July 2016 - Parks & Recreation - 33

What Will Be Your Greatest Success?
In one of the most memorable moments in Olympic history, at the
1996 Atlanta Summer Olympic Games, Ali served as the surprise
guest to light the flame. With his hand shaking because of Parkinson's disease, the simple 15-second act of holding the torch and
lighting the fire seemed akin to fighting Joe Frazier for 15 rounds.
For that one moment, as 3 billion people watched and rooted for
him, successfully lighting the flame was Ali's biggest success.
My Moment of Zen: Seek your " lighting the flame " moment
every day. It is not just about the long-term success, but also the
little, incremental successes and the lives you positively impact
along the way that make it all worthwhile. In Ali's words, " Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth. "
Without a doubt, park and recreation professionals have and
will continue to pay that rent many times over!
Neelay Bhatt is Vice President at PROS Consulting Inc. and a member of the
NRPA Board of Directors (neelay.bhatt@prosconsulting.com).

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the final soccer match (and consequently the undefeated season)
of my school career to failing to get into the undergraduate college
of my choice, eventually failing in my classes and dropping out of
college altogether. Thanks to a misplaced university application, I
was also initially rejected by my graduate program at Ohio University, as well as rejected for several internship and job opportunities
after graduation. In more than a decade of strategic, master and
business planning in my role with PROS Consulting, Inc., I have
repeatedly experienced failure when we weren't selected for projects despite our best efforts. All these failures and losses, though,
paled in comparison to losing my father and our family business at
the age of 26. Where I am today is thanks to people who believed
in me especially when I didn't believe in myself. The support and
words from the wise - " Don't worry about those who talk behind
your back...they are behind you for a reason " - were reminders
to keep looking forward. Despite, or rather because of my failures,
my journey (including four continents worth of professional experiences, three master's degrees, two TEDx Talks and one lovable
rogue of a son) has turned out just fine.
My Moment of Zen: Personally and on behalf of NRPA's
Board of Directors, we are committed to help the next generation of park and recreation professionals and leaders. However,
I highly recommend developing your personal board of directors (eight to 12 individuals) who would serve as your friends,
guides, mentors and people who pick you up when you fail. The
sudden loss of a loved one also underscored the importance of
not chasing material success at the cost of time with dear ones.
The most successful leaders I have seen focus on maintaining a
balance between personal and professional lives by taking time
away to recharge and rejuvenate themselves.

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July 2016 - Parks & Recreation

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