Mr Khera, an acclaimed author with 8 million books sold, recently spoke on “Turn Setbacks into Comebacks”. During the talk, he inspired and encouraged individuals to realize their true potential. He anecdotally mentioned his own three failed jobs before he became a successful author and now a much-acclaimed motivational speaker.
The session itself counts as a positive outcome of the pandemic situation as it was held on web breaking the barrier of geography with participants from across the globe – USA, UK, Kuwait, UAE, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, India and Singapore included. This was 180th webinar that Mr Khera did since the Pandemic – a big leap for someone who did not even know how to use WhatsApp before the pandemic. Even at 70, there is no excuse for learning new things for Mr Khera.
He started the session by sharing about himself, in his own words – “Where Did I Start?
I am not that educated, my academics are as follows: I am a B.Com, third division, I failed in my 10th. In school I was a backbencher, troubling the frontbenchers. I come from a business family that owned coal mines in India. The mines were nationalized and the government took them over. Right from being mine owners, we came on the streets. And by streets, I mean literally streets. I did not create the mines, I only inherited them. Some families had money but ours did not. My father passed away when I had just graduated from college and we were left with the liabilities. All the assets were gone. I had been married just four weeks then. I remember that a year later my daughter was born and I had to sell some of the last pieces of my mother’s jewellery to get a release from the hospital. I did not have even 10 bucks to buy milk that night for my child. I tried my hands on three businesses and failed in all three. Finally, on November 13, 1975, I left India. Initially, I went to Toronto and started life with a bucket in my hand, washing cars door to door for about a year and a half. Then totally by accident, I got into selling life insurance where I was almost fired within the first three months for non-performance.
He shares his 7-steps to overcome the crisis:
- Choose carefully. After we make the choice, the choice controls the chooser.
- Convert excess time to Productive time – Read books instead of increasing your TV time from two hours to four
- Build positive relationships – What a person with the good relationship can get done by a phone call, you can do will millions
- Be pro-active
- Be a good person
- Accept yourself and your imperfections
- Give back in life
He mentioned that one thing that this pandemic has given everyone is STRESS. He further explains that source of stress is uncertainty which leads to insecurity. He listed that the worry most people have is whether this crisis will finish before the money or the money will finish before the crisis. On the bright side, he mentions that stress is the price one pays to be thoroughbred in life – under stress Olympians break world records while some people break themselves.
Mr Khera illustrated the difference between important vs urgent – health is important but not urgent, family is important but not urgent. He said the key was to realise that if important is ignored for too long it becomes urgent and then it is too late – health is lost and family is disintegrated.
According to Mr Khera, the biggest asset in life is a relationship – a simple phone call can get done what a million dollars would fail to achieve. He talked about friendship not being a selfish endeavour but when where we learn to give.
He drew examples for history to drive home the point that whenever unemployment goes up, self-employment goes up. He explained that if one doesn’t come out of this crisis either unskilled or more knowledgeable or healthier then one has only self to blame as no can’t complain one did not have time. He explained that while one is hired for skills, one is always fired for behaviour. He emphasised the need to have financial buffers and added that if anything this crisis has shown that “Cash is King”. He clearly demarked the difference between making money vs earning money. He called the former criminal and the latter spiritual. He drove home the point by summing it as – In life direction is more important than speed. His 11 cardinal rules of success may be downloaded here . If you have any questions for Mr Shiv Khera please write in the comment box below.
Mr Shiv Khera is an Author, Educator, Business Consultant and a much sought-after speaker. He inspires and encourages individuals to realize their true potential. He has taken his dynamic personal messages to opposite sides of the globe, from the U.S. to Singapore. His 40 years of research and understanding has put millions on the path of growth and fulfilment. Over 8 million copies of his books have been sold globally including his international bestseller “You Can Win” in 21 languages. His clients include Lufthansa, HP, DHL, HSBC, Canon, Nestle, Philips, Mercedes, Johnson & Johnson, Metlife and many more. Tens of thousands have benefitted from his dynamic workshops internationally in over 20 countries and millions have heard him as a Keynote Speaker. He has appeared on numerous radio and television shows. Mr Khera is the brand ambassador of the Round Table Foundation. He has been honoured by The Lions International and Rotary International.
