Happiness club strongly believes that every individual is full of potentials beyond their awareness. However the world around is often cruel, manipulative and unforgiving. In these conditions it is very easy to loose the direction and motivation in life; even for the toughest! But, that doesn’t mean that it has to go on for ever. To survive and be happy in such environment/s one has to ensure that they know and have command over themselves and most importantly have the right definition of Happiness. In this section we’ll take you through the journey so far and the credentials of “The Happiness Club”.
Founder’s Desk
Introduction –The Rosy Picture
I am an ex-corporate professional with circa 20 years of work experience, predominantly in BFSI (Banking and Financial Services and Insurance) sector, spanning across Operations, Training and Business Optimization departments. In my last role with Barclays bank, I was Assistant Vice President Business Optimization. Prior to Barclays, I have worked with esteemed MNCs such as HSBC bank, Franklin Templeton Mutual funds, GE Capital, Tata InfoTech, etc. Along with my full-time Barclays role I was the Program Manager India and Site Lead Noida for one of the prestigious “Diversity and Inclusion” initiatives called “Reach”; dedicated to Mental health and Disability. As such I have contributed to numerous social responsibilities at professional and personal capacity since 1997.
It looks all beautiful, isn’t it? I agree… it is beautiful. I am blessed with a life that has taken me though an amazing journey full of “Learnings and Experiences” and these don’t come easy, hence be rest assured that this journey certainly wasn’t a bed of roses.
Challenges – Learning and Experiences
Would you believe that my first job was of a Pizza Delivery boy and I was just 17.5 years then; had just written my 12th Exams. That, I went to a very average Govt. funded school in Delhi, India. That, I only held a Bachelor’s degree in arts (B.A. Pass) for more than half of my financial services career until I completed my MBA in June 2011. That, I came from an extremely humble financial background where austerity was not the choice but way of life. However, it helped me with the ability to clearly distinguish between my “Needs and Wants”. In my very first full-time job back in 2001, I was declared not fit for the job because of my inability to communicate in English language “properly”. Later the trainer who was given the task to re-train me, said, it was some kind of or someone’s bias against me; I wasn’t so bad that I needed re-train. At that moment I said to myself; “bias or not, I need to get the job back”, and I did get the job back. And you know what else I got?? In the next 3 years I went on to become a communication trainer in the same organization and trained hundreds of colleagues in the organization.
“People with big dreams, minutely see the larger picture..”…
As a child I was bullied for being fat and was often denied opportunities connected to sports in school. But, I kept working hard and earned my place in the school football team in the very last year of my schooling. I was good at cricket as well, but my parents couldn’t afford to pay the cricket academy fee and also, I had to start working early. This didn’t disappoint me. I decided to remain connected with sports casually. I went on to win medals in my college in various sports events. In fact, I captained Edinburgh Napier University’s table tennis team while I was on my study break for my MBA. During my 20 years of corporate career I continued to play some or the other sports on weekends and holidays as sports has been passion. Finally, now that I am off the 9-5 work life and work for myself, I play any kind of sports I can get my hands to (mostly cricket and badminton). Isn’t that great???
Last but not the least, I didn’t have the money to pursue MBA; I had to start working early, thus I didn’t have to luxury to prepare for entrance exams either to get some scholarship. I kept the desire burning in me as I ventured into my professional life. I earned and saved money for 10 years. Finally, I completed my MBA in 2011 from Edinburgh Napier University, Scotland, UK.
“You Lace-up, Brace-up and Go on”…
As I have said before, none of what I have achieved came easy, but neither did I expected it to be. I faced all those challenges with determination. Even if it was like digging a well every day to drink water, I kept telling myself, “This is not punishment, I am getting stronger for future”. I try to accept challenges only when I need to and when I do I see them as motivations, and I turn the motivations into inspirations.
Why Life Coaching?
I like to help, that is my true nature and calling! Helping someone fulfils me and I have been doing so for years now. As far as I can remember the name “Happiness Club” and a faint sketch of what you see of the “Happiness Club” today came to my mind for the first time around 2013. It’s the time when I realized that I could counsel and advise people even when I am facing challenges. Which means I can rise above my problems and try to help people. These are generally the indicators for a true calling. As time passed the feeling of bringing this concept to life became stronger. A landmark push to such thoughts came in the moment my daughter was born in 2016. Long story short, on 21st December 2017 I completed my first “Life coaching certification” and on 31st January 2018 I created the Facebook page for “Happiness Club“ and subsequently other social media channels started in next few years. More important was to gain a few very important skill such as adding Naturopathy to my Life Coaching model. Finally in April – 2022 I quit my regular job at Barclays to pursue this passion full time. Not to forget this decision triggered a whole different level of reaction from people who had something, anything and absolutely nothing to do with it.
Below are some of my qualifications that helps me in creating this world of Happiness – “The Happiness Club”.
Qualifications:
a) Lean 6-Sigma Green belt certified, LERC Cardiff Business School and Barclays
b) Fulltime MBA, Edinburgh Napier University Business School, Scotland, UK
c) Diploma in Naturopathy and Yoga, “N.D.D.Y” Gandhi Prakritik Chikitsa Sansthan, Delhi
d) NISM Series V-A certified
e) Shrimad Bhagwat Gita certification course, ISKON Mangalore, India.
f) Certification in Life Coaching, Kain Ramsey, Life coaching certification
I continue to pursue numerous topics on various subjects with or without certifications to enhance my knowledge and wisdom and help myself improve and offer more to my “Happiness Club” family. Check out my certifications in the Recognitions section.