The Five Lessons
In her TEDx talk, Dhairya breaks down five things that shaped her journey and can shape yours, too.
1. Stop looking at the other side of the grass.
When Dhairya was in college, she was surrounded by overachievers and was drowning in comparison. Ninety-five per cent of her batchmates were aiming for a tech-based job. For a while, she thought she should also pursue what seemed like the safer choice. But then, she recalled a poem by Robert Frost:
“Two roads diverged and I,
I took the one less travelled.”
This made her realise something even greater: the outcome of our choices is not always in our hands, but the power to make a choice that can change the course of our lives is definitely within us.
2. Don’t be afraid to explore
“Trust me, the worst thing you can do as a college student is not give yourself the freedom to try out different things.”
That is something Dhairya strongly believes. During her college years, she explored different industries through 25 internships. That journey of trial and error helped her discover that consulting was her true calling. According to her, the only way to find what you genuinely love is by experimenting without fear and allowing yourself the space to fail and learn.
3. Consistency and self-belief will fuel your passion
Once you find what you love, the real journey begins. And it is rarely smooth. What keeps you going is not motivation or luck. It is consistency and belief in yourself. Passion is not a one-time discovery. It is something you commit to every single day.
4. Collaboration over competition is the way to grow
There is always a fear of being left behind. But the truth is, there will always be someone ahead of you, and you will always be ahead of someone else. So instead of competing constantly, why not collaborate? Collaboration leads to creativity, innovation, and mutual growth.
5. Passion is not discovered overnight
According to Dhairya, passion is a state where work does not feel forced. It is something you naturally gravitate towards. For her, that passion is content creation and mentoring. But she believes the biggest barrier between people and their passion is often societal opinion. And the idea of overnight success is a myth. Passion takes time, patience, and the courage to keep going even when things are unclear.
