My year started with watching the movie “12th Fail”. Yes, I’m a bit late, some may say. But thanks to the OTTs, it’s possible to watch the movie anytime, even in parts, from the comfort of your home. Not that I do not enjoy watching a good movie in the theatre, with that amazingly smelling popcorn tub to snack into; just that sometimes, the time does not permit to keep that on your priority list.
Well, coming back to the movie, I liked it too, like a million others! A good storyline, good acting, emotions, and above all, a story of success against all odds! No matter how developed we get and advanced technologies come in, the thing that touches our hearts most still is the struggle to succeed. We all wanted “Manoj Kumar Sharma” to become an IPS officer; despite knowing that in the end, he will become an IPS officer (as in all movies, the protagonist succeeds), we still must have felt heart-broken when Manoj missed to clear his mains attempt by incorrectly writing an essay on terrorism instead of tourism. And honestly, most of us would have also felt anger at Mr. Mehta, the Chairman of the Interview panel, for not understanding Manoj’s struggle to reach that interview room (which we saw but he didn’t) and demeaning and dismissing him in 2 minutes!
Many of you aspirants, would be relating to this movie and finding the motivation to “Restart”!
I’m glad it does, and such movies inspire and motivate us to keep moving towards our goal, re-establish our belief in the good in the world, and tell us that the journey to success will not be easy.
For me, this movie raised another question. Who led to Manoj’s success? Was it DSP Dushyant Singh who opened his eyes to a life of “no cheating” and that the power in the right hands can change the world; or was it his father, who was not afraid to walk the straight path; or was it his grandmother, who gave him his life’s savings; or was it destiny that canceled the State PSC exam that year and he met Pritam Pandey; or was it Pritam, who told him about UPSC exam and brought him to Delhi; was it the failed aspirant Gauri bhaiya, who helped him survive and later pushed him to study hard; or the successful aspirant Deepak Mohan who said “tumse nahi ho payega” or was it Shraddha and her support and stopwatch! Or was it Manoj and his determination and self-study? Difficult to choose, right? Or you may say, of course, it’s Manoj’s hard work and self-study. I agree with you. Success always belongs to the person who gets to his goal. But is it his alone?
I am a faculty at ixamBee, an online platform that helps in the preparation of various government job exams like RBI, SEBI, NABARD, legal exams, agriculture-based exams, banking and insurance exams and the like. In our field, we take an exam multiple times, through our students, year after year; we pass it many times and fail it many times too. This year too, that happened for various exams. One major exam, i.e., RBI Grade B 2023, came out recently, and we passed 70 times. How many times did we fail? I will come back to it again.
Let’s fast forward to the end of the movie, where we see a person from a prominent coaching institute giving money to Manoj Sharma and asking him to say that he has studied from their coaching. This practice is prevalent in the coaching industry to show selections and attract new aspirants to the coaching. Of course, it’s not the right practice. But is this the only reality of coaching institutes? It made me think, is this the role everyone thinks we as educators actually play? While talking to various students who talk to us, who come back to us to thank us or share their problems to find solutions, and who agree to share their journey to success with us, we KNOW that is not the complete truth.
So, let’s ask again, is the success of the student alone? Was Manoj Sharma’s becoming an IPS officer his success alone, or was it also of his parent’s, Pritam’s, Gauri bhaiya’s, Shraddha’s, and DPS Dushyant’s? The success is also of all those supporting people who played a part in the journey of the protagonist, Manoj Sharma. Without the supporting roles, the protagonist cannot shine. In real life, these supporting roles are played by many – friends, family, mentors, movies, inspirational speakers, various authors, YT content providers, etc.
Now let me tell you about another incident. When the result of an exam comes out, different coaching institutes claim the student was theirs. And one student ends up being a student at many institutes. This raises the question, who is buying and lying, and who is the real coaching institute the student referred to? The answer in today’s era is not straightforward, as multiple platforms provide content online, and one may refer to one or all. Also, today the student has the flexibility to choose many to get the best of each. It’s like we have multiple OTT subscriptions to get all types of content, one for Bollywood best, another for its classics collection, another for its dark web series content, etc. So, a student could actually be a student at multiple institutes in reality. Does that mean one will never know the right selections and which platform to choose for your exam preparation? The answer is no. One can always find out. You may follow the below method to choose which institute(s) suit(s) you best.
- Step 1- Start with the question, “Why” and not “Who”. This is the classic mistake most aspirants make. They see an ad or selection number and jump into buying. Sometimes it works out, while many times, it does not. Till you know why you need guidance, you will never know which one is best for you. It’s important to know whether you need guidance to save time, clear concepts, get the right strategy, stop procrastinating, etc. Till you know your requirements, you will never be able to get to the right place. So always first know the WHY.
- Step 2- Once you know the why and have the list of your requirements, you may do research to see which institute ticks most of your requirements and choose accordingly.
- Step 3- Now that you have made a choice, trust it and do not keep second guessing and comparing repeatedly. Instead, follow the guidance and use the content extensively.
- Step 4- Work hard! Period! No amount of good guidance or content can substitute hard work. While the institute provides you with the ways and means to achieve your goal, YOU, and only YOU, can walk the path. Study is always self-study, no matter whether the content comes from publicly available books, free sources, or paid sources.
- Step 5- Reach your goal and enjoy the fruits of your hard work.
We at ixamBee will continue to play the supporting role for each type of student to reach his dream. And this dream may not be limited to clearing an exam alone. It could be a dream of a better life, a better career, a better perspective, a better understanding of one’s strengths and weaknesses to unfold one’s own potential, etc. Success comes in many forms. Every time we bring a student closer to his/her dream, it’s a success. An exam does not define success alone. Like Manoj aptly quoted, “If I cannot be the sun that shines upon the earth, I can still be a lamp and light up my little street”, we also continue to add light in every way possible.
So coming back to the question, how many times have we failed? To be honest, I don’t have the number because the journey is still on. We continue to mentor and show the light to the various students to make a better career choice.
Recently, we helped one of the RBI aspirants get placed in HDFC Bank. This has not only given her a livelihood and kickstarted her career but also has given her another chance to try for her dream job of RBI by gaining experience, which would make her eligible to retake the RBI exam. We call that success.
Our journey will continue as a mentor and that of a supporting role and not as a mere content-providing coaching institute. It evolves into a mentorship role, emphasizing support and guidance. Beyond providing information, we are dedicated to fostering holistic growth, imparting essential skills, and unfolding your potential. Our approach extends beyond traditional content-centric coaching, creating a transformative educational experience focused on mentorship and a successful start to your career in both the government sector and private sector.
Stories of Success
You can discover inspiring success stories from our students who entrusted ixamBee for their exam preparation. These testimonials highlight the transformative journeys of individuals who achieved remarkable results with our guidance, showcasing the effectiveness of our educational approach and the impact we have on their success.
About the Author
Prachi Agarwal
Prachi Agarwal is a Finance faculty at ixamBee. With over a decade of experience, she served as an Ex-Manager at Care Ratings, showcasing her proficiency in various facets of management. Her expertise extends to risk analysis, credit management, investment banking, and equity research. She holds an MBA in Finance from BIMTECH, Noida, and a B.Com (Hons) from Hansraj College, Delhi University; she has a solid educational foundation to complement her extensive professional background.
Disclaimer – The views are personal and candid.
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