I was having a conversation with one of our professors during revision for exams, on LinkedIn of course; that’s how the cool kids / teacher pets do it these days ;-D. Below is a transcript of the conversation:
Professor: “It’s a bit nuts. But we are holding on. I am thinking of you guys a LOT. This was supposed to be YOUR year. You put so much aside to get this going. And then this hits”
Me: “I still believe this is our year. It’s not the ideal year, but if we don’t come through this having learnt a lot then I don’t know what will teach us. I hope we get to come back for the 2nd half of the year. Reflect on our experiences and really bond. You don’t realize how amazing things are until they are taken away.
I believe we will come back and everybody will apply themselves for the best module 2 and 3 that IMD has ever seen. We will be the year that none of us will ever forget. As one of my favourite role models always said “play after every storm” – Mattie Stepanek I think it is a good motto for this year 😂” Thanks so much for your thoughts!”
Professor: “Fair point, fair point. And I admire the hell of out of you to have this attitude. Thank you for saying this – it actually made me rethink a few things on my side. And so true what you said about understanding how amazing our lives have been and what it takes for us to appreciate it!”
There are a few things to be taken from this conversation:
- The participants of IMD are not just another MBA year to our professors, they are invested in us as if we were family and will us to succeed. To get the experience they know we deserve after our investment.
- There is nothing we can do but to make the most out of adversity. The world will be forever changed and the events happening are happening. The only thing we can control is how we react to it and make the most out of our time.
- This will all come to pass. It may be in many months or in a few, nobody knows. A 12-year-old man that my fiancé introduced me to, Mattie Stepanek, showed me how to truly live. He had mitochondrial myopathy, basically a death sentence that cannot be cured. He promoted love and peace to the world. He also told everyone to “play after every storm” because life is great and you never know when your last storm will be.
P.S. I encourage you to read the story of Mattie Stepanek, truly one of the most inspirational people I have ever come across – and that coming from someone who comes from the land of Nelson Mandela.
