TravTalk India Online Magazine
‘Let us not overrate this crisis and threat, and let us not underrate our strength to fight and win,’ are the words of renowned author and orator Shiv Khera, who virtually addressed members of the trade on October 7 through a webinar titled ‘Turn Setbacks into Comebacks’, organised by IATO and TRAVTALK.
Tripti Mehta
Keen to learn ways to cope with the current crisis and not lose themselves in its wake, members of the Indian travel trade fraternity tuned into the motivational session conducted by renowned author and orator Shiv Khera on October 7, 2020. The session, organised by TRAVTALK and IATO, was moderated by SanJeet, Managing Director, DDP Publications. Attending alongside him, and among the thousands of eager attendees from across the country, were Subhash Goyal, Secretary General, FAITH and immediate past president, IATO and Rajiv Mehra, Vice President, IATO.
Khera began the session by saying that the crisis has affected people in three ways – by impacting their life, their livelihood and their lifestyle. “The hospitality and travel industry has been impacted much more than others. Will the crisis finish before the money or will the money finish before the crisis, is a question that has often been raised by many. But, let us not overrate this crisis and threat, and let us not underrate our strength to fight and win,” he asserted. Khera added that it was only solutions-focused people who could come out of the crisis successfully. He questioned, “How come under the same set of circumstances, some people break records while others break themselves?” According to him, the answer can be summed up in a simple phrase, “The greatest masters in life were the greatest disasters in life.”
Set your priorities straight
According to Khera, the buzzword till now had been ‘globalisation’. However, with the current crisis changing behaviour of industries and people across the world, the buzzword is suddenly ‘localisation’. Khera explained, “Till now, production was 20,000 miles away from consumption. Now, all of a sudden, a consuming country has realised that a producing country can put you out of business in less than five minutes.” This may call for a more self-dependent outlook to life, wherever and whenever possible.
Khera added that one could make the most of this time to introspect and act on it. He said, “Whenever we ignore what is important, it always converts into urgent.” For example, he elaborated, if one were to ignore exercising on a regular basis, it could suddenly create an urgent health crisis for us. “In life, direction is more important than speed. People have to take a step back and re-evaluate their priorities. They must question if they had been running in the right direction all this while,” Khera said.
Cash is King
The pandemic has probably made most of us realise the importance of having money in the bank for a rainy day. Khera said, “Now we understand the meaning of ‘Cash is King’, which means that it is better to have money in the bank than have 50 shirts in your closet.” But, now that the problem exists, how does one solve it? According to Khera, problem is a sign of life. So long as we are alive, we shall have problems. He added, “We cannot solve all our problems, but we can handle them. What I cannot change, let me accept it graciously, not grudgingly. People who are successful, they do make mistakes in life. But, remember, making a mistake once in a while does not make anyone a failure. Repeating the same mistake again and again is what brings failure. So, what really is success? A series of positive choices in life is called success and a series of negative choices in life is called failure.”
Convert downtime to uptime
Khera asserted that this is the ideal time for one to be productive. How do you do it? For him, a question once put to Nelson Mandela resonates to this day. When Mandela came out of jail after 27 years, somebody asked him, “How did you survive 27 years in jail?” To this, Mandela said, “I was not surviving, I was preparing.” Sharing his point of view, Khera said, “If you do not come out more upskilled, more knowledgeable and healthier from this crisis, you cannot say that you did not have the time. Almost 85% of millionaires and billionaires today are first generation. When asked how they achieved this financial success in such a short time, they said that they would read 50 books a year. When asked what kind of books they read, they answered – only self-help books. Why is that? It’s because one good idea is worth a million dollars. A good book gives you wisdom of age in a capsule form.”
Build relationships
Khera asserted that one must understand the meaning of relationships – personal, professional and social. “Look at your client base for the last seven years and check who has not done business in the last four. Some may have left for reasons unknown. Pick up the phone and call them, but don’t ask for business. Ask them if they could help you understand where things went wrong. Create a bank right now, and the moment the crisis is over, you
will make a jumpstart,” Khera shared.
Shiv Khera’s favourite books
Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
Psycho-Cybernetics by Dr Maxwell Maltz
I’m Ok – You’re Ok by Thomas A Harris
How to stay positive when no one is willing to help?
“It’s a crisis to all of us. Just as our body needs food every day, we need positive thoughts every day to stay positive. Our mind does not just need thoughts, it needs positive thoughts. Your willpower and positive mental attitude are your muscles. Exercise your mind every day.”
