There was a senior manager from the leadership who had a meeting with the entire team today. He was telling us about his career and about what he had done throughout his career, going a little into the details of a few selected projects, his achievements, some interesting stories of despair, struggle and finally success... Hell leaderships don't even talk about failure now do they... But that doesn't mean they haven't seen any... :)
But while I was listening to it I could make out who that man was? That's the crux of this post? Who are you...? You are not your name... Your name just represents who you are. It is a facade. You can define yourselves with your relationship (Son of ... or Father of ... or Husband or Wife of...) But is that really you...?
You could define yourself with your profession... Senior Developer at Microsoft or Vice President for that matter... But is that really you...?
So I am what I contribute. At home, at work, at play. To my family, to the organization I work for and to the society too. So it seems I am a lot of people :). I always say the ultimate purpose of humanity is to grow. Smarter, stronger and better every passing day. So here are the metrics by which you grow.
You would be recognized by what you contribute to your immediate surrounding. If you contribute directly or indirectly to the business of the organization you work for, if you make it grow, you will grow. If you contribute to your family, if you contribute to your personal passions... They will know you by your contributions... that's what you are...
That's who you are.