R.T. Goel: The Day When I Realized One’s Impact Should Be Considered Bolder Than Ambition

For years, I chased credentials. Then one moment made me question it all.

For a significant period in my life, I thought success was essentially about having credentials. Degrees, titles, awards—things you chase after, accumulate, and display with pride.

And that is what I did for a long time.

I obtained a postgraduate degree in Management Studies.

After that, I studied executive leadership at IIM Ahmedabad.

And did my leadership programs from HarvardX

Each step seemingly added knowledge, perspective, and perhaps a little confidence. 

But 2003 was a life-changing year, as it was when I took charge as the General Secretary of HelpEdu-NGO.

Until then I had been an auditor, academic, and consultant—roles that were all very much about numbers, processes, and strategies. But entering that office and stepping into others’ realities gave me a jolt down my spine—three words: "This is different."

We weren't discussing case studies.

It was about kids dropping out of school because their parents couldn't afford to buy a uniform. 

Girls who had never touched a textbook. 

Communities that saw education as a far-off luxury, not a right.

That day, something snapped.

I no longer wanted to be in the business of simply understanding systems; I wanted to sink my teeth into rebuilding them from the ground upward.

Since that day, I stopped chasing recognition and began chasing relevance.

We created programs that brought education to rural doorsteps.

We gave more than literacy; we gave possibility.

And slowly but surely, the ripples grew, one student at a time.

My quarter-century professional career went on. I published research, trained leaders, and assessed institutions around the world.

But from any vantage point, whether in a Harvard classroom or in a government auditor's room, my frame of reference was always: serve first, lead second.

Two decades down the line, I find myself back at another beginning.

This time with a pen in hand.

I am writing not to reminisce, but to pass it on. 

To pass on the knowledge I have garnered.

To start conversations that go beyond myself.

Because some legacies are built at C-shaped boardroom tables.

Others get forged on playgrounds, rolling dusty roads, and in those quiet moments when somebody believes in you for the first time.

Mine's still very much a work in progress. 

And the one thing I have learned to live by is this:

Once you stop chasing titles and start chasing impact, everything changes.

– As narrated by R.T. Goel, Ph.D, MBA penned by the Rolling Authors® team. Visit us at www.rollingauthors.com for book writing and editing services.