My father grew up in a small village in Western Uttar Pradesh. My grandfather did farming for a living.
Yet, despite my father's lack of exposure, he managed to attend college in the city and land a government job.
I can't imagine the euphoria of that event.
But that event changed my entire family tree's history.
My father then focussed on the education of his children.
In fact, I was taught mathematics and physics by him. (I scored 99 on 10th boards, I think I get my teaching genes from him).
In our household, we had enough money to eat, smile, and live a happy childhood but never more.
A larger part of my childhood was spent sitting behind his Bajaj scooter.
In fact, he retired last month and I couldn't have been more proud of the consistent effort with which he continued to serve all of us in the family without fail, especially my mother.
It's true, fathers are the unsung heroes!
It's because of the massive lottery ticket I got in my life of growing up in a stable and healthy family in Chandigarh, that I developed big ambitions and a hunger to crack big goals in life- from entering St. Stephen's College, Delhi at 17 to Indian School of Business at 25, to Boston Consulting Group (BCG) at an age of 26, and now leading a venture.
I also learned early on in my life that there are no shortcuts to long-term success.
Today, I am not just an output of consistent hard work.
An honest reality is having been born into a stable family in the rising hashtag#India (🇮🇳) of the 1990s is the biggest lottery of my life without which I wouldn't have been half of who I am today.
Next time, you see your glass half-empty realize your privilege.
Many families in Afghanistan or Ukraine would die to trade places with you❤️
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Author- Shatakshi Sharma, Co-founder Global Governance Initiative & GTI, Ex- BCG, Advisor; Tony Blair Institute
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