Inspirational Interview - Shweta Maheshwari - #She Met Life
In this interview, host Haritosh Srivastav talks with Sweta Maheshwari, a writer, thought‑designer and life coach, about her challenging life journey and the lessons she draws from it. Sweta describes growing up as the third daughter in a Marwari family, facing financial hardship after her father’s business collapsed, and supporting herself by tutoring children from a young age. She recounts how she shifted from a science ambition to English honors, eventually topping her university and completing a postgraduate degree through correspondence while running a demanding tuition business. Sweta then shares the personal crisis of her husband’s affair, the ensuing depression that confined her to a room for months, and how a mentor, Deepak Jindal, helped her set goals, write her book, and rebuild her confidence. She explains her concept of "thought designing"—re‑framing negative autopilot thinking into creative problem‑solving—and her role as a life coach. Sweta discusses her book She Met Life, a fictional‑self‑help narrative about a woman’s transformation after marital betrayal, and the emotional impact it has on readers. Finally, she offers advice to young people: nurture dreams, work hard, limit distractions like excessive streaming, and adopt a motto of "Involve to Evolve" to continuously sculpt one’s life into a masterpiece.
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It always, always tried to give its hardest blow to me. But it was not ₹70 even. Anyhow, my mother was selling her gold and something like that. She went. She was insulted. We were the best couple. We were the example for everyone. Somewhere, my husband had some other relationship with someone else, and I was in severe pain, means physical, mental, emotional. I didn't take care of my child, nothing. I was a kind of underconfident woman who never used to even ask her— his or her boss, like, for any kind of leave. But now my boss used to call me for take any decision or something like that. Things have changed with English when I topped my college in first year taking English honors. Design your thought in such a way that Look your problem from a different perspective rather than thinking it is not perfect, everything is imperfect. Please, have some dream in your eyes.
Good morning, afternoon, evening, people who's gonna watch this interview. I am so excited to have another inspirational interview today. Now, last week I had an opportunity to give a session in one of the clubs called Leaders Are Readers, and we had sort of a contest where people who have pursued their passion, they posted their videos, and I had the opportunity to select the best person out of it. So you are getting the best person who is going to be interviewed today. It's my honor and— it's my honor and pleasure to invite and have Sweta Maheshwari, who is a writer, who's a speaker, a thought designer as she says, and I'll let her speak more when we go through the interview. And I'm pretty sure you all will also be amazed by her journey. So let's get right into the interview. So welcome, Sweta, welcome to the interview.
Thank you, thank you so much, Haritosh Srivastav, for— even I am privileged, I'm very happy to be a part and to— and really looking forward to have great conversation with you.
Thank you so much, Sweta. So let's start off, uh, about your journey. So would you like to give, uh, tell me about yourself, uh, in next few minutes?
Sure, uh, Haritosh Srivastav, um, to be very, very honest to my viewers and to you as well, my journey wasn't that easy. Life wasn't so easy for me. It's always, always try to give its hardest blow to me, but I kept on moving. I didn't stop myself anywhere, though I went into some kind of bad things, like I got depressed or something like that, but I always came out of that. Now, starting from my childhood, like, I'm the third daughter of my family, and you— and I can say, you, third daughter is never a blessing. Uh, she may not be accepted in the family, especially our Marwari family, but my mother supported me a lot, and her support has kept me going on. Even when during the— for education also, like, the family was deciding me to put in some kind of government school and all, but my mother decided that my child is going to go in an English medium school. And I think her— that decision is making me to stand over here. I'm sitting here in front of you, I'm speaking, I'm confident in this kind of thing. So definitely, um, education went well till 10th standard, but after that my father had a very worst blow of life, like his, uh business really got a great jerk. So that put my education into a kind of halt. So, and you know, the 10th standard, after 10th standard, children really need financial help to move. Yeah, so I had dreams of becoming a software engineer or an architect or something like that. So, but, uh, contrary to that, I started earning, like, I taking tuitions for smaller children's, like, around my home. I really want to say, uh, the very beginning I got only one child and that he used to studying this KG, and I used to go to his home to teach him. And when one month got over, because we had a contract like she will pay me ₹75, but still she paid me ₹70.
And trust me, Haritosh Srivastav, what, what year was that?
It was 1995.
Wow, okay.
And that was not ₹70 even, it You may say, you know, the notes were— but that is an inspiration for me. When I came home, I just brought that money in this way. I didn't even show it to my mother because I know when she will see it, that it is not, um, 70 also, she'll say or scold me something. Why, why are you doing all this? Just hide it. And I, I told that she'll give in 1 or 2 days because I felt that she'll forget all these things in 1 or 2 days. But then it's okay. But slowly and gradually, I started all these things at home. Like, children started coming at my home. Now I stopped going to people's house. And after that, I continued with my education also. Even many of the professors, many of the teachers have helped me financially as well to keep my study moving on. With that, I keep on going with my tuition work. And I really, until I completed my post-graduation, I was one of the rock stars in my city, means taking great number of tuitions from morning 5 o'clock to evening 8, 9. With that, I continued studying also. Like, uh, post-graduation I did through correspondence and all, because obviously it was not allowed for daughters to go out. And trust me, much of my earned money I have spent during my marriage also. But I'm— I got married to a very great family where it's a good, rich, educated family, which really is my dream. I really had a great husband. But things was going smooth 15 years. I was so happy. We're the best couples. We, we were the example for everyone. Means whenever I even used to go to my home, like mother's home after marriage or something They used to— uh, nothing should happen in such a great couple they are. But I don't know, destiny, um, wasn't looking for a great couple, or I should say, so somewhere my husband, uh, had some other relationship with someone else. So, and he wanted to stay with her, like And my father-in-law didn't like this decision, means his way of leaving me like this. So he took me here. So I came to Rajiv. So that actually left me totally depressive. 5 to 6 months I was like in a room. I was totally closed myself, like, and I was in severe pain, means physical, mental, emotional. I didn't take care of my child, nothing. I just, I don't know, but I just, I was just locked myself in a room. Just, I, for the sake of earning, I used to go to a school and have to come back, have to go. Like, the thing is going on like this. But really, I met, uh, I should say, an angel for me, like my mentor. As you told that in the session also, you should have a mentor. So Mr. Deepak Jindal, he stays in Noida itself. So he helped me out in coming out of all the situation, like depression. He inspired, he encouraged at every moment, at every step. Then once he told me to write down the goals, means what I really want to accomplish. I remember in 2018. So in that, I have in my goal list, I have written about writing a book also. So that gave birth to She Met Life. And after that, life has changed. I have really, really come out of that situation, not only emotionally, not from the depression, but the way I got physically dependent as well. I improved my health. I grown myself in spiritual field also, and I'm really, really— means now, as you all must be knowing, I was a kind of underconfident woman who never used to even ask her— his or her boss, like, for any kind of leave. But now my boss used to call me for take any decision or something like that. I want you to plan this or do something like that. So my confidence level has also grown, and now I'm moving with a purpose that whatever I have faced and the kind of phase I have been through, if someone is in that situation or someone is really want some kind of emotional help, some kind of thing where I can help, I'll try my best to do to raise that, to uplift that person. Anyone can contact me, I'm always there to listen, to help in whatever way I Thank you so much, Sweta.
I think this is, this is powerful. I mean, more power to you. Really, you've really been through a lot. Thank you so much for sharing this. I think you are an inspiration, and I'm so glad we've got you in this episode. And, and really, I'm learning a lot. So let me go dig a little bit deeper. And if you don't mind, and I would like to ask you, I know you mentioned a few things that you've gone through, but I really want you to go a little bit deep about one or two failures in life. And it could be in terms of the professional failures you want to say, you've also gone through a personal turmoil. So up to you, whatever you want to talk about, any one or two failures where you actually sort of hit the rock bottom. And then what helped you to come out of this? What were your learning or lessons out of it? If you could share, that would be amazing.
Yeah, definitely. So this is what I'm revealing it for, for the very first time. So in school and even till 10th standard, I was a very good child, a very intelligent child. I was like of, like a kind of child who is teacher's pet. But as I told you that after 10th standard, I really faced a lot of financial— means I didn't have any financial support. But many of the teachers in my college, means, uh, they have helped me because I decided to take science. Because as I told you, I want to become a software engineer or architect— architecture. I really want to do that. But though the teachers have helped me, but still, uh, due to the lack of fees, I can't pay them. I couldn't pay them. Especially maths, for taking tuitions for maths. And that in 12th standard, I failed in the subject mathematics. And I really want— I don't want to say, uh, I, I still remember that day, uh, that teacher used to fees, take fees of ₹600, and which I don't have to pay, which I really don't mean. So once, anyhow, my mother selling her gold and something like that, she went to pay her ₹600 for 2 months because we did not have, and she was insulted.
Wow.
And that actually made me very depressive, and I left that maths tuition and all. And I told, I'll study on my own, I'll do, but I will not— means it's okay, teachers can help if the child is not able to pay. You know, if my mother is at least paying whatever she can and by just selling her gold and all, and this is not acceptable. But you know, uh, when you are in college, there also studies are not going on, and 12th standard maths, it's not that easy. And moreover, I would say I was not in that state of mind, that depressive state of mind where I can self-study mathematics. Yeah, so I failed in maths exam. That was a worse situation for me because always I talked, I did everything. So I took the decision because further I don't have money for even for graduation also to go for science and to take tuitions from teachers and all. So I decided to take arts and simply I took English and easy subjects like music and all so that at least whatever I can do via self-study, I I can do. But the things have changed with English. When I topped my college in first year taking English honors, with that, when I did MA English also, uh, you know, I studied via correspondence and students used to take tuitions from English teachers. I didn't take even because I don't have time, because I started taking tuitions from morning 5 to 8. So how could I take even if I am earning? And I don't want to spend because And trust me, in first year I topped in university for Shakespeare, for Shakespeare plays and all. So when I in second year, I just went to one of the teacher because I had some problem and she was really amazed that students can't score this way studying on their own. So this is where my gest has helped me up. Okay, that was a great decision. Maybe may not be good for me that I really don't want to take arts. I took and I proved. This is what—
yeah, that's amazing. So sometimes your life takes you to the time that, yeah, you may not feel like you are a good fit, but that your story is amazing and how something that you had to take, you actually made it really shine. So thank you so much. This is a beautiful story, and I'm pretty sure people who will watch this will get inspired. You— not everybody have to become engineer or architect. Even you can inspire people even by, you know, studying English. And I think another aspect in your profile I noted down is that you are a published author, uh, and you have written a book, and I believe you're writing another book. So you want to tell what exactly the book is all about?
Uh, She Met Life.
Yep.
Yeah, She Met Life is totally a book. It's a transformation of women from the kind of situation she has met in her life that was the gravest situation a woman can meet. Where her husband actually fell in love with the prostitute, a bar dancer, and really want to accept her and want to leave her wife. Wife actually fell into depression, but how she came up, how she rocked the world, it is all about the story of transformation and how she transformed. That is a different kind of scenario that you can— you could never find in any of the book. That is why it's a book which is a kind of fiction with self-help, and it really inspires people a lot. Those who are reading, they— because it's emotional also, many of them, even I get mails if they— some other people are reading, if some of the friends or Toastmasters are reading, they always call me whenever they read this book because they must have cried because they, they felt inspired, motivated, and all. So it's all about that.
Thank you so much for that description, and we'll, we'll put that link of the book if somebody wants to, you know, get a copy of the book. And I will also buy a copy to go through it. I have not yet gone, but by the description that you say, it seems pretty interesting. And yeah, I do not really like fiction, but if it has fiction with self-help, that's something I can definitely try on. So thank you so much. Thank you. I also noticed that you say that you are a thought designer by intention and a life coach by compassion. Those are some heavy words. So we do want to, uh, decrypt us for that. What exactly does that mean and how do you help people?
Yeah, definitely. As I told you, like, few years back I had the worst blow of life. So actually I wasn't— as I told you, I was in a kind of state which is no less than depression where I locked myself. But I have changed. But And through that, I have really understood that situations come, situations really come. And whenever such situation, or I should say, these kind of blocks come in your life, no, your thought process really stops working. Stop working in the sense we always keep on thinking about situation, we always keep on blaming people, we always think why this has come to me, why that has come to me, and we keep on brooding. And we have a thought process, that repetitive thought process, which is an autopilot mode just of complaining, negative attitude, and that is— that actually lead us to not get the solution of what kind of situation we are facing, right? So why I am saying I means I want that whatever comes, even it may be junk, even if every— anything has been broken. Suppose if I'll say now this pencil, if it breaks also, I can create something from that. Design your thought in such a way that look your problem from a different perspective and to create a creative solution out of that. You can do it with anything, you can do with your life situation. So this is thought designing, means make your mind, hack your mind, I should say, no, means shift your thought. Shift rather than using I can't, shift it I can. Rather than thinking it is not perfect, everything is imperfect, we need not to find perfection in everything. So So this is what my thought process was. Even a single mistake, I used to feel fearful, anxious. Even I was a perfectionist. Now I left everything. I have designed my thought in a very simple way. Now I even don't care what people are saying. I'm easy. And I am— I can now say that I can create anything out of junk. Just give me. Wow, that is why I—
Yeah, thank you.
And that is what life coaching is all about, means taking life in a simple manner. Just have it, enjoy it, live it. Things will keep on happening, situations will come worse to worse situation. You have the power, you have the power inside to rock yourself. Forget about situation.
You have the power to rock yourself. Amazing, amazing. Thank you so much for explaining that, uh, Thought Designer. I never thought it could be interpreted in such a beautiful way, so thank you so much. This was interesting. Now I want to talk a little bit more about— I think it's part of your profession, but generally in my interview I ask people about if you have to give somebody a few tips, especially for people who are young generation, people who are getting into final years of their college or getting into a professional job and things like that. So those young next generation, if you have to give couple of advice to them so that they can achieve the best out of their life, what would that be?
Yeah, definitely, for sure. You know, these days I'm finding means, as the journey was very hard for me, and I think people like me, there are many who have during their times had hard journey. But these days, as we know, children, children are highly pampered. What I feel as a teacher, I'm also watching that they are highly pampered and they really don't know about the life situations, the life skills are not totally instilled in those children. And when they really come into, when they really come into scenario on the road of life, they really feel depressed and all these things. I want to really, what means, whatever be the age, 15, 16, 17, please have some dream in your eyes, first of all. And for that, you have to pay something for your dreams. Right now only I have learned there is a price for everything. And what you have to pay is hard work and passion. Most of our youth are spending their time like till 2 to 3 on Netflix or PUBG. Thank God it has banned. So this is what is happening. Yeah, so that's true. Yeah, yeah. If you really want, if you really have dreams, you sleep, I really want to say, and get up early in the morning to work, to run, to have that hard work, to do something. Dreams aren't achieved in this way, like doing something on Netflix. Or it's okay to watch up to a limit, but don't make it a part and parcel of your life. Have it, go ahead, have dreams. This is what I really want to say. And if you really design your thoughts in such a way, you— I can assure anyone, any one of you, you are able to do whatever you want. Wherever you want to reach, you will reach. Just dare to dream.
Thank you so much. Thank you. I'm really, really excited because I think in my keynote as well I say that I am a member of 5 AM Club and whenever I hear somebody saying, okay, you should get up early. I get really excited. But yeah, thank you for that insight. Like, you have to pay the price to get your dream, and the price doesn't necessarily have to be a monetary price. It has to be something related to hard work and passion. And, and yeah, you have to dream to get something. So thank you so much. Those is really, really, uh, interesting and, uh, encouraging thought for the young generation in India.
Netflixing is fine once in a while, but you, you can't make it just totally a kind of digestive food for yourself. It's just sometimes.
Yeah, that's true. So yeah, now we are coming towards the end of the interview, and it has been great talking to you, knowing about your journey and, and about your books. Any last comments, any last thought that you want to give your readers, or people who was watching this video?
Yeah, sure. See, I'm moving ahead with a motto, and that motto is involve to evolve. I came out of my situation because I involved myself entirely. I tried my best that I should not even waste a single second of my life. My every minute, I try my best to plan out. That is why within 2 years I'm doing the things I am doing. So with involve to evolve, I really want to say that get yourself involved in sculpting your life so beautifully that one day you'll be a masterpiece. Try to become that masterpiece just by involving yourself. You have to evolve, you have to become a masterpiece.
Awesome. Involve to evolve to become a masterpiece. Thank you so much. This was really an amazing episode, and as every time I am going to end this episode like I do every time that, no, let's all help each other. And when I say help, it doesn't always mean money. It could also mean talking to someone, helping a pet, or doing something for some, some other person which makes you feel good. So until next time, keep learning, keep growing, and keep going out of your comfort zone. This is Haritosh Srivastav, and I'll be back with another episode of inspirational interviews.
