At BrilliantRead Media, we always strive to bring meaningful and powerful stories from India and around the world to empower and motivate our growing community. As part of this endeavour, we invited Tinat Atifa Masood for an exclusive interview with us. She is an Entrepreneur, Leader, Coach, Trainer, Mentor, Consultant and Change Enabler. She is the Founder and CEO of #IAmTheBest. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, her background, and her advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Tinat Atifa Masood :
Could you please take us through your background and your journey?
Born in Guwahati and growing up in Shillong has been a blessing of sorts. My father was a dreamer despite being from a humble background and he decided to get my schooling done in Loreto Convent. I am what I am today because of my father’s dreams and my mother’s teachings, which I continue to practice despite the odds. I credit the way I speak, behave, think, and emote to my parents, teachers, and friends.
Entertainment and media have always been of huge interest to me. I have been an actor since I was 4 years of age. I have acted in several serials, movies, plays and documentaries in English and Assamese. Being a documentary filmmaker, I have made at least 15 documentaries to date. As a voice-over artist, I have lent my voice to hundreds of films, documentaries, and serials.
My life as an anchor and compere has been very interesting over the past 30+ years. I started as an anchor in English for the VVIP events in my state and then went on to anchor in English, Assamese, and Hindi across different places of the country.
Being ‘the chosen one’ from Assam by the CEO and MD of The Telegraph Group, Mr DD Purkayastha to anchor all their INFOCOM events, I am privileged to be part of their team for over 16 years now, anchoring their IT events across India and beyond.”
I started composing poems when I was 18 and have continued to do so over the last few decades. With my first poetry book titled 10:20 published in 2009 and released by the former CM of Assam Late Tarun Gogoi, my second book titled Atomic Haze was released by renowned Assamese writer Dhruba Hazarika in November 2020.
I was requested by the former CM of Assam, to document his biography titled The Visionary: The Life and Rise of Tarun Gogoi.”
This year, I have taken the challenge to publish 12 books, one each every month. I have already published five books; seven more to go.
How did you discover your passion as a ‘Trainer’?
In 2009, I was contemplating suicide since I had become overweight, and no one was inviting me to anchor their events on stage. I was miserable till I read a book by Dale Carnegie titled ‘Stop Worrying and start living’, which saved my life.
I spoke to my bestie about my wish to end my life and that is when he told me, ‘Never ever think of obliterating your life. You are precious and you are the best.’ This is when I decided to come up with my concept, #IAmTheBest in 2016.”
I understood that there could be people like me, more specifically, young people who might have gone through the same type of depressive situation like me.
Since its inception, through the concept called #IAmTheBest, I have helped more than 5000 young people to regain their confidence and lead better life.
I am on a mission to touch the lives of 5,00,000 people and create fearless, focused, future leaders for the country.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
On 21st of November, 2019, my heart collapsed and I went clinically dead after falling in the bathroom and cracking my head into two. The doctors had told me I would have to rest for a year.”
But I worked on my mind to get back on my feet, walk, run marathons in the years 2020, 2021 and 2023 and talk non-stop for four and a half hours while training people, even after I had returned home stammering and stuttering. I didn’t give up when the doctors suggested I take a rest for a year.
A year was too long for me, and I couldn’t wait to get back on my feet after I had ‘rested enough’ for a month. I was driving, walking, and trying to get back to a ‘normal life’.
My biggest drive is to live each moment of each day to the fullest. The #StoryOfMyLife is what I make each day, chronicling them to all my social media timelines.
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
As a young girl, my mother motivated me. Now, my husband, and son. However, I have great friends like Dr Unmona Borgohain and Shaheen Hussain who have consistently chosen to push me to take on newer challenges and do better in the ones I have already taken.
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
I have been a person who has invested a lot in myself, in the sense that I have constantly been a lifelong learner, yet at the same time have not hesitated to share all this knowledge with my students. My endless number of training will always be for them.
I have made love, compassion and empathy my mantra for life and this has kindled in me the warm feelings for every human on Earth. I am a lover by default.
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
I would like to point out a few keys to success:
> Consistency
> A strict routine
> Passion
> A self-driven force
> The ability to say NO
What advice would you give to our readers?
Love yourself to the zenith to love every other human that you meet in the journey of your life.
Last but not least, what about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
There are several nuances to the #StoryOfMyLife.
– Though I am from an extremely humble background, yet my father dared to dream and got my education done at the premier school, Loreto Convent in Shillong. I am what I am today because of my father.
– My mother has been my greatest teacher and it is because of her that my trainings are speckled with beautiful stories painted with an ideology I am proud of owning.
– My students are the humans I live for. They have made my journey more exciting when each time they meet me after a training session with me, they mention those words I love to hear, I AM THE BEST. Yes, indeed. They are the best. Since 2016, students from all over the Northeast of India have been the reason I carry on with so much vigour and enthusiasm.
Each time I get the love-letter for #IAmTheBest, I know for sure that I am on the right path to give to India the leaders she is looking for.
My husband has always been my biggest advisor and that’s one reason I have been able to come up with exciting ideas all these years.
My son of 17 years is my Krishna and to be living with a strict son who handles my finances has to be a never-ending saga of excitement.
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.
