At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring to our community some of the finest stories from the entrepreneurship world. As part of this endeavour, we invited a passionate entrepreneur – Akshay V Masurekar for an exclusive interview with us. He is a Wellpreneur, Thought Leader, Wellness Coach, Mentor, Speaker and Trainer. He is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at SAMAKSH Holistic Wellness. Let’s learn more about his inspiring journey, his background and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Akshay:
Talk us through your background and your journey, please;
I did my schooling from St Michael’s High School and then completed my Bachelors in Commerce from Mumbai University. I was introvert and shy since my childhood. I wasn’t sure of what I wanted to do in life and kept going with the flow.
In 2002, I started working with a start-up which is now a multinational and that changed not just my course of life but also my personality. I was one of their key players and played various roles in HR, Business Development, Customer Experience and Employee Experience domains. My tenure with them lasted for 17 years post which I started my own venture.”
It’s been a great journey since 2002. In 2012, my wife and I started investing in our growth by battling our inner demons, challenging our limiting beliefs, and breaking all the barriers that were holding us back. Speaking in public was something that often gave me jitters, working on myself enabled me to overcome my fear of public speaking.
It is only in 2016-17 did I slowly start to realize what my calling in life was. As the head of Learning & Development, I had the opportunity to develop Leaders and Individual Contributors. Seeing them become successful gave me the confidence of developing people and I thoroughly started enjoying the process of developing people.
By 2018, I was certain that I had to move out of my job and focus on developing people outside my organization. I started my venture SAMAKSH Healing & Consulting Services by Aug 2019 along with my wife Samira A Masurekar (Co-Founder & Chief Strategy Officer). There was a steady flow of work thanks to my previous organization and a few other folks. A health scare in Jan 2020 got me thinking about not just my health but also that of the people around me.”
I was like, you can develop leaders, but if your health doesn’t support you then your leadership skills are of no use. It took me a while to decide on the next course of action but within 5 months, I changed the focus of our organization from Leadership Development to Health & Wellness.
In Jan 2021, we changed the name of our organization to SAMAKSH Holistic Wellness and since then, there was no looking back.”
What made you passionate about ‘Coaching’?
More than ‘Coaching’ I am passionate about liberating people from their PAIN (Emotional as well as Physical).
I believe that when people address their pain, become aware of who they really are, get closer to their authentic self and start moving towards bringing about their inner transformation. It’s not about ME but about them.”
At SAMAKSH, we are following the THREE principles of TAO:
1) Transparency
2) Accept Yourself
3) Own Your Wellbeing
We are passionate about helping people help themselves. We believe that every person has a story to tell, and they need to be ready and passionate about telling their story to the world. So, when clients aren’t willing to help themselves, we politely ask them to take a break and come back to us when they feel ready.
There needs to be a deep desire to bring about inner transformation, and this is possible only when you are Transparent with yourself when you Accept Yourself and Own Your Wellbeing.
‘SAMAKSH Wellness’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving?
We define ‘Wellness’ as the ‘Art of Being your Authentic Self’. On a lighter note, you could say that SAMAKSH represents my wife and me – Samira and Akshay. Jokes apart, SAMAKSH stands for ‘Self-Reflection’. We want people to accept themselves for who they are, be fine with their deep reflection and practice the art of being their Authentic Self. That’s what SAMAKSH Holistic Wellness is all about.
We are a team of Holistic Wellness Experts who have come together with the objective of making a difference in the lives of people through the Ctrl Z Factor of Wellness ™.
Ctrl Z, as you know, is a shortcut key used to undo an action. Ctrl Z Factor of Wellness™️ believes in the philosophy of “Less is more”. It enables one to Ctrl Z all that doesn’t resonate with one’s being.
Ctrl Z Factor of Wellness™️ focuses on enabling people to THRIVE:
T – Transform
H – Gain Health
R – Boost Emotional Resilience
I – Be Inspirational
V – Self-Validate
E – Feel Energetic & Engaged
I have trained 100+ people on Emotional Intelligence, Managing Emotions and Giving Effective Feedback. Successfully coached 50+ people to Overcome their Fear of Failure and Social Anxiety. Enabled 40+ people to successfully overcome their Emotional and Physical pain, by helping them transform the way they Think, Feel and Act.
Our VISION is to make India the Wellness Capital of the World by 2030. We aim to do that by Bringing about a “Positive Wellness Revolution” by enabling you to RESET & REDEFINE the way YOU Eat, Think, Feel & Act. Thus, getting you to EMBRACE Conscious, Authentic and Purposeful Living!
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
It’s the belief in my capabilities, my purpose and the UNIVERSE that keeps me going. If I have chosen to be in a profession to help people help themselves then I need to focus on helping myself move forward in the face of challenges, obstacles and stress.
I am a MOVIE BUFF and I ensure that I watch at least one or two episodes of a web series before I hit the bed. I don’t consider this as a waste of time – in fact, I am sending out a message to people that if you love something and you wish to keep yourself entertained then do what you feel like doing. In my case, I love my web series/movies.
Apart from keeping myself entertained, I meditate every day for 15-20 mins, take regular breaks, keep myself updated about what’s happening in the industry and consistently work towards becoming a better version of myself!
Please share with us, how do you motivate your clients?
I help my clients connect to their emotions. I always tell them that their emotions are their Intellectual Property, and they need to connect to them and focus on expressing those emotions. I get them to manage their emotions thereby enabling them to control the overall intensity.
I encourage them to decode the message their Emotions are trying to give, because, every Emotion has a story to tell, all we need to do is to keep our ears open and use the matter between the ears to process those emotions. That’s the best way to lead a Holistically Healthy Life!
We focus on these 4 INGREDIENTS through our sessions:
– Reality check – sessions act like an X-Ray or a Mirror that shows them things as is (be it their emotions, thoughts, behaviours, actions, pain, etc)
– Empowering people to get closer to AUTHENTIC SELF
– Give them Tools and Techniques to overcome pain and challenges
– Enabling people to move forward in life
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
My family has always been my pillar of strength and support. My wife, Samira is my biggest Critic, Strategist and Advisor, now you know why she is the Chief Strategy Officer at SAMAKSH.
But my biggest source of motivation in daily life is my Guru who keeps us on our toes. Ever since he graced us with his presence, our life has taken a 360-degree turn in its true sense. He taught us to connect to our roots, accept ourselves for who we are and got us to chalk out a path for the future.
What about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
There is so much to do to bring about a Wellness Revolution in this country (and then globally) that I often look forward to creating something new every day. It is an interesting journey and I hope to shape the wellness industry by getting people to practice the 8 Dimensions of Wellness (Spiritual, Physical, Emotional, Mental, Financial, Occupational, Social and Environmental Wellness).
We have just started a Wellness Community on Facebook and LinkedIn. Currently, it’s called Breathe Synergy Wellness Community and by Sep 10 we will be changing its name to SamAyush Wellness Community.
SamAyush represents ‘Sampoorna Ayushya’ (Wholistic Life) and focuses on all the 8 Dimensions of wellness. This Community represents us and our VISION and in the future, we envision it to go beyond the virtual space.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
Practising the 3 PRINCIPLES of TAO (as mentioned above) has helped me grow as a person
1) Transparency – Build Trust by being Open and Honest with self and others, no matter how challenging it might be
2) Accept Yourself – Develop a deep connection with self and Be True to Yourself
3) Own Your Well Being – Genuine Desire to work on self and move forward in life
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
My motivation comes from the VISION that we have set for ourselves. I envision SAMAKSH to be a leading player in “positively” changing the world through Wellness. We are Redefining and Resetting the way people Eat, Think, Feel and Act.
When I see my clients making progress in life that motivates me to do my best. My clients inspire me through the transformational work they do – this is what keeps me going!
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
Redefining Business – we are redefining business internally by having a No Competitor Policy. We consider other Wellness players as Strategic Partners and not competitors. As a result, we do not engage in doing Competitor Analysis, Trends Analysis or Revenue Forecasting.
Focus on Gaining Health – our focus is on ‘gaining’ health and we do that by allowing our clients to grow at their own pace. My Mantra is Connect. Release. Rejuvenate. This is what I practice as well as preach: FOLLOW YOUR HEART (Connect), LET GO of your INHIBITIONS (Release) and Be READY to DO the UNEXPECTED (Rejuvenate).
Talking of business, while we may not be focusing on the Financials as much as we should be, we are cognizant of the fact that the health of the organization is equally important, and we are taking necessary steps towards creating a Healthy, Happy and Optimistic organization right from the start.
Non-Tech Wellness Company – we do pride ourselves on being a non-tech wellness company (at least for now) with a personal touch:
Technology – we as a firm focus on keeping “technology” at bay because this is the only space that needs to stay away from technology. Technology is an inherent part of our lives, it drives us daily, so let us keep it away from wellness for some time and focus on creating a personalized experience.
Personal touch – we believe in creating a unique experience for our Individual as well as Institutional clients and we do that by leading from the front and being involved at every stage of the delivery.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
If you want to be Happy, Harmonious and Optimistic in life, then here are 6 keys to achieve that state of being:
(a) Be Who You Are – Authentic, Trustworthy & Punctual
(b) Believe in Your Capabilities
(c) Design Your Life
(d) Have Faith and Patience
(e) Be Transparent & Stop Pleasing People
(f) Practice Being in the Moment – one moment at a time
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
We all are here on this planet to fulfil our purpose. To find that purpose, it is essential to invest time (at times the money as well) on:
~ Understanding Yourself
~ Identifying & Eliminating Limiting Beliefs
~ Knowing Your Game (Strengths & Weaknesses)
~ Drawing up your Life’s Plan
~ Taking Action
Remember that it’s your life and you are the CAPTAIN of YOUR SHIP – navigating it in the right direction using your GPS (Goals, Purpose & Strength) is your RESPONSIBILITY. So go ahead and take the leap of faith!
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
