At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring some of the meaningful and powerful stories from around the world to empower and motivate our growing community of entrepreneurs, influencers, management students and aspiring individuals. This week, we invited Dr Asad Chaturvedi for an exclusive interview to know more about his inspiring journey and the way forward. He is an Impactful Speaker, Author, Mentor, and Leadership & NLP Coach. Let’s learn more about his interesting journey and his advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with him:
Tell us a little bit about your journey and why did you choose to be a coach?
Every step of my journey has been a ride of sorts. From working with some of the biggest names in the Corporate world (both companies and CEOs) to losing my job and reinventing myself in the field of education and then moving on into training and finally becoming a Positive Psychologist and Coach, the journey has taken me (to quote a favourite author of mine M. Scott Peck) on “The Road less travelled”.
Honestly I wouldn’t have had it any other way because the various life experiences (professional and personal) have made me both the person and the Coach that I am today.
I am in a unique position to Coach individuals because of these experiences as I can relate to some of the challenges that people come to me with having been through most of them myself. I am empathetic to a level that I can sense it when someone’s not okay and they need someone, because I’ve been there too.”
My wife deserves all the credit for allowing me to pursue my dreams as without her emotional and financial support (she worked a full time job when I was busy reinventing myself and certifying myself as a Positive Psychologist and Coach) it would never have been possible.
You could say I both chose to be a Coach and God willed it to happen.
Why is it important to have a coach/mentor?
We are constantly in a vortex of sorts. Some of the storms that we face in the vortex are of our own making, while some are due to external circumstances. I feel it is imperative for everyone in both a personal and a professional space to have a mentor / coach because a neutral perspective and expert advice is something that we all need whether we want to accept it or not. Even as a Coach I myself have a personal mentor and Coach who I can talk to when I need advice and assistance with the challenges in my life.
Talking to a professional is not an admission that you are broken or weak and incapable. Far from it! It is the most sensible thing that anyone could do to reach that position of strength and success that has been eluding them for so long. It is the most sensible thing to do to ensure that they deal with their challenges in a healthy and solution oriented manner.
Having a coach/mentor is only going to ensure efficient growth in life.
What gets you out of bed in the morning i.e. what’s your source of motivation?
I want to live till I am 140 years old. Why 140? I have no idea! It’s like a song that has got stuck in my head. I want and I believe I will be in a position to coach and help people till the last drop of breath in my life and that’s what keeps me going. That’s what gets me out of bed.
I want to make the most of every day and live and enjoy life to the fullest. You will see me wake up with a smile, carry a smile through the day and go to bed with a smile. I haven’t asked anyone to check but it’s quite possible that I sleep with a smile on my face. I have an enormous zest for life which anyone associated with me will tell you for a fact.
What challenges/obstacles did you face in your journey so far?
By the grace of God, I am blessed with the capacity to learn, with the capacity to introspect and I keep doing it. I kept learning about myself and the world around me. The only challenge I had, was to do it all alone. Maybe that’s why I want to reach out to people and especially to kids who don’t know whom to talk to, who don’t know how to reach out.
The biggest challenge that I have faced thus far is convincing people that they should seek help. It’s almost as if a lot of people believe that by seeking help they are admitting that there is something wrong with them. Hey no one is perfect. If I can still seek advice having gone through this journey in life, then anyone can and should.
What comes first for you – money or emotions?
Money was never even a contestant in the above equation. If it was I would have sought another corporate career (believe me there were many high paying options at the time) and steadily added to the corpus fund.
For me it’s always been about the quality of work that I do and the impact that I have on people’s lives which leads to their success. When people call me back (children, parents of children, corporate honchos, individuals) with their success stories that’s my true payment.
There is no greater emotion than the one that I feel when someone tells me that their life has turned around after they have implemented what was discussed in the coaching sessions.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
The more you run away from pressure and stress the more hopeless are you going to feel. Embrace challenges and face them head on. It is only our struggles and challenges that teach us the most important lessons in life. There is no doubt that doing this will lead to a host of mental and physical issues but the whole idea is to deal with them using certain techniques and skills to ensure that you emerge a better and stronger person. Stress is not a part of you. It is a visitor that you give permission to enter your life which then turns into an unwanted guest who you want to see the back of.
There can be no one way to deal with stress because everyone’s level and type of stress is different. Some of the things that I do which could resonate with others are :-.
1 – Learn something new which requires a skill that you have never used before. Learn to play an instrument (youtube has many free classes available) or learn a new language or learn a new dance form.
2 – Go for a walk early in the morning. Be one with nature and breathe in the fresh air. Look at the wonderful sights of nature before the hustle and the bustle of the day gets to them and you. Talk to the trees and the birds and hear them talk back to you. It is extremely relaxing.
3 – Seek help. Talk to a professional who can get to the core of your stress and use techniques to relieve you from that stress.
What is one strategy that you believe has helped you grow as a person?
Without a doubt the desire to never stop learning. I travel a lot (of course that may not be possible for a while now) and so I try to pick up life lessons from travels.
I learn from everyone I meet and everywhere I go, not to mention from my every experience I have. The beauty of life is that you can learn from anyone and anything and wherever you look there are lessons waiting to be learnt.”
This is what has helped me grow as a person and continues to do so. For instance I never thought I would be coaching people online and I learnt that it’s not easy and I would need to incorporate some changes in my style than when it is done in person.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
Success to me is to be happy and live life on our terms while ensuring that others grow along with you. A few keys to success from my recent book, “25 Secrets to a Successful You” which is available on kindle:-
Keys To Success
1 – Have and develop a solution oriented attitude in your life. Question yourself regularly and keep a glass half full mentality. That’s how you will overcome your challenges and blaze your way to success.
2 – Take time to rest. Rest is an important aspect in your journey to success. A well-rested mind and body will make facing the journey that much easier and successful.
3 – Take time to plan. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Anything that you want to do in your life should be built on a solid plan.
4 – Be willing to tread the unknown path. Successful people don’t walk the tried and tested paths. The strike out into unknown and hidden paths and take innovative journeys to reach that pinnacle of success. History is replete with examples of such people and we quote them all the time. How about following a bit of our own advice.
5 – Ignore the critics. Critics are people who are not very successful themselves. Have you ever seen a monument built in honour of a critic? Just go ahead and do what it is that you need to do.
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
My belief is that every single one of us was put on this Earth to achieve a purpose and that every single one of us is born with an abundance of talent and potential.
I would say this to everyone out there “Whether you believe in yourself or not, I believe in you. Yes you whom I have never met, don’t know and never seen. Whatever you need to succeed already exists inside of you. You just need to tap it. You can do it on your own or you can seek help (it doesn’t make you look weak), you can do it and I am confident that you will. Believe in it and it will be so.”
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