Vikram Seth

Full transcript: Vikram Seth on London Real

0:00 This is London Real, I am Brian Rose. My guest today is Vikram Seth, recent graduate of Speak to Inspire. How are you sir? I’m very good, I’m feeling amazing. Welcome to the studio, tell us about you. Where are you from, what do you do? Thank you, yeah, thank you for having me here. So, I’m from London, born and brought up. My family’s originally from India.

0:21 So, I am the mix of two very different complementary cultures of the west and the east. That’s kind of fascinating. And what do you do? So I am an economist by trade. And I left my job earlier this year and now I am teaching dance classes, I’m running yoga, philosophical discussion workshops, and really helping people to reach their full potential through their own body.

0:52 Okay, what was going on with you before you took this course, internally, what was going on around you that made you wanna take the leap to Speak to Inspire? So, I’ve always been a storyteller, and one thing with storytellers is that I can get lost in the story. I could just go off and keep telling you things and I’ll keep your interest, but what’s the point of the story?

1:21 And that’s the biggest issue that I have had, is that I love the story, and I love just sharing that, and I love that rapport that I end up building. But what am I actually giving you out of it? What’s the structure, what’s the point that I’m trying to make? And I’ve always struggled with that.

1:39 Whether it’s been at work or even just sharing my ideas with people, because it’s like my brain just keeps churning out the ideas and I keep giving them to you without really consolidating what I’m trying to say. So what I’ve struggled with, particularly with speaking, is the structure. Okay, and why London Real?

2:02 So, I came across London Real earlier this year, when you had an Ido Portal movement workshop. And like I said, so for me everything is about the body, it’s through the body, because we, particularly in the corporate world, we use our mind so much, we’re almost neglecting the body and the spirit, and that’s where it comes through.

2:24 So, I came across Ido Portal through your event and I was just fascinated by both Ido and how you managed to get him in. And you filmed a documentary about him and I was just like, wow, this guy is going in the direction that I’ve been thinking about. So I went to the Ido Portal movement workshop. I was blown away by it.

2:52 And of course I checked out Ido and all that, and I was like, well, Ido is based in Israel and he’s going around the world doing all this movement stuff, but Brian brought him here. So what is this London Real thing all about? And then I started checking out the videos and it was just completely up my street.

3:09 I’ve been following Gary Vaynerchuk for the last three years, three, four years, and everyone that I started to see on London Real watching your videos was of that quality, and these guys who are really pushing it, and lifting us all up, taking humanity to the next level, which is the journey that I’ve been seeking, humanity two point nought. And I was like, Brian’s clocked it.

3:38 And the thing is I also resonated with you specifically because of your journey. I saw your TEDx Talk. I wanted to go into investment banking and then I ended up, I was in a FTSE 100 company, completely absorbed in that world, and I was like, this is the route to riches, out external and internal, this is the whole point of life.

4:02 But then I started to lose that and got disillusioned and started to feel like it’s not that that’s bad, but there’s so much more, and why am I not exploring that? And that’s what I felt, that you were sort of in that journey as well. And London Real is the way that you’ve been able to bring that out, and of course with Dan Peña on your ass, pushing you even further, it’s just blown up, so I wanted a piece of that action.

4:35 I like that, piece of the action. What were those first two weeks like, once you decided to join the course? You know, I introduced you to these 75 people around the world, I’m asking you to upload videos and go on Facebook Live, you got two live calls with me every week, a lot of assignments, the accountability doc. What was it like? Yeah, so I did not like that accountability doc at first.

4:57 So, I’ve heard many of the other graduates say as well, but for me that was critical, the accountability. In that first couple of weeks, I knew that this was gonna be a different course because of the way it was pitched, the way that it was very clear that no one is left behind.

5:23 I didn’t know how no one would be left behind, but I just knew that it’s gonna be that way, and somehow you’re gonna make sure that we all get through this. And that’s one of the biggest issues I found on online courses, is that I pay my money, I’m inspired, I want to invest in myself, I want to grow, and I know that’s the only way to do it. You have to invest in yourself for you to grow.

5:49 We’re all happy to invest in a property, but the property, if that can go into disrepair, you’ve always got yourself with you, and so that’s crucial. But with many courses, you invest in it, and then you’re on your own. And you can watch these videos, you can sit there, and after a couple of videos, there’s no one to tell you you were supposed to complete this in two days, it’s been three months. There’s no accountability, there’s no one pushing you forward.

6:20 And in those first couple of weeks, I suddenly realised how it works. There’s at least three layers of accountability in the course. You’ve got yourself, the triple OG right at the top, pulling us through. And of course, with your credibility and with your ethos and seeing you with all of these guests here, there’s that level of respect and authority that you command, which is like, okay, I don’t wanna let Brian down, I need to do this.

6:53 But it goes way deeper in that, because that’s not enough. And then at the next level, we’ve got the team leaders. You just happened to be mine, and that’s why we had to kill it as well on top of that. And then you’ve got all of the peer support network, and that is the fundamental thing that I’ve found that meant that this was completely different from many other courses, and even more powerful than teams I’ve worked in the office.

7:26 Because where do you have 15, 20 people pushing you every single day, saying you put this in the accountability doc, you said you were gonna do this, you said that you were gonna finish all of that whole module by Thursday and it’s now Wednesday night and you’ve still only done two out of 10 activities, c’mon man, get on it. And then everyone starts messaging each other, and we’re just all on it.

7:51 And everyone feels accountable to themself, but they also feel accountable to the team, to the team leader, and then to you, and that’s what we paid our money for. We paid to be pushed forwards, that’s why we’re paying this. Otherwise, I could have learned public speaking by myself. It would have just taken me five to 10 years, learning all of those insights, so why am I here? That’s why I’m here, and that’s why I’ve got this structure around me to push me forwards.

8:20 You took a leadership role really early on and you were pushing Team Rose forward. You’re now one of the team leaders for the next 12 months, and I really appreciate that. Thank you. What did you struggle with in the course, what was hard for you? So, initially my biggest problem was perfection. That’s something that I struggle with a lot. I’m a perfectionist, so everything needs to be excellent or there’s no point doing it. I realise there’s a difference between excellence and perfection.

8:51 And what I learned very quickly in the first couple of weeks, and particularly from when I had my 15 minute one-on-one chat with you, and there was one thing which you said, which I’ve heard so many times, but for some reason it just hit me in that moment, which was, some people, you were making the move as well, and you were saying some people, they just spend their whole life aiming, and they’re just looking around and aiming, and they’re just waiting, but some people come in, and they’re just like aim, fire, pull the trigger.

9:24 And that’s where I realised that my perfection has caused me to just aim all the time. And the ideas keep building in my head, over and over and over, and then I don’t execute, because I’m not pulling the trigger, ’cause I’m looking for that perfect shot. There is no perfect shot, so I learned that really very quickly in that first couple of weeks. And then I realised, right, there’s no perfect shot.

9:50 What I’m gonna do is I’m just gonna get everything done. And once I get everything done, I’m then gonna see how everyone else is doing. And I started to realise that many other people in the team had a lot more resistance than I did. So, I was like, okay, my mission here is to get everyone else through their resistance.

10:12 And it was almost like an indirect way of pushing myself forward, because by focusing on helping everyone else, I knew that I’ll have zero credibility if I’m telling them, c’mon, get your act together, when I haven’t got my own act together. So, that double whammy helped me to get my stuff done ASAP, and then, right, who can I go and help now, who can I go and pull through their resistance and make sure that they get it done as well.

10:45 What was your biggest win for the course when it comes to your final speech? Like, what did you add to it that you’re just the most happy with, whether a structure or something you did, motion, body, everything? So very early on, I think one of the first things we needed to do in the course was to identify who our ideal speakers are, who our favourite speakers are, and channel their traits.

11:12 So for me, the three traits that I really wanted to channel were being direct and to the point, being vulnerable, and unafraid to speak my mind. So for me, I hit all three of them, which is saying a lot, because it’s only been six weeks and I’ve hit these three really powerful things for me.

11:39 The key one was being unafraid to speak my mind, because like I said, I’ve got so many ideas, and I’ve been developing these since I was like 15 years old. I’ve been exploring all of these thoughts about, well, we’re in this corporate, we’re trained in this rational linear thinking. We go through university, school then university, we go into the corporate world, get a job, and it’s almost like, well, that’s the path.

12:05 But I’ve had all these thoughts building up that that’s not even half the story. It’s maybe not even 5% of the story. But I got lost in those thoughts, and not just not being able to share them, but not even feeling comfortable that people are gonna be open to hearing them. So I was always paralysed by this perfection of saying it right, but then also, even if I say it right, will people think I’m a weirdo, will people just reject me?

12:36 And so, the way the whole thing was structured, we were almost forced to be vulnerable. We were forced to open up and just reveal ourself. You hit some people on the head very hard to get them; they had everything else, but they were not opening up. And that was the key thing. We’ve got five minutes to do a speech, how are you gonna get people to listen to you and really be inspired? And the biggest way to do that is by being vulnerable, opening up, and being unafraid to speak your mind.

13:12 And I felt like I’ve still got a way to go on the structure, but being unafraid to speak my mind is a huge, huge transformation from before. That’s a nice transformation too. Last night you stood up in front of 30 of your classmates and you gave your speech, and you also had to listen to your classmates speak. What was that like?

13:37 It was an incredible experience, and particularly for some people it felt really humbling in a way, that some of these people were, they were almost scared to be on a video conference call six weeks ago, and they’re standing in front of 30 people giving a speech. And some of the people in my team as well didn’t take action for the first three weeks, nothing, zero, zero communication, nothing.

14:13 And now, they’ve flown all the way here, they’re standing in front of me giving a speech, and I’m like, whoa! And not just that, I’m listening to them and I’m like, you’re inspiring me! Six weeks ago we didn’t hear from you, you didn’t even want to say what your name was in front of a bunch of people on a video conference call, and now you’re standing live in front of people, sharing some of your deepest passions with us. So, that was incredible.

14:44 Listening to 30 five-minute speeches, thinking about that beforehand, you’re like, how am I gonna last, I hope there’s a few breaks in there. But when you’re in it and everyone is on point and everyone is sharing what’s really in their heart and trying to help us be better versions of ourselves, I was just carried by the energy and just inspired by that.

15:13 In terms of my own speech, I literally had, I was not nervous, I was not nervous at all, and this is I think the testament to the course, that I was sharing some very powerful stories in my life, particularly about how my friend passed away a couple of years ago, and I’d known him since I was 10 years old. I was so afraid to say how these things have really affected me in my life, because who talks about this stuff?

15:47 Nobody really shares the deep side of themselves out of fear that we’ll be rejected, and it’s a fundamental human fear, because that’s how our brain works. And somehow, we’ve got these 30 people in the room who’ve got over this resistance to a very, very large extent, where suddenly you can now break through.

16:10 And as you said, many of us can quite easily, by putting in the work in the next few weeks and months, we can quite easily be on the TED stage with speeches that we’ve got right now. Forget about now honing and coming up with an even better two point nought; even what we’ve got right now can inspire many people to take action to improve their lives. So I witnessed that with 30 people last night.

16:45 There’s not really, words can’t do it justice. You have to actually be there. What are your plans for the next 12 months, where are you gonna take your speech, and where are you gonna take this team? Yeah, so one thing that this course also gave me was that opportunity to step up and lead. Not because I had a formal position of authority, I just had the opportunity, so I did it. So for me, that’s very powerful.

17:15 And particularly as one of the things I’ve been working on with my workshops and my teaching is coaching people. So for me, my vision, before I get to myself, is everyone else in this team has fundamental goals to help themselves for the next 12 months and to just blow themselves out of proportion, and we’ve got to help them achieve that. We go, no ego, as you’ve drilled in. So, I’m looking forward to that.

17:49 There’s somewhat, particularly in our Team Rose, there’s so much energy, we’ve all just gelled together. So many of us made the effort to fly over to London to be here for a three-day graduation event. There’s no need for people to do that, but the community’s so powerful it just brought everyone together. So, we’re gonna keep that energy and move forward and make sure everyone hits their goals.

18:12 So, for sure monthly calls, but potentially even weekly calls, to make sure we all just do it. We’ll be meeting up, that’s for sure as well, face to face. For myself, everything ties together, and that’s, my voice is even gone from all of this talking. It’s a high quality problem, as they say. So, for me everything ties together.

18:43 I’ve even been able to understand my own journey and what I want to now create better from doing this six weeks, because in having to do a public speech I’ve had to work out what the hell do I wanna talk about. And what I wanna talk about isn’t just some random side issue, peripheral topic, which I’m just gonna give for five minutes and then disappear. I wanted to talk about self-determination.

19:10 And I wanted to talk about our primal quest in life, that we all have this one thing that we’re going for. And I’m still working on that speech, but the reason that topic’s so important is because that’s what I’m doing now. I’ve decided to determine where the direction of my own life goes. So, every month next year I’m running a workshop. It’s already scheduled. I’ll be running workshops starting in the UK and going around the world.

19:44 And those workshops are really just to, they’re an excuse to get people together to explore the hidden side of themself through the body, through meditation, through yoga, through philosophical discussion. And there’s no reason that I can’t use that same content and go ’round giving speeches on the same thing. So, I do have the ambition by the end of 2018 I would have given a TED Talk, 100%.

20:20 And you’ve inspired me to do that. I know there’s a way to go, but that’s the whole point. There’s gonna be a s*** load of resistance, there’s gonna be a lot of stuff, probably much worse than just a sore throat, but for me that’s the aim, and to get there, I’m gonna be doing any opportunity I can find. I’m gonna be doing free talks. I’m gonna just get myself involved, going to coworking spaces, going to local schools, and just talk about self-determination.

20:54 Humanity two point nought, that’s my vision. Our whole society at the moment is built on half of our brain, our linear, rational, logical thinking. We almost have ignored the other side, the creative non-linear, but all genius is in bringing these two things together. So if you can bring in that other half, that non-linear creativity, which funny enough our body allows us access to through movement, through meditation, bringing that in.

21:34 Imagine what kind of businesses are people gonna be building. You’ll have way more Elon Musks, you’ll have way more people who are confident enough to break through their resistance. So these are the talks I wanna give, and there’s no reason why I can’t do it. No reason at all. I love it. Vikram, if we were to walk outside and bump into the guy that didn’t take this course, how is that Vikram different than the OG Mac Daddy I’m looking at?

22:03 So, he probably wouldn’t have a beard, and he definitely wouldn’t have a sore throat because he hasn’t been flipping speaking. And in all likelihood, these ideas that I’ve just shared are not new, but I wouldn’t have had the courage to mention them. They’d still be running around in my head, driving me insane, and I’d be making mind maps all day long, doing zero action with it.

22:31 But a side effect of this course is that I’ve already booked in 12 workshops for next year. What’s that got to do with public speaking? But it has everything to do with it. This community that we’ve got, there’s so much, everyone is so like-minded that it’s pulled me through so much more. Speaking to people who’ve been through the millionaire journey and got to the end and thought, well, what is this all about?

23:04 And then they suddenly realise, they’re now looking in the same place I’m looking. Movement, breath, it’s insane. So it’s almost like, it’s just, it’s like it’s 10x’ed who I was in just six weeks. Because if I can connect with all of these people who have such a varied experience through this course, which is so unexpected.

23:37 I didn’t expect that when I sign up for a public speaking course, or Speak to Inspire course, that actually I’m gonna learn so much from the other people who are on it, and understand the reasons that they’re on it, and learn from that, that actually everyone has such a different journey, but we’re all able to relate to each other, and connect with each other, and pull each other forwards. So that’s a critical thing that I’m taking away from this.

24:12 And like I said, we’re all gonna be connecting every single month, and we’re gonna continue to push each other forwards, whether or not there’s the whole structure of the course around, or whether or not you’re around to pull us through that resistance. I’ve now, I would say, internalised that understanding.

24:37 Six weeks ago, intellectually, I knew that I need to push through resistance, resistance is real, fear is real, but the Vikram now has pushed through resistance at will. And I’ve just picked up my phone, and after 15 minutes of writing out a completely new speech and deciding I’m gonna make this one a comedy. And I started talking about, okay, well, how has losing my hair at a young age helped my self-confidence?

25:14 I’m just gonna work out how to talk about that. And I just worked it out in 15 minutes because I had to. I just picked up my phone, pressed the live button and I went in, and I just gave a speech about that. Before, I would have spent weeks! I would have spent weeks going, alright, how do I perfect this, okay, I need to make sure I get this in, let me test this out with about 15 people.

25:38 Get everyone’s feedback, listen to all the feedback, tweak it to acknowledge their… forget all of that, just pick it up, do it. Gary Vaynerchuk says, “Don’t overthink,” “do, then know, then decide.” I was always stuck in the overthinking. And in this course, I did, now I know, now I can decide, and that’s powerful. Very powerful, very powerful.

26:08 Last question, for someone who’s thinking about taking this course, but they’re on the fence, don’t know if it’s worth their time, or the money investment, what would you say? So, what can be worth more than investing in yourself? It’s such a simple question, but we have the most resistance to that.

26:29 So, I can understand, because I questioned that as well, and particularly since I don’t have an income now, I’m like, well, how can I possibly invest money in this thing? But how can I not, because if you wanna make 10,000, 100,000, you have to invest something, right? And there’s absolutely no value you can put on yourself, because the biggest business opportunity is ourselves.

26:58 You can invest 10 pounds or 1,000 pounds in yourself and make that a billion. The limit, there is no limit. So what I would say 100% is, don’t look at your resources, because that is resistance. Questioning do I have this, do I have the time, do I have the money, that is all resistance. The question is, do I want this, do I want to do this? What kind of person am I gonna be when I come out the other side?

27:29 And if I want to do that, you can decide to get through the resistance, because that’s the test you’re gonna face all the time. And in fact, once you get through this resistance and you get to the other side and you decide, okay, now I’ve got the confidence to do a TED Talk, now I’ve got the ability to do that, guess what, you’re gonna face a whole load more of resistance, which is gonna be a way bigger level.

27:56 So, do you wanna play the big game? And the big game isn’t out in the world, the big game is your big game. Do you wanna take yourself to your two point nought? Because if you do, then you’ve got to invest and you’ve got to do it, that’s what I would say. ‘Cause other words, where the hell will you be?

28:16 Vikram, you have changed a lot, brotha, in the last six weeks, but you know you’ve really stepped up, man, and you really are a leader that everyone on the team looks towards. Thank you, I appreciate it. I can’t wait to see this TED Talk. I can’t wait to see what you do with your life, with all these skills, and like you said, it’s not just even about the speaking, it’s just the fact that now you are just energised and you’re on fire and you have a whole new perspective, and I think the whole class is the same.

28:41 I think they feel empowered like they never were before. And I just need you all to promise me to go crush it. 100%, boom! That’s what I’m looking, and I’ll be watching you guys for the next 12 months, probably the next 12 years. So, as we like to say in London Real, welcome to the family. Thank you. Thanks for putting in the hard work, and thanks for leading this team forward. I look forward to more experiences with you sir. Thank you very much and thank you for taking us through. Thank you sir. I appreciate it.