“Half the ambition is achieved when we overcome our fears,” said Mr K. Kalyan Sundaram, Director, Excell Career India. He was speaking at a Business Line Club lecture, presented by Central Bank of India, at Shree Motilal Kanhaiyalal Fomra Institute of Technology here recently.

He was talking on ‘Goal-Setting for a Meaningful Career' to students of management at the Institute. “… your own heart should sing and dance while being in (a) profession every moment,” he advised the students. To be successful, “the most important aspect is faith.” “Faith is the bird which sings when the dawn is still dark. … To become motivated, identify all that you love and fill your heart with it.”

There will be a lot of banking and insurance jobs as the Centre increases emphasis on financial inclusion, he said. Infrastructure is also an important industry, given the stress it has received in the 12th Five Year Plan.

“Your focus should be on career growth and not on salary alone. Love for the job is more important than the love of the employer,” he said. Invest in knowledge while working, as professional obsolescence will not be tolerated in any organisation, he said. Learn how to manage stress and thrive under pressure, he cautioned.

There are ample opportunities for entrepreneurs too, especially as the Government is now also encouraging public-private partnerships. “For starting any business, … one should always have a short-term plan and long-term aspiration and balance that.”

“Be a rock star at work, approach your day's work as if you are on stage and giving a performance.”

In the end, he told students not to forget that “we are all mere temporary custodians of the wealth we generate.” “The best use of all your wealth is to share it with those less fortunate. I believe that we have all at sometime eaten the fruit from trees that we did not plant.”

> vipul.v@thehindu.co.in

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