How far can you get?

Did you ever question yourself “HOW FAR CAN I GET?” Well, when ever I asked this question to myself I always got one answer: “NO-WHERE”. That trust wasn’t there, that self-belief was missing and today I regret wasting so many years of my life thinking I wasn’t worthy enough, and I was never meant to do anything productive in life. I was this way because I always compared myself with others around me. Their success always reminded me how unworthy I was to my family. Apart from my family no one knew me or I could say as if I never existed. In midst of my chaotic mind the only force which dragged me forward was my father. Until now I don’t know which quality of mine made him believe in me. He always tried to cheer me up by saying, “One day, you will attain a lot of success in whatever you do, you will be a winner, so much so that you wont have enough space to keep your accolades” and I used to just laugh it out saying, “what baba, me and accolades in what?”

After 30 years when I sit back and question myself once again, “HOW FAR DID I GET ?” I feel so fortunate to have lived up to my dad’s expectations. But unfortunately he wasn’t there to see my growth. We make hundreds of plans and then Allah almighty’s plan comes into action and changes everything. There has been one consistent pattern of my life: I never get anything with ease, even for a smallest wish I have to work very hard to achieve it. Everything what I wished for came very late in my life — I got admitted very late in school, college admission was delayed, got married very late in 2008, my daughter was born after 4 years of marriage after many failed treatments. I did my MBA and IATA in 2018 while handling all responsibilities simultaneously. Then I started hunting for jobs, and once again failed miserably. Right then I was just a homemaker who was always looked down upon.

Then came a breakthrough in my life in 2020 September when I joined toastmasters. From just a housewife I was now called Toastmaster Shazia. It gave me an identity, a sense of belonging & confidence. Toastmasters gave me a title and unraveled my hidden talents which were buried deep within my subconscious mind. Once a shy girl, a back bencher, always hesitant to speak up, now was confidently speaking in front of a large crowd. This is a true example which portrayed “life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” If I hadn’t taken that first step outside the comfort zone I wouldn’t be here where I am today.

The past 6 years have been a milestone of my life. In these years I have become a social media influencer, a toastmaster, an entrepreneur, and at present working at a big organization. Yes, after a long wait of 8 years I was blessed to be employed at a well known organization. This wasn’t in my plan, it was planned by Allah. When I had completely lost hope of finding a job, out of nowhere this opportunity came right in front of me and without wasting any time I just grabbed it. It was once said by Scott Trench – “You can choose to live an extraordinary life today, or you can keep waiting for the perfect time.” Because you cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight. If you want to reach your goals and fulfill your potential, become intentional, persistent & consistent about your personal growth. It will change your life.

In toastmasters I have won many contests up to the DTAC level, I have won best prolific poster thrice and last year I even won Distinguished Area 26 Director award in DTAC 2025-2026 in Jordan where I was also the Masters of Ceremony confidently standing tall in front of a large August audience. I’m sure this isn’t the end many more accolades are yet to come. I’ve always been respected in my company for the hard work and the articulation that comes from my end and all this was possible only through Toastmasters. Earlier I was always mocked for being so passionate about Toastmasters as those people always measured success on monetary basis, but I always worked with belief in silence, grabbed every opportunity of leadership and growth. Today the people who mocked my passion for Toastmasters now envy my success and progress. I’m not penning down my achievements to boast about it, I just want to make you all realize that success can come to you at any time of life, just keep faith in yourself, be persistent, be tenacious and the world will be your Oyster.

Now allow me to challenge you all by asking, “HOW FAR CAN YOU GET?”

SHAZIA MOHIDDIN