At BrilliantRead Media, our aim is to bring to our community some of the unique and compelling stories from the start-up ecosystem. As part of this endeavour, we invited yet another passionate entrepreneur, Dr Anju Chawla, for an exclusive interview with us. She is a Leader, Mentor, Coach, Trainer, Speaker and Author. Dr Anju is an internationally certified emotional intelligence and wellness coach. Let’s learn more about her inspirational journey and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Dr Anju:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey, please;
As a student, I was an extrovert and amongst the top 3 in school and my teachers’ choice for various stage performances and competitions.
I started off as an HR-Administration resource person and moved to Recruitment & Employee Grievance. After a few years of 9-5 job, the businesswoman in me crept up as I hail from enrepreneurial front both sides and I started my placement consultancy.”
Parallelly, I ventured into academics and training as a Solopreneur (back then I would happily take the word Freelancer for it). The intention was focused and stars in favour, I kept getting high repute assignments and the network grew.
I was quite interested in the study of Emotional Intelligence since my post-graduation. So, to add to my skills and knowledge, I also completed many courses like NLP from NLPCA, ACC-ICF(US), TTT Dale Carnegie, EI Coaching from Qualia Emotions, France, TEIQ(Thomas Assessment), Master Trainer, MEPSC(NSDC) etc.
Today I am delighted to share that I am an Assessor, Trainer, Coach, Speaker and Author in the area of Emotional Intelligence.
What made you passionate about coaching?
It just happened. I am experimental by nature when it comes to learning & development. So after I completed my courses I particularly grew curious about coaching, because I realized that’s my natural style of helping people transcend.
Also principles of coaching, especially the one that says, it is completely client-driven made me dig into it. The cherry on the cake was my 100 hours of coaching practice that made me love this profession all the more.”
It was actually a skill to be connected with the client yet detached, to be a facilitator in increasing the client’s self-awareness yet not responsible for the result. It was so much fun to learn with each coaching hour.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
As a solopreneur, there are many challenges as you are your brand, a walking-talking one. But If you love what you do, you keep walking unconditionally. I say my work is like my child, just as I cannot stop working towards the future of my child, similarly, I cannot stop walking on my path.
Barricades helped me grow stronger. Failure made me resilient and success made me committed. I owe this ‘Look for the best possible solution even in crisis’ attitude to my late grandmother.”
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
I have seen my father working out his way calmly in the toughest of situations and my husband working with perseverance to reach the result in the most adverse situation. So yes they are my sources of motivation. They are my anchors.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
There are a few:
1) I am the entrepreneur of the organization called – My life.
2) I am responsible for my actions.
3) I will start deteriorating the day I stop learning.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
One life why so serious, is one line that I read somewhere. And yes, I began to believe in it. I want to die only once but live every day. This thought keeps me positive.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
– Planning
– Goal Orientation
– Realization of Resources
– Action Orientation.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
Check if you have a passion/preference, match it to the scale of scalability and profitability with your expectations. Else, no harm in looking for a second option rather than finding yourself in the middle of nowhere.
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.
