\” Graduated to IRON determination\”
This story revolves around a lady, who by her sheer determination became a graduate in 27 years.
Recently while giving a financial planning seminar, to some bank employees, I heard one lady of around 55+ age getting a little too inquisitive about the way I was delivering the session.
The session was based on the techniques of sales process and the relationship building talks which are required to be initiated before coming on to the actual sales process. After the session was over, this lady, came up to me and said,” Sir you speak so well, and the way you deliver the training is just wonderful. She asked about my background and where do I belong from. I told her that I am a malayali who has been brought up in northern part of India.
While I was just about to leave towards the parking towards my car, I saw this 55+ year old lady running towards me and very politely asked that, where do I reside. I told her my place of residence and she requested that if I can drop her on the way, as her place of residence was on the way to my place.
So that journey started, of about 45 minutes, in which I was revealed to a lady with IRON determination.
She kept asking me about my experience, my education, my background and things like that. She kept praising for different things, and the talks became quite informal and she started addressing me as “son”.
She then said, actually I asked you to drop me; because today is my son’s 26 th birthday and so I wanted to reach home early today. Then, after few minutes, she told me that she is a graduate and has waited for 27 years for completing her graduation.
She narrated and went some 30 years back, when she was not even married, somewhere around 1982. She told me that, while doing her second year graduation, her mother got sick and due to continued health related problems of her mother, she had to leave her college and had to attend to her ailing mother.
She could not complete her Graduation and had to drop after second year. Then her marriage followed and she got busy with her married life and then her children.
In between her marriage and before her children were born, she tried to convince her in laws and her husband. But she was not allowed and was told, that females in her family need not study so much. She is already working in a Bank and what is the requirement of studying further. She tried to convince but all her attempts went in vain. This TRY was in the year 1985.
Then again after her children were born, and got a little old, she again tried convincing her husband to allow her to at least complete her graduation. She tried to take admission, but she was not allowed to continue from where she left, because it has been almost 9 years since she last went to college. So she had to start her graduation again form the first year. This happened in the year 1991. She completed the first year easily, even after having such a big gap from her education. But then destiny had planned few more unwanted circumstances. Her son got seriously ill and diseased of Tuberculosis, so now there was no question of continuing the studies or completing her GRADUATION. She again had to drop. The year was 2000.
With her unlimited care and love, her son finally got healed and became completely healthy, but then years had passed. It was 2005.
Her wish, her dream and now her determination, had become stronger. She explained these complete episodes of her GRADUATION, to her husband and finally convinced him to allow her complete her Graduation.
She finally took admission in IGNOU, in a distance program of GRADUATION, in her favorite subject MATHEMATICS, in the year 2006 and yes…….
………..
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She finally attained her GRADUATION in the year 2009.
All this while I was driving the car, was stunned and just listening to this old IRONly determined lady who deservingly won her GRADUATION.
I was so happy and blessed to meet a lady like her who at the age of 52, finally became a graduate, almost 27 years after leaving her education and with so many attempts.
This real life story is a lesson for me and all that \”Winners do not, allow obstacles or hindrances to overcome them or in any way lessen their spirit of achieving what they want.\”