Your Other Side

If you were trapped under the rubble of a building hit by a plane, how would you feel about your future? Meet Sujo, 9/11 survivor and founder of YouCanFreeUs, who was pulled out from the rubble of the World Trade Center. This defining moment changed his life forever as he took on the daunting task of ending modern slavery. Sujo's journey is filled with resilience and hope. This motivational speaker believes that how we respond to tough situations defines who we are, and not our education qualifications. Listen to a candid chat with my school friend as we reminisce old times and the role that our childhood plays in defining us.

If everything we do operates between the spectrum of fear and optimism, then where would you stand? Meet Sanjay, founder partner of 100X.VC, who believes that budding entrepreneurs need to acknowledge the space in between and have a fast learning mindset. In order to be successful, they need to operate with irrational optimism and perseverance to make dreams happen in a dream-taking world.

Do you know what makes an outlier? Well, they just don't challenge the status quo but they also inherently operate with a maker mindset. Meet Ashish, co-founder of Near Store, an outlier who is constantly sensing opportunity and triggering disruption to improve lives . From investment banking to retail innovation, this multifaceted entreprenuer believes we need to be more broadminded and embrace accidents to solve humanity's complex problems.

If children are the future of our world, shouldn't we see the future through their eyes? In fact Justyna from Belgium, psychologist and Montessori educator with a corporate HR background, believes in giving them wings to fly. She is an aspiring author of Zen Masters, a middle grade fiction. She is also co-founder of Planet Pilot, a virtual open innovation platform for teens. Ceaselessly seeking to adopt the most successful learning methodologies into an innovative model that meets the needs of the 21st Century, she uses her superpower of bringing stories to life.

The most relatable inspiration comes from the 'aam aadmi', the common man who you probably see every day, not from the wealthy and famous. Meet Vidhyadhar, a wise and humble activist who understood this at a very early stage in his career and empowered more than 10 million youth. The founder of LeadCap Trust is the Curator of Global Shapers of the World Economic Forum and Fellow of UN and Ford Foundation.

Do we know the direction that our inner compass is pointing to? Meet Ashish, CEO Happy Finish APAC, who believes that without curiosity, it would never be possible to discover your passion. Operating at the intersection of art and technology, his team delivers new age digital experiences at this award-winning global production studio. Listen to his views on self discovery, career choices, life of experiences and more.

Do you have a mentor you can rely on? A respectable, relatable person who will not judge you? In the world of increasing ambiguity, Sulina believes the new gen workforce lacks mentorship. The Chief Client Officer of OMD India is probably one of the most approachable humans in the media industry. This young-at-heart recently received a Lifetime Achievement Award from a client! Listen to Sulina's stories about mentoring, staying young, valuing relationships, responding to unexpected events, and more.

Care to challenge the status quo and bring value to clients? Meet Neena, the unapologetic Content Queen of the media jungle, currently holding 2 CEO positions at Zirca Digital and AIDEM Ventures. This eloquent lioness dares to nudge the client every time she smells a shallow brief. Check your pulse as you listen to a no-nonsense leader talk about responding to change with futuristic thinking, her love for cooking and more.

Does hard work and good luck go hand in hand? Jose, COO of Indigo Consulting, part of Publicis Group, believes that the providence has always conspired in him to be successful. As he traversed the digital landscape with leadership positions at Adobe and Xerox, he credits his upbringing and all the people that he met along the way. Listen to a pragmatic lion living on gratitude, talking about his philosophy of life, whose other side is his only side.

Wondering how a 30-year old family business thrives in times of uncertainty? Well, with a strong foundation based on customer obsession and agility. Being always in beta is the new mantra, for all sizes of businesses today. Meet Moiz, CEO, Zephyr Toymakers, leading India's home-grown toy business built of world-class quality products and customer experience centered around the future of our world - Children! Listen to his awe-inspiring stories of him growing up in a family with strong values and beliefs, overcoming hurdles with child-like disruptive mindsets and more.

Do you lead your life by chance or by choice? Well, interestingly life seems to oscillate between choice and chance. Meet Samit, banker turned yoga teacher certified from the Isha Institute of Inner Sciences. He thanks his wife, his pillar of strength, for letting him stay away from home for five months so he could find his inner peace. He, thereafter, chose to leave the typical corporate world to start his own Yoga classes and help others discover the power within. Listen to a humble yet strong heart who can perform 123 Surya Namaskars in one go.

Don't we sometimes secretly wish that such times of uncertainty stayed a little bit longer? The moments when we pause to connect with our family and ourselves as humans is priceless! Meet Mandar, Chief Business Officer, KidZania India, who mindfully embraces fatherhood and has taken up cooking as a way to stay inspired and express his creativity. Kidzania gracefully hosted Dream On India Studio, a large social initiative to capture dreams of children in the world's first ever experiential storytelling theme involving space and aliens. Listen to a heart-to-heart chat about new age parenting, cooking delights and more.

Want a silver bullet to kill uncertainty, ambiguity, complexity and any other shitty situations in your life? Meet Mathy, CEO of Space Kidz India - a factory that manufactures such bullets of hope, dreams and positive energy. In 2017 NASA launched the world's smallest satellite called 'KalamSat', built by her students. This invention today serves as a beacon of hope for young space enthusiasts. You will wish being a kid all over again when you experience her radiant aura through your headphones. Listen to this demi-goddess from outer space talk about the other side of humanity, women leadership, dreams of space and more.

What's more dangerous - natural stupidity or artificial intelligence? Meet Jaspreet, author of the book 'The Tech Whisperer', who believes AI has the power to help solve the planet's most complex challenges. He served as former Chief Digital Officer of Mahindra Group and currently on Singularity University India's leadership team. The gin connoisseur's cynical views on human behaviors only goes to show how mammoth a task of changing mindsets we have in front of us. Listen to Jaspreet talk about partition times, gin and tonic, jugaad mindset and more.

Being an entrepreneur in the edtech space today seems like the 'in thing'. With coding, AI and robotics as the next disruptor, parents are rushing their kids into these online classes, without really caring too much about the quality of content and educators in these classes. Meet Sneha and Manasi, co-founders of MindChamp, who run an award winning coding program for kids, providing employment exclusively to women in technology. Honestly, it's hard to find such a pair of such highly conscious co-founders who bond over an audacious goal to get our kids future ready!

What if coffee stains could help you discover yourself? Meet Yesim from London, a globally recognized futurist and play with an enviable career with Hasbro, LEGO and Toys R Us. She uses the Play philosophy to create new innovative spaces, cultures and communities. Her playfully-designed workshops are creatively invigorating with Turkish coffee and fortune reading experiences. She was also a global jury member of project Dream On India and currently a global partner on #DreamOnX, a global movement to see the future of our world through the eyes of our children. By the way, what touches you the most is her warmth and almost angelic presence that cannot be put into words.

Would you have ever imagined the digital laggards demand for online platforms in the pre-COVID era? As large Indian businesses are jumping on the internet bandwagon, Dr Kushal Sanghvi is helping them strategize to accelerate digital in their context. Listen to a digital media veteran contemplate on how the future just became the present, why we should feel more indebted to our parents, power of data, and more.

What is the one thing we can learn from women brought up in army families? Anti-fragility. Meet one such unique woman of strength - Smita, Country Manager at MightyHive, now a part of S4 Capital established by Sir Martin Sorrel. She loves her cat, and lives and breathes technology like no other geek goddess you've ever met before. Listen to a millennial managing to balance work and life by deriving inspiration from sports, nature and more.

Ever imagined what it feels like being a parent of a child prodigy with a rare disease? Meet Hiren, the father of Sparsh - a singer, songwriter, rapper, inspiration keynote speaker who has been featured on 'Kaun Banega Crorepati' with Sir Amitabh Bachchan. Hiren's 17 years of real-life experiences raising a child with special abilities will raise your level of consciousness to the next level. He believes that once you embrace uncertainty, you are gifted with the most incredible solutions to any problem in the world. Listen to a 'hi-level empath' who has witnessed miracles like no other being you've ever met before!

Can your love for wine land a gig at your favorite company? Meet Per from Copenhagen, a facilitator, master-trainer and co-author of the popular book 'Building a better business with the LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® method'. He shares how human behaviors have evolved in the past 18 years and how Play can help us deal with growing uncertainty in the most fun and rewarding way. Listen to his surreal journey on how playing with wine landed him a gig with LEGO, his burst of insights from uphill biking and more.

In a galaxy far far away, there lived a demigod who was forced to live a life like all other humans of planet Earth. Not until a virus hit Earth, did he realize his true purpose of rescuing the suppressed dreams of humanity. Meet Lalit, Digital Thought Leader at SAP Singapore, who believes in unleashing inner energy and transforming lives of hidden talent. The author of "When Change Happens..." surely know how to use storytelling to fuel change in humans and organizations.

Innovation through co-creation is no more an option today. But what does it take to co-create with your clients? Learn from Pooja, CEO of Glitch, who believes in building an open, internal culture that is consciously based on trust and built on diversity - of not just gender but also different beliefs, values and attitudes. Just make sure you hold onto something while you listen to a feel-good, hearty conversation with an ambitious yet empathetic leader.

Is it surprising that a modest socialist somehow always ends up in leadership roles that require compassion as a critical skill? The current CEO of Digitas India, Unny shares his experience of a cult lifestyle and presents some undeniable truths about digital capitalism. His cautiously optimistic views about the social sector also helps us understand the systemic challenges of taking humanity to the next level.

Untapping your inner child can be easy if you simply listen to your heart and follow your passion. Meet Lars from Denmark, an exponential organization coach, who builds global communities of trust and collaboration that almost self-organize to disrupt the status quo. The founder of Educate for Life believes in empowering children with the right mindsets and tools to let them solve the world's most pressing problems in a safe, creative playful environment.

Unaffected by the curveballs that life throws at him, Beerajaah is a bold yet hearty soul. The optimist believes the next generation can fix the pitiful state of humanity. It is rare to find someone whose predictions are always spot on, along with a natural ability to surrender to the moment. Listen in to a mindful futurist who cruises through life without regret.

De-fragmenting life as we know it, Sara, a creative technologist believes there is an artist inside all of us. The founder of Gurupriyam Innovation Labs tells stories through new experiential technologies. His mythical views on the technology of parenting and post-Covid evolution of mankind are filled with profound insights. So it's not really an accident that a crow - symbol of myth and magic - flew by when we recorded this episode.

Ever used Quantum mechanics and first principles to operate in the world of uncertainty? Well, listen in to a non-conformist who seems to operate with randomness, but actually has a very high level of consciousness. Raj co-founded game-changing startups such as TheLostParty, ThinkScream and now SOAL, The School of Accelerated Learning. I have always known him to embrace change with creativity and resilience; silently believing in human potential and possibility.