I had always believed in destiny and that nobody can get more or less than what is destined for them. Then I came across a quote by Henry Ford “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, either way, you are right!” This thought made me realize that one can’t simply close their eyes and wait for things to happen to them, they have a choice to make things happen. And with that, I began to rethink the way I looked at life. My dream became the source of my energy, and optimism steeled my backbone.

I had many dreams that spanned over a course of a few weeks to several years and one of them was winning the “Year-end Trophy”. The year-end event in my firm was the last in a long, fun-filled line of events hosted by the People Agenda Committee of our company. Being the last, it is the grandest occasion and also the one that could make or break a team’s position in the competition to the trophy. I was able to attend the event from the previous year and my eyes glittered as they took in the magnitude of the event. On that day I was nominated as the Captain of the Green Team! Everyone in the organization was divided into 4 colors and green was one of them. That began the journey to fulfilling yet another dream!

One of the most important steps that I undertook was the visualization exercise. Every day I would spend about 10 minutes visualizing a member of our senior management announcing that the Green Team had won the Year-end trophy. I also shared this exercise with the larger team during my first team meeting with them. The joy and excitement that this visual provided was what we carried into every event. Yet, at the end of every event, we found ourselves 2nd or 3rd but never first.

As a team, we faced many ups and downs throughout the year. People left, there were misunderstandings and tears, but one thing that kept some of us and me going was the dream to lift the trophy. While some jumped on the bandwagon with me, others decided to give the journey a pass and ridiculed it instead.

Fast forward to the day of the final Year-end event. All the teams were prepared to give their best for this big finale. While I struggled with the fear of losing the trophy to others, deep down in my heart surged confidence that the Green Team would come out on top! Right before the performance, we huddled together and made a simple but important decision: To trust our abilities and enjoy ourselves to the hilt on the stage.

As I witnessed other teams performances, I could see that they too were splendid and thought that all the teams had an equal chance of winning the finale. But somewhere in my heart, the dream, the visualization and the words “And the winner is the Green Team” echoed repeatedly. I held onto the visualization and the belief in my heart gearing up for triumph.

As the moment of the announcement came, I couldn’t believe my eyes, my ears, and my brain. The announcement was made in the same order, exactly the same words and in the same manner as I had seen in the visualization exercise. Our dream had come true!

Together, we had made this beautiful moment come to pass and together we lifted the Year-end trophy.

Dreams do come true and if you truly believe!

My Success Mantra:

Decide what you want.
Believe you can have it.
Believe you deserve it and it is possible for you.
Close your eyes, visualize the dream as if it is the present moment. Feel it.
Focus on being grateful for all that you have.
Release it to the Universe and it shall manifest.

Lots of Love and Light,
Natraj Korgaonkar