Life is an unpredictable journey. While most people give up in the face of struggles and trials, a few defy all odds and turn their life’s challenges into opportunities. The life of Manasi Joshi is a heart-warming story worth emulating. She waged an incredible war against her fate to carve out a path that would probably be remembered for generations to come.

Manasi was born on 11 June 1989, in Rajkot, Gujarat, and was raised in Mumbai. Her father, Girishchandra Joshi, was a scientist at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre. She was six when she started playing badminton with her father. She was a skilled player and participated in district and inter-school tournaments. After initial schooling, she completed her electronics engineering degree at the K.J. Somaiya College of Engineering, Mumbai. A software engineer by profession, she worked for ATOS India.

In 2011, Manasi’s life changed forever when she met with a road accident on her way home from work. She sustained severe injuries and had six surgeries during the 45 days that she spent in the hospital.

Get the digital edition of the September 2024 issue to read the full article.

The post Manasi Joshi: The Para-Badminton World Champion appeared first on The Teenager Today.

Have you ever thought why a customer is called king? Why only a few people are able to multiply their customers on a larger scale? The skill of problem-solving which is possessed by only a few is simple. Satisfying all the requirements and demands of customers which may range from a pin to a plane plays an important role.

Do you think this is the only skill you are expected to have as an entrepreneur? Well, no. As an entrepreneur you need to be a persistent leader with good communication, and be great in sales and marketing skills. We always assume an entrepreneur to be a talented college dropout or a seasoned businessman predicting new path-breaking strategies. Absolutely not. Successful entrepreneurs are recognized for their great minds and ideologies. But is this skill really important? Surely it has immense value not only in terms of customer satisfaction but also makes an entrepreneur proactive internally, which definitely reflects positively on the business and success. This skill proves to be a valuable and trusted asset for any business. It is well-known that most appreciations are received by those solutions and efforts which benefit the masses.

Ritesh Agarwal, an 18-year-young boy, observed the problem and adapted the solution as his business model by launching OYO Rooms.

Subscribe to The Teenager Today print / digital editions to read the full article.

The post Ritesh Agarwal: The Obstacle Whiz appeared first on The Teenager Today.

The post Lost appeared first on The Teenager Today.

Do you ever feel directionless in the real world? As if in a dream or a zone? You think you’re working hard, yet aren’t getting anywhere? You’ve given it your best but it hasn’t shown results? Striving towards a goal is good, but the right recipe is also essential in order to make a perfect tasting dish. If you haven’t spent time on figuring what you want, you’re not likely to get it. But also, if you know what you want, yet have no clue on how to achieve it, you still will not get to it. So what’s really occupying the space between you and your goal?

Based on the age and stage of life, our goals and targets comprise doing something that we know is good for us and we’ve been overlooking, or about stopping something that we agree is harmful or counterproductive, yet have been unable to resist. Teenagers frequently set goals focused on diet, exercise, studies and friendships; but in no time, they fizzle out. Is there something missing in our target that we need to attend to?

Behaviour drivers

Motivation is the energy that pulls us towards a goal, or rather pushes us to actions that help achieve it. If you resolve to ace the final examination, there could be several motivators driving you. Could it be true that you…
… just want to avoid the furore of your parents?
… were promised a new bike if you did well?
… are very keen on a scholarship?
… want to prove that you’re really smart?
… like any challenge, and want to be successful?
… are ambitious and like to excel in everything?
… feel it’s your duty at that age to study hard?

No matter what the ultimate target, there are external drivers as well as an inner momentum that feeds into the desire to stick to the path and resist temptation to falter. But we are human, and we can slip. Do you notice any of the following factors that may have contributed anytime to your slipups? Think about them.

Lack of control
By design, human beings are not immune to temptation. It takes a good deal of self-awareness to maintain focus and not lose sight of the goal we’ve set for ourselves. Temptation works its charm by blurring the distant vision to blur the target and make it seem unimportant for the moment. The enhanced near vision in return, allows the tempted object or action to look enticing, attractive and harmless. That’s when we lose self-control. We watch the movie instead of studying, chat on the phone instead of doing homework, choose the burger over a salad, and skip exercise to sleep in late. Without self-control, every distraction can lure you and you are less likely to resist it. Always keep the target in sight, use reminders, posters, alarms and notes that help you remember why you started out so you’ll know why you should stick to your path to reach the goal.

Read the full article by subscribing to the print magazine or the digital edition.

The post What lies between your goal and you? appeared first on The Teenager Today.

We walked towards the mountain, my friend and I. We knew we had to cross to the other side. We had heard that the valleys across were full of milk and honey, that jobs were aplenty, people sweet and friendly and opportunities enough to achieve our dreams.

But we also knew we had to cross the mountain to reach that promised land.

We came across two paths, my friend and I, that led to the mountain: One broad and easy, the other narrow, treacherous and difficult.

“Let’s take the easy path!” smiled my friend to me, “so that when we reach the mountain, we will have strength and energy to climb.”

“Let’s take the path more difficult!” I whispered, “So that when we reach the beginning of the mountain, we will have muscle by then to climb.”

But my friend smiled and walked down the broad and easy way. I watched. It did not go directly towards the mountain but turned, meandered and wandered, and all along the sides of that broad road, men and women sold their wares and even gave them away free to my happy friend. I watched as he lifted himself up with the opium offered, the drugs, the marijuana that was in every stall along the way. I watched him learn to hold his liquor down. “I can drink a full bottle!” he shouted across our roads, “and tomorrow I’ll drink two!” he said as he staggered away.

I walked down the narrow road, and sometimes cursed, oftimes sobbed as thorns and rocks, sometimes small pebbles and jagged stones made me stumble, falter, fall. I looked at my friend and ever so often wished I could walk the easy walk he’d set himself to do.

Read the full article by subscribing to the print magazine or the digital edition.

The post Taking the easy road appeared first on The Teenager Today.