About Me:
I am a ‘People’s Person’
For me, life is all about helping people build a healthy and happy life and also having an amazing relationship with themselves as well as with others. I am a very intuitive person too, which is perhaps God’s Gift. This intuitiveness helps me to connect easily with people and get to the matter of the heart. Being a go-getter, full of life and positivity, I am able to transfer this energy to my clients. At the same time, I am down to earth, having experienced the realities of life closely. I am a forthright person so the idea of having a coaching class is like chatting with an old friend without any judgements, just honest heart to heart talks, so that I can help them with their own solutions.
I bring together 8 years of training, personal and professional experience, presence and heart to help you resolve chronic stress, emotional overwhelm and a lack of clarity about life direction.
About ExpressO:
In these fast paced times, where time seems to be in short supply, we have forgotten what it is to just sit down for a while and take stock of our own lives. We owe it to ourselves, to stop, to think, to take a deep breath. A little shift in perspective is perhaps all that is needed. To watch it all from a distance. To explore, to let go, to understand your place in this creation.
ExpressO by People Solutions invites you for an informal conversation once a month over diverse themes over cups of coffee. It would surprise you to know how much in common you have with strangers. It started in June 2014 and we have meet ups once a month over a pre-decided topic at any coffee shop from 6:30pm to 8:30 pm
Topics covered till now:
Gratitude
Reflections, I, ME, MYSELF
Fear of Rejection
Purpose of my Life
Expectations
Turning Point in your Life
Fear
What made me start ExpressO:
It was a painful decision for me to walk out on 13 years of marriage with two young kids in tow. Divorce had taken me to the depths of my sanity, led me to question my very being and forced me to confront the deepest suffering.
Without question, this life event had held me back, kept me down and paralyzed my life. I experienced struggle, heartbreak, loneliness, failure and loss.
I was in pain, mentally and emotionally, many people left, very close ones, and the ones who were supposed to stay with me were the ones who left me when I needed them the most.
The need to share my feelings & thoughts with someone who would not be judgmental was paramount and I began to connect with people online through for my sanity.
That’s when it hit me that there were many people like me who needed the same morale booster to have the confidence to live a life of their choice. I realized that in this tech-mad world with people abusing more than using the social media & Internet, there was a space for connecting right and use the infinite power of the Internet.
I don’t think it would be wrong to say that all of us at some point in our lives, find ourselves overcome by sorrow, depression, self-pity, anxiety, lack of motivation, helplessness and what not. We are but humans after all, and we live in times and a society that could overwhelm us with expectations of who we ought to be. We are made to feel that we have to prove ourselves. That it is not good enough to be yourself, you have to be better. It is plain stupidity.
ExpressO Experience:
A lady from Abu Dhabi trapped in a bad marriage, connected online. She was on the verge of committing suicide when she got in touch with me. She poured her heart out and after talking to her for about an hour she changed her mind that she will fight it out and not give up. ExpressO changed her life completely and today she is full of confidence and ready to take life head on.
So in this complex world with complex realities surrounding people and their relationships an idea connecting with people online is so simple yet so powerful, it creates a huge impact on people across the world and give them a new meaning to life and be an anchor against drifting into a gloomy realm and probably make this world a much better place to live.
There is an untold story of pain and suffering, but also of unyielding faith and perseverance in almost every inspirational life I have come across. To climb out of this abyss of despair, sometimes all we need is a voice shouting out words of encouragement and hope, or an outstretched hand waiting to pull you back from the brink of insanity.
The Internet (Online forums) with all its negatives has a whole lot of positivity and potential to transform lives. There are times when you need a friend and there aren’t any, and somehow, miles apart in some place you have never been, a stranger sitting behind a computer screen just like you, understands your grief, gives you hope, and you smile, and get back on your feet to live another day with a renewed sense of hope. This support system is very much needed in our times. Life should not be just thrown away, it must be lived, and lived to the fullest. And it is possible. There is a warrior in all of us, sometimes it just takes someone else to point that out.
As Richard Bach wrote in his book Illusions, “what the caterpillar calls the end, the Master calls the Butterfly.”
I find my peace in following my passion and mission to raise consciousness and therefore see happiness ripple from each individual I have contact with. As a life coach and spearheading the online & offline forum I want to help people think themselves into happiness and find joy with what they have, eliminate self doubt, make peace with their past, enjoy their present and look forward to a happier tomorrow.
Need help to scale:
At present I have an ExpressO Facebook Group where people get updates about the monthly meetings. I also have my sister running ExpressO Chennai as she is based there. Im trying to create awareness through twitter & FB.
I would now like to take ExpressO to level 2, create more awareness & visibility, scale it…but need ideas how I can take it forward. This isn’t a commercial venture, just something close to my heart. Want to reach out to as many as possible, start ExpressO meet ups globally, how do I do it?
Twitter: @KhetanShivani
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10th September- UPDATE!!
asha chaudhry
hi shivani,
you are a lifecoach, right?
i think you need to mention that as part of your background – it’s an imp ingredient of who you are and how you are the ideal person to start such a venture!
how many people normally meet every month at these coffee shops? when i think of expressO experience – a cozy smallish number of people comes to my mind.
SOME THOUGHTS TO SCALE….
my thoughts would be based on the community approach….
– i reckon it’s probably better for you to maintain a small gp of people – say max 20-24? if you have more bandwidth (and more demand), you could probably meet a separate gp of people and do 2 such meets a month vs just one meetup.
– gradually create a community on your site. like trhs! right now, a closed group on fb is perfect (i noticed your gp is public – does that work well?). enable people to ASK YOU QUESTIONS. get a relationship counselor to be part of the advisor team! (since some of your topics might be more personal & private, you might have to enable people to write to you and the admin could share the query instead of that person). this would help many silent readers open up and bring them out of their shell.
– you will need to identify partners across cities. they could be your own members you groom, or like-minded folks you know/trust. since you are a lifecoach, other folks with similar people skills would make great co-ordinators/city leads (in startup lingo). this would help you extend to different cities.
– keep sharing relevant content on your site – pls check out nirogam’s blogs & fb page
https://www.facebook.com/Nirogam
– word of mouth – your members will be your best ambassadors!
my advice would be to gradually scale up. if you have the wrong people moderating your meetups in different cities it might harm the brand. instead, pls visit each city first and do a meetup yourself so that you can train the other person informally.
people need to TRUST YOU. so pls build this carefully.
all the best. feel free to reach out to me when i’m in mumbai next (at trh open house – not announced yet!)
asha chaudhry
ps: i remember two online forums for relationships posted on trhs. i don’t think they meet in person and are strictly online. so you may not have any synergies at all – but sometimes it helps to see what other folks are doing…. 🙂
sharing dard
https://www.therodinhoods.com/forum/topics/share-your-true-self-anonymously-through-sharingdard-com
breakup helpline
https://www.therodinhoods.com/forum/topics/payment-gateways-breakuphelpline
Shivani Khetan
Thank you very much, some clarity now!! Shall work on it Asha 🙂
Akshay Jain
Hello Shivani,
There are many people who would like to stay connected to different people in this fast life.
Some suggestions.
Start membership for hundred rupees.
1> Members will be able to send weekly letters in writing to other members. The other member has to give approval first.
you can keep a check box for interested in Dating.
2> Try to focus on dating for youngsters who would like to meet in a group to take the next step forward.
Say twenty people meet in a cafe, collect hundred rupees from everyone. Have small games where people can interact and open up. after the meet, they are free to ask for numbers from the members. Your work will be to keep the creeps out so that members feel comfortable.
Best of luck.
Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal
Shivani,
Sorry, not impressed.
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO doesn’t come out at all.
You share the history, geography etc etc – BUT WHAT is next level mean?
BE GRANULAR!
– Do you want 1000 people this year to attend? 10,000 people?
Do you have a blog? Where is it?
HOW will people get to know? What do you do for awareness?
Do you make money from this? What is the business model?
Who are the attendees? Are they people who have suffered or general happy people?
Are there videos of your events?
Shivani Khetan
Dear Alok,
The idea is too get as many people possible to share their stories & experiences.
By saying next level i meant that spread it across all cities and have volunteers to run it
At the moment no blog, all the event details are on Facebook & events.com.
Website is just up, blogs will happen soon. Expresso page on fb & twitter for creating awareness
This isn’t a money venture. The people who have attended so far are happy people as well as people who have been through their bit & come out of it in a positive manner hence they come & share their experience.
I know I’m going wrong somewhere hence the need for advice.
🙂
Shivani Khetan
Hey friends, the ExpressO Talks AV is up on youtube, kindly give feedback 🙂
asha chaudhry
hey shivani – thanks for the update. i’ve embedded the video for you so everyone can watch it right here on your post itself. will give you feedback after watching it 🙂
Shivani Khetan
Thanks Asha! Looking forward to it 🙂
Alok Rodinhood Kejriwal
– Throw out the old lady from the start of the film. She makes me feel like closing the video
– SHOW THE EVENT!!! SHOW THE ENERGY – this video TALKS about something that I can’t relate to
– WHAT ARE the topics in the event? Make a small check list that you show as a chart / list
– HOW DOES one keep track of the events? Where is tour twitter handle in the end?
– Make Sejal the Brand Ambassador :))
Shivani Khetan
Thank you Alok fo