Connect with Sumeena Gupta on Instagram @sumeena_gupta
www.pesonaresort.com
TRANSCRIPT
INTRO: 00:02 You are not here by accident. You are here by design. And you are here to find courage in the face of fear, to replace isolation with connection, to push back that feeling of overwhelm, and to start feeling confident. And you know how you're going to do it? By listening to other people's stories. There's no better way to feed your soul and raise your vibration and shift your mindset than to hear the stories of those who have gone before you. I'm your host, Lori Lynn, also known as Her Royal Excitedness, and I invite you to Rise and Climb.
LORI LYNN: 00:49 Welcome back to the Rise and Climb podcast with your host, Lori Lynn. Today's guest is an entrepreneurial woman who has been on this journey of finding her own way and carving her own path. And she has a beautiful resort that she oversees and I would love for you to meet her. Her name is Sumeena Gupta and she is my beautiful guest today. Thank you so much, Sumeena, for being on the show.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 01:18 Hi Lori. Thank you for having me. So good to be here.
LORI LYNN: 01:23 So I know we've connected over being women in the entrepreneurial space and having sort of alternative views with regard to raising our children and homeschooling and travel. And just to give the listeners an idea of where you are right now. I am in Nashville, Tennessee and you are in ...
SUMEENA GUPTA: 01:44 I'm currently sitting in Mendoza in Argentina, which is the wine country and it's a beautiful place if you've never been. I encourage everybody to get to Argentina. It's a, a big country, but there's so much to offer. Um, and I'm traveling minimum 10 months, possibly longer with my three kids and my husband, um, we left about seven weeks ago from, um, our homes in Bali, Indonesia, where we've been living for the last 12 years. Um, and maybe you can hear from my accent. I'm actually really UK, so, um, is it all a bit of a mix, but yeah, currently in Argentina. It's lovely to see you. You too.
LORI LYNN: 02:25 Now you said, um, you're leaving for Peru too
SUMEENA GUPTA: 02:28 soon, is that right? Yes, we fly to Peru tomorrow. Um, we'll be there probably also a month because, um, I've been to Peru before, actually, my husband and I traveled South America for eight months, about 12 years ago, which is when we actually started our business as well. Um, as you do when you travel, serendipity takes over. And, uh, that's how we stumbled across our adventure. But, uh, yeah, I love Peru because of the Inco history and Machu Picchu and this, uh, it's this very beautiful country also. So we're headed there tomorrow and then over the next two months we'll travel some more and end up in Antigua in Guatemala in February where we've signed the kids up to a Montessori Cambridge green school, um, Antigua green school. And the kids will spend at least two or three months at that school, which looks fantastic. Um, and tick Y, which is a UNESCO heritage city.
LORI LYNN: 03:28 So I'm so excited for that. Can't wait. That's incredible. Yeah. And that's the type of education that you can't get sitting in a classroom.
SUMEENA GUPTA: Yeah, exactly. I, uh, I've, I'm one of these people that when I do something, I really investigate it. So when I had children, I read all the children parenting books, how to do it right, what not to do, what to do wrong. And, and as we know, as parents, you learn on the job. So those books, those books just get thrown out the window. But, um, I've really, I've really, uh, investigated education actually and where it's headed. Um, and I do think as parents, I mean, I was brought up in this way as well where education is the one gift that you give your kids. Um, but nowadays I think the education is not necessarily kind of the degree or the exam results.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 04:19 It's hard to survive in this world and the world is changing so much that I really believe going forward, our kids need a lot more, uh, arsenal or, or more toolkit, more tools in their kit to survive. Um, so I'm currently apparently unschooling my children. So taking them out of the system and trying to teach them other things, survival skills, um, you know, being in a different place, learning different languages, you know, figuring out how to jump on a bus, dealing with boredom, dealing with lack of wifi in social. I mean, you know, where in remote places where there is no social media, making friends with kids who don't speak your language in the park because obviously, you know, kids always need that community and interaction. Um, so yeah, it's just amazing. And also I just think the year in a life of a child is nothing to take them out of the system and to actually give them this journey and their gifts and their, you know, they may not remember all of it, but they're writing diaries and drawing pictures then and something sticks.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 05:23 And also we're loving it. We get to spend this intense time with our kids who will soon be grown up and fly the roost and we'll remember these times. So, you know, it's just such a powerful year for us and I'm really glad we've, we've orchestrated it and it wasn't easy. We've had to do a lot of things to make this happen, but it's just the right thing to do. And I know that and I feel it. Tell me how old your children are. The oldest is 11. Um, the second one, the oldest is, he's a boy. He's 11. Ishaan. Then I have a daughter who's nine. She's called Layla. She's a budding actress, I think I mentioned. And uh, the youngest is seven. So EMEA, I feel like those are the perfect ages for traveling. Yeah, you don't have toddlers and you don't have teenagers.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 06:09 This is like the [inaudible] you did it. I had the will, I'm very close in age, obviously within five or five years. And they've always been really good friends so that, that helps with the company because they have each other to play with, which cause kids, I think kids when they're out a school that's you homeschool, so maybe you understand this, but they do need that social interaction. Um, and they get that from each other, which is really handy. And they love each other. They're really good kids, so they fight, but they do play together as well. Um, but yeah, this is such a special age. They still listen to you and they still love you and they still, you know, the, they respond to what you say, they respect you.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 06:51 They, they old enough to kind of question and learn and take an interest. So yeah, it's really fun for loving it. There's challenges though. It definitely is not bed of roses. Yeah. It's not for the faint of heart traveling with three children to other countries. And I have to say one of my, so the reason I started on my entrepreneurial journey, which was, um, when I attend 30 actually, cause prior to that I'd worked in the corporate world. Um, I was on the treadmill. That's how I always say, or plugged into the matrix. We, you know, I studied, I'd got my degree. I, I've, I'm Asian, I mean Indian background and we're expected to do certain things like, you know, get a good job, buy a house, get married, have kids, et cetera, et cetera. And I know it was very much on that path, very much following, you know, doing, doing really well and, and just doing what I thought I had to do.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 07:45 And then my husband and I decided to travel at 30. Um, and it just changed everything. It derailed us completely. We decided that there was way more to life than what we were up to at that time and it just didn't suit us. And we realized we could start seeing the cracks in, in what we were doing. And, and traveling opened our eyes to that and made us realize we have to change something. And that's where we ended up as part of our travels in Indonesia. We came across this Island called [inaudible], which is only seven kilometers. The conference, it's about two hours from Bali. Um, beautiful. It's a diving Island. It's just nature. You know, it's got sunset sunrises, sun dandy beaches. It's just gorgeous blue water. And we had some money in the bank cause we'd been working and we bought this plot of land and that was it.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 08:34 That was the change, change our trajectory completely. Um, and as soon as we started, we kind of raised our kids on this Island. Um, they've always, they've grown up there. And then couple of years ago we moved to the big Island barley. And for those of, you know who barley, who know barley, it's a very big Island and it has great schools actually. Um, so we put them into a school that had a very big emphasis on growth mindset, which we love and it's an expert school so it's got lots of children with parents who have alternative views and you know, really open minded, you know, education is important but so is everything else which we really value. Right. Um, and then yeah, a couple of years in to Bali we've decided to take this year off and travel and, and kind of do it while the kids at the right age. Like you said, cause as the oldest gets older and they all do, they have to focus on different parts of their education, et cetera.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 09:25 So, but one of the great things about starting my business, our business is that it gives us freedom. And you know, if I, if anyone out there, I would say if freedom is one of your really key values and your life jumping onto the entrepreneurial bandwagon is a really good way to kind of find that time that you want for yourself. And it seems contradictory cause I feel that people think if you run your own business, you, you actually work all the time, 24 seven really hard. And I have to say that is very true in the early stages. But if you're smart and if you're willing to let go and if you follow kind of an 80 20 rule, you can really, you know, trust. I have some really good stuff that I trust. My job now is to mentor my staff and help them and let them get on with it.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 10:14 And that's kind of the entrepreneurial journey. If you value freedom, which we do. So, you know, we opened a restaurant a month ago while we were on the road by just managing our team and working very closely with our staff and just being there for them and guiding them and encouraging them and helping them with the hard parts and kind of leaving them to the bits we know that they could do. So being able to let go like that gives you so much freedom and then it allows you to earn the money that you need to do the other things like this, like traveling. So, you know, we don't stop working, but we don't have to work all the time. So yeah, it's really good. Yeah. So as an entrepreneur, I think it's very important to know why you go to it. Why do you want to have your own business?
SUMEENA GUPTA: 10:58 What are your values that you're looking to really emphasize? And then focusing on those. So you mentioned the 80 20 rule. I don't know that everyone is familiar with that. Can you talk about that a little bit and how you applied it to those early days in growing your business? Okay. Um, two, I look at it two ways. First way is you can never ever get everything 100% right. So just letting that extra 20% go and I feel in every part of your life just makes life so much more livable. So, you know, even with, I see people with like really frenzied on diets and with exercise and just anything, if you try and do, and I do think that people like, like perfection and that's great, but if you try and do 100%, you're just setting yourself up for failure. I feel. So it has really helped me in my life to have a real kind of 80, 20 mindset with almost everything.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 11:53 So in my business, if certain things don't go according to plan or, um, you know, it isn't exactly what I expected or it's not making the money that I thought it would, it's okay because we're 80% there and that's, that's fine. And it's, it's enough. So, you know, I just think that you've, maybe you have to know your own tolerance, but for me, 80 20 works and then the other 80 20 is almost the other way round, which is giveaway 80% of the work and keep the 20. That really adds value. And that's what I do. So the 20% that actually I bring to the business and that's the strategy. The idea is the guidance, the support, kind of a bit of the financial knowhow, you know, the understanding of the Indonesian laws and how that works. And now I'm really good at networking. So the networking side of things and queen and calling in people when we need them.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 12:44 That's my 20% and the other 80% just gets shoved out to everyone else. And it's great because you create an economy. So we have almost a hundred staff and only two of them and only two of them are Westerners. So I have um, a spa, a dive shop, a restaurant and a hotel with 26 rooms. And then another restaurant we've just opened and we have, I think over 10% of my staff are from abroad and 90% are from Indonesia. So we've created an economy around that. And that makes me really proud because we train our staff. It's a very poor country. So there are, you know, hospitality's very big. It creates opportunities. But we really work with our staff. We train them, we educate them, we try and get them to see, not just turn up to work but actually try and, you know, get better, promote them, try and make them work their way up the ladder.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 13:39 So I have some really, really strong Indonesian staff who basically are doing the 80% along with my, um, a couple of the Westerners that we hire because we always kind of need that in Indonesia. And in these Asian countries, it can be quite difficult to find the trustworthy staff as well. We've, I mean, we've been burnt, so we've learned a little bit from that, um, where we had money stolen, et cetera, like everybody has. So, you know, just being able to, to find that balance of the 80, 20 helps, I feel entrepreneurs just live their lives actually, which is the whole point is the whole point of those, you know, there's no point in having these successful businesses if you can't enjoy the money or the, or the freedom or the time that you have. So yeah, that's, that's what I, uh, that's how I would define the 80, 20 rule.
LORI LYNN: 14:25 It's funny, I, I understand the principle and I would not have applied it the way that you just described it. So I'm so glad that I asked that question. I thought I understood and I was like, wow, that was actually really good. Okay, cool. Yeah, I mean I feel like it's different for everybody. And this is one thing that I, what I try not to do is listen to all the noise. There are me.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 14:46 So, um, so many people tell you so many things and everyone says everything different and you know, there's all these morning routines and then you feel like you should be doing them. And then there's all these kinds of exercise regimes. And you feel you should be doing them. And this is kind of ideal. Everything. And I just think parenting, Oh my gosh, this is how you should raise your children. This is exactly. And if, honestly, if I listened to even half of what I heard, I'd have no idea what I was doing. So I think it's just for me, it's like what? What is clarity around what I want? What do I am I man, I'm so sure that this is what I want, that I can talk to anybody about it and no one can tell me otherwise. You know, it's almost that inner inner confidence or arrogance, I guess.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 15:29 You don't have to shove it in people's faces. You don't have to be rude about it, but you know it for yourself to your core. So, you know, again, Indian families do not take their kids out of school and go traveling. It's just like what? They're not going to school. What is going to happen. I mean, I've got, you know, my parents and my ma, my inlaws and they're like, what about education, education, education? And I know to my core that this is so important that nobody can tell me that I'm doing the wrong thing and it's fine cause I have to live with the consequences so it doesn't matter. So again, with business, if, you know, when we opened our dive shop, everyone's like, Oh well we don't need another dive shop. There's already 10 on the Island. I mean at that time they were 10 others 20 so we were number 11. Wow. And I was like, yeah, yeah. I was like, Nope, this is going to be successful. It's going to be fine. And I think if you know that your, your make it work from almost like a a pride point of view as well as like, no, I'm going to make this work. So, um, yeah, it's just, it's just defining for yourself what it means I think is really helpful and really important.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 16:36 So
LORI LYNN: 16:37 how do you have the courage to launch into something that is undefined? So there had to have been some things along the way that led you, you know, you said you had that epiphany when you did the first trip and saw, okay, this is a completely different way of living that we could live. So how would you recommend getting a taste for something different if you feel that unsettled feeling? Um, and then where do you find the courage to, you know, to actually launch yourself onto that path and take that trajectory that's, you know, pulling you away from the traditional pull, you know, trying to keep you back where you were and where, you know, your family went and your answer.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 17:22 Yeah. You know, that's such a good question actually because, um, I would have probably about a couple of years ago I would have said, I'm not sure, but I've actually thought about that because I really do want to help other people to be able to make those decisions. So I've had to, I've sort of thought, okay, what, how does, how do I make this happen? Like, what allows me to take risks, because, you know, although I said at 30 is when we sort of went, decided to start a business and my twenties I went through two full corporate careers. I worked for a.com. I worked for a big accountancy, I worked for a massive bank, but, and I always jumped ship because I was like, ah, this is not right for me. Like, so I was always quite happy to take these kind of risky decisions that were like, well, you're not gonna earn salary and then I'd get another job and it was fine.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 18:15 Um, I feel that I'm really good at doing, uh, kind of making calculated risks. So, you know, like a kind of almost like a pro con list where I just say, okay, if I do this, what are the, what's the impact? What's the positive impact? Was negative impact. So, you know, sometimes it's in my head, sometimes it's an actual physical list and I'm just like, so what is the worst that can happen? And kind of write that down and go, what's the best that can happen? And write that down. And then try and give myself some security around like my risk-taking so that I know, okay, well, yeah, maybe I won't earn a salary for the next two years, but you know what, I've got a house I can rent out and therefore I can have some passive income from the rental. So there's my calculated risk possibly, or you know, okay, well why don't I just work another year and buy this asset and then I can maybe have that, you know, ticking over at the same time as, as I'm doing this.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 19:15 So just really looking at really, but you have to do some like thought, you know, brainpower, soul-searching, writing lists or talking to someone that you really trust even, um, and just going, okay, what are the pros and cons? What's the worst that can happen? What's the best that can happen? How about we give it a go and no pressure. So how about we give it a go for six months and if it all goes pear shaped, we'll go back to this. So like, you know, no pressure to stay. So when I, when we first quit our jobs to start our business, we said to my husband and I were like, well, if it all goes pear shaped, we'll go back and we'll get another job, you know, and within a month we knew we were never going back. So just giving ourselves that little security blanket or a comfort, you know, cause it is really hard and there is a lot of risk taking and you do feel uncomfortable even with this travel, you know?
SUMEENA GUPTA: 20:02 Yes, we've plugged in that we'll be away minimum 10 months if it's not working, if it's not the right thing. If we find that financially it's not viable, et cetera, et cetera, we'll buy a ticket and we'll go home and we'll just go back to where we were. And that's okay. Because again, we're not doing this for anyone else. We're just doing it for ourselves. We've got nothing to prove to anyone. So yeah, I'm a real kind of like calculated risk person. I just think that's, yeah, they're risks. But you know, I've thought about it, I know what I'm doing, I know the pros and cons. It's okay. So I don't know if that answers the question, but yeah, I think to kind of something that you mentioned that maybe sort of glossed over is being able to see beyond the present and having a vision for what you want,
LORI LYNN: 20:48 what you want to grow, how you want your kids to grow up. You could see the business, you could see the dive shop, you could see, you know, your children learning new languages and interacting with people from other countries and different cultures. So when you have that vision in mind, then you know, that drives you toward it. And then it sounds like there, the courage comes from knowing that you've calculated the risk, you understand what the pros and cons are and you know that there's a backup plan. Like if this doesn't work out, you know what, no big deal. We can always go back to what we were doing before and switch gears.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 21:24 Exactly. Yeah, that's, yeah, I don't, I think a lot of people are worried what other people will think in all honesty. And, and I could have fallen into that where I'd be like, Oh God, my parents told me that I shouldn't do this. And it would be a big mess. But if you thought, if, honestly, if I thought like that, and I say this often, I would have done nothing. Nothing. I would, I would probably, I probably wouldn't have gone to university because my parents, my dad was really conservative and he's like, Oh no, girls don't go to uni because they have to leave home and live out of the house. And you know, we kinda allow that. And I was like, I'm going to uni, like it's happening. So I just think if you really, if you keep thinking about what other [inaudible], and the thing is, they value education, but they kind of worry they've got, the security element was outweighing that.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 22:08 And it was just like, I'm going, um, without being a rebel or being kind of slamming doors about it. It was just kind of like, I'm going like, why wouldn't I go to university? So yeah, I think just having a real kind of note, don't care really what people think. It's okay. Like I don't need to justify myself to them. And yeah, sometimes I get to a moment, I'm like, I already saw this. I, I've been here. It's almost like a deja VU. But you're right. It's that vision. So, you know, like I talked about the school, the kids are going to go to, I can already see it. I can see it's living in Antigua. I can see what we're going to do. We're possibly going to start a business. They're like, I've already said this to my husband. I'm like, let's, let's have a look at opportunities.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 22:50 I've told the kids it's happening. You'll be learning Spanish, but, right. So, yeah, when I get there and be like, I've been here. So yeah, I, it's, it's true. It's, the visioning is very powerful. It's really gives you something to work towards. It's the GPS. I tell my kids, I'm like, if you have a GPS and you don't know where you're going, you won't get anywhere. And we use GPS a lot while we're traveling. Cause obviously we're like where are we, where are we going? And it's like you have to plug in the destination. Otherwise you're really aimless. And that is actually very true. What you said that, that's a good insight. Thanks.
LORI LYNN: 23:25 Also seeing into this um, business relationship that you have with your husband, how do you maintain that marriage relationship alongside working together in a business relationship? So do you have advice for anyone who is either in the throes of trying to build a business together or like has the heart to do it, like might be able to see themselves doing it, but what practical advice do you have for people who are considering going that route?
SUMEENA GUPTA: Well, it, that's such a powerful question because it's actually one of the things I want to mastermind over when in the future apparently were called CRA. Couple of printers cause we're a couples working together. Um, it is cause on, on this Island, many bit, many couples started businesses together because it's just, it feels so idyllic. Like, Oh, let's go to this little Island and start a business or a restaurant or a hotel or whatever, you know, a spa. And I have seen so many separations and they're friends of mine and it's so heartbreaking and I just think, Oh gosh, there are some really key elements that can help.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 24:35 I feel couples work together. And one of them is you treat each other like business partners in the business space and you come home and you treat you sorta as a couple in the couple space. So, you know, I, from a very early, early on in our business career, we would have scheduled meetings with each other. Um, so like, Hey, you know, in work time we'd be like, can I need a meeting with you tomorrow to talk about this? Let's put it into the diary rather than 11 o'clock at night when you finally collapse into bed and you're just kind of starting to switch off and read your book. Or just, you know, reply to your WhatsApps from your family and it's like, Oh by the way, you know that wallpaper that we were choosing, I was like, no. And then that's when you lead, it leads to fights.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 25:19 It's a complete passion killer. You know, you just don't want anything to do with that person anymore. And we really have worked together for almost 12, 13 years intensely. Um, almost sometimes where we don't see other people, but we're really good at going, work time is over. We're now in relationship time or I'm now having my own time as well. So you know, I'm going for a run or I'm going to the gym or I'm now switching off to you. I'm reading my book or you know, I need this space. So just being really kind of clear and we actually have a little bit silly, but we have WhatsApp groups with each other where we, you know, if you think of something, cause sometimes you are creative at different times, we have different, you know, mine schedule. So we WhatsApp each other. Oh by the way, blah blah blah.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 26:05 And then you can read them in your own time. So it's out of your head. It's gone to the other person and it's done. And the other thing that we're really good on is we clear cut who's in charge of which part of the business. So my, my husband's so into the detail and he's into the kind of the real nitty gritty kind of project management financial stuff. Whereas I'm more of the strategy and the operations and the people and was so clear which part of the business we take a lead on. Um, and then that allows us to kind of go, okay, that's my area actually. I'm happy to listen to your input the same way I would at anybody else, but I think we should this and respecting that and going, okay, you are that person who makes a decision for that. I respect that.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 26:49 So just the way you would raise your kids, just the way that you would kind of have your family life. It's separating the business life and the family life and just being treating each other like coworkers and treating each other as, as partners. Outside of that, it's really important cause I do have a very, I'm very lucky. I met my husband very young and we do have very good relationship and I do believe that's helped me make, take some of the risks. So, you know, that's, that's part of my calculated risk is that I'm in a, in a really tight relationship with my partner, um, and also having three kids and he's very supportive with that. So just, I do feel lucky about that, but I think that you can work on it and we do work on it. We work on it all the time. We've had plenty of, have bad periods and we work on it and we try and try and have good periods. Again, I read around it, I research, I try and look at, you know, what makes successful couples, what makes good business people who work together, et cetera, et cetera. So yes, I think it's education. I don't know if we ever stopped learning. Just educating yourself again and again, isn't it on everything? So, yeah. Yeah.
LORI LYNN: 27:58 One of my homeschool heroes is, um, a woman named Charlotte Mason. And one of the things that she's known for saying and writing is education is a life. And I think that it's so important just to be lifelong learners, to be people who love to learn and who love to read books and who loved to explore and have adventures and travel and love each other. Well. And um, I saw that in everything that, you know, we talked about before this interview,
SUMEENA GUPTA: 28:31 I thought, Oh I'm going to get her on my show. Yeah. Cause we just had a couple of interactions but I could tell that we were a good fit for each other in that way. Um, I would love to pick up on the education element actually because you know, I have always been very academic. I do love to learn and, and so, you know, I've always reading or learning something new or picking up something new and I only came, I was telling you to came to this sort of self development self helps you know, growth world in the last six months. Um, and one thing that did for me was kind of finally stopped me feeling like the odd one out or an outcast or kind of the person who's trying to go against the norm or you know, she's all, you know, the one who doesn't do what everybody else wants her to do type of person and just go, Oh my God, there's a whole load of people who think just like me and actually, you know, feel the same way.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 29:26 And it's just so I feel like I found my tribe within not only the knowledge business blueprint, which is the course that we've signed up to, but also just this whole kind of self-development self, how I bettering contributing kind of ethos that will, lots of us have. Um, and just simple things like, you know, I didn't, I refuse to watch the news intensely and I have done for almost 15 years probably because I think, yeah, it's good to know. I do. I do know what's going on. I know the highlights I caught that comes to you, but just to go too deep into the news, it's really dark. It's really depressing. And a lot of it is just fear mongering. And recently, um, Dean I think said, don't you know, if you want to gain some hours back, just don't watch the news for two hours a day. And I was like, Oh my God, I haven't watched the news for 10 years. I'm not the only one.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 30:22 So just simple things like that make you suddenly go, Oh okay I'm 43 but I'm actually finally with people that I understand and understand, possibly understand me as well, which is great. So yeah, it's, it's, and it's okay to feel like the odd one out I think. And just, you know, fit. I mean, I am not estranged from any of my family. I still have the same friends that I did at school. I don't see them so often cause I live in a different country, but I connect with them often when I go home, I spend time with them. So you don't have to, you know, alienate yourself. You can still be who you need to be for those people. And then you can still live kind of almost a parallel life of what you need to do to be successful in your own, in your own terms.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 31:05 So as you said in your blurb, living in Georgia Canary life, I love that you said, I think you've said it in your blog for your podcast, where we live it to live an extraordinary life. It's exactly right. And not everybody does. So you have to do something different, I think to do that. Yeah. Yeah. I catch a lot of Slack for not having a television. I've never owned a television [inaudible] entire adult life. Okay. So I moved out of the house when I was 17, started going to college then and there was a television in our dorm room and there was a television at my parents' house. They never had cable growing up. They had maybe two, three channels at the most. Um, but there was just never any draw. I just couldn't bring myself to just sit for hours. And even now, if I sit for very long, I'm standing as I do this podcast, I like to stand all the time.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 32:01 I'm either eating or I'm asleep. Like there's, Oh my gosh. Yeah. Great. Perfect. It gives you energy. Keeps you guys, yeah, I mean, what, chink television and you know, everyone talks about Netflix and how it's just, it's a kind of a black hole at the time and you just do sit there and you go, I think Netflix has its place and it's, and it does, you know, it, it, there's some interesting programs on there. There's some really good educational stuff or just interesting stuff and we all need to switch off. You know, I do love going to the cinema to watch a good movie. If there's something great on it. It's just, it's one of the things that we love doing as a, as a family actually. But, um, it's kind of that the daily habits isn't it? It's five hours a day, even two hours a day, you know, rather than possibly two hours a week or three hours a week.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 32:45 It's that balance of, of saying, well, what else could I do with those two hours? I could do something else. I could work out or I could spend time with my kids or I could, you know, figure out these emails or, or just switch off in different ways. So exercise, I love yoga. This year I qualified as a yoga teacher, which was amazing. Um, and so yeah, just a couple of hours of yoga. It was just so fun. And this, this, those sort of things is really good. You know, too. You said something about knowing when to cut it off and it can be filled with something else. Those things can be filled with things that are just as distracting. And so I noticed that, um, I had signed up for, um, Facebook dating. I just wanted to see what was out there. You know, I had never been on an online dating platform and it didn't take long for me to realize that I'm not missing out.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 33:37 Yeah. So true. But I just realized, um, just this weekend, what a waste of time it was. Okay. I got up to vision for what I want in a relationship and I looked at a handful of profiles and I thought, it's not here. I'm not going to find it here. There's nothing about any of these profiles that says, you know, this matches up with your vision for your life and it was easy to decide and just cut that away and I thought I went how many minutes a day I have that. I'm not like scrolling through profiles now. So true. Actually it's really interesting that you said that because recently I read something really cool which was rather than see what you want, it's almost like define who you want and what you would have to be for that person. And so you would be like, okay, well if I were this type of person they would probably want to be with someone who is like this.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 34:33 Am I that person and do I want to be that person shows, do I have to change or you know, or this is me, therefore I'm probably going to be with this type of person. And when you know that it's again, it's the vision. Those people will suddenly appear. You know how it is when you are concentrating on something and suddenly you see all of it, like suddenly yellow is your favorite color and then everything's yellow. So you'll suddenly be like, Oh that was sort of person I was looking forward and they just appeared at the super bar or in the, you know, wherever you are at the gym or whatever. So I thought that was really interesting and I, and I feel that because you know, I've been with my partner and I have 23 years and we met our 20 really young and you know, we'll be together forever probably just because of our values of, of kind of relationships, et cetera.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 35:16 Hopefully we'll see. But I often am like, Hey, what does he need? And I know he does that as well, like right now with what's happening. Yeah. And you know, even with the F and he does it with me and that's possibly also how our business life has been successful. Because when I was having kids and breastfeeding and you know, I was really adamant I wanted to breastfeed a long time. Obviously that was demanding. And I, and I was physically drained as well as could not invest in the business as much. And he did take over a bit more without making a deal of it without stomping or you know, just like an understanding like she needs me to be this person right now. And that was like, so just recognizing that, that we both do that for each other yet. So, uh, I see that, I see how we do that and I feel I've learned that from my parents because my mom just passed away, but they were married 44 years, so you know, it's just, and then many Asian parents are, and they have lots of issues that they skirt over, but there are also some really sweet, powerful things like being there for each other and always trying to supporting each other and seeing what the other person needs and yeah.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 36:22 So yeah, that might work with relationships if you're in that space to look at what other people might need from you and then be that person that's so beautiful. It makes me a little teary.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 36:37 I recognize that we do it for our kids as well. Right. That's what I thought when you said that. I thought I do that with my children. Like, okay, what do they need? What do they need today? What do they need in this moment? And um, and it's easy, you know, because you love them. It's easy to be present and, and to help meet those needs. And like we said, when we were talking before the interview started, sometimes you know, there are times when you say, I need this block of time where I work on something else. And then explaining like to my youngest right now that when she's in the middle of creating, if she's writing a song or she's, you know, making some sort of craft or something, I'm not interrupting her constantly saying, Hey, I need, I need to do this. And so just letting her know that this is what I'm focused on. This is my song, this is my craft. It looks different from yours. It's not as colorful.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 37:29 Something I need to create. I think as parents we should speak to our kids as if they do understand because they do. And you know what you've just said there, where you're telling your daughter, giving her some comparison, letting her understand what your needs are as well. I think as parents they need to understand we have needs and often I'll, you know, when I was doing my yoga courses like kids, this is going to take time, but it's important for me and also I want to live a long healthy life and be active so I can play with your kids and I need this time and this is going to help me. So giving them some sort of like, okay, well this isn't just mom kind of disappearing this, there's a meaning behind it. And we do that all the time where it's like, okay, the reason that you're going to go to school here, the reason that we're traveling, the reason that we just giving them, not letting them, keeping them in the dark.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 38:14 I think that the cap, the capacity to take that on and actually going back to entrepreneurship, doing that with your staff as well. And doing it with your E like I do it with my managers all the time where I'm like the thinking behind this, the reason that we would like to do this. What do you think? Do you agree? And also taking it back to the point being what they need you to be as the owner of a business, as the sort of the, the chief of the business, if your team needs you to be a certain person on a certain day is almost an obligation to do that. So, you know, if my managers need me to listen and I listen if they need my guidance or guide, if they just need me to go out for a drink with them, I will take them out for a drink if I need to buy them a present to make them feel special.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 38:59 So just as business owners, as entrepreneurs, it's kind of being who they need you to be and that's your 20% that's where your energy. So, you know, being kind of really in tune with what your team needs rather than kind of going in with what you need, this is what I need. You know, a lot of us do that. Like, this is what I need you to do and I need it done by tomorrow where I was going, what do you need from me? So that you can make that happen by tomorrow. So just that little bit of a change cold. Yeah. Well it gives you freedom. It really, from a really selfish perspective, it gives you freedom. Cause they're like, I just need this and then you can piss it off. And it's like, okay. So it's just kind of the element of, you know, just give me this and then you can actually disappear. And you're like, Oh, okay, fine.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 39:52 Yeah. It's surprising. So your team needs you and you actually empower them, which is fantastic. It's beautiful. Yeah. That's, that's why we go into doing our own thing, really, isn't it? I feel to, to make decisions to be the, the owners of the decision of our destiny. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like that's a beautiful stopping place. I feel like that sort of brings the whole thing all the way full circle. Um, unless there's anything else that you know is just burning in you to, to share. But that was just so beautifully spoken. Um, and I feel like kinda ties a lovely little bow on this interview that I haven't so much. It's been so fun. I think the only dish that I would really like to, um, really hammer home to anyone who's listening to this, especially I will emphasize, you know, moms, women who really want to be present for their children as well as obviously be successful because sometimes we think it has to be one or the other.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 40:56 So I can either be really successful in my career and my children are raised by the nanny or I'm a mom who's at home, but possibly slightly frustrated, et cetera. So I would just like to say that if you're kind of verging on doing your own thing or you have an idea for a business, take some calculated risks and try and buy yourself that freedom to be both, to be really successful in your own mind of, you know, I am happy with what I'm doing, what contribution I'm making, you know, what financial, my financial situation. But I'm also really present for my children at the times that they need me to be. And I can be, I can be both. You can be both. You can be both. So I think that people, most people do know that, but I would like to emphasize that it can be successful in business and, and financially and also be a really, really good present mum. I love that.
LORI LYNN: 41:50 Yeah. And I completely agree with you. Perfect. We are representing many. Thank you so much for your time and I thank you to our listeners for listening. I hope they uh, enjoyed it.
LORI LYNN: 42:07 Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure you're a lovely, lovely person.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 42:12 Well thank you. Everyone's invited. Just maybe put the link to my place somewhere and everyone is invited to visit. It's an absolutely gorgeous part of the world. And remind us again the name and what it means. Okay. So it's called persona beach resort and spa, which is the resort. And the spa is called as your spa persona in Indonesian means charming. Um, it's just got, it's got a beautiful feel about it. The sun, it's got an energy because it's on the ring of fire. I mean, actually last year, yeah, we had a very big earthquake, but we've managed to survive that and come through. But it does have a big energy about it. It has sunrise in the front of it. The sea is absolutely bursting with sea life, with, you know, turtles and fish and, and just, it's a diving Island. So you will definitely snorkel and possibly dive if you, if you really want to.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 43:01 And we encourage, one of the things we encourage all our customers to do is push themselves and be inspired by the environment. So we encourage them to dive or to try something different. And we have a strong emphasis on sustainability. So we don't, we, you know, we don't have plastic bottles. Everything is, is kind of very sustainable and we work with the Island on that. So the Island's very working very hard to be very sustainable and environmentally friendly. So yeah, it's a great place. Um, and the dive shops called di central Gilley yeah. Come and visit. It's gorgeous.
LORI LYNN: 43:32 I will, I absolutely will. I can see myself there right now. I can't do it. I love it. Oh, I they would be beside themselves. Yeah, that would be, we went to the city museum, um, a few weeks ago I guess. I guess it was spring break, so it's been months ago now. Um, it feels like yesterday and we just had so much fun just climbing. We climbed on everything. Like, Whoa, can we do this every year? And so it'd be so fun to just surprise them. You know, when we're going to go to Bali this year, let's make a plan. We'll make it happen as lovely. Thanks so much, Lori. Yeah, thank you. And I will definitely put the link in the show notes. So if anyone wants to come and check out your beautiful Island, your resort on the Island, um, they can do that. And if they want to hear more about what you're doing, do you have a way to, to get in touch with you?
SUMEENA GUPTA: 44:28 Um, I'll give you my email. I'd be more happy for people to email me over the next two months. I'll be launching my first mastermind, which is actually, um, and uh, women who are in their early thirties and successfully in, in their education and their career, but they're not feeling the fulfilled extraordinary life. So they're on the past that they thought they should be on, but not necessarily they want to be on. So that's called mastering serendipity, um, a way to an extraordinary life. And then after, I feel that my next mastermind after that will be the couple per no ones, because I think there's so many couples that are so good together, but then they've decided to go into the business, into business together. They've fallen apart. And I find that really tragic. So I would love to be able to speak to that a little bit.
SUMEENA GUPTA: 45:14 So that's the kind of intro, that's where my energy is going over the next couple of years, um, to focus in on, on those sort of high impact, um, things as well as possibly opening another restaurant and as far around Bali, et cetera. So yeah, just, just kind of piling things in that yeah, it's really interesting. Entrepreneurial fashion. Yeah, exactly. You've been busy trying to keep many strings. Yeah. So, uh, I guess we'll see you out there soon.
LORI LYNN: Yes, absolutely. Yeah. Thank you so much again for being on the show and thank you for staying in touch. Yes, for sure. I take care. Okay.
OUTRO: 46:00 Hey, thanks for listening. If you thought of someone while you were listening to this episode, would you send it to them? Just let them know you were thinking about them or that they came to mind and make that connection. If you would take a minute to rate and review my show, that would mean the world to me--and let me know about topics that you want us to cover in future episodes. Oh. And don't forget to subscribe. What are you waiting for? Go hit the subscribe button right now. I'll see you next time.
