One can become a public speaker by figuring out what they really want to speak about. Secondly, they should find a mentor and learn from them, somebody who has been in the industry for good solid years and making an impact. Third, they got to be patient in terms of doing deep practice in the right environment with the right teachers.
1. Tell us about yourself and your journey.
I’m an international trainer, public speaking coach, an
Amazon best-selling author & global management leader inspiring people
(both individuals & corporations) to achieve their goals & creating a progressive
mindset.
This is my reality today.
But life wasn’t always like this, I grew up in a one-room house on the outskirts of Calcutta my father used to be a taxi driver, and my mom was a full-time housewife. I have an elder sister. When we were young, our parents realized that to get the next generation's life to be better their kids need to get educated and not just in a normal school but in a private school where they can learn the English language.
As every parent dream, they wanted to send both of us to a private school, so they looked at their earnings and savings, but they weren’t able to send either of us due to limited earnings, so they borrowed some money and took some help from neighbours, and that's how I got chosen over my sister because I was three years younger and I could adopt a new style of learning at the age of eight and a half.
I’m not very grateful that happened because otherwise, I would not be able to do what I do today. My parents had a lot of financial challenges when I was growing up. I still remember we did not have any furniture in the room, we used to sleep on a rolling mattress, which my mom used to roll out at night, and in the morning, she would put it on the side. And we had a small kitchen outside the room, it was actually a shed, and in Calcutta, it rains very heavily, and it used to be a challenge for my mother to cook food.
I used to get second-hand clothes from my neighbours because it was free. Now, these all the challenges I just shared are my parents' challenges. I had shelter, I had food, I had clothes, and as a kid, I was sorted.
My challenge growing up was that I was a fat child, so I easily became the target of being laughed at and teased by my peer group, and my biggest sorrow which made me who I’m today is that I’m part of incredible India, I'm a mixed child. My mom is Bengali and is dark in complexion, and my father is Punjabi and is very fair in complexion. So, I’m a fusion of north and east. this was not my learning from the beginning, but this was the understanding given to me by the people around me that there was something wrong with me as a human being and that I wasn't pure enough as a human being.
We had two different groups of kids who would be there at the playground, and I would go to play with one group, which was the Bengali group they would stop me and say,” hey, you’re not one of us; better go and play with your brothers on the other side “. And then I would go to the second group, they sometimes allowed me as my name resonated that I'm one of them, but they kept discriminating, saying you are darker, you are Bengali, or you belong to that side, not our side.
I did everything to become fairer because I wanted to be accepted by the people around me, and I had all these questions, why God have you made me this way? Why I can’t be normal like other kids
When I was 16 years old, my father had a major accident with his taxi which he was driving, so he couldn't afford that one-room house we were renting, so we had to relocate to our remote village where he came from originally in Punjab. In the city, there were struggles there were challenges in the village life had different. The guys around me looked different. They had beards, they wore a turban, and they did farming, so they were stronger than me.
I’m a Sikh from my father's side. In the village, they made me feel and look completely different, so at the age of 16, I started growing my beard and wearing a turban to make people around me feel that I was one of them and that they could accept me. Now all these voices which were given to me till the age of 16 years that you are thick, dark dumb boy good for nothing, it became so bigger that it became my voice.
And at the age of 16 and a half, I gave up on life, I thought I couldn't make a difference in my life, I couldn't make a difference in my parent's life, and nobody wanted me here. So, it’s better that I kill myself as it’ll be the end of all my pain, all my miseries, and all my why questions to god. I grew up watching some Bollywood movies at my neighbour's house when I was in Calcutta, so my strategy to commit suicide and not create a big scene was to cut my nerve in the middle of the night, and by the time when my parents wake up in the morning, I’ll be history.
In the night, when everyone was sleeping, I was there lying down in tears, and I got hold of a blade (razor blade) that I kept next to my window, I was holding it next to my wrist, and my hands were shaking. There was a part of me that was saying, “just go for it, just go for it, just press it once, and that’ll be the end of all your pain, all your miseries, all your why questions”, but I had another voice talking to me simultaneously, the voice of fear and it said “it will pain a lot, a lot of blood will spill out maybe you can do this tomorrow night”, and now you know the result.
Trust me, when I woke up the next morning, I was the most miserable person in my understanding because I thought, whatever these guys who talk about me that I’m good for nothing, they’re right. I thought it was an act of courage at that time still, but three days after this decision of juggling to find how to do this, I had magic happen in my life. I got a letter dropped on my house, and till this day, I’ve no clue how they got my name and address, but that letter saved my life. When I opened up that letter, it had a beautiful golden heading, and it had some amazing lines written for me Personally, well, I thought that way at that time, but now I understand those were marketing lines.
The letter came from a network marketing company called Amway, t was launched in India in 1997 I don't know how they got me the details, but that letter saved my life. It said if you want to be rich, famous, and successful, all that can happen for you if you come to the business meeting, So I travelled 100 miles from my village to Jalandhar. Attended a program with them. I was in a room with around 200 people in that room, and I was sitting there on a chair it felt like I arrived home and that this was where I belonged.
The speaker, his name was Dr. Braich, whatever he did on stage, he mesmerized me. He gave me the first deep desire in my heart that I would like to do what he’s doing from the stage at the end, he said “ whether you join the business or not, I highly recommend that you pick up a few books we have some great collection of self-help books, and we promise if you tap into those books your life will definitely change” so I went to the bookstall and looked at some of the collection they had and picked up two books from there one was rich and grow rich by napoleon hill and the second book I picked up was how to stop worrying and start living by Dale Carnegie.
When I started to read these books, I realised that the power to change my life is within me doesn’t matter what my skin colour is, doesn't matter what language I speak, doesn't matter what religion I follow, Doesn't matter which country I'm born, everything I wanna change in my life is within me, and since that day I've never stopped reading books, I never stopped showing up in a training room, I never stopped learning in my life.
In 2003 I went to a program in Delhi, I was there for my graduation for my
further studies, and I met somebody who recommended a book by Tony Robbins
called “ awaken the giant within” I didn’t know who was tony in 2003. So, I
picked up this book, and this book helped me a lot as I was able to learn a lot
of inner strategies about pain and pleasure, six human needs, and tony became
my hero.
In 2006 My cousin invited me to come to the UK, and I went to Newcastle for my further studies, I was looking for a part-time job on a website, there were ads running on that website with a picture of tony flashing up, and it said “a free book from tony Robbins” so I clicked on that ad to get the book after a few days I received a book called “Notes from a friend”. I read this book, and after a few days, I got a call from Tony Robbin’s office, and the guy on the other end realised that I'm a big fan of tony, so at the end, he mentioned, “hey Amandeep, we have a plan for you, why don’t you come over to London and attend a live event with Tony himself?”
I was so excited, and I said, “of course, yes” it looked like a dream coming true, and I didn't realise that I would have to pay a fee to go to the program.
The guy was very generous he realised that I’m a student looking for a part-time job, so he gave me a payment plan, which I paid for over five months, and in July 2007 I attended Tony’s program with 11000 people. On the first day, we did fireworks, and I had some breakthroughs about my fear of life. The whole experience completely wowed me. On the second day, I learned about NLP strategies. On the third day, tony gave me a lifetime gift.
The breakthrough was so major for me by the end of the third day, so I made a decision, it was - I may not have the right financial background yet, I may not have the right skill set yet, and I may not have the right skin colour yet, I may not have the right accent yet, I may not have many things yet, but I'll figure out a way. I’ll learn from the best teachers, best mentors, and best trainers, and I’ll become a world-class speaker. I’ll go out in the world to share my message to inspire and empower people to take their life to the next level.
And here I’m today.
2. How and when did you start with public speaking, and
what led you to speak?
I did my first workshop in December 2010 in Chandigarh. The name of the program was “therefore I win” with a trainer friend who I met in a course. And in that program, we lost money, around Rs 1,20,000 each. And we filled up the room with our relatives and cousins. So, my career as a speaker started like this.
What led you to speak? - of course, my journey where people didn't trust me, never believed in me and discriminated due to my skin colour because of my origin, and I wanted to prove myself worthy of what people think I'm not. Discrimination pisses me off that's why I came into public speaking so that I can spread empowerment. Later on, I realised that I have got this inbuilt quality to make people find their voice.
3. How can one become a public speaker?
One can become a public speaker by figuring out what they really want to speak about. Secondly, they should find a mentor and learn from them, somebody who has been in the industry for good solid years and making an impact. Third, they got to be patient in terms of doing deep practice in the right environment with the right teachers. It can take from a few months to a few years.
4. How do you prepare for a talk?
The biggest preparation one needs to do for a talk is to have the intention to serve. If you do not have the intention to serve, you will always be struggling as a speaker. When that serving intention is strong, you show up on the stage differently. Obviously, you can do things like prepare your slides and look at them at least three-four times. Practice your speech several times if you are at the beginner level. Preparation becomes deeper when you get some experience.
5. Can motivational/public speaking become a full-time
career?
Of course, yes! with specialised education that public speakers go through, and it’s a multibillion-dollar industry. It's going to expand at a higher rate, especially in India it’s booming, and it is going to be a six hundred thirty-billion-dollar industry in the next 5 - 7 years. So, there’s massive career growth is there in the public speaking industry.
6. Which public/motivational talk changed your life?
“Unleash the power within” by tony Robbins in 2007 with 11000 people in London. It was a life-changing moment for me.
The other one is when that letter from Amway arrived at my house in 1998. Going into that meeting and watching Dr. Braich presenting from the stage was a great experience, and that is where I had a deep desire to do something like him, I was even scared to acknowledge that desire back then, but later on, as I moved forward with my journey, it became clearer that teaching is the path I need to take and that what I'm designed to do.
7. How to deal with anxiety when you go on stage?
First of all, you have to accept that stage fear happens for most people. Accepting that you have some fear or anxiety helps you to calm yourself.
Second, Anxiety comes when you are planning to perform and show your audiences how amazing you are, which happens as a by-product of you serving them. So if you have the intention to serve, you have prepared well, you have a structure and storyline for the talk, and you are at ease when you have to perform.
Third, Do some breathing exercises.
Fourth, make your vulnerabilities your power and talk about them.
Fifth, try to connect with your audiences to serve them. This will keep you at
ease.
8. What mistakes did you make when you started, and how
did you overcome them?
I thought that I can do a phenomenal job on stage, and that would be enough for
people to believe in me and do business with me. As a result, I couldn't fill
up my rooms I was a broke coach I didn't have money to pay my rent or for my
groceries.
Then I learnt a hard way that there’s a science behind bringing
sales and filling up the room in the way you speak and what kind of
subconscious questions you answer from the stage that leads to getting desired
results at the end of your presentation. There’s an art of how to ask for
business at the end of your presentation.
9. What is your book about? How and when did you decide to write a book, and
what was your experience?
My book is about the attitude to win in life overall, not just one game or job,
or relationship. Because I realised every failure is a learning mechanism. I
call it a constructive feedback system. So every setback is feedback for you to
become better.
It gives you some amazing lessons because when you experience
failure, you become emotionally charged up for that moment. Whatever lessons
you derive from those experiences stay with you forever. So the book is about
the winning mindset. “It’s called The Secret of Winning”
It was a decade back when my mentor recommended that “if you want to have
credibility and authority, you must write a book”. It took me a few years to get around the journey to writing a
book. It wasn't the writing which was difficult, but it was believing that I
could become an author.
Because I had set a standard for authors who wear khaki
clothes, carry an expensive pen, have an intense look, and always have a book
in the background, only those people are called writers maybe…
But the book is in every person. So if you are reading this, you have a book
inside you. It's just a matter of time till you write one. It's about
your journey of life.
My mom can’t read and write, but she can narrate her experiences of raising up
two kids with very limited resources in a one-room house. That can become a
book in itself about the lesson a woman can learn with limited resources. So
there’s a book in everybody.
Writing a book isn’t an easy process. It demands a lot out of you. When you
write a book, you are much more responsible for living those messages. You cant
be teaching and not following your own teachings. So you have to become a
student of your own process. It was a painful experience to let go of one layer
of myself and find a new one inside me. It’s in you also in every reader who is
reading this
10. Do you have any book recommendations in this field?
Yes, of course first one is my own book, The Secret of Winning
Then I have a few coauthored books which I've written with my
students
Book - Spek2Shine, Rejection to redirection, Unstoppable Courage, Unbreakable, Destiny by Design
And then there are books like - The breakthrough experiences by Dr. John Demartini, Good to Great by Jim Collins it is a book on business
Interviewed By - Shashank Sehgal
.jpeg)
){kind=link}
0 Comments