As part of our ongoing quest to get you meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world, we invited yet another passionate and purpose-driven entrepreneur Ruchika Garg for an exclusive interview with BrilliantRead Media. She is a leader, mental health coach, speaker, counsellor, and Psychospiritual Wellness Coach. Ruchika is the Founder of Conscious Jiva. She is an MBBS dropout & Depression survivor turned Psychospiritual Wellness Coach and is now on a mission to help people find freedom from suffering to create a life of full of happiness and peace. Let’s learn more about her inspiring journey and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Ruchika:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur, please;
I come from a small town at the Indo-Bhutan border called Jaigaon, where I did my schooling. I then moved to Kolkata to pursue further studies. After a lot of hard work, I through a Govt medical school in Kolkata because I wanted to be a doctor. 6 months into medical school I first saw the face of depression and hypochondriasis.
It was difficult for me to accept that I had entered a wrong career path, that gave me immense anxiety and resulted in mental health conditions. After repeated bouts of unexplained illnesses and pains, I finally decided to quit.The following months were extremely tough for me. I felt I had let everyone down, and I lost all my confidence. Eventually, I chose to study Psychology after a visit to a career counsellor (that was the best decision of my life!)”
After successful completion of graduation, I got selected in Christ (Deemed to be University), Bangalore for my Masters in Clinical Psychology. Bangalore is the city that actually breathed life into me- I could gather a rich experience in and after college.
Soon after college I entered the field of e-learning and developed a comprehensive counselling course that’s a bestseller on Udemy. My skills got me into a flourishing organization as a Training Manager, where I began my journey as a trainer, public speaker and coach.
As spirituality and the subconscious mind always called me, I trained as a Clinical Hypnotherapist and an NLP coach.
Side by side, I started a private practice as a psychologist and took off very well. My own experience with depression and other mental health conditions helped me offer genuine understanding and empathy to my clients. Till date, I’ve worked with hundreds of individuals and helped them heal their difficult emotions and get clarity and peace of mind.
My journey as an entrepreneur began when I realised that a large number of people lacked the basics of emotional self-care. I have seen adults and teens absolutely incapable of handling emotional issues, and the reason is they are never taught!”
If I had to point out two things we need to deal with our whole life, they are- thoughts and emotions. No school, college or coaching teaches us that, and people at large are left on their own to figure it out.
One can always opt for therapy sessions but everyone has a right to learn the basics for daily life. So I decided to educate people online about dealing with thoughts and emotions in a healthy way, and that is how Conscious Jiva was conceived less than a year ago.
Since then, we have touched hundreds of lives with webinars, therapy sessions and our online program “Conscious Living Formula” which is based on Mindfulness.
What attracts you towards entrepreneurship instead of a corporate career?
I chose entrepreneurship because of 2 reasons:
1) I believe I can serve people in a manner that is unadulterated in today’s purely profit-driven world and, and
2) I love my personal freedom.
I’m a kind of individual who loves to always experiment and evolve when it comes to helping people with emotional wellness, and being an entrepreneur is a responsibility that pushes me to do so even more.
‘Conscious Jiva’ 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 with the help of your startup?
Conscious means being in an alive, awake state. Most people today are living lives where life is just passing by. Many are depressed because they lack purpose and meaning, life is in ‘autopilot’. Jiva is a Sanskrit word that means incarnated soul.
The aim of Conscious Jiva is to help individuals wake up from a state of autopilot and emotional baggage to a state where they feel awake, aware and alive (that’s our motto too!). A Conscious Jiva is one who lives every moment in awareness and peace. So we aim to turn each member into a Conscious Jiva!”
Through our online program, our members have successfully learnt to deal with depression, anxiety, overthinking and self-esteem issues. They are happy and free from emotional baggage and they learn to love themselves more. Some individuals who just joined out of curiosity have also gained immense clarity in thought and peace of mind, and are now encouraging others as well to do the same. Our program helps you get control over the mind, instead of the mind having control over you.
In addition, we also have a Facebook group called “Freedom from Inner Negativity” that’s open for everyone. We conduct live sessions from time to time to empower people with emotional wellness.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
Conscious Jiva was created during COVID-19 as a response to the mental tensions that prevailed everywhere. So all our course content was available online right from the start. Therapy was initially confined to a personal meeting but we switched that too to an online mode. This ensured smooth operation without any constraint.
How do you manage yourself and keep on going despite the challenges? What drives you?
Coming from a non-technology background, getting comfortable with all digital tools and platforms is itself a challenge as its growing at a fast pace.
But what keeps me going is the fact that we all need to learn and adapt. It would be difficult to reach out to as many people without technology, and there is a large proportion of the population that needs this education and help.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
Understand what people want. Empathize with them and look for their needs. If that coincides with what you have to offer, there’s nothing like it!
In your opinion what is more necessary: Idea or a good team for a successful startup?
I would say it’s both. It definitely starts with an idea but we need dedicated and like-minded people to execute it well.
For now, Conscious Jiva does not intend to have full-time employees, but wonderful people have contributed to this journey from time to time.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned building your startup?
1) Success has no timeline- you need to keep going and be patient
2) Your first product is never your last product- keep upgrading and evolving
3) Self-doubt is a part of the story, keep going nonetheless.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
My work is my soul purpose. I am strongly driven by my spiritual values and I believe that I need to deliver what I was chosen to do here on Earth. This is the most important factor that wakes me up every morning.
Though there are challenges here and now, I have a good support system of family and friends who believe in me and the gravity of this work. I am forever grateful to have them
We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring women entrepreneur?
Listen to your inner calling and dedicate yourself to serving others. There is enough room for mistakes and growth once you start.
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.
