At BrilliantRead Media, it is our constant endeavour to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this, we invited Roshni Bhattacharya for an exclusive interview with us. She is a Social Entrepreneur, Leadership and Executive Coach, Trainer, Keynote Speaker and the Founder of The Mind Beyond. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, background, and advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Roshni;
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
I was born to parents with a natural disposition to educational and cultural versatilities and having completed my schooling in one of the northeastern states that had a diaspora from the other parts of the country, I had a very holistic upbringing in terms of formal and informal education. I then moved to Bhubaneswar for my higher studies. Thereafter, I did all my other courses and certifications in Kolkata.
While I was working, I observed a considerable gap in the ecosystem of a working environment and that intrigued me. I thought of bridging the gap with a meaningful and purposeful tool.
I also believed in the school of thought that we cannot really multitask, that we do injustice to all the work that we are doing. It was important to do equal justice to my family and my work. I had to have the liberty to schedule my entire work in a way, that I could truly balance home and work. Therefore, The Mind Beyond – a training and coaching firm.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
As I already mentioned, doing justice to both my family and work is important to me, it is only possible if I’m my own boss. Also, bringing a change is never easy from a corporate standpoint, you need to convince your boss, your coworkers.
Here I’m free to use the required tools for a much desired change, I can also recommend that to all the organizations, which will ultimately benefit them in reaping profits in terms of their business values and humanitarian values. It’s about making life goals attainable and accepting that which cannot be achieved.
I get the opportunity to learn while I work towards reminding people of the skills that we already possess. It just needs to be sharpened from time to time.
‘The Mind Beyond’ 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?
The meaning is already there in the name. There is more to it than we think we are capable of doing. It’s about our mindset,either we fail to look or we do not try to look beyond- the possibilities that are there, if we can see those, we can get the much-needed push for accomplishing our goals.
If we go to the root of it, the problem lies in communication, with ourselves as well as with others. Communication with ourselves or intrapersonal communication is how much self-aware we are. We can be then in control of our thoughts and actions, which in turn will determine our relationship with others, paving a smooth way for our life and career.
On the other hand, interpersonal communication or communication with others is also determined by the message sent by the sender and the decoding of that message by the receiver. If we observe carefully, it is an intricately knit or woven process. We specialize in reducing such gaps.
So, to sum up, we specialize in leadership coaching and training that covers every aspect of communication, starting from conflict management to business negotiation, teamwork, etc.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
The first and foremost thing that I would like to say is, that we do not grow if we do not accept challenges, I retaliate against challenges. So, I rather love facing challenges. The day I stop receiving challenges, I’ll know either I’m there or I’m nowhere. If we tend to be in our comfort zone, we will never be able to achieve all that we are capable of.
Also, talking about managing – managing what? Each of the work that we do is a part of our own job schedule. We must know how to optimize using time. It’s no big deal if and when we know our priorities and urgencies.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
It took a lot to be where I am and who I am. I had my own set of challenges or super challenges as I would like to call them. My entire family and close friends stood like pillars and rocks.
My mother, children, sister, husband and a close group of friends made me believe in myself. That I can smoothly sail out of the rough waters and can overcome whatever challenges life throws at me. So, when life throws lemons at me, they ensure that I get a refreshing lemonade!
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
I owe quite a few of these to my mother, she has the best managerial skills I’ve seen.
To categorize these, I would do it as:
> Discipline – Optimising time needs a disciplined approach right from the start of the day.
> Self-awareness – I walk the talk and it has immensely helped me in correcting my thoughts and behavior
> Zeal for learning new things – I have a growth mindset, and I keep myself open to learning, even if it has to be from my 17-year-old daughter.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
It is very difficult to mention in particular, though I can list out a few if that helps –
1. Staying focussed
2. Believing in myself
3. Having a growth mindset
4. Power of observation
5. Accepting life as it comes
6. Continuous learning
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
I would not elaborate much on what I’ve already mentioned, about all that I do or I have done. Along with being disciplined, focused, having an open mind, the other virtue that is most required, is to find out our own purpose.
Once we find our purpose, we do not need an outside motivation to keep us going. Moreover, when purpose meets passion, we can score a century (in our own measure). So, whichever course we are pursuing, let us try to blend that with our purpose, that will definitely yield brilliant results.
Last but not least, what are the three most important lessons you have learned in your life?
Let me put it in bullets –
~ Do not compare, your journey is different from others. If at all, look for inspiration.
~ Give yourself an award or treat yourself generously after each goal is achieved- big or small.
~ If a process is not giving results, change the path/plan
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.
