PASSION AS A PROFESSION

Prasad fell from a vertical height of 80 ft while mountaineering at the Dudhsagar waterfalls in Goa. He broke all possible bones in his body. 12 days later, when he gained consciousness, his doctors swore he would never climb again. A year and a half later, this young man went on to do what was considered impossible. He became the first Goan to scale Mount Kedardome at 22,410 ft… that too, in a world record-breaking time of 10 hrs 20 minutes for the final stretch.

Twelve years later, Prasad Joshi is Goa’s numero uno as an adventure activity trainer. The exploratory challenges of Mother Nature were always a passion for Prasad. A B.Com graduate, Prasad was an average student who excelled in sports and mimicry. The family ran a teahouse and a school canteen. While looking after the family business, Prasad made rapid strides in hiking, trekking and Mountaineering… as his passion turned into his profession.

Many mocked him… Prasad was ridiculed for relying on earning through his hobby. The voices of disapproval got shriller after his accident. Prasad says, “Nobody can conquer death. Life is a risk anyway so why not die doing something worthwhile. This view became stronger after my accident that proved to me that I had been reborn to do great things.” He underwent all necessary training to excel in what was initially just a hobby. He stood first in India for rock-climbing competition held at Tekhla. He underwent the instructors’ course for Rafting as well as Advanced Mountaineering Degree Course. With adventure tourism making good business sense, Prasad’s infatuation with his hobby is now fully justified.

Too often, we approach careers in a one-dimensional way, looking at what is available. Surely, we can draw inspiration from Prasad. But to transform our passion into a profession, we must be able to envision the various dimensions that it contains. We can develop new facets in our passion and transform it into a profession…Alternately we can develop new passion for our chosen profession.

“Develop new dimensions” in every personal passion
May it eventually connect to or convert into a profession!

Regards
Pravin