Getting started...

Date: Friday, 19 April 2013

Time: 20:00 SAST

Place: Up in the sky, somewhere over Africa

So here I am, sitting snugly on the plane (fortunately with an open seat next to me), wrapped in my blanket and iPad in hand. With an 18 hour journey ahead of me, I decided what better time than now to finally take the plunge... And officially start my blog! 

Those who know me, know just how much of a talker I am. By starting this blog, I'm venturing into the new, unknown world of... *gulp* ... Writing! I'll admit upfront, this is rather daunting territory for me. Despite having a multitude of thoughts running through my hyperactive mind at any given time and churning them out through my mouth at super-sonic speeds, I find it incredibly difficult to articulate my thoughts on paper. But as someone with a thirst for knowledge, an eternal desire for growth (no, not in a physically lateral way!), and simply, as someone who wants to share the incredible adventures and opportunities I have been fortunate enough to have bestowed upon me, I decided to embrace the challenge and explore the possibilities of sharing through a new medium of communication. So yup, here we go!!

What’s in a name?...

So let’s start with the name of the blog... The Passionate Professional. 

Passion is defined as "an intense enthusiasm for something".  Well, as someone who is enthusiastic about just about almost everything I choose to engage in, passion is certainly a central theme in my life. I honestly believe that a life lived with passion, is a life of fulfillment, a life of happiness :)

 Now there are many things that I'm passionate about, and as I blog you 

 will fast get an insight into where my passions lie...  sometimes it will be around pertinent issues impacting our day-to-day lives, probably a lot about people development, women empowerment and leadership growth, at other times it may be on the lighter side talking about my passion for food and most definitely travel, or the simple and silly things that make me smile. But irrespective of the topic, I'm most passionate about sharing my thoughts, ideas and learnings with the purpose of engaging the mind and imagination of my audience in way that can add value to their lives. 

With regards to the professional part... Well, in the literal sense of the word, I'm a chemical engineer by profession. I do, however, believe that being a "professional" goes far beyond a piece of paper with a qualification scribbled on it. Experience is the most powerful educator and that coupled with the passion I spoke so, well, passionately about makes for my favourite kind of professionals :) So I definitely will expose you to my professional self beyond just the engineer - in my adventures you'll encounter Hema the professional foodie, the professional change-maker, the professional napper, certainly the professional traveller and adventurer... And when you don't see a blog for a while, the professional procrastinator :) 

So be it what it may, I couldn't think of a name more fitting than The Passionate Professional 

Welcome to my journey...

Now as I go forward, I welcome you to join in my journey and invite you to be a part of my adventures. I do, however, add the disclaimer that these are merely MY opinions developed from the glasses through which I see the world. You may agree or disagree, relate or disconnect, be bewildered or disinterested - whatever it may be that's absolutely okay. I am going in with an open mind, and invite you to do the same. Having said that, I do welcome feedback and am always open to learning, so please feel free to share any thoughts or comments triggered by my writings. I look forward to exploring these thoughts and emotions that are sparked... 

Here we go... 

So there you have it, with all that down, I'd like to officially inaugurate The Passionate Professional! :)