As part of our relentless efforts to identify and share some of the meaningful stories from India and around the world, this week we invited Passionate Entrepreneur Sargun Bedi for an interview with us. She is a Counselling Psychologist, Author, Behavioural Trainer, Powerleap Coach, Professional Speaker, Creative Writer and Founder of Lucid Mind. Let’s read more about her inspiring journey so far and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Sargun:
Talk us through your background and your journey as a women entrepreneur/coach, please;
This journey has been a total roller coaster ride. After my schooling from Ryan International, I immediately knew I wanted to do psychology, so got myself admission in Delhi University. With every passing day, statistics as a subject kept haunting me and I somehow quit before the examinations out of fear. Before the next academic year, I had a few months in hand wherein I explored a student job for a while until I took re-admission in another college of DU.
In my graduation days where I pursued BA, I couldn’t get rid of psychology from my mind. The three years of graduation were really productive for me. I kept participating in every college opportunity while building my PR and networking skills. I won various poetry and cultural competitions. I realised my interest in literature was high. I started compiling my poems with a vision to get them published at some point. However, psychology as a subject matter was still close to me. By the end of the third year, all I wanted was to get back to that subject. I immediately applied for my post-graduation to one of the prestigious universities of north-east England.
Another dream that I wanted to fulfil; to be on my own, learn on my own and explore an international environment for my growth. Since then, there was no looking back. I knew this was the time, I had all that I wanted to do in life. Learn more and more on this subject and become a counselling psychologist. The fear of statistics remained until I cracked my exam with among the top scores of 96 and there I was, breaking all the mental barriers to test myself. That day I realised, all I needed was a nourishing environment, the right mentors to nudge me through my limits.”
Sometimes, I feel, had I not got that opportunity, I wonder where would I have been. With volunteering opportunities and building on my research skills abroad, I knew after getting back to India, I would want to polish my skills further wherein Indian context could be taken into account. Here, I joined a post-grad diploma in counselling psychology. That learning was incredibly amazing. With deep dive into psychological counselling (such a misunderstood concept in our society still) and interning & working opportunities in prestigious organisations such as max hospital, metro hospital, ipssr and amity university, my last employer, I have upgraded myself for the better only.
Today its 2 years to my successful entrepreneurial journey as an independent practitioner and counselling psychologist in the brand name of Lucid Mind (strengthening souls), my own counselling corner. Its been over 8 years to my professional arena and I only see growth. Learning is never-ending, with rising trends and latest researches, you cannot just sit back and rejoice your traditional learning. So, I proudly call myself a learner. I grow seeing my clients grow. I upgrade because I know my clients would benefit. What keeps me strong here is my clients. In the entrepreneurial realm, keeping oneself upscaled really makes a difference. Client appreciation, feedback and alliance is my reassurance to continue growing Lucid Mind in all forms.”
As a passionate individual, I have always aimed to deliver authentic counselling and therapeutic services. I recently also got into the field of life coaching and it is amazing to see how coaching, a diversified field can give so much. One of my mentors once said, ‘every field is saturated, if you go by the number of people in the field, you would see yourself in the last row’, so what is really needed is to be focused with your plans and dreams. There is no stopping to delivering genuinely. The rocky ride is a part of the journey, but should that be a barrier? Creating a headstrong mindset was my aim before I got into the field of entrepreneurship from a job seeker’s mindset. After the pandemic hit us all, just at the very moment I was at an exhilarating point of my business journey. However, learnt from one of my mentor Sam Cawthorn, to bounce forward & that’s what I did. With Lucid Mind’s successful sail, I introduced an Employee Wellbeing Workbook which was downloaded in more than 1500+ corporate firms as an engagement guide and practical tools and tips for people to manage the crisis well. I first-authored a poetry book named ‘Life – A Mixed State’ for which I was compiling my work throughout and it was released in 2015. Since then I wanted to write more. The COVID times gave me that exact opportunity to come out with my own story of struggle named, from ‘pain to purpose’, in one of amazon’s no. 1 bestseller ‘revive & thrive’ as a co-author. I feel liberated and excited to share that we all have our pain points and you never know when our struggles and battles become a rising hope for someone somewhere in the world.
No matter what professional attire you are in, don’t forget you are a human first with universal emotions and feelings. It’s okay to let yourself out and feel successful at the same time, personally, professionally, socially. Awarded as a smart psychologist 2019 at a women entrepreneurial platform, magicka and engaging in various keynotes and delivering workshops, has exhilarated my pace.”
We are aware of all the good work you are doing in your space; what keeps you going?
My work does. I absolutely love what I do. I am a giver and that is what makes me authentically me. My clients above all, keep me going. Their appreciation, feedback and trust in me keeps me on my toes. Last but not the least, my family’s support and free space helps me define my focus for they understand what this means to me. So, one’s passion for what one does and clients’ faith, I guess is the greatest source of motivation that anyone can look for. A nice blend of strong intrinsic and extrinsic factors mark my emotionally, mentally, spiritually healthy gain.
Why did you choose entrepreneurship over a corporate career?
While growing amidst the professional journey, I always knew my aim was to make a difference and impact lives of people who were touched by self-doubt, inner critic and social pressures. My objective was to facilitate more and more people in reaching their balancing mechanisms whilst unravelling their potential that was hidden behind the window of pain, confusion and regret.
I knew there was a time I would switch to being on my own, not relying on jobs. For me, more than a consistent salary, it was important to make meaning out of what i was delivering.”
Growing up reading success stories and understanding through my subject matter and my own teenage, the value of personal struggles is I believe a turning point to never-ending success. Outreach being my focus, I knew a 9 to 5 job was stealing that dynamism that I could use effectively. It takes a lot of courage, focus, planning, strategizing, perseverance, hard work, combined with a willingness and execution skills. Thanks to my mother, my husband, my business coach Haitel & my mentors, who actually added to my vision of real-time counselling. They inspired me in a million unsaid ways to start this journey in the right spirit and hope.
Please share with us some of the challenges you faced in your journey?
I would like to rephrase your question here. Allow me to replace the word ‘challenges’ with ‘obstacles. My experience in the entrepreneurial realm has taught me that challenges are good; challenges are healthy and challenges must come. Without challenges, your growth is difficult to determine because those are the testing times. As far as obstacles are concerned, oh yes like many others, I have had various obstacles in the business run. From trusting people for business alliances to making choices that cost me a lot in monetary terms but above all with my time. If I had a time machine, I’d go back and re-start this journey a little earlier than now. However, blessed is the feeling that I was never rejected in any job interview and maybe that helped me in a lot of ways. I took it as a challenge, knowing I am on my own pitching around, expanding my base and that it is going to be different from a job done for someone else. So in terms of challenges, I have learned to outgrow the obstacles by working on my self-limiting beliefs. Someone rightly said, business acumen is the road to excellence in this journey. However, I believe more than that developing the right attitude and inculcating the shift in mindset are the first two steps in overcoming obstacles.
With one of my previous experiences in corporate behavioural training as well as my sound hold in academic presentations, I always wanted to have that aspect in my own venture apart from my niche in counselling. Exploring the business dynamics to that made me realise what I learnt from one of my mentors that every industry is saturated, you got to make your own mark in your own way rather than looking at what the other is doing. This is one key sentence to my thrive. My parents are from service industry (retired now). If familial conditioning was to be the impression then I wouldn’t have been where I am today, however, their encouragement to believe in who I am and where I want to be is what has been my constant for determination and aspirations. My husband has his own established and well-settled business, seeing him was another push. I strongly believe that everything is a choice. Choosing to be encouraged or discouraged was at my discretion. I took the opportunity to venture into my field and related domains to make my name and I am glad I did. I also draw a lot of inspiration from various books on perspective building.
What is your business mantra: money or emotions?
As a counselling psychologist, emotions are central to the theme of my business line. Commitment in the right spirit and ethics guide my emotional strive towards making a difference. Not that money is not important, but if that is your priority then compromises could take a front seat and ride you through. Experience has taught me that it is not that money can buy everything for you. You make money follow you if you are truly driven, genuine and passionate about what you do. Emotions play an important role in whether the money comes in question or not. They are the underlying feelings and thoughts one displays.
How do you handle the pressure and manage stress?
When you do what you really love, the pressure and the stress become manageable. Emotions are emotions, whether positive or negative. They are bound to test you in every situation. Similarly, as an entrepreneur, pain is a part of the journey that has to be experienced and enjoyed. How you take it, like learning or suffering – that’s a choice you make. So, the pressure is definite when you are on your own. As a solopreneur, I believe you learn every day. What went fantastic once might not prove the same another time. So being a little uncertain in terms of results is acceptable. However, what you shouldn’t be uncertain about is your will, dedication and outcomes to keep yourself forward on the track, aligning yourself realistically, in terms of gains and setbacks. From being a partner in one company to handling an independent brand name makes me stronger each day.
What has worked well for you so far?
It almost took more than 8 years for me to make this move, to leave the job mindset and get into my full-time business. What was needed was acceptance and perseverance and I have no regrets to ride the struggle of sharpening my edges. For me, the most important thing that has worked is my commitment to my own ideas and plans. Initially, I felt it was slow but it was supposed to be and that’s how I endure this journey. With so many opinions in the background, I made sure not to get carried away. I also took up business coaching while I was venturing out. I came to a realisation that that business coaching was more focused on making me tougher to run it, yet carry my qualities of empathy, positive regard and genuineness with grace. Fortunately, the journey has been incredibly rewarding and challenging at the same time. I would say it has been brilliant so far and have much more to achieve.
In your opinion what are the keys to success? We would love to know your advice for all those starting out as an aspiring women entrepreneur?
Success cannot be measured in terms of what car you drive, how many properties you own, how much money you have. For me the first step to success is how much love you have gained, who fuels your energy, how valuable is your service for someone. Being an early riser to define success, I would rather say, if you are learning no matter what your age, you are successful. However, if I were to give a few key ideas on how you can walk on the path of success, I’d rather say:
1 – If you have envisioned something, take action, just move and make it happen.
2 – Your original plan will always work, while modifications might come along.
3 – Accept feedback with grace, no matter what it is for.
4- Knowledge & creativity are never a waste while exploring yourself in different domains. Eventually, you will only enhance your insight.
5- Believe and perceive are two different words, keep them separate.
6 – Assess your intent. Let pain be your power.
7 – Whatever you want to give out to the world make sure you start from within.
8 – If you feel you need a guiding light, get coached.
9 – Accept yourself in all situations.
During this COVID-19 crisis, what are the measures you have undertaken to continue your business without disruption?
When this pandemic had hit and lockdown was being talked about, I was in Mumbai conducting a workshop for a corporate. I was to be there for a few more days to attend a mega event as well. COVID-19 was still being taken on a casual front. The day I got back to Delhi, next thing I heard was lockdown everywhere. So the COVID crisis started on a note where I was still in a zone of accepting and feeling elated that Lucid Mind was picking up on its other domains/services as much as my professional counselling. Every day started to look alike for me in the lockdown. I devoted myself completely into my work. Knowing that these challenging times are uncertain, I made sure to do my best in terms of personal branding, hiring, marketing & outreach, service discounts & virtual sessions. I cannot say that the response was 100%. however, my passion didn’t fail me when the business had a response of let’s say 40% initially. This encouraged me to do more, finish up on the layout front and further structuring things that were left as a result of procrastination earlier. Due to being restricted at home, I got more time for reading, constructive social media engagements and at the same time, incorporating value-based models through various engagements such as speaking, podcasting, doing lives on social handles. Being a part of the Speakers’ Tribe tremendously added to the gaps. Time certainly has been challenging but has got various opportunities to excel and endeavour. However, maintaining time for family, health and fitness is always on an active mode.
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