Sweta Samota

This is the story of a girl from a small town as she watched her mother endure daily taunts for not having a baby boy...

Tears welled up in my mother’s eyes.

“Why my mother couldn’t take simple buying decisions like what clothes she wanted to buy or which temple she wanted to donate money to?” I wondered.

And not just my mother but other women in my joint family house also had no decision-making power.

And if this wasn’t enough, I even heard them taunting my mother about not having a baby boy yet.

That was the environment I grew up in, where all I saw was my parents: my father working hard for the joint family of 50+ people, and my mother, an English graduate, sacrificing her dreams in the kitchen.

Witnessing my mother's tears and enduring the taunts for being born a girl, I resolved to defy stereotypes and become the best version of myself.

Only today, I can tell you that my childhood shortcomings were my strength. Those unfavorable circumstances fueled my determination to excel and ensure that no one could deny me an education.

With education as my weapon, I immersed myself in my studies with unwavering determination. My mother's tears became my motivation, and my father supported me wholeheartedly.

I realized that education was my sole path to respect, freedom, and individuality, which drove my relentless pursuit of excellence.

When I secured 100% in Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics in grade 12, I received the Dhirubhai Ambani Scholarship, and my name was recorded in Dhirubhai's books. I broke through every "no" that stood in my path.

I got accepted into every college in Maharashtra, and I chose the top engineering college. My mother’s dream of me being financially independent came true when I got two job offers before finishing college. However, amidst this success, my aspiration to work for my country took a backseat.

None of the girls in our family had ever worked a job before, but I was different.

I studied diligently, earned top grades, got into the best college, landed a lucrative job, and spent a decade working for leading IT companies.

Despite reaching my goals and living comfortably with my family, I felt like something was absent. Even with a healthy bank balance and a comfortable lifestyle, there remained a sense of emptiness.

In pursuit of that missing ‘something’, when we were financially prepared, I made the decision to quit my job and focus on our startup idea. While working, my husband and I had brainstormed various ideas on weekends, but we had never committed to pursuing them full-time. This time, we decided to dive in headfirst. I resigned from my job while he continued to work to support our family.

Two years into our startup, Keeva Technologies, we developed applications like Schoolcircuit, a comprehensive communication app for schools, teachers, and parents. We even secured pilot school clients. We attempted to raise funds to onboard more schools and hire additional employees. We were on the verge of securing investment from an investor based in Hong Kong. However, fate had other plans for us.

After nearly three years, we were unable to monetize it. I saw this as my first big failure. Instead of seeing it as an idea's failure, I saw it as my own. It was a very difficult phase of life. I struggled to come to terms with failure. Having always felt the burden to excel every day, this setback seemed like the end of the road for me.

At that moment, agoraphobia took hold of my life. I felt utterly shattered. I couldn't seem to stop crying. Days and months passed as I pondered the purpose of my existence in this human form. Each day, thoughts of ending my life crossed my mind, but I managed to push them aside. Whether it was the swaying fan or the unguarded balcony, I found various reasons to contemplate taking that leap from this birth into the unknown.

Amidst all this, I attended a Rodinhood meeting where I received the book "Autobiography of a Yogi" as a gift from Alok Kejriwal. This book completely changed my perspective. I finally understood what was missing in my life. And from that moment onward, I began asking God for just one thing:

"Grant me my mentor, my guru."

"Give me the company of my Guru."

With this shift, changes began to unfold in my life.

Narendra Modiji followed me on Twitter/X. It was a defining moment for me. That day, I decided to do something for him as a token of gratitude. What that something was? I didn't know yet.

I embraced outdoor running — all thanks to Milind Soman and Ajit Pathak from Pinkathon.

I embraced my childhood passion of reading books.

Amidst all this, I attended a Rodinhood meeting where I received the book "Autobiography of a Yogi" as a gift from Alok Kejriwal. This book completely changed my perspective. I finally understood what was missing in my life. And from that moment onward, I began asking God for just one thing:

A few months into running and reading books, I said goodbye to my agoraphobia pills. Phew!

The defining moment arrived. Because Modiji had followed me on X, I decided to write a book on him. He became the catalyst for my journey as an author (my 4th book, "Nine," is about Modiji). To excel in this endeavor, I started attending writing workshops. I didn't want to figure everything out on my own. One failed startup was sufficient to teach me the importance of learning from others' failures to achieve success.

Vishen Lakhiani outlines two learning approaches:

Recognizing the high cost of Kensho moments in all areas of life, I chose to learn from mentors and invest in my personal development.

I published three books within a year, and soon after, more books followed. Who had ever thought that I was going to teach this to people? But people from book clubs and mothers in my community started approaching me to share what I was doing. This marked the beginning of my coaching journey.

Following Osha's advice to "go with the flow," I had no reason to resist. I didn't want to return to the job life that I didn't enjoy. Initially, I offered free coaching sessions for a few months. I found them fulfilling. This marked the beginning of my coaching journey through offline sessions.

Everything was going well until 2020 happened. However, what initially seemed like another unfavorable circumstance turned out to be a blessing in disguise. During the quarantine, I leveraged the time in my room to go through the free course I had received from Sidz at the Business Growth Summit organized by Success Gyan in Mumbai.

Within a night, I found myself upgrading to Silver. I began implementing what I learned, and within a week or so, I upgraded to Gold. After just a month, I was ready to conduct my webinars. After consistently conducting webinars every week for three months, I qualified for the Hall of Fame.

Did my ads work?

Did people attend my sessions?

Did I have a good conversion in every webinar?

I had my ups and downs. In some webinars, only 1 or 2 people showed up. Did I still conduct the session? Absolutely! And I achieved 100% conversions too.

Surprisingly, I started to enjoy it. It became like a game for me.

I vividly recall printing out the Crore Club award, putting my photo with it, and pasting it inside my cupboard. I even edited my Instamojo dashboard to display the numbers I desired.

Throughout this journey, I continued to invest in my learning, seeking guidance from some of the best coaches in the world.

After two years of consistent effort, assisting people in writing, publishing, and marketing their books to become #1 Bestsellers, I found myself writing more books. Celebrities endorsed my books, even writing forewords for them.

While I had my lows, I've had some incredible highs that still feel like a dream. For instance, receiving the foreword from Taapsee Pannu for my 11th book "Changemakers" with Almas Virani was an unbelievable moment. I danced and celebrated all night, unable to contain my excitement.

Another defining moment was seeing Javed Akhtar, Ranveer Brar, Nandita Das, Kanika Dhillon, and Rohini Ramnathan enter the bookstore for our book launch in Juhu amidst Covid Protocol. In the following year, 2022, Milind Soman wrote the foreword for my 12th book "The Running Effect," and he launched the book online, making it possible for all my community members to attend the book launch.

If this moment was a peak of joy for me, one that still fills my heart with love and gratitude, it was just the beginning of even greater highs.

Achieving the Crore Champion award at the Freedom Business Retreat was another highlight for me. Additionally, serving as a volunteer for my mentor Sidz at this event and having the opportunity to meet Vanita in person added to the significance. Yet, little did I know that even greater heights awaited me.

Sidz invited me to join the Quantum club, and when a mentor shows the path, ‘you just take it’.

For me, the decision of joining Quantum was purely about energy. I viewed it as a chance to elevate both my energy and financial thermostat. By now, through various life experiences, I've realized that it's not just about effort; energy and environment play crucial roles too. So, I took the plunge.

The first thing the plunge did was to kick out the belief that had obstructed my growth all my life: the belief that if I became more successful, I would have to sacrifice my time with my family. What if becoming richer meant I would have to slog more? This was the same belief that had delayed my joining Quantum.

After joining Quantum, another positive development happened: my life partner, Manish, also joined me on the journey, and we achieved our second crore within a year. Now, we are aiming for our third crore within 6 months.

They say that the right mentor knows what is right for you. My first call with Sidz in Quantum meant more to me than my life. It connected me back to my roots.

Sidz suggested renaming my community from Bestselling Authors Hub to India Authors Academy. He connected me back to my roots, to my childhood dream of serving India, and from there on, the journey has been much more fulfilling because I see my childhood dream reflected in my work.

For some, it may just be a name. But for me, it signifies a total shift in my energy, my passion, and my purpose.

Now, there is no looking back.

Today, I, Sweta Samota, am on a mission to make India the Author Capital of the world and to bring back the 1 million books in the library of Nalanda. I aim to have 1 million learners in the India Authors Academy who write, publish books, and create an unstoppable legacy of knowledge from India for the world.

India Authors Academy is making history in the literary landscape of India. We hosted our first India Authors Conclave event in Navi Mumbai on December 10th, where 120 members joined, learned, networked, and celebrated their literary contributions. This was another high that can be compared to the feeling I experienced when I completed my first full marathon (42.2km) in 2020.

We have announced our own IALF (India Authors Literature Festival), an annual literature festival for our community members to showcase their work, irrespective of their genres.

IALF is set to become a one-of-a-kind literature festival for authors and book readers in India, celebrating books and contributions together.

My mother drove me, my 100% PCM became a turning point in my life, Narendra Modiji became the catalyst, and my mentors and Internet Lifestyle Hub became the Quantum leap in my life.

From a humble beginning to becoming the force behind the India Authors Academy, my journey is one of resilience, purpose, and unwavering determination. Through consistency, implementation, and the guidance of my mentors, I transformed my life and am now on a mission to create a legacy that goes beyond individual success, weaving history in the literary landscape of India.

With love,