Almost 10 years ago, I had a dream of studying at INSEAD, a business school often described as “The Harvard of Europe.”
In September 2017, I visited the INSEAD Asia Campus in Singapore and attended a preview session. That same year, I applied for its Blue Ocean Strategy Programme.
My application was rejected.
They felt that my profile as a consultant did not match the programme’s intended participants. Of course, I was disappointed.
But I never gave up on the dream of studying at INSEAD.
I kept learning, growing and building my experience. The rejection remained with me, but so did the dream.
Alhamdulillah! This morning, almost 10 years later, I received an admission offer for the INSEAD Executive Master in Change programme at its Singapore campus.
The offer came after an extensive application process and three interviews. Only around 30 participants are admitted into each cohort, with one Singapore intake each year.
For me, this is not simply another academic qualification. The programme is closely connected to the work I have spent years doing: helping entrepreneurs, leaders and organisations navigate change, transform and grow.
Sometimes, we are not rejected because we are not good enough. At that particular moment, we may simply not be the right fit for that opportunity.
Rejection does not always mean never.
Sometimes, it simply means not yet.
Keep learning. Keep improving. Do not abandon a dream just because the first answer was no.
Your time may not have arrived then.
But it may still arrive.
Datuk Wira
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