As part of our endeavour to identify and share some of the unique and compelling stories from India and around the world, we invited Shweta Rajput for an interview with BrilliantRead Media to understand more about her inspiring journey so far. Shweta is an Entrepreneur, Mentor, Consultant, Personal Branding & Relationship Coach. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, background, and advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Shweta:
Talk us through your background and your journey, please;
Experience of more than 20 years in diverse fields and working from school children to senior management has helped me to confidently step into the role of a coach and a speaker.
Credentials that support my work are MBA in HR, Diploma in Guidance and Counseling, being a certified Image Consultant, NPA practitioner, TTT & Soft Skills trainer.
Currently, I am working with leaders, entrepreneurs, housewives and people who have taken a sabbatical or starting a new journey.”
How did you discover your passion in ‘Coaching’?
While working with this diverse audience in various fields, there were a few questions, I have observed people struggling with:
– What am I good at?
– How do I tap onto my potential?
– What is my passion?
– What is my purpose in life?
– How do I manage self and others emotions effectively?
– How do I understand and communicate effectively with other personalities?
I found myself naturally inclined towards helping people find answers to such questions, and that is how I knew this is what MY purpose in life is, and since that realization I have been working to fulfil that.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
I chose a career in Coaching and Training, to live my passion of “Empowering People and Transforming Lives!
Once you find your true purpose and passion, it drives you on its own. You don’t need external factors or motivation for you to keep going even when the going gets tough.”
This is the reason I have created my signature program “Step Into Your Spotlight”. This program is for someone who is looking to find answers to these questions:
> What are my natural strengths and areas of development?
> What are my core values and how do they drive me and my relations?
> How to identify my Personal Brand?
> What should be my Personal Brand’s Promise?
> How do I communicate my Personal Brand to the world?
> How to prepare myself to take up new roles and responsibilities in life?
> How to build strong personal and professional relationships?
Please share with us a unique challenge you faced in your early career?
I am married to an Airforce officer, which made me move to different parts of India frequently. This presented a challenge of finding a new job every second or third year and changing my profile as per the availability of opportunities.
Though this was challenging as I had to start all over again every time, but at the same time, these experiences were the very reason today I am confident and comfortable working with a diverse audience.”
This brings me to my second mantra of life “Everything happens for a reason”. Our job is not to worry and complain about it, but to be patient and find the reason behind it.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
My parents, my sister, my husband, and my daughter. Thank you for asking me this question as this gives me an opportunity to thank each one of them through this medium.”
Dad: Thank you for being a pillar of constant support. Your constructive feedback has always helped me to perform better the next time.
Mom: Thank you for loving me and my work unconditionally. One of the reasons I have never given up on myself is because I know you are watching and praying for my success.
Sister: Thank you for being someone in my life on whom I can count on for anything and for your constant guidance on improving my business acumen.
Husband: Thank you for trusting in my abilities and pushing me to tap on to my full potential. I would have not been here without your trust and constant support.
Daughter: Thank you for being an amazing daughter and one of my best friends. Also, for being my creative partner!
Please share with us – what has worked well for you so far?
One thing which has worked for me is to always have a solution mindset.
When I meet my clients, I always ask myself, what are the challenges they are facing and how can I help them overcome them.
And this brings me to my third mantra of life “Give people what they want, and not what you want them to have”
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
There are a few:
~ Continuous self-introspection and learning
~ Always looking out for the right opportunities and grabbing them as and when presented.
~ Believing in myself even when others don’t.
You are always positive and motivated, what keeps you going?
My Mantra in life is “MY Happiness, MY responsibility”
This limits my expectations from others and makes me do things for myself that gives me inner joy and peace of mind.
Every day I make sure to spend time with myself. I go for walks alone in the evening, read for at least half an hour every day. This fills me with energy which I can then use to help my clients and strengthen my own relations.
What are the business mantras you have embraced as you sought to establish your success story?
– Grabbing on the opportunities and not being scared to come out of your comfort zone.
– Be honest and gain the trust of your customers
– Always serve your customers with the intention of helping them.
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
In my view and experience, the most important elements would be:
(i) Self Analysis
(ii) Positive Thoughts
(iii) Strong Will Power
(iv) Initiative
(v) Right Intention
(vi) Self-discipline
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
I would like to share some, which I believe should be ingrained in our mind from the very beginning, but sadly I see that it’s not.
(1) Know who you really are and what you want to be. Don’t let others opinions become your reality
(2) At the same time, be open to feedback. Timely action by working on something which is essential can save us from many problems in life.
(3) Once you know your likes, dislikes, desires, passions, then create opportunities for yourself to be the best version of yourself.
(4) Self-development is a continuous process, not just when you are getting into a new job, promotion, or relationship.
(5) Do not wait to get stuck in life to move forward. Day by day, every day keeps getting better and better.
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.
