Stay Focused: Distractions everywhere. From the time you get up till the time you go to bed. There are plenty of things holding you back. Maintain discipline and always stay on track, but it is also okay to go away and take a breather as long as you return to it.
Resilience has been described as the ability to withstand adversity and bounce back from difficult life events. Times are not easy now. How do we develop greater resilience to withstand the challenges that keep being thrown at us? In this interview series, we are talking to mental health experts, authors, resilience experts, coaches, and business leaders who can talk about how we can develop greater resilience to improve our lives.
As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chaitanya Patel
Chaitanya Patel works in Cyber Security by trade and own a clothing brand named XTRING (pronounced String).
Thank you so much for joining us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your backstory?
I was born and raised in India. My family and I moved to the US when I was 15. I grew up in a very traditional family. Six of us lived in the house: my parents, my grandparents, my older brother, and me. Life was simple: go to school, come home, do some studying, watch some TV, go to sleep, and repeat. It was not until we moved to the US in 2006 that my family was able to somewhat get out of the financial hole we were in. I came to the States as a sophomore in high school. This was a very interesting time for me because I had to adapt to a new lifestyle, make new friends, and try my best to fit in. For the most part, I enjoyed it. My plan was to join the US Marines after high school but things didn’t go as planned. I ended up at a county college, from which I eventually dropped out.
Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?
In my mid-20s, I bought into a brick-and-mortar business, which also didn’t go as planned. I had to shut it down after nine months and file for personal bankruptcy. I guess I had the freedom to fail. But the lessons I learned from it are priceless. No college or institute could’ve taught me any of it. That experience helped me become more mature in my personal and professional lives and I continue to apply those principles to my everyday life. Maybe not all of them but I’m working on it.
What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?
Using style to help young entrepreneurs gain confidence. I mean, there might be companies out there that do that, but they’re not widely known, so that’s how I want my brand to be known for and differentiate itself from competitors. It’s more than a clothing line.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
To be honest, many people have inspired me, but my grandfather will always be at the top of the list. He is no longer with us, but his words and wisdom live on in me and will always do. We had a lot of financial difficulties when I was growing up. The man should have been enjoying his 60s, but he chose to support my family instead. He contributed everything he had to ensure that we had food on the table. It was his mindset now; nothing bothered him. His primary focus was providing for his family. I’d like to think I lived a nice life if I could become half as good as he was.
So, while I was having business-related challenges, I knew they were only temporary and that things will improve. I didn’t have the attitude to handle such things, but they eventually got me to a lot better position because I never gave up hope, just like my grandfather never did.
Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of this interview. We would like to explore and flesh out the trait of resilience. How would you define resilience? What do you believe are the characteristics or traits of resilient people?
Resilience is the ability to stay on track no matter what life throws at you. Things aren’t always easy to achieve. In fact, I don’t think it ever gets easier; you just grow better at dealing with it by being resilient. A resilient person who is easy to talk to, continually seeking wisdom, learning from others and from their own experiences, and using what they have learned on a daily basis, whether in personal or professional life. They are not easily discouraged by others and always surround themselves with the appropriate individuals to help them progress every day. Distractions abound, but their focus and discipline are what keep them going.
Courage is often likened to resilience. In your opinion how is courage both similar and different from resilience?
In the simplest terms, courage is taking a chance on something that others avoid, and resilience is what keeps them on track to see it through to the end, regardless of the circumstances.
When you think of resilience, which person comes to mind? Can you explain why you chose that person?
Andy Frisella, owner of 1st Phorm supplement company. I mean, he went from sleeping in his own supplement store to building a company worth over a billion dollars. It took him 20+ years, but considering everything he must have gone through to get to where he is now, he appears to be just getting started. I mean, his story is inspiring, and he’s the only podcast I listen to because he’s built a real business, not some social media gimmick to become rich quickly.
Has there ever been a time that someone told you something was impossible, but you did it anyway? Can you share the story with us?
I believe I had that type of self-talk more than anyone else, but I was also influenced by those around me until I broke out from that bubble and recognized what it takes to do something. I’m still in the early phases of building my clothing brand, and perhaps in 5–10 years, I’ll have a better answer for you since, while no one has said those things to me, I’m sure they’re thinking about it.
Did you have a time in your life when you had one of your greatest setbacks, but you bounced back from it stronger than ever? Can you share that story with us?
Yes, it was when I declared bankruptcy. It was the worst feeling in the world to realize that I was broke at the age of 27, had just moved back in with my parents, and had nothing to show for it. You begin to worry whether you’ll ever get out of the hole, but I’m glad I went through the experience. I learned a lot, and it just made me a stronger person mentally. Here I am, roughly four years later, financially solid, building my clothing brand, and just bought a house, so I guess it was a good deal overall. But I know I have so much more to do, and every day when I wake up, I can build something for myself.
How have you cultivated resilience throughout your life? Did you have any experiences growing up that have contributed to building your resiliency? Can you share a story?
Much of it stems from my experiences in my twenties. Growing up was unique. We had a lot of financial difficulties, so my grandfather became my role model. He spent his entire life savings and then some just to put food on the table. And witnessing him do all of that at such a young age taught me what it was like to be a strong man and what it takes to keep a family together. The same concepts apply here as well. You just have to find a way to navigate through all of the difficulty without letting a setback define your entire existence. I’ve seen teenagers cry about working long hours at fast food businesses, and I often wonder what their life would be like. Because there is no place for you in this world if you are not resilient.
Resilience is like a muscle that can be strengthened. In your opinion, what are 5 steps that someone can take to become more resilient?
Stay Focused: Distractions everywhere. From the time you get up till the time you go to bed. There are plenty of things holding you back. Maintain discipline and always stay on track, but it is also okay to go away and take a breather as long as you return to it.
Build Relationships: Surround yourself with people who share your values. People who are willing to improve and from whom you can benefit from their experiences, because I guarantee there is someone out there who has gone through what you are going through or, better yet, avoid going through what they went through. Get in the right and positive environment.
Be Grateful: Being grateful for what you have rather than what you don’t have would undoubtedly put you in a better mentality and help you progress on a daily basis.
Self-Care: If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of anyone or anything else. How you do one thing determines how you do everything. Before you do anything else, start by taking care of your mental, physical, and emotional health.
Embrace the suck: The only way to improve is to overcome setbacks and disappointments. Those are the best lessons you will ever learn in your life, and if you don’t capitalize on them, you won’t get very far.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I believe that helping young entrepreneurs who have encountered failures early in their careers to boost their confidence through style is a movement in and of itself. Clothing is frequently viewed as a material item since we fall in love with brand names, but when you consider the impact it has on a person, you will notice how it impacts everything you do daily. And I’m here to share my story through my brand and show people that there is a way out of whatever they’re going through if they make little personal changes.
We are blessed that some very prominent leaders read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them 🙂
It would have to be Andy Frisella. I mean who better than someone who’s built something this big and continues to inspire people every day.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
FB: Facebook.com/creatorofxtring
IG: Chaitanyapatel.eth
This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!