In June 2015, I got on stage with my resignation letter in pocket. In the history of 50 years of this organization, I was the youngest ever to be awarded 'Manager of the Year'. I won among 1500 odd candidates considered for this coveted award.

I come from a small town in India and have been raised with conservative values. Completed my school and college from among the best in the country, and was well regarded in my organization for my hard work and analytical skills. I worked for a government organization - the best of the job security anyone can have in India. And was posted in my hometown. Most of the people in the world (including my parents) consider it as a dream job.
And yet something was missing inside of me.

5 years working, I had the self-confidence that I would excel in any job I take up. Mainly because I had energy, and a insatiable drive to learn and hone skills. During my 5 years, I have led SAP MM implementation projects across 3 different departments. As part of that, I leart about SAP and the ground-level realities of a huge manufacturing company. I made many contributions to the project implementations that tweaked the solution and saved millions for the organization.

But after the project finished, I felt bored and tired. I wanted to know the reason!
(am always curious - whether about the world, or about myself)

After several rounds of introspection and discussion with mentors, a clear pattern started emerging. I realized that I am a person who needs to love his job. I cannot pour my energy and talent if I am not passionate about my job.

And then came the biggest revelation of my life -
I love solving problems, and I am execellent in doing that by tinkering with software

And from there, started the most tumultous few months. The decision whether to embark on the voyage to unknown, or not.
- Should I leave the safe shores of my hometown, secure job and old friends, to embark on the probably perilious and uncertain world of private job?
- How confident was I about myself?
- Are my talents good enough?
- What if I fail? Is there a safety net?
- What does people around me, who have done something similar say?
- What about my responsibilities towards my parents and sibling?

After talking to many, soul-searching and consulting my parents, I was ready to take the leap of faith. And just after few days, I came to know that I was awarded the 'Manager of the year' for my contributions to SAP implementation project and leading a team of 20 members. I would always be grateful to people who supported me during the project and helped me learn from diverse experience. But I had made-up my mind to move to next phase of my life and become a Product Manager.
After resigning, I pursued my MBA from the most elite institute in the India, and again learnt a bunch of things that would be useful in my upcoming career phase.

To know more about my achievement as a Product Manager, please see my resume. But in case you are interested to learn about this exciting journey of mine, or know how its going - you know what to do.