#5 Introducing "SalMonday"
Our new Monday-routine writing where we ask for a topic from our friends
“It’s supposed to come to my inbox at noon, is Salmon Mentai coming late today?”
Apparently not! Starting now, our Monday newsletter will be served at 5 PM (GMT+7 Jakarta time), while the publication time remains the same on Saturday at 12 PM (GMT+7 Jakarta time).
In the previous newsletter we were writing about the most memorable events Meiska was involved in and Elsa point of view of food fad in 2030. You can read it back again here.
Beside new publication time, on Monday we will have our new program called “SalMonday” where we will let our friends give us a theme to write! The purpose of this program basically to stimulate us to keep consistently writing and hopefully our readers (yes, all of you!) will be inspired and diversify their point of views!
Yustika is one of our closest friends since sophomore year in college. She is that “Public Relation” or PR person every group or class has. She is actively working as a marketing manager in a food industry based in Bogor, Indonesia. This time she didn’t ask anything product-marketing related for us to write but,
“What is your life purpose?” — damn, Yustika, you’re making us write an essay! Haha
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Meiska
A brief story about Yustika and I; we happened to sit next to each other in every class. We used to share our favorite “indie” bands and exchanged episodes of How I Met Your Mother to each other haha. When MBTI test result was a thing, I was identified as INTP while she was ESFJ —right, totally contradictory. But I guess that doesn’t change anything because we remain best friends till now and that’s why it was just a thing.
Of all so-called inspirational or any alumni talk shows I attended, I never found myself moved and inspired like everyone else. Those successful stories didn’t influence me, it only gave me clear picture of which career path my major (Food Science and Technology) would lead me to. Often times I thought what the fuck is going on with me? Am I hard so hard to impress or people are just easily motivated? However, I am proud that some of our alumnus opened their businesses and increase employment rate.
The answer landed when I watched this speech from Oprah Winfrey
I didn’t remember when I watched it, maybe after I passed my thesis defense in late 2016. I was looking for job and waiting for my graduation ceremony in two months. I still did not know what I wanted to do or what kind of job I wanted to have. That video stabbed me to the core of my whole being. It is not big, it is simple, but fundamentally change my whole being. I never look down on myself and anyone, anymore.
I want God to use me for good purpose.
Since then I always mention this every time I finish praying. I wanted to give the best of me for everything, I want to be useful for my surroundings. Impactful. So, that’s where my professionalism at work came from. Because I believe God brought me where I am now for a purpose, what’s sure is I learn the hard way and someday it will lead me to go on another bigger journey. But what’s important for me now and forever to carry and radiate is my impact.
Elsa
“Nothing is right or wrong about life purpose definition, it is an open discussion that never ends. Yet deep in our heart we do know what we like and what we do not like already.”
Harvard Business School has brought this topic to the table by a theory about “How Will You Measure Your Life?” by Clayton Christensen. Still in the end humans are evolving throughout time, can we rely on the theory’s validity?
For myself, a life purpose is something everyone can think about, but to pursue it consistently is the hardest thing to do. Deep in our heart we do know what we like and what we do not like. But there are some of the time that we austerely face failures, we do feel bad, we stumble and fall.
“Sometimes it feels like a paradox. We do know what to achieve and what to be, but why is it so hard to keep on track in resurgence?”
From this writing I want to spread good news to support each other in a journey to find our life purpose, to revise, to move forward, to enjoy life!
I introduce you my friends from postgraduate program of Food Innovation and Product Design (FIPDes) who have a say about their life purpose and how to cope with bad days.
My name is.. Ramyashree Srinath
I am from.. India
My life purpose is.. to follow and live my dreams and to make my parents proud.
On bad days, I.. talk to my friends, listen to music and eat good food!
Elsa thinks Ramya is.. an attentive and helpful person who has brilliant skills in cooking Elsa cannot forget about!
My name is.. William Baidoo
I am from.. Ghana
My life purpose is.. to solve global problems in my field, through research and entrepreneurship, and to be an ostensive inspiration to as many people as possible.
On bad days, I.. listen to calm music and do nothing.
Elsa thinks William is.. a genuinely funny person who understands how to manage his time wisely and a person she can always ask for an advice to.
My name is.. Marie Line El Chemali
I am from.. Lebanon
My life purpose is.. to live a creative life by:
#1 Keep learning more about myself, the planet and others through everything I do like work, hobbies, conversations, adventures...
#2 Sprinkling imagination and care around me especially to make people feel special
On bad days, I.. scream my feelings out
Elsa thinks Marie is.. a self driven alpha lady (she does not have social media accounts!) who knows how to explain complicated things into simple ones, instinctively to be respected by people.
My name is.. Lucas Joao Mezzomo
I am from.. Brazil, very well-lived
My life purpose is.. to become a well-known food professional that inspires people to do their best (but sometimes I still think to become the greatest Pokémon trainer)
On bad days, I.. usually enjoy my own company with good music, maybe on a walk or staring at the ceiling.
Elsa thinks Lucas is.. a really lively techno folk in crime and truly a leader who accommodate aspirations from others.
My name is.. Elsa Safira Kinanti
I am from.. Indonesia
My life purpose is.. to understand myself better, find a reason to wake up for, and support other people with a fuse of art and science.
On bad days, I.. try to have conversation with myself—in score 1 to 10 how sad am I and why? How angry am I and why?
Elsa thinks Elsa is.. Leonardo Da Vinci who was an engineer and a painter, roamed with multiple realms. But she is Elsa, not Leonardo!
We would like to hear your stories about your life purpose by writing a comment below!
For anyone wanting a short and highly actionable read about life purpose, you can try to read the Calling Process by Dan Cumberland. The digital version is FREE in Amazon US (yet it costs €0.99 in EU).
thank you for writing this. btw Lucas looks like James Corden🤔
For the past few weeks I began to reconsider my career. Quarter Life Crisis, maybe? But whenever I feel sad, somehow your story (Kimi No Nawa) and how we should put our happines first, calm me.
Thank you for the book recommendation. Try to sign up for rakuten because I couldn't search the book on kindle app. Have a nice weekend Meiska and Elsa😊