Xenia

People have used language for centuries to convey and document their thoughts, findings etc. Some of it was written in the form of scriptures and later on in books, academic journals etc. The written word can hardly be misconstrued, as it is often times thought out and edited before it reaches another individual(s). But the spoken word….. How many times has it happened that you have said something you don’t mean? Or you are laying down in bed thinking – Damn it I could have handled that meeting better? The reason being we take language for granted. We use it to manipulate and complicate matters most of the time.  Someone very close to me once said “ We hardly ever mean everything we say.” And this I know to be fact. Very few people actually have the guts to say really what they feel. The world would be a far simpler place if everything would be black and white. But it isn’t.  Sometimes we say things so as to not offend the people in front of us. This falls into ...

I remember starting out my career as a hotelier and my family saying – “She won’t last a day!” Surprise, surprise I did. Close to 10 years later I can say I have come a long way, but I have an even longer road ahead of me. My dreams are larger than me and a lot of people including your family will smile at you and say – “keep going, if it happens it happens.” Another famous dialogue I get hear very often is, “Why you bothering, I can get it done by someone else you relax.” A.K.A. We feel you are inexperienced and we don’t want to embarrass ourselves in front of the world. I say “Fair enough” and walk away. These are the people that are closest to you. The ones that have held your hand and picked you up after you fell of your bike when you were a kid. The ones that laughed with you and at you when you did something stupid. These are the people who hold you closest to your heart but yet with time things change and not always for the best. How many times has it happened, you are...

I am one of those fortunate individuals that can work because I want to work and not because I have to work. I am also one of those blessed individuals with extremely supportive parents who believed I should choose my own path and not take the path I am “supposed to”. I chose an industry which isn't the most reliable; I am an Event Planner. And I am a girl. When I chose this industry it was a calling, and I can't imagine doing anything else with my life now. Without thinking twice I started my own company at the ripe age of 26. Its been a slow beginning; but I know I will turn this into something incredible. I have worked really hard to get where I am today and I owe all of it to the lessons those tough times have taught me. A lot of people I know wouldn’t think so. I know close friends of mine with whom I have grown up who would think “she’s not doing much with her life” and that “she is daddy's little girl who has been given an office so she can play boss”. That is tr...

"Be 100% committed to anything you do." This is something we have grown up hearing from our parents, teachers etc. We hence, tend to over commit. We give so much of ourselves to aspects of our lives be it our companies, parents, friends, relationships etc. So when things don't work out we get so disheartened it almost destroys us sometimes. Is it worth it I ask? Someone recently told me "You are the most important person to you, everyone else comes a close second." This shocked me! What are you telling me that my parents, my to be husband, my work isn't suppose to come before me. Isn't that being selfish. No! Thats exactly what it doesn't mean. This doesn't mean I am insensitive or aloof. It means I take care of myself first so that I can take care of others when needed. I will still be there physically and mentally and our relationship; whatever it maybe; will still exists but I will be a more secure me mentally. So you get the best version o...

"Patience is a virtue I don't posses" I am Parsi and impatient. Not to mention it runs in the family. But no one tells you that "Life! is a wait game" You are constantly waiting for something happen. You are either waiting for someone to respond, business to grow, someone to say they love you and want to marry you, grow older, earn your millions, your clients to pay you or the ever famous "The Perfect Time so I can do......" This drives a person like me nuts, but alas! one doesn't have a choice, or so you think! There are two things I have learnt from the game. They are as follows: 1. There is never the "Perfect" time for you to do anything. If it is a decision you need to make; and mind you these are always the life altering ones like quitting your job, starting out on your own, having a baby etc.; just dive right in cause nothing EVER goes according to plan. 2. If its not in your control and you have to play the game; then make th...

When I was studying in Glion I met my best friend. A genius in his own right, cocky, a perfectionist, a dear soul, a hard worker, patient when required and cordial when he needs to be. He taught me one very important thing; 2nd best isn't an option. He truly believes that mediocrity shouldn't exist. He always gave his best at whatever he did and didn't settle for anything but the best in return. He held my hand and taught me that I was someone who was intelligent and shouldn't settle either. He gave me perspective when I needed it most and brought me down to reality when I needed it most. We both grew extremely cocky but that in our defence that was because we knew WE WERE THE BEST at what we did and no one came close. Today I have a company of my own that is on it way up there and he started at the bottom of the food chain in a corporate world and in a few short years and turned his profile around. He stood infront of me the other day and I couldn't help but smi...

Your journey to success is yours and yours alone. Not a lot of people understand your struggles and you can't expect them to. Most of the people we know today have jobs and their struggles are very different. But when you initially set out on your own; often times people ask you; so how is it going? And you be like uuummmmm good I suppose. Cause what do you say to a person you know is earning more than you. Plus you know they think that you have taken the easy way out. My story is even funnier. Being a girl from a upper middle class family people think you are pursuing a hobby and any small achievement they come and give you hearty congrats. They think I go to the office and sit around watching sit coms on my laptop all day; which is true on a few days; but not all the time. While it isn't a financial need to work; being a girl and all *wink wink*; it is a necessity for me. I couldn't imagine not having a place to go to everyday where my grey cells play riot with the e...

I am not a feminist in the traditional sense of the term but yes I do believe women do have to work harder at a few things. But that doesn't mean that we take that as an excuse. Women, today want to be equals. Want to be treated on par with in work field, same pay hikes, responsibilities etc. but then why is it that when it comes to actually pulling your weight women hide behind the excuse of being a woman. I am not saying every single woman does this. But in my experience a lot of women do that. We become our worst enemies and it exhausting ladies. A lot of us want to have it all; and while that does sound delusional; it is not unachievable with a little bit of compromise on the side. We are willing to compromise for our kids, husbands, families why not find a middle ground, because Balance is good thing (The last time I checked). Women in general become very vested in our families and our carriers take a back seat. Some of us just loose interest in a high powered carrier. So...

"Don't be Defeatist Dear, Its VERY Middle Class!" I don't think I could have said it better.  For the some of us who have ambition and started out on our own its a struggle. The journey is hard and no one tells us how hard its going to be, because everyones journey is different. I got into this without any illusions or misconceptions but there were somethings that still took me aback. As I realised that Ambition alone isn't enough, conviction and consistency; is equally if not more; important. For example, the low period! The horror of having been so busy in the past few months and then realising that your business on books is empty. The panic button triggers an alert and all hell breaks loose in your head. After a little effort most of us give up and say "Maybe it wasn't meant to be!" Not realising that this was the first of many. We hear of success stories all the time. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates or be it our parents.... They all have the sa...

We all tend to form our own little clicks since we were toddlers. Its a wonderful feeling to belong. A sense of comfort that you can fall back to. We in our lives have various clicks that we tend to take for granted i.e. Your family, Your friends, spouse or better half. But we tend to take this group for granted the most which is our business or work click. These are the people who we call in favours from, play nasty with and lead very superficial relationships with. This never was the case. In the good old days, when a hand shake was all it took, where a man/woman's word was the contract. Your belief in that word was the authenticity. There was no need for stamp paper or third party witness. Because we as people of commerce survived on our reputation. A reputation could make or break your venture and future prospects. One wrong move and you would be done for. There was integrity and mutual respect amongst fellow members of commerce. Those men or women never took these relations...

How many times has it happened to you... You meet some old acquaintance or a friend and you get a pang in your heart. Its called envy! There is a very thin line between Jealousy and Envy. Envy happens to someone who desires to become the person he envy's. Jealousy on the other hand evokes bad feelings and is harmful to you and not the other one unless like some sitcom drama series you plot "to destroy" the other person. But then you also need to consider the fact that you dont have an audience to entertain with your escapades. Envy is something that evokes a desire to be where that other person is. It instills a senses of gratitude when you achieve it. You start pulling out all the stops while simultaneously admiring the accomplishments of the others. This is an emotion you can use as a tool to bring out the best in you while also being able to be happy and part take in other peoples success. This is something of a rarity these days.  We often times say this is a ...

I walked out of a shopping mall the other day and I saw my ex - ex employer. They were standing next to a tapri having a glass of chai with a smoke. This would have been my reality had I still been working for hotels. There was this sweet moment when they saw me; where I looked into their eyes and smiled know deep down I am in a much better place than they are today, even though they held superior positions to me within the organisation at the time.  While I was an employee, often times I was bullied by the senior members and not in a good way. There was a lot of discrimination partly because I was a girl and partly because someone found out that I came from a upper middle class household. It wasn't a fare game anymore. There was a rejoinder to every statement and a comment to every answer. To the point that it lead me to give them my resignation, Thus ending my career with the hotel trade.  I loved working in hotels. The staff, the energy, the synergy, the team work i...

There comes a time when you are so busy that you don't know whether you are coming or going! Life becomes a blur and you find yourself scrambling for air! But lets face it... We LOVE IT!!! We enjoy the craziness, the chaos and pandemonium. Its a different high. You feel like you are having an out of body experience cause you are creating something that is way larger than yourself. And after it is done you stand back and admire your handy work and marvel at the enormity of your creation. This has a down side. We get used to this crazy busy so easily that when there is down time we don't know what to do ourselves. We feel like a fish fresh out of water. You would think that one would catch up on time with family, hobbies or chores. No. Instead you find yourself pacing around the office waiting for the phone to ring. Being a startup between jobs is hard. Its classic; the fear of the unknown! But what we often times forget is that this is the most critical time in a business. ...