You must be minting money!

“You must be minting money!”  Here’s a statement which I hear more often than I’d like to; mostly because of the tone it is said in. The tone almost seems to suggest that I am printing money in the backyard of my house, instead of investing my efforts for it. I envisioned a life for myself when I was younger and worked constantly towards my education and career, making my dreams a reality. In order to set the context of the comment around minting money, here is a brief snapshot of my journey so far.

Rising to the Top

I come from a family of businessmen and was  involved in my family business of textile and finance from a very young age. My family wanted me to continue being a part of the family business and help in the expansion plans. However, I was more passionate about being a part of a larger corporate world. 

Consequently, I enrolled myself in the CA (Chartered Accountant) and CS (Company Secretary) courses after graduation and after clearing the intermediate level of CA and CS, I also started pursuing CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and FRM (Financial Risk Manager). Post completing all the courses, I  joined a global investment banking firm and worked there for a couple of years.

Subsequently, I joined the dual degree CEMS MIM programme at IIM Calcutta, where I was an Institute ranker and actively involved in finance and investment clubs and activities and spent one semester at the University of Cologne, Germany. I was the winner of the Citi Leader Award 2019 and receiving the Citi Leadership Award 2019 from the CEO  of Citi Bank was a dream come true for me. I worked at BCG (Boston Consulting Group) for 2 years before moving to Tata Digital in 2022.

Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.

Booker T. Washington

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Success is a series of consistent Efforts

If you read about this now when it has all been assembled chronologically in one section, it might feel like a seamless growth trajectory. However, in reality, it took me 10 years to get myself at the first phase of my official corporate career. Thereafter, it took me a further couple of years to understand the type of work I actually enjoyed.

Much effort, much prosperity.

Euripides

I would be lying if I told you that I have never felt lost or demotivated in these 12 years, but I managed to pull myself out of it each time.

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Nothing in Life comes easy

Often people ask me about my driving force. “The happiness and sense of pride I bring  to my loved ones” I reply. A lot of hard work, sacrifices and sleepless nights go behind achieving anything in life. However, in the end, it is all worth it.

It is perfectly fine to doubt your dreams occasionally. It just indicates that your dreams are big. Back yourself, work harder every day and take a step closer towards achieving your dreams.

I hope to inspire and help as many people as I can on my journey to help them achieve their aspirations, because I know the taste of that exhilarating feeling. I urge you to dream a dream and device a plan to achieve it.

A lot of people tell me that I’ve come a long way,  but if you ask me, I’m only getting started.

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Never stop Dreaming

My dreams are bigger and better now, yours can be too.

Or, as they like to put it – I am minting money, and you can do it too!

Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.

Bruce Lee

About The Author

Aashish Jhunjhunwala is an MBA graduate from IIM Calcutta and has experience across financial services, strategy and management consulting. He has completed his graduation from St. Xavier’s Calcutta and is a Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary, CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) and FRM (Financial Risk Manager).

He has worked with Goldman Sachs, Gaja Capital, Sovereign Fund of India and Boston Consulting Group and is currently working in the President’s Office of Tata Digital.

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