At BrilliantRead Media, our aim is to bring to our community some of the finest stories from the leadership world. As part of this endeavour, we invited a passionate entrepreneur – Riddhi Doshi Patel for an exclusive interview with us. Riddhi is a Leader, Seasoned Entrepreneur, Award-winning Coach, Certified Therapist, Mentor, Change Enabler and Founder of LAJA and Rhhyns Academy Pvt. Ltd. Let’s learn more about her exciting journey, her background and her advice for our growing community:
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Riddhi:
We are aware of your contribution to the startup ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey, please;
I am one among four daughters, born to a couple who believed in letting their daughters find their own calling and own destiny. They have both taught us that education is the tool to success and once we each had our basic education; they only encouraged us to follow our individual interests and pursue our further education in that field.
Coming from a small town like Navsari, every step that I took outside of the town was a huge step for me. Every city brought with it its own challenges and difficulties. I believe that each of the challenges taught me something and added to the layers of my personality.
As far as qualifications and degrees go; I am a Certified Child Psychologist; a Certified Professional Trainer from London; a Certified Personality Enhancement Instructor from NMIMS, Mumbai; Certified Body Language Instructor from BSY University, London; Certified NLP Trainer; Certified Graphologist from International Graphology Association (IGA), London; Certified Dance Movement Therapist from Tata Institute of Social (TISS).
I am a Certified Art Therapist and TEDx speaker for consecutive 3 years. Besides this, I also run TED-Ed clubs across the country and have Founded LAJA, a forum only for women’s development and empowerment.
I’ve always had an entrepreneurial streak in me and started working with children from a young age. I am a trained classical dancer and so started with Dance workshops for children. I broadened the scope and started working on developing children’s self-confidence, word views and basic etiquette.
The focus was to aid the overall development of the young and help them become mature, aware, independent and confident adults. During the course of my interactions with the children and the mothers who came to drop them off; I realized that the women needed as much probing to better their individual lives as much as the kids.
Finally, in 2014, I launched LAJA, India’s first forum that provides women with a non-judgmental space to be themselves, learn, grow, update and upgrade themselves and become more evolved and better versions of themselves. The premise is that women are already empowered, given the fact that they manage so many roles and handle so many responsibilities with ease at home.
Then why not take that empowered self, update with new skills, upgrade with new possibilities, become financially independent and self-sustained. Starting with a single chapter in Mumbai in 2014, we now have chapters in Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Delhi, Hyderabad and Chandigarh.
The forum is ably handled by 20 team members who are each confident professionals in their own fields and bring their expertise and experience to the smooth functioning of LAJA.
From being questioned and also judged for starting a forum for women, to now where we are approached by institutions and organizations wanting to work with us for the empowerment and upliftment of their women; we have truly come a long way.
What made you passionate about Counseling?
I believe that everyone reaches a breaking point at some time or the other. To have people to reach out to and seek help, or for guidance and advice during such times is important. That is where my professional qualification and years of experience come in.
I have loved observing people and coming from a house where my mother was a doctor and often spoke about Physical & Mental Health; I was drawn to Mental Health. Thus, my interest in Psychology and then Counseling.
To be able to help people in mental distress overcome their internal battle and overpower the demons in their minds that stop their normal functional capacity gives me satisfaction.
I feel happy about being able to help individuals sort out their stress, anxiety and depressive tendencies. To help them find clarity and to help them lead lives where they see their own self as worthy and commendable.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
Challenges have been aplenty. From facing opposition to starting off a forum for women to explaining that this forum is for serious development and not a kitty party like most forums and networks, to convincing speakers to spare time for our meetings has been tough.
However, a victory that comes easily is not as sweet as that with hardship. Funds have been the biggest challenge and each event and every session has made us go back to the books with a fine comb. However, with time, experience and the goodwill of those benefiting from our workshops, seminars and meets; there has been a change for the better.
Additionally, seeing women truly pick themselves up from despair and make a difference to their own selves and their confidence keeps me going. When I receive calls late at night from women who are overcome with emotion and want to thank me for showing them the light towards a path of self-awareness and self-realization; it gives me goosebumps.
When women call my team and share stories of courage and a will to turn their lives around; it gives us a joy akin to a mother watching her child take her first step. This and many more such stories keep us going. Together we hold each other up, pull each other up and stand on the peak of success together.
Every woman has a story to share, a personal struggle that challenges her very being; and if we can even make a small effort to help her become empowered; what more could we ask for.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
My Father, Ajay Doshi, is my biggest source of inspiration and my Role Model too. From him, I have learned about passion, dedication, commitment, focus, and conviction. From him, I have learned that nothing can be taken for granted and the one thing that will take you far is the goodwill you earn.
From him, I have learned that there are no shortcuts to success and only teamwork and a focused approach to any task will bring laurels. From him, I have learned not to take my triumph to my head and to use them only to set higher and larger goals for myself.
I lost him early last month and while the vacuum left behind is massive; each day I am reminded of our conversations and make a mental note of his teachings.
My husband and my son are also my motivators. To have a partner who supports you and encourages you and lets you know that nothing is impossible is wonderful. To have a son who at such a young age motivates you to do better than what you did yesterday and who counts you as his role model is a bigger achievement than any trophy or certificate.
Please share with us, how do you motivate your clients?
Once they know their self-worth; keeping them motivated is not difficult. The usual reason for lack of growth is because of the lack of self-worth and self-confidence.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
Many things in life have contributed to my success strategies and my growth as an individual; however, if I were to list them down, then it would be:
(a) Being Mindful
(b) Being a Team Player and not just a Team Leader
(c) Being Resourceful
(d) Being Supportive
(e) Being a good Listener
(f) Being a Doer and not just a Sayer
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
As mentioned before, seeing women truly pick themselves up from despair and make a difference to their own selves and their confidence keeps me going. When all the hard work and effort put in by my team and me, bears fruit and women come back to us with thanks or stories of individual triumphs, we are motivated.
I believe that positivity comes from within. I look for the brighter side of life and look for positives instead of negatives. This in addition to self-care, daily meditation and being in one with self is what keeps me going.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
Diligent, consistent, focused and goal-oriented participation in any given task is the key to success.
When you know what you want, how you want to achieve it, why you want it, for whom and with whom; then there is nothing that can stop you from achieving success.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
A Corporate Career or a Business enterprise is the same for men and women; students or professionals. What matters is how you take on each challenge as a learning experience and share the learnings as a team.
No war is won single-handedly; it takes an army. So be a supportive team player, be a student all your life and keep learning, step forward when the time is right and lead with confidence.
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.
