Nina Chandrana …Is There More ….
Nina Chandrana is young and fierce. But the roar in her step you hear today did not come overnight. It took sacrifice, passion, determination, and risk.
Her story begins with the love of her life. Chandrana married her high school sweetheart. She landed a great job and was at the top of her game. Life was good, it was perfect – or so she thought. Despite having it all, bubbling up inside her was a pressing question … Is there more? The need to know resulted in her making a drastic change in her career. She shocked her family by quitting her job to search for answers.
“I am wired in a way that I cannot just coast and go through the motions of life. My work has to be meaningful and utilize my strengths – The motto I try to live by is ‘give your all to the process and let go of attachment to the result’”
Determined to figure out what the “what’s next” her research led her to realize there were others out there just like her. Then a light bulb when off – “I knew that at some point I wanted to help equip everyone with these tools, but I always thought it would be a retirement project of mine!”
The timeline significantly moved forward when a few serendipitous things happened (in terms of meeting the right people). Given that she had some strong champions backing her idea, she took the plunge, and started her business (www.istheremore.ca) in early 2014.
Www.istheremore.ca helps others figure out how they can better their lives and careers with a pursuit of happiness and not one of sacrifice. The idea involves a series of seminars, called 2.5 days that focuses around topics like: Leading people, Innovation, Conflict, and Life Challenges. “We offer a series of experiential seminars that are designed to help participants uncover and overcome what holds them back in life … The exercises are challenging to go through, and they get to the core of how to work with people”
The seminar gives very honest feedback about what is stopping participants from being as effective as possible. People who have been through the seminars have shared a variety of wins. One particularly strong moment was when a woman discovered that she was a taker in the world rather than a giver, an idea that mortified her. “Understanding this about herself though saved her marriage and her job”, Chandrana tells Fusia.
Since the start of the business Chandrana has changed her focus in life. She is now focussing on herself and her needs. Chandrana is a mother of 2 and she says that realization has made her a better wife, mother, and woman. “I got through very challenging times in life (death of a loved one, mental illness in the family) by seeing the bigger picture, acting with no regrets (even though that made me very vulnerable) and not allowing my fears to paralyze me. I have been recognized as a top performer across my career, and I have been able to focus on how grateful I am for everything that I have, rather than feeling stuck in the comparison game. Overall, my life has more meaning”.
Coming back to the love of her life, her family is now four strong. Chandrana’s lessons to live by are simple “You need people and people need you; Family and friends are your core; Life is not a comparison game; Don’t judge your success by your results; When you make a mistake, own it; Always be grateful for everything you have in your life.”
