A Surgeon Turned Entrepreneur Shares Valuable Life Lessons
Dr Ritesh Malik had a lucrative medical career in front of him with lots of opportunities as a house surgeon. But, he chose to do something which very few people dare. While studying medical science he realised that his true passion resided in entrepreneurship, and that’s what he did. He neglected most of his medical lectures, and attended courses related to marketing. He founded a company in 2012; since then there was no looking back.
As of now, this dynamic entrepreneur is listed on Forbes 30 under 30 in the Finance and Venture list (Asia) 2016, PWC & SPH 40 most influential Indians (2017), named as a contender to BW Disrupt 40 Under 40 list in 2017 and backed by Y-Combinator. He is currently working as a Managing Director, Innov8 | The Co-working Space.
He is a person with lots of knowledge and it’s imperative that everyone must learn from him. We are pleased to tell you that this clever entrepreneur has shared valuable life lessons with GoodVitae, which can help anyone to bring a positive change in their life.
So let’s go through the beautiful answers he gave to following questions:
1. What motivated you to leave a lucrative medical career and become an entrepreneur?
“In my pre-final year I realised as a doctor I can treat 100 patients a day, but being an entrepreneur I could reach millions of people. It’s all about impact at a scale.”
He believes that as an entrepreneur, a person can bring a positive change on a broader scale. That’s very important because many people think that entrepreneurship is only about making money. But, in reality, an entrepreneur has the power to tackle and solve common problems of the society on a larger scale.
2. You must have faced lots of failures in your life, how did you handle them?
“Mindset, it’s all in your head. There’s nothing called a failure it’s just delayed gratification. Focus on learning & evolving. Be an optimist & an inverse paranoid is the key.”
Many people give up after facing initial failures and that where they go wrong. Dr Ritesh thinks that failure is state of mind because someone like him considers it as an opportunity to learn something new. He also tells that becoming an inverse paranoid is very important. It means everything that is happening to you, whether good or bad is helping you to achieve something great. You just have to believe in yourself.
3. Do you think failures are necessary for success?
“Challenges make life worth living.”
You can’t maintain your success if you don’t know failures. Also, success after failures makes life exciting and worth living.
4. What important lessons did you learn in life which you can’t learn in school or college?
“Focus on Karma, a lot of people make plans, don’t make plans rather execute, the action is gold, whether prepared or unprepared go into uncomfortable zones. Focus on building a long-term relationship. Build trust, that matters the most.”
No matter how much you think, learn, or read it will be a waste if you don’t take action. Also, it’s necessary to move away from the comfort zone because that’s where true development starts.
Related Article: This budding entrepreneur can inspire you
5. Which habit do you think can lead one to success?
“I call it the ALCHEMIST mindset:
Action: Taking action can give you an edge over most of the people
Learning: Make sure to learn something new every day
Confidence: Beleive that you can achieve anything and show confidence in daily work
Humility: Be grounded and let your action make more noise
Enthusiasm: Show enthusiasm in whatever kind of work you do
Majestic Thinkers: Think big when it comes to your life goal
Innovation: Try to innovate new things rather than blind following
Strategic Goal Seekers: Make sure to set realistic and time-bound small goals to complete big one
Tinkering (Networking): You can’t do everything on your own. Build your network, ask and chat with different people to accelerate your success”
6. Can you share your source of motivation or inspiration?
“My dad, Dr Ravi Malik & Vijay Shekhar Sharma, PayTM”
7. What is your definition of success?
“Creating an impact on a scale & being happy while you do that internally. Being characterful & culture driven. Money is always a by-product.”
It’s always necessary to do what you love and love what you. If you are happy in your day to day work then you will really stand apart from the rest of the crowd.
8. Can you share any motivational quote which you follow in your life?
“Truth conquers all or satymev jayate”
9. Do you like reading? Will you recommend any book?
“Yes, Black Swan.”
It’s a book is based on Black Swan Theory. The theory was put by financial professor turned writer Nassim Nicholas Taleb after the results of 2008 financial crisis. It’s about the events that deviate beyond what is normally accepted from a situation. This book can help you to prepare and plan for possible future problems.
10. At last, what is your advice to budding entrepreneurs and students?
“Dream big, so things you’re passionate about. Don’t waste time living someone’s else’s life. Take control of your life. Take decisions & be responsible. Own your decisions & do things which make you happy, you’ll never achieve excellence in work unless you’re dead passionate about it.”
At last, a beautiful quote by Dr Ritesh Malik:
“Be the master of your skill! Keep on brushing up and revising. Remember you are a product in yourself, keep innovating” – Dr Ritesh Malik
If you think you have learned something new then make sure to share it with your friends.
