursuit for a job in security analysis, I read through articles written by analysts in Outlook Money and similar magazines and sent emails to them saying I was really interested in working for them even if it was for no salary. Through a lot of persistence, I finally managed to get a reply from someone who ran a portfolio management business and was amazing at what I wanted to do.

I moved to Mumbai and worked on a few projects with this person who eventually became my mentor. To cut a long story short, I managed to enter my field of liking (and at 21, I was filled with idealistic notions of 'enjoying your work, money apne aap se aayega' kind of philosophy). Things progressed, I worked in this field for a year, then went back to my small family business to get a practical experience on things, meanwhile completing my international CFA and MBA from ISB, Hyderabad.

Last year, I joined ZZZ (MNC investment bank) in Mumbai as a research analyst. Call it luck, call it persistence, but I agree that if you want something real bad and are prepared to go through pain for it, you eventually get it. I don't profess to have 'achieved' anything much, only that I remembered how things for me were in 2001 when I completed my engineering.

Hope that brings some sunshine in your life on a cloudy Monday morning... Go out and get whatever it is you want. Want it badly enough and it will find a way to come to you!

P.S. 'Alchemistry' works with careers - at least it did for these two people. But does it work in friendships and relationships? Will the girl/ guy you see at the bus stop everyday and secretly have the hots for, one day fall for you? Because you really really want them to, badly...

Anyone with success stories in that area, please to share. Kyunki arz hai ki...

Career ke alaava aur bhi gham hain zamaane mein, aur bhi khushiyan
Premi aur stalker mein zyada fark nahin, bas ek ko padti hain jootiyan.