~ Luvena Rangel (The Curvy Yogi)

KE members have been experiencing unique flavors of their fellow members’ entrepreneurial journeys. Some have been dotted with humorous anecdotes, others with an eclectic diversity of experiences and continued learning – each offering members unique insight that they can learn from. On Saturday 7th September, KE members had the pleasure of sharing in the journey of the very impactful and eloquent Dr. John Tharakan, Founder, Be-Ivy Education at Paalanaa Bhavan.

After an open networking breakfast, Dr. John took a novel approach of sharing key milestones coursing his life, education and career, and blending them with lessons learnt along the way. The anecdotes, enlivened by humorous repartees between three generations – his father, son and himself, at different times in life were relatable for the members and created a recall that many embraced as learnings for themselves – in life and business alike.

Some key messages that emerged from Dr. John’s tête-à-tête:

• Focus on the Why, the how and what would come through.

• Life if unfair, betrayals were par for the course, and,

• Compete with ourselves to do our best, and then better that best.

Dr. John’s life lessons were deeply informed by his Catholic faith, and he firmly shared the importance of value-based, ethical work alongside acumen to open the doors to business success. He reiterated the need to be authentic in our interactions and to have the courage to be ourselves in a world that largely wasn’t. The call to act from a place of strong value-based decisions and keep trying to reach bigger and better goals was only second to the encouragement for all to set aside time for daily reflection and gratitude.

Overall, this was a powerful morning. Inspiration and transformation, both felt very palpable. A personal observation was the power and style of networking, even for introverts, like our host himself – quality over quantity. We had about 50 members attend this Founders’ Fiesta – splendid interactions, great conversations, and some interesting questions that were addressed with knowledgeable grace. Enlightening, motivating, informative, and inspirational are some of the ways members have described Dr. John’s session.

Many thanks to Dr. John Tharakan for the hospitality and to the generosity of Paalanaa Bhavan for accommodating us.