This young man who always clad in designer headscarf is not an ordinary showman, though one would tend to infer that from one
glance. Look at him more closely; you will find in the twinkling of his eyes
the power to radically transform you. Listen to him keenly; you will get elated
to a stage where you start loving your life and people around you. Move with
him in close proximity, you find the simplicity, humility and compassion
overflowing from the persona that would reverberate on you instantly. He is
Deepak Justin, the trainer, the speaker, the thinker, the short film maker and an amazing human
being.
His friends and fans affectionately call him
DJ. His trainees compete to take selfies with him. What is the magic behind
this charismatic personality? If I need to express it in a few words, I would
say ‘A man who can lift the spirit of others with his own indomitable inner
convictions’. No wonder he has trained more than 1,00,000 people in the last 15
years. More than 50 multinational companies have chartered him for training
their executives and managers not only in soft skills but also in ideas and
philosophies that can make them socially conscious individuals.
It is not the titles that indicate his
outstanding academic achievements in Management or Public Relations that are widely
noted. He is popularly known as "The Silver Tongued Orator”, "The
International Poet of Merit", "The Toastmasters International
District 92 Champion for 2016 and 2018". He has the potential to get conferred on
him many more such titles in the near future.
Vedavathi DYR was born dwarf, grew up to be 3
ft 9 inches and she move around in her crutches since she has a damaged spinal
cord and problematic back. Without availing reservation, she became an officer
in a nationalized bank. She volunteered with St Vincent De Paul, an
organization which works for the poor, to uplift the people who are socially
and economically weaker. She had one more dream: To become an effective
speaker. She was fortunate to meet Deepak Justin. He along with his friend
Vinay Kamath, made her a versatile speaker in no time. There are many such
examples where the silver tongued orator created golds out of raw metals.
People who thought that they can never speak for an audience got transformed
themselves to be effective communicators on and outside the stage. DJ says:
“Dreams are a reality, because so many of my dreams have come true”. From where
he gets the power? DJ often delves into his life and meditates on the inside
for a significant insight.
Whether public speaking is a domain reserved only
for those who are products of English medium convent schools? Can our less
privileged students in government schools trained to be good speakers? Two
NGOs, ‘Dream a Dream’ and ‘Ashwin Foundation’ coordinated with Deepak Justin a
few years back to train the bright and hardworking students who were from the
lower economic background in a government school. He narrated about the
experience in following words: ‘There is a butterfly waiting in every cocoon.
It was a gratifying experience to see the metamorphosis in them’.
DJ can deliver a motivational talk for hours
based on just one scene from a movie. In a leadership training program he
imparted a series of life lessons from a scene in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’. He
says, ‘I fall in love with the audience whenever I speak’. He likes to read biographies
of successful people. He found that they became successful because they faced
challenges and hardships. They faced discouragements – from friends and
relatives, who thought that their ideas were insane. But they endured and
listened only to their ‘inner soul’ and ‘inner voice’.
He shared once with his friends this incredible
experience of meeting and interacting with an amazing lady from France named
Madame Marie Jeanne Schmidt. She had lost her sense of vision since 40 years.
‘She wakes up every morning, goes to online prayer center to pray for the
needy, the sick, the destitute and the deprived all over the world. She told
me: “Even if a World War III broke out, I would know how to brace it”. When I
told her, “ Marie, you have a wonderful smile”, she smiled and said, “I would
never know, because it is more than 40 years since I have seen my own face” ‘.
This is very relevant to a world where people go on a beautifying spree spending huge sums of money to make their appearances artificially attractive!
Anyone who sees Deepak would be very
inquisitive to know why he is always clad in a stylish and colourful headscarf.
Celebrities like to have their own unique signature attire. My first question to
him when we had a long conversation was on this. He said: ‘I suffer from a
disorder called Trigeminal Neuralgia. Triggers cause the trigeminal nerve to get
excited and bring shooting pain to the face. The pain is so unbearable at times
that it is called the "Suicide Disease" and people give up.
Unfortunately there is no cure for the same. I have tried it all for the past 4
years. I wear the headscarf to avert
some of the triggers like the air conditioner, wind blowing into my hair etc.’ What
a sweet smile he has on his face when he shared this! He started an online
support group for those suffering from Trigeminal Neuralgia and related
disorders that cause excruciating pain.
What is the healing take of DJ on the pain some
of us experience due to ailments?
‘The
pain teaches valuable lessons. Pain can make you either stronger or stranger depending
on how you respond to it. Pain can make you a Riddler or a Raider in the Ark of
Life. Pain can give you a sleepless night or an awakening of dawn depending on
what you learn from it’.
I asked a few more questions on who he is, what
he does and what he feels. Let us hear his responses:
How do you convert the adversities you faced in
your life to your strengths?
I believe in the credo that "In the midst
of every adversity lies an equivalent or a greater opportunity"
Challenge is only an opportunity that we did
not ask for. So I accept challenges and work on them consciously. I model the
best in the craft. I read a lot. As a skill based trainer myself, I consciously
put an effort to see what areas of my life need to change to overcome the
adversity. If skills are required then I acquire the skills; if knowledge is
required then I acquire the same. If a change of attitude is required then I
work towards the same.
What were the key inspirations
for you in life? What way they made a difference in your life?
As Tennyson says in Ulysses, "I am a part
of all that I met".
I draw inspiration from people, from movies,
from books, from real life heroes and above all the infinite force from the
heavens above, whose grace alone is sufficient at most times
After crossing the levels at Club, Area,
Division and District, you are all set to compete with other Toastmasters in
the world championship of public speaking. What
are the attributes of a good public speaker?
A good speaker in public is a good thinker in
private. There are two ways to nurture that. Attract good thoughts by reading
or listening to good thinkers. Secondly develop a discipline of articulating
those thoughts into capsules that make it easily palatable for the audience.
What are the common mistakes you see in bad
speech deliveries?
i) No preparation/rehearsals
ii) Lack of substance (or worse content that
everyone knows). Ignorance of communication basics leaves alone the application
of the same.
What
are the unique habits you follow that can be inspirational for others?
I remain inspired always. I stay positive. I
attract positive thoughts. I try and see good in people and try to spread
smiles wherever I go.
You are a successful corporate trainer. What
makes you very popular among the corporates? How do you enjoy the engagement
with them?
I truly care for my participants. I reach out
to them both at their personal and professional level. Participants find me
affable.
I inspire them to go for their impossible
dreams. I make my programs as interesting and as entertaining too in a world
that is straitjacketing itself into boring routines
What soft skills you consider important for the
present day employees and managers?
Lower level employees need functional and
technical skills besides basic interpersonal skills.Middle to senior level
employees need more people skills, communication and networking skills.Senior
most executives need visionary skills.
Do you have any regrets?
All the chances that I did not take are my regrets
Any advice to youngsters?
Only advice is to be young forever. And to be
young, continue to have the same enthusiasm, energy, curiosity, exploring mind,
tender heart, lofty dreams and risk taking ability forever.
 |
| Deepak, wife Maya and baby Arian |
What is your favourite game, food, prayer
habits, film or book.....
Prayer - I commence every task with a prayer. I
believe that more things are possible through prayer than what the world dreams
of.
Film - I am huge movie buff. I watch at least 3
movies per week. So the list of favorite films is too exhaustive. Someday would
like to make a full length feature film too
Book - My second best companion. My favorite
book is The Holy Bible. It is the best work of literature, poetry, motivation,
prophecy, history and above all reinforcement of goodness and kindness.
Persons like DJ can motivate us to excel amidst
all adversities. But he asks us whether we really need someone to motivate us? ‘If
we don’t keep ourselves inspired, encouraged, uplifted, joyful, connected and
cognizant, who will?’
Yes, we need to listen to the inner voice and inner soul
more often!
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