To be stuck in a career one dislikes is to endure a
lifetime of unhappiness. The choices have probably
been forced upon us, or circumstances have dictated
otherwise, but the pertinent question is – do we have
to live with a bad choice or take the risk and make
a transition to a career that we love? Having chosen
the latter path, many people have indeed found their
life’s calling.
Personal circumstances forced Prasad Pankar into
a banking job, but his first turning point came when he
read Zig Ziglar’s book, ‘See You at the Top’. “Ziglar points
out that it is important to find out what we are good at
and once we do, we need to train for it and then cash
in on it,” explains Prasad who was able to take the risk
and break free from the shackles of a ‘suffocating’ bank
job to follow his childhood dream of photography,
albeit late. “In those days, cameras were not easily
available nor were there many places where one
could learn photography. So while still at the bank
in 2001, I undertook a course at Stenodac Institute
where I met my guru Vijay Naik. It’s thanks to him
and the owner, Alirio Saldanha, that my love for
photography grew. Prior to this, the photographs I
shot, with a small point and shoot camera, received
much appreciation. But it was during my course that
my dormant love for photography actually erupted.
Later, my wife gifted me my first camera and Sapna
Sardessai (Panjim Plus) gave me my first print break
and as the saying goes, I have never looked back,”
reveals Prasad of this career transition which has
allowed him to fulfil a dream.
It was a similar appeal that led Divya Kapur,
a former lawyer, away from the courts in Delhi to
open Literati Bookshop and Café at Calangute in
2005.“My career as a lawyer was interesting and
challenging, but it was too stressful. I wanted to
have a life that I wanted, but wanted it now and
not at 70,” says Divya, who was able to nurture her
dream of making books a pivotal point of her life. “I
was always interested in books and in the 10-year
stretch during which I made this career switch, I
have not only been culturally enriched, but I’m able
to live the life I always wanted to,” she maintains.
Along the way, support from friends and family
may have not been forthcoming, but these achievers
firmly believed in their dream to now live it!
