“Dreams are beautiful and must be the starting point for every young person’s reality.”
Words of wisdom there from the Co-Founder, Bandleader, and Creative Director of The Lost Tribe, Valmiki Maharaj.
He was addressing students participating in The University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine’s and Republic Bank’s “World of Work” venture on Saturday.
Mr. Maharaj told participants that as they embark on the journey into the valley of work, they must now learn to turn their dreams into action.
“There is nothing more, however, wasted in this world than dreams and not only dreams by themselves but dreams without action. In my world, I have the privilege of working with talented creatives and daring entrepreneurs every single day. They go with ideas that could change the world, but often those ideas don’t go anywhere because the bridge from dream to reality isn’t built.”
He said perspective follows the plan beyond the dream.
The World of Work initiative consists of mock interviews, résumé-writing workshops, and other preparatory activities for students who are soon to become employees. They have the opportunity to gain insights from industry leaders and stalwarts on how to approach the working world.
Mr. Maharaj said this is the ideal start towards building success.
“One, they’re going to help you turn your dreams into reality, and two, they will help you communicate the most important product that you have, which is yourselves. You are the vessel through which these ideas will flow. You are the dreamer, you are the creator, and the one that the world needs to believe in. And here’s the truth. Even if you have the best product, the best idea, the best anything that you’re working on, and anything that you go forward to, if you don’t package and communicate it well, it’s not gonna sell.”
UWI’s Deputy Principal, Professor Derek Chadee, reminded students and participants that success has no master plan but can be achieved.
“Because truth be told, nobody has you a ready-made plan for success. There’s no magic map that says turn left at uncertainty, right at opportunity, and you’ll arrive at happiness. If that was the case, I think the banks would be charging us well. Not Republic Bank. Instead, life and your career is built one deliberate step at a time. You design by dreaming, you build by doing, and you thrive by never giving up.”
Former participant Camille Lamb-Munroe encouraged current enrollees to put effort into being mentally present to reap the rewards of the programme.
“As a result, the skills have helped me and are helping me now as I progress through my career journey, are communication, making myself available to learn and grow from every experience, and most importantly, showing up as myself.”
The seminar was held under the theme “The Career Blueprint: Design. Build. Thrive.”