Explorer of Experiences

The silhouette of the iconic Burj Al Arab in the backdrop of this view of the Jumeirah Kite Beach Nervous, excited and tired; that was me exactly a month back as I lay in my warm comfortable bed at home with a view of my packed-to-the-brim suitcases. I was setting off to Dubai to begin a new chapter in my career and life. Here’s the count of the cities I have lived in - Lagos, Mussoorie, Pune, Melbourne, Mumbai - and now Dubai was going to be the sixth city I would spend a considerable time living in. I have to say, having moved around so much, relocating never became any easier. Buried deep, that nervous feeling in the stomach persisted in the days leading to my departure.  Happy to report, settling in Dubai was easy on me. Maybe it was knowing that I was just a two hour flight away from home, or that I was fairly familiar with Dubai courtesy four leisure trips to the city before, or that I already had some friends here, or that I was transferring within the same company,...

Reading this book has helped me so much, I feel almost compelled to share with you my learnings from Basic Black – The Essential Guide to Getting Ahead at Work (and in Life). Recently I read Basic Black, a book written by Cathie Black, now the former President of Hearst magazines. This was a book given to me by my sister nine years ago. I always promised myself that I would get around to reading it, before I knew it, it was cramped up somewhere in my drawer buried under possessions I had accumulated over almost a decade. I am thankful to my instincts that I finally decided to go ahead and read Basic Black. I couldn’t have picked it up at a better time. This year began for me with a few professional highs but also a lot of brewing uncertainties. Within ten pages of the book, I felt confident enough to shake things up and make a move and do something about my career. So what is Basic Black about? It’s an honest lay-it-all-out kind of a book by one of the most successful women l...