About A Resolution I Made in Year 1999

Its not unusual for most of us to make resolutions on the New Year’s eve, every year. It’s a great milestone to look back and review ourselves and set our goals for the next year.

Technically, I never made any resolutions on a New Year’s eve. Not that I don’t like to make. I just happened to have a different milestone, my birth day, that comes about a week before the New year’s eve. I do it mostly on my Birthday (:-)).

The Resolution of 1999

I would like to share about one such resolution that I really enjoyed chasing it. Its about a resolution I made way back in 1999, immediately after joining in my first job. The resolution is about teaching at least 1000 hours in the next 10 years.

The inspiration behind this resolution was a teacher I met, a lecturer by name VB (Vijay Balachandran) that taught us English at SMVM Polytechnic, Tanuku. He is undoubtedly, one of the BEST teachers I have ever met and I consider myself to be the luckiest bunch to have that opportunity to learn from him. I will share in a separate post his way of teaching and how it helped a Telugu medium student like me to learn to speak, think and express myself in English and most importantly how he totally changed the way I think about teaching itself.

Having barely taught anything at that time, it looked like a big and challenging goal to have. Big and challenging enough that I didn't teach a single thing for the next 8 months or so. One day, while watching a commercial it struck to me to break it down to least possible or manageable size. So I did. What happened next was unbelievable. If you break it down, it will come to about 100 hours an year or roughly about just a couple of hours every week. Just a couple of hours a week. That looked a lot easier and manageable. ( Do you agree now, Marketers are pretty good at convincing you to make manageable purchases, every day! I do.)

A couple of months later, I got an opportunity to teach C++ to some of my friends and it all finally started towards the goal. Over the next 10 years, I taught C++, Unix, ASP.NET with C#, Investing, Investing for Kids and how small Businesses can leverage Google to grow, at various venues and opportunities. I taught just the same way I learned from my favorite and one of the Best Teachers. 

But I didn’t make it in 2009

However, I didn’t make my magic number of 1000 hours in 2009. End of 2009 was technically more than 10 years. But good news was that I only fell short by about 18 hours. Thanks to opportunities to teach .NET Boot Camps for aspiring Consultants, I fulfilled my resolution in 2010 and picked up a much better pace like never before.

As of today, I have taught about 1167 hours so far.  Exactly, the way VB has taught us English. Not just concepts, but more focus on How to Apply ourselves and those concepts in real world context to solve problems amid real world constraints.

Its good to know 'what is' and 'how does it work', but what about 'how to apply', 'when to apply' and 'when not to apply'. How do you learn some thing in a familiar environment and apply it in a totally different and unfamiliar environment. Where to start? How to approach it? What really matters to tackle new problems?

For instance, when it comes to .NET Boot Camp, I didn’t teach just .NET technology, but what really matters to them to become great consultants and carve out wonderful careers.

Next Resolution ...

Having fulfilled my original resolution, I couldn't wait to move forward and make my next resolution. I have decided to Never Stop Teaching. This will be my new resolution. I enjoyed teaching so much and it’s a great feeling of joy to help others make great careers, help other grow their investments and help others build and grow businesses. And it’s a jubilation everyday I receive an email from a student and says how it changed or worked for them. And most important aspect of teaching, I am learning myself so much, I wouldn't have otherwise. With my new courses Contextual .NET and KidVestors, I have a good feeling I can exceed my own expectations going forward.

Thanks a billion to VB for such a great inspiration, friends and family that helped me stay focused and disciplined in the thick and thin, students, various institutions, their sponsors, churches and temples for giving me opportunities to teach.

I am looking forward to 2011 and years to come, teaching what I have learned and continue to learn and what VB has taught us.