Nurse and Coach in Innovation & Leadership with an Inspiring Life Story
Raj started his working career in Mumbai, where he was living in a room shared with 23 other people in a railway quarter. For four years all his belongings fitted into a plastic bag: a toothbrush and some toothpaste, one spare set of clothes and one pair of shoes. Now he is based in England as a professional public speaker, and registered general nurse, specialising in Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Nursing & Nurse First Innovation and Leadership
Biography
Raj Adgopul was born in the village of Solapur in central India.
His father was an alcoholic and committed suicide when Raj was just two years old and his mother died from a self-inflicted insulin overdose in 2018.
He was raised by his mother and stepfather, both of whom abused him throughout his childhood. He suffered physical, emotional and sexual abuse and was neglected most through of his childhood and teenage years. Due to the pre-verbal years of neglect and abuse he suffered whilst growing up and formed a disorganised attachment style. Disorganised attachment style is the worse combination of Anxious & Avoidant attachment behaviour. He was formally diagnosed by a psychiatrist with traits of Emotional Unstable Personality, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and Complex Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Despite the many setbacks Raj managed to get out of his village, completed his nursing training and lived in Mumbai for four years. During that time, he lived in a room with twenty-three other people, his own personal space in the room being just a six foot by three-foot piece of floor, with no bed. The years in Mumbai set him up for life and helped him achieve a mindset of unshakeable resilience.
When Raj arrived in England in 2002, he had just five pounds in his pocket and the will to survive. He completed a degree and postgraduate in early years child psychology at the University of Plymouth, started a family and in 2019 managed to get onto the O2 stage in London to give a Tedx Talk. He continues to develop both his own personal journey and use his experiences to help others on their own journey.
Topics
Slum Survivor
If you survive long enough in the slums of Mumbai to tell your story you learn how to milk a bull! Interested?
Find out what kind of mindset you need to develop in order to survive, like a cockroach, in the slums of Bombay, you learn to thrive on your misfortunes, that’s the secret.
Key Takeaways:
a. New perceptions on life challenges.
b. Recognise that motivation is a result of mindset.
c. Inspirational Indian quotes.
Re-imagine the Impossible Everyday
Life is cheap in Mumbai, a million people live in a square mile, average life expectancy is about 65yrs and over 4,000 people die every year falling off local trains. The main aim when you leave home in the morning is to come back alive in the evening. Bombay, a land of opportunities, but so hopeless that the only thing that keeps you going is hope. Find out how to keep going no matters what life throws at you.
Key Takeaways:
a. Everyday gratitude.
b. A different way of looking at the world.
c. Key messages from the slums with added souvenir!
Village Life: England and India Compared
Taking a humorous look at the differences and challenges of village life in two hugely different countries. Understand what the English say and what they mean. Learn how to greet your neighbours, what to do about other people’s children, and what to expect at village celebrations!
Key Takeaways:
a. How wonderful and weird the English people are!
b. The hilarity of humanity (learning to laugh at oneself)
c. How beautifully diverse our world is.
An Immigrant’s Experience of England
What is it like to arrive in a new country for the first time? When you don’t know why your bathroom doesn’t have a bucket in it, what a lunch box is, or why dogs seem to have all the fun…
Key Takeaways:
a. A different view on English customs.
b. Keep it simple!
c. English and Indian unspoken social etiquettes and rules of engagements.
d. English culture is an enigma!
Appreciation Redefined:
Raj redefines appreciation in his funny and endearing talk which contrasts life in the hustle and bustle of Mumbai compared to rural Dorset. Sharing a collection of his personal stories and experiences – from losing friends on Mumbai’s railways, to becoming a nurse, to adapting to the very different ways of communicating with colleagues and patients in the UK.
Key Takeaways:
a. Realise that you cannot feel bad and appreciate at the same time.
b. Tips for daily gratitude practice.
c. Some unusual things to appreciate from daily living.
Related Speakers...
Nurse and Coach in Innovation & Leadership with an Inspiring Life Story
Related Speakers...
- Diversity & Inclusion
- Entrepreneurship
- Human-Centric Leadership
- Motivation
- Performance
