Hi Reader,

Sometimes, life creates coincidences that are almost too perfect to ignore.

During the last weekeend, I got some custom gifts made for Sandeep. This was to celebrate the partnership and completion of 3 years in my personal coaching program.

While I was all set to ship this to him, he gives me a call and says, “Rama, I’m coming to Chennai.”

Wait… what?

He was coming to Chennai for a business travel.

The city where I was staying. And this wasn't planned at all!

In fact, Sandeep used to keep telling me:

“I’m telling the universe that I have to meet you.”

Well, Sandeep…

The universe finally listened. 😊

Here's how it went. I met him at his hotel at 6:15 PM.

I dropped him back at his hotel around midnight.

Almost Six hours.

And we packed a lot into those six hours.

We discussed his upcoming event.

We went saree shopping for his family.

We had evening snacks with a distinctly Southern flavour. He was from core north (this distinction is there in India as well!)

We drove to the famous Besant Nagar beach.

And then continued our conversation late into the night at a coffee shop.

We talked about almost everything.: Aging parents, Why lack of engagement in life could be at the root of so many problems, Why people shouldn't really “retire.” And what they should actually be focusing on as they get older.

And, of course, we talked about his journey.

Because I've been coaching Sandeep for three years now.

But our relationship goes back much further.

We first met in person in 2015, when I was competing in a district finals. I delivered my “Habits Create Magic” speech.

Sandeep was already a veteran in the sales and speaking world. He had tremendous experience and expertise in both work and life. And yet, he was humble enough to come to me three years ago for coaching. He wanted someone to guide him on how to compete in speaking contests and win them.

That humility always stayed with me.

And over these three years, I've watched him change.

He told me about how he has completely changed his approach to preparation.

How he now prepares in a much more structured way.

How he has become more balanced. And that last one really stood out to me.

“I’m more balanced now.”

Things haven't disappeared from his life. There are still problems. There are still responsibilities.

There are still things to deal with.

But he said he is able to handle them better.

And honestly, that was incredibly rewarding to hear.

Because isn't that what we're really looking for?

Not a life without problems.

But the ability to handle life better.

Today, Sandeep regularly presents to large audiences in his organization. (His CEO has witnessed his magic on stage)

He gets invited to speak at colleges across Delhi and nearby states.

And he has become a coach himself, helping people with their careers, job hunting and communication before interviews.

But something else he told me that evening made me even happier.

While we were chatting about communication and especially executive communication in social gatherings, he said he noticed that people become extremely uncomfortable when they're around senior executives.

Imagine sitting around a table with the CEO, HR head and other senior leaders.

What do you say?

How do you participate in the conversation?

How do you fill those awkward gaps?

He realized this was a skill people needed help with.

So what did he do?

He found an app that taught him how to handle these situations.

He listened to it for about 10 minutes a day.

And then he started applying what he learned.

His verdict?

“It just works!”

And you know what?

That made me incredibly happier.

Not because he learned a technique that I had taught him.

Quite the opposite.

I was happy because he had become the kind of person who could identify a problem, find a solution, learn it quickly and apply it to get a result.

That, to me, is the real reward of coaching.

You don't want your clients to depend on you forever.

You want them to become better thinkers.

Better learners.

More resourceful people.

People who can look at a problem and say:

“Okay. How do I solve this?”

And then go figure it out.

Sandeep reminded me of something else that evening.

Coaching is never a one-way relationship.

Over these three years, I have learnt a lot from him too.

I've learnt how to remain humble even when you have more experience in life and career.

I've learnt to be more agile.

To stay driven.

To maintain balance.

To fuel someone when they need that push.

And sometimes, simply to give someone a shoulder when they need one.

But sometimes, a good coach simply walks alongside you.

That evening in Chennai, somewhere between the beach, the coffee and our endless conversations, I realized how special this journey has been.

Three years of coaching.

Nearly eleven years since we first met in person.

And now, I'm not just watching a client become better.

I'm watching a person become more capable.

And perhaps that's the best thing a coach can hope for.

Not that your student remembers everything you taught them.

But that one day, they no longer need you to tell them what to do.

They know how to figure it out themselves.

That's Champion Sandeep for me.

And I'm grateful that the universe finally arranged that meeting. 😊

As always, thanks for being awesome!

Rama