You may know him or not, but in a country considered to be a developing country like Nigeria, Mr Rahul Shrivastava, Indian’s currently serving Ambassador to Venezuela, has got a lot of experience that stands him out from his peers. At 40 years of age, he was appointed to become Ambassador to Venezuela.
I was attempting to answer a question notification on my Quora time-line when Mr Rahul’s post caught my eye. He narrated a beautiful experience, and the subsequent success he achieved, after listening to the golden advice he got from his mother. He shared this on Quora. Mr Rahul works at the Indian Foriegn Service Commission and is Quora’s Top Writer 2017
After schooling in India, the best go to engineering and medical colleges. The cream goes to the IITs (for engineering) or AIIMS (for medicine). I attempted to get into IIT but failed. I had not applied to any other engineering college and was not interested in taking a second attempt to IIT. Therefore, I ended up studying Chemistry in a mid-ranked University.
By the time I was completing my under-grad, I seemed to be losing the race. My classmates (doing engineering or medicine) were shortly to start working. If I continued to study Chemistry, I would have got a job only if I completed my PhD, which seemed far away.
I decided to change course. I got into MCA (Masters degree in Computer Applications). I soon found out that I might get a job but computers was the last thing I loved.
I then put my heart and soul into preparing for the Civil Services Exam to pursue my childhood dream – becoming a diplomat. And finally, when I got through, I was on cloud nine. I felt like I had beaten everyone at the race.
I came down to earth when my mother told me, ‘Remember that the more a tree gets laden with fruits, the more it bends.’ I think of my mother’s advice whenever I feel too full of myself. And it has served me well. Two years ago, at 40, I got appointed as the youngest Ambassador of my country.
