This is a true story of my Uncle Hardjo Hutamadjaja. This story is posted here in my blog with his permission. Truly a GREAT motivational story. Thank you for sharing your life story with us, Om Hardjo!
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30 years ago this month, I failed to pass my high school final test, it was devastated, I was frustrated and depressed, and not knowing what to do with my life thereafter, I feel so humiliated, and ashamed to all my friends and families.
In a desperation of my future career and hope, I decided to pursue different high school in a different country where language and culture differences that I must learned from scratch.
Day by day, I learned the hard way and realizing that time is very valuable, and every single moment is precious and shouldn't be wasted to something irrelevant in my career life.
By 1989 in Toronto, Canada. I graduated as Computer System Analyst with Dean's List Honor. I felt proud of myself in my graduation day and should paid-off where I failed last time.
So, I was ready to take my next step in my career life with full enthusiasm and new energy, seems easy right?, old mantra saying 'After graduate then should get a good job/business'. Well, not that easy as you think it should be. Read on.
I went back to my hometown in Surabaya with pride to set-up new business and implementing my knowledge that I've learned. Unfortunately, by 1991 I failed my business with tremendous amount of loss. Again, I felt even greater devastation and ashamed to my families, realizing that the world is not fair in my view.
I took a different approach to rebuilt my career in 1992 by immigrating myself back to Canada, at that time the country was in a recession, it was very difficult to find a job, I took what-ever job I could find with very low starting salary of $10/hour.
My first landed job wasn't in my field of study that I truly want it to be. Thus, I struggled for 18 months to change my career path into computer programming related field.
Finally, I found the first job as computer programmer with starting salary $12/hour, although the salary wasn't paid much, but I felt like a winning lottery, and knowing that there will be brighter side of my career life ahead of me.
Unfortunately, the job wasn't last long due to lack of contracts from other companies, and last only for a year, and I was part of the company laid-off. Feeling devastated and failure once again that haunted my feeling.
Within 3 months, I found another computer programming career with a higher starting salary $14/hour, once again I felt like a winning lottery in that moment, day by day I rebuilt my career with confident.
By 1998, I realize that there were far greater career advancement opportunity with even ten-fold higher paid job in the e-commerce arena for DOT COM boom in Silicon Valley, California, USA
I bravely took the next step to pursue that ambition as e-commerce internet programmer, my career life have just begun from that point. Here is why, during 4 years period from 1998 through 2002, I was employed by 4 different companies, and also was laid-off in 4 different times.
Yes, you heard that right, I was laid off 4 times within 4 years from 4 different companies, that is almost an average of once a year laid-off. Although, I was receiving very high top salary as an internet web programmer, but the roller coaster emotional feelings was unprecedented devastation of no future hope.
In 2003, I started my own small e-commerce internet company, I was excited when I got my first sales order. By 2009 I was swamped and overwhelmed with orders where I also had 5 full time employees with an average salary of $15/hour.
Today, many of you think that I may be even more successful as compare to 2009 level, and you may think that I may already have dozens of full-time employees by now. WRONG!.
Today, my company is downsizing since 2010 due to much greater competition with extreme saturation in the internet from other competitors with much higher capitalization, and I'm no longer ashamed to tell you this.
However, I've done the best I could do with my pride to manage my own company today, and even after 13 years in the business, today I'm still learning my own business, and keep trying and will eventually experiencing unexpected future errors.
Everyone must have his or her own interesting success and failed stories to tell and share, and I love to hear yours as well, but here is what I learn so far, and I'll be more than happy to share it with you;
Life is about choice where we want it to be, and is about how many times we are willing to try and never afraid of failing consequences, and eventually after so many trials and errors, at least we will achieve something.
We should never regret for our past mistakes and/or past experience in which we had no control as long as we did our best, take those past obstacles as our life path and learn new experience for a better future.
Perhaps you may think 'talk is easier than execution', well, you may say that, but it doesn't matter what you do and who you are, weather you're born in rich or in poor family, what matter most is do what you good at it, and path will follow you along the way.
30 years ago seems long, but if you already experience it like I do, that seems like yesterday, 30 years from now is no different, time will fly fast, so cherish every single moment from what-ever time you have left even in failing.
There is a god, the god is also living inside you peacefully no matter what religious you choose, so don't blame yourself, he doesn't live in the world because the world out-there is cruel, remember he lives in heaven, which is also live forever in your heart even after life.
Don't blame the world and your environment where you live, socio-economics of your family, and others that may hindered you from moving forward, take your own action for goods and no-one will hindered you from your own action, and the god will always bless you in every step of the way even in failing.
You may have heard this many times before about basic principles theory of nature, "rich get richer and poor get poorer". Well, if you really believe it, then this will be your faith and destiny, and worst it may discourage you even further from moving forward, else It may not be true if you really working towards your goal with your passion and dedication.
Remember, the world out-there is cruel, so protect yourselves from any kind of negativity that may affect you negatively, and as long as you still live in this world, then you have no other choice to learn from this world in a positive way to survive because the world keep changing, and nothing will last forever in this world.
Dear all my FB friends, stay healthy, live long happily and prosper.
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