HANZKY

How did I feel when I just landed in Rajiv Gandhi International Airport? Like a VVIP, really! Sambutan untuk GES delegatesnya luar biasa meriah. Begitu keluar dari pesawat langsung ada welcoming banner di mana-mana dan beberapa meter kemudian ada kios kecil lengkap dengan para crew yang siap menyambut delegasinya. Dikalungin bunga, dicap dengan bindi persis kaya orang India, dikasih welcome kit. Dan bahkan jalur imigrasinya aja khusus loh, gak pake antre. Ini juara banget sih :D. Setelah imigrasi sepanjang jalan keluar juga masih banyak banner dan ada panitia yang selalu menyapa. Di bagian exit juga udah ada karpet merah dan area khusus untuk foto-foto dan menunggu shuttle ke airport. Tadinya saya sempet bingung 'nanti keluar pesawat gimana ya kan nggak tau shuttlenya ada di mana?' eh ternyata nggak mungkin bingung karena sambutannya yang meriah itu. They really make sure we feel welcome and secured.

• I didn't know about India PM, Narendra Modi before, but judging how the audience applauded him when he just step in the room, I knew he must be someone who is loved so much by the people of India. And after listening to his speech, I was in awe by his vision and by how eloquent he was at explaining his ideas. Later I also learned that his journey from he was little is very inspirational. He came from a very pool family and used to help his father selling tea in a railway station near his house. He used to work at an ashram and spend so most of his life doing social works. It's amazing now that he can be India #1 man. 

• The theme of the event was Women First, Prosperity for All. Jadi diingatkan lagi pentingnya perempuan untuk berdaya. Bayangin aja, perempuan itu kurang lebih 1/2 populasi setiap negara. Gimana negara bisa maju kalo 1/2 dari populasinya nggak punya kontribusi terhadap roda perekenomian negara? Serem kan kalo dibayangin. Manfaatnya banyak sekali kalau  perempuan berdaya, berkontribusi pada sekitar dan mempunyai penghasilan sendiri. Kalau perempuan berkarya, multiplier effect yang akan dirasakan para perempuan lainnya akan jauh lebih besar dibanding multiplier effect yang dihasilkan oleh laki-laki. Sedih banget sih kalo sekarang-sekarang ini ada banyak penceramah yang seperti ingin mengembalikan perempuan untuk mengurus rumah tangga aja. Hello...umat Islam punya Siti Khadijah, istrinya Nabi Muhammad yang pebisnis unggul loh. Dan ada hadisnya kan yang menyatakan kalo menurut Nabi Muhammad, sebaik-baik manusia adalah yang memberi manfaat untuk sekitarnya. Ada juga disurat Al Anbiyaa ayat 107 yang artinya kurang lebih 'Dan tiadalah kami mengutus kamu melainkan untuk menjadi rahmat bagi semesta alam' :).

• One of my favorite panels and stories from GES 2017 gotta to be Vikas Khanna's session. You have to Google him and read more about him because I'm just gonna highlight a bit in here. Vikas Khanna is one of the top 10 chef in the world, high up there with Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver, Wolfgang Puck, Alain Ducasse and Anthony Bourdain. He owns a Michellin star restaurant in NY, he is the judge of Masterchef India, he is a cookbook writer, humanitarian and all around an extraordinary person. Just like Narendra Modi, he didn't come from a wealthy family and he was born with misaligned feet. Jadi nggak bisa banyak melakukan aktifitas, nggak bisa lari-lari dan harus pake sepatu khusus. Akhirnya dia banyak menghabiskan waktu di dapur dengan neneknya dan ibunya. And that's how his passion of food and cooking started. Dia pernah jualan kaos untuk ngumpulin modal bisnis katering. Dia inget banget waktu itu kompornya masih ditaro di belakang rumahnya (outdoor), pas dia lagi masak pesenan catering trus hujan doong. Ibunya yang sangat supportif berdiri di sebelah dia sambil megangin payung supaya dia tetap bisa masak. Jadi dia bilang that image of his mother holding an umbrella stick in his mind and that what keeps him going. Banyak banget lah pengalamannya dia yang bikin gue ngerasa perjuangan gue belum ada apa-apanya. Dia pernah dikucilin teman-temannya, direject sekolah masak yang dia mau sampai akhirnya dia pindah ke Amerika, nggak punya uang dan tinggal di shelter. Survive dengan menjadi dog walker, cuci pirint di restoran sampe akhirnya bisa meniti karir dan sama customer setianya dikenalin ke Gordon Ramsay. And the rest is history. From his story, I learned that when you work hard consistently and lay it out there for the universe and you put your whole heart into it and you stay humble, you treasure your family, God will take care the rest and open ways for you in a way you that you can never imagine. 

• There was one session that talked about failure. Of course when we want to discuss about entrepreneurship, we can't pretend that there's no chance of failure because statistically speaking, we have more chance of failing than succeeding. 80% of business failed in the first 2 years. and only 70% of them survived the 3rd years. Interesting to see that social entrepreneurship have 1 year longer expectancy. It's a proof that when you understand your WHY, you know the purpose of building a business and you feel it deep in your heart that you can't quite explain it you'll have a higher chance of striving. Oh and 95% of new products that launch will fail. I have experienced this myself. The key in entrepreneurship is to keep an open mind and be ready to tweak the business! I think I've mentioned many times in this blog on how the medias like to highlight the ups instead of the downside of entrepreneurship. Padahal the downside is part of the process that people need to know. It's part of the journey, and that's how life is. You know how the heart detection machine works, right? Your heart rate it's up and down as shown in the monitor. And what happens when it shows a flat movement? The end of your life. So yes,  most of the time, entrepreneurship is not about the award, the trophy but about surviving day in and day out, fighting the status quo, making small win and small progress everyday. I believe almost all entrepreneurs have their failure moments. They said in this world there are only 3 types of people; those who have failed, those will fail....and the other one is...liers :D. 

• The last one I remember from GES2017 is when someone asked how can women break the glass ceiling? I forgot who said that but she answered 'Assume there is no ceiling and just soar'. Can't think of a better response :)

Thank you for  reading everyone. Here's to more women creating, contributing and kicking ass outside of our role as wife and mom :)