This is the first in the series of many un-heard inspirational stories..!

You have read and heard about inspirational stories of great personalities..

This one is slightly different because inspiring citizen is giving you the opportunity to talk to the world and inspire them to take action, through your inspirational story.

Let’s walk through the words of the inspirational village girl who is obviously gorgeous(trust you have seen her in the picture that forms a part of this article).

I am a dynamic and gorgeous (people say that) young girl hailing from a village in the southern part of God’s own country. I would like to introduce myself with a quote..

According to Norman Vincent Peale, “Believe in yourself! Have faith in your abilities! Without a humble but reasonable confidence in your own powers you cannot be successful or happy.”

Dear friend, I would rather say that its really true. Believe in yourself and have self confidence..Yes, I have believed in myself and my skills. This is the first and foremost reason, for where I am today…

Are you asking for my identity?                                                                                                                                          

Well, my parents named me Manisha and if I feel there is a genuine interest in you to connect with me, then I would be glad to connect with you as well.

Since my father was with the Indian Army, I got an opportunity to see and live in different parts of India.

Knowing people is the best experience in life, because you will get different things to learn which you will never find elsewhere, even in Google..!

In one of the inspirational stories Arnold Schwarzenegger has said -

“Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strengths. When you go through hardships and decide not to surrender, that is strength.”

I am one among those people like you who has struggled a lot and developed my strengths, self confidence and courage. Have touched the 25 mark last January and in the past 25 years I have learned a lot, struggled a lot.. I started working right after my higher secondary education and started my career as a teacher (taking private tuition’s . The thought of working at a young age was a result of my determination to help myself. So I can tell you that I am a self made girl, who is street smart…!

I had a wish to do my post graduation. However I was forced to join for a short term course in ‘Airline Passenger Service Management’ because of the financial crunch in my family… Even though that choice was wrong, I got the opportunity to explore many inspiring people who have helped me realize my potential.

I completed graduation in 2008 and enrolled myself for Airline Passenger Service Management course in the same year.
2008 was awful for me…!

My father met with an accident and he was forced to take a voluntary retirement from the Indian Army. Since my dad came with a VR, it took almost an year for him to get his pension. As he was the only bread winner, we had gone through severe financial crisis in 2008. I was looking for a job in each nook and corner and finally after 3 months of constant knocking, I found my first job with the help of my mentor.

So in July 2008 I got my first job. And my first salary was Rs 4500 (hardly $100).

That was a big amount for me, way back in 2008. I was the only bread winner of my family, since my dad did’nt have any other income stream. Listen friends, I had to attend my classes from from 8:30 am till 12:30 pm and I used to report for work by 1 pm. The rat race was challenging, but made me tough, both mentally and physically.

I hardly had 30 minutes break and within that time I had to change my uniform, take a bus and reach the work place.

Are you asking me what about lunch?

Hmm…The term lunch was a fantasy to me, for nearly 6 months.

This is something that my parents have not known till date.Even a single rupee was vital for me to keep my family going. I used to tell them that lunch will be provided in the workplace…

The switch from a tuition teacher to that of a sales executive was quite dramatic. So from 1 pm till 7:30 I had to sell tour packages to devil’s own people, from God’s own country…he he..Just kidding..! Malayalees are of the most wonderful people on planet earth…

With 4.5K, I took care of my households, dad’s treatment, my travel expense, my studies and other overheads.

You can live an average life in India with that amount if you are a bachelor, but literally tough if you are a family of 4…
If you are a from a developed nation and facing a financial crisis, I welcome you to come and explore this beautiful nation called India, which is economically viable and excellent at heart…

By the grace of God, I got a better job in Dec 2008, with a higher salary package.

This time it was a US call center and I started living the life of an Owl. I had slogged from 8:30 pm till 5:30 am, 5 days a week….! This is when I started living in a hostel. At times I felt I was in hell.. The food was pathetic and cleanliness was horrible, but sometimes you have to live with it because of your situations in life..Time passed by and my course got over in June 2009.
Life was slowly getting better by then..

But, “There is an uphill for every downhill, and a downhill for every uphill.” This time life gave me a strong punch on my left cheek, last time it was the right cheek..he he he…With each knock she teaches me some great lessons..Last time she taught me how to lead a minimalist life and this time I was as eager as you are..

We couldn’t repay our home loan and this nationalized bank was kind enough to throw us out of our home….Hip Hip Hurray..! What next?? We were left stranded..! We stayed at one of our relative’s home for a few months..

During this time I took a day job, as a student councilor in a UK based college, along with my job in the call center.

Now what??

My typical work day used to start from 9 am and go on till 5:30 am. I hardly slept for 3 hours a day, during those days.

To be honest, even if it was really hectic, I enjoyed those days a lot.

No time for sleep, no time for food, no time for masti and no time to take care of myself; but still it was really good because I was doing that for my family. And after 2 years of struggle, I managed to settle almost all issues in my family and we got our home back as well.

After that I quit my day job. Once everything got settled, I pursued my dream of becoming a post graduate in business administration. Now I have completed my MBA, qualified for NET (National Eligibility Test) and qualified for IBPS (Institute of Banking Personnel Selection) as well. To add more joy I also got promoted as a Team leader from my primary role as a sales executive.

Dear friend, what do you do when you are faced with a problem?.

I guess, most people start blaming others and life for their problems, rather than thinking of solutions.
You are actually blessed with amazing capabilities to come out of your problem. Start believing in yourself and create an inspirational story from your life for others to get inspired.

Once, my mentor had told me, which I still remember, “There are two kinds of people in this world, one is good and the other is ignorant”.

Friends, please note, its not good and bad, its either GOOD or IGNORANT.…

I agree with him to the core.

You might be wondering why I am pertaining to this at this juncture. Let me tell you, during my tough times there were many people who criticized me for taking a night shift and working for nearly 19 hours.

Now I am in a stage where these people ask me about the best option career option for their kids and I really feel proud about myself. Sometimes you have to feel proud about yourself which will definitely increase your self confidence..I have read inspirational stories of many great people and in all those inspirational stories they have mentioned the importance of self-confidence.

Friends, achievement comes from optimism. If you are optimistic, even in the worst situations of life, you will come out successful, as the phoenix from the ashes..And don’t forget about self confidence..If you wan’t to gain more self confidence you can either read inspirational stories or read this now.

You have be self confident and strong enough to face the barriers in life.

Always learn things from your past and work for your future.

People say, live in the present. But from my experience I will say; live for the future even though its a myth, for that matter of fact life itself is a myth, I guess.

To conclude, I would like to say a famous quote “The person that you will spend the most time in your life is yourself, so you better try to make yourself as inspirational and as interesting as possible.”

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And inspirational stories will definitely help you lead a balanced life and will improve your self confidence…

Inspiring citizen will talk to you soon with more inspirational stories of people who would be familiar to you and we welcome you to share any inspiring story that you know to getinspired@inspiringcitizen.com

We thank our beloved guest blogger, Manisha for sharing her inspirational story with the world..

This is the first blog post of her life and we look forward for more from this inspiring young girl..!