Day 301: Deepali Khanna

July 28, 2010 at 12:01 am, Category: Inspiration

“Every day there’s a new experience, and every day is a day for learning.  Until the last breath, we keep on learning, and I move with that strength and that conviction only.”

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Toni Reece: Thank you so much, Deepali, for agreeing to be part of the Project today and joining us all the way from India.  Would you please introduce yourself to us?

Deepali Khanna: That is my pleasure, absolutely my pleasure, Toni.  I am Deepali Khanna, based out of India.  I’m a trainer specializing in soft skills and financial training, and my main purpose is motivational training.

Toni: Great, motivational … I’m sorry.  We will have to beg for forgiveness for those who are listening to the recording, because we do have a bit of a delay, but Deepali and I will do our best to make sure we don’t jump on each other.  Go ahead, Deepali, what were you going to say?

Deepali: I was going into a little bit of detail.  I’ll give you a detailed background about myself.

Toni: Go ahead.

Deepali: Shall I go ahead?

Toni: Absolutely.

Deepali: Okay.  After having done my Master’s in management and having worked with international organizations like KPMG Peat Marwick, ICICI Bank, Centurion Bank, I somehow decided to get into training because training was one area – training as well as psychology – these are areas that always interested me, and it was out of pure passion that I got into these; and today I’m loving it.

Toni: Oh, fantastic.  Well, Deepali, when you think about the word inspiration, who do you think you inspire, and how does that happen?

Deepali: Well, I try to inspire each and every person I come across, be it my family, be it my friends, my colleagues, those group of trainees that participate in my training workshops.  I always try and inspire people because I believe if one is positively inspired in life, then no negative circumstance can bring the spirits down, and he cannot take a wrong path to achieve great things in life.

Toni: How does … what happens between you and others when you are inspiring?  Can you tell us some techniques that you use?

Deepali: Well, some techniques that I use … first of all, I would like to answer in my own manner when you ask what happens when I try to inspire others, what happens between me and them, is there is a lot of exchange of positive energy through which we benefit, the person who inspires, and the person who gets inspired, and the techniques that I use are usually motivational dialogues and encouraging dialogues; maybe I use a certain movie clipping to motivate them, audio visual tools through which I motivate them, and that is supported by my dialogue with them, maybe counseling or detailed personal interaction of my own experiences of life.

Toni: How do you think that you would help others to explore their potential?  When you’re having this exchange with someone and you’re in their presence and you’re having this positive dialogue, what happens with that person’s potential?

Deepali: The person is able to realize that he has a lot of hidden talents and power, but because of circumstances, because of work pressures, expectations of peers, bosses, family members, he is not able to look within.  So people are not able to introspect and dwell within, so this is when we come across each other, especially during a workshop.  We try to take them through … we give them exercises, we give them time to go and think, look within themselves, try to find out their own positives, their own strengths, and then show them how to build upon these strengths.

Toni: So you build upon them so that they can take that forward, I would imagine.

Deepali: Oh yes, oh yes.

Toni: So Deepali …

Deepali: and we guide them … yes?

Toni: No, no, no – go ahead, finish your thought.

Deepali: Yes; and then we further guide them to look on the road ahead using their strength and overcoming their weaknesses.

Toni: What inspires you?

Deepali: What inspires me?  I get inspiration from within when my circumstances … my trying circumstances at a very young age when I lost my father when I was just 14, and my life had changed totally.  I used to be quite depressed myself, and there were nice people around, be it family, friends, be it my mom, who did their best to bring me out of it and who motivated me to move ahead in life.  Now when I look back, I feel when they could do this for me, and when I could do so much, I could come out of those trying circumstances, I should do the same for others.  So there is this spirit within.

Toni: There is … I’m sorry – there’s a spirit within, is that what you said?

Deepali: Yes, yes, that is what I said.  Yes.

Toni: It’s interesting how … I like the way you have said that, that so many people at that point in your life were there for you and helped you to get out of it, that that’s what motivated you to do that for others.  I mean, that’s amazing.  What a great testimony to those who helped you.

Deepali: Thank you so much.  Oh yes, I’m always thankful for them.  I’m always thankful to God for making those sources for me.

Toni: Did you … I would think that it took courage to be able to come out of a state like that after a loss.

Deepali: Oh, yes.

Toni: Where did the courage come from?

Deepali: To a great extent, from my mom.  She has been a source of strength all the time, and from God.  I’m a devotee of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and since a young age I have been attending spiritual discourses and things like that, devotional singing bhajans and such stuff, so that has helped me big time, a lot.

Toni: When you are seeking inspiration, do you tend to go to the same sources to be inspired?  You know, are their tools and resources that you use on a consistent basis when you’re looking for inspiration?

Deepali: Well, talking of today, I get a lot of strength from spirituality, reading spiritual books, attending spiritual discourses, programs, and of course these people are still available, and I love to go back to them.

Toni: How do you find … in today’s world, Deepali, how do you stay inspired, particularly in the field that you’re in of training?  I know here in the States, it can be a very difficult environment to be in because people are losing their jobs, but yet they’re trying to up-skill people that are left behind to fill positions; so how do you stay inspired in your work?

Deepali: There are testing and trying times all the while; there have been difficult moments, especially after I started again the last three years back.  There has been a lot of depression in the economy, due to which training has been the last priority for the corporate world.  So there have been a lot of trying times.

But then with the help of my supporting friends, my family, and God Almighty, I have stuck to it and it is my determination and my strong faith in God and support of family members and friends that keeps me inspired and motivated all the time, and I have a belief in myself that I’m going to do it, and achieve it.

Toni: That’s fantastic.  That is a key component to success, isn’t it, self-belief?

Deepali: Oh yes, oh yes.  You have to believe in yourself, you know?  You have to have that conviction that “I am going to make it.”  Nothing happens in a day.

Toni: I understand.  I really do; and those who are listening to you on this Project are probably … there might be some around the world that are shaking their heads going “I know, but sometimes that self-belief is really difficult when things are challenging.”

Deepali: Yes, yes they are.  They are, and there have been daunting times also when I wanted to go back to a safe job again, but then somehow my gut feeling always said that, no, I am meant for this.

Toni: Fantastic.  Good for you!  So the final question of the Project, Deepali, is what are you doing now to explore your own potential so you can stay in this place of conviction?

Deepali: What am I doing now to explore my own potential?

Toni: Yes.

Deepali: I see.  There is a variety of people that I come across almost on a daily basis, and there’s so much to learn from each and every one of them, be it the HR head of an organization, be it a participant in the training workshop, or be it a student – be it anyone – there is so much to learn from each one of them.

And the requirement of every individual is so unique that every time I conduct a workshop or I interact with a particular group, I realize that no, there is so much more that can be done, and I keep on exploring  methods.  I keep on exploring a lot of things, reading new stuff, and going to things that people like you are doing, and there is so much to learn from everyone that one comes across.

Toni: Well, Deepali, you have come full circle for me, because what you do for a living … the way you described it is there is an exchange of positive energy between you and the people that you work with.  However, what you needed to be inspired, you received that positive energy from your family, and you fed off of that to keep moving so that you can do the work you do, and now you continue to explore your own potential by learning from others that are in front of you.  So what a great cycle of learning and moving forward that you’re in right now.

Deepali: Yes, yes.  Every day there’s a new experience, and every day is a day for learning.  Until the last breath, we keep on learning, and I move with that strength and that conviction only.

Toni: Well thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on inspiration and taking time away from your day – or evening I would imagine there – in order to participate in the Get Inspired! Project.  It’s been a pleasure to meet you.

Deepali: That’s been my pleasure, and thank you so much for calling and making me a part of your valuable Project.  Thank you so much.

Toni: You are quite welcome.  Take care of yourself.

Deepali: Thank you.  You take care, too.

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For more information about Deepali Khanna:  deepali-enlightenment.blogspot.com, YourStory, LinkedIn

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