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 Vaijayanti Bose for an exclusive interview with us. She is an Entrepreneur, Leader, Author, Soft Skills Trainer, Speaker, Parenting and Life Coach. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey, background and advice for our growing community!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Vaijayanti:
Could you please talk us through your background and your journey?
My early childhood was spent in North India, as my father was in the Indian Army, but from 9 years onward, I was placed in a boarding school in Meghalaya. What I am today, my values and qualities of head and heart, as well as my love for cinema, theatre and music, I have imbibed from the Irish nuns and student life in Loreto Convent, Shillong.
To my bureaucrat father, who left the army to join the Civil Services. I owe my sense of commitment, discipline, mental and emotional resilience and readiness to embrace change, adapt and adopt new behaviour patterns as required by the changing socio-economic scenario.
Following my graduation with History Hons and topped by a professional degree of B.ed, from Loreto College, Kolkata, I started my professional teaching career, spanning 4 decades in Kolkata, the last 36 years, in the Ashok Hall Group of Schools. Along the way, I completed my Masters in History from Jadavpur University, by attending evening classes for 3 years.
Finally, on reaching 70 years, I decided to up the ante and embarked on my second innings as a Life Coach, Trainer and Speaker, having among my distinguished Coaches, internationally acclaimed Mentors like Arfeen Khan, Tony Robbins and Dean Graziosi, John Assaraf and Ajit Nawalkha of Evercoach- Mindvalley.
I cull the best practices, tools and strategies of my mentors to curate my program EXPRESS N THRIVE. At 71, I became an author with my book on self-help, titled PIVOT IN CONFIDENCE Live Carefree, available on amazon.in as an e-book. It highlights the importance of embracing change as the gateway to success and illustrates this idea through real-life narratives of successful women in my inner circle.
Debut Speech on EMBRACING CHANGE on Pecha Kucha platform
How did you discover your passion?
My long-term interaction with adolescents and their parents during my professional career gave me ample opportunities to guide and counsel them through their turbulent teenage years, trials, fears, failure and frustration.
It was natural that post-retirement, my mind turned towards expanding this reach beyond the classroom to the wider world outside, sharing my experiential wisdom along with new insights I picked up about the latest research in Neuro Science, from my extensive reading and listening to podcasts. I joined the courses run by my aforesaid Mentors, to prepare myself for my new journey.
Despite the challenges, what keeps you going when things get tough?
My profound belief in spirituality and God’s Plan for me, keeps me going, despite all challenges. I have faced moments of despair when I had lost my loved ones, but what kept me going was the knowing, that I still have a lot of giving left in me, that I was chosen to make a difference in people’s lives and be a catalyst for change, through my training, coaching and speaking skills.
I am also blessed to have the love and support of my near and dear ones, my siblings, my daughter and my extended family, who always stand beside me when life throws bouncers at me.
What are the three most important lessons you have learned in your life?
1) Change is the only constant… embrace change to evolve into your highest version.
2) Never look a gift horse in the mouth…welcome new opportunities
3) Every cloud has a silver lining… see challenges through the positive lens of a Growth Mindset
In your opinion what are the keys to success?
A few of the keys to success are:
> Self- Awareness and emotional management
> Self-love and acceptance
> Self-development, mental and emotional resilience
> Knowing your Big WHY
> Goal setting and time management
> Inter-personal skills and EQ
> Honing your Leadership skills
> Attitude of Service and Contribution
How does your program help to achieve this?
My Program helps my clients discover who they are and what drives them to take action. They learn how their core belief system influences their decisions and acquire tools to change their limiting beliefs into empowering codes, that shape their behaviour.
Finally, they define real outcomes, whose progress can be measured and are actionable step by step.
What is your Mission?
My mission is to help young adults to be purpose-driven, develop a powerful mindset to surmount any challenge, speak with confidence and become value based extraordinary global citizens.
Crowned Beauty Queen at a Rotary Pageant 2023.
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
– Do what you love and love what you do
– Identify your wants, needs, aspirations and dreams and go after them with commitment and enthusiasm
– Find out your fears and limiting beliefs due to your cultural conditioning, that may be a roadblock in your path towards attaining your career goals.
– Invest in your self-development journey… it is the most important investment in your life.
– Life- long learning… Be a lifelong learner – read books, watch YouTube videos and listen to podcasts with empowering content, to acquire inner strength.
– Trust yourself and have faith in the Power of Intention.
– Practice discipline and follow mindfulness for better emotional regulation.
Last but not least, what about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
My long journey as a professional teacher gave me immense satisfaction for both personal and professional reasons. I could send my daughter to one of the best schools in Kolkata, followed by technical education in Ahmedabad.
Today, she is a Fulbright Scholar from Cornell University, USA, and is currently carving out for herself a flourishing Consultancy in Urban Heritage Conservation.
My students are placed in high positions in Government bodies, Academia and Corporate Institutions, both in India and abroad, and respect me as their mentor, in their onward journey.
Today, I find it immensely satisfying to see my students and clients transforming to become more empowered and emotionally resilient towards challenges in their lives.
As a soft Skills Trainer and Inner Transformation Coach, I find it exciting to apply the latest developments in Neuro-Science research, learnt from my mentors, to my curated and customized modules for Public Speaking and Advanced Communication Skills, as well as my Personal Development Program.
I enjoy sharing my ideas and insights through my Social Media handles on Facebook and Instagram, Insta Live titled NOURISH TO FLOURISH, my posts on LinkedIn, my videos on YouTube and my Podcasts on Spotify.
It was hugely exciting for me when I made my Debut as a Public Speaker on the Pecha Kucha platform on 19th May 2023, at age 72 and was placed 1st in a Beauty Pageant last year.
I also find it immensely rewarding when my contributions to Rotary Service are acknowledged and am grateful for being invited by the District Governor Elect to be the World Understanding and Peace Chair for Rotary District 3291 for Rotary Year 2024-25, starting from 1st July 2024.
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.
