Hall of Fame Winner - Confident Storytelling Podcast | Sunny Nagpal

At that time, I get a call. Papa is in ICU. There is silence, and my sister calls up and says, "Sunny, you have to leave. Take the first flight tomorrow." Not everyone is a born coach. Not everyone is a born leader. You are blessed with both the qualities—leader and a coach. It is not about diamond anywhere. It is only diamond with Haritosh Srivastav. You feel connected where you feel aligned, where you feel comfortable and safe. Who matches your values, who is also walking the same path like you. This is why this Diamond Membership was very special. You didn't teach us theory. Come, Sunny, this is the book, these are the notes, go do it. It happened so effortlessly, with ease and peace, that you took us through a nice journey, a dance.

Welcome everyone to another Hall of Fame interview. This is my favorite part where I get to interview some of the members of the Confident Storytelling Hub who have achieved a significant milestone, and I get a chance to interact and learn more and share their journey. So today is another one of the, one of those Hall of Fame interviews, and we have a very special. I won't say a guest, he's actually a member, an extended part of the family, and he's none other than Sani Nakpal, also known as Smiling Sani. Now before I ask— start asking him some questions and ask him to share the journey, I'm going to read his introduction, and I'm very sure you are going to be floored by the introduction itself. So Sani Nakpal is a fingerprint-based brain profiling expert and a ZEN coach. ZEN stands for zestful, enthusiastic, and nurturing coach. An international NLP certified trainer by American Board of NLP and Trickle Academy UK, who has in-depth knowledge of Meta Programs and all aspects of NLP. He's authored 4 books and has interviewed over— yeah, keep yourself, push yourself hard because he has interviewed over 400 educators and has touched lakhs of lives with his spiritual energy. As a school topper with astute mind in mathematics, but he's still a mature adult with a heart of a child. He has over 2 decades of experience working in the non-government organization, non-government NGO sector, and has been fortunate to work closely with the likes of Dr. Kiran Bedi, and so on so forth, and impacting over 1 lakh students. His transformation from lack, scarcity, pain to abundance, joy inspires his inner circle and clients to manifest their 6-figure monthly income and dream effortlessly without wasting any money on paid ads or unnecessary technology. His clients love him and bless him every day for their innermost shifts and fulfilling experiences. Welcome once again, Sanniji. So good to have you part of the community and so fortunate to interview for the Hall of Fame.

Thank you so much. Thank you. Awesome. I love your teachings and I love the experience you have given to all of us. Thank you.

I appreciate that. We heard a lot of your achievements, but you know how I do that, right? I want to know a little bit of your backstory. So tell us about those parts of the introduction that you probably haven't shared much before. And yeah, of course you need to be comfortable, but things that you generally don't talk about, we would love to know those aspects of Sunny Nagpal.

Yeah, sure. It all started in school. I was doing very well. Competent. As for my brain design, competency comes naturally to me. I can crack exams without studying. I can decode brains just by sitting in front of a person, even on a Zoom call. So these were my super traits. But what happened was, on one side, I was a pleaser. I had fear of losing people, fear of losing relationships. I wanted validation, appreciation from others. And that is what came out in the coaching sessions with you. It was not a keynote for me. It was not a confidence storytelling hub for me. I found Haritosh Srivastav to be a great life coach. Thank you. He can make your story look like a great Bollywood movie. And that is what gave a great sense of confidence on self-image, self-worth. You know, that's why this lack to lacks. Yes, that is what came out as a signature speech of the keynote as well. And when we help our clients from scarcity mindset, from lack mindset, to a six-figure income, how do we do that? Only when we were there once. Only when I have been there. Yes. I have experienced the pain. So the one thing becomes your own wound, your own pain. Wound into wisdom, pain to purpose, mess to message. So that was clearly brought out because of your sessions. And we grow as a person. So it is not about confidence storytelling hub, aao baat karte, let's talk, let's become great speakers. No. In great company like yours, where there is spirituality, where there is a value of giving, where there's an expanded mind of collaboration. So it makes us a better human being. So my biggest gift which I got in these sessions was growing as a person. And you bringing out the details. One more beautiful thing I remember from the sessions is, yes, you know, a lot of times left-brainers like me, We may just tell sentences, give facts, bombard our knowledge, abstract knowledge. You made a point to handhold, to sit together, to craft that abstract into a concrete, beautiful storytelling, taking into the scene so that audience visualizes and they are touched. So, so much to learn from you, and it was a great journey. Thank you so much.

And yeah, it was amazing because I, I, I like to be very, very honest with my coaches, especially these Diamond members. And I remember when we started off for the first one or two sessions, I said, there's something which is not breaking because I, I, I figured out there, there is a wall or there is something that you had put up and you were like, okay, I'm going to be super, I know I'm going to tell all the sentences, but I'm not gonna go into the inner feelings, go into what is happening inside. And for a story to become powerful or connecting is the aspect of vulnerability. And I remember when we started digging into, and when you talked about, and I'm gonna probably ask you to see if you can repeat that, uh, that particular portion when you got the call, when you were in Delhi, and then when you came back. So tell us what happened with what we learned and with some of the nuances that we applied. So tell me, because this was one of my most favorite part of your story. So of course it's a keynote, it's 30 minutes, we can't go on to that. But tell us that part, what happened when you were preparing for something special and you got a special call.

Yeah, so it was a very big day for all of us. Dr. Kiran Bedi is nominated as The Honourable Governor of Puducherry. Me working with her, she was going to visit the project site on May 17th, 2016. Yeah. So yes, it was a big day and it was fun. Day earlier, I was with the kids having fun, great time. We are celebrating, preparing kids for their speeches, making thank you cards, making congratulations cards. You know, speeches, letters for Kiran. At that time I get a call. Papa is in Iceland. There is silence, and my sister calls up and says, Sunny, you have to leave. Take the first flight tomorrow, and tomorrow is a function. I had no choice. Children were messaging till 12, 1. Sir, many helika, sir, many asilika. They're sending me audio messages because WhatsApp was in They were sending, uh, clicking photograph and sending. And next morning I take the flight, I reach hospital. I went straight there, meet my mom outside the ICU waiting hall. I go to the doctor, doctor explain, you almost lost your dad. I kept my— then the story is awesome because he's fit and fine now, enjoying life. But I left Navjyoti forever and I continue to be a volunteer there. So I'm blessed. I had great time with Navjyoti India Foundation, thousands of children, and Haritosh Srivastav was the one who brought these things out. Otherwise we think, "Yeah, life hai, ho gaya, to kaise ho gaya?" And there were so many other moments like, you know, telling the universe that one day I'll be a chief guest in a school. Yes. That was a feeling. And I never thought about it that I had never spoken on any stage. Talking about this incident. But yes, that was a feeling I went through when I was not getting a business, any business in schools. And fast forward, it happened. I was before thousands of parents, teachers, and children. So small things are brought out by the mentor, and I feel truly blessed that I'm able to recollect these lessons. Thank you, Haritosh Srivastav.

Thank you, thank you, Sunny ji, for openly sharing that. I think as, as the coaches and you yourself is a coach, when you see that coach is making equal effort with you or sometimes more effort than yourself, and being open and vulnerable in front of coach. You don't need to be open and vulnerable to everyone unless you reached a certain point, but you got to be open and vulnerable in front of your coach. So that, yeah, even, even for the doctor to do the operation, you need to go there and say, okay, this is, this is the wound, now you do whatever you do. So I think Thank you for the opportunity to help me craft your story, which is very, very impactful. And I love that both the stories of you taking a call, prioritizing your family, as well as saying that, okay, one day, just like Shah Rukh Khan said, yeah, one day I will be here, this will be my, this will be my mansion. And you said, one day I'll be here and, and there will be thousands of parents and teachers and students who will be No, respecting me as a chief guest. So that's completely transformation story. Now let's talk about little bit more about your journey. So how has this honing storytelling skills impacted your journey?

It all started in the school itself. That time, you know, it was a Chinmaya background. So I used to tell stories of Ganesha. In grade 9, I started telling stories. We were volunteers, but I didn't know. That Almighty Universe, Creator, was preparing me for bread and butter skills. It was preparing me for Navjyoti India Foundation as a teacher. Right. So we all think we are doing great job. But universe doesn't need your services. Universe is only preparing you, is making ways so that you reach your destination, you get that treasure. It's a treasure hunt. Yes. Like how I became chief guest was again a story of volunteering. I was introducing the chief guest, it was Gita chanting competition, chinmaya, I was doing MC, he liked me, I liked him, he invited me as the chief guest in his school. So from those school days, storytelling began, and it continues. And storytelling has power. I'll give you another example of volunteering. Yes, I was doing volunteering storytelling in the school free of cost, Chinmaya Mission again. So same year, I'm invited by the principal and the correspondent of the school. Why don't you do this as a project with us for one year? And here, boom, 6 lakhs. Same project where I was volunteering free of cost. I get paid for it, 6 figures. Wow. So we should not think storytelling kar ke kya karega, natch ke kya karega.

This is the perfect example of people who ask, okay, can I really earn something using story? This is the perfect example. You earn 6 figures, 7 figures using storytelling. And doesn't matter whether you're doing it for school, for your clients, for your profession, it is applicable almost at every place. Awesome. So next question, and I think you partially covered it. But I would love to know your highlight of the journey with what we spent together in last few months where you were part of as a Silver member. And yeah, I must say that you were not attending too many sessions, but then someone nudged you that, okay, yeah, you have something coming up, we do something and then you say, okay, it is time for me to upgrade to Diamond membership. Now after you upgraded to Diamond membership, we started having this one-to-one connect. What has been the highlight of your journey?

Diamond is definitely a diamond. It makes you stronger. Yes, you deal with some pressures. Pressure not from outside, mostly from inside. You face your fears. You see the dark, you face the dark inside. And it is not about Diamond anywhere. It is only Diamond with Haritosh Srivastav. You feel connected. Where you feel aligned, where you feel comfortable and safe, who matches your values, who is also walking the same path like you. This is why this Diamond Membership was very special. A coach has certain traits. A great coach has more of these and polished ways. Also, the skills you're looking at, has that coach achieved? And who more than you has achieved in Toastmasters, in international stages, in different countries with an Indian touch. So you are one who understands us, who knows us, and you are born with these capabilities and abilities genetically. Having known you, yeah, so I know that you can sense what Kochi is going, and you are not the one who will be, you know, rude or dominant or those manager types or boss types. You are a born leader, so the whole journey was so easy, effortless. You understood us and you knew, like the director, which role suits him, where to place him, how to bring out the best, what is his style. You didn't teach us theory. Come, Sunny, this is the book, these are the notes, go do it. It happened so effortlessly, with ease and peace, that you took us through a nice journey, a dance. So, you know, only you could do it, because I understand genetically not everyone is a born coach, not everyone is a born leader. You are blessed with both the qualities, leader and a coach. I don't remember even once you telling me, 'Yeh nahi yoga, ye yoga.' See, it was— even if you have to say this, you have a natural style of tweaking, asking questions, so that it is a painless surgery, you know. So wounds become wisdom effortlessly, automatically, automagically. So this is the gift we all have in Diamond, which we don't get in Silver. Silver is mostly group sessions, lot of value, no doubt, we have our weekly masterminds, live sessions, recordings. Diamond has this special touch where it's not just about storytelling. Like Toastmasters say, where leaders are made. Yes, a leader is born in Diamond and Confidence Storytelling.

Thank you, I appreciate that. Now let's move on to another one, which was the outcome, right? So the reason you upgraded to Diamond is because you had keynote for the event Thrive Fest, and I attended that event, and I was fortunate enough to see your keynote in action as well. I was in the audience, so I have my own feelings. But before that, I wanted to know, how was that feeling like to present your journey as a keynote, and what kind of feedback and other things you received afterwards?

So here I'll take a pause, and I'm going to play a role of a great listener. The question is for you first now, because you were part of the event. You were really fortunate to see my speech. So I would love to hear from you because we had short time. We didn't have months to prepare. We didn't have too many sessions. What was your feeling, if not as a coach and as an audience? Okay, who's seeing me for the first time?

So I didn't know the tables are going to turn, but anyways, thank you for asking the question. So I'm going to answer it both first as an audience and then as a coach as well. So as an audience, I was inspired, uh, and if I, if I didn't know that because I already knew all the story, I could sense that all the other people were also inspired by your journey because a lot of, lot of time when I see when I say that we all are showcasing our highlights, our wins, our achievement, but behind those achievements, there is a curtain. And if you remove that curtain, there's a lot of failures, there's a lot of, lot of problems, lot of challenges that we all have faced. So it's not easy to talk about those openly or even with your community. But what I loved as an audience is you openly sharing your challenges. And also sharing what are the factors that has helped you in the journey and how they can apply. So that is as a feedback as an audience. As a coach, I wish we had more time, but having said that, even whatever time we had, I think you were brilliant. And I said to you after the keynote as well, you did brilliantly. You were commanding the stage and a few people also gave a standing ovation. Including myself, not because I had to, but I felt like giving because I wanted to give a respect for the content, for the command, for the concepts that you shared. So that was very good. So that's my feedback. But going back to you, what did you feel like and what was the feedback that you received afterwards?

Yes, lots of love I received. And coming to my own big day when I delivered that speech. Morning we were together and on a nice calm discussion you just said, hey, you know, Sunny, my mentor said there are 3 stages for every speaker. He starts with I can't do it, how will I do it. He says So from inferiority to superiority, there comes a transcendence, and you go to speaking to serve. Yes, it's not about you, it's about the audience, where you are willing to share your message so that audience can lead a better life. Audience can take home a message. Audience are empowered to take home a message, to apply the same. It's not jeering. And with that great vibration. I went up to the stage. Yes, I like the flow of my keynote, which was crafted by you, because of you. The SUV. Yes, the SUV. So it was a beautiful journey, a necklace for anyone to wear, for anyone to have it as a gift. So this was a feeling I have, and I continue to have. And the best part, even after the keynote was over, you had told me, Sunny, now use this, master this piece to become a masterpiece. Yes. So when we master the pieces, we become a masterpiece. Now what happened was I was using one piece in one of the Toastmasters meeting, and it was an international club, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, the senior leaders, the top presidents, vice presidents, from companies like DHL, the solo products, you know, the professors. First time in my life, it was pasteur journey. There came one comment, one compliment, which I, which is very close to my heart and I cherish it and I remember it. Well-crafted speech. Because that has never happened in my life, me being always a table topics guy. I can talk effortlessly without topic. Impromptu, thinking on the feet. So for the first time in my life, I got this compliment from a very senior founding club president. So I'm thankful to you.

Amazing. Amazing. So my next, uh, yeah, second last question to you is what are your one or two advices for anyone who's getting on this journey to learn this magical skill of storytelling? What is your advice?

Must follow Haritosh Srivastav, must follow this path. Yeah. Why? All of us are salespeople. All of us are communicating. NLP says even when you're not communicating, you're communicating. Yes. So even our silence communicates. And sadly, he may pass all the exams, 1 1 2, sin²θ cos²θ, etc., etc. And you know, all the angle of elevation, angle of depression, but communication skills, art of storytelling, art of being effective, art of being graceful, being that speaker, being that leader who inspires, who influences. And this important skill is the most well-paid, highest paid in the industry. True. The knowledge industry, the keynote industry, the speaking industry. Sadly, we never learn this skill. School does not teach us. Only the ones who are confident walk up to the stage, conducting assembly, doing MC, and that also dies off after a particular age. What if all of us take initiative to learn this, not for money, but for self-growth, for inner expansion, for more harmony, and not sound boring sometimes? Yeah, amazing.

Thank you so much. So how can people connect with you? Because you do a lot of work, you know, you're one of the founders of Success for Coaches. You help a lot of life coaches get to 6-figure monthly income. So how can people reach out to you?

I'm available everywhere with the hashtag Smiling Sunny. Also, all my handles call me as @braincoachsunny. I'm available on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and I'm active everywhere.

Awesome. So thank you so much, Smiling Sunny, also Sunny Nagpal. Uh, it has been an honor and privilege to have you as one of the Diamond members of the Confidence Storytelling Hub, and it was my honor and pleasure to present you the Hall of Fame Award in your event. I mean, I sort of hijacked your event for a few minutes because you and Beena had no idea what is happening. But I think it was my surprise as well as my honor to present the Hall of Fame Award in person to you, and that was truly deserving. So thank you so much for being part of the community. Thank you for sharing your wisdom and looking forward to more such interviews and honors and awards in future as well.

Thank you so much, Haritosh Srivastav. Thank you, Confidence Storytelling Hub.

Thank you, thank you everyone. So that was Sani Nakpal, also known as Smiling Sani, the Hall of Fame interview. If you want to be the next Hall of Fame interviewee, join the Diamond Membership of Confidence Storytelling Hub. Let's work together on creating your keynote, creating your career transition, or creating your communication plan. I'll see you in the next one. Until then, take care, stay safe, and stay blessed.