Be Your Own Slumdog Millionaire
On a recent work call, the subject of surveys came up. The group was discussing potential questions, timing, and details around what information they wanted to gather, and suddenly a vivid memory from over 10 years ago came flooding back: I was sitting in one of my grad school classes, listening to the professor lecture about response rates and wording survey questions in a way that wouldn’t bias results.
“I know this,” I thought to myself on the call. I’d remembered something from years back that, at the time, didn’t necessarily seem of consequence outside of the classroom, and yet here I was: a dozen or so years after learning these principles behind surveys, able to put that information to good use.
The brain is a weird thing, and there’s still so much we don’t know about it. I experience these flashes of information from time to time, and I’ve dubbed them my ‘Slumdog Millionaire moments’, after the acclaimed 2008 film about an Indian teenager who is accused of cheating on—and later wins—the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” thanks to a series of happenstance moments in his life that gave him the correct answers.
It’s unlikely I’ll ever be in a high-states situation like the plot of Slumdog Millionaire, but this concept translates well to our daily lives. We can use these moments, these memories and bits of information that may seem inconsequential at the time to our advantage later.
I think about this concept in my work a lot: because writing is generative, it keeps you sharp—and makes you more creative. Being able to connect the dots in my own life is what led me to my current work: communication is the common thread throughout my corporate experience, and I believe that having all kinds of different work experiences has made me a better storyteller.
Writing is a skill, and I frequently lean on other skills from my past to keep my work interesting and fresh. Studying other languages certainly gave me an appreciation for being a native English speaker: our language is so nuanced and complicated, and I cannot fathom the frustration that non-native speakers must feel.
Music and writing have much in common, and I wish I’d realized this back in college. Concepts like cadence, rhythm, and syncopation that I learned back in my drumline days are so applicable to words on the page—and I didn’t make this connection until recently.
So how can you be your own Slumdog Millionaire? Get creative. Write things down. Tell stories. Get outside perspectives. Remove yourself from your comfort zone if no one else is doing it for you.
And don’t be afraid to get uncomfortable.
Have you had an unbelievable ‘Slumdog Millionaire moment’ in your life that defies the odds? I would love to hear about it: please reach out and tell me your story!
(The image for this post is by Jessica Arroyo from our shoot at Hippie Hollow a year and a half ago, and I can’t believe it’s been that long since I had this experience. This shoot was a life-affirming, full-circle Slumdog Millionaire moment I recall often, and if you need a boost and want some truly amazing photos to celebrate yourself, I can’t recommend a session with Jessica enough.)