Niti Story
A flock of seagulls swooped up and down in mid air, looking as if they’re toying with the golden flecks of the early morning sun that reflected off of the azure water of the
Nearby, a helicopter surveyed the surrounding area that appeared to be a gigantic commercial oil tanker. As hundreds of men vigorously worked, one man stood still. He wore a white jumpsuit with a matching white hat, his arms folded, his eyes pondered the scene in front of him as if it were a priceless artifact on display in the lobby of a five-stars hotel.
That scene to me, Niti Sawangsap, was the remembrance of my early childhood years.
And that man in the jumpsuit and white hat was a hero in one of the movies. He was super cool!
Being a curious kid, I immediately wanted to know the profession of that cool guy.
I asked my father, “daddy…what does he do?”
“He’s a petroleum engineer.” Was my father’s short reply.
Ever since that day..a spark of dream has erupted inside of me.
When I grow up, I will become a petroleum engineer!!!
I am a country boy, growing up in Chonburi Province’s Baanbung district.
Because my father and mother are both teachers, I am naturally known as a ‘teacher’s son’. (??)
Both my parents teach at Chonburi Technical College. My father teaches mechanical engineering. My mother teaches science.
The one thing that my parents always tell me to remember is to have determination and endurance, especially when it comes to education.
In my youth, I finished 4th grade from a tiny school near my house.
Then my father transferred me to Assumption College in Sriracha to continue on to 5th grade. That was my first experience with boarding school.
As soon as I finished 5th grade, both my parents had transferred themselves to Bangkok to work at the Board of Education for my sake. They had wanted me to get used to the city lifestyle one year before applying to 6th grade at Suankularb Wittayalai School.
Much to my parent’s expectations, I passed the test and was accepted into Suankularb Wittayalai School. Part of the reason, I am sure, was because I had a solid foundation in education and was often top of the class when it comes to tests.
My dream was to pass the entrance examination and get accepted at the prestigeous Chulalongkorn University’s Engineering School. Then I wanted to be at the top of my class and the best in Thailand!
I must’ve studied around 8-10 hours per day in addition to taking tutoring courses continuously for more than a year.
One month before the entrance examination, I realized that becoming Thailand’s top student is a long shot. I became discouraged and eventually stopped studying. I had let my dream go!
Year 2530, the entrance examination’s result came out. I, Niti Sawangsap from Suankularb Wittayalai School, ranked 25th with a score of 450 and was accepted as a freshman for Chulalongkorn University’s Engineering School.
At the time, 480 was the highest score received by the kid who ranked top in engineering school.
…He won me by merely 30 points.
From that incident on, I have learned a new lesson in life, “it’s not over till it’s over, don’t give up.”
I chose to major in Mining Engineering with an option in petroleum engineering. There were only eight of us in all for a graduating class for this major.
I was very much into extracurricular activities. I was a ‘warker’ for a committee that overlooked the process of freshman initiation. I also joined the fencing team as well.
The fact that I was always occupied with extracurricular activities has taken a toll with my study. My GPA slipped lower and lower, and I ended up failing a Fluid Mechanic class. Because of that reason, my graduation plan was delayed and I had missed a chance to graduate with my fellow classmates.
I learned how much that decision has an impact on my life. I chose ‘pleasures’ over ‘difficulties’ so I ended up with that at the end. But being very social in college has taught me many things as well.
- I have a broader view of the world.
- I can cope well with pressure.
- I can work continuously without much rest.
- I have lots of friends and acquaintances.
Most importantly, I have learned the power of ‘positive thinking’ and ‘positive talking’.
Sometimes, seeing only the positives and ignoring the negatives, much like closing one side of the eyes, will make the team go forward and finally succeed at the end.
I was one of the first generation of petroleum engineers who went abroad in hopes of pioneering the foreign markets.
I started out with a company called Baker Huge Inteq, which is a corporation that oversees the process of oilfield drilling and safety evaluation.
The company sent me a plane ticket that flew me to Hat Yai International Airport in Songkla province. From there it was another 180 kilometers on a helicopter ride to the final destination: an offshore oilrig in the middle of the Gulf of Thailand! Equivalent to a huge steel mine, this offshore oilrig was not only very strong but also very stable, with castings going far down into the bottom of the sea.
A day in the life of a petroleum engineer is generally very comfortable. The living quarters are conveniently outfitted with a host of amenities, easily comparable to any four-star hotel in Bangkok.
But the sun doesn’t always shine in a petroleum engineer’s life, as natural disasters often occur out at sea. Although my net worth as a petroleum engineer was quoted as high as 25 million baht, I was not looking forward to dying young!
I stuttered. I was also very shy. And for those reasons, I always ended up sitting in the far back during meetings. A senior colleague of mine suggested that I apply to become an Amway Independent Business Owner (IBO) to improve upon my character, communication skills, human relations, and management tactics.
From a person who always thought inside the box, I made a 180-degree change after my experience with network marketing, which allowed me to become more sociable.
I eventually discovered that the lifestyle of my senior colleague, after a decade of working as a petroleum engineer, was as tiresome and monotonous as when he first started, living out on the same oilrig or an oil tanker for long periods of time. Although the pay was excellent and work generally fun, we were always far from our loved ones with very few chances to sit down and have dinner with the rest of our families.
Furthermore, a salary comparison between a senior level petroleum engineer who makes 100,000+ baht and an executive level Amway IBO shows very little difference.
After working for three years, I had decided that my childhood dream of being a petroleum engineer had been fulfilled. I started dreaming a new dream of having financial freedom and the time to enjoy it.
Ultimately I quit my job and transferred myself to Bangkok as a Lighting Sales Engineer at a leading company from Germany. My income dramatically decreased more than half, but I was able to do my network marketing along with this new job.
That was the starting point of my involvement in the world of network marketing.
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