Don’t Stop at a No….
This blog post is as simple as an inspiring story can get, and its a story about manifestation and not giving up!
In my endeavour to keep up with the latest best practices in Education world, I started to research and apply for conference participation. I discovered that it was one of the best ways to meet pioneers in this arena and learn about the Pedagogical world’s innovations. I always apply by sending my LinkedIn profile and submitting a paper or an article relating to the conference theme.
ED Tech was my first conference, where I had a chance to speak on pedagogical shifts in the digital age and best practices challenges. EPG Group was the second conference where I spoke about the Future of Teaching as a Profession. Somehow by this point, I had gained enough confidence to deliver a short talk easily in front of a large audience. This motivated me to submit my papers on the international website for global conferences in 2020.
But the challenging part of this journey was yet to begin. I got to know about a conference being held at a very premier institute on International Best Practices of Teaching. My mind immediately manifested to attend this conference and somehow present a talk and only realize both were arduous goals to achieve.
My first application in December 2019 did not yield any response. After 3 weeks of waiting, I approached a senior member of the institute to consider my application. I sent more information on my career graph, my experience working with the US Government and highlighted my recent speaking achievements. With passing weeks, my follow-up calls became more regular to know the results. While there was no decision from the program committee as yet; heads of departments would now patiently attend to my calls and answer my queries.
After a few more weeks, I was finally invited to attend the conference but not participate. During this time, my application to present a talk was accepted by IRC UK for Summer 2020. Now one would think this exciting enough? Well, not really when you are fixated to present at one of India’s most premier institutes, and the thought has been gripping you for months! I sent them the same letter with my revised paper and requested some consideration based on IRC UK’s acceptance.
Finally, my request was accepted, and I was selected to present a poster on my topic. Good enough, right? Not yet. I requested to present a talk, which was not given a green signal. Despite all this, my manifestation to present a talk during this conference continued. Meanwhile, I started to work hard and sought guidance from their senior faculty to create my first ever poster for the conference.
On the first day of the conference at this premier university, I realised all the hard work to get there was worth it! It also dawned on me why the criteria to attend this conference as a participant was kept so challenging. Not only was my poster Impact of Early Etiquette Learning and Public Speaking got appreciated, but I was also selected for the Sparkler Talk as well, a privilege in itself.
These three days were not just attending a conference for me but also export to classroom training. Best teaching and learning practices used by some of the most distinguished professors, PHDs, scientist and senior faculty members.
At the end of my talk, a senior professor asked me to design this program for young adults who have missed out on such education opportunities in their early childhood. At the same time, another research scientist suggested, I look up some recent studies by the University of Stanford. Well, what more could I ask for help.
My Learning and strong manifesting go a long way, no matter what the hurdles and disappointments. Don’t give up even if you see a no looming in front of you. Find different ways to achieve the goal you have in mind. Work harder than you have imagined- nights/weekends whatever it takes to make it happen.
Your goals should be your obsession and reason to live, and you will witness how the universe conspires to fulfil them.
Suppose given a chance. Please attend such workshops/conferences, especially those hosted by universities or premier institutes research and upgrade every day/week/month. Set 3 goals and start working towards them. Keep the goals simple and achievable. For me, I aspire to get formally trained in public speaking, prepare for international talk assignments and research courses that I can do shortly.
If you need information on any of my 3 papers or have an inspiring story to share, please write to me at sballani@gmail.com.
