Manmeet Kaur Chowdhry has integrated her extensive study of human behavior with her experience and knowledge of business management and sales to provide new technologies to empower individuals and teams to improve their performance and sense of fulfilment. Working both with individuals and groups internationally, she educates, mentors and facilitates their discovery of the true meaning of Love and Gratitude, both in their personal and professional lives. Since 2009 Manmeet has been studying the work of Dr Demartini; a world renowned human behaviour specialist, philosopher and educator. She has attended and re-attended many of his programs including: The Breakthrough Experience, The Prophecy I Experience, Empyreance Programe I, Empyreance Programe IV, Demartini Values Factor and the Demartini Method Training Program. Currently being the only UK based Certified Demartini Method Facilitator, Manmeet has assisted Dr Demartini by leading the facilitator training and facilitating at his signature program The Breakthrough Experience many times. And now Manmeet is making a difference in lives globally as a specialist in universal laws empowering people to find the solution to their biggest problems and heal themselves physically and emotionally by teaching them to transform their perceptions, helping them to overcome their toughest life challenges with optimum thinking.
Lets see what she had to say when we questioned her 
1) What made you want to start your own business?
I’ve always wanted to create my own business from a young age as my parents had their own restaurant when I was younger, but never really knew what business to do or how to create it. I had a few ideas along the way, like dance school, salon, bar/club. But deep inside I knew that my business had to be something that made a huge difference in people’s life in exchange of me making money and not just me focused only on making money and chose any business for the sake of it. When I studied Human Behaviour and came across techniques that were helping people in their every day life, I just knew I wanted to dedicate my life to serving others and creating a business from it has been the by-product. I know of nothing else I would be rather doing with my mortal life than helping others create a shift in their thinking.
2) How did you come up with your idea?
In my late 20’s early 30’s, I was very much in to positive thinking. But there was a time period I went through some emotional challenges that created some physical symptoms in my body and no matter how positive I was being I was actually quite sad. It had an impact on my job too as I’ve been in sales since I was 16 but then I noticed due to these external circumstances, I was disengaged at work, sales were low and declining too. I didn’t realise how much of an effect your imbalanced perceptions can have on your life. I then started educating myself more and more about this and embarked on a journey of understanding human behaviour and how much of an impact changing your perceptions to be neither happy or sad but equilibrated can have on both your personal and professional life.
I used to be emotionally volatile having awesome highs then really bad lows and was always striving to be happy. If anyone asked me back then what do you really want, I would say “I just want to be happy, positive and full of love”. It was when I understood the true meaning of Love, which one of my mentor’s Dr John Demartini describes as “Love is the synthesis and synchronicity of complimentary opposites”, that I experienced true fulfilment and love. That was when I realised I would want to share this with as many people as possible so they wouldn’t do what I had done for years and beat themselves up for not being happy or not seeing that they were surrounded by love 24/7. I then chose to train as a Demartini Method Facilitator and further become Certified and decided to become a Leadership Coach as well as a Sales Coach full time.
3) What’s been the toughest part of the journey?
Wanting to help the closest to me more than they wanted to help themselves. That was really tough to start with. When I first experienced the changes in my life that were happening, I got elated, and wanted to go help all those closest to me first. Knowing the universal law of duality if you’re high you will attract humbling circumstances which is what happened to me. I got a bit cocky and felt like I had the solution to anyone’s problems. When I tried helping my nearest and dearest, people didn’t really understand and some thought I was inexperienced and had just jumped on some “wave”. Of course this humbled me. Having the tools to calm my emotions down of a) resenting those who didn’t want my help and b) my infatuation with wanting to help them so bad, I sat down and did a very simple process which is what I do with my clients too in order to see both sides of a person and event. At this point was when I gave up the need to “rescue” everyone. So I would say this was the toughest part of my journey because even though sometimes you want to help the ones you know can really do with your help and if only you just got the chance to work with them would they see a transformation but, it isn’t until they have the calling can you really help them. I truly believe everything is in perfection so their journey too is perfect and to question this would be questioning the work of God. When I say God, it’s to whoever you believe some say , Waheguru, Bhagwan, Allah, Jesus, Universe, Divine source etc. It is only when I am able to see the perfection in this wonderful matrix does my human will match Gods will as one, and the desire to change either the person or the situation disappears and all that remains is Thank you, I love you. This tool I have learnt also from my mentor Dr John Demartini. However, it is very much present in the true translation of the Guru Granth Sahib too if you look.
4) What are your fears?
You know I had many fears to start off with, not being able to make money from what I’m doing, not being recognised, not being clever enough, not knowing the right people, not being pretty enough etc. But with a lot of work I can say that most of these fears are gone if not quietened down a lot. To say I never have fears would be unrealistic, I am human too so I have both sides that I embrace about myself. Let me tell you I still struggle with some aspects but it’s my journey which will never stop. But this is the fake facade I cannot put on for the world that I am only nice, never mean, or kind never cruel. Some even say to me in admiration, “you must never get fearful, you have it so together, you probably never get emotional”. This is an illusion. I experience life just like any other and so I try make as much about myself known as possible so that people take me off the pedestal and see me as a whole. Otherwise they only see my life as being “good” which goes completely against the two sides of life I’m teaching everyone about.
So the fears I do have from time to time are more about my work, which is my 121 sessions I have with clients or just before I present a workshop or a public talk. And these fears serve me for sure, so I have no desire to get rid of them because this fear means I prepare for them well. See the work I teach is not about getting rid of parts of yourself, it’s about embracing and loving them within yourself and you can only do that when you see how the “nasty” bits serve too. To be honest, when I’m in the zone with my clients and just focus on serving, the fears subsides anyway because I am present with them which then helps me co-create the shift with them. There was a time I would believe I was solely responsible for their shift and that’s when the fear of not creating the shift used to be more apparent, which then made it about me and not about helping them. Again just knowing and being certain that there is nothing I can do that will be a “mistake” or interfere with the Grand Organised Design (GOD) and that everything and everyone is always serving, this faith gives me a sense of inner peace.
5) What are your hopes? – with business? Or personal?
If I talk about hopes for my business, then it is to be one of the world’s leading pathway in co-creating outstanding achievement in individuals and organisations. I hope that just like positive thinking became something that took everyone by storm, the concept of Optimum Thinking (hence the business name and website www.optimumthinking.net) becomes a house hold name that changes the way people think. I want to take Optimum Thinking in to organisations, which is already on its way as we speak, so that employees are more engaged at work, fulfilled and employers are able to see an increase in productivity and decrease in their cost of staff turnover by implementing Optimum Thinking in their teams, especially Sales Teams.
If I talk about my personal hope, then it is that anyone that sees me and my journey can see that they too have the same ability to unlock their true potential to do what they love and live a life that is real and true to them, without any limitations. I also hope they recognise that whenever you really want something in life you have to be prepared to embrace both support in challenge in achieving it and I too like anyone else have done the same and will continue to do so. I am no different I have the same challenges as anyone else, maybe in different forms, but maybe the difference is having the tools to ask myself how long do I want to stay in that challenge before I see it’s blessings. That perception changer is available to anyone. The choice is ours.
6) How did you come up with your business plan?
I worked on my own for about a year since I left my full time job and quickly realised that I was exchanging my time and effort for money. So if I was unable to coach a client because I was on a course then the business would suffer too. It was shortly after this I connected with a colleague Helene Kempe who is also a Certified Demartini Method Facilitator who had a very similar vision as myself with regards to the service she wanted to provide for people and she also had a lot of experience with other different modalities such as NLP, Meta-coaching as well as running a successful business. We then decided to partner up for us to bring our unique skills to our joint company to make it grow internationally so she has definitely helped me with a lot of the business planning. But the biggest part of our business planning is the vision. Once we got that crystal clear it became easier to plan in other areas. We continuously revisit our business plan and analyse things, as our long term business plan requires us taking small steps now to make that happen.
7) How have you financed the business?
I used my savings and earnings from when I was doing 121 coaching.
8) What do your family and friends think of it?
My family are supportive. My brother (Paul Chowdhry) is very well known in his field but the core of his success as well as mine, I believe has been the support of my mum and dad. They have always encouraged us to follow our unique path regardless of what anyone thinks, and for us both this has been the key for many of the risks we took to leave what the norm would be for an Asian girl or guy. They are very proud of us both.
My friends to be honest, I have lost some along the way and some have come back in my life along the way too and no doubt I have gained many likeminded friends too. However I would say I have no expectations from my friends to support me all the time so if they resonate with what I do, they are in my life if it challenges them they won’t be but deep down I have a lot of love and gratitude to every friend that has crossed my path as they have all taught me something and been a mirror to awaken me up to parts of myself.
9) What sacrifices have you had to make to get to where you are right now?
Hmm, I’m not sure I would agree on the question because I don’t really believe we make sacrifices because we always go to what is true to us and sacrifice is what others may see in us when they judge us according to their priorities. For example, someone who is married and has kids as their priority may say I sacrificed being settled down at an early age and not have kids, someone who is family orientated may say I missed out on family weddings, but really I just did what was true to me always so I don’t believe I have made sacrifices, I was just clear on what I wanted and I have worked very hard and still am working hard to get to where I want to and by no means am I even close to half way there.
10) What are you proud of?
The first thing I would say I’m proud of is the work I have put in to changing my own perceptions around challenges with relationships, family, health, money. I did a lot of work on myself because I always felt that until you practise what you preach, you’re just an advisor. There are many qualifications or certificates one can get, but when you put all the hard work in transforming your own life, only then can you walk your talk and come from a space of service rather than preaching. Those that know me have seen the transformation so I’m proud I can lead by example and I still work on myself until this day. The day I stop working on myself, is the day my heart stops beating.
I am proud of making the decision to follow my mission and do what I love and what I believe I am here on this earth to do. I gave up a path that many would perceive as secure, but not giving a second thought to what others may think about me I followed my vision and calling.
Another thing I am proud of is all my clients that work so so hard on themselves to shift their thinking, I’ve been there and it’s not an easy journey but the rewards are very worth it.
11) What are your tips for anyone wanting to start a business?
Really get clear on what your priorities in life are. Your life demonstrates it, so you can’t hide from them. Don’t lie to yourself as to what you think they should be. I take people through a set of questions which has been derived from the Demartini Value Determination process that helps people get really clear on these priorities. When you’re clear on this, create your business that allows you to fulfil these priorities otherwise you’ll resent the business because it’s taking you away from your true authentic self. If you do, you’ll never require outside motivation to build your business you’ll be inspired from within, because our highest life priorities are what we never need to be reminded about, we always have energy, we think about it, we converse about etc. Don’t think about what people will say or think if you fail, because in your perceived failure is your success because even the so called failure has made you grow. Don’t live life with wondering if you did start your business, how would it be, just do it but get clear on your vision and the opportunities will come. I do an exercise with my clients when I ask them “what would you like to have been known for in your mortal life, what would you have written on your tombstone (if you had one)”. This exercise alone really has many people fill with tears of inspiration when they think of the end in mind. It comes from Steven Covey’s 7 habits of highly effective people.
12) What business advice could you share with the viewers?
Get really really clear on your business idea and what problem you solve. When you know what your client’s/customers problems are you’ll be very clear on what solution you are providing them. Your real product is your certainty and you can be certain to provide a result if you’re clear on the problem you are solving. Recently I have found this of great value to my business and my clients.
I’d also say, don’t try and shortcut things, take slow simple steps it will all fall in to place. Just be true with your intention on how you are wishing to serve because service to others = service to self.
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