One of my inspiring Bosses, Carole Wamuyu Wainaina (she was my manager during my stint with Philips in Amsterdam) once said to me, that, “her endeavour in life is to buy and collect experiences and not material things”. Amongst many other things that I learnt from her, I learnt that, It’s the rich experiences and memories that one collects – defines the wealth of a human being. It’s the key difference between being wealthy and monied.
She also used to tell me that, the ability to balance one’s competing priorities in life is what makes one successful – professionally and personally. It’s not about working more or spending more time with the family – it’s about finding and striking the right balance. Also we used to discuss how important it is for a person to have quality “me time”, time for yourself, where you are absorbed in some hobby, sport or a creative interest outside of work. That’s when I again took up photography and pursued the genre of Wildlife and Nature, with total passion and enthusiasm. I must say since then I have become a richer person, with wealth of experiences 😊.
The greatest privilege of my life and career has been to work with exceptionally talented and bright people world over and live in geographies such as Asia, Europe, UK, USA. Carole was then the Global CHRO of Philips and then went on to become The Under-Sectetary General of UN working for Ban Ki-moon at the UN. I was the Global Chief Learning Officer of Philips and was tasked by her to build the first Digital Philips University, aimed at transforming talent management at Philips.
Keep finding people that inspire you and engage with them in rich conversations, learn from them and chart an exciting course for your life. What do you say?
Yash's Blog on Management & Photography 
Loved the quote about collecting experiences and not materials.