I had some stories about one Fulbright alum who has allowed me to write ka.
He was from a farmers' family who had to help pay family debts and strive to successfully graduate and got a Fulbright grant for his master's and now is working as a safety trainer at a construction firm in the US.
I was amazed to learn of his big dream to work at UNDP to help with international development work, lessening poverty. He finally was able to have his internship there at least ka.
After his education and training, he has become fascinated with leadership and so he acquired more knowledge and skills from a series of training, enough to think he was ready to start offering training by himself. He aimed to have 100 participants for his first training at a 4-star hotel in Bangkok. It turned out he only got one participant who paid only half the fees charged.
In despair with almost no participants and with hotel costs to cover when he rarely had any money left, he offered the training for free to get over 70 joining in. He was in debt having to pay for the hotel....yet, while he was telling his story, he added that a friend had helped negotiate with the hotel for some cost reduction.
Highly positive person with gratitude mai ka?
At another training, one lady kept feeling down. He shared his own struggle and told the participants that he got a bank statement that very morning, showing that he only had 20 baht in the bank. He said even as a university graduate and a Fulbright awardee, he was only able to rent a place for 2,000 baht with two neighbors who were cab drivers and construction workers. He asked the lady to look into his eyes to see if he was hopeless. He was able to encourage her to turn it into some favorable opportunities. He said she felt much better and has done great since!
Powerful story sharing na ka!
A little story that I also remember ka....he said once he didn't even have money to buy meals as he was asking for help from his sister who would transfer some the next day. Having thought of a commemorative banknote of 100 baht that he got as a gift, he went to a senior asking for an exchange to a regular bank note. The senior gave him 1,000 baht without taking the commemorative one!
What a nice example the senior has done for him to follow.
Slowly through networks of participants, he has finally built his reputation to have a little company of his own for 'Proactive Leadership'. He had another big dream to pursue his doctorate in the US but decided to enroll online and work in the US instead.
In the US, even his title is 'Safety trainer', he has managed to integrate 'proactive leadership' into all levels of staff. His family background and tough experiences have become his asset to share with blue collar workers. I'm sure he'll continue to inspire them while lifting them up to another stage of work and life development ka.
His 'linkability' to integrate his passion in leadership and his own life stood out!
Many lessons I could draw from his stories:
- Dare to dream big (not me for sure kaa:))!)
- In every stressful situation, there are beautiful paths and people so stand firm to fight positively.
- Keep thriving with grace and gratitude even in time of scarcest financial resources.
- Nothing is easy and life-long learning following one's passion finally pays off!
- We can learn to 'pay it forward' having been exposed to excellent models!
There are many more lessons for sure from only these few stories and I can't stop feeling proud of him ka.
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