Pallipattu is a small township on the border of 2 states in South India.  In 2006, I met a young man from the town with a burning desire to succeed.

He was raised by his widowed mother, who cleaned houses to earn an income to support 3 children, leaving little to fund her son’s dream.  So Das chose to search for alternative means to support his future plans.

Through a friend he was referred to me.  I spent some time talking to him.  Das wanted to become a P.E. teacher.   Considering the modest needs of his tuition and (in retrospect, correctly) judging his sincerity and potential, I agreed to fund his first year at physical education college, and continue depending upon his progress.

Unlike many others who seek hand-outs for financial assistance, Das supplemented the contributions with his own efforts, working in a canteen part-time after college hours to pay for rent on his tiny apartment room and taking on school tuition during holidays to pay for any extras necessary to complete his course.

Today, he came home to meet me.  I’m amazed at the contrast between the confident and smiling young man who met me today, and the shy, diffident and hesitant schoolboy from just 2 years ago.

He has finished his college course.  Will graduate next month.  And has already lined up a job in his local high school.  He plans to use his salary to let his mother ease up on her hard work, and support his siblings.

His learning isn’t over.  He intends to study an English literature course by distance learning even as he works, and then train to be a teacher of English too.  I urged him to also learn something with computers, so he could be more competitive in a changing world that values technical computer-based skills highly.

But one thing stands out above all else… he is now SELF-CONFIDENT.

He looks the world in the eye, with the assurance that he can make things happen - because he already has done it once.

It is such a fulfilling and rewarding feeling to have been a small part of this promising young teacher’s life - and I have gained as much, if not more, from the experience than Das.

Looking back on my own life, the time my world changed was when I found my innate self-confidence.  When I started believing I could be anything I wanted to be.  And backed that up by actually achieving something meaningful.

It changed my life.  I’ve never looked back.  The dreams have kept growing and getting bigger.

And backed with unshakable self-confidence, they are relentlessly coming true.

It’s true.  Anything that your mind can conceive and believe, you can achieve.