We have always seen in many of the movies and also in real life, that parents always wish for their child to do well in studies so that he/she may get into some good college for either Engineering or Medical. There doesn’t seem to be a third career option in their minds. Even we try and follow the path that they try to lay before us, without giving it much thought. It just feels easier maybe, but by the time many of us do realize that it’s not where our actual interest lies in, it’s too late. By then, we either find ourselves already in one of those colleges, or worse still, in one of those professions. Fearing that turning back now would make people think of us as failures rather than understanding the actual reason, we continue with the path already chosen, till the end of our days. Moreover, it seems as the safest option, doesn’t it?

Though the world is progressing drastically and a wide range of career opportunities are opening up, yet Engineering and Medical seems to be the most sought after career options. Any other career option apart from these seems to have a lot of risk involved, and managing to have a successful career in anything apart from these, the possibility seems to be minimal. What people overlook is that Engineering and Medical also have the same percentage of risk involved. Not everyone with an Engineering or Medical degree manages to be successful, and is then made to feel like a failure in life. They are made to believe that they are good for nothing. No consideration is given to the fact that maybe their hearts lie elsewhere and had they been given the chance to follow it, they could also have been successful, and mostly importantly, happy!

It’s not that one may never gain success at a profession that they don’t enjoy, but they will never feel the satisfaction or any excitement linked to it. A person’s success greatly depends on how hardworking and dedicated he/she is, so with these qualities, a person is sure to succeed at any profession they choose. Just imagine the joy they will receive when they succeed at a profession of their liking.

Nowadays, we do see a lot of people choosing various different career options. There are also few brave souls who believe it’s never too late to follow your heart and have had the courage to pursue it and actually ace it, setting an example to many. Below I am sharing the life stories of few such people, who have, unknowingly motivated me and left me awestruck by their willpower.

A very close friend of mine did her LLB and further pursued her LLM from a very reputed University in London. After coming back to India, she got a job at a renowned law firm and started her career as an Advocate. She worked for more than a year, and since her qualifications were great, she received good salary from the very beginning itself. But she wasn’t happy as she didn’t enjoy her work. Finally, after a year and a half, she made the hard decision and quit her well-paying job and decided to do something completely different. At first she started her own venture along with one of her friend, and it did pretty well. Though she liked it, she felt it wasn’t good as a long term goal, and she finally switched to digital marketing, and it turned out to be the best decision for her. She has always been good with anything related to creativity and originality, and this helped her soon become popular among her clients. She enjoyed her work and her dedication and hard work helped her grow. She soon reached the height she always aimed for.

Another such example is of a classmate of mine I have always admired. She is blessed with amazingly good looks, is smart and hardworking, and very good in studies. I was sure that she had a bright future ahead. She started her career in Actuarial Science, and according to me, it seemed to be such a perfect career option for her. Few years back I got to know that she had switched her job profile and is now a Makeup Artist (MUA).

Initially I was a little confused as to why had she left her secure job and taken such a risk. There are so many MUA and to make you a known name among them would surely require a lot of time, hard-work and patience. But she was ready for it. Initially she took proper training and certification courses to perfect her in this field. Then, she opened up her own studio, and began marketing her talent through social media channels. Her work just seemed so amazing. I even had the privilege to get decked up by her once and was awestruck by her dedication. She was just perfect at her profession and had an eye for every minute detail. It didn’t take her long to make herself a well-known name as a MUA irrespective of the huge competition.

This made me realize that when you enjoy your work, you can overcome the greatest of obstacles. No one can stop you from reaching the height that you deserve and aim for.

Why is it said that we should do what we love? It is because, only when we seriously love what we do, we tend to dedicate ourselves completely into it. We put our heart, mind and soul into it, and thus the outcome we get from it is simply the best we could ever give.

Practically it is not possible for each one of us to give up our secure jobs to follow our hearts, as everything requires time and money. What we can do instead is that, we could start first by actually trying to understand what it that we really enjoy doing is. We may start by dedicating a few hours of our day on it on a daily basis (as consistency is the key), and then slowly mastering it. Then when we are confident enough about our choice, we need to decide on how we want to go ahead with it. We need to keep an open mind for failures and be ready to take the risk that is involved.

One very logical quote that beautifully defines the pleasure, as well as the risk involved when we follow our heart, goes as follows: