An IIM Ahmedabad graduate, Rashmi did not give in to the pressure of following a traditional career path that everyone around her kept suggesting to her. Instead of following traditional career options such as engineering or medicine, Rashmi took a brave decision to become a writer instead.
Today, Rashmi is an inspiration for so many girls who want to do something different and still be successful!
Doing what everyone does is a norm. Choosing an uncharted territory is what separates one from the herd. Makes one stand out. Look at Steve Jobs, for example. He did something different. He combined designing and arts with computers. And successfully launched Apple Computers.
If Steve Jobs had followed the herd, we wouldn't have heard about iPhones.
Very few attempt a field that is out of the blue. Rashmi Bansal is once such a personality.
Rashmi was an intelligent student. At that time, career choices were limited. Today we have many unconventional career options, such as being a content creator for YouTube or travel vlogger or food blogger. And these career options are easily accepted and encouraged by many people around us too. There are many exciting jobs available today. For girls and boys, men and women alike!
When Rashmi started out, that was not the case. Choosing an unconventional, different and out of the box career was not encouraged. Career choices were limited as well. Either people chose to be an engineer or a Doctor or pursue some course from the USA.
Rashmi decided to do something completely different, though. When most of the girls around her were choosing typical careers, Rashmi decided to do something different.
Choosing Arts over Maths and MBA over Medicine
Though young Rashmi was intelligent, like most students, she did not have a liking towards Mathematics. So, she pursued Arts and subsequently did her Bachelors in Economics.
This decision disappointed her acquaintances. An intelligent girl like her should have taken up a safer career option, is what everyone around her felt. But Rashmi was very convinced about her decision. So, she did not give in to the pressure around her and chose a subject she was interested in.
Her decision to take up Arts and Economics proved to be correct when Rashmi got an admission for MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. Till then people believed that only engineers or those with commerce backgrounds were fit to be an MBA.
After finishing her MBA from the prestigious IIM Ahmedabad, Rashmi again decided to do something different. Rather than choose a job with a bank or a multinational company, Rashmi chose writing as her profession
Choosing writing as a profession....
Rashmi had a fascination with writing from her college days. After her MBA, she started her own publishing company JAM - Just Another Magazine. The magazine was very successful and popular with the youth.
Soon Rashmi became very popular with the young college students. She understood the thoughts of the youth. She saw their dreams, aspirations, struggles and managed to connect with them through her writing.
Her medium of communication is Hinglish (a combination of Hindi & English) which the current generation understands and relates to easily.
Becoming a successful writer and launching her own books
Rashmi was always fascinated with stories of entrepreneurs -- those who launched their own businesses. So Rashmi decided to write a book on start-ups in India.
Her first book was called -- Stay Hungry and Stay Foolish. It covered the success stories of 25 entrepreneurs, who graduated from IIM Ahmedabad.
The book was hugely successful and has sold more than 5,00,000 copies!
It also started Rashmi's second career -- writing books. Today her books are translated into 12 languages across the globe.
Rashmi's story is an inspiration to many to not follow the herd blindly. Life and career do not have a 'One-size-fits-all' approach. Choosing a career is subjective. If one is convinced about a career, stick to it dedicatedly.
If you are uncertain about the career, you wish to choose, going to a career counsellor for career guidance is a great option to consider. You can also take free psychometric online career guidance tests to get a more scientific approach to choosing your career.
