Am I successful ? Am I happy ?

Am I successful in my career?

I like this quote, attributed to Albert Schweitzer, the Nobel laureate. …… ‘Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success.’

I am successful because I am happy doing what I do, working in teams with people I love to work with, adding value in a place where I can do what I want to do.

I feel successful because my colleague in my last company told me when I was leaving, “Remain as happy and as fun to work with as you have always been!”

A woman, trained as an engineer in India, I landed in Singapore 25 years ago on a Chinese New Year’s day, to start life in a new country “strange” to me in many different ways. I came as a software programmer and as a young mother trailing my supportive spouse, out to make a career for myself.

My mother taught me the value of hard work and perseverance, . She told me that women had to learn to stand tall on their own two feet, strong and confident, in order to be respected in this world. From my father, I inherited a gift of the gab as well as an interest in the world, its people and their activities.
These, then, were the only tools of trade that I had, to help me build my career.

I had the good fortune to land in a country and in a company where people welcomed me warmly. Over the years, I worked hard, learnt a lot, travelled the world and made numerous great friends. I progressed in my work, from software engineer to systems engineer to cellular systems expert, building my expertise slowly and surely.

I also learnt to build my own personal and professional networks, succeeding partly because I was genuinely interested in people and willing to help whenever I could, not afraid of exposing my own vulnerabilities and asking for help.  Without knowing it, I was building my ‘Social Capital’ – through my job position, through my interactions, using my expertise and the common language of technology.

I felt hugely successful when I was part of the team that made the first 2G GSM and CDMA calls in the region! I was elated when I switched jobs at the age of 50, learned nw technology yet again and wrote my first report on virtualization, as a research analyst. I was extremely happy when I came back to my roots, and started working on communications systems again.

Of course, I had my low points, but I would like to think that they made me stronger than before.

Was it really the work that I liked so much? Or was it the fact that I forgot myself in my work. Or was I just content with the quality of work that came my way?

I finally realized that I had been so absorbed in the work, taking it from step to step, that the work became beautiful and worth accomplishing for itself. And that is why I feel happy doing it.

Along the way, I built my personal life as well and with help from my extended family, we raised two lovely kids, Asian at heart, global in outlook.

Thanks to all my family, friends and colleagues, I feel successful.

Can I really consider myself successful? I can say that I would give myself the right to.