Inspirational Women Series created by Tracey S. Yang Article #7 with Sonali Dutta
Sonali Dutta, better known as Sonali The Endless River, is a digital marketer, blogger, trainer, published author, and motivational speaker. She has spoken at many prestigious events such as Josh Talks and High Traffic Summit. After Sonali was fed up with the corporate world, she decided to create her own personal brand called “The Endless River,” which is a place where she expresses her thoughts for the sole purpose of teaching her peers life lessons that she has learned along the way. On her platform, she enjoys discussing many subjects such as insecurity, struggles, and self-love.
1. What have been some of your failures, and what have you learned from them?
Growing up as a teenager, I’ve mostly been an underdog in the majority of things. As a shy kid, I wasn’t popular, outspoken, the go-getter kind, and neither was I the type to openly ask or demand things. It took me years to understand that there are certain personality aspects that make certain people more appealing and in-demand.
There have been several instances where others have been chosen over me for leadership positions because I never really showcased my skills or capabilities of being a leader. I’ve had my fair share of broken, failed friendships, and relationships.
I’ve come to realize that if only I was perhaps a little more assertive, stood up for what I felt was right, had the right communication skills to express my opinions without offending anyone, and was more in tune with how to handle my emotions better, I could have saved myself from if not all then at least some of those heartbreaks both personally and professionally.
2. Describe your first “win” that made you confident that you were on the right track.
Whenever I tell people that I’m actually an introvert and have been quite a shy kid growing up, they find it hard to believe and literally smirk. Some even roll their eyes at me. I would definitely say that my first win was getting my first job when I was in my second year of college. I was getting a diploma in design alongside doing college graduation in finance.
For the diploma, twenty of us were called in to sit for an Interview with two big brands for internships. Usually these internships are for a month, but this time the duration was for half a year. As well, the pay was also above industry standards.
I sat through all the rounds of both interviews, which I was selected for both. Then the choice was up to me. I wasn’t the best designer of the twenty folks, neither was I the best in terms of marks or anything. What was different about me was my ability to connect with the interviewer and show more of my personality than they had already read on my resume. After this, I went on to succeed in nine of all ten of the Interviews I’ve ever sat for. Other people would be done in fifteen to twenty minutes while I would be in the room for no more than 45 minutes. That’s when I realized that I had improved my communication skills to be more of a strength instead of a weakness.
3. What is the biggest risk that you have taken in your career?
In August 2019, I met my current co-founder, Sridhar Pallia, co-incidentally while I was on a two-city tour to Mumbai-Bangalore. We started working on a project and got to know each other over just a week. Within the next month, I decided to move to Bangalore and start our passion project together.
I’m pretty sure we surprised everyone we knew, and it was a decision that could’ve gone wrong for either or both of us. But now it’s been a year, and I couldn’t have been happier. I am so proud to have found without doubt the best co-founder, friend, and family in him. Not only that, I’ve been blessed to have his family love me wholeheartedly and support us in this journey.
4. What is your favorite quote, and why?
“Be who you needed when you were younger.”
-Unknown
This was a quote I came across years back, and I immediately knew this was who I wanted to be.
5. How would you define success?
Success is a healthy personal and professional balanced life. I know there’s quite a debate about the work-life balance, and I believe in Harmony. I’ve known for the longest time that I’m extremely ambitious, and I wouldn’t be fulfilled keeping my dreams aside just to have a family. However, that doesn’t mean I don’t want to build a home; so for me, my success would be working on my passion by day and coming back to a loving family at night.
6. Why do you think that it is important for others to be themselves?
As someone who has spent almost ten years of my conscious life trying to impress people by being who I thought they would and yet ended up being replaced or overshadowed, I’ve learnt it the hard way that authenticity is the way of life.
People want to be around others who have the courage to be themselves. Our fear of being rejected or be an outcast blocks us from being our natural charming selves. I thought I wouldn’t be accepted or liked by people, but I didn’t know that all I needed was to find my tribe. Ever since I’ve started being more of myself, I have attracted all the right things and grew much more wholesome as a person. There isn’t a better feeling than knowing that people love you for exactly who you are instead of who they want you to be.
7. What is one project that you are currently working on?
We are currently into coaching teens and twenties. This is currently online four-month coaching sessions that include both group and one on one mentoring. Our motto is that “Every Teen Needs a Coach,” and our Teen batches have been successfully running with a global audience.
8. What topics do you enjoy speaking on the most?
I’m passionate about topics related to teens, so anything related to developing self-confidence, high school relationships, bullying, self-love, body image issues, parent-kid conflict, friendships, and so on.
For young adults, I’m savvy with public speaking, building a network, social media and personal branding, breakups, and failure management.
9. How can someone get in contact with you if they would like to hire you as a motivational speaker?
They can just google Me, “Sonali The Endless River,” and connect with me through any social media platforms or on my website. They can also email me at sonali.theendlessriver@gmail.com or WhatsApp me at +91 93309 51896.
10. Do you have any parting words of advice before this article ends?
Life’s too short to be living as someone else, and it’s not a role that one can pull off for long. So be yourself, try new things. The right experiences, the right opportunities, and the right people will come to find you.
This article is a part of a series that is created and written by Tracey S. Yang called the Inspirational Women Series. This series is used to highlight and showcase inspirational women across the globe. Tracey S. Yang’s inspiration for this series came from the book Power Up, Super Women: Stories of Courage and Empowerment where she, in the book, is also one of the women coauthors.
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