“A daughter might outgrow a father’s lap, but she will never outgrow a father’s heart.”
This adage holds true for me to the very last word. For me, father’s day is literally every single day and commemorating the same, only once a year doesn’t suffice. With that being said, my father is the biggest motivating factor in my life, someone who is constantly encouraging me to move forward and soar higher into the sky.
I still recall during my MBA Graduation in the U.S., when I asked my dad, “What next after an MBA”, he earnestly replied, “How about a PhD?” While that hasn’t happened yet, but it surely shows how my dad has always been pushing me in achieving my goals and succeeding in life. My father has instilled an indomitable spirit in me with a never give up attitude. There were times when I would be overwhelmed with all the obstacles that came my way, and I was ready to move back to the U.S., but what kept me going was the reminder that my father planted in my mind, “Leaders never quit”.
Entrepreneurship is something that has been embedded in me from a very young age. I still recall the times during childhood, when my father would be traveling overseas for work; he would just assign small responsibilities to me at work, even though I was still in high school. This really propelled me to understand the work culture and have that burning desire to become an entrepreneur myself. After my studies, I launched Rugs and Beyond which is an E-commerce platform for selling “One of a Kind” handmade Rugs to customers worldwide, while empowering local weavers and craftsmen in Rural India. Venturing into a Male-dominated industry isn’t easy and the same raised a lot of eye-brows when I was first starting out. There were a lot of Nay-Sayers and I was all ready to quit and move back to the U.S. It was my father who helped me push my limits and taught me to ignore all the background noise while moving forward.
When one is running his/her own venture, the responsibilities are ample. It’s really not a walk in the park to be an entrepreneur. Having grown up seeing my father’s entrepreneurial side, I was always fascinated in becoming a business woman. In my formative years, I learnt quite a lot from my father who started his business of home-textiles from ground zero and built it from there. One will always face a lot of obstacles and challenges, but the key is to never give up. Nothing comes easy. I staunchly believe that there is no elevator to success, one must take the staircase. With that being said, dad has always taught me to be humble no matter how big or small of an entrepreneur one becomes. One must treat everyone equally. It doesn’t matter if one is a janitor or a multi-millionaire. Everyone must be treated with equal respect. How one treats another person is a reflection of their character.
To conclude, it is rightly said, that father’s are a sons first hero and a daughters first love. My father’s advice on becoming an entrepreneur, is all about being humble and have a never give up attitude. These are just some of the things that are indelibly etched in my mind. There are miles to go before one sleeps. I don’t think I would have become an entrepreneur without my father’s constant motivation, love and affection.
Originally Published on Thrive Global
