Forbes magazine chose Vijay Eswaran as one of Asia’s successful philanthropists and it is not for nothing. This accolade was only one among the tributes that Eswaran has collected all these years. For Forbes to regard him as successful, he must have done many things to get this kind of recognition. But what is the background of this man, and how was he able to impress a magazine of this caliber and the many organizations that gave him numerous awards?
Vijay Eswaran Is An Accomplished Man
The official website of Vijay depicts him as a successful businessman, an inspiring speaker and a philanthropist. You won’t be able to give your money to charitable organizations if you don’t have plenty of wealth. Riches can sometimes come to the very lucky, but usually only to those who have striven hard for their businesses to succeed.
In the process, such men and women can also become good motivators because of the many difficulties that they overcame before succeeding. That’s a part of what led to Vijay Eswaran becoming a prominent motivational speaker.
Vijay Eswaran’s Background
Born on Oct. 7, 1960 and raised in Malaysia, Vijay spent his early years in his native country. He was taken by his father, Vijayaratnam Saravanamuthu, to all corners of the country because of his work at the Ministry of Labor. Eswaran’s mother, Pushpavathy Chinnaiah, was a teacher. That’s a part of why Vijay’s parents ensured that he was given a great education. in fact, he would go on to graduate in the London School of Economics where he earned his socio-economics degree.
After graduating from the LSE, Vijay didn’t know where to go next, at first. Eswaran would eventually land a couple of menial jobs. Helping to construct buildings in Belgium, and picking grapes in France. After which, Vijay decided to return to the UK, and this is where his journey really moved forward.
Eswaran was introduced to the binary marketing system. This is a very practical, and oft used system in multi-level marketing. He earned his professional qualification at CIMA in the UK. Then he went to the U.S. and enrolled in the Southern Illinois University where he got his MBA certificate. He worked with Synaptics on a part-time basis while studying in SIU concentrating on multi-level marketing activities.
Then he went to work with various companies in North America and Southeast Asia as their information systems engineer. Eventually, after about 13 years, he went returned to Malaysia. At about this time, Cosway approached him with a proposal to head its operations in the Philippines, particularly in marketing. As a consequence, Vijay would begin to make multi-level marketing his focus.
Eventually, Eswaran co-founded a company based on multi-level marketing in 1998. This company grew to become the current QI Group. It is an e-commerce business firm with diverse business interests. These include media, corporate investments, travel, luxury products, training, telecommunications and wellness.
The QI Group now has business operations in 10 countries, working through its regional offices and subsidiary companies in Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Malaysia. One subsidiary, Green Venture Capital, is currently developing the QI City a commercial and residential complex. This construction development in Malaysia is estimated to cost approximately US $ 253 million or RM 1.2 billion.
Eswaran’s Interests Include Writing, Motivational Speaking, And Philanthropy
After his success in business, Vijay was motivated to share his experience with others. He has written several books which can all be described as inspiring and motivational. The very first book that Eswaran wrote was published in 2005 and is titled “In The Sphere of Silence.” He would launch his second book in 2008 titled “In the Thinking Zone.” His third book, published in 2010 is “18 Stepping Stones.” After that he wrote a fourth book which he released in 2011, “On the Wings of Thought.” His latest book, which he launched in 2017 is titled “Two Minutes from the Abyss.”
Alongside writing those books, Vijay has also engaged in philanthropic work. Aside from donating his money to charities, he also organized a separate QI Group charitable arm in Malaysia. He named it the RHYTHM Foundation and it now serves as the company’s tool to fulfill corporate social responsibilities. Additionally, Eswaran also formed a charitable organization, the Vijayaratnam Foundation after his father’s name.
Vijay’s Life Principles For Success
Through his writing Vijay really exposed people to the philosophy that made him a success. All his motivational books and motivational speeches are based on these life principles.
His latest book, “Two Minutes from the Abyss” emphasizes the need for people to think and to be in the NOW. Eswaran believes that it is very important to be thinking in the now, and not tomorrow nor yesterday. This is an important key to success. But people are not thinking in the now because they overestimate how much time we have on this earth. He warns that in actuality, any day could be your last, so make your dreams count.
He illustrates this life principle with actual real-life stories, using even his own personal experiences. In this book, he proposed 11 pillars of life management. Eswaran called them pillars since they are principles that can be used as the basis of one’s life. These are meant to improve your outlook going forward. He believes that people can use these pillars in their effort to reach their life-long objectives.
Vijay illustrates his main point by writing that it is very important for us to have a sense of urgency in life. People need to wake up every morning having this approach. It is a necessary mind-set that must be achieved. Eswaran recommends we cultivate this attitude and reinforce it every day. If you don’t have a life purpose, it is like you are not living at all.
In “Two Minutes from the Abyss,” Eswaran writes about the strategies that will help you improve yourself. To help you do this, he is offering 11 Rules of Confrontation which are:
- Confrontation with another with anger, egotism, maliciousness, and jealousy is bound to fail. It will also be self-defeating to appear pitiful.
- Arguing your point for the point’s sake is wrong. Lawyers are the only one who should do that. Deliberate on the point instead. Your goal is not to dominate but to communicate.
- Always keep in mind that you are confronting for yourself and not for anyone else.
- Be prepared to yield. Confronting without yielding should only be done for the correct principles, and not for personal gain. If you think you are getting emotionally charged, ask a third party to come in so that the situation will be neutralized.
- Your emotions should be in control all the time.
- Confront with the intent of learning, not teaching
- Don’t deviate from the issues. If you are tempted to bring up another issue, resist. Concentrate on the issue at hand and address other issues one by one.
- Be ready to listen as much as you are ready to talk.
- Be in the attitude of love when confronting another. Have a dose of kindness, compassion and understanding as well.
- Begin the confrontation by listening. You can be more successful in resolving an issue if you listen first, instead of talking right away.
- The issue should be confronted and not the person. Don’t ever use ‘you’ and ‘I’ while the issue is being discussed.
Eswaran Believes That The Right Kind Of Fear Is Necessary To Succeed
Aside from writing books, Eswaran is also a prolific writer of motivational articles. Something he does to further provide insight into his life philosophy. Vijay believes that fear is something that we have all felt and experienced. The problem is: people think it is something to be avoided at all costs. Eswaran approaches the subject differently. He believes that there’s a kind of fear that you need to embrace. To this end, he wrote the article “3 Ways Fear Drives Success.”
In this article, Vijay says that fear can either be a paralyzer or an energizer. Examining the experiences he has from 25 years in business reveals what he has discovered. Eswaran points out the version of fear that we must welcome. This kind of fear is the prospect that you can only live up to this day and no more. To you, this is the only day that matters. You need to maximize your potential because it is your last day.
Vijay wrote about the day when he and his friends went on a boat to snorkel in the reefs of Australia. He was so enamored with the beautiful corrals and fishes playing around the reef that he became oblivious of where he was swimming. Fear gripped him suddenly when he noticed that instead of the pretty white corrals and beautiful fishes, he was now surrounded by the blackness of the deep sea.
Vijay immediately realized the danger of his situation. Anytime, a strong current of the deep sea could sweep him away who knows where, and no one would be able to help. Instinctively, Vijay pulled his head out of the water and noticed he was only 10 feet from the corral reefs. He frantically swam as fast as possible, and in a matter of two minutes, he was within the safe embrace of the beautiful reef and its fanciful fishes. The lesson was etched in his mind forever. That is his two minutes from the abyss.
Find out more about Vijay, and where his career has taken him on Crunchbase. Or follow his official Twitter for daily motivation yourself.
