Season 1 - Episode 26 | How I Became a Successful Entrepreneur with Zero Network, Qualifications, Experience or Support: Ms. Snehal Singh (India)

Today, Ms. Snehal Singh is a successful publisher and coach with repeat clients from all over the world. She didn't have any standard tertiary qualifications, business experience, network or resources to boast about. Her family is far from wealthy, nor are they in any position to encourage or support her independent entrepreneurial aspirations.

Yet, Snehal has become a successful entrepreneur, who in her first year set the audacious goal helping 100 people achieve their publishing dreams and nailed it. How?

Join Dr. Ramesh and Snehal as they journey through Snehal's personal and business ups and downs, explore how Snehal builds a formidable abundance and growth mindset and pick up some gems for yourself, that we hope will spark and guide you toward consistently showing up and stepping into your own power!

To learn more about the entrepreneurial mindset with Dr. Ramesh, get your copy of The Big Jump into Entrepreneurship 2.0 on Amazon.com or www.Dr-Ramesh.com.

If you're interested in building crisis resilience, Dr. Ramesh will be launching her new book on the crisis ready mindset in the first half of 2023. Make sure you follow Dr. Ramesh on LinkedIn so that you’ll get her new book alert!

Host: Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra, Author, Podcast Host and Founder of Talent Leadership Crucible

Guest Speaker: Ms. Snehal Singh, Publisher & Founder of Mind Spirit Works Publishing

#EntrepreneurialMindset #India #USA #MindSpiritWorks #Publisher #Writer'sCoach #Dr.RameshRamachandra #TheBigJumpintoEntrepreneurship2.0 #CrisisReadyMindset #AbundanceMindset #TalentLeadershipCrucible #Thriving #AgeofDisruption #CrisisResilience 

Transcript

To learn more about the entrepreneurial mindset with Dr. Ramesh, get your copy of The Big Jump into Entrepreneurship 2.0 on Amazon.com or www.Dr-Ramesh.com.

If you're interested in building crisis resilience, Dr. Ramesh will be launching her new book on the crisis ready mindset in the first half of 2023. Make sure you follow Dr. Ramesh on LinkedIn so that you’ll get her new book alert!

Host: Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra, Author, Podcast Host and Founder of Talent Leadership Crucible

Guest Speaker: Ms. Snehal Singh, Publisher & Founder of Mind Spirit Works Publishing

#EntrepreneurialMindset #India #USA #MindSpiritWorks #Publisher #Writer'sCoach #Dr.RameshRamachandra #TheBigJumpintoEntrepreneurship2.0 #CrisisReadyMindset #AbundanceMindset #TalentLeadershipCrucible #Thriving #AgeofDisruption #CrisisResilience 
 

Ho Lai Yun  00:00

Hello and welcome to Thriving in the Age of Disruption. If you’re looking to kickstart the New Year with inspiration and abundance, you’ve come to the right place! We’re excited you’ve joined Dr. Ramesh and Ms. Snehal Singh today for their empowering conversation about creating a life where you truly thrive.

Ms. Snehal Singh is a successful publisher and writers’ coach with repeat clients from all over the world. She didn't have any standard tertiary qualifications, business experience, network or resources to boast about. Her family is far from wealthy, nor are they in any position to encourage or support her independent entrepreneurial aspirations. In fact, Snehal had left everything she knew behind to move to the U.S. from India, in order follow her husband’s career move.

Yet, she has become a successful entrepreneur, who in her first year set the audacious goal helping 100 people achieve their publishing dreams and nailed it. 

Dr Ramesh Ramachandra  01:02

Welcome Sneha to thriving in the age of disruption podcast series. I’d like to start off by inviting you to introduce yourself. 

Snehal Singh  01:11

I have have been someone who worked for at least 17 years, in different capacities, from teaching, to training to coaching people as a set of an organization having a salaried pay, to one fine day me realizing that I can't keep doing this. I know I love training, but I can't train the same topic, every single day for 3 years. It was just getting too overwhelming. I wanted to teach and learn new things. And that's how I moved into freelancing. But then I still stuck to what I was doing. training people. This shifted for me, when one day my husband says, “Okay, you have a choice. You can live without me for 5 years, because I can't keep traveling back; Or you travel with me.”

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  01:53

So, how long have you lived in the U.S. now, Snehal? 7 years? How old are you now?

Snehal Singh  01:57

37.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  

And so you went there in your 30s? How is it living in new country without the network that you have at home?

Snehal Singh  02:06

That was definitely a shocker because I have been a very typical Pune girl, born and brought up in Pune.  I loved exploring new things, but traveling was not my thing. When suddenly my husband says that, “You have a choice. You live 5 years without me or we go together?” “Are you kidding me? I just signed up for a coaching course, I was all ready to take the business to the next level of freelancing, I built a network here.” In 22 days, I was ready to fly. I wasn't prepared for it. I had never explored a life beyond staying 3 days away from home. I then decided, “Okay, you know what? I've been working since I was 17, and I might as well just take a break for 5 years.” Because that's what everybody back home told me, “You've just done your basic graduation. You don't have any other skills and hobbies or may not support you to do anything. So, what options do you have?” Mostly, everybody that I knew was expecting me to just be a homemaker but that isn't me.

I would finish all the course. In the morning by 7. And then I'm done and didn’t know what to do for the rest of the day. Within 7 days, I gave up the dream of 5 years’ break. And I said, “Let's begin from scratch. I did not have any network. I didn't know anyone apart from my husband in a new country. I didn't know to drive and go to places. And while I knew how to speak in English, my confidence was gone one day when we stopped by a Subway and it was my favorite joint in India, so I knew exactly what to order. And yet the person did not understand anything that I said. “Okay, my English is good”, is what I thought. But the person just doesn't get me. So, it was all about learning communication skills all over again. Confidence for communication has gone, “Okay, I can't travel. Everything I have to learn from scratch.” 

Also, my husband wasn't available because he was traveling the moment I moved in. All he did was set up the house and then 2 months, he was gone. “Okay, what do I do now?”

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  03:54

Right. So I think it was great how you shared about the struggle that you had when you first moved to the US.

Snehal Singh  

And that's where I opened up the doors of social media. Social media, for me at that point in time was something that I only logged in every 6, 7 months. And every time I had to reset the password, because I've forgotten the old one. So let me get started here. And that is where I started connecting with people around me. And eventually joining small things, which in no way related to what my career would look like. But it gave me an opportunity to network with people - In things which did not need qualifications, like dancing group, or joining Zumba classes, or even taking orders for cooking. Cooking - I loved it for nobody needed qualifications, but that helped me connect with the community so beautifully. When I decided to move into writing and publishing books, the network was already built. Social media helped me do that in a greater way, because I was accepted very beautifully. When it comes to social media, I didn't need to seek an approval. If somebody likes me or didn't like me, there was no judgment that came in. And if it if it did, there was a detachment, which we generally don't have with a loved one. 

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  05:00

Social media was an access for you because it opened up the world, in terms of being able to connect to people quickly and to stay connected, because you didn't really have that physical network yet. 

What did you do to motivate yourself?

Snehal Singh  02:06

I had to figure out different ways. So initially, I just started buying a lot of stationery, and start painting to keep myself engaged. So there was this one concept that I always believe, “If a mind is busy, there are no demons or devil at work.” I tried my best to keep myself engaged. So it started with small things like painting, then I started taking orders for cooking, which kept me busy, because that again gave me joy. And for me, cooking has always been my meditation. I will always be cooking, not baking, because baking needs a lot of measurement, and cooking needs a lot of creativity. And then it was about connecting with people. And that's when I started realizing that if I am feeling this, who has been an independent woman, what has changed, that I am not able to handle a situation like this. Answering those questions, I started realising that I was holding myself back with all the inhibitions I had. 

Snehal Singh  06:13

I initially began with small things like listening to podcasts, watching videos, something that will remind you that everything is going to be fine. And the second important thing is, because I was already learning to be a coach and having a mentor is something that helped me because I was able to just bounce off what is going on with me. So while I had one coach who was helping me with that personal stuff, and helping me understand that you're not alone, at the same time, I had already hired a business coach to tell me I have zero connect, tell me how to go ahead with it. And I did have a lot of people commenting and saying, “Shouldn't you invest when you have it?” And I'm like, “Okay, if I have then I don't need somebody to tell me what to do.” Most people did not understand that. And that actually pushed me so much into coaching. Because many people generally begin with, “Okay, I want to start a business, let me first start the business, then I will hire someone to tell me what to do.” And I think it's exactly the other way around. You need someone to tell me at the beginning foundation stage, more than you need in your journey. 

Now many people may not agree on like this part of the conversation, but when I moved to States, the biggest discomfort I had was connecting with my own, Indian community I felt wasn't as much welcoming at the beginning, because they weren't sure what we are doing there, what kind of Visas we have, it was so much about status. I find it easy to communicate with the Americans. So I had more friends when it came to the other culture than I had Indian friends. Plus, the other challenge that I saw is, whenever they travel, they were kind of stuck in time. So someone's travelling in the 70s is still following the 70s culture when India had progressed by 2016. So they were still following what probably my Nani or my grandma used to do – They’ll be like there's so much to worry about having women in a separate room, men in a separate room. You're partying, there are 50 people in the room, but women are doing their thing. And that didn’t sit well in my understanding. I'm grateful to that to certain extent, because many Indians don't actually have that experience. I did. It helped me expand my horizon.

My first few clients all were American, when it came to coaching. My first client was an American lady who had 27 years of experience and just shifting jobs. That desire to understand somebody else's culture, language pattern, I think that helped me grow. But yes, it was a desire of understanding somebody else's life, seeing what is happening, how do they see the world? How is it different? And then movies have glorified things, right? If you're watching an Indian movie, then a Western culture is generally expressed in a way that they don't have emotional touch. They're not connected with their parents, they don't do as much. And when I saw was a different picture together, which made me study humans more than anything else. Because what I realised that a conversation that an American mom is having with her daughter is pretty much the same that my mom had with me. Same things - You're not doing this, you're not dressed well, can you go change. Basic conversations, with the same family setup, it just that the way of expressing was different. The way of expressing was more action. In the culture that I come from, it is more of words, more spoken. “I love you” said more often. But the actions don't reflect that. And there, I did see the difference and it helped me realise that, “Okay, there needs to be a balance between this. And that motivated me to again, write, express, help people to help themselves back, who like me, thinking they don't have qualifications to do anything.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  09:35

Wow, Snehal ,this has been really inspiring hearing your journey. I love what you have shared about how you had to deal with the culture shock. And to see your society in the U.S. stuck in some kind of a time capsule, whereas the ones who came later on had a different view. Or if you went back to your home, you will see that they have moved on. 

Snehal Singh 

Yes,

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  10:04

You’re someone who's very positive and who has a mindset about abundance, which is appropriate for today's world of disruption. Why I started this podcast was that there is a lot of change and disruption happening. And most people seem to be overwhelmed by what's happening around them, I wanted people to see that there is no one way to deal with change, and that you can actually deal with it in many ways. So to work with different people like yourself, to share your perspective in life. More importantly, also to decode what is an entrepreneurial mindset? And what is a crisis ready mindset. These are the two mindsets that you must have for dealing effectively with disruption. 

The first mindset - an entrepreneurial mindset, I'm talking about someone who's resourceful, able to deal with uncertainty, to manage risks, but most importantly, to create value in bringing something which does not exist into the world. The one thing that entrepreneurial mindset is not is that you don't necessarily only have to start a business and run it. So, you can have this mindset. and apply it in all areas of your life. 

How was it that you ended up starting a publishing business?

Snehal Singh  11:20

When it comes to your definition of entrepreneurial mindset, because that is true, it is about how you look at life, and not just as a business. I didn't know this is a beautiful way of defining it, until you and I had that first conversation about entrepreneurial mindset. For me, it was a shift. 

I had to move to a different city, a different country altogether. And it was a journey that began right from scratch. The first step was being a part of a co-authored book and meeting authors. So my first ever networking event for which I traveled when I moved to the States, which is probably after seven or eight months of being in the States, where my mentor was pushing and saying that, “You say you don’t have friends, you better show up for this event.” And I show up, and I meet the publisher, who's arranged that event for the authors. And she asked me, “What's your story?” And I’m like, “I don’t have a story, I'm here because my mentor asked me.” She's like, “No, everyone has a story! What's your story?” And I'm like, “I don't have a story. I just moved here. And that is … Oh, and my name is this!” And she said, “Okay, I challenge you that when you go back, and I give you 90 days, figure out what your story is. Put it in words, send it to me. If I liked it, I’ll put it in the book.” And I'm like, “Are you kidding me? I'm not a writer.” And I wasn't very confident about English myself because when I moved to the States, my first experience made me realise that my English is not that great, as it is for Americans. Because it’s their first language and for me it was the third language. So that's how it happened. I did not write my story until the 89th day and then I finally wrote it, submitted it, got into the book. And I came up with this crazy idea, because I was learning how to be a coach, I wanted a book that was there for coaches as to how they can create their businesses. Because there's no one in the coaching world who was really sharing how they are being successful and how they can have a business and a practice. So, I knew a lot of coaches. I went ahead and I told them, “Well, you write your part of the story, how you're doing it, and we'll get it published.” And I go back to this publisher, and she outright denies the idea saying, “I'm not publishing it.” And I'm like, “Are you kidding me? I’ve already promised these people that you're going to do this, and I don't know anyone in the States.” And I’m still sticking to the old story that I don't know anyone in the States. She's like, “How many people do you have?” So, I was like, “I already have 10, and I want to have 24.” And she's like, “That's not happening. You're doing it for the first time. It's not happening. How do you want to do this?” I said, “I’ll figure it out and I’ll find these 14 people. But I still want to do this.” “I'm still not publishing it. Listen. What do you want me to do? I’ll take you through the course; I'll teach you everything that I know. And then you publish it yourself.” And then I'm like, “Okay, I've promised people that she’ll get your books to bestsellers. I have no network. How am I going to do that?” I went through the course, it was a good eight sessions that she ran, two to two and a half hours each. And then we finally got the book out. And the book hit Best Sellers on day one, in multiple countries and multiple cities, by just understanding whatever was taught. And somewhere, that's like your path, or the path finds you. So, for me, it was more of the path finding me. Because when the book got published, the highest kind of inquiries I started getting from some people who knew me, as well as a unknown, was, “How did you make that happen? Especially when you're living in a country where you don't have network, you hardly have even 50 followers on Facebook, how did you make that happen?” In my mind, I'm still not publishing, I was just helping people get through their journeys of books, and somewhere just being more resourceful and figuring out, “Okay, if this person needs this, how to get it?” And I'm always a solution finder, I'll go find a solution, come back. Which eventually moved into, one day, a conversation with my coach when he asked me. “Where are you spending most of your time?” and I told him, “This.” And then he said, “Sit down and count how many people you have helped.” And I have already helped more than 64 people in six months!

Dr Ramesh Ramachandra  14:59

Wow

Snehal Singh  

And out of that, nine have already published their books in six months. And he's like, “Are you realising that your path is calling you, and you're not taking that path.” And I haven’t paid attention to it because I was so busy thinking that I'm a coach. And I want to only coach. I was actually doing some other things and also some admin stuff to publish the book. And that's where I said, “Let's give this a thought.” And I took a challenge for myself saying, “This year, I'm going to make sure that I coach at least 100 people.” And that was 2019, by I think, November, I had already hit 100 people that I had already coached to write books. And that's how publishing became official for me. Okay, Mind Spirit Works is not just a company name, it is a publishing house. And then the work just happened. So, I would say, so it was more of the calling finding me, then me going looking for that calling. And yeah, I think that's who I'm as a person, as well as generally, I like to make the most of whatever has been given at that moment of time. So, for me my entrepreneurial journey began way long back, the day I decided to resign from my company and start something by myself. But it became something that I could measure when I had something called this company name associated with me. And it was not just me, not Snehal as a brand, but something else, which was huge and bigger than me, which was about other people more than about me.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  16:23

Well, thank you for taking us through that journey from being someone who worked for others, to being a freelancer, and then eventually becoming an entrepreneur who started your business and was running it, even though you didn't own it in the beginning, until you look back and you went, “Oh my God, I've been doing this.”

Snehal Singh  

And then it hit me because now it became official. I had to figure out everything. I'm living in a different country. It's just been like 18 months or so. And I have no freaking idea how the finances or the taxing system works. Because it wasn't of my interest. I went there as a dependent. So, I never paid attention to it. In my mind, it was five years’ break, I'm going back to India, I didn't have to learn it. My husband has taken care of all the basic things when it came to finances, handling books, and so on. So, to me, I now need to understand bookkeeping, I now need to have an accountant who needs to tell me how does taxing work in this country, which made me realise, “Okay, in this country, there's the thing that is common, each state has a different thing.” And then you had to study that. So that was an eventful journey. But yes, as you said, that realisation that I'm not just someone who is, as I said, a freelancer who is just going day by day, but entrepreneurial, the thought makes it bigger than who you are. It has more weightage to it than, just saying that I run by myself. So

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  17:49

That’s right. It's a responsibility in running a business because now you're responsible just not for yourself and maybe for rent, taxes and other people's salaries, and it formalises the experience of starting and running a business. For some people, it is probably the most empowering thing that they can do because they get to be in charge of their lives. And for some people, it can be a burden. 

Dr Ramesh Ramachandra  18:18

Let's talk about crisis. I define crisis as a setback. Usually, we have a plan about what we want to do, or we have an expectation, and then life happens. What we realise in that moment is some experience of anxiety or frustration. For some of us who can realise that early, we can snap out of it, and we can create a new pathway to getting back on track. For others who find it difficult to come to terms with that loss of control, then we could suffer through for a bit more. In terms of your crisis and how you've dealt with it. What’s given you strength?

Snehal Singh 

I think first, is our relationship with crisis. Crisis helps us understand, or it forces us to take an idea of what is our strength and where lies our weaknesses, so we can face it right out front. And that is what crisis has been for me. I believe that the challenges in your life, the earlier on you have, the better ready you are. My belief is that it doesn't matter where you're born, it's where you're going. And that's what matters. So, when you come from a background where there have been struggles, which has been a part of your everyday life, with time, you learn that period of handling crisis reduces. So, for me crisis has been multiple, whether it is personal life, or professional life, as we say the journey of entrepreneurship, the first setback for me early on, was the mindset or the thought that I’m the first one in the family who is doing business. 

So, when I'm thinking of business, when I'm thinking of entrepreneurship, I don't have anyone in the family to go back to, when I'm having bad days on where things are not working, you know, where the clients are not walking in? Because the only response that I would get was this, “Why do you want to do this? Just do a job.” And you're like, “No, that's not what I want to listen to right now.” Because it's going to set me back more and make me reconsider. And this one biggest setback for me always has been the question that you asked on, “Do I have anyone in the family has done business.” So, it's me, in this first seven generations of the family who's actually doing business. So anyone in my family generally responds to any setback as, “Leave this, just join another job, you’re qualified enough to do it.” And I'm like, “Okay, that's not the answer I want, I’ll find the answers.” So that is one setback, which keeps coming back until you just get over with it and decide, “Okay, this is what it is. This is not the path and I need to find other ways of getting answers to it.” If you want to be in business, as you said, it's about an entrepreneurial mindset. And that is about taking risks, that is about doing what you want and following what your heart says, and your mind says, rather than what people around you say, because they're not ideal clients. Mostly for people like me, who don't come from a background of business, the general support that is needed is not there. And there are always questions raised which are related to your ability, your capability and the support that it can give to the family. The best way to understand if your business is running well or not, and what to do, is to actually connect with your ideal client and see what is coming or what they need, rather than those who are not your ideal client and convincing them that you're doing your best and you're doing everything. However taking the time to be vulnerable is the key for crisis. It's okay to understand that, “Alright, this is what I've been faced with. And this is what life is showing me. What do I need to do with this?” is the key. Either I have a choice to step back from my own decisions that I’ve made, which was, “I want to start a business, I want to do this.” Or I move away. And that is where it's for me, crisis is - Standing by what I think I believe in.

And it could be, as I said, in personal life for me, it was getting married to the guy that I've been in love with since I was 17 years old. And it took us still 11 years to marry because there was a cultural difference, religion, caste difference. And it took us 11 years to convince his parents that, “This is the girl and this is why I want to marry.” That was a lot of setbacks. Every time we came down to a point where, “Let's separate our ways and let's go on.” When it comes to work, you do some things and then you get feedback from people saying, “How can you do this?” For example, I've done my basic graduation, which was through distance education, because with the conditions that I was in, I had to start working early on. I did my 12th grade and after that everything that I did was from distance education, which I did as when and how I got the opportunity, because there was responsibility. There were financial things at stake. There was too much work and I didn't have time to study. So, it took me nearly 10 years to do my basic graduation, after my 12th grade. It is a three year journey. It took me 10 years. And I think that kept popping up every now and then, people that I connected with, especially when I was in publishing here, kept asking me questions like, “How can you be a publisher? How can you be a writer? You haven't done anything in the literature, you haven't studied this.” These setbacks are minor, but they become true when it is not just one or two people questioning you, but it is a set of people who are already accomplished, making you wonder, “Are you in the right field? Are you in the right space?” Again, go back to your decision. Why did I start this in the first place? For me, health again, was a challenge. At a very early stage, I got to know that I have extreme diabetes, like my normal sugar used to be 700. And the doctors used to wonder, “Why aren't you in the hospital? And how are you still standing?” And that was for me a setback. Because now I'm wondering, “Okay, how do I do the work, and living in a country where there is no help no support?” If I was in India, at that point in time, it would have still been easier, because there are so many tasks that can be delegated very easily, whereas in the States, it doesn't matter how successful you are, you’ve got to do your own stuff. So that aloneness, in midst of you wanting to run a business, wanting to help more people, taking on challenges where you want to help more than 100 people in a year. And that brought me to a point where I wonder, should I just give up and say, “I'm sorry, I don't want to do this anymore,” and hitting that rock bottom once again, where you wonder and question, “Okay, should I or should I not go ahead with the word that I give”

And that's where I think abundance mindset is what helps me. Knowing and realising that I'm the creator, and I can create the life that I want to create. Sticking to that thought, and then showing up consistently. Showing up is one thing that I feel has gotten me where I am, and gotten me out of any situation. So even if you’ve ever shown me a lot of situations where things have been very devastating, when it comes to health, certain domestic questions, challenges that you face, it is the consistency and showing up, that irrelevant of what is happening, I would at least respond to a message or a text or a call from my client or say, “Hey, I'm going through something right now, but I'm doing everything, I will do it and I will show up for you. So, consistency is another. 

And the last thing important is having a community of people who are like you. It is said that you’re average of five people that you spend highest time with, and there was a point in time when I had more mentors then I had sales. Okay, so I had a mentor for personal life and a mentor for finance, I'd have a mentor for business. I also had a mentor who would help me speak better, communicate better. So, having a team who is on your side, I always I had a mentor for spirituality. So, I knew that, “Okay, fine, I don't have my family when it comes to finance, when it comes to business, to ask questions.” And it was this team who was my board of directors who helped Snehal get there where she wants to be, as we demo hitting that setback and reminding you that, “This is why you started this, can we go back to the root of why you began?” And come back, so knowing your “Why”, why are you doing whatever you're doing, because that's the only thing that will give you that hand when you're right in at the bottom.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  25:52

You started off saying that it's important to know what our relationship is with a crisis. And if we can look at it as an opportunity to change, we are all the better for it. Because then there is nothing wrong about it. Sometimes having challenges early in life is good because it prepares you. It's not as important in terms of where you're born. But look at all these challenges from that perspective of where you are going? Then there are moments when you hit rock bottom. And belief in yourself is so important. You shared with us about your abundance mindset. And it's about the consistency in showing up. It's about creating a network of people who can support you. And I love the way you describe it as the board of directors of your life, so they can influence you. You wrapped it up with knowing your “Why”. And in some sense, that supports you to have that belief in yourself. So, thank you Snehal for a very comprehensive decoding of crisis and crisis mindset. 

Dr Ramesh Ramachandra  26:55

As a young woman leader in your 30s, and it's interesting, because you're someone who spent several years in the US working as a young adult, as well as in India. What would be your advice for others to actually rise up and develop their leadership and decision-making ability?

Snehal Singh  

Women are associated with a word which we use in Hindi called “Shakti”. Shakti is the power within you. And that is what women are, it’s a feminine power. What I very strongly feel is that the world is changing. And the world has evolved greater standards when it comes to quality of feminism or giving that space for women. However, we are still not aware of how much freedom we have and how much we have been accepted in the world. So, it is about you stepping into your own power, rather than anyone giving you the approval, or telling you, or validating that your journey is worth it. Early on in my journey as a coach, the clients that I kept on getting were all women. And what I started realising is they had desires that they wanted to accomplish, certain goals that they had. And most of the conversations ended as an action word saying, “Well, I'll go and talk to my family, I'll go and talk to somebody, like a husband, or somebody at home, or children.” And at times, like I'm talking to someone who has a child who’s now gotten married and has their own life. And now she wants to do something about it. And every time they came back from their conversation, where they just asked, “If I could do this,” and they said, “Oh, we were waiting for you to do it. We always knew you can do it.” And they wondered why they spent 5, 7, or 20, or even 35 years of their life, waiting for something that was already given to them, but they thought it is not. So somewhere, we are looking at life, from old perspectives that have been taught to us in generations, limitations that were there on women, wherein life has changed and it has moved on. So, it is about you realising what you want, get that clarity, and then follow the three A’s - Awareness, Alertness, Agility. Be aware, be alert and get to the work, because you don't need anyone's permission. That permission has already been given to you. And if it is not, I think it's a bigger question for you to ask yourself, “Why do I need somebody else's permission? And what am I waiting for?” If you're not financially independent, and that's one of the things that I recommend whether you need it or not, whether you are a wife of a millionaire, or a child of a millionaire or not, you’d better be financially independent. Because that gives you the freedom that you need. It's about you learning for yourself. So, it comes down to you stepping into your own power. And that power is what I call Shakti and for me Shakti is expression. Voice out what you need. It will always come to you.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  29:34

Wow, stepping into your own power, you don't need anyone's permission. 

What is spirituality for you? 

Snehal Singh  

I began with the definition of spirituality is equal to meditation. That's what my definition for spirituality was, until I chose to find out what that means because meditation doesn't fit in my head, sitting down in one place for 20 minutes, it's too much to expect out of me. I can't sit still for more than three minutes. For me today, the definition of spirituality is your connect with the higher power, the Source. You're always connected with it. And the reason I very specifically said this, what it is now, is because as I keep evolving, I know that this definition for me will change because there's so much more depth to what spirituality is. Right now, simply just means when I am in connect with the source, or, as Abraham Hicks says, when you're in the vortex, where you are in the space where you're directly connected with the universe, where everything is for you. And that is what spirituality means for me. Now it can be displayed or connected in the ways that you like. For some it is, as I said, meditation and doing some particular exercises or rituals and so on. For some it could be about reading religious or holy books, and so on. So, what I have realised after doing all of these things, is that at the end, it comes down to you finding your way of how to build an instant connection with the Source. That could be by just calming yourself down. Or it could be through writing or journaling. You can choose various ways at various points in time. It doesn't have to be one way. It's like how you would have your relationship with your parents. They never say that you should meet me only in this attire, this way, it is the only method. You can meet them anywhere, anyhow, anytime, at any given point in time. And that's what spirituality for me is.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  31:26

That's profound and easy to understand. Because if we look at ourselves as being part of this bigger universe, then it's all about that connection, learning how to create that connection and being connected. Thank you for sharing your perspective on spirituality. 

What about living a simple life? Do you think it's possible to live a simple life and what's your definition of a simple life?

Snehal Singh  

The fast-changing world that we are in right now or as we say INSTA world, everything needs to be instant, everything needs to be fantastic. And this Instagram world, it has also made so many people aware of the looks and the ambience and everything. I think it comes down to, at the end of the day, “How do you really feel?” Not, “How do you show up?” When you're meeting people, it comes down to “How do you really feel?” And I went through that phase myself. Because for me, social media opened up the doors to connect with people. Being on social media was something that was a resource for me, which brought in clients. The good thing is, I didn't fall into this vicious cycle of making sure that you're aware of how it looks, making sure that you're aware of where you're sitting and how you're showing your world. 

And that helped me in a way, Dr. Ramesh, to stay grounded, because I didn't then go hunting for so called “life luxurious” as people say, or simply for the eyes, painting a picture which doesn't exist. Simplicity for me is being who you are and being okay with being who you are. It's okay to be vulnerable. It's okay to just be who you are. And people like that, people accept that. And I learned that from themselves or from social media itself, I would say, because I did this one challenge once, when I was supposed to get up at 4.30 in the morning, because I was challenged by someone and all you have to do is show up. So, I'm waking up at 4.30 in the morning, my hair, I have very curly hair so, it never listens to you when you want it to listen to you. And then just showing up saying, “Hi guys, I'm showing up for myself.” I was not sounding perfect. I would have just woken up so I had that woken up voice, my eyes were drowsy. But I realised that people are accepting me for who I am. They were not looking around for someone with perfect makeup, they listened to what I had to say at that point in time. And that made me realise that simplicity, at the end of the day, is Gold, as I would say, or something which is timeless. And people will always keep coming back to simplicity. Every now and then. So for me, simple life is just being who you are, being okay with being vulnerable, and sharing yourself. Just being the way you are doesn't mean that you do not upgrade and upskill yourself, but just showing up, just be who you are.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  34:05

That’s right. For you, what is thriving or flourishing.

Snehal Singh  42:06

Flouriushing is when you feel flourished when you look back at your own life, forget anybody else. Just you, when you look at that timeline that you have already crossed, where are you and what do you have? And when I say, “What do you have?” it is about relationships, people. Of course, finance or money is needed. It's a requirement. But I think it’s how to build relationships and you're feeling happy within yourself, then everything else follows. And that's the law of abundance as well, who you are and you're ready to create, you'll always multiply in every direction. So, flourishing so me is, “How does your heart feel?” and “What is your level of happiness? Is that joy so much that it's overflowing to the people around you? Are you someone who lights up the room?” And that is what flourishing is for me - Doing that and everything else is coming into your life as it's supposed to.

Dr. Ramesh Ramachandra  34:56

Share the joy and do people feel it when you're around? That's great. Well, thank you Snehal, for being with us today and sharing your thoughts about life and how to thrive in the age of disruption. Thank you so much. 

Snehal Singh 

Thank you

Ho Lai Yun  35:11

Thank you Dr. Ramesh and Sneha. I hope you’re inspired by Snehal’s abundance and growth mindset. In challenging times, I’ll certainly remember Snehal’s tips to simple show up every time and to remember to step into our own power!

If you're interested to learn more about the entrepreneurial mindset, Check out Dr. Ramesh's book "The Big Jump into Entrepreneurship 2.0", simply click on the Amazon link provided in the podcast description. 

In addition, Dr. Ramesh will be launching her new book on Crisis Ready Mindset in the first half of this year. Make sure you follow Dr. Ramesh on LinkedIn so that you’ll get her new book alert!

Next up, Dr. Ramesh speaks with Dr. Ton van der Velden, a medical doctor originally from Holland, Dr. Ton He has over 30 years of experience in working on sexual and reproductive health system strengthening. And now lives in Vietnam as founder and director of home nursing care agencies in the country.

Bio
Ms. Snehal Singh
Publisher & Founder of Mind Spirit Works Publishing, Abundance Alignment Coach, 10X Best Selling Author, Writer's Coach, Podcaster, & International Speaker

The mission is to sow the seed of "Abundance" in the minds of people she connects with, which would inspire them to live fully, authentically, and passionately.

Her intention is to inspire and help as many writers and authors to get their message to their target audience.

As the founder of Mind Spirit Works, Snehal is a brand in herself and is known for her work in the coaching and training field. She has worked with authors & life coaches nationwide and internationally.

She has so far created/co-created 4 Bestseller Book Series like Coach Wisdom Vol I & II, The Ca111ng, The Gift of the Universe, and The Shakti Awakening.

Snehal has helped 497+ authors write their first book whereas MSW has published more than 67 books with a 100% Bestselling ratio so far in last 3 years.